Chapter 97
Calmness flooded their hearts as they found solace in each other’s company. Gentle smiles replaced unrest of any kind.
Lin Mochen drove Mu Hanxia to the office. She had come over the weekend for a meeting to make the final preparations for the opening of the Yuejia next week.
Ten o’clock sharp.
In the meeting room, everyone that should be there from the business division had arrived, ready for a lively discussion. The truth was that many people’s expressions became a little subtle when they saw the first seat at the long table was still empty.
Mu Hanxia sat at the right-hand side of the first seat at the head table, looking at ease.
It had been two days since the night she broke into Lu Zhang’s villa and “lectured” him. Since then, the two of them hadn’t spoken to each other, and Lu Zhang still had not come to the office. Last night, she texted him the time and place of the meeting. She had also instructed Feng Nan to make sure it was passed on. In fact, if he didn’t come, Mu Hanxia’s determination to firmly advance Yuejia and the whole plan wouldn’t change one bit. As the clock ticked down, there was a slight sense of anticipation in her heart.
Whether Lu Zhang was worthy of her heart and soul depended on today.
Five minutes past ten.
Mu Hanxia lifted her head, the words to announce the start of the meeting were on her lips.
There was a soft sound and the door was pushed open before the first word was uttered. For a moment, time really did feel like it stood still. Everyone looked up at the same time to see a young man in a suit and a sober face walk in.
They breathed a sigh of relief almost simultaneously, and some of those who couldn’t hold their breath even had refreshed smiles on the corners of their mouths.
Mu Hanxia stared at Lu Zhang.
She had never seen him so well-groomed before. His short hair was combed without a hint of disarray, his black suit was extremely fine and soft, his white shirt was clean and straight, and his shoes were shiny and neat – although he had worn leather shoes before, those were casual and trendy. He even wore a dark red, striped tie. When in the business world facing an opening like this, one still looked for good omens. The president’s tie was in such a festive colour that many people would notice.
A vague smile appeared in Mu Hanxia’s eyes.
When he looked over, he met her gaze. His eyes were surprisingly as calm as water. The laziness and jumpiness of the past was swept away. His every move also seemed neat as he pulled out a chair and sat down beside her. Without any superfluous words, he lightly said, “Let’s start the meeting.”
Her heart moved silently. After knowing him for so long, at this moment, he finally looked like a true young leader.
The atmosphere seemed to be stirred a little because of his words and actions. The manager in charge of the project smiled and began to report.
Mu Hanxia raised her eyes and looked ahead, but the corners of her mouth finally curved up.
✧
After the meeting, Mu Hanxia went to the Yuejia shopping mall alone. It was evening, and the sun was shining on the brand-new building. Everything was ready, just waiting for the final push.
She stared up at the sign for a moment and was just about to enter when she heard a voice from behind her. “What are you staring at?”
Mu Hanxia laughed and said, “Would you believe me if I said I was a bit apprehensive?”
Lu Zhang stood beside her, “Believe it, why not. It’s not like you’re a saint who has seen through the world. You’re only 29 after all.”
She glanced at him and smiled, “Only 29? Thank you.” The guy who was always saying that she was an old woman had really changed his attitude today. Mu Hanxia thought to herself, it seems that scolding is still beneficial to him. But there was no need to say that to him.
Lu Zhang put his hands in his trouser pockets and looked up as well. He was already tall and handsome, but today he was so well-dressed, with a serious expression he looked like a calm man.
He suddenly said, “Carol, If I go down that road, will you accompany me?”
“What do you think?” She replied. “Of course I will.”
An extraordinarily gentle smile that softened Mu Hanxia’s heart pulled at his lips.
“Let’s go.” He lifted his chin towards the door of the Yuejia, “You walk in front. From now on, I will always follow you.”
Mu Hanxia was really touched by his straightforward words. She looked at his dark and untamed eyebrows, smiled a little and said, “No, Mr. Lu, you will walk in front, and I will follow you.”
Lu Zhang’s eyes changed slightly, he smiled down and suddenly grabbed her hand with an extra serious tone, “Good! Master, let’s go hand in hand and see the river and mountains together in the future and ride the waves!”
Mu Hanxia knew he was fooling around again. It was a man’s hand, but it was completely different from Lin Mochen’s. His hands were hot, and his movements were not gentle at all, grabbing her fingers casually and holding them tightly. Mu Hanxia quickly broke away saying, “Look, just look, what’s holding hands, what nonsense.” After saying that, she walked inside first with a bland expression.
Lu Zhang looked at her back and thought: is she an affectionate or a heartless woman? Not allowing other men, even an apprentice, touch her hand? What was so good about that man? Isn’t he just capable? Apart from being capable, what was so good about Lin Mochen?
He quickly chased after her, walking side by side with her when he caught up. After the two of them had looked at a few shops, he stood behind her and slowly asked, “Master, what do you think is the most important thing about a man? What would be considered a good man in your mind?”
Mu Hanxia gave him a look, “Why are you asking this?”
Lu Zhang folded his hands behind his head and smiled idly, “Don’t I want to turn over a new leaf and set a new goal in life?”
