Chapter 67 I can't help but apologize, I really couldn't help but secretly feel happy...

The rain grew heavier and heavier, bending the umbrellas over. Jia Yang, like a lotus seedpod seeking shelter under a lotus leaf, swayed in the wind and rain, dressed in thin clothes.

Aunt Feiyue shouted anxiously at him, "Silly child, come here! What are you doing standing in the rain?"

Hearing his mother's call, Jia Yang slowly closed his umbrella and stood under the eaves.

He smiled and looked at Zhou Jinqin, softly calling her name. He merely nodded slightly to Liang Minghe, who was standing close beside her, as if to say hello.

The rain was so heavy today that Jia Yang's trouser legs were soaked, and the cunning raindrops had even sneaked under his umbrella, wetting his hair a little, which was now dripping down.

Orphans and widows, poor family, children who are ambitious, mother who is hardworking... Jia Yang and his aunt's tone matched perfectly. At this moment, Zhou Jinqin was not concerned about the many coincidences in life, but only worried that Jia Yang might catch a cold in this kind of weather.

She tugged at Liang Minghe's arm and turned to the side, gesturing for him to come inside first: "Jiayang, come in and talk, so you don't catch a cold."

"You two know each other?" Fei Yue sat awkwardly on the edge of the sofa, her usually droopy eyes wide open at this moment.

"Mm." Zhou Jinqin nodded and handed the hot water to Jia Yang. "We're colleagues."

Feiyue breathed a slight sigh of relief, then hesitated and said, "What I just said..."

When she asked this question, her eyes were mainly observing Liang Minghe's attitude, after all, he had the least reason to agree to a strange man's intrusion.

Moreover, quite unusually, this usually amiable and cheerful young master became taciturn, even his usually talkative, smiling eyes fell silent.

Liang Minghe gently squeezed the anxious little hand in his palm, then smiled and nodded at Feiyue: "Of course, no problem. Aunt Feiyue's son is definitely trustworthy."

As he spoke, he looked intently at the quiet Jia Yang across from him and continued, "And I believe your son is definitely a man who respects boundaries and doesn't overstep them."

"Don't worry, Jia Yang is very well-behaved." Fei Yue breathed a sigh of relief, a relaxed smile appearing on her face.

Liang Minghe lifted Tuantuan out of the suitcase, then quickly locked and stood the suitcase upright.

Zhou Jinqin pursed her lips, tentatively looked at the other person's tense face, and whispered, "I thought you would refuse."

Liang Minghe pinched her cheek and sighed, "Am I cold-hearted in your eyes?"

"Of course not, it's just that Jia Yang is Liang Minghe's absolute rival. It would be reasonable for him not to treat Jia Yang with the usual courtesy." Zhou Jinqin hesitated, after all, Jia Yang was Liang Minghe's absolute enemy.

“I believe he wouldn’t do anything out of line,” Liang Minghe said, patting Zhou Jinqin’s face. “Besides, his presence isn’t entirely useless. If you need help, I hope he can lend a hand in time.”

"Okay, baby." Liang Minghe lowered his head and sealed her lips with his. "You have to say goodbye to me."

At the entrance, Tuantuan seemed to sense that Liang Minghe had left, and was now clinging to him tightly.

Zhou Jinqin went forward to hug the cat, intending to use some ruthless external force to separate the cat and the person. However, as soon as she got close, Liang Minghe pulled her into his arms.

"Are you coming or not?" Zhou Jinqin glared at him playfully, then quickly glanced in Jia Yang's direction. Seeing him standing under the eaves with his back to the rain, she felt much more at ease.

Liang Minghe was always frank about such things. He still teased her with a smile, "More than that, I wish you could be a little more clingy to me like a kitten."

With her eyes still wet, Zhou Jinqin nestled closer to the man's warm chest, her face flushed as she uttered some soft, inappropriate words: "I will... cough, always think of you like a kitten."

Liang Minghe smiled contentedly and hugged him tighter: "I put two boxes of 3D paper puzzles in the study. If you don't know what to do, you can play with them. I'll be back soon."

He pulled away from her, placed the cat in her arms, patted her head, and said with a smile, "Remember to think of me."

After saying goodbye, Liang Minghe picked up his suitcase and walked out. He casually said to the motionless figure in the porch, "Let's go, Mr. Jia."

Jia Yang glanced at Zhou Jinqin at the door, nodded to her, and then walked to the car and opened the driver's side door.

He had just offered to give Liang Minghe a ride down the mountain on his way.

The rain pounded against the car window, making a loud, irregular noise that was both irritating and unsettling.

Liang Minghe, sitting in the passenger seat, was leisurely browsing various apps, seemingly undisturbed.

Jia Yang gripped the steering wheel and said, "I thought you would refuse."

"What do you mean?" Liang Minghe asked leisurely. "If it's about agreeing to let you have dinner with my wife, I really don't want to agree, since you have ulterior motives. But if it's about getting a ride with you, then I have no reason to disagree, since I might as well take advantage of the situation."

Jia Yang wasn't embarrassed by his blunt words. His pale face remained calm, and his tone was devoid of emotion: "Since you know I have ulterior motives, why did you agree to let me stay by her side? Aren't you afraid I'll take advantage of the situation?"

"Would you?" Liang Minghe raised an eyebrow. "Well, let's consider the worst-case scenario. Maybe you would. After all, emotions are beyond our control. We can't always stay rational, and sometimes we get led by our emotions."

