Forbidden To Be Tempted

On the second day after returning home, Jiang Yu caught a cold.

In the morning, when she got up, her whole body felt weak, her head was heavy, her feet were light, and her throat hurt. She took out a thermometer and measured her temperature. It was 37.5 degrees, a low fever.

She is the only one in the house.

Fortunately, there were enough ingredients and medicines, so she ate lunch briefly, made herself an ice pack to press her forehead, lay back on the bed and rested, and slept until the evening when she woke up, she went to the bathroom.

Her fever subsided, but her head was still a little heavy.

Jiang Yu staggered into the toilet, accidentally stepped on something slippery, lost her center of gravity in an instant, and fell to the ground.

—thud!

The glass by the sink fell and shattered.

A shard of glass cut her arm.

"Hiss."

There was a sharp stabbing pain in her arm, while her knee was knocked hard. Jiang Yu frowned in pain and struggled to get up from the ground. The blood from the wound dripped down her white arm, scarlet and dazzling.

She tore some toilet paper, wiped off the blood, covered the wound, and went to get the medicine box.

Cleaning, applying medicine, and bandaging.

Skilled and natural

After treating the wound, Jiang Yu went back to clean up the mess, went to the bathroom, then continued to go back to the room to sleep, as if nothing had happened.

The last few days of the holiday have been a rough one.

On the first day back to work, Jiang Yu's cold hadn't fully recovered yet, but she managed to attend meetings at both companies.

Recently, the focus of her work is on clothing design. Spring and summer fashion season is over, and their brand has achieved fruitful results this season. Before the order fair started, many buyers couldn't wait.

As one of the designers, she had to give a detailed presentation on the design details and concepts of their brand's RESEE to buyers, editors, and media.

Apart from these responsibilities, she also had personal matters.

On the nineteenth floor of the building, there was an entire floor dedicated to Jiang Yu's workspace. After the meeting, instead of going directly to her office, she entered the adjacent workshop. Inside, there were several human body models, and a large work table was covered with fabric scraps, design drawings, and various scattered items.

This is her "private studio".

A large "Y.R logo" hangs on the snow-white wall. With a light touch on the switch, the small lights wrapped around the letters lit up, and the champagne golden light shone brightly, warm and beautiful.

Among the tall and slender mannequins, the shortest one stood out. It was only 165 cm tall, with measurements of 84, 63, and 88 respectively. It wore a long chestnut curly wig and had makeup on its face.

A life-size "Cheng Suran" for trying on clothes.

Jiang Yu walked to the work table and glanced at all the sketches. She prepared these for the "Y.R" series. The autumn and winter styles were customized according to Cheng Suran's body size, and some samples had already been made.

The rest is to be adjusted.

She sat down, turned on the laptop, and picked up the sketches. From spring and summer series to autumn and winter series, there are a total of fifty-two sets for various occasions throughout the year.

Suddenly, she received a call from Tian Lin.

"Sister Yu, can you contact Mina?"

"What's wrong?"

"I want to sort out last quarter's performance here, as well as model tracking data. Other agents are in place, only Mina's data is missing. You also know that Mina is special, and she has more autonomy than everyone else. ..." Tian Lin finished the matter in one breath.

Jiang Yu stared at the computer screen, silently reciting measurements, carefully moving the mouse with her right hand.

"Okay, I'll try to contact her later."

"Mm."

After hanging up the phone, she casually dialed Mina, but the other party didn't answer, and she sent a message on WeChat again, but she didn't get a reply for a long time.

As the chief agent, Mina is really busy.

Jiang Yu didn't think much, put down her phone, and continued to modify the design.

Until the assistant knocked on the door.

The sun was gradually setting, nearing the end of the workday.

Her assistant brought her warm water, and she took cold medicine with it, she still has a bit of a stuffy nose.

"It's okay, you can go home."

"Okay."

Her assistant turned and left.

There's a big conference in the capital next Wednesday. On one side is the Paris parent company that's about to sign a supply agreement with ETERNO. Including her, there will be a total of five executives attending. It's a two-day trip, and besides the consecutive interpreters, each person also needs to bring an accompanying interpreter.

