Chapter 2

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The last chapter left us with a cliffhanger which is wrapped up nicely in this yummilicious chapter. This scene is so much more vibrant in the novel than it was in the  drama because we actually know what’s going on in Murong Feng’s and Jing Wan’s heads. :D

I was listening to Wallace Chung’s latest album (All Eyes On Me, 2010) while I was translating this chapter. Surprisingly, he is actually a decent singer unlike some other actors-cum-singers I know. *coughyangmicough* Though, his concert attire can be a bit…alternative…

He should fire his costume designers right away.

Nota bene: Xu Jian Zhang is Yin Jing Wang’s fiancee. Murong Feng is the son of the Cheng army’s warlord, which is why the Ying army is looking for him.

Encountering Love: Chapter 2 

Surprised, she turned her head back, his eyes were underneath the dizzying golden glare of the light on the ceiling, making his eyes seem unbelievably mysterious, as black as the boundless night outside the car window. In a fleeting second, she already understood that the uproar during the entire journey was to search for him, what kind of person was he really? She should not get entangled with any kind of trouble, but since her was so close to her, she could smell the faint scent of peppermint and tobacco on him, reminding her of the familiar scent of Xu Jian Zhang. The men who were coming to inspect the compartment were a little more than three meters away, as there was only one more compartment in between them. She hesitated slightly, and he gave her a light push into the car. Her heart was beating wildly, and she lowered her voice to ask: “Who are you?”

Using his finger, he motioned for her to be quiet, as there was already someone banging on the door of the compartment. Thinking quickly, he laid down on the bed and pulled down her to sit at the edge, smoothly grabbing the book from her hand. She was did not have time to respond, as the door to the compartment was already opening. Suddenly, she stood up; he thought that she had been frightened so he put down the book and asked: “What are you doing?”

Those people watched the two of them closely and her heart began to pound more furiously, while he remained completely calm, allowing those people to size him up. Those people stared for a moment and the man who was at the head said: “Come out here.” He knew that he couldn’t hide anymore, whether they searched him or forced him off at the next stop, if his identity became known, it would be difficult for him to escape death. Even though he was burning with anxiety, he did not show any nervousness and gazing at Ying Jing Wan calmly, he stood up leisurely.

Yin Jing Wan changed her mind and said with a smile: “Please hold on, officers, we are lawful businessmen. I don’t know what law my husband violated. Where are you officers taking him?” While she said that, she also took out the special pass, When the head officer heard that they were married, his facial expression relaxed a bit and took the pass to look at it. He smiled slightly: “ It was a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. Sorry for disturbing you.” He slowly backed out, his eyes still full of suspicion, watching the couple closely. He smoothly closed the compartment door for them but did not shut the door completely, leaving a crack open. Her shift had already been soaked through with cold sweat; she did not know what to do in that situation when he suddenly strode over to take her into his arms. Without waiting for her reaction, he had already started to kiss her. She turned pale with fright and it seemed as if a torrent of her blood rushed to her head. It was her first time experiencing this kind of strange yet electrifying contact, the strange heat and taste of his lips. Instinctively, she began to struggle but he used his strength to restrain her. She had never been in such intimate contact with a man before, the taste of him, like an unavoidable net, overpowered everything else. She felt as if she had been drawn into a hurricane; she couldn’t hear anything, she couldn’t see anything, the only thing she could sense is the scalding heat on her lips, the intimate plundering of her mouth. He suddenly relaxed his arm and she immediately tried to slap him. He grabbed her hand and quietly said: “I’m sorry.”

She turned around and upon seeing that the door of the compartment had already been closed completely, she understood what had happened. However, she was still indignant and quickly backhanded him. This time, he did not try to avoid it and the clear sound of a slap rang out as she smacked him hard across the face. Since he had been able to stop her before, she had thought that she wouldn’t be able to hit him. She never considered that he would not even try to block her second slap. Stunned, she saw that her palm had made a vivid mark on his face but he just smiled, saying: “Thank you.”

She humphed and replied: “You were lucky, I just happened to have some connections and that pass at hand so we were able to get rid of that group of people. Otherwise, you would have caused so much trouble for me.” It was as if she was possessed that she would have done such a strange thing as to help him.  Seeing the palm mark on his face, she felt a little apologetic and asked: “What is your name?”

He thought for a bit and said: “My surname is Lu, called Lu Zi Jian.” She responded with a beaming smile: “What a coincidence, my surname is Wu, called Wu Zi Xu.”

He knew that she had figured out that he had given a fake name and was now teasing him. He gave a faint smile and said: “Since I am able to share a compartment with Miss, our meeting must not have just been a simple coincidence. I will not forget your kindness. Will you tell me where your family estate is? I will pay a visit to formally thank you some other day.” She saw that he was trying to hide a worried expression and replied: “Forget about it, even though you offended me, you didn’t have another choice. I also slapped you very hard. Let’s call it even.” Even though she was still young, her disposition was forgiving and candid. He hesitated for a second but did not pursue that matter any further. She saw the flashing lights outside the compartment window and said: “After we get through tonight, when we are out of the Ying army’s territory, I don’t think that you will have any more trouble.” He saw that she was very intelligent and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. He hadn’t said anything yet she was able to guess his thoughts: “Since I have already been taken advantage of so much, I might as well continue to be taken advantage of. I will take you to wherever you need to go, and you will remember for the rest of your life that you owe me a favor that is as big as the heavens. Those people are most likely still outside and probably will not get off the train until Yu Jia Kou.” While she was talking, she also watched his expression and when she mentioned Yu Jia Kou, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, just as she expected.  That was the boundary between the Cheng and Ying armies, and have had many skirmishes that past few years. This past year, although they called a ceasefire, both sides have been settling large armies at Yu Jia Kou. The southern barracks of the Cheng army is inside the city of Yong Xin, which is not far from Yu Jia Kou.

She called Ming Xiang to come inside as company, who, although is younger than Jing Wan, has already made this journey several times. Even though she saw the stranger there, she was clever enough to not make any inquires.  The two girls shared a bed while he reclined on the opposite bed with his eyes closed. When the train arrived at Yu Jia Kou in the middle of the night and he didn’t get off the train, she secretly wondered about it. She didn’t sleep for most of the night and was tired. In the early hours of the morning, around three or four o’clock, she could not endure the sleepiness and decided to take a small nap, during which she faintly remembered someone moving around. When she forced her eyes open, the train had already stopped. Not knowing which stop this was, but she noticed that the sun was shining brightly outside and that there were sentries posted around the entire platform. Quickly, she opened her eyes wide, but he had already opened the door to the compartment. Looking back from the door, he quietly stared into the darkness of the room for a moment. She didn’t know what he was looking at but before she finished that thought, he had already turned around and left.