“Zhou Jinqin is a good person. It’s perfectly normal for you to fall in love with her. Today you are here, but tomorrow there will be someone else. I can’t always be able to prevent everything from happening.” He sat up straight and calmly looked at the torrential rain outside. “Besides, I shouldn’t interfere in her life. I’ve only become her other half, not her. She still has to be responsible for her own choices. I respect her thoughts.”

After Liang Minghe finished speaking, he turned to look at him, raised his eyebrows and smiled contemptuously: "Besides, even if you have the courage to take advantage of the situation, so what? She won't give you the chance."

His words were too flamboyant, but no matter what, it was impossible to hate him, and it made people suddenly realize the real reason why Zhou Jinqin chose him as her partner.

Jia Yang remained silent for a while. After the car stopped at the high-speed rail station in the county, he called out to Liang Minghe, who was about to get off: "Thank you."

Liang Minghe guessed he was talking about his mother: "There's no need to thank her. She's just doing her job for money, which is no different from you or me working for the boss at the company. I only hired her because she was suitable."

“She’s your mother. You should know very well whether she’s capable or not, and you should also know whether hiring her was the right choice.”

Feiyue was used to poverty and hardship, and she always thought that she could help her children as much as she could while she was still alive. So even when her health did not allow it, she still tried her best to work and supplement the family income.

Jia Yang had heard from his mother some time ago that she had received a very relaxed job with good pay. He didn't believe it at first, thinking it was just a lie his mother told him to comfort him, so he made an excuse to go up the mountain with her. It wasn't until he saw Zhou Jinqin's gentle face that he was convinced it was true. It was precisely because he saw Zhou Jinqin's face that he indulged himself in not taking back his excuse and lingered more by her side.

The rain outside seemed to pour in, and Jia Yang felt his heart soaked through. Just like the day he was admitted to university and left this village, he suddenly realized that his status as a chosen one of heaven only existed in this small piece of land.

He lowered his eyes and smiled bitterly: "Not only my mother, but thank you for saying it for me too."

He recalled the gentle and beautiful aunt he met more than ten years ago and said, "Your mother came to our village to provide educational assistance, and I was one of the beneficiaries."

Liang Minghe showed no arrogance, but calmly said, "If you want to thank my mother, you can tell a tree, a flower, or a clump of grass, and maybe she will be reborn there."

He opened his umbrella and stepped into the rain, staring intently at the slightly dejected man in the car through the hazy rain. He said, "Trees that grow under harsh conditions can withstand wind and rain. Although I don't want to praise you, I have to admit that you are a very tenacious, resolute, and reliable person. I know you have your own selfish reasons for staying, but I do too. If she encounters any trouble, please take good care of her."

After dinner, the rain became especially heavy, and the sky was dark and gloomy, like a thousand horses ready to gallop.

Feiyue was clearing away the dishes, looking worried.

Zhou Jinqin glanced at the almost colorless environment outside and suggested, "The road is difficult to travel. Jia Yang, why don't you stay here tonight? There's a simple bed in the study where you can sleep temporarily."

That bed was practically exclusively for Liang Zongqiang, and I doubt Liang Minghe would object if he knew.

Before Jia Yang could speak, Fei Yue answered for him: "That's wonderful! Thank you, Xiao Qin. I was worried about this bad weather, afraid that he might accidentally landslide. You've really helped me a lot."

Liang Zongqiang funded the construction of a wide and flat road on the mountain, which would not be a problem for ordinary drivers. However, due to the bad weather and the darkness, the road was even more difficult to travel.

Since she didn't get any work from her aunt, Zhou Jinqin thought that the mother and son hadn't seen each other for a long time and needed time to spend together, so she went back to her room early to leave them alone.

Looking out at the continuous rain, Zhou Jinqin knew that tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

She was worried about whether Liang Minghe's trip would go smoothly. To get from this village to Shanghai, he would first need to take a car to the county's high-speed rail station to take a train to the city, and then transfer to a plane to Shanghai.

Due to bad weather, Liang Minghe's high-speed train and plane were delayed, and he finally took off smoothly at around 2 a.m.

The flight lasted about two hours, and Zhou Jinqin couldn't sleep until she received news that the other party had landed safely.

She had already finished the jigsaw puzzle that Liang Ming had reserved for her to pass the time in one night, but the night was still long.

I squinted and rested my head on the table for a while. In my drowsy state, I felt my throat was a little dry and hoarse, so I groped my way outside to get a cup of hot water to soothe it.

In the dimly lit living room, only the persistent light from the streetlights outside shone in, perfectly outlining the silent figure of the man by the window.

After seeing clearly, Zhou Jinqin calmed her startled heart and approached curiously, asking, "Jiayang, why aren't you here so late..."

The words that were about to come out were swallowed back. Zhou Jinqin stood there, stunned, her face pale and helpless.

Jia Yang hurriedly stuffed the specially cut-out photo of the two of them into his pocket. He stood up and tried to make some excuse, but looking into those bright, watery eyes, he couldn't utter any self-deceiving words.

He remained silent, hesitated, but finally succumbed to those watery eyes and gave in.

Jia Yang composed himself and said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry, I really can't help but secretly like you..."

Zhou Jinqin regretted drinking the water, regretted getting close to him, and regretted talking too much.

She looked around helplessly, finally fixing her gaze on the glass of wine by the window, trying to comfort herself, but also trying to escape: "You're drunk."

Jia Yang looked up at her, his eyes bright and clear: "Jinqin, I've been drinking this kind of rice wine since I was a child."

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Author's Note: Xiaoming: I treated you like a brother, but you... [angry]

Jia Yang: I'm sorry, but you're right, feelings are indeed beyond our control. [Hands clasped in prayer]