The Missing Piece: 貌合神离
Extra Story 14: Make Up
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Yang Yue sent Shen Mo the photo she had just taken, adding the caption: Ran into the “Missus” while I was shopping. Looks like he’s out shopping with quite a beautiful lady.
In the photo was a luxury car; a slender woman was getting out of it. Only her back could be seen, but one could tell from just her stylish outfit that she must be beautiful.
About five minutes later, Shen Mo finally replied: I’ve told you so many times.” There’s no “Missus.”
Yang Yue took a sip of the boba in her hand. She couldn’t help but feel amused.
Shen Mo was the owner of the studio where Yang Yue worked. He was good-tempered and good–looking, but his only shortcoming had been being single in his thirties. Even Yang Yue, his employee, had started worrying for him.
During the last Lunar New Year, Shen Mo spent his holiday travelling abroad, and when he returned, he said he wanted to work hard at his job so he could provide for a child. It gave Yang Yue quite a shock.
Later, Yang Yue went out of her way to coax Shen Mo for the details. She managed to find out that Shen Mo had met a beautiful lady overseas, one who was divorced, single, and raising a child.
Shen Mo fell in love with her at first sight and immediately started planning to make money and support the family as a stepdad.
A romantic plot that could only be seen in a movie!
Yang Yue, who loved watching romance shows, instantly dreamed up a cliché drama. She couldn’t wait to see the future
“Missus.”
However, when she eventually saw the real person, her jaw dropped in astonishment.
Yep, beautiful indeed, but a beautiful man instead of a woman. If Yang Yue didn’t already have a boyfriend, she’d rush over to him at once.
After Shen Mo’s introduction, Yang Yue learned that Mr Ji was taking care of a three-year-old alone. The child’s mother had long since passed away.
Shen Mo knew the mother, too, and for various complicated reasons, he had decided to raise the child with Mr Ji.
It wasn’t as cliché as what Yang Yue had imagined, but having a handsome man to look at wasn’t so bad either. From then on, Yang Yue called the man “Mr Ji” as Shen Mo did. Only when she teased Shen Mo did she sometimes mention the word “Missus.”
This time was the same. Yang Yue came across Mr Ji while she was shopping, so she joked about it with Shen Mo. She didn’t take it seriously and had a great time over the weekend, but she discovered that Shen Mo was already in the studio when she went to work on Monday.
“Boss? Why did you get here so early today? I thought you lived in Jinxiu Villa. The traffic should’ve been quite bad on your way over.”
“Yeah.” Shen Mo’s complexion didn’t look too good. It seemed as if he didn’t sleep well. “I didn’t go home last night.”
“What? Why?”
Shen Mo replied vaguely, “There was a lot of work. I was worried I couldn’t finish in time.”
“You mean the painting Mr Tang ordered last time? The timing is a little tight, but you didn’t have to work overnight, did you?”
Not explaining, Shen Mo only waved his hand. “Get to work.”
Yang Yue didn’t say anything, but she felt quite surprised. Strange, her boss was the absolute model of a good man. Why was he suddenly not going home at night?
But even stranger was what happened next. During her lunch break, a familiar car stopped in front of the studio. A man got out of the car and walked straight in.
“Mr Ji?”
Mr Ji rarely came to the studio at such a time. Yang Yue hurried over to greet him.
“Boss didn’t sleep well last night. He’s taking a break inside right now. I’ll go get him.”
“There’s no need.” Ji Mingxuan smiled at Yang Yue. “I came here for you.”
“Me?”
“Do you happen to have time for a cup of coffee, Miss Yang?”
“Of course!”
At that moment, Yang Yue had completely forgotten about her boyfriend. She’d make time for the coffee even if she didn’t have time.
There was a coffee shop right opposite the studio, so Ji Mingxuan invited Yang Yue to go over and sit down for a while.
Each of them ordered a cup of coffee, and after some small talk, Ji Mingxuan cut to the chase and started asking about Shen Mo.
In front of such an attractive face, Yang Yue naturally told him everything she knew.
“What he’s been up to lately? Nothing in particular.”
“He’s in good health. I never saw him go to the hospital.”
“Setbacks at work? Definitely not.”
