Forbidden To Be Tempted

The elevator doors slowly closed, and Cheng Suran relaxed her whole body, leaning unconsciously against the wall of the elevator.

"Sister..."

Muttering the title, a slight ripple of fluctuation stirred in her heart. She closed her eyes, smiled, and then opened them again, unsure if it was mockery or resignation.

They had unexpectedly met again.

It was like encountering a long-lost friend after years of no contact, exchanging a few casual words, uneventful. The elevator stopped on the first floor, and fresh air rushed in as the doors opened.

Cheng Suran gathered her thoughts, straightened her posture, and returned to her previous demeanor. She confidently stepped out.

A white Cadillac was parked outside the building, at the corner. She approached the car, opened the door, and suddenly remembered that Jiang Yu also had the same model of car.

Jiang Yu's was black, while hers was white.

This car is not expensive. She didn't even know why she chose to buy it. She's using it as her business vehicle.

"Miss Cheng, is something wrong?" Xiao Meng, sitting in the driver's seat, poked her head out.

Cheng Suran snapped back to reality and casually got into the car, saying, "Nothing, let's go back."

She leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes to rest, but her mind couldn't calm down. Jiang Yu's presence, Jiang Yu's voice, kept swirling in her mind.

She opened her eyes again and looked at the scenery outside the window.

The car passed through the city, the sky, the streets, the high-rise buildings... all so familiar. She and Jiang Yu had been here before, had meals in tall buildings, bought things in office buildings, and took walks on the streets.

Memories surged out like carbonated soda suddenly released, catching her off guard.

"Xiao Meng."

"Yes?"

"Have we worked with this client before?"

"No," the assistant replied while driving, "this is a super big client, a rare opportunity."

For their company's current scale, encountering a client of this caliber was extremely fortunate. They not only needed to do their best to win them over but also maintain a good relationship for future opportunities.

Cheng Suran furrowed her brow, deep in thought about something.

After about ten minutes, the assistant dropped Cheng Suran off at her home.

The upscale residential area was close to the city center, not far from the company. It faced the river to the south and bordered the commercial district to the north. It was a peaceful place amidst the hustle and bustle, convenient for going anywhere.

Cheng Suran and Wen Ruoxian were not registered residents of Jiangcheng, so they didn't have the qualifications to buy property for now. They rented a 200-square-meter five-bedroom apartment in this area, with each person having their own bedroom and study, as well as a guest room. The monthly rent was 60,000.

Although the house didn't belong to her, the life inside it did. Every time she came back, she felt a sense of home, something she didn't experience during her two years of living in the capital.

Cheng Suran didn't go upstairs immediately. Instead, she went to the backyard and took a stroll.

In the long days of summer, even after 5 p.m., the sky was still bright. The sun hung diagonally in the west, warming the wind blowing towards her.

She sat on the swing, gently swaying back and forth.

The person who had the telephone interview with her in the afternoon should have been the man in the suit. His voice was exactly the same. It was precisely because he was a man that she became more convinced that she was being overly sensitive and overthinking things. However, reality proved that her intuition about Jiang Yu was always so accurate—or rather, accurate when it came to matters concerning Jiang Yu.

It truly felt like God's joke.

In the meetings she attended, two-thirds of them were related to the fashion industry, with various people coming and going. Perhaps she would eventually encounter her, but it was just a matter of probability.

Cheng Suran couldn't help but recall the scene from earlier.

The sound of "Ranran" seemed as if a hand had grabbed her, trying to pull her back to the past...

During the long period after their separation, Cheng Suran fell into a state of depressive melancholy. She would lie in the bed of her rented room every day, not wanting to eat or drink, not wanting to go out and see people. She felt extremely ugly and blamed herself, not her sister. No one would ever like her.

But when she thought of the two million yuan and what her sister had said before they parted ways, she felt that she shouldn't disappoint the other person. If she gave up on her own life like this, her sister would despise her even more, wouldn't she?

It was her fragile self-esteem that saved her life.

Later on, she changed her Weibo account, blocked the words "Jiang Yu," and rarely logged in. She also got a new phone, and there was no longer that number she didn't dare to dial in her contacts. In WeChat, there was no longer that profile picture that only replied with a red exclamation mark.

She thought that if she ever saw Jiang Yu again one day, she absolutely couldn't be the same as before. She had to be radiant and dignified. Has she achieved that now?

