Chapter 13: A Reason to Return

Ji Feiyang was waiting in his office. When I appeared, he greeted me with a dazzling smile, all sunshine.
“Come on.”
He got up and headed out, without mentioning whatever he’d wanted to tell me over the phone.
Dinner was at his house, not the hotel. The place was utterly quiet. Nobody else was home.
He showed me to a white dining table that gleamed like porcelain.
“Sit here for a bit.”
Then he disappeared into the adjoining kitchen.
Soon, the sounds of cooking reached me. Apron on, he moved about inside while oil sizzled in a pan.
Cooking for me himself? This was getting a little too nice.
Was that really Ji Feiyang in there? Had some impostor traveled through time to take his place?
Leaning against the doorway, I tilted my head.
“What are you making?”
“Pork-rib rice.”
A closer look showed that he actually seemed to know what he was doing.
“You really can cook?”
“Of course. I run hotels. How could I not?”
“What kind of logic is that? Don’t hotels hire chefs?”
He gave a slight smile instead of answering. His eyes said he couldn’t be bothered to explain.
“Go and sit down. It’ll be ready in about half an hour.”
My hand went to my stomach.
“I thought there’d be food waiting when I got back. Now I have to wait another half hour.”
Back at the table, I propped my chin on one hand and waited to be fed.
Half an hour later, he set down a bowl of pork-rib rice and a bowl of soup with greens and egg.
A spoonful of soup tasted surprisingly good. So did the rice. But I was used to a whole tableful of dishes at every meal. Rice and soup hardly counted as a proper spread.
“This is all you’re serving me? How stingy.”
“You’re a difficult guest to please, Miss Tang. I’m afraid my humble home isn’t up to your standards.”
After a few mouthfuls, curiosity got the better of me.
“Hey, what’s got into you? Why are you suddenly being so nice?”
He’d cooked dinner for me himself, and he wasn’t snapping at me. That certainly counted as nice.
“Because I’ve run out of ways to deal with you.”
Taking the seat opposite mine, he picked up his chopsticks and began eating with obvious enjoyment. More than half his bowl was gone when he paused.
“Are you really Xueyou’s sister? I’m beginning to wonder.”
For a moment, I thought I’d misheard.
He’d actually mentioned Tong Xueyou in front of me. Weren’t they supposed to keep everything secret while making me suffer?
He resumed eating, glancing up to see how I would react.
“You… you know… Xueyou?”
The question came out haltingly, my teeth resting on my chopsticks.
He nodded.
“Yes. I’ve known her for a long time.”
A rush of heat went through me. So he was being open about it now. No more hiding.
“Are you close?”
“Quite close. We get along well.”
What was he trying to do?
A furtive glance at him met his eyes just as he looked up. He smiled—a friendly smile, rather like the ones Big Brother usually gave me.
Not that he could compare to Big Brother. He was far nastier.
My head dropped, and I busied myself with the rice.
It really was delicious. The ribs gave it a rich fragrance, and it was savory without being greasy. Only later would I discover just how good a cook Ji Feiyang was. At the time, I thought he merely knew his way around a kitchen.
What were they planning now?
Nearly full, I laid down my chopsticks.
“You said on the phone that you wanted to tell me something.”
He finished the last grains in his bowl.
“Well? Was it good?”
Of course it was. Not that I intended to praise him.
“Barely passable.”
“How you must have suffered.”
Then, without warning, he changed the subject.
“If I were you, I’d go home right now.”
My puzzled gaze met his. That was quite a leap.
“Look at you. Away from home, not eating properly, not sleeping properly. More importantly, you’re so fond of Boshan, yet running away means you don’t even get a glimpse of him. Is it worth it?”
He had a point.
It struck me like a blow to the head. How had that never occurred to me?
“Meanwhile, he’s with Xueyou every day…”
Jealousy surged up, jolting me awake as though I’d been choking in my sleep.
What a terrible mistake.
A thump to my own head expressed my regret. Then the chair scraped back, and I shot to my feet like a soldier.
“Take me home. Now!”
My arrival set the whole house buzzing.
“Yijun!”
“Miss Yijun’s back!”
Everyone looked startled and delighted. Tears shone in Mrs. Zhuang’s eyes. Mom said she’d raised me from a baby and thought of me as her own daughter.
