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

Today is Kim You Zhen’s wedding day; he had told Shan Mei that he would drive her to the banquet. She wore a beige color dress that complemented her lovely complexion and looked as cute as the cherry blossoms. This reminded him the day he met her by the banks of River of Cam.
“You look as beautiful as a spring day.” Xiang Zhe commented.
Shan Mei charmingly smiled and said, “Dad said to dress a bit more vibrant!”
“Where is Uncle?”
“He left early this morning to help Auntie.”
“Ready to go yet?”
“Let me run upstairs to get my purse.”
On the coffee table laid a congratulatory card which he had inadvertently caught a glimpse of, she had written it to Kim You Zhen; he held back his curiosity to keep from reading it.

“Okay, already to go now.” She bounced down the stairs.
“This, …you are not bringing it?” Xiang Zhe pointed to the card on the coffee table to remind her.
“Oh yes! What a dummy, almost forgot about it.”
She picks up the card and takes a quick look, laughingly, she said to him: “Wasted half the day, and this was all I could write, why don’t you take a look for me!” She puts the card in front of him.
Xiang Zhe smiles slightly but does not take the card.
“What?” She asked.
“I don’t want to see the things you have written to other male friends.” He deliberately furrowed his brows as he said it.
She glares at him and humorously said: “Jealous!”
Xiang Zhe looks at her and faintly smiles but doesn’t say a word.
She smiles brightly, takes his hand and softly whispers: “If I said, you are the only man I loved, would you believe?”
“You are saying, there has never been anyone else in your heart?” Xiang Zhe looks directly into her brilliant big eyes. She nods her head.
“What…what about that person?”
“Like you said before, during youthful times, how many people will actually understand the real meaning of love.” She looks at him.
He made her understand that longing for someone day and night can be a painful feeling that one will never forget.
“What about…..the future?” He asked tenderly. His eyes revealed the various feelings churning inside him.
“Future?.....we’ll have to see about your performance then!” She laughs impishly.
“Give it to me!” He extends his hand to take the card from her.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to see it?”
“You just said, I better perform well.”
He laughs as he takes the card from her, she wrote: “You Zhen oppa: Congratulations to you on finding your soul mate in the crowded sea of people, I wish happiness for you and your bride from the bottom of my heart, wish you joy and happiness forever.”

The wedding was held at the Hilton, both of them agreed to meet at three o’clock in front of the cinema at the Sharaton afterwards.

Xiang Zhe’s father had told XZ to come home for lunch. After lunch, father and son retreated to the study to discuss about MBS’s restructuring plans, Yin Zing Hou had Xiang Zhe handle the project. He had some reservations about certain proposals in Xiang Zhe’s restructuring plans; he was concerned that the rapid changes would cause chaos within the company and a drop in morale with its employees. “Dad, in the beginning of any kind of reform, there will always be people who oppose the changes and those that will be laid off due to it, if you worry too much, you will never take the first step. If the reorganization is to succeed, upper management must support the changes and not waiver with indecision. Of course, internal communication with different departments must not be ignored.” After Xiang Zhe’s detailed explanation, Yin Zing Hou felt relieved of his concerns and decided to let his son continue with the proposed changes.

“Xiang Zhe, I have decided at the next board meeting to turn over the Managing Director position to you, the future of MBS will be on your shoulders, do you accept the position?” Yin Zing Hou looked at his son.
Xiang Zhe has been at MBS close to three years, everyone has seen his stellar performance, the board has great confidence in his abilities, Yin Zing Hou had decided long ago when the time was right to hand part of the responsibilities to his son.
“Dad…I…” Xiang Zhe looks at his father, he understood that this day would come, there was no escaping the responsibilities, but he did not expect it to be this fast.

“Zing Hou, Director Lau and Yong Xi are here.” Kim Jen Wa interrupted their discussion.
“Why don’t you give it some thought, then give me an answer.” Xiang Zhe nods his head.