But why didn't she feel the slightest bit of joy and excitement? There was no pride or sense of accomplishment that she had imagined. It was like organizing a closet full of clothes and accidentally finding a dress she once loved but now was out of style. That kind of feeling...

So she had this "dress" once.

Cheng Suran took out her phone and opened Weibo, logging in to her old account. Even after all these years, she still remembered the password.

"Your little friend crr."

—You are my unforgettable thoughts, I am your insignificant pain.

—You're like a dream, like a fleeting illusion.

The naive words, pure adoration. These hundreds of self-speaking records of emotions faintly touched the pain in Cheng Suran's heart, but it was fleeting. Suddenly, she felt that her past self was particularly childish and laughable.

That was the imprint of her youth, the proof of her young self.

In the end, Jiang Yu was just a passerby.

At this moment, Cheng Suran completely calmed down.

Today's events were sudden, and she was unprepared. Although she managed to control her emotions from showing, there was still a slight ripple in her heart. She shouldn't have acted distant or escaped abruptly. It was too deliberate and made her appear still immersed in that period of time, unable to move on.

"Haah..."

She didn't know how long she had been sitting there. The sky darkened, and the sunset gradually turned into a fiery orange. By the time the sun had completely set, the night began.

Her phone suddenly vibrated.

It was Wen Ruoxian.

"Ranran, where are you? Why haven't you come home?"

Cheng Suran answered the call, but before she could speak, she heard Wen Ruoxian's concerned voice. She then realized that it was already 6:30, hastily got up, and said as she walked back, "I'm downstairs now, I'll come up."

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Suran took the elevator to the twelfth floor and entered the password to open the door.

The living room was lit up, and there was a bustling sound coming from the kitchen. Cheng Suran changed into slippers, set down her bag, and followed the sound into the kitchen. There, she saw Wen Ruoxian standing at the countertop, preparing to kill a giant lobster.

It was the feeling she loved, the feeling of home.

"Ruoxian, I'm back."

"Why did you come back so late?" Wen Ruoxian paused with the knife in her hand and looked up.

Cheng Suran replied somewhat guiltily, "I went to meet a client, and the traffic was a bit congested." She stared at the large lobster on the cutting board and asked, "What is this?"

The creature had long tentacles like two antennas, a huge and sturdy head comparable to a tank, and a tail with black and white stripes. It was grayish-blue and had an imposing presence.

It looked just like an alien creature invading the earth in disaster movies.

"It's a Maota Qinglong lobster. You mentioned wanting to eat lobster last time, right? This one weighs over nine kilograms. I'll let you fully enjoy it today." Wen Ruoxian smiled and made a swift and accurate cut. The lobster's head and body instantly separated, releasing a large amount of transparent liquid.

"I was just saying it casually."

"I didn't just casually listen."

Cheng Suran curved her lips and showed a satisfied smile. "Sister Xian is the best."

"Don't call me 'sister'." Wen Ruoxian corrected her.

"Oh, Ruoxian."

Cheng Suran stuck out her tongue and noticed that Wen Ruoxian wasn't wearing an apron. She turned around, fetched one, and draped it over her head, pulling the two straps around to the back of her neck and tying them in a loose knot. "You always forget to wear an apron. You'll dirty your clothes again."

Being close to her, a faint fragrance wafted out. Wen Ruoxian sniffed, suddenly stopped, and leaned in to smell her neck. "Did you wear perfume?"

"I didn't." Cheng Suran sensitively evaded, "Maybe I picked up the scent while meeting the client."

Vetiver Iris.

Once it lingers, it's hard to dissipate.

Wen Ruoxian was taken aback, her eyes slightly dim, and she said with a hint of reproach, "You've been constantly traveling these days, only flew back this afternoon, and now you're meeting clients. Don't you know how to take a break?" After speaking, she continued working with the knife.

Her voice was gentle and delicate, without any hint of blame, only full of concern and tenderness.

"I took a nap at the office." Cheng Suran coaxed her, and seeing Chinese flowering cabbage and beef nearby, she took them over and helped with the preparation, picking the vegetable leaves.

Wen Ruoxian stopped talking and focused on handling the lobster.

After separating the head and body, she poured out the lobster brain, blanched it, and placed it on a plate for later use. Then she cut open both sides of the lobster tail, removed the translucent shrimp meat, and cut it into pieces, placing them into a plate. The remaining parts were minced and stored in the refrigerator for making congee.

Her technique was skilled, clean, and swift.

Cheng Suran enjoyed watching her cook; it was a form of enjoyment. Some people, no matter what they do, seemed like artists, pleasing to the eye and comforting.

