◎Your Cup of That 12◎
2
Is this the karma for spending five bucks of my ex-boyfriend's money?
Ning Ye wasn't the least bit curious about how Bian Xun knew her address.
As an employee, her information was practically transparent to him. As for Bian Xun's situation during his years abroad, she knew nothing.
The only thing she knew for sure was that her ex-boyfriend's pettiness and tendency to hold grudges hadn't changed a bit.
To make matters worse, she was the one who initiated the breakup back then.
Ning Ye felt a wave of melancholy about her career prospects when her phone rang. An earnest, gentle male voice came through:
"Respected Platinum Moon Court Black Card holder, hello! It is our honor to provide you with customized, exclusive service."
Ning Ye was startled.
Was this the level of service five dollars warranted?
"Holding this card grants you unlimited spending without preset limits, supporting global multi-currency settlement; we will wholeheartedly provide you with life privileges, including reserved seats in VIP lounges at major airports, VIP viewing positions for global top-tier sporting events, priority reservations at global Michelin three-star restaurants, VIC client experiences with top global luxury brands, as well as exclusive maintenance services for private jets and yachts; a 24-hour butler is on standby for you at all times..."
At the end of the call, the man asked in a warm, magnetic voice if she needed to book the upcoming WTA tennis tournament in Abu Dhabi. Ning Ye was silent for a moment before saying she needed to check her assistant's schedule; the other party immediately expressed understanding, waited upon her as if bathed in spring breeze, and gently hung up.
Ning Ye slowly stood up.
Her ex-boyfriend's wealth was admittedly infuriating, but holding his fortune in her hand was also incredibly refreshing.
Actually, when they first met, she had thought he was some kind of poor-but-handsome campus heartthrob. Ning Ye was a freshman, he was a senior; they weren't in the same department and only met because they both fought for the same library seat.
Throughout her four years of university, Ning Ye competed for scholarships every year. On days without early classes, she would always go early to claim that window seat—the one closest to the hot water and with the most convenient power outlet.
She later found out that Bian Xun, of course, wasn't there for scholarships. His family had even donated money to the university.
He fought for that seat because of his obsessive-compulsiveness.
He was the kind of neurotic who, once he fixated on something, refused to accept any changes.
After they got together, Bian Xun took her to the same restaurant ten times, at the same time, sitting at the same table, ordering the same dishes.
Walking side by side on the tree-lined campus paths, he had to be on the left, her on the right, their pace perfectly synchronized, their rhythm matching, only then would he hold her hand.
They were intimate too, but only on Friday nights. Even if he seemed driven wild, he would stick to a fixed duration.
Once time was up, he would withdraw immediately, just like Cinderella's magic wand.
Sometimes Ning Ye would want to continue because of those lean, defined muscles and the burning desire in his otherwise restrained dark eyes, but Bian Xun, no matter how hard it was to quell the urge, stuck to once a week.
His level of rational self-control was almost inhuman.
So, even though Ning Ye now had no idea how the child came into this world,
it must have been on a Friday night.
And it was Bian Xun who, definitively, wanted it.
...
Disjointed. It was all so disjointed.
Six years broken up, not a single meeting—for adults, that was practically equivalent to being strangers, less familiar than the old man in her neighborhood.
Yet the child's appearance seemed to stitch their mouths together, reconnecting places that should no longer be linked.
Ning Ye pulled her thoughts back and looked down, meeting the child's clear, large eyes. She suddenly felt a bit ashamed.
The child looked more like Ning Ye; only upon closer inspection could you see the resemblance to that man in the eyebrows, hair color, and bridge of the nose.
Ning Ye's hair was a natural tea-brown, while Bian Xun's was thick, jet-black, and sharp. Their skin tones, one warm and one cool, blended in the child into a soft white.
The child often mentioned her dad but had never actively asked to go find him.
Truth be told, Ning Ye had considered swallowing her embarrassment and confronting Bian Xun about the child.
But the thought of the Bian family would instantly cloud her otherwise light and peaceful mood with discomfort.
Back in university, many people had eagerly gossiped about Bian Xun's family background. The Bian family had deep, extensive roots in Jing City, and Bian Xun was the most outstanding of his generation. The family factions behind him were complex, their rules strict and severe; from a modern perspective, they were practically feudal remnants, yet they wielded immense and terrifying power and wealth.
Such a family would never accept a child born "out of wedlock."
If discovered, should she tell them the child came from the future?
The child would probably be whisked away for experiments that very night.
Ning Ye had absolutely no desire to be involved with the Bian family again. Besides, her current relationship with Bian Xun was worse than that of strangers.
