Chapter 57 "Call me husband."

The next day, the project team held its routine morning meeting, and the subordinates all felt a warm spring breeze from their boss, Mr. Jiang.

It’s not that Mr. Jiang is not friendly enough, but compared to the high-spirited and flamboyant man in the past, the man in front of him seems to have restrained his momentum. All his sharp edges have been softened and wrapped, leaving only a thin layer of soft light. When he sits at the conference table and speaks, he always smiles for inexplicable reasons.

The person involved, Mr. Jiang, was used to being the center of attention and was completely unaware of the situation around him. After the meeting, he went straight back to the office to review documents. When he was drinking coffee, he suddenly thought of someone.

Then I started thinking about it uncontrollably.

He picked up his phone and took a look. There were 32 unread messages, but after looking through them, he couldn't find the snowy crystal ball avatar.

A little disappointing, but not surprising.

Duan Zhuxian was given the position of Vice President of Huayan at such a young age. It was obvious that he was being trained by the old chairman as his successor. He had to attend work-related social events one after another and rarely had free time to chat.

When they first started living together, Jiang Yao had imagined that if Duan Zhuxian continued to consume at this rate, one day he would become like those bald men in their thirties with beer bellies in the business world.

But after observing carefully for a while, he found that Duan Zhuxian not only had a well-placed hairline and perfect figure and temperament, but also became more and more charming the more he looked at her.

Except in bed, Duan Zhuxian's self-discipline is outrageous. He is simply a chosen workaholic.

It is now 11 o'clock in the morning. Jiang Yao logged out of WeChat and did not send any messages. He did not want to appear particularly idle in front of Mr. Duan.

Due to inertia, when facing Duan Zhuxian, he always has various desires to win.

I can't change it in this lifetime.

*

When it was time for dinner, they went to the restaurant downstairs. Behind Jiang Yao, there was a man calling his girlfriend, discussing how to spend their first anniversary.

Jiang Yao listened to it unconsciously for a while as background music while eating, and suddenly remembered that today was the first day that he and Duan Zhuxian confirmed their relationship.

He paused holding the chopsticks, thought for a moment, took out his mobile phone and searched: What to do on the first day of love.

Click on the first Q&A post and get the highly praised answer:

1. Pick up the other person from get off work.

2. If possible, kiss first when meeting.

3. Have a romantic dinner with your partner.

4. Watch a movie.

…

Jiang Yao chewed the rice in his mouth slowly and finished reading with a frown.

This is too unoriginal. There are actually more than 6,000 likes. Are these 6,000 people just being perfunctory?

He continued to flip through the pages, but the other answers were all very similar, almost like plagiarism.

Love is so boring.

Jiang Yao exited the browser, pinched his brows, and continued eating.

By the time he got off work in the evening, he still hadn't come up with any new ideas.

It happened that the secretary brought in a stack of documents.

"Mr. Jiang, this is the information sent by the PR department."

That’s just right. I’ll stay overtime to continue thinking.

Jiang Yao nodded: "Bring it here."

As soon as the secretary handed the document to Jiang Yao, the screen of the mobile phone next to him lit up.

Duan Zhuxian: "I'm downstairs from your company."

"Wait, let's look at these tomorrow. I'm leaving first, and you should get off work quickly too!"

The secretary was still thinking about whether to order food for Jiang Yao or make a cup of coffee. Before he could react, he saw Jiang Yao slam the documents on the table.

Get up, get dressed, pick up your bag, and rush out of the office like a whirlwind.

It's snowing again today.

The moment Jiang Yao stepped out of the office building, the cold wind suddenly blew in his face and messed up his hair.

He looked around and saw Duan Zhuxian standing in front of the car in an empty corner not far away. He was calm in his black coat, which made him stand out among the falling white snowflakes.

Jiang Yao took a step forward and walked over. This time he held himself back and there was no point in running.

With his hands in his pockets, Jiang Yao stood in front of Duan Zhuxian and raised his eyebrows: "Why are you here?"

"I'll pick you up after get off work." Duan Zhuxian reached into Jiang Yao's pocket, took out a warm hand, put it in his own pocket, and continued to hold it.

Duan Zhuxian's fingertips felt slightly cold, and Jiang Yao held them back and said, "Why don't you wait in the car? Why do you have to stand outside and pose like a show-off?"

Duan Zhuxian smiled. He stood outside just to hold Jiang Yao's hand earlier.

He originally planned to go directly to the company to find someone, but considering the coming and going of people in the company and Jiang Yao's thin skin, he restrained this idea.

So just think of him as showing off.

Duan Zhuxian didn't say anything and directly led the person to the passenger seat.

After the two got in the car, Duan Zhuxian came over and kissed Jiang Yao before he fastened his seat belt.

Jiang Yao was caught off guard and was stunned for a moment.

Taking over the job, kissing...why does this plot seem so familiar?

