Received A Wife From The Civil Affairs Bureau Ch.28

Thinking that Shen Yumo was ignoring her, Jiang Ziquan thought that she might’ve fallen asleep. She turned to her side and turned off the lamp, placed her phone on the bedside table, put on the sleep mask she got from the hotel staff and prepared to sleep as well. 

Jiang Ziquan had quite a hectic day and the bed was incredibly soft. At first, she thought that she would be unable to sleep because Shen was Yumo lying beside her and she’ll be unable to contain her excitement. However, with Shen Yumo’s familiar and calming scent filling her nose, her heart settled and she couldn’t keep her exhaustion at bay. 

A few moments later, she was fast asleep. 

On the other hand, Shen Yumo had just listened to Jiang Ziquan pour out her feelings and this caused her own heart to feel strange. As she was lost in her own thoughts, suddenly she heard shallow breathing from the person beside her. Slowly, she turned gently to her right. She wanted to see Jiang Ziquan’s sleeping face. However, the hotel prided itself on the state of the art technology so that when the lights are off, it is almost completely dark. She could only vaguely see Jiang Ziquan’s outline and could smell the light fragrance of the rose bath drifting off of her. 

Shen Yumo moved closer, almost to the point where she could feel Jiang Ziquan’s breaths on her. 

The sleeping Jiang Ziquan only felt that her neck feel slightly itchy and unconsciously push whatever was bothering her away and then flipped over to her other side. 

“Hiss…”

Shen Yumo was in great pain and her brows furrowed together. However, she was afraid to disturb Jiang Ziquan and hurriedly covered her mouth as she touched her head. 

Jiang Ziquan had accidentally pulled on Shen Yumo’s hair when her nails caught on them and so now Shen Yumo’s hairline area felt a little sore. She gave Jiang Ziquan a silent glare. She looks so thin and frail so how come she is so strong?

With this one move, her strange thoughts disappeared and a little afraid that Jiang Ziquan might accidentally punch her or something, she moved a little further away. A little space opened up between the two. 

The wind outside roared fiercely but it did nothing to the warmth inside the room. 

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Shen Yumo rubbed her eyes blearily and picked up her phone lying on the table. It was seven o’clock, about half an hour later than she usually would wake up. 

In order to create the most optimal atmosphere, the hotel purposely installed blinds that kept the light out. It was still early so it looked like it was still night time. 

Shen Yumo turned her head to glance at the Jiang Ziquan still sleeping soundly next to her. She was in the same sleeping position and although her sleep mask covered most of her face, her small mouth and long nose were still exposed. 

After staring at her for a while, Shen Yumo whispered, “Her looks are good.”

Too bad she’s such a sweet talker. 

Shen Yumo didn’t like to disturb others, especially if they’re sleeping, and after laying there on the bed for half an hour without feeling sleepy, she got up. 

She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and put on some light makeup. Jiang Ziquan seemed to hear the noise but only stirred a little and didn’t show any signs of waking up. 

“Is she that tired?” Shen Yumo shrugged and put on her scarf. She wanted to look around Beilin for a bit and maybe buy some breakfast along the way. 

Shen Yumo carefully opened the door and walked out. However, the sound of her high-heels click-clacking on the floor echoed in the quiet hallway. She frowned. It was natural that no one else would be walking in the halls because, after all, the guests at the love hotel would not get up as early as she did. As for the reason why….that caused her to blush a bit. 

“Can I help you with anything?” The receptionist at the front desk wore a sleepy expression but still did her job with a smile on her face. After all, the hotel prided itself on this outstanding service. 

Shen Yumo paused and then shook her head, “I want to walk around outside a bit, that’s all.”

“Very well. Have fun and stay safe.” The receptionist bowed and watched Shen Yumo leave.

The receptionist remembered when Jiang Ziquan and Shen Yumo checked in last night, they left quite a visually pleasing first impression after all. However, she thought that with Jiang Ziquan’s appearance that Jiang Ziquan would be on top but unexpectedly this lady came out first. Maybe the other lady’s technique isn’t good or something and that’s why she got up so early. Either way, it would be something to gossip about and she curiously watched Shen Yumo from the front desk. 

