Chapter 27 The Gathering

Zhan Lintian chuckled and countered, "Are you sure he understands?"

Wu Zhou gripped the phone tightly, certain that Jiang Xia understood; he wasn't stupid.

Having secretly loved Wu Ming for so many years, Jiang Xia understands better than anyone that "liking" is an emotion that is hard to control, and it will manifest in every little thing in life.

Zhan Lintian learned that Young Master Wu had a plan in mind.

That's all I have to say; there's no need to say anything more.

After briefly discussing the specific arrangements for Wu Ming's engagement party, the two hung up the phone.

The rain in Mengcheng lasted for two days, and Wu Ming, who lived in the same city, finally received the box that Jiang Xia had sent.

The deliveryman asked him to sign for the package.

Wu Ming was forced to stay at home to prepare for his engagement and was not allowed to go out. He squatted down and signed the express delivery slip.

"What did he send me? Huh—it's so big."

As soon as the deliveryman left, he cut open the tape and saw the clothes inside.

He hurriedly contacted Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia was working at the company. He took his coffee cup to the break room, tilted his head to hold his phone, and used both hands to stir the sugar cubes.

"Hey, Wu Ming."

Jiang Xia's voice remained gentle and calm.

"What's wrong? Did you receive the package I sent you?"

Upon hearing his voice, Wu Ming's anxiety lessened somewhat.

"I just wanted to ask, why did you send the clothes I left with you back?"

Jiang Xia chuckled and casually made up an excuse: "It's getting colder lately, so I'm tidying up my things and had someone come to disinfect and dehumidify the rooms. These clothes of yours have been sitting there for a long time and you don't wear them anymore, so I'm sending them to you first."

Wu Ming let out a long groan.

Jiang Xia interrupted his thoughts: "My house is small, and I don't have many wardrobes, so there's really no room for anything else."

Wu Ming looked at the pile of clothes, each piece a fragment of his memories from that room in Jiangxia.

“Your house is indeed too small, and it’s rented.”

Jiang Xia took a sip of coffee: "There's nothing I can do. Ordinary apartments in relatively good locations in Mengcheng cost tens of millions. The suburbs are okay, but they're inconvenient for commuting. I'm living quite well now, and it even has its own parking space."

Almost no one could fit in that parking space; he mastered it through sheer practice.

Wu Ming felt guilty as he thought about how much he had kept from Jiang Xia during this period.

When they were in school, they made a promise to live together in a big villa, walk the dog together, retire together, and wake up to the aroma of breakfast every day to welcome a brand new and wonderful day.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Jiang Xia said, "But if I save up some salary, I can buy several houses in Duliang. The economy is not doing well now, so I'll buy a storefront and start a fruit business."

He is uncertain about the future, but the risks associated with this lifestyle are still within his tolerance range.

Wu Ming raised his voice: "You want to go back to Duliang?"

"Just thinking about it, there's no job for me in Duliang."

Wu Ming fiddled with the clothes in the box, as well as some of his own watches and sneakers.

He hadn't been to Jiangxia's house for a long time, and now his belongings had left Jiangxia's place.

It felt as if his connection with Jiangxia was dwindling.

He could not accept the journey from Jiangxia back to Duliang, through layers of mountains, into a place of scenic beauty.

I heard that an airport was built there later. The small airport has few flights, so I have to transfer in Huanghua when I travel from Mengcheng.

It was beautiful there, but it was too far away, so far that he couldn't see the river gorge all the time.

"Jiang Xia, pick out a house in the new city area, under 20 million, I'll buy it for you."

Jiang Xia blew on his coffee and leaned against the wall of the tea room.

Mengcheng is now divided into three districts: the Old City, the New City, and the Economic Development Zone.

The Economic Development Zone has the most commercial office buildings, which are where most people work.

Both the old and new city areas are commercial land, and are mostly residential buildings.

The overall accommodation environment in the new urban area is indeed better than that in the old urban area.

