There were too many messages sent, either genuine or fake, so Luo Qi only chose a few to reply to. All the relatives back home have been blocked by her so there were no good words to persuade her to change her mind among them.

Luo Yu looked at [Beautiful Cousin]’s circle of friends and thought how uncomfortable it must be for her cousin to have her youth end in this way.

[Older Sister, I give you a hug.]

[Yubao, I’m fine. Just take good care of my little cucumbers.]

Luo Qi refreshed the app again and saw that Chu Lin left a message for her: [All good points. You are so beautiful, why would you be afraid that no one will chase you? Your boss is quite good, why not consider accepting him.]

Luo Qi: “…”

How much wine did Chu Lin have to drink before she could type this sentence?

Fortunately, Chu Lin and the boss’s circle of friends did not overlap, and the boss had no chance to read Chu Lin’s message.

Since she and Chu Lin had become friends online, they never once chatted and only liked each other’s posts.

Luo Qi now replied to Chu Lin: [Good work, you made me laugh (laughing and crying)]

Chu Lin didn’t say much and only responded with a few expressions: [(baring teeth)(baring teeth)]

Later, Luo Qi received a private message from Chu Lin: [My tour is over. I am back home. Where do you live? I’ll pick you up and invite you to my tavern for a drink.]

Luo Qi: [I’m in Suzhou City right now. I’m here for a meeting. I won’t go back to Beijing until tomorrow night. I’ll play with you on the weekend.]

She added: [Did you open your own tavern?]

[Un. A friend is helping me take care of it. Except for a few close friends, no one else knows that I am the real boss. Now that you know, there’s one more who knows.]

[Where is the tavern?]

Chu Lin replied with a specific address and sent her the name of the tavern: Come, I’m still here.

Luo Qi paused, marveling at the coincidence.

The first time she saw the name of this tavern, she felt that the owner must have a deep story to give it such a sad, hopeful, melancholic name.

She sent the photo of the tavern on her phone to Chu Lin: [I have been there. I fell in love with the name at first sight.]

Chu Lin: [Then you must come on Sunday evening. You can bring your friends with you and I will entertain you.]

Luo Qi sent: [“I won’t bring my friend, but my younger cousin. She is your fan.”]

Chu Lin thought for a moment—the little girl should be named ‘Luo Yu’. [Okay, see you there.]

Luo Qi typed ‘good night’, but before she could send it, a message from the boss popped up: [Go downstairs in ten minutes. We haven’t had dinner. You are familiar with the surrounding area. Find a restaurant with us for a late-night meal.]

Luo Qi looked down at the pajamas she was wearing; but, of course, it was impossible not to go. [Okay, Chief Jiang]

She took out a shirt and trousers and put them on. It was raining heavily outside.

There was no time to put on any makeup in the ten minutes given to her. Luo Qi only took care of her hair, grabbed her bag, and in eight minutes she was already headed  downstairs.

Luo Qi got off the elevator, and there was another person hurrying her way. 

She only took a step or two, and the man’s footsteps also stopped—both of them looked at each other in surprise.

Pei Shixiao was socializing nearby when he received her text message. He left the table early and rushed over to Luo Qi’s hotel in a hurry. Why he came and whether he could even see her—he didn’t know.

He stood still, “This may be the last time we meet. I want to apologize to you, Luo Qi. I’m sorry.”

Unwilling to give up, he looked at her, “Ten years, Luo Qi. Can you forget it so easily?” He only knew he couldn’t forget it. Those ten years, from their youth to adulthood—they had too many memories between them.

“Let’s start over, and I’ll chase you again. If you’re worried, we can sign a prenuptial agreement. As long as I cheat, all the property will belong to you.”

“Lou Qi!”

Just like yesterday, he was forcefully interrupted by Jiang Shenghe.

Jiang Shenghe didn’t want to wait in the car, so he intentionally came to the lobby to pick her up. When he came in, he saw someone who shouldn’t be there.

Jiang Shenghe came over in a few steps and looked at her, “What’s going on again?”

Luo Qi: “…”

The boss emphasized the word ‘again’, and she felt the boss’s death gaze on her. At noon, she promised to deal with this matter as soon as possible. Only a few hours later, her ex-boyfriend appeared at her door and he bumped into this messy scene again.

“Chief Jiang, give me two minutes.”

“You think I am very free and have a lot of time?”

“… Chief Jiang…”

“Are you addicted to calling out ‘Chief Jiang’?”

“…”

While she was in a daze, Jiang Shenghe grabbed her wrist and pulled her to follow.

His momentum was too strong, and due to inertia, she almost stumbled into him. Fortunately, she reacted in time and was able to put her hand on his arm, which prevented her from bumping into him.

Pei Shixiao also raised his hand to grab Luo Qi, but the moment he raised his hand, he lost all his strength. After thinking about it all the way here, he still couldn’t figure out why she would suddenly reveal the reason for their breakup in WeChat Moments, leaving him no room to move.

She must have done it for Jiang Shenghe.

When Pei Shixiao turned, the two of them had already walked past the doors of the hotel.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

Jiang Shenghe was holding her and he didn’t want to let go. He has waited for seven years.

Afraid of hurting her, he relaxed his grip slightly but still didn’t let go of her wrist.

Luo Qi’s mind had gone blank for a few seconds. She couldn’t see anything clearly and couldn’t hear any sound.

The moment Jiang Shenghe grabbed her wrist, a hole opened in the defensive wall she put around her heart. In the chaos of war, she tried her best to block the gap and prevent any unwanted, inappropriate thoughts from escaping.

It was still raining outside when they reached the hotel doors. Jiang Shenghe was really reluctant, but it was still better to let her go, so he did. Anyway, the future was long. He was now holding a long-handled black umbrella brought to him by the lobby manager just now.

The lobby manager had looked at them together and wisely only gave him one umbrella.

… …

He let go of her hand, and the scent of his body also moved away from her. Luo Qi remained uneasy, “I’m sorry, Chief Jiang.”

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

“…”

Luo Qi discovered that tonight the boss was very difficult to talk to. His words had barbs, and he showed no mercy when he scolded her.

She explained why she apologized, “I’ve kept you waiting.”

“It’s good that you know.”

Jiang Shenghe raised the umbrella with his right hand and put his arm around her shoulders, almost hugging her fully in his arms, covering her under the umbrella. Her whole body was inside the umbrella, while the left side of his body was outside.

Once again, she was wrapped in his strong and unique presence. In his arms, she was momentarily confused, unable to tell what was north, what was south.

His usual cold voice came from above her head, “Pei Shixiao is watching us from behind. You don’t have to react that much. Just move forward.”

Jiang Shenghe looked at the person in his arms, “Isn’t it useless to post on WeChat Moments? Why is it so difficult to deal with an ex-boyfriend, aren’t you being indecisive?”

Luo Qi: “…”

Just scold her as much as you want, she won’t be able to hear a thing anyway.

On a rainy night in Jiangnan, at the end of the day, who would not be bewitched?

Seventh Year of My Secret Love for You translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: Jiangnan is the region ‘south of the Yangtze river’ and is where Suzhou is located. It is traditionally considered a beautiful, poetic, romantic place. So this would be akin to saying ‘On a rainy night in Paris, who would not fall in love?‘

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A list of all advance chapters is HERE.
Chapter 30.2 — Embrace Her Under An Umbrella
Chapter 30.3 — Embrace Her Under An Umbrella