Large corporations were full of eyes and ears. Just two days after joining, Sister Zhou couldn't resist sharing several juicy company rumors with her, including the widely circulated story of a female employee who deliberately tried to create a situation to be alone with President Bian, only to be coldly and ruthlessly kicked out.
Ning Ye listened, terrified. Before reaching the position she aspired to, she didn't want to become the subject of any gossip.
Of course, the most direct reason for not letting Bian Xun know was—
His money had arrived.
Ning Ye held the black card, calculating in her mind.
Five dollars was just testing the waters. Raising a child would cost a fortune.
"Tomorrow, we'll go look at apartments first," she told the child.
Once the budget increased, the number of properties she could choose from was almost moving.
The little girl obediently nodded upon hearing this.
Usually, whatever Mom said went, but she couldn't help being puzzled: "Mommy, we have so many houses. Why are we renting?"
Ning Ye was caught off guard, once again stunned by the sheer scale of her ex-boyfriend's wealth. She took a sharp breath and explained, "Because... those houses aren't ours right now. If we moved in, it would be trespassing."
"How could it be trespassing?" The four-year-old girl's comprehension was already extraordinary. She scratched her head. "The Happy Home on the 21st floor, Building 5, Rongtai New City, the password is 180230."
Ning Ye was stunned. Those numbers sounded so familiar.
Wasn't that... wasn't that her university student ID number?
The child's memory was remarkably good. She quickly rattled off another address: "The gate code for No. 17 Courtyard, Guanghua Mansion is 190217."
That was the date she and Bian Xun got together.
Ning Ye fell silent.
She began to question why she remembered that.
"And then Ningyu Garden, Unit 8, #801. The password is 896085."
This was... what was this?
She couldn't figure out the meaning of this string of numbers for a long time. It wasn't until she led the child, who had just finished a mooncake, to wash her hands and face, wiped off the sleepy drool, and looked up to see her own well-proportioned, delicate figure in the mirror that she suddenly understood.
Those were her measurements...!
Ning Ye's face flushed bright red.
Was Bian Xun out of his mind?
...
Thanks to the child narrowing down the scope, Ning Ye successfully excluded neighborhoods containing Bian Xun's properties.
On the first day of the long holiday, Ning Ye had already circled several residential areas around the company on the rental map.
Wujiang Group was located in the very heart of Jing City. The property prices went without saying, and rents were correspondingly inflated.
The apartment she needed to find had to prioritize her commute to the company, with proximity to a kindergarten being the second most important factor.
She had been worried that no agencies would be working during the holiday, but to her surprise, as soon as a link popped up on the rental app, someone was available to show her properties. The agent even asked enthusiastically if she worked at Wujiang Group, mentioning that many of her colleagues lived in that very complex.
Ning Ye paused for a moment, then decisively chose Xialu Garden, another complex 500 meters further away, which happened to be right next to a kindergarten.
After communicating online, Ning Ye took the child and headed out.
They took the subway. The little girl was especially happy, clutching Ning Ye's hand tightly. They weaved through the crowded train until they found a seat, and the girl eagerly offered it to Ning Ye as if presenting a treasure.
Ning Ye initially felt uncomfortable. To others, two people who looked so alike were obviously mother and daughter. But she had only been working for two years; being under twenty-five with a four- or five-year-old girl seemed premature. It inevitably invited societal impressions like "love-struck," "revolving around husband and kids too early," or "not highly educated"...
She had the child sit down and stood in front of her, maintaining her composure while feeling the frequent glances from slightly behind.
After two stops, the people blocking the aisle got off, and Ning Ye finally heard the whispers behind her.
"Her mom is so young! So pretty!"
"Her kid is so adorable too! Ahhh, hurry up and ask that question!"
"Her baby could definitely be a child model!!"
Ning Ye was taken aback. She looked down to see the girl smiling up at her with round, dark grape-like eyes, one little hand earnestly trying to support the bag at Ning Ye's side.
"The child's father must be very handsome too!"
"Not necessarily."
"If he were that handsome, he wouldn't let his wife and kid take the subway."
Ning Ye: "..." Awkward.
After meeting up with the agent, they entered the complex to view the properties.
At the entrance of Xialu Garden, a black Maybach slowly came to a stop.
The man leaned back indifferently in the rear seat, listening as Assistant Zhang turned and said, "President Bian, please wait a moment. As you requested, Bian Ziwen's non-compliant contract materials are at my place, perfectly safe. I'll go get them right now."
Bian Xun lifted his dark eyes, glancing at the shops outside the complex. "You live here?"
Assistant Zhang smiled. "Actually, the complex up ahead is closer to the company, but my child is about to start kindergarten, so we chose this one."
