Hidden Love
Han Yu Pin Yin: Cang Ai
Author: Jennifer
Source: AAE Village
Translators: Jules

“Can you guess where I’m calling you from?” He asked.
“From the office”, she replied laughingly.  It was during office hours.
“You guessed wrong”, he said.
“Yin Xiang Zhe, You’d better not still be at home!”
After they got back together the previous night, they had spent time in the little park near her home, and did not leave till late.
“You’ve got no idea”, he pretended to be disappointed.
“Well, I’m not your best friend, and I’m not your buddy.  How do you expect me to have any idea?” She was completely unperturbed.
“I’ve only said a few words, and you haven’t stopped talking since”,  he complained.  It was always like this.  They would talk nonsense, and he would have to give in at the end.
“I’m on the roof top of my office building”, he said.
She laughed. “What?  Playing truant so early in the morning?”
“It’s only because I miss you.”
She smiled as she remembered him telling her that he could see her office from the rooftop of his office building.
“You’re crazy!  In this wind?  Be careful, you might catch a cold”, she replied sweetly.
“It’s alright.  You’ll come and take care of me if I get sick, won’t you?  After all, you’re very good at brewing ginger tea!” he laughed.
She stood up and stood by her window.  Her eyes drifted towards the MBS building.
“Can you see me now?” she asked.
“What?” XZ blurted out.
“Ahh!  You’ve got no idea what I’m talking about!” she sighed.
 He finally realised what she was saying, and said “Looks like you miss me, too.”
“Let’s each buy a high power telescope!” he said.
All he could hear was peals of her laughter.
“I have to go.  If we keep going like this, I’m going to get fired’, she said, looking at the pile of unfinished designs on her desk.
“That’s OK.  We’re actually looking for more staff over here…” he was unwilling to let her go just yet.
“No way!” she said with a chuckle.
“Don’t you want to see me?” he asked.
“It’s not that…”
“Then what is it?”
“Well….. Firstly, office romances are too stressful; secondly, …… I can’t stand having all those beautiful women milling around you all the time”, she said playfully.  “Have you forgotten how jealous I can get?”
XZ smiled happily, “This is the first time you’ve admitted to ever being jealous.”
“In that case, your male ego must be going into overdrive now!”
“What are you doing tonight?” he asked.
“Why?” she was probably going to have to work late.
“Xiao Meng Ting will be leaving Korea soon, and a few schoolmates and I are giving her a farewell dinner tonight.  She wants to meet you.”
Shi Jie and a few friends were also anxious to meet her, but he didn’t mention this the previous night in case it upset her.
“I…I’m afraid I might not be able to make it”, it was more a matter of not being able to finish off her work on time, rather than not wanting to meet Xiao Meng Ting.
“Don’t worry about it then.  Give me a call when you finish tonight.  I’ll take you home.”

Just as the light was fading, she arrived at the Autumn Winds, a famous restaurant.  XZ and his friends were having Xiao Meng Ting’s farewell party here.  She didn’t tell XZ that she was coming.  She had decided to turn up not because of Xiao Meng Ting, but because of XZ.  She knew he really wanted to introduce her to his friends.  He had tried a few times before, but she had never been comfortable about it, and always found an excuse.

Her heart was racing as she entered the restaurant.
“Miss Zhen!” Someone called out to her.
It was a well-dressed middle-aged lady.  She was the owner of the restaurant.
“Lady Boss, your business is doing very well!”  SM smiled and greeted her.
“It’s all thanks to you, Miss Zhen!  I must really make sure you have a good time here tonight!”
SM had re-designed the restaurant interior a year ago.
“Thank you so much, but I’m meeting some friends”, she smiled.
Before she knew it, the boss’ husband appeared.  He was also anxious to speak with her.  As they exchanged greetings, a young man nodded and smiled to SM from a distance.  His face was familiar, but SM could not place him, so decided to ignore him instead.  Fortunately, the young man disappeared after a while.

“Why didn’t you come in, since you’re already here?”  XZ appeared out of nowhere to take her hand.  He was smiling from ear to ear.
“Do you know each other?”  XZ asked as he nodded at the couple who owned the restaurant.  He was a regular here.
“Mm”, she was happy to let him hold her hand.