Although the apartment I rented was a walk-up building in the old city, the interior was well-decorated. It was also a former government-owned unit apartment, and although some employees had retired and moved away, most of them were still living there.

With low population turnover, community workers frequently come to manage the area and offer their support to the retirees.

Security was ensured.

Jiang Xia's tone remained smiling, not taking Wu Ming's words seriously: "It's too expensive. I'm living very well now. If you really buy me a house in the new city area, wouldn't it be a waste for me to go back to Duliang?"

"Besides, you can't take out so much money all at once. Your trust pays out monthly. You're getting married, so you need to save some money."

A house worth 20 million, plus 20 million in favors—it would take me thirty years to earn that much money.

Wu Ming's voice sounded somewhat aggrieved: "If you don't want a house, then what do you want? I don't want you to go back to Duliang; it's too far away. I want to see you all the time."

Jiang Xia lowered his eyes, looking at the glossy surface of the coffee, and gently blew on it.

"You can see me just the same way if you make a video call."

Wu Ming was silent more often than usual today: "Jiang Xia, are you not happy?"

Jiang Xia was taken aback. Had the oblivious Wu Ming noticed that he was being sarcastic?

So obvious?

"I've just been a bit busy lately, Wu Ming. If you want to see me, you can come and find me."

He knew Wu Ming couldn't come.

Even if Wu Zhou doesn't confine him, he can contact Boss Wu and have him ruin his travel plans.

Sure enough, Wu Ming gritted his teeth and said, "Let's wait until the beginning of next month. I have some things to do at the end of this month."

Last time I watched the meteor shower, my older brother snatched it from me. I don't know who leaked the information, but there must be a mole among my own people.

He had to find the traitor before he could go see Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia said regretfully, "It's alright, I can finish this busy period by now."

Wu Ming breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that Jiang Xia didn't seem angry at all, he smiled and said, "Let's go out to sea at the beginning of next month to relax."

Jiang Xia replied dismissively, "Okay."

After I hung up the phone, a colleague came in to fetch water.

"Hello, Team Leader Jiang, am I bothering you?"

"No, I just received a work call, it's nothing."

A colleague said, "Team Leader Jiang, you look a bit better."

Jiang Xia couldn't refute or argue. Although he was worried about Wu Ming's matter, he was really enjoying his meal.

Fortunately, I've been taking on a lot of work lately, which helps me burn some calories, otherwise I would have gained even more weight.

He needs to control his mood, but the problem is that both Zhan Lintian and Wu Zhou sent him messages tonight, inviting him to a friend's gathering.

In the past, Jiangxia would have absolutely refused.

But when she returned to that small house, she would worry about Wu Ming and her own future.

The old lady also encouraged him to make more friends, so he agreed.

But I really can't gain any more weight.

Jiang Xia sighed, explaining that he had just secured a simultaneous interpreting job for a conference through General Manager Zhan, which was scheduled for next month.

Although the job does not restrict the translator's body type, if you gain weight, your suit may become too tight and uncomfortable to wear.

He needs to order a suit, but he still has to wait for the production date.

Jiang Xia's troubles shifted to this. As he was about to leave work, he scrolled through local videos. Miss Xie had recently posted many videos, all showing off the gifts the Wu family had given her.

During this period, he gave her a total of three million.

She hinted at the engagement in her words, but didn't say it explicitly.

Jiang Xia chose to click "Don't look at her anymore".

When he got off work, Zhan Lintian asked him if he wanted to go out together. Ying Hua was also there.

The meeting that General Manager Zhan recommended to him was one of Ying Hua's tasks.

Ying's publishing house is about to publish a book abroad, and they will need to communicate with the personnel sent by the other party in a while.

This is still their own client.

After Jiang Xia returned home, she took a shower, tidied herself up, and changed into some casual clothes.

He thought for a moment, then put on a custom-made light brown mid-length coat, paired with a white shirt, light blue wide-leg jeans, and black-rimmed glasses without lenses.