This reason was understood by Mu Hanxia. She thought for a moment and answered with the first thought that popped into her head, “Integrity, kindness, tolerance, commitment and a sense of social responsibility. This kind of man is the best man in my heart.”
Lu Zhang smiled, “Oh, I see, okay.” After thinking about it, he asked, “Does one need to be very powerful? Does one need to be a man who can call the shots at the mall and be well known?”
Mu Hanxia was amused by him, but replied, “Others don’t need it. But as the successor of the group, even if you can’t call the shots, you still need to be very powerful.”
Lu Zhang gave a salute, but his mood improved.
While Mu Hanxia continued to inspect the shops, she was a little distracted. Lu Zhang’s question suddenly reminded her of something Lin Mochen had said to her a long time ago.
He said, “Mu Hanxia, neither of us is a good match for each other.”
✧
After work, Lu Zhang wanted to find an excuse to ask Mu Hanxia to dinner, but she left in a hurry after answering a phone call.
It was getting dark, and Lu Zhang was not the only one who wanted to find her for dinner.
Lin Mochen stood in Feng Chen’s office on the top floor and picked up his mobile phone. The moment the call was answered, between his eyebrows, there was a gentleness that he himself didn’t notice.
“Hello? Have you eaten?”
The voice on the other end seemed to be outdoors and there was some noise. She paused for a moment before answering, “Mochen, I have something to do today, I’ll see you later.”
Lin Mochen said, “Okay.”
He hung up the phone and stood for a while longer. He pressed the intercom and his assistant quickly came in.
“Where did Mu Hanxia go today?” He asked.
The assistant’s expression remained unchanged. “She went back to Renshan Hospital today after the meeting at Fang Yi. Zhang Zi’s condition is still stable.”
Lin Mochen nodded, raising his eyes to look at the darkening sky that filled the city and the silent sea of lights below.
He had come closer to her, but had not yet truly entered her exquisite heart.
This novel is soooo close to the end—I hope we haven’t forgotten this gem and will get a complete translation soon 🙏🥹
Thanks a lot to all the the translation teams that translated this novel. You all are well appreciated from the bottom of my heart. God bless all of you. Keep up the good works.
Thanks a ton for the support, really means a lot. It’s cos of readers like you we feel motivated to bring quality stuff… but should we falter, please be kind to us. God bless you too, thanks again.
Dear Translation Team,
Thank you for posting this new chapter, and for bring an end to my torture. I have been dying to read the verbal exchange between Lin Mo Chen and Mu Han Xia since this is a pivotal chapter, and the machine-translation site on the web does not do a good at all. Having said that, I realized how important your translation team is to us English readers because there is NO English edition of Ding Mo’s book. I’ve looked 🙁 But if I am wrong, please slap me with the correct website and I humbly “thank you”.
A most humble thank you to you too!!! This support is like chicken blood to us. We are Ding Mo fans ourselves so will try and bring as many books of hers as possible. In the mean while, pls do puruse her compilation of shorts: https://whimsicalreads.com/series/three-short-stories/
Should you have a book you’d like to read, let us know we will be more than happy to translate it… after all, we are first readers too!
Dear Translation team, thank you for doing a great job translating this beautiful story about love and the struggles in life. I’ve come to cherish these two main characters-Lin MoChen and Mu HanXia and I hope that you will continues to tell us their story. This is perhaps one of my favorite novels from Ding Mo and I really hope (pray) that you will finish translating this novel. Thank you.
Hey Chezzie,
Thanks a ton for your support!!! <3
Hello Reader,
Thank you for being here and all the support. It means a lot. And if you’ve made the extra effort to leave a comment, thank you again for it shows you care.
‘Don’t Turn From Summer’ got off to a rough start, and we are here making amends. After all, few have never faltered. That said, WR does not wish to make any excuses and takes full responsibility for quality and is in the process of righting it as we speak. The current chapter being one such attempt.
Each one is different as is their take on things. While we will love the work of the previous TL, we are well aware in the difference between our styles. So, while comparisons are inevitable, we implore you not to judge us too harshly for we too are striving to bring forth the best rendition of one of our favorite authors. But rest assured, you will have a good time reading it.
Disappointed!! What happened to the translation quality??? The previous translator had done such an amazing job and now what we have is just a poorly translated work!!! Look, I’m not trying to be mean, but this story is amazing, it has a certain depth to it. so please, please dont destroy it with lousy translations. If you cant hold a candle to the story then please drop it, someone else might be willing to translate better. I love this story, I am a huge fan of it and when i saw the update i was over the moon but what i got was an utter disappointment with poor translation. So please if you think you can’t do a better job or at least as good as the previous translator then please drop it so that someone will have a shot at it but please DO NOT destroy the story and take away its joy of reading with half-assed and lousy translations!!!
Tannie Bear, thank you. We hear you. As readers first and a translation site later, we understand where you’re coming from and appreciate your candidness. Only a good friend will tell you when your face is looking dirty, so sorry and thank you again. We think we deserve a chance at it, so please humor us while we right the wrong.