Shen Yumo could feel the eyes on her and it made her feel uncomfortable so she sped up her pace. The atmosphere outside the hotel was better as she stepped into the open and she finally relaxed. 

Since it was so close to the New Year’s, the liveliness of Beilin could not be compared to the small city of Beijin. The shops were filled to the brim with festive decoration and one could see that bright red covering the entire street. [1] A few days ago she overheard Jiang Ziquan ordering some red lanterns to hang up in her restaurant, so the restaurant would probably be covered in red too when they return. 

It was still somewhat dark outside and the cold air howled and brushed against her face. She was only wearing a light mask so one could only see her eyes but it didn’t block out the cold, causing her to shiver a little. 

There were a few shops selling breakfast not far from her so she hurriedly made her way over to them. She wanted to quickly buy some food and return so Jiang Ziquan won’t get worried when she finally woke up and noticed that Shen Yumo was not there. 

“Boss, one basket of steamed buns and two cups of soy milk please.”

If she remembered correctly, Jiang Ziquan liked eating this type of combo meal in the morning. Since there weren’t many people, she was able to order quickly and then hurriedly placed her hands into her coat pockets. The winter in Beilin was just too cold. 

“Here you go.”

After Shen Yumo got her order she didn’t bother staying around to shop. It would be better to drag Jiang ZIquan out with her later and shop together. They can spend the afternoon looking around and then go to Su Yan’s concert later in the evening. 

Jiang Ziquan had no idea that Shen Yumo had already bought breakfast and was still busy sleeping. The reason she slept so late was that her biological clock tended to force her to stay up late, giving her a night owl’s sleep pattern. Also, the bed was extremely comfortable and met all her picky requirements. Even if she wanted to wake up, her body wouldn’t let her. 

Shen Yumo also couldn’t do anything and decided to warm up the breakfast. Then she grabbed Jiang Ziquan’s clothes to take them downstairs for a wash. Perhaps her movements this time were too loud because Jiang Ziquan finally woke and pushed her sleep mask up like a pair of swimming goggles. 

She looked around the room groggily and with a confused voice she said, “It’s so early.” The voice was thick and husky with a somewhat still sleepy tone to it. She fumbled around in the blankets. 

“It’s already past nine. Time to get up and eat.” Shen Yumo set down the clothes and put some food on the plate she set to the side for Jiang Ziquan. 

Jiang Ziquan grumpily rolled around a few more times before she finally sat up and picked up her phone. She squinted at her screen. It was exactly one minute past nine. She scratched her head. 

“Alright, I’m getting out.”

Jiang Ziquan wasn’t going to argue with Shen Yumo and jumped out of the bed, throwing on some random clothes. She yawned loudly and asked as she changed, “What did you buy?”

Hearing her question, Shen Yumo glanced at her. Jiang Ziquan’s back was exposed. The skin on her back looked white and tender, yet at the same time looked toned with a nice definition. She turned her head back around quickly, however, she had to admit that Jiang Ziquan is a beautiful woman with a nice figure that looked good from any angle. A figure like that drives men crazy and as for women….well, women would appreciate that body even more. 

Can you blame girls for preferring beautiful things?

Shen Yumo blushed and stammered, “J-just some steamed buns.”

“What?” Jiang Ziquan was tying up her hair and didn’t hear clearly. She slowly walked out with a pair of slippers on her feet. 

Realizing that Jiang Ziaquan was walking toward her, Shen Yumo sat up stiffly and tried to make herself appear calm. She didn’t have time to say anything before Jiang Ziquan arrived in front of her with her tall and long legs.

“Why is your face so red? Did you get sick?” 

Jiang Ziquan bent down and stretched out her right hand to press against Shen Yumo’s forehead gently and pressed her left hand against her own forehead. 

Shen Yumo quickly pushed her hand away and moved to the side, and whispered, “I’m fine, it’s just a little warm in here.”

“If you say so.”

Jiang Ziquan looked over the food on her plate and leaned down to take a sniff. Inhaling deeply she then waved her hands in a dramatic manner, “Ah it seems that my dear dietician has made another nutritional meal today.”