“The studio’s business is great. There shouldn’t be financial issues.”
“Girlfriend? No way. He goes home right after work every day. He’s got no time for a girlfriend.”
Even after much discussion, Yang Yue and Ji Mingxuan still didn’t find out why Shen Mo hadn’t gone home last night. Yang Yue remembered the photo she’d sent Shen Mo over the weekend, so she mentioned it as well.
Hearing this, Ji Mingxuan paused. “What photo?”
Yang Yue found the photo on her phone and asked somewhat uneasily, “It was only a shot from behind. It doesn’t count as infringement of privacy, does it?”
Ji Mingxuan’s expression looked rather serious. He studied the photo for a while, as if he was thinking about something, and then returned the phone to Yang Yue.
“Don’t worry. I think I know what’s going on.”
Yang Yue asked, “What is it?”
Ji Mingxuan didn’t answer her question. He only said, “I’m sorry for taking so much of your time, Miss Yang. I’ll go back with you.”
Beyond puzzled, Yang Yue still couldn’t hold back her curiosity. “Mr Ji, is that lady your girlfriend?”
“No.” The corners of Ji Mingxuan’s lips lifted slightly. “It was my car, but I lent it to a friend that day.”
“Oh. I made a mistake, then.”
Ji Mingxuan responded with a soft “mn.”
There shouldn’t be any emotion in the sound, but for some reason, Yang Yue felt that Mr Ji was in quite a good mood.
In the evening, when it was time to get off work, Ji Mingxuan came by again. This time, though, he brought his son, Ji Ning, with him as well.
Shen Mo was still locking himself in the resting room, probably busy with work. Ji Mingxuan pushed Ji Ning forward and said, “Go knock.”
Ji Ning turned around and stretched out three fingers. “Three toys.”
“One.”
“Then I’ll take two.”
“Okay, deal.”
Ji Ning immediately revealed a smile. He knocked on the door and coaxed, “Uncle, it’s me.”
“Xiao-Ning?” Hearing Ji Ning’s voice, Shen Mo opened the door, as expected. “Why are you here?”
Ignoring the question, Ji Ning threw himself into Shen Mo’s arms, clinging to Shen Mo’s waist.
Seizing the chance, Ji Mingxuan took a step forward and squeezed through the door as well.
“Mr Ji…”
Shen Mo only had the time to call his name once before the door slammed shut.
A while later, the door opened a crack, and little Ji Ning was urged out of the room.
Next, the sound of an easel falling to the ground came from within, and then there was silence.
Stunned by what she saw, Yang Yue asked Ji Ning, “What happened?”
“They were arguing with each other. They fought. And then?”
Ji Ning blinked his large eyes at Yang Yue. Yang Yue understood at once and gave him a piece of chocolate.
Ji Ning tossed the chocolate into his mouth. He spoke as if he’d already seen this too many times, “And then… they made up, of course.”
~Afterword~
The fourth of February marks the beginning of spring. As spring returns to the land, all things are reborn. I’ve always liked spring.
It’s a gentle season, and its soft breezes are intoxicating. That’s why I chose the beginning of spring for Mr Ji’s birthday.
When I began writing this story, I didn’t yet have a clear picture of Mr Ji’s character. The opening came to me, so I wrote it down without planning very far ahead.
Even after finishing Chapter One, I still didn’t know what would happen in Chapter Two. At first, Mr Ji was little more than a handsome figure: proud and aloof, with a firm grip on everything around him.
Shen Mo often found him moody and unpredictable. Then, in the chapter where Zhao Yi appeared, Mr Ji put on the cufflinks Shen Mo had chosen and introduced him as “the future Mrs Ji”. That was when I suddenly realised Mr Ji had loved Shen Mo all along!
The story then developed naturally, and Mr Ji gradually revealed his feelings. Even Shen Mo, oblivious as he could be, couldn’t help but give in to that tenderness. But when Shen Mo first walked into Jinxiu Villa and saw the room full of paintings, I hit a wall.
The flashbacks were difficult to handle. I stopped serialising the story for more than six months and, at one point, considered leaving it unfinished. In the end, however, I decided to give them a proper ending.