XZ pulled her towards one of the function rooms.
“Why didn’t you get me to pick you up?” he asked.
“I’ve only just managed to finish off what I had to do.  How could I make the host leave the party mid-way?”
‘What made you change your mind?” he stopped and smiled at her.
“Uh…I wanted to know what my competition looked like”, she said.
He laughed.
“How did you know I had arrived?”
“I had spies on the lookout for you outside.”
When Shi Jie had told him that he saw SM outside, XZ was half expecting it to be a practical joke.  He did not expect her to turn up.  Thank goodness for Shi Jie’s knack of remembering every female face he ever met!

“Hang on a minute”, she stopped suddenly.  “How does my hair look?”
“Absolutely beautiful.” There was no one around, so he scooted up to plant a kiss on her cheek.
She blushed.  Before she could even react,  he had opened the door to the room and pushed her in.
When she entered, everyone applauded, making her blush even more.
The two women present were party dresses.  SM felt a little out of place in her light grey knit blouse and navy pant suit, and regretted not going home first to change.
As XZ lead her around the room, and introduced her to the four men and two women there, she finally realised that the young man she saw outside was XZ’s good friend Zhang Shi Jie.
“This is the fourth time I’ve seen you”, Shi Jue said as he laughed.
“Really?  Why don’t I remember any of it?” she asked, disbelieving.
“Each time, the two of you were so engrossed with each other, I didn’t have the heart to interrupt”, Shi Jie said as he winked at Xiang Zhe.

She sat next to Xiao Meng Ting.  XMT was very beautiful and exuded an aura of confident sensuality that commanded respect.  SM greeted XMT cordially.  It seems women never get along with each other as well as men do.
“Finally, we meet.  I think Xiang Zhe has been trying very hard to keep you hidden away”, XMT said.
“Please don’t blame him for that.  It’s me – I’ve been too busy at work lately”, SM hurriedly defended him.
“I’ve been trying to figure out what sort of a woman it would take to move this man’s heart.  When I was in school, I had tried every trick in the book, but he was never moved.”
XMT’s honestly startled SM.
“Oh!  How I envy you”, XMT said softly in her ear.
“Huh?” SM really couldn’t think of anything to say.
“It’s really not that surprising.  Xiang Zhe has everything a woman would ever want in a man, and more.  He’s every woman’s knight in shining armour.  It’s only natural that women would flock to him.  However, every one of them have been sent home with their tails between their legs.  I really want to know what it is that you have, and I lack, that has changed him.” She said with a smile.

XMT’s little speech made SM feel a little guilty for getting upset with him over the smallest issues.  She looked across at him, just as he looked up.
She looked towards XMT, then threw a look at him that said “look how beautiful this woman is”.  XZ smiled and shook his head.  He answered her look with his “no matter how beautiful she is, she can’t hold a candle to you”.  She read it and blushed.

The door opened and the lady boss appeared, with a waiter in tow, carrying a large platter of lobster.
“Miss Zhen, this is the specialty of the house.  I hope you like it.”
“How can I accept this?” SM scrambled to her feet.
“My husband and I will be very disappointed if you don’t accept it.”
“Mr Yin, how was today’s meal?”
“Excellent, thank you.”
“We hope you all come back again soon.  Since you are friends of Miss Zhen, we will give you all a 20% discount at your next visit.”

“Wow, Xiang Zhe!  Thanks to your lovely girlfriend”, Shi Jie joked.
“Lady Boss, are you good friends with Miss Zhen?”  Mei Yin was curious.
“Not really.  Miss Zhen is the person who designed the interior of our restaurant.”

“Shan Mei, why don’t you just give us a list of all the hotels and restaurants that you have designed.  That way, we can patronise them all and get a discount by telling them we’re your friend”, Shi Jie played the clown, sending everyone into fits of laughter.

As she got into his car, she looked at stared at him strangely, a brilliant smile on her face.
“What is it?  Why are you so happy?”
“Oh, nothing”, SM replied, still smiling like a cheshire cat.  She was thinking about what XMT had told her during the course of the night.