Father and son entered into the living room where Yong Xi and her dad were just admiring the calligraphy on the wall.
“Xiang Zhe, you are also here?” Yong Xi laughingly remarked.
“Lau Uncle, how are you.” Xiang Zhe greets Yong Xi’s dad.
“Jau Dek, what wind blows you and your daughter here?” Yin Zing Hou asked.
“It’s about …..” Lau Jau Dek glanced at Yong Xi, “Yong Xi, why don’t you tell them yourself!”
Yong Xi blushes and embarrassingly said: “Dad…,”
“Ho! Ho! Yong Xi, why would you feel embarrass in front of Uncle Yin?” Jau Dek teased his daughter.
“It’s like this, our Yong Xi wants to invite you to her wedding.”
“Really! That’s really good. Congratulations.” Yin Zing Hou laughs jovially as he received the wedding invitation.
“Who is the groom?” Kim Jen Wa curiously asked.
“Kim Xian Da, Yong Xi’s supervising manager, our MBS host.” Yin Zing Hou informed her.

“Congratulations to you.” Xiang Zhe quietly congratulated her at one corner. “Yong Xi, You and Xian Da are not friends enough, such a big secret and you didn’t tell me.”
“I thought you would be heartbroken!” Yong Xi humorously teased him.
“Yes! My heart is aching!” Xiang Zhe laughed.
“Is Shan Mei here, I bet you wouldn’t say that if she was here.” Yong Xi smirks at him.
Xiang Zhe raised his hands to surrender and both laughed at the same time.
“Oh! Can I borrow Shan Mei from you?” Yong Xi asked.
“That….we will have to see what it is for.” Xiang Zhe chuckled.

“Originally, I thought Yong Xi was going to be my daughter-in-law!” Yin Zing Hou said to Xiang Zhe once Yong Xi and her dad departed. Xiang Zhe smiled but didn’t say a word.
“You and Shan Mei…..things going well?” Yin Zing Hou looked at Xiang Zhe full of hope in his eyes.
“Yin Zing Hou smiled slightly, this was the first time he has seen his son with a look of embarrassment on his face.
“Shan Mei is a very charming girl; you are really fond of her?” Yin Zing Hou said. Xiang Zhe nods his head, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
“You need to go for it.” Yin Zing Hou said encouragingly.
“I will.” Xiang Zhe answered.

Xiang Zhe got to the cinema really early.
“How was the wedding?” He asked her.
“The groom and bride looked really happy together.” She smiled slightly as she answered.
For no apparent reason, her smile will always make him feel the happiness radiating from her.
“Yong Xi and Xian Da are getting married.” He said
“Really!?” She stared at Xiang Zhe with an astonished look. Xiang Zhe smilingly nods his head.
“That’s good!” “Yong Xi stopped by this afternoon to drop off the wedding invitation.”
“In the end, true lovers will be together, Xian Da Uncle must be in high spirits!” She suddenly stuck out her tongue, “Oh no, I forgot not to call Xian Da Uncle as uncle again!” She held his arm, giggled and said: “When I get home, I will have to tell dad the good news to let him be happy for Xian Da Uncle.”
“Look how overjoyed you are.” He saw the sunshine smile radiating from her.
“So jealous!” “That’s really good!” Xiang Zhe happily gazed at her.
“Yong Xi asked if you can be her maid of honor.” “Huh! Why me?” She alarmingly asked.
“She said you and her have the same taste.”
She was stunned for a second and a big brilliant smile appeared.
“Hmphf! Are the both of you hiding a secret from me?” Xiang Zhe questioned further as he saw her laughing mischievously.
“If it’s a secret, why would I tell you.” She was quietly laughing in her heart. She and Yong Xi definitely had the same taste; both of them fell for the same man at different times.

On the day of Yong Xi and Xian Da’s wedding, she appeared in front of his eyes wearing a bridesmaid’s dress that he just stared dumbfounded at her. She was wearing a white lace gown and was gorgeous beyond words that he could not take his eyes off of her.
“Xiang Zhe, couldn’t you at least congratulate me!” Yong Xi purposely teased him.
He smiled with embarrassment and said: “Congratulations to you! You look beautiful today.”
“That’s more like it.” Yong Xi answered.

