Chapter 20 Comfort

After saying that, he pulled Jiang Xia closer, forcing Jiang Xia to lean forward.

Jiang Xia's pupils trembled, then she smiled instinctively and said, "I was a little surprised by Wu Ming's proposal, but I'm happy for him."

Wu Zhou narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice: "So you're going down to celebrate with him?"

After saying that, he let go of her hand, and Jiang Xia sat down as if exhausted, saying, "No need, after all, he didn't invite me, it's not appropriate for me to go, the people downstairs are all his friends."

Wu Zhou looked at him quietly.

Jiang Xia didn't respond to his gaze, turning her head to look downstairs.

Under the spotlight, Wu Ming stood up and hugged Xie Xingzhang amidst the cheers of the crowd.

They were surrounded by friends, some throwing confetti, others opening champagne, and the flower ball above their heads burst open, showering them with rose petals.

Jiangxia saw an acquaintance—Yinghua.

He has good interpersonal relationships, and his family is in the traditional publishing industry, so his resources are stable and relatively stable, giving him time and energy to go out and have fun.

Even though Jiang Xia wasn't brought into Wu Ming's circle, he had interacted with Ying Hua several times.

He was excitedly putting his hands to his mouth and cheering, but Zhan Lintian was nowhere to be seen.

He started by saying, "Give me a kiss, give me a kiss."

Wu Ming coughed once, responded, and said, "Okay!"

Jiang Xia didn't hear clearly because it was too noisy around her, until Wu Ming suddenly kissed Miss Xie.

The couple had a great relationship and were both lively and outgoing, so they weren't afraid to kiss in public.

Miss Xie also went along with him.

Jiang Xia was startled and felt inexplicably embarrassed. He hadn't even given away his first kiss yet, and he always tried to avoid Wu Ming's attempts to hug him, especially in public.

Wu Ming also said that he didn't understand humor.

The lights shone on the beautiful couple, while Jiang Xia, hidden in the darkness, watched as his former sweetheart married someone else.

After finishing the kiss, Wu Ming waved his hand and said loudly, "From today onwards, every table's bill will be on my tab!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia instinctively calculated that it would cost at least two million, and if someone ordered expensive drinks, it would probably easily exceed three million.

Jiang Xia rested his right hand on the table, propped his chin on his palm, and tilted his head to look down.

Suddenly, I smiled with a sense of relief.

It seems that Wu Ming never said he loved her; it was just wishful thinking on her part. It's just that her family background was so bad that she valued those favors more than anything else.

He looked down at Wu Ming, who was embracing Xie Xingzhang, and said to Wu Zhou, "Mr. Wu, what are the arrangements for their engagement banquet? I wonder if I have the honor of being invited?"

Jiang Xia slowly looked at Wu Zhou and smiled at him.

He knew Wu Ming was hiding something, so he wanted to expose him personally and clearly express "Don't hide it anymore" when he went to Wu Ming's engagement party.

Jiang Xia was even somewhat looking forward to seeing how Wu Ming would react.

Wu Zhou nodded: "I'll come pick you up then."

Jiang Xia waved his hand: "No need to trouble you, I'll come with President Zhan."

Wu Zhou heard the name from him again, took a sip of wine, and said, "He's still a kind-hearted person."

Jiangxia felt the same way.

The lively gathering ended with Jiang Xia eating until he was stuffed. He went to the restroom to wash his face, while Wu Zhou went to the front desk.

Jiang Xia had no idea what he was going to do, nor did she care to find out.

When he came out and was about to say goodbye to General Manager Wu, Wu Zhou was carrying a takeout bag containing several desserts.

Wu Zhou held out his hand: "You seemed to really like these dishes earlier, so I ordered a few portions."

Jiang Xia accepted it and thanked him sincerely: "Thank you, Mr. Wu."

Okay, Mr. Wu seems much younger and more reliable than Wu Ming.

Wu Zhou then made a request: "I'd like to take a walk, want to come along?"

Jiang Xia glanced at the takeout bag in her hand, pursed her lips, and gave an awkward smile. She should have just left it.

Now that he'd accepted the gift, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

Jiang Xia, who had originally planned to go home and have a good night's sleep, was taken by Wu Zhou to... the vicinity of his home.

This place retains the urban style of Mengcheng from the last century. There are no high-rise buildings, and lush trees are planted along the riverbank. The river is rushing and the river breeze is refreshing. Pedestrians can see the newly opened area across the wide river.

Jiangxia knows this area like the back of his hand.

He turned around and walked backwards, the wind blowing through his hair, the warm yellow streetlights falling on his eyes and brows.

"There's nothing fun around here. There's a park not far ahead, but very few people go there; it's practically deserted."

"If you walk further back, there's a library by the river. It's a paid library, but the scenery is beautiful."

Wu Zhou looked at him, followed his steps, and listened quietly to Jiang Xia speak, listening to him describe everything around them.