With the cooperation with Yisheng, the coordination process is much simpler, and four people have been finalized so far.

Jiang Yu called Cheng Suran.

She waited for quite a while.

"Hello?"

"Ranran, it's me." Jiang Yu deliberately lowered her voice.

There was an obvious pause on the other end.

Was there a reason to be so surprised? Jiang Yu also felt puzzled, and suddenly couldn't quite explain the feeling in her heart.

"Oh, I see. What's the matter?" Cheng Suran asked calmly.

"Do you have work arrangements for next Wednesday and Thursday?"

"Tell me what it is first."

"..."

Jiang Yu lowered her gaze, rubbed her reddened nose with her fingertip, casually picked up a pen from the table, and clenched it in her palm. "We have a negotiation meeting in the capital next Wednesday. We need an interpreter. We've already arranged for four people from your company, and there's one spot left. I wanted to ask if you're free."

After finishing speaking, she added another sentence: "I remember you said that your work is calculated according to your itinerary, not according to the company's procedure, so I called you."

Her tone was very sincere.

Although she was discussing work seriously, she was also prepared for the possibility of being rejected.

"Wait a minute, let me check my schedule."

"Okay."

There was silence for a while.

Jiang Yu held her breath, tightly clenched the pen in her hand, and slowly rubbed her thumb on the cap.

"I'm free." Cheng Suran said.

"Negotiation meeting, consecutive interpretation, right? I'm quoting 26,000 a day, plus travel expenses. Are you okay with that?"

Jiang Yu smiled through the phone: "There is also an accompanying out-of-meeting role."

"5,000 for English and 10,000 for French, not included with consecutive interpretation."

Cheng Suran is like a ruthless pricing machine, speaking in a completely businesslike tone.

"No problem."

"Okay, you can send the information to my email."

"Don't we need to sign a contract?"

"In theory, it is necessary, but we have already signed a one-year contract and cooperated once. I trust you."

Jiang Yu was startled, and smiled through the phone: "Thank you for your trust."

"Is there anything else?"

"None."

After discussing work, it was time to hang up, and Jiang Yu felt a bit reluctant. She wanted to wait for Cheng Suran to hang up first. Suddenly, Cheng Suran's voice came through her earpiece again, "Did you catch a cold?"

"A bit," Jiang Yu was caught off guard by the question, "But it's getting better."

Did her voice expose it?

She was inexplicably expectant, waiting for Cheng Suran's next sentence.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Suran just said "Oh" without saying anything more, and simply hung up the phone neatly.

Jiang Yu froze.

The pen in her hand fell to the table with a "pada".

She sighed deeply, lowered her head, and combed her hair with her fingertips. The phone vibrated again, and a WeChat message popped up.

Mina: [I'll do my best.]

Just simple four words.

After Jiang Yu finished reading, her thoughts jumped from Cheng Suran to Bai Lu. Paris Fashion Week, the last stop of the fashion season, is over, and she hasn't asked about Bai Lu's situation, and the other party is not as eager to fly back as before, and she hasn't even seen a text message.

She couldn't remember when she started avoiding Bai Lu.

Proactively reaching out to each other feels like a must-do task. Thinking about it, Jiang Yu opened her phone's address book, found the number, and before dialing it out, she did some psychological preparation for herself.

Do good deeds and accumulate virtue.

It's morning in Paris. Soon, Bai Lu answered the phone: "Sister Yu, what's the matter?"

Her tone was flat.

Jiang Yu was a little surprised.

"It's nothing, I want to ask you how you are. Have you had a good rest these days?"

"I'm fine, I eat well, drink well, and rest well."

"When are you coming back?"

"It'll be a few more days, not that soon."

"..."

"Sister Yu?"

"Okay."

"If there's nothing else, I'll hang up, I'm going out."

"Mm."

After the phone call ended, Jiang Yu felt relieved.

....

It was drizzling in Paris.