Since Yong Xi’s father was also a well-known businessman, therefore the guests attending the wedding would no doubt be society’s elite. After Xiang Zhe greeted his close friends and performed his social duties, he went backstage to the bride’s rest quarters to find her. He found her leaning against the wall, outside the bride’s rest quarters staring off into space.
“Why are you here staring off into space?”
She saw him and felt a little annoyed, she asked: “What are you doing here?”
She had only gotten him to leave half an hour ago, if Yong Xi saw them together again; she would be questioning her to no end.
“Why aren’t you inside accompanying the bride?”
“Xian Da Uncle is inside.” She pointed towards the room.
“You better go back up front now!” She gave him a push.
“Can’t I see you for a while?” He wasn’t going to budge since there was no one around.
“Stop fooling around.” She grumbled.
“You look gorgeous today.” He gazed intently at her.
She bent her head a little in embarrassment: “Don’t be ridiculous, the bride is the most beautiful person today.”
“In my eyes, only you are the most beautiful.” He said passionately.
“You are annoying!” She felt blissful in her heart.
Xiang Zhe beamed as he held her shoulders.

“This is the last time I will be a bridesmaid.” She sighed.
“Why?”
“People say a girl can only be a bridesmaid three times or else she will not get married.”
“Is that right? What about a man?”
“I don’t know, why are you asking?”
“I’ve been a best man four or five times already, guess I wouldn’t end up as a bachelor for the rest of my life right?”
“Isn’t that what you wanted since you said you wanted to stay single!” She laughed as she teased him.
“Oh my, …one wrong remark and I get to regret this for the rest of my life, for once, can you NOT have such a good memory?” He sighed miserably.
“Too bad, there are some things that one can never forget for the rest of their life.” She smirked as she saw him roll his eyes.

Someone called out from the front of the stage to have the bride get ready.
“I have to go now.”
She walks to the doorway and turns around to smile at him. Taking a picture of her with his eyes, he felt a wave of contentment wash over him as he felt he was the happiest man on earth.

He felt even more ecstatic than she did as she caught Yong Xi’s bridal bouquet.
“I hear whoever catches the bouquet will be the next one to get married, right?” He whispers quietly in her ear. She blushes bright red and quickly walks away from him.
He gazed at her retreating figure, dreaming blissfully how magnificent she will look as a bride. On the way home that day, he stopped off at the Tiffany store in Sharaton……

He never thought in a million years that running into Shan Mei’s associate, Ziu Soen Ging, would cause him to be in such an agonizing predicament.
That day, he ran into Ziu Soen Ging as he was leaving the hotel after attending a seminar.
“Miss Ziu, if you are not in a hurry, why don’t we have lunch together?” He looked at his watch; it was already twelve o’clock. Xiang Zhe had wanted to treat her to lunch to thank her for introducing Shan Mei to him. If it weren’t for her, they would never have met.
“There’s no need.” Ziu Soen Ging tried to decline the offer but was moved by Xiang Zhe’s sincerity.
“The last time I saw you at the restaurant, I thought I had heard of your name before but couldn’t remember from where, and just now seeing you leave the broadcasting seminar, it hit me.”
“Miss Ziu has a very good memory.” Xiang Zhe comments.
“This girl…, Shan Mei, I have asked her numerous times but she plays dumb.”
She is shy but even in front of Ju; she would adamantly deny the relationship.
“To tell you the truth, I have to thank you for bringing us together.” Xiang Zhe remarked happily.
“Shan Mei is a lovely person, hard working with a charming personality. Her colleagues and clients have filed a long line to court her but all have ended with rejection and it looks like it is because her heart belongs to someone already.” Xiang Zhe beams.
He knew a long time ago that her heart belonged to him, but to hear it from someone else, he felt he was on cloud nine.
“You are very lucky to have Shan Mei love you so much.” Soen Ging beamed. “She has even given up the chance to further her studies in England. This has always been her dream; how did you convince her not to go?”
Xiang Zhe was stunned. She turned down the chance to study in England, and he didn’t even know. In a split second, his mind and heart were baffled.
“You said Shan Mei turned down the opportunity, when was this?”
“What….you mean, you didn’t know? I actually thought the two of you had discussed it.”
Actually, the company had sponsored Shan Mei to enter into a scholarship program and she won the scholarship with high marks. This is the first time a woman has won this high honor in is long history and everyone at the office had been proud of her but she informed Soen Ging that she wanted to give up this opportunity.
He remembered the incident where she mentioned that a good friend had won an international internship, she was actually talking about herself. How can she give up her life long dream? She turned down this opportunity essentially because of him.

