Chapter 61 Older men tend to have better tempers...

Chapter 61

"I understand what you mean," Fang Xinle nodded with a smile. "Not knowing means you have some feelings for him, so you're going to have dinner with him later. As for Lele, do you need me to take her home?"

“You don’t need to make the trip. Jiang Zhiyan said he booked an animal-friendly restaurant, so I’ll just take Lele with me.”

Fang Xinle raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Why has Jiang Zhiyan become so attentive? Has he changed his personality?"

Lele leaped ashore, vigorously shaking off the water stains covering its fur. Xia Zhiyu picked up a quick-drying shirt and put it on, then casually rubbed the wet dog's head, her eyes smiling. "Maybe it's because I'm getting older. I seem to be more peaceful about most things. People's mentality becomes more stable as they get older."

“I’ve been chatting with him on and off lately. How should I put it? I feel like he’s been very restrained when he speaks now, and he mostly just listens to me.”

It's possible that Xia Zhiyu's impression of Jiang Zhiyan was still based on his previous arrogant and sharp demeanor.

Especially when they had just broken up, even when Jiang Zhiyan apologized to her, he still acted as if he wanted to teach her a lesson. At that time, Jiang Zhiyan's words and actions were unusually sharp, and the arrogance that flowed naturally from the corners of his eyes was as dazzling as the Patek Philippe on his wrist.

But now Jiang Zhiyan presents himself as a gentle and tolerant mature man, which makes Xia Zhiyu feel a bit of a stranger when they meet these days.

Although the changes that occurred in Jiang Zhiyan were not a bad thing, Xia Zhiyu always had a vague feeling that the changes were not so simple.

Just like a ferocious carnivore will never obediently cower in its cage and wait for its owner to feed it.

Xia Zhiyu was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice her little dog fidgeting and squirming.

After the quick-drying clothes were finally put on with great difficulty, the once well-behaved puppy could no longer contain itself and broke free from Xia Zhiyu's grasp, wagging its tail and rushing behind her, whimpering excitedly.

The puppy has a sense of smell hundreds of times more acute than that of humans, and it could smell the dog treats that Jiang Zhiyan brought it from a great distance.

The tall, handsome man smiled and squatted down, skillfully scratching the fine, soft fur around Lele's neck. The little dog busily rubbed its black nose against his palm, trying to ingratiate itself and get some fragrant freeze-dried rabbit legs from his pocket.

These innocent, wet eyes are just like her mother's; Xia Zhiyu would also look at him with that sweet, yearning gaze at certain times.

Jiang Zhiyan was silent for a moment, and the image of Lele jumping into Xia Zhiyu's arms when she came ashore just now flashed before his eyes. The water droplets splashed up by Lele's movements soaked Xia Zhiyu's long hair that fell over her shoulders, and her snow-white silk shirt clung to her soft, white skin, which was as warm and tender as a peeled egg.

The fair face and neck that had appeared in his dream last night, with wet, bewildered mist still clinging to the corners of her eyes, lay supine on large swathes of thick black silk in his room, everything so white it was dazzling. A thin, silver chain was fastened around her ankle, the other end of which was held tightly in his palm.

It tightened inch by inch, making a crisp and pleasant tinkling sound.

The delicate fragrance of the carefully tended jasmine was alluring. Jiang Zhiyan still remembered the warmth in her palm when the calloused middle finger crushed the tender stamens. The rich floral juice spread its increasingly intense fragrance in the broken notes of her voice.

Invade, plunder, then use your fingertips to hook a strand of honey water and slowly wrap it around your fingertips before swallowing it.

A dirty and chaotic dream.

The puppy's long snout, which had been resting on Xia Zhiyu's shoulder, suddenly lit up when it looked at him. It hurriedly ran out of its mother's arms, wagging its tail, and pounced on him, circling around his feet and acting cute with practiced ease.

The water droplets left by the flicking penetrating clothes dampened the loose hem of her garment, revealing slender ankles that could be grasped with a single hand, and a captivatingly helpless smile appeared on her small, fair profile.

Xia Zhiyu watched as the golden puppy, its soft fur swaying, ran towards Jiang Zhiyan, and chuckled, a hint of indulgence in her eyes.

She looked at the puppy, while Jiang Zhiyan stared intently at her.

He gazed greedily, yet with all his might, at her slightly upturned nose and full, rosy lips.

The man's hands, hanging at his sides, clenched involuntarily, revealing his clearly defined muscles and bones.

Cute puppy.

An adorable puppy that makes you want to hug it.

Jiang Zhiyan lowered his eyes instantly, and when he looked up again, a familiar, gentle smile naturally appeared on his lips. He half-squatted down to catch Lele, letting the little dog's black paws leave two small paw prints on his neatly ironed suit trousers.

Xia Zhiyu asked in surprise, "Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to have a meeting this afternoon?"

Perhaps because she had just said something bad about Jiang Zhiyan being older, Xia Zhiyu felt a little guilty, and even her preemptive tone was naturally tinged with nervousness.

However, Jiang Zhiyan didn't seem angry at all. He was probably too far away to hear her words, so Xia Zhiyu was slightly relieved.

"We were supposed to have a meeting, but our partners in Canada said they were on strike again. There were no employees in the office except for a few bosses, so the meeting had to be postponed."

Jiang Zhiyan was carrying an exquisite gift box that seemed out of place with him; the pink and blue bow and logo on the outer packaging box were particularly eye-catching.