“I usually come here to take a walk along the shore and find inspiration. It’s very peaceful.”

Wu Zhou finally spoke: "I've read the books you helped translate."

Jiang Xia didn't know which book he was referring to, and instinctively replied, "Which one?"

He thought of the book Wu Ming had once used to celebrate winning an award.

"Are you talking about 'The Weary Bird'? That's quite famous."

That's a poem by a foreign poet, using stories as a medium to convey emotions.

The chapter translated by Jiang Xia tells the story of the protagonist living in an unknown place, where as far as the eye can see, there are mountains upon mountains.

One day, he suddenly wanted to go and see what was on the other side of the mountain.

On three separate days, his parents, wife, and children appeared one after another, telling him about the beauty of his hometown and persuading him to stay.

However, when translating, Jiang Xia chose to make the story more symbolic, using a lot of parallelism to emphasize the family's determination to keep him.

Wu Zhou asked, "Were you unhappy while translating?"

Jiang Xia was stunned.

How could that be?

Wu Zhou stopped and said in a low voice, "I remember that sentence you wrote."

Jiang Xia smiled and asked, "Which line?"

Wu Zhou read aloud the words he had once written: "I should stop thinking and remain motionless like a stone. Thinking is the source of suffering."

Jiang Xia's smile froze.

"This sentence..."

Jiang Xia gripped the railing, remembering clearly how he always found himself trapped in an endless, empty, and painful state.

Wu Ming would comfort him, but he couldn't understand him either.

Wu Ming once said, "You're just overthinking things. Have you been influenced by the comments of some bloggers on Douyin? You big intellectual."

It has nothing to do with those platforms. He has been thinking about everything around him since he was a child. He was a child who was forced to mature, and he became aware of his own existence far too early.

Wu Ming couldn't understand his pain, and instead cheered for the fame that pain had brought him.

Jiang Xia looked him straight in the eye for the first time and asked, "Has Mr. Wu read that book?"

Wu Zhou took a step closer: "I've only read the chapters you translated."

Jiang Xia coughed, somewhat embarrassed, as he clenched his fist.

Wu Zhou frowned, standing in the sheltered spot, blocking the river wind.

"Have you caught a cold?"

Jiang Xia straightened his clothes, grunted, and his earlobes turned slightly red: "No."

He hurriedly changed the subject: "Let's go sit in the pavilion in front."

Wu Zhou watched as Jiang Xia, who had always pretended to be calm and composed, finally revealed his true colors, even stammering as he spoke, and couldn't help but smile.

The two figures gradually disappeared into the distance.

The wind scattered the sounds of their conversation.

"Does Mr. Wu really enjoy this type of literary book?"

"dislike."

"What?"

...

Jiang Xia's mood improved considerably after the walk. After returning home, he closed the door, took a shower, and sat down at the dining table.

There were several plates of desserts.

He was eating while scrolling through his phone, and Zhan Lintian sent several messages.

Are you free tomorrow?

"Wenwen wants to play with you; she likes your scent."

"By the way, let's talk about the simultaneous interpreting conference. What would you like to eat?"

As Jiang Xia typed, he covered his face with one hand and pondered, "Given how often I've been invited out to dinners lately, I'm bound to gain weight sooner or later!"

Jiang Xia was still typing when General Manager Zhan called.

The first sentence gets straight to the point: "Wu Zhou is gone?"

Jiang Xia wanted to deny it, but in the end she could only agree. This man was terrifying. Was this the intuition of a businessman?

"Um……"

Hearing the soft, sticky voice on the other end of the phone, which sounded like a spoiled child, Zhan Lintian felt a strange unease: "Tired? Get some rest. I'll come over tomorrow. Could you please give me an address?"

Jiang Xia shared "my position" and then said, "President Wu has agreed to let me attend Wu Ming's engagement banquet. I wonder if I can be President Zhan's date."

"Alright, let's give Wu Ming a scare." Zhan Lintian chuckled.

After hanging up the phone, he wanted to comfort Jiang Xia, saying that there were plenty of talented young people in Mengcheng, so why hang yourself on Wu Ming? Take it easy, you can pass through a sea of ​​flowers without getting a single petal on you.

As human beings, we should be more open-minded.

But when he thought of the way Jiang Xia looked at Wu Ming, he couldn't bring himself to say what he wanted to say.

Jiang Xia really liked Wu Ming, and he liked him very clearly, so the clearer he was, the more disappointed he became.

Now, let's talk about Wu Zhou and Jiang Xia...

Zhan Lintian didn't care about Wu Zhou. Although they knew each other, they were just ordinary acquaintances.

Instead, he unconsciously recalled Jiangxia's face.

Jiang Xia seems to be very introverted when it comes to emotions. What would it be like if someone sucked on his lips?

A note from the author:

Oops, I set the wrong time! It was supposed to be at 10 PM, but I miscalculated the 24-hour clock and set it for 11 PM. I'll send everyone a small red envelope in this chapter as an apology.