Chapter 212 – Ruan Xia suddenly felt that being apart for a few days was pretty good (1)

The direct flight from the capital city to the island took four hours, and they would arrive around 2PM. They would get there in time to have seafood lunch in the villa complex’s restaurant.

Four hours wasn’t considered long or short.

With the original owner’s appearance, it wasn’t strange that guys would hit on her. For example, the gentleman in the seat next to her very politely chatted with her, “You’re going to the island too? That’s a good place.”

Ruan Xia answered, “Yeah, I’ve only heard about it before. This is my first time going there.”

“Your first time going there?” The gentleman smiled. “Then make sure to enjoy the sea view while you are there. If you go there during winter, the view is even better.”

Ruan Xia intentionally rested her right hand on her head, revealing the diamond ring on her finger to show that she wasn’t single.

(T/N: In China, it’s more common for women to wear the wedding ring on their right hand than their left hand.)

This wasn’t the original wedding ring. She didn’t know where or what nook the original owner’s wedding ring had fallen down.

That didn’t matter though. The original owner had bought plenty of diamond rings. Ruan Xia would occasionally wear them. For example, she put one on for this trip. Ruan Xia wasn’t being excessive in taking this precaution. The original owner’s appearance was simply too alluring. Since she didn’t have thoughts of developing a romantic relationship outside her marriage, it was better to wear a ring and pretend that it was her wedding ring.

She didn’t know if the gentleman had seen the diamond ring on her ring finger, but his next sentence was, “My wife likes to travel a lot, especially to seaside cities.”

Embarrassed, Ruan Xia put down her right hand.

Okay… It seemed that she was overthinking things. He wasn’t trying to hit on her, and he was married too.

Knowing that the other party wasn’t hitting on her, Ruan Xia had a pleasant conversation with the gentleman for the rest of the plane ride. From chatting about the island’s scenery to overall culture, this gentleman was humorous and witty. There was no awkward silence between them. Ruan Xia kept laughing because of him. Due to his rich knowledge base, even ordinary things sounded very interested when he was the one saying it.

“Are you a teacher?” Ruan Xia asked.

The gentleman froze for a moment in surprise. “No, I’m a business person.”

“Oh, you don’t seem like one.”

“In what way?”

“Just don’t feel like one, I guess.”

As soon as the plane landed, Ruan Xia hastily turned on her phone and sent Song Tingshen a WeChat message: “Landed ~”

“Reporting to your boyfriend that you’re safe and sound?”

Ruan Xia put her phone away. Smiling at the man next to her, she said, “Not my boyfriend. It’s my husband.”

“Your husband is quite lucky then.” The man stood up and said to Ruan Xia, “The island is only so big. We might have a chance to meet again. Bye.”

Ruan Xia waved at him. “Bye.”

The past four hours weren’t boring. At the very least, she had met an interesting person. It can be considered an unexpected gain during her trip.

It wasn’t 2PM yet. It was still during the lunch break. Song Tingshen quickly replied back to her message: “I saw on the weather forecast that it’s going to rain on the island tonight. Remember to take an umbrella.”

Ruan Xia suddenly felt that being apart for a few days was pretty good. At the very least, she could calm down and properly think about her relationship with Song Tingshen. Although it was very possible that the so-called ambiguous atmosphere between them was just her imagination… She didn’t like to probe out other people’s feelings for her or be controlled by others like a fool.

If he liked her and was interested in her, then he should straightforwardly tell her. She didn’t have the ability to guess other people’s hearts or want to imagine a romance that didn’t exist.

Thinking of this, she didn’t reply back. She put her phone back into her bag and followed the large group in leaving the plane.

Translator Ramblings: I find it unfair that she’s placing the onus of confessing on Song Tingshen. She’s also interested in Song Tingshen. They’ve come so far since the beginning of the book. They’re friends, so they have equal responsibility in their relationship. He’s not a stranger or playboy that’s trying to mess with her, so “She didn’t like to probe out other people’s feelings for her or be controlled by others like a fool” was odd. She doesn’t have to guess anything. She can just ask him. They have a very honest relationship with each other.

I would feel differently if she doesn’t want to say anything because she’s worried about messing up their friendship or if she’s too shy to do so, but she’s not even considering that possibility. Even if it is, Song Tingshen is also worried and scared about ruining their peaceful relationship.

Another way to look at it, is that she’s not sure about her feelings for Song Tingshen, so that’s why she wants him to make the first move. Or, another possibility is this is influenced by her conservative upbringing. For example, we see in chapter 206 that her mother has taught her that its not okay for women to show that they’re s*xually interested in someone.

What do you guys think?