Could it be that Duan Zhuxian searched for the same post as him?

But before he could think about it, Duan Zhuxian skillfully pried open his lips and tongue and snatched his breath.

Perhaps because he was standing in the snow, Duan Zhuxian's lips were a little cold, but his tongue was hot, like ice and fire.

The kiss lasted a little too long, and Jiang Yao was bullied a little too harshly. The corners of his eyes turned red, and there was a thin mist around them. His absent-minded and resentful gaze made Duan Zhuxian's heart feel hot, and he could no longer control his evil thoughts.

He leaned close to Jiang Yao's ear and whispered, "My car has plenty of space. Let's find a chance to try it in the car later."

After saying that, he let go of Jiang Yao and fastened his seat belt for him.

Jiang Yao was still adjusting his breathing. It took him a long time to react to what Duan Zhuxian said, and his face suddenly felt hot.

He calmed his expression and pretended to be calm, asking, "A car is a means of transportation, for going out. Every time you drive in the future, you will think of that incident. Don't you feel ashamed or uncomfortable?"

Duan Zhuxian started the car and said calmly, "Do you think I don't think about it normally?"

Jiang Yao: "..."

Well, he, a civilized man, can’t fight!

Jiang Yao didn't ask Duan Zhuxian where he was going, but as he guessed, the destination was a restaurant, and it was a top-floor restaurant where one could see the snow-covered sky through the transparent glass cover. The fireplaces around it baked the sweet air, and someone was playing the piano live.

It was quite romantic, especially when there was a pleasant dining companion sitting opposite him, whose deep gaze could swallow his heartbeat at any time.

But it matches the highly praised answer.

When he read it, he thought it was perfunctory and unoriginal, but Duan Zhuxian didn't even blink and copied it word for word!

However, after the meal, Duan Zhuxian took him not to the cinema, but to a dessert shop called "Daydream" next to the high school.

No wonder there was no dessert in the meal Duan Zhuxian ordered.

Jiang Yao was surprised, but he also felt that Duan Zhuxian and he had some tacit understanding. Several days ago, he had been planning to visit when he had time.

The high school students hadn't finished their classes yet, and the store was deserted. There was only one boy, who looked like a college student, sitting alone facing his birthday cake.

They ordered two "private dishes" that they often ate ten years ago. Jiang Yao chose a seat first, and Duan Zhuxian went to pick up the food.

The seats in the store were a bit cramped for a tall adult man. Jiang Yao forced himself to bend his long legs and looked towards Duan Zhuxian in the warm light pouring from the overhead chandelier.

In a flash, many similar scenes that he had deliberately buried emerged before his eyes as if breaking free from their restraints. Then, they slowly moved forward in chronological order, and finally stopped at the moment when Duan Zhuxian carried two cakes and sat down opposite him.

As usual, Jiang Yao ate the strawberries on top first and asked casually, "Back in school, you were almost fed up with me picking on you every day, right?"

Duan Zhuxian gave half of his strawberries to Jiang Yao as usual, "If it weren't for you, the three years of high school would have been just a thousand days of copying and pasting."

Jiang Yao was slightly stunned.

Is this person obsessed with love?

We fought to the death in the arena for three years, and it sounds like I've liked him for three years.

Duan Zhuxian changed the subject: "But being a sworn enemy is indeed tiring. I'm afraid I won't be able to control the scale and make a young master angry and run away, although he did end up being angry and run away."

Jiang Yao chuckled: "I understand. After all, you wanted to be my buddy back then, but you just kept saying it. You deserve it."

Duan Zhuxian smiled and lowered his head to eat the cake.

Looking over Duan Zhuxian's shoulder, Jiang Yao saw that the boy who looked like a college student seemed to have waited for someone but didn't wait for him. He opened the cake by himself, blew out the candles by himself, made a wish, and celebrated his 20th birthday by himself.

Jiang Yao always felt that the other person looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was.

It was not until he walked out of the dessert shop, saw the boy standing at the door enjoying the cold wind, and heard the man in the supermarket next door calling him to come back quickly to look after the store, that he remembered that the boy was the son of the owner of the supermarket next door.

The first time they met was when he was in the first year of high school. He and Duan Zhuxian were reviewing a debate competition on "Daydream" and happened to see this kid arguing with another little boy who looked very calm. In the end, the two of them reconciled with Duan Zhuxian's education.

He had a deep impression of the person in front of him. He was like a little thorn, always with a bad face, and always needed to be tolerated by another child. But now he has grown into a half-grown man.

Jiang Yao took two steps forward and stood next to the boy with his hands in his pockets: "I'm already 20 years old, time flies."

The boy tilted his head, as if he had just come back to his senses from deep thought.

"You don't remember me, right? Twelve years ago, right here, you and your friend were fighting over a rocking car." Jiang Yao pointed at Duan Zhuxian, who was paying in the store. "We even helped you two break up the fight."