“Stop joking around and eat.” The corners of Shen Yumo’s mouth twitched and threatened to lift up. She stifled her laughter and pushed Jiang Ziquan gently, pretending to be angry. 

“Yes, ma’am!” Jiang Ziquna saluted and then quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face. 

Under Teacher Shen’s supervision, the two finished their breakfast around ten.

Since it was still early, Jiang Ziquan wanted to go out shopping with Shen Yumo. However, she never expected her Teacher that she hadn’t seen in a long time would call her. Hurrying into a corner, she picked up the phone. Chen Chen liked to run her mouth for hours on end and sometimes she would reply back with a sentence or two, but she couldn’t ignore this beloved teacher of hers because then Shen Yumo might think she was being unreliable again. 

Although Chen Chen was very kind towards her, Jiang Ziquan felt somewhat fearful in her heart. Chen Chen is a wealthy second generation with amazing talents and regularly featured in many prominent financial magazines as a young, successful CEO. In front of this godlike figure, Jiang Ziquan could only be regarded as a rookie. 

Chen Chen liked Jiang Ziquan because she felt that Jiang Ziquan had a good eye on her and would sometimes bring her along on important business matters. They got along pretty well, but last time since Jiang Zitao was getting married she didn’t have the time to tease and hang out with Jiang ZIquan. 

Jiang Ziquan glanced over at Shen Yumo who was busy writing something in her journal and made sure she wouldn’t be overheard. 

“What’s up?”

“I heard you two are in Belin right now and I was wondering if you guys wanted to visit the backstage for Su Yan’s concert?”

The noise on the other side of the phone was a bit loud and so Chen Chen repeated it one more time to the shocked Jiang Ziquan. She also said that she had something to discuss with Jiang Ziquan.

Jiang Ziquan felt that this was a rare opportunity that one couldn’t pass up and hurried over to Shen Yumo to ask for her opinion.

“You are so in love that it’s embarrassing.” Chen Chen could also guess from Jiang Ziquan’s silence what she was thinking and teased her mercilessly. 

Jiang Ziquan repeated Chen Chen’s words and watched as Shen Yumo’s hand that was writing stopped. She looked up, her eyes clearly indicating that she wanted to refuse. 

Jiang Ziquan coughed, “Um, Sister Chen, it seems like we have other things to do today.”

After hearing Jiang Ziquan speak, a chuckle sounded on the other side, “Give your phone to your wife for a second. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything that’ll make you look bad.”

Jiang Ziquan handed over the phone with an unwilling expression. She watched Shen Yumo’s reaction and saw something weird. Why did Shen Yumo look at her legs and then at her chest?

Alarm bells ringed loudly in her head. She had a terrible feeling that Chen Chen, that evil capitalist, was conjuring up some diabolical scheme. 

She watched as Shen Yumo said in a serious tone, “I understand.”

“?????”

Jiang Ziquan took the phone back and looked at Shen Yumo with suspicion but could not decipher anything. She stared as Shen Yumo started packing up with a blank expression. Thinking that Chen Chen, this bossy fellow, had said something about her, she rubbed her nose and asked, “What did you say to her?” 

On the other side, Chen Chen calmly accepted the freshly brewed coffee from her assistant and took a sip. In an unhurried manner that would frustrate anybody, she said, after a long period of silence, just two words,

“A secret.” 

Then she hung up the phone. 

Jiang Ziquan cursed quietly, an annoyed expression on her face as her explosive temper was brought to the surface.

She sat down in front of Shen Yumo, her cheeks puffed up as she frowned. 

Her bad mood was so obvious, it was like the words, ‘I’m angry, come and appease me’ was written on her forehead.

Shen Yumo tilted her head at this childish side of Jiang Ziquan she was seeing for the first time. Jiang Ziquan hadn’t put on any makeup yet, meaning that her ‘temptress’ look had faded away and now there was a sense of naivety around her. Furthermore, the expression on Jiang Ziquan’s face was one that she saw her students a lot. 

Shen Yumo took a small step forward and bent down, one hand patting Jiang Ziquan’s hand and the other on her knee, and her expression softened, “She didn’t say anything bad about you, so don’t be angry anymore, okay?”