The sky was gloomy, and the light in the room was very dark. Bai Lu was sitting in front of the window with a cup of black coffee, her long legs crossed, her loose nightgown was almost falling off, and there was nothing underneath.

"Did she call you?"

"Mm."

"What did you talk about?"

The middle-aged woman speaking was Mina. She emerged from the closet, holding a handbag, and tossed it over: "Here, sponsored by the brand."

Bai Lu glanced at it but didn't move. She lazily took a sip of her coffee. "What else could it be? Just pretending to care. In reality, she's annoyed to death..." She smiled with a hint of coquetry at the corner of her lips. "Ah, I can totally imagine how she breathed a sigh of relief after hanging up, thinking the mission was accomplished."

"Of course, Song Jiayao's position in the industry isn't stable yet. She can't treat you like an endless source of money. How else can she keep you hanging?" Mina casually remarked.

"You and I, we're both tools to her. Used to pave the way and build stepping stones for others. Once she's done with us, she'll toss us aside."

Every word pierced Bai Lu's heart like a thorn.

She snorted coldly and turned her face to the window.

A sly smile appeared in Mina's eyes.

"Okay, I have to go back to China and continue to deal with the affairs there. The plan is going well. You can take a good rest during this period and leave everything to me."

"Mm."

The agent left.

Bai Lu gazed at the view outside, the gray sky, the thick fog-like low clouds, and the damp, oppressive scent in the air. She felt tightly wrapped up, a desire to tear everything apart and destroy it all simmering within her.

She gulped down the coffee, put down the cup heavily, and stood up.

The robe slipped onto the carpet.

A perfect model's figure, the dream of many women.

Suddenly, she rushed back to the bedroom, opened the closet, and took out the photo frame hidden at the bottom - a photo of her and Jiang Yu.

Then, she took out the photo.

—rip

The palm-sized photo was torn to pieces.

"I hate you."

....

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=4738582

This translation is originally posted on

love4baihe.blogspot.com

please read it there. and check out other stories too

Wednesday was cloudy.

On the eve of departure, Cheng Suran packed her luggage. Just like on many business trips, there wasn't much difference. However, she couldn't sleep that night. Her mind was filled with the image of Jiang Yu sitting there, drenched and disheveled. The sound of her nasal voice echoed in her ears...

She fell asleep in a daze in the early morning, and was woken up by the alarm clock at 8:30. She struggled to transition into a work mindset, feeling like she wasn't going to work, but specifically going to meet someone.

[Ranran, there is breakfast in the kitchen, remember to eat it.]

Wen Ruoxian's note was pasted on the refrigerator door.

Cheng Suran slowly finished the porridge, eggs, and cheese toast in the insulated box, leaving nothing behind. There was still time after eating, so she put on light makeup and changed into the suit she often wears at work.

The familiar black car was waiting at the gate of the community.

She slows down.

As soon as she approached, the driver got out of the car: "Miss Cheng."

Cheng Suran nodded.

The driver took her suitcase and opened the back seat door. She bent down slightly and got in the car. A light and pleasant scent of iris entered her nostrils.

Jiang Yu was sitting beside her, with her face turned slightly, her long eyelashes were distinct, and the corners of her eyes and brows were faint. Her lips were a vivid shade of reddish-brown, and she wore a more formal outfit, a cool and elegant off-white color that was sophisticated yet not overpowering. She shifted her gaze away from the small table and looked at Cheng Suran, a gentle smile tugging at her lips. "Ranran, have you had breakfast?"

"Mm."

Cheng Suran stared at her, hesitant to speak.

"We'll first go to the airport to meet the others. After arriving in the capital, we'll go to the apartment for a rest. Around three o'clock, we'll meet with the representatives from the other company. Then, we have a dinner appointment in the evening."

"Got it."

Jiang Yu didn't say anything more, and her gaze fell back to the small table.

Cheng Suran also turned away silently.

It was very quiet along the way.

When they arrived at the airport, they met up with other executives. After completing the check-in procedures, half an hour before the flight took off, the group entered the VIP lounge.