Suddenly remembering that President Bian seemed to have an extreme aversion to children, he promptly cut himself short, got out of the car, and went to retrieve the documents.
The National Day holiday appeared calm on the surface, but beneath it, turbulent undercurrents were already swirling within the group, about to crest with the first wave.
Some people's rise to power was destined not to be ordinary.
The forces of the old families would be reshuffled one by one.
Yet the man at the eye of the storm simply leaned back quietly, his cool, handsome features half-concealed by lowered eyelids.
...
Inside the complex.
Ning Ye followed the agent to several units and was quite satisfied.
The building wasn't brand new, but the condition was excellent, far better than her current rental. The complex had good basic amenities. Seeing she had a child, the agent also explained the situation with the nearby kindergarten—a reputable public one.
Ning Ye was a thorough person at work; she needed to investigate the specifics further, as just listening to the agent wasn't reliable. However, after looking around, she had already taken a liking to a small two-bedroom unit priced at 7500.
When one has options, it brings a sense of ease. Despite the agent's smooth, practiced sales pitch, she didn't commit immediately.
She would cover part of the rent, after all, she would be living there too.
After walking all morning, from the north gate to the south gate, the child quietly tugged Ning Ye towards the shopping mall across from the complex. It wasn't until they reached the bubble tea shop entrance that Ning Ye belatedly realized the little one was tired.
She had the child sit in the shop first, then went to the counter to order, failing to notice the Maybach across the street whose window was slowly rolling down.
When Bian Xun looked up, he saw her tilting her head to read the menu.
People came and went in the bubble tea shop; there were a few children. She stood among them, the hem of her shirt swaying behind her in a clean arc, like an untainted jasmine flower.
Bian Xun's gaze was indifferent, the light in his eyes beneath his brow bone hidden in shadow. He let out a faint, derisive snort.
Six years had passed, and she was still drinking this cheap junk.
Ning Ye proceeded methodically.
First, she ordered a cup of hot plain milk for the child, charging it to Bian Xun's black card.
Then, she ordered a Da Hong Pao milk foam tea for herself, paying with her own Alipay.
While waiting for the drinks, she remembered the early days of knowing Bian Xun, when she had even made the awkward joke, "Your share is 13."
After the seat-scrambling incident ended, Bian Xun still showed up frequently. Once, they even entered a bubble tea shop side by side.
Once inside, he didn't order, just frowned at the buckets holding milk and toppings. He didn't take out his phone to order, yet stood right next to Ning Ye. Out of awkwardness, Ning Ye had to order two cups first and then ask him to split the cost.
She later found out the young master didn't drink such low-quality creamer at all. When her university friends learned she had asked Bian Xun to split the cost of bubble tea, they laughed until their beds shook, finding the whole thing hilarious.
Did he ever end up paying her back? Ning Ye couldn't remember.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed many passersby exclaiming over a luxury car parked by the roadside. Looking over, she suddenly caught sight of a face etched with mockery.
Ning Ye was startled. Fortunately, from his angle, he couldn't see inside the shop. She grabbed the drinks, took the child's hand, and slipped out through the mall.
Your share is 12, for the kid.
Paid in full on your behalf, okay?
The doorbell of the bubble tea shop chimed again.
A tall, elegant young man in a tailored suit walked in, and the room instantly fell quiet. The aura of someone in a position of power was impossible to suppress, making him utterly out of place. Light fell from his well-defined brow bone down his nose, its side profile as if carved, the curve of his thin lips precise like fine brushwork, his entire being exuding an aloof, cold nobility. Standing in the cramped bubble tea shop, his handsomeness was almost jarring.
The students chatting in the shop, who had just been marveling at how beautiful the young mother was and how adorable her daughter was, now faced a second visual assault, whispering and nudging each other with suppressed squeals.
Bian Xun walked indifferently to the counter, glanced at the price list, and sneered inwardly.
After parting ways with him, her life hadn't improved much.
The wealth disparity between them had grown from a chasm into an unbridgeable abyss.
Bian Xun's heart was filled with a damp, cold ridicule, yet his eyes accurately found one particular item on the menu.
"Alright, one Da Hong Pao milk foam tea, 30% sugar, no ice, correct..."
No difference, all of it was junk.
Bian Xun pulled out his card. The screen displayed the price for one cup of junk: 120,000.
"?"
A moment later, the coolly dressed man in the suit left expressionlessly, holding a cup of bubble tea. Once outside, he tossed his phone to Assistant Zhang. "Check for viruses."
He was wealthy, not insane.
His monetary system appeared to have been compromised.
Corporate warfare?