Mom hugged me first, then anxiously took my hands to inspect them.
“The marks haven’t completely faded.”
Dad was so pleased I’d come back of my own accord that he brushed the concern aside.
“It’s all right. They’ll heal.”
Everyone crowded around me, and once again I was the center of attention.
“As long as you’re home safe,” Auntie Lan kept saying.
Big Brother and Tong Xueyou smiled gratefully at Ji Feiyang.
“I used a rather underhanded trick,” he admitted, looking a little embarrassed.
Both their expressions changed.
Once the excitement settled, a lecture was inevitable.
“Run away again, and you’ll be on your own,” Dad warned. “Do you know how dangerous it is for a young woman out there alone? What if you’d met someone who meant you harm?”
“Did you hear that?” Mom added. “Always getting us into trouble.”
None of it really held my attention. I just kept nodding.
“I know. I know.”
Back in my own room, relief washed over me.
So much space. So comfortable.
Pink walls, a light fixture sparkling like an ornate crown, a generous wardrobe, an exquisitely made dressing table, and clean, warm bedding.
Now this was somewhere a person could live.
A hot bath made everything better. My glossy black curls spilled around me as I soaked.
Afterward, Mom came to help wash my hair. She and Auntie Lan worked together, carefully toweling it until no water dripped, then slowly drying it with the hair dryer.
That required care. Get it wrong, and my hair would be ruined.
My first order of business now that I was home was to demand an explanation from Song Jiajia.
Using the phone Ji Feiyang had given me, I called her.
For once, someone answered.
“Hello, Tang Yijun.”
A deep male voice. Very familiar.
Ji Feiyang.
A check of the number confirmed it. This was the number he’d given me for Jiajia.
Everything fell into place.
“Sorry. That’s my other number.”
“Ji Feiyang, you lied to me!”
“I didn’t have much choice. Anything else? I’m busy. If that’s all, I’m hanging up.”
Furious, I tossed the phone into a drawer. In the living room, another drawer yielded a thick address book.
Time to look up Jiajia’s landline.
When she saw me at her house, Song Jiajia reacted like a mouse spotting a cat. She turned to flee.
“Song Jiajia!”
My sharp voice stopped her.
Where did she think she could go? I’d come right to her door.
She froze, then slowly turned back with a huge, ingratiating smile. Her round face looked like a beaming sun.
“Oh… Yijun…”
“You’ve got some nerve. Ignoring my calls, pretending not to see me!”
“Well… I…”
She put on an innocent expression.
“I really didn’t see you earlier.”
Coming closer, she looked thoroughly miserable.
“You can’t blame me, Yijun. I had my reasons.”
“Reasons? What reasons?”
“It was… Please forgive me! My cousin told me to do it.”
Out came the whole story.
“I didn’t want to listen to him at first. But then your big brother called too. He told me over and over not to go near you, and especially not to give you any money. How could I dare go against him?”
So that was it.
“Is that really true?”
Jiajia had always been timid and good-natured. With her looking so wronged, I couldn’t quite bring myself to hold it against her.
“I swear.”
She raised a hand. Seeing that I was still angry, she caught mine and swung it pleadingly back and forth.
“Please forgive me, Yijun. I was a victim too. They made me do it…”
“All right!”
Enough shaking.
I pulled my hand away.
“You’re forgiven this time. Remember, there won’t be a next time.”
“Yes!”
With my anger gone, she eagerly drew me into her room. New dresses came out of the wardrobe, one after another.
“Aren’t they pretty? I bought them over the last couple of days.”
That reminded me of the dowdy uniform I’d been stuck wearing every day at Qinglang Hotel.
Resentment returned.
One by one, I picked up the dresses, examined them and tossed them back.
“Hideous. Did you buy these at a street market? Your taste gets worse and worse.”
“Really?”
She immediately looked anxious.
“Wenyuan and the sales assistant both said they were lovely.”
“Lovely? Were you all looking the wrong way?”
“What am I going to do? These are for Grandpa’s eightieth birthday.”
“Buy something else.”
“I can’t.”
Her face fell.
“They were all so expensive. Mom will tell me off.”
“I’ll buy you something. Come on.”
“Where are we going? Shopping now?”
She brightened.
“No.”
“Then where?”
“Qinglang Hotel.”