Who Moved My Ashes Chapter 13
Chapter 13
“Even if I didn’t like you, the place you hold in my heart could never be replaced. But the truth is that I do like you.”
Chen Man was stunned hearing Jiang Xichu’s words. All of a sudden, her entire face turned blood-red. She looked away, pursing her lips, and after a pause turned back.
She mumbled a few words, but Jiang Xichu didn’t hear it clearly. She smacked Chen Man’s side and then turned her ear towards her, “What did you say? I couldn’t hear you clearly, speak louder.”
“I said,” Chen Man took a deep breath and finally worked up the courage to increase her volume. “I want to kiss you…”
There were five words said, each fainter than the last until it was a mere whisper. Jiang Xichu looked up at Chen Man with surprise. She had never known Chen Man could have such a bashful, girlish side. In fact, she'd taken Chen Man for nothing more than a slacker - someone who, once she clocked out, would curl up on the couch with a collection of junk food and watch those stale, old TV dramas.
Jiang Xichu found this version of Chen Man beyond adorable and stirred up a deep feeling of satisfaction, as if she were Chen Man’s mistress and a single word from her could ignite Chen Man’s happiness like a switch.
Jiang Xichu couldn't help but smile as she generously said, “Okay.”
Chen Man’s eyes lit up, she immediately rushed over, and then Jiang Xichu regretted it.
Chen Man was definitely a dwarf with words, but a giant in action. No matter how shy and awkward she had just been, when it came to the action, Jiang Xichu couldn’t hold onto the upper hand and was instead swept away by Chen Man.
Under Chen Man’s urging, Jiang Xichu opened her mouth obediently. The sensation of their intertwined lips was so wonderful that Jiang Xichu felt as if her entire body was being electrified. She closed her eyes and soon stopped thinking about who was taking charge.
Whoever it was, it was comfortable.
The kiss ended and the two murmured sweet nothings to each other. Seeing that it was late, Jiang Xichu went to switch off the main light in the room and got ready for bed. Chen Man laid beside her but flipped over and over like a pancake on a hot pan, refusing to fall asleep. Jiang Xichu, drowsy, was indifferent and ruthless; she didn’t care about her companion - she just wanted to sleep.
But after burning pancakes for a while, Chen Man poked her and carefully asked, “Xichu, are you asleep?”
Jiang Xichu opened a pair of rather unhappy eyes and silently stared at Chen Man.
As soon as Chen Man saw this, she sensed danger and quickly flashed a placating smile, “Don’t sleep, don’t sleep, I…I have something to ask you. If I don’t, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
Jiang Xichu held back her irritation, swept her hair back and shut her eyes. “Speak.”
Chen Man silently roasted her in her heart. Jiang Xichu, who has had insufficient sleep, looked very similar to a big sister from the underworld with her eyes closed. Right now, if she opened her eyes, she could frighten a person to death.
Chen Man softened her tone, afraid of saying something wrong. She didn’t want to offend the big sister from the underworld and get beaten by a pillow.
“Let’s…is this a relationship?”
Jiang Xichu had waited patiently for a long time. Hearing such a nonsense question, she stretched out her arm and picked up the extra pillow on the bed. Chen Man looked at her in horror and slid away half a meter, pulling herself out of Jiang Xichu’s attack range.
Jiang Xichu’s movements were sluggish; she didn’t really like beating people, but after this entire scene, she felt a little itchy.
...
Finally, Jiang Xichu swallowed the old blood*, turned over angrily, held another pillow in her arms, then dazedly fell asleep.
(TLN: Old blood – old anger/grudge)
Chen Man on the other end of the bed was at a loss. After 20 minutes, she silently went back and continued to ask cautiously: “Xichu, did you fall asleep?”
Jiang Xichu: “...”
Don't stop her, she must beat Chen Man until she screams!
The next day was the weekend. The two didn’t go out to play, but instead stayed home and enjoyed the rare leisure time. As Jiang Xichu had described Chen Man, she held a big bag of chips, laid on the sofa to watch a cheesy love drama that was popular in the north and south 20 years ago, laughing while watching. Jiang Xichu was in the study, having gone to check something on the computer. At 11am, she emerged from the study.
