Pampered Rose

Chapter 5 : The Jade-Faced Buddha, King Yama

Tang Li wasn’t sure if Fu Zechen had heard her final words, but she was certain that tonight hadn’t been in vain. She had finally seen him again and even got his contact information.

When she returned to her dormitory, Xu Zhaozhao was already asleep. Fortunately, with the semester nearing its end, the dormitory supervisor had relaxed the rules, so Tang Li was able to sneak in quietly.

The lights were already off. Tang Li quickly freshened up and climbed into bed, pulling the covers over her head. Using her phone’s light, she looked at the black and white, business card that read: 1628361**23.

One by one, she entered the number into her phone contacts, then searched for it on WeChat.

The search result came up immediately.

Fu Jiuye’s WeChat name was his real name, and his profile picture was unique. Against a pure black background was a smiling jade Buddha.

Tang Li tapped on the profile picture and zoomed in. The jade Buddha wore a string of black prayer beads on its wrist, identical to the ones Fu Jiuye had been wearing today.

Tang Li remembered that when she left years ago, Fu Jiuye hadn’t been wearing those black prayer beads. Back then, his personality had been wild and fierce. Even when Grandpa Fu was alive, he often gave him headaches.

But now, no one in the whole Beijing knows about the Jade-faced Buddha, Yama King Fu Jiuye.

Time changes everything.

Tang Li, not bothering to dry her half-wet hair, quickly clicked to add him on WeChat and sent a message:

“Uncle, it’s Tang Li.”

It was already one o’clock in the morning.

There was no response from his side yet.

Tang Li put down her phone and quietly went to finish her evening routine. When she returned, there was still no reply.

Her eyes lowered slightly as she held onto her phone and got back into bed. She opened Fu Jiuye’s WeChat profile picture and stared at it until she fell asleep.

Half-asleep, she seemed to dream again.

This time, she dreamed she was back in the car with Fu Jiuye, on the way back to her school.

His fingers were colder and harder than she had imagined.

Fu Jiuye’s gaze was both cold and intense as he looked down at her, his black prayer beads pressing against the soft flesh of her waist.

Tang Li’s hands clung to his shoulders, and the slit of her qipao began to tear open from the hem as she lay beneath him.

“Li Zi, Li Zi.”

The curtain around her bed was suddenly pulled open.

Tang Li opened her eyes, her chest rising and falling rapidly. As the warmth spread through her body, she blushed and sat up.

Xu Zhaozhao, who was brushing her teeth, looked at her curiously, “What time did you come back last night? You were so quiet.”

“Around one or two in the morning,” Tang Li replied as she got out of bed, not lying.

Xu Zhaozhao, with her mouth full of toothpaste foam, frowned in dissatisfaction, “Is Fu Qingyang an idiot? How could he let you come back to the dorm so late by yourself?”

Early this morning, Xu Zhaozhao had seen a message from Fu Qingyang asking if Tang Li had made it back to the dorm.

Tang Li went to the sink to wash up, casually responding, “Someone gave me a ride back.”