Xia Zhiyu knew this shop; it was a popular niche cake shop that had recently opened in Beicheng. Their mousse cakes were very famous. A couple of days ago, she complained to Jiang Zhiyan that it was a bit of a pity that the shop was a bit far from her and that she couldn't order delivery.

Jiang Zhiyan had asked about the shop's name carefully, saying she wanted to order afternoon tea for her employees, but she never expected that she would get a share.

Lele happily lay down and gnawed on the bone, while Jiang Zhiyan stood up straight, his dark gray coat draped over his shoulders, making him appear broad-shouldered and long-legged. The imposing presence of his height was masked by the faint smile that spread across his face.

"I had something to do and just happened to be passing by. I remembered you said last night that you were going to bring Lele to the park today, so I stopped by to bring some snacks for Lele to try and see if she likes them. This is a dessert for you and Fang Xinle, chocolate mousse."

Xia Zhiyu took the box and smiled, "Then we can say that we've benefited from Lele's good fortune today."

Jiang Zhiyan smiled but didn't reply. He greeted Fang Xinle politely and rubbed Lele's wet head.

His purpose seemed to really be to bring her and Lele snacks. After a brief chat, Jiang Zhiyan left, arriving in a hurry and departing just as quickly.

Their intentions are unclear.

The subtle bitterness of chocolate spread between her lips and teeth, and Xia Zhiyu's brows and eyes suddenly relaxed. However, even if she couldn't figure out his intentions, so what? Jiang Zhiyan wouldn't do anything bad to her.

Whether it was four years ago or now, Jiang Zhiyan has never had any ill intentions towards her.

Outside the park, Jiang Zhiyan's expression was slightly cold, and the bluish-white ash surrounding his eyebrows and eyes made him appear exceptionally icy.

Assistant Song, who had come with him, glanced nervously at Jiang Zhiyan, inwardly groaning. He seemed to be in a good mood before entering the park, but why did he become unhappy after meeting Miss Xia?

This doesn't make sense!

After smoking two cigarettes, Jiang Zhiyan got into the car. Before Song Ziqing could even breathe a sigh of relief, his boss suddenly asked, "Am I that old?"

His slightly cold tone carried a rare hint of confusion.

"Not really. You're in your prime right now. How many men in the entire North City can achieve this kind of success in their early thirties?"

Song Ziqing wasn't flattering him; for a top tycoon like Jiang Zhiyan, thirty-two years old was already a very young age.

Jiang Zhiyan rubbed his temples wearily and leaned back in the smart seat. The car fell silent, and Song Ziqing, being quite perceptive, shut his mouth and signaled the driver to start the car.

Once he calmed down, Jiang Zhiyan couldn't help but recall Xia Zhiyu's words about his age.

When he and Xia Zhiyu first got together, he was twenty-four and Xia Zhiyu was not yet twenty. It wasn't obvious at the time, but now, almost ten years have passed, and he is already in his early thirties, while Xia Zhiyu is only twenty-seven, not even having celebrated her twenty-eighth birthday yet, and is at the age when she is already successful in her career.

Looking back now, Jiang Zhiyan realized that all the men Xia Zhiyu had dated in the past few years were around her age, or even a little younger. A rare sense of bewilderment rose in his heart.

Jiang Zhiyan was certain that no one could do better than her in terms of wealth, status, and romantic companionship. But what if Xia Zhiyu no longer liked men older than her?

The passing of time and age are the only things Jiang Zhiyan cannot reverse.

When the agreed time to pick up Xia Zhiyu arrived in the afternoon, Jiang Zhiyan leaned against the car. From his perspective, he could see Xia Zhiyu, who had changed into a tracksuit and tied her hair in a high ponytail, happily walking around the path on the lawn with Lele in her hand.

Her high ponytail drew a beautiful arc in the air with joy. The moment she saw him, a smile spread across Xia Zhiyu's face. The way she raised her arm to greet him was exactly the same as when she was twenty years old.

Time seemed to have been exceptionally kind to her; although almost ten years had passed, it hadn't left a single mark on her.

That anxiety about age suddenly increased exponentially.

Because she had run a few steps, Xia Zhiyu was still a little out of breath when she got into the car. She looked at Jiang Zhiyan with bright eyes, and when she smiled, a small dimple appeared on her cheek. Her tone was apologetic, "You've been waiting for a long time, haven't you? Lele was being naughty and splashed water all over me. Luckily, Xinle had a set of clothes in the car, otherwise I would have had to eat with you in wet clothes."

"It's nothing, I just arrived a little while ago. I had something to take care of, so I went to the company."

"Oh right!" Xia Zhiyu slapped her forehead in frustration, "We need to go to my house first. Isn't it your birthday tomorrow? I prepared a gift for you."

Jiang Zhiyan was stunned for a moment. Since breaking up with Xia Zhiyu, he had never celebrated his birthday. Even though he had almost forgotten about it, Xia Zhiyu still remembered it.

The beautiful woman in front of him was hugging a small dog and smiling at him. "I was afraid you might have other plans for your birthday, so I'm wishing you a happy birthday in advance. Happy 33rd birthday, Mr. Jiang!"

She smiled sweetly, the curve of her smile conveying sincere blessings.

"Thanks."

Jiang Zhiyan's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. "It's just that I'm turning thirty-two this year."

"Oh, I'm sorry, we use the traditional Chinese age system in my hometown, and I just forgot."

“It’s okay, it’s not important. I just don’t want to sound older.”

Jiang Zhiyan's smile suddenly revealed a hint of helplessness, "After all, older men tend to have better tempers."