The boy said, "I remember you."

Jiang Yao was surprised: "You can remember things at such a young age?"

The boy nodded and said, "You two have been to Daydream many times. He always said that you two have a good relationship and are our role models. He told me not to get angry with him, and he would be nice to me in the same way."

Jiang Yao never expected that he and Duan Zhuxian, as sworn enemies, would have such a long-lasting impact on these childhood sweethearts.

The boy glanced at Duan Zhuxian's back and said, "You two look like a couple. Is he your boyfriend?"

Jiang Yao didn't know how to answer this question for a moment, so he took out his left hand and waved it in front of him.

The boy opened his eyes slightly, and his tone seemed a little envious: "That's great."

Jiang Yao put his hands back and asked, "You're celebrating your birthday alone today. Where's he? Why didn't he come to accompany you? Winter vacation hasn't started yet?"

The boy said: "He just sent a message saying that he is dating his girlfriend."

He said this with a smile, but there was a hint of loneliness in his eyes.

Jiang Yao was unusually perceptive and caught it.

Life is like the ocean, and getting lost and missing out are the norm. There are not so many twists and turns in this world.

Leaving Daydream and walking towards the parking space, Duan Zhuxian asked, "What were you talking about with that kid just now?"

Jiang Yao said, "Let's talk about why his friends didn't come to celebrate his birthday with him. He and his friend were the kids who broke up a fight when we were in the first year of high school."

Duan Zhuxian recalled for a while and also remembered the two children.

Jiang Yao asked: "What about you? Why did you spend so much time just to pay for it?"

Duan Zhuxian said, "I ran into the boss and chatted for a while. She said that the rent in this area was rising too fast, and the store was having trouble cashing out. She couldn't hold on any longer, so she planned to close the store soon."

Jiang Yao's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, as if something had suddenly become empty. He mumbled, "Is there no room for maneuver?"

"Yes." Duan Zhuxian took Jiang Yao's hand, interlocking their fingers, and looked at his eyes, which had changed from disappointment to expectation. "I invested in this store, but I won't take it over. I'll be the owner and manager, and I want it to retain its original appearance as much as possible."

Jiang Yao was stunned for a moment, staring at Duan Zhuxian's face, and suddenly smiled.

The person in front of me seemed more and more reliable the more I looked at him, as if he could always fill in every loophole, so that all the moments related to them would not be washed away by the torrent of time and eventually missed.

At night, the snow fell even harder, heavier than the three previous snowfalls that Duan Zhuxian and I had experienced together.

But this time, there was no angry quarrel, no frustrated rubbing of shoulders, no jealous and sad feelings of unwillingness. They just went on a cliché date together, and then ate colorful and sweet cakes in the dessert shop that stored many common memories, and then returned to their common residence together.

After getting in the car, Duan Zhuxian took out two snow scene badges from his pocket and put one in Jiang Yao's hand.

"This is a gift from the restaurant just now, for the couple who visited the top floor on a snowy day."

The badge was made of metal, but it was warmed by Duan Zhuxian's body temperature. It was unknown how long he held it in his palm before taking it out.

"So, don't be afraid of snowy days anymore," said Duan Zhuxian.

Jiang Yao looked down at the badge in his hand. It was an extremely delicate carving, with two figures nestled in the snow.

It turned out that Duan Zhuxian did not copy the answers from the Internet. This was the purpose of Duan Zhuxian taking him to do this today.

Duan Zhuxian wanted to tell him and promise him that every snowy day in the future would not make him sad like before.

Not wanting to appear too moved, Jiang Yao sniffed, raised an eyebrow, and asked Duan Zhuxian, "Is this a gift for a couple?"

Duan Zhuxian hummed, and seeing that Jiang Yao hesitated to speak, he asked him, "What's the problem?"

When the boy mentioned the identity of "couple" just now, Jiang Yao was a little hesitant.

Although they have a closer bond in the legal sense of marriage, their marriage is a business one and marriage is not enough to reflect their true relationship.

But he couldn't think of a more appropriate description.

This is what it’s like to be bad at Chinese since childhood.

Jiang Yao said, "Duan Zhuxian, what exactly is our relationship? When they're in a relationship, they're each other's boyfriend. How do we, who are in a relationship after getting married, count as that?"

Duan Zhuxian said: "Lover, or beloved."

The calm and composed voice adds a touch of affection in this snowy night.

Jiang Yao couldn't help but feel moved.

Duan Zhuxian continued, "This is written. Verbally, you can call me husband."

“…”

Jiang Yao's heart stopped beating.

Duan Zhuxian slowed down the car and glanced at Jiang Yao: "Call me husband."

Jiang Yao's face flushed, his eyes cold: "Get lost, forget about it in this life."

【Author’s words】

I calculated with my fingers, and I will be slapped in the face in the next chapter