Chapter 7: The Flower Falls on Another's House

  Gao Yuan returned to the hotel, it was still early, only two o'clock in the afternoon. He was thinking of finding something to do when he suddenly received a call: "Brother Yuan, why didn't you contact me when you came to Linhai?" Gao Yuan was taken aback, he really couldn't think of anyone he knew in Linhai City, and it was a girl's voice.

  Gao Yuan said, "Sorry, may I ask who you are?" The girl pouted and said, "You don't even recognize me? I'm Yan Jia!" Gao Yuan was taken aback: "How did you know I came to Linhai?" Yan Jia said, "I just talked to my classmates on the phone and heard them mention it." Gao Yuan asked, "What are you doing in Linhai too?" Yan Jia replied, "Let's talk when we meet, where are you?" Gao Yuan said, "I'm in room 301 of the Linhai Hotel." Yan Jia said, "I'll be right over."

  Yan Jia is a classmate of Gao Yuan, and they share the same tutor. Before coming to Linhai for an interview from Hengchun City, Gao Yuan heard their tutor complain that Yan Jia was never in school and didn't know where she had gone, and hadn't completed the assignments given to her. Gao Yuan thought: "So she's run off here, I'll have to tell our tutor when I get back." Suddenly, he remembered a piece of gossip about Yan Jia.

  The news says that Yan Jia hooked up with Hu Zhengda, a big entrepreneur in Linhai City, and the whole process is full of legendary colors. It turns out that Yan Jia and Su Ziran were roommates, and Su Ziran had a boyfriend named Jin Qi during her undergraduate studies. Jin Qi went to work in Linhai after graduating from college, and his boss was Hu Zhengfei. Last year, Boss Hu wanted to go on a business trip to Hengchun City, so Jin Qi asked Su Ziran to entertain him. Su Ziran thought it would be inconvenient for one person to do it alone, so she also brought Yan Jia along. However, Yan Jia and Boss Hu only met once, but somehow they got in touch with each other, and less than half a month later, the boss started quarreling with his wife over divorce. The reason was that Boss Hu had already hooked up with Yan Jia. What's even more annoying is that Boss Hu also fired Jin Qi, reportedly because Yan Jia was afraid that Jin Qi would leak the news after learning about it. Yan Jia didn't want to make the news public, after all, breaking up a family isn't a glorious thing to do. Originally, Su Ziran and Yan Jia were extremely good friends, but after this incident, the two became like strangers. As soon as someone mentions Yan Jia, Su Ziran becomes furious.

  Gaoyuan couldn't help but think of the news, unsure whether to believe it or not. If he didn't believe it, the message was vivid and convincing. But if he did believe it, Gaoyuan thought it was impossible. He thought: "Yan Jia is talented and beautiful, and she's a young unmarried woman from a good family. How could she suddenly give herself to a man she had only met once? And what's more, that man is an old married man who has been married for many years."

  Gao Yuan suddenly remembered that it was said that Hu Lao Ban's first wife had once come to Yan Jia's doorstep, crying and begging Yan Jia to take pity on her. She told Yan Jia that she and Hu Lao Ban had built their business from scratch and it wasn't easy for them to get where they were today. But Yan Jia only said one sentence: "You go discuss it with him, what can I do?" Gao Yuan felt that Yan Jia didn't seem like such an unfeeling person. In school, she always smiled before speaking, her voice was extremely gentle, and he had even had a crush on her once. One time, they had even drunk four bottles of beer together and hugged each other on the small hill east of campus after getting drunk.

  Gao Yuan was deep in thought when the phone rang. It was Yan Jia saying she had almost arrived, so Gao Yuan hurried downstairs to pick her up. Every time a bus stopped in front of him, he stared intently at the doors, but Yan Jia's figure never appeared. Just as Gao Yuan was getting puzzled, a BMW suddenly stopped in front of him and the window rolled down. A girl with long hair and a beautiful face leaned out, looking elegant and charming. Gao Yuan was shocked and exclaimed "Yan Jia!" Yan Jia smiled sweetly and got out of the car. From inside the car came a man's voice: "I'll wait for you in the basement, call me when you're ready to leave."

  The man's voice sounded extremely respectful, and Yan Jia explained to Gao Yuan: "My driver, a full-time driver." Gao Yuan then knew that the rumor should be true, if not, how could Yan Jia have a full-time driver. For a moment, Gao Yuan was filled with mixed emotions, he took a look at Yan Jia, who still looked like before, with an innocent and gentle appearance. He thought: "I guess Old Hu is infatuated with her looks, unexpectedly, Yan Jia has become someone else's woman so quickly!"

  Gao Yuan felt a little downhearted, actually he had the chance to have Yan Jia. He remembered that when he first entered school, Yan Jia's eyes lit up when she saw him, and on the same day, his classmates told him that Yan Jia was secretly asking about his name. Later, the two chose the same supervisor, and they had more opportunities to be together, Yan Jia always chatted with him for no reason, and between them, there were some unspoken understandings.

  That time on the small hill, both I and Yan Jia were very excited, whether it was the stimulation of alcohol or true feelings, Yan Jia fell into a completely unguarded state. Moreover, we were in a secluded area deep in the woods, where few people passed by, so no matter what I did, I wouldn't encounter Yan Jia's resistance or external disturbances. But I was really stupid, I forcefully suppressed my physiological urges and only hugged her. It was clear that at the time, Yan Jia was very disappointed, perhaps she changed her ways and fell for someone else because of that disappointment.

  Gao Yuan was thinking about the past while walking with Yan Jia to the upstairs, and they entered the room. Gao Yuan couldn't help but let out a sigh. Yan Jia asked: "Brother Yuan, what are you sighing about?" Gao Yuan originally wanted to say that he only realized the value of something after losing it, but then thought better of it, as he couldn't say that because Yan Jia didn't want others to know about her relationship with Hu Lao Ban. So Gao Yuan changed his words: "I'm afraid I won't pass the exam for the Lin Hai Supervision Bureau." Yan Jia said: "Don't lose heart, passing is best, but even if you don't pass, you can consider coming to Lin Hai to find a job. With your abilities, you can easily find a good job anywhere." Gao Yuan asked: "Why do I have to come to Lin Hai?" Yan Jia hesitated for a moment before saying: "Actually, I want to be with you."

  Gaoyuan was taken aback: "You're someone with a private car to pick you up, how can I possibly keep up with that? I'm just a poor and insignificant scholar." Yan Jia gazed at him, her face full of sorrow: "I reckon you've also heard those things, people who don't know think I'm very common, but who knows that I really had no choice?"

  Gao Yuan's heart skipped a beat: "Could it be that you have some hidden situation?" Yan Jia lowered her head, and for a long time, she was speechless. Finally, she raised her head, and to his surprise, there were two clear tears in her eyes. Gao Yuan handed her a tissue, but she took it without wiping away the tears, just letting them roll around in her eye sockets. Gao Yuan asked: "What injustice have you suffered?"

  Yan Jia buried her head in the bed, sobbing and pounding the sheets with both hands, her body shaking. Gao Yuan walked to her side and said: "Jiajia, what's wrong with you?"

  Yan Jia suddenly burst into tears, crying and saying in a tone of unbearable pain: "Far brother, I was wronged by Hu Zhengfei!"