He is not very nearsighted and rarely needs to wear glasses.

It's just used as decoration, so that others can immediately tell what kind of work you do, making it easier to find a topic of conversation and prevent the situation from becoming awkward.

Jiangxia saw the meeting place, which appeared to be a private golf course by the sea.

But Mr. Zhan said he wasn't going to play golf.

He didn't understand why, but he still drove over.

After entering, we were led to a villa above the stadium. On a grassy slope outside the villa, camping equipment such as dining tables and chairs had already been prepared.

Before even getting close, Jiangxia could smell the aroma of barbecue wafting in the wind.

There were about ten people on site, but four or five of them were sitting, while the others were waiters responsible for carrying food.

It was a bit far, and it was nighttime, so he couldn't see clearly.

The people at the campsite were the first to spot him; aside from those who couldn't come due to unforeseen circumstances, he was the only one who hadn't arrived yet.

Ying Hua stood up from his chair, raised his hand to his brow, and whistled: "Jiang Xia is here. We finally managed to get him out of the house."

Zhan Lintian stood up and said, "Is it that difficult?"

"It's difficult. He's Wu Ming's friend. If Wu Ming doesn't include him, how can we just skip Wu Ming and bring him along?"

Instead of that, Ying Hua looked at Wu Zhou sitting in the chair.

This rising star in the tech stock market has finally made time to come out?

Yinghua doesn't have much contact with Wu and Zhou. The two companies are involved in different fields: one is the traditional publishing industry with graphic culture, and the other is currently mainly focused on technology stocks.

We don't usually have much to say to each other.

The wind was strong at the top of the mountain, and Jiang Xia followed the steward up against the wind.

He shivered halfway there.

I thought it was an indoor gathering, so I didn't wear much.

Actually, he had enough clothes, but he was prone to having cold hands and feet, and wearing too many clothes would make him look bulky. So he could only grit his teeth and think that staying next to the barbecue grill would be better.

As Jiang Xia approached, he saw that there were six people in total: Ying Hua, Zhan Lintian, and Wu Zhou, all of whom he recognized.

There were also three men.

Ying Hua, the host of the gathering, introduced: "Let me introduce this place, this is Jiangxia."

Jiang Xia nodded: "Hello everyone."

There were too many people, so two of them stepped forward and shook hands with Jiang Xia.

"My name is Huo Shoucheng. I've heard about you from Wu Ming before. Thank you for taking that drunk Wu Ming home last time."

"Lin Si." Another person introduced himself.

Jiang Xia shook hands: "Hello, Mr. Lin."

Just as Jiang Xia was about to sit down, a middle-aged woman wrapped in a shawl came out. Time had left its mark on her face, but it only added to her peaceful aura.

The others stood up, greeted her, and said hello to Aunt Cheng.

Jiang Xia noticed the resemblance between her and Ying Hua and guessed that she must be Ying Hua's mother.

The middle-aged woman looked at Jiang Xia: "Yinghua, who is this?"

Yinghua then introduced it again.

Aunt Cheng nodded: "Have fun, I won't spoil your fun, young people."

After Aunt Cheng left, someone shouted, "The chicken wings I just baked are almost burnt, come help!"

Jiang Xia picked up a camping chair, intending to take advantage of the chaos to find a place to sit down.

In the chaos, a chair was gently pulled and landed next to Wu Zhou.

Wu Zhou grabbed his wrist, and their skin touched.

The man squeezed a little harder, then, afraid of hurting him, said, "Sit next to me."

Wu Zhou frowned as he felt Jiang Xia's hands were almost ice-cold.

He gently pinched Jiang Xia's fingertips and lowered his voice: "Why are your hands so cold?"

A note from the author:

I've picked a few from the comments section so you can use them as a reference.

After the unrequited love ended

Can honest office workers also have romantic luck?

"The Corporate Slave's Dilemma"

It's not just you who likes him.

The way they looked at me was strange.

Or does anyone have other integration ideas?