When I began writing the memories, it proved easier than I’d expected. The scenes between Shen Mo and Mr Ji unfolded naturally. Although Shen Mo had lost his memories, his heart had always known whom he loved: the man who had saved him when he was in danger.
Later, the two met again on the island, where Shen Mo finally found the courage to draw his heart on Mr Ji’s palm.
I have some regrets about the ending. I feel I wrapped things up too quickly and didn’t get to write as much as I wanted. But this is only the end of the book; Mr Ji and Shen Mo’s story is still unfolding.
There are many moments in this book that I like, but my favourite will always be this one:
Mr Ji introduced Shen Mo as naturally as could be: “He’s the future, Mrs Ji.”
—He had known all along that Shen Mo was the one.
That brings me to the end of the afterword. I’ve added a few extra fragments at the end.
Enjoy reading ^_^
Work Diary
By Yang Yue
-28 January — Sunny-
What a surprise! Boss suddenly came back while I was slacking off. Fortunately, boss is just going abroad as usual. He goes to the same place every year. How boring...
After all, he’s practically an old man in his thirties. Perhaps I should set him up with someone.
-3 February — Sunny-
Slacking off.
-4 February — Sunny-
Slacking off.
-8 February — Cloudy-
Boss called to say his travel plans had changed and he’d be staying abroad for another week. Huh... That’s not like him. Did he meet someone over there? He wouldn’t come back with a Missus, would he?
-10 February — Sunny-
Slacking off.
-11 February — Rainy-
Slacking off.
-15 February — Sunny-
Boss is back, and he looks positively radiant! Ahhh, perhaps there’ll be a Missus soon. Will I be able to slack off more
often? I’m rather worried about what the future holds...
-18 February — Cloudy-
After a bit of discreet questioning, I learnt more about the future Missus: a beauty in her thirties, divorced, single and raising a child. Boss seemed utterly smitten with her. She sounded like someone who wouldn’t be easy to handle.
-23 February — Rainy-
Slacking off.
-6 March — Sunny-
Slacking off.
-14 March — Sunny-
The future Missus is coming to inspect us tomorrow. What should I do? Should I put on some fancy make-up? Oh, life is hard. Being an office worker is exhausting.
-19 March — Rainy-
Ahhhhh!!!
-20 March — Rainy-
I’ve calmed down a little and can finally carry on with this diary. How should I describe the future Missus? In her thirties? Not wrong. Divorced, single and raising a child? Not wrong either. Gorgeous? Not wrong either, of course. But put all those details together, and the result was nothing as I’d imagined! Breathe, breathe, take a deep breath. I need to calm down.
-22 March — Sunny-
Working here is actually rather nice.
-24 March — Sunny-
I’m really happy working here.
-28 March — Rainy-
Missus came in with cakes and other treats for afternoon tea to inspect... no, to greet the employees. The strawberry cakes were yummy! Missus is gorgeous, and he’s such a feast for the eyes...
Oh, Missus asked me to keep an eye on boss’s mood and get in touch if anything happened. He didn’t say it outright, but he made himself clear. Is he worried boss might have an affair? Has he asked me to be his spy?
Huh...
-29 March — Cloudy-
After wrestling with the decision all night, I’ve finally made up my mind. Boss is such a nice guy. How could I possibly betray him? Of course, I’ll stand firmly on Missus’s side and keep tabs on boss wherever he goes!
I’ve decided to end the Work Diary here and start a Boss Observation Diary next week. Stay tuned!
END.
i The word chenmo (沉默), which sounds like Shen Mo’s name, means “silence” in Chinese.
ii Like jie (姐), ge (哥) is a form of address often used for an older brother or a man older than the speaker.
iii Shao derives from shaoye (少爷), meaning “young master”; ershao means “second young master”.
iv Shu (叔) is a suffix used when addressing an older man.
v Jie is a suffix used when addressing a woman who is slightly older than, or around the same age as, the speaker.
vi WeChat (微信) is a popular social media platform in China.
vii The character ning (宁) appears in anning (安宁), meaning “peaceful”.
viii Chunyun refers to the Lunar New Year travel period, when people return to their hometowns to celebrate with family.
ix Xiao-Bai, literally “Little White”, is a common name for pets.