During this trip, Cheng Suran was not only a consecutive interpreter, but also Jiang Yu's accompanying interpreter, and followed her throughout the trip. There happened to be two vacant seats by the window, and the two sat down respectively, one continued to flip through the documents, the other looked at the meeting materials, and neither of them spoke.

The tip of her nose is lingering with the faint scent of vetiver iris, gradually transitioning from the top note to a rich layering, becoming more and more captivating as it was inhaled.

Cheng Suran couldn't help glancing at the person beside her from the corner of her eye.

Jiang Yu was leaning on the back of the sofa, leaning slightly, with one hand resting on her forehead, looking at the paper documents intently.

Completely undisturbed by the outside world.

The words that had come to her lips twisted and turned, time passing second by second...

"Is your cold better?"

Jiang Yu was startled, turned around, and saw Cheng Suran looking at her with a hint of worry in her eyes. After a while, she came back to her senses: "It's better now."

"That night...you fell into the water to help me. I shouldn't have left you there alone. I'm sorry." Cheng Suran lowered her eyes, and when she said this, she raised her head again and looked at Jiang Yu with guilt. "Later I went back to check again, and you weren't there anymore. Are you really all right?"

As soon as the words fell, her heart ached.

How can she be all right?

She was full of thoughts about not caring about Jiang Yu anymore, not getting any more emotions for Jiang Yu, but she still couldn't do it after all. Dreaming all night, dreaming of her embarrassed appearance, waking up in heartache, tortured by herself to the point of going insane.

"I'm okay." Jiang Yu smiled lightly, "It's just a little cold."

"That's good."

Cheng Suran nodded slightly, not knowing what else to say for a while, so she continued to read the materials.

The condensed and stiff air between the two was broken.

A warm air seemed to flow slowly in the invisible space. Jiang Yu looked deeply at Cheng Suran for a long time before finally withdrawing her gaze. Countless emotions surged within her like a torrent.

The heart soaked in cold water suddenly warmed up again, and the lost blood flowed back bit by bit, filling her empty and cold chest.

 ....

They arrived at the capital at one o'clock in the afternoon.

This time, Jiang Yu arranged accommodations for everyone in a holiday inn that resembled a private residence, located within the Second Ring Road. There was a picturesque little park nearby. The rooms were all suites, with two bedrooms and a living room. Cheng Suran had initially considered sharing a room with the other interpreter, but Jiang Yu suggested that they stay together.

"It's more convenient to communicate about work."

Jiang Yu spoke very sincerely.

Probably out of guilt, Cheng Suran did not refuse.

After the group checked in, they packed their bags and took a short rest. At about 3:30, they set off to meet the representative of the parent company in Paris.

In the past two years, Jiang Yu intends to expand her foreign model market, and signed model transfer agreements with several overseas modeling agencies. In the first half of this year, she just signed with a Russian parent company. In the latter half of the year, she was negotiating with a company headquartered in Paris, which dominated two-thirds of the European model market. They were also interested in exploring the Chinese market. This trip had two purposes: contract negotiations and exploration.

The two sides met and talked happily.

Naturally, there will be dinner in the evening.

The late autumn dew was heavy, and the north was even colder than Jiangcheng. In the evening, a fine drizzle began to fall.

At the dinner table, Cheng Suran was sitting next to Jiang Yu. She was in a hurry today and didn't have time to eat in advance to fill her belly. She was already prepared to not move her chopsticks and strive for a successful dinner.

Just as Cheng Suran was fully engaged in her efforts, Jiang Yu suddenly switched to speaking in French.

"Anais, On l'aime pour sa beauté saine et classique.."* [1]

*Anais, we love her for her healthy and classic beauty.

Cheng Suran was taken aback.

Several French people at the table also visibly paused for a moment.

Then the conversation continued.

While the others were talking, Jiang Yu tilted her head and glanced at Cheng Suran, lowering her voice, "Don't go hungry, have something to eat quickly." 

Then she turned back.

Cheng Suran's mind jolted.

She...

Author's Note:

[1] Excerpted from the internet.