She went to the kitchen to pour some water. At the same time, Chen Man’s cell phone rang, so Chen Man grabbed the phone and casually glanced at it. Turns out that Jiang Xichu had transferred money into her account.
Chen Man was confused and opened the account that didn’t have much money on it initially. Chen Man casually spent more money than what was in the account’s balance at random, but she was stunned and her eyes widened.
Because the money was more than 200,000 yuan - it was Jiang Xichu’s net worth, which could only be all her savings!
Chen Man’s thoughts were correct. This was all of Jiang Xichu’s savings. After turning over all this money, Jiang Xichu had a little more than 2,000 yuan left - barely enough to buy food for a month.
Jiang Xichu acted as if nothing was wrong, carrying a glass of water back to the study. Chen Man hurriedly put on her slippers and shoved the phone in her face. “What’s with this?! Why did you give me so much money?!”
The more Chen Man thought of it, the more she thought something was wrong. Jiang Xichu wasn’t stingy, but she wasn’t generous. It was even more impossible for her to easily give all her money to her. Was it… Chen Man sucked up a breath of cold air, was Jiang Xichu doing something illegal? Buying and selling, was this dirty money that hasn’t been laundered yet?!
It can be said that President Chen’s imagination was very rich.
Jiang Xichu faintly glanced at her, and with a light voice she sounded, “Giving it to you isn’t a big deal.”
Chen Man glanced at the string of numbers on her phone again, then looked at Jiang Xichu in disbelief. “What’s going on? Are you feeling unwell again?”
Jiang Xichu: “...”
Chen Man thought it was the reason, so she grabbed Jiang Xichu’s wrist and started to drag her out. “Let’s go, I’ll take you to the doctor.”
Jiang Xichu pulled her hand back with a helpless expression. “I’m fine! I’m in a much better state now, can’t you see?”
It was true that Jiang Xichu had made a lot of progress recently, Although the changes were subtle, they were obvious when put together. But Chen Man still didn’t understand, “Then what…?”
Jiang Xichu held the lavender crystal cup in her hands. She took a sip of the warm water and smiled, “I’m your wife, so now it’s yours.”
Chen Man was instantly struck dumb.
Jiang Xichu smiled and waved her hands in front of her eyes. “Hey, so excited that you can’t speak?”
Chen Man was shaken back from her mind, she looked at Jiang Xichu at a loss. “All, all for me…”
Jiang Xichu nodded as if she was taking things very seriously, “En, after I give it to you, I will be very poor. I hope that Chen Man can give me a proper raise, so that I won’t have to starve on the street.”
As soon as she heard the words salary increase, Chen Man’s response was the same as most capitalists: demanding payment was the same as one’s death.
She turned her head coldly and pocketed her phone. Then, as if worried Jiang Xichu might take back her offer, she grumbled, “Why are you asking for a raise? The president already belongs to you and you still want a pay increase? What a heartless woman you are.”
Jiang Xichu: “...”
All capitalists were evil.
Jiang Xichu shook her head and turned to leave. She had only taken two steps when she heard faint muttering behind her. “You’ve got me to provide for you already and you still want a raise? What’s the point of that? The wool comes from the sheep - instead of figuring out how to fleece the sheep, why not think about how to get the sheep to come home from you?”
(TLN: 薅羊毛 literally means 'fleecing/plucking sheep wool', but metaphorically, it refers to taking advantage of discounts, promotions, freebies, or other benefits. It's like the english saying 'milking the benefits')
Jiang Xichu chuckled and said nothing.
Was the stick method necessary? With a gentle wave, you didn’t even need to give green grass. Chen Man the sheep had already followed her home.
(TLN: It refers to the stick and carrot method)
Looking at Jiang Xichu’s back as she returned to the study, Chen Man quietly gazed at the open door, then returned to the sofa. The cheesy love drama was still playing, but Chen Man’s line of sight was no longer on the TV. She stared at the phone’s dark screen for a long time with a serious face.
However, less than three seconds later, Chen Man laughed. She quickly kicked off her inconvenient slippers, then rolled excitedly on the broad sofa several times.
When she sat up with her phone still clutched in her hands, her hair had turned into a bird’s nest. She smiled and kissed her phone screen. Then, she reached for the chips she hadn't eaten and returned to her previous state of watching TV.