“It seems every woman you come across has tried to seduce you in vain”, she stopped smiling and said dramatically.
XZ replied casually, “All except for one.”
“Really?”  she looked at him.
He smiled broadly as he continued driving.  He didn’t elaborate, and SM was left on tenderhooks.

Just who was that one woman who succeeded?  She must be somebody special, to have XZ still remember her.  SM was envious.  Just who was it?

“You’re very quiet”, he said.
“I’m busy envying that woman who succeeded in seducing you.”
XZ glanced over at her and laughed.
He pulled over to the side of the road.
“Who else other than you could have succeeded in seducing me?” he took her hands in his.

Her heart filled with sweetness.  “Did I really try to seduce you?” she asked softly.
“Of course you did!  You have me thinking about you so I couldn’t eat and couldn’t sleep.”
Hrrm!  I guess that’s why he feels he’ll never forget…what I must have put him through! She thought as she frowned.
XZ looked at the pained expression on her face and regretted his words.”Don’t frown”, he said.
“Why not?  I’m being told off, aren’t I?” she looked really unhappy now.
He pulled her into his arms.  “I give up. What am I going to do with you…”

XZ drove towards University Road.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“I need to pick something up”, he replied.

He stopped in front of a booking-binding and picture-framing shop.
“Just wait here a minute.  I’ll be back soon”, he said as he smiled at her.
Soon after, he came out of the shop with a painting that was securely wrapped.  He carefully stashed it in ths boot of his car.
“What is it?  Why is it so precious?” she asked.
“I’ll let you have a look at it when we get home”, he replied.

By the time they got to XZ’s apartment, SM was eagerly waiting for him to open the parcel.  All along the way, he had been very secretive about its contents, and it piqued her curiousity.

“Are you ready?” XZ asked as he removed the last of the wrapping.
“It’s like we’re opening some grand lucky draw prize!” SM smiled excitedly.
He laughed, but his eyes held the glow of happiness and contentment (Xing Fu).
He removed the covering with a flourish…..
“Ah!” SM was lost for words. “How….how did you every get a hold of this?”
She looked at him with disbelief in her eyes.  It was a painting of the Cam River at Cambridge she did while on exchange there.  She was very proud of the standard of this work, and had put it on sale.  How on earth did XZ get hold of it?

“I was the one who bought it then!” he smiled broadly as he put his arms on across her shoulders.
“Really?” she looked at him.
“Zhen Shan Mei!  Didn’t I always say we were fated to meet?” he lowered his head and kissed her hair.
He was right.  Every since they met, it was as if there had been an invisible thread linking the two of them together, pulling them towards each other.
She turned around and put her arms around his waist, burying herself in his embrace.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?” she asked.
“I only realised it when you gave me that painting for my birthday.  When I saw your signature on it, I thought it was the same one on this painting I bought many years ago….I was right.”
“When we met at Cambridge the last time, weren’t you also painting Cam River?  I had a sense of déjà vu, but didn’t think anything of it at the time.”
“Was I really painting a similar scene that day?”
“When we fell out the last time, I told myself that if I really lost you,  I would still have these two paintings of yours to remind me of you the rest of my life.”
“When you didn’t come after me that day, I thought….. I thought that, maybe, you had found another”, she said pensively.
“I lost my mind when you told me that we should never see each other again”, he said.
“When I was in Pusan, I kept hoping that it would be you on the line each time my telephone rang’, she admitted candidly, not afraid to let him know how much she missed him.
He gazed deeply into her eyes and chuckled, “Do you know?  During the whole time you were away, I drove to your home every night, and sat outside your window, thinking about your smile, thinking about the times we shared….”
“Then…..why didn’t you just call?”
“When you just upped and left without a word, I thought you were trying to avoid me.  I was afraid you were still angry with me.”
“I didn’t think you would be such a coward”, she pouted.
“You were really very fierce that day…”
“I…”
He didn’t give her the opportunity to say any more.  He covered her sensual lips with his mouth…..

“Xie Zhang…..We should really go back to London one of these days”, she raised her head and looked in his eyes.
“For sure….”, he nodded, and held her even closer.
He fully intended to take her back to that place to re-live the tender memories of their times together.