Given that he was the cause of the problem, he felt miserable and guilt-ridden. He was torn between guilt and happiness that she would placed him in such high regards but he had also pledged to himself that he would make all her dreams come true and did not want her to regret her decision in the future.

On Friday night, both met up at a French restaurant for dinner.
“Hmphf … what are you thinking of? I have been chatting away but haven’t gotten any reaction from you.” She complained.
He seemed awfully quiet tonight. When he’s not quietly listening to her jabber away, he’s staring intently at her. She thought it might have something to do with the office and tried to rouse him out of his silence by saying something amusing, but he didn’t seem to hear a thing.
“Is something wrong at the office?” She inquired.
“No.” Xiang Zhe answered shaking his head.
“Yeah right!” She grumbled.
Xiang Zhe was in agony, it wasn’t easy to make the decision and he can’t waiver, not now.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t let work interfere with our dinner.” He lied.
“Remember we pledged that no one can think about work when we are at dinner and if they do, they will have to be punished. Did you forget?.”
“It’s my fault, I will bear the punishment, and just what do you have in mind?”
“I punish you……not to furrow your brows again tonight.” She chuckled.
Looking at her amused face and feeling the anguish in his heart, he can’t imagine how his days will pass without her by his side.
“**Sigh! How I really miss you!” He blurted suddenly.
She giggled and said, “Are you are nuts! Am I not sitting in front of you, why would you miss me?”
He really felt he was crazy for thinking of trying to persuade her to go to England.
“I have something for you.” Xiang Zhe pulled out a blue velvet box from his jacket and placed it in her hands.
He tried hard to force a smile but could not. “Why is he so serious?” She thought to herself.
She held the box but did not open it.
“What’s… inside?” She gingerly asked because Xiang Zhe’s expression caused her to feel uneasy and her heartbeat to race.
“Open it and see!” He said quietly.

Inside the box laid a crystal glass slipper, about the size of a finger, the exquisite workmanship made it shine brilliantly under the light. She was not happy as she stared at the small slipper and somberly said: “This is what you wanted to give me, this glass slipper?” “I kept the other one.” He held back his sadness and calmly answered her.
She stared intently at him and felt an indescribable sadness well up in her heart; the glass slipper is a memento for lovers who are separating.
“Why are you giving me this glass slipper?” She dejectedly asked with tears welling up in her eyes.

“I…..,” looking at her sad face, Xiang Zhe’s heart contracted, and all the things that he wanted to tell her stopped at the tip of his tongue.
“Don’t get the wrong idea.” He comforted her, “I want you to carry this with you no matter where you go or for how long. Just remember, I will always come find you, just as I will always be by your side.”

He had wanted to say, you shouldn’t give up the opportunity to go to England so easily, you should go study without any worries! But one look at her dejected expression, all the things that he wanted to say disappeared. When faced with question of love, he rather preferred to be selfish and wish she would stay by his side.

She started to smile with tears in her eyes. She wiped away the tears and gazed at the glass slipper that was in her hand and said” “Yin Xiang Zhe, you are sometimes more childish than me!”
He was really foolish; one doesn’t need to carry a memento to remember a person because that person resides in the heart. She puts the gift away into her bag.
“I promise never to stray far from you, that day will never happen.” She said with certainty.
She had vowed she would never ever leave him, did he forget?
She stared intently at him, her eyes shinning with assurance.
In her eyes, he saw her unwavering steadfast feeling for him, and also the joy and happiness that she radiated.

At that moment, he felt as if a great pressure had lifted, he truly understood what was in her heart and that she would never leave him.
This was a question without an absolute answer, so why force her to follow his wishes. Maybe her choice was the best solution to the problem.

Xiang Zhe contently gazed at her. In his heart, there was never a moment until now where he felt more assured and confident, the feeling of joy and happiness swelled up in his heart.