Their acquaintance also began with a meal.

Wen Ruoxian is three years older than Cheng Suran. She graduated from the Foreign Language Department of a university in Jiangcheng, majoring in German. She went to the Mainz-Germersheim School of Translation and Interpreting in Germany for postgraduate studies. She had previously interned at the European Union for a period of time and later worked as a dedicated interpreter in a German automotive company.

That year, Cheng Suran was sent to Paris for further studies. In addition to her studies, she wanted to explore and travel around Europe. She made detailed travel plans, and her first stop was Germany.

She was staying in a short-term rental apartment in Berlin. One evening, as she was preparing to take a shower, someone knocked on her door. When she opened it, she saw Wen Ruoxian's face, and both of them were taken aback.

Wen Ruoxian lived next door and had discovered that her stove was broken. It would take some time to repair it, and local repair services were expensive. She also didn't like the food outside, so she bought a lot of groceries but couldn't cook them. She could only ask her neighbor for the use of the kitchen.

Wen Ruoxian had deep-set eyes and a high, straight nose, resembling someone of mixed heritage. Cheng Suran couldn't refuse a request from a beautiful girl.

As they cooked together, they chatted and discovered that they had graduated from the same university and were not only senior and junior sisters but also in the same field. They quickly became familiar with each other.

Later, Wen Ruoxian acted as a tour guide for Cheng Suran, taking her to visit Berlin. When they parted ways, they exchanged contact information and made plans to meet in Paris next time.

Over the course of a year, they made use of their vacations to travel all over Europe, transforming from strangers to good friends. Even after Cheng Suran returned to China, they continued to stay in touch. Then, two years ago, Wen Ruoxian quit her job and returned to China, working as a freelance translator in the capital. This allowed them to meet frequently.

Wen Ruoxian's personality is gentle, steady, and composed in everything she does. She takes care of Cheng Suran and sometimes even spoils her.

Last year, when Cheng Suran quit her job and started her business in Jiangcheng, Wen Ruoxian wholeheartedly supported her and followed her. They live together and are inseparable.

Cheng Suran often feels fortunate to have such a sincere and caring friend. Perhaps she has finally overcome the hardships she experienced in the past...

"What client was it this afternoon?" Wen Ruoxian asked casually after finishing with the lobster.

Cheng Suran was taken aback, her thoughts were pulled back again, inevitably thinking of that person. Her voice became softer, "It's the project I mentioned a couple of days ago. Today, Xiao Meng told me that the French team failed completely, so I went there in person. I contacted the other party on behalf of the company, but the contract will be signed in my personal name tomorrow morning." 

As she spoke, images of Jiang Yu's face filled her mind, and her hands slowed down.

She meticulously cut more than ten pieces of hollow-stemmed vegetable.

Wen Ruoxian noticed her subtle actions, a hint of confusion flashed in her eyes, but she didn't say anything. She calmly said, "I have nothing to do tomorrow, so I'll pick you up and drop you off."

"Aren't you going to rest at home?"

"Ranran is more important."

Cheng Suran looked at her, a strange feeling welling up inside her, but before she could grasp it, it vanished. She could only smile and nod, "Alright, let Boss Wen be my driver."

Wen Ruoxian reached out and playfully scratched her nose.

Cheng Suran was stunned.

In her memories, there was also someone who always looked at her with doting eyes, scratched her nose, pinched her ears, tousled her hair, caressed her face, and repeatedly kissed her while gently saying, "Sister likes you the most."

She had just met this person in the afternoon.

….

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After returning from the company, Jiang Yu had been standing on the balcony without moving. It was already dark.

The housekeeper came over and called her, but there was no response even after calling twice, as if she couldn't hear.

The city was illuminated with beautiful lights, but she stood high above, feeling only loneliness and coldness. The warm summer night breeze mixed with a sense of heat and stuffiness blew, making her feel trapped between ice and fire.

"Sister Yu..."

A soft call came from behind.

Footsteps approached, getting closer and closer, and when the person arrived by her side, Jiang Yu seemed to sense something. Her eyelashes trembled, and she finally stiffly turned her face.

Tian Lin stood behind her, looking at her with concern. "Auntie said you've been standing here for two hours, not eating or drinking... Is something wrong?"

Jiang Yu remained silent.

"Sister Yu?"

"Don't scare me." Tian Lin's heart skipped a beat.

Jiang Yu spoke softly, "I saw Ranran."