Stunned by the bright smile, Jiang Ziquan no longer remembered why she was angry and asked, “Are you really near-sighted?”

Shen Yumo straightened and gave her a confused look. Why would she lie about that?

“Because I think I can see the stars and the sea in your eyes.”

Shen Yumo froze. Jiang Ziquan’s expression was serious and filled with a little bit of longing. However, Shen Yumo thought that Jiang Ziquan’s chestnut eyes were even more beautiful than her own. They were like wine that had been fermented for years. The more one sipped, the tastier it became. 

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The two finally finished packing and walked out of the door to see a Porsche waiting for them. Jiang Ziquan recognized this car, it was one of many from Chen Chen’s collections of luxury cars. 

She bit her lip, she wanted to buy a car like this sometime. 

Jiang Ziquan didn’t recognize the driver and asked him if he knew what Chen Chen was here for. 

The driver had a square face and looked like the type that hated communicating with others. He only said one concise word, 

“Work.”

That cold tone made the hair on the back of her neck freeze. She shivered and whispered into Shen Yumo’s ear, “If I had to work with people who speak like him, I would probably suffocate from the silence.”

On the other hand, Shen Yumo actually wanted Jiang Ziquan to speak less sometimes. She was even worried that Jiang Ziquan might get a sore throat from talking too much, “It’s good to talk less to other people sometimes.”

Jiang Ziquan froze for about two seconds before cheekily rubbing her head against Shen Yumo’s arm, causing her to feel ticklish, “So you were feeling jealous~”

“Not at all.” Shen Yumo pushed her away and moved further down, afraid that Jiang Ziquan might pounce on her again. 

The driver listened to the conversation coming from the back and now understood why his boss had ordered him to talk less around Jiang Ziquan. So it turned out it was because Miss Jiang has some problems with her brain. 

Jiang Ziquan had no idea that the driver was ridiculing her, she was too busy reveling in the sweetness of what just happened. Teacher Shen is jealous!!! It was like fireworks lit up inside her heart.

The driver was also responsible for their safety and gave them two pairs of sunglasses as their car stopped and they entered a giant building. After many twists and turns, he walked them to their destination. 

The final destination was a very simple area with only a sofa and a coffee table, not at all like a place fit for a second generation. 

“President Chen, I have brought them.” The driver stated simply, bowed, and then retreated. 

Jiang Ziquan dragged Shen Yumo to sit with her on the sofa and the secretary set a cup of tea in front of them. The first sentence she said to her dear Teacher was, “I thought your driver couldn’t say more than three words at a time.”

“His name is Ah-Quan, a former veteran.” Chen Chen took off her sunglasses and rubbed her temples and she walked over to them and then greeted Shen Yumo, “Hello, I am Chen Chen.”

Shen Yumo nodded in return. 

Chen Chen then told them that Su Yan was rehearsing right now and that if they wanted to go watch, they could go right now. It was better than the concert version. 

Jiang Ziquan felt it was strange. Su Yan’s concert doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Chen Chen. So why was Chen Chen putting so much thought onto Su Yan’s concert?

In Jiang Ziquan’s eyes, Chen Chen was a serve workaholic that was even worse than her. Her brother had to send her a wedding invitation to his wedding half a year in advance so that she could find time to go. 

Maybe she has something going on with Miss Su?

The love story between a business giant and a famous actress was bread and butter for most love novels, so it wasn’t rare at all. Thinking like this, Jiang Ziquan looked at her with bright eyes filled with admiration. 

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T/N notes:

[1] The color red is supposed to be festive and is used often during Chinese New Year’s for decorating windows, doors, lanterns, etc.

*Chen Chen is Jiang Ziquan’s friend and also her ‘master’ because she taught everything she knew about design to Jiang Ziquan. She was mentioned in the earlier chapters. 

I just realized this but some people might think the name ‘Chen Chen’ is rather weird because it repeats itself. That’s because the two characters are actually written differently in Chinese. In Chinese, the first ‘Chen’ is the surname type but the second ‘Chen’ means morning or daybreak. It’s pronounced differently too. So it might look awkward in English but that’s how it is.

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