Chapter 29 Questioning

The two were instantly very close, almost touching. Jiang Xia was startled and quickly looked up, just in time to meet Wu Zhou's eyes as he looked at him.

The gaze focused into a tangible form, like a blazing ray, making Jiang Xia uneasy.

He even hoped that Wu Zhou would say he had mistaken him for someone else, but no, Wu Zhou was calling his name in a low voice.

"Jiangxia..."

The man's voice was deep and hoarse, like drunken words or sweet nothings, and his breath fell on Jiang Xia's face, even wetting her lips.

With nowhere to retreat, Jiang Xia awkwardly tried to get up, but his hands slipped and he couldn't get any leverage. He staggered backward and almost fell onto the sink.

He grabbed the other person's collar and tried to push him away, but not only could he not move him, his wrist was instead held in place by the other person.

Jiang Xia said in a low voice, "Mr. Wu, you...you're a little drunk. Let me help you outside so you can get some fresh air and sober up."

Wu Zhou's voice was hoarse. He didn't reply, but instead continued, "Mengcheng is a good place. It can give you a bigger stage. Don't give up everything you've worked so hard for here because of others. Jiang Xia, Jiang Xia, you've endured so many scorching summers and freezing winters, you've studied day and night for so many years... it shouldn't end like this."

He recalled Jiang Xia holding a cup of hot tea, sitting on a camping chair, leaning back slightly, and he sat there quietly. The hurried world finally stopped at that moment and got a rest.

Jiang Xia was like the nib of a pen on paper, never stopping, tracing his way through junior high, high school, and university, before finally plunging headlong into society, busy with his life day and night.

The drafty dormitory and the cold blankets of junior high school, all those years of hardship have transformed into tonight's wind, brushing across the river gorge and smoothing away the frown on my brow.

He endured great hardship before finally making his way from the remote Duliang to the bustling Mengcheng.

It shouldn't end in a sorry state.

Jiang Xia graduated at the age of 22 and has been working for four years. He is only 26 years old now, earning a base salary of 700,000 yuan a year from his main job to part-time work.

Jiang Xia instinctively smiled and replied, "I'm doing very well, thank you for your concern, Mr. Wu."

Wu Zhou's single sentence left him stunned, prompting him to ask, word by word, "Then why did you return to Duliang?"

Jiang Xia's pupils trembled. If the fact that he liked Wu Ming were to be revealed, as long as he was still in Mengcheng, he would become the fuse between Wu Ming and Miss Xie.

He knew it was baseless speculation, but he didn't want to leave with a tarnished reputation.

He was a conservative who sought stability, but he still harbored resentment.

Wu Zhou wanted to stay in Mengcheng. He felt sorry for all the years of hard work and studying, and believed he deserved a better future and shouldn't be in this situation. But what would a better outcome be...?

Jiang Xia was in a daze, and said gently, "Thank you..."

The next moment, he felt a heat on his forehead as Wu Zhou brushed the hair in front of his forehead away, making his neatly styled hair messy and disrupting his pretense of seriousness.

"Don't say thank you, say okay."

Jiang Xia pursed his lips slightly, thinking to himself that Wu Ming was sometimes right; Young Master Wu could be quite fatherly at times.

Wu Zhou suddenly wrapped his arm around him with one hand, and Jiang Xia instinctively grabbed his arm. Feeling the man's presence, his face flushed instantly.

"Mr. Wu..."

Jiang Xia's face flushed. He had never been so close to a man other than Wu Ming. The blush spread to his fair skin beneath his clothes.

"Jiangxia..."

Wu Zhou grabbed his chin with one hand, forcing him to raise his head.

The man leaned closer, the two of them very close, his breath brushing against her face, their lips lightly touching, as if with each breath, if her chest expanded a little more, she could kiss him.

Jiang Xia was completely stunned, his hands gripping Wu Zhou's sleeves tightly, the skin beneath his palms burning hot.

He stood frozen in place, completely at a loss, never having imagined that Wu Zhou liked him.

But now, Wu Zhou is expressing his love in this subtle way. His drunken, veiled confession, though left unsaid, conveys his attitude while giving Wu Zhou room for maneuver and reflection.

Jiang Xia even tried to prove that the other party had mistaken him for someone else, but to no avail. Wu Zhou kept calling his name in a low voice.

"Stop shouting..." Jiang Xia's face was burning.

Wu Zhou chuckled softly in his ear, "Okay, I'll listen to you."

"Let go first..."

Wu Zhou did not move.

They didn't return for a long time. Zhan Lintian was outside and originally wanted to light a cigarette and wait, but in the end he put out the cigarette and followed the direction the waiter pointed.

Beside the sink outside the restroom, he saw Jiang Xia trapped in place by Wu Zhou, who was almost half-embracing him.

Jiang Xia was looking up, the overhead light casting a warm hue on the ends of his hair, his beautiful eyes fixed on Wu Zhou, the light falling on the corners of his eyes and brows.

The halo of light outlined the profile of her face, creating a dreamlike and ethereal effect.

Zhan Lintian stopped in his tracks, narrowing his eyes. Wu Zhou approached more and more slowly, his movements full of probing. He glanced at the bewildered and clueless Jiang Xia, and clicked his tongue inwardly. Someone was about to kiss him, and he didn't even know to dodge.

He quickened his pace, deliberately making his footsteps louder, and went up to greet them.

"You two are here! We thought you were lost, so we sent me to meet you."

Wu Zhou turned his head, and Zhan Lintian waved and smiled at him.

"Mr. Wu seems to be drunk." Jiang Xia followed up and looked at Mr. Zhan.

"He's drunk, let me help him up."

Zhan Lintian is a kind-hearted person.

Wu Zhou waved his hand and stood still.

Seeing this, Zhan Lintian raised an eyebrow and teased, "Isn't President Wu not drunk? Why did he lean against Jiang Xia just now?"

He instructed the waiter who had led the way, "Please get Mr. Wu a bowl of hangover soup, make a lot, Mr. Wu is quite drunk."

Wu Zhou rubbed his temples and looked at Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia turned her head away, avoiding his fiery gaze.

Wu Zhou realized he had acted too hastily. Since Zhan Lintian was there to help, he gave Jiang Xia some breathing room: "Okay. Thank you for your hard work."

Zhan Lintian chuckled and said in a loud voice, "It's not hard work."

As he spoke, he had already led Jiang Xia away.

Wu Zhou looked at the two of them. Tonight, after hearing what he said, Jiang Xia's eyes had clearly changed. He no longer kept avoiding his gaze and would try to steal glances at him.

Wu Zhou's brows relaxed; he knew he had to take it slow...

The two people who had walked away were talking.

"Let's go, it's been too long, everyone's worried about you," Zhan Lintian said.

Jiang Xia looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Zhan Lintian joked, "Yeah, everyone's worried that you'll be bullied by Wu Zhou. After all, Wu Ming doesn't want to get married, and everyone's afraid that his worried older brother will get drunk and cause trouble."

Jiang Xia couldn't help but chuckle: "President Wu wouldn't do that."

Zhan Lintian joked, "You've already defended him in such a short time?"

Jiang Xia's face flushed, and his lips parted slightly: "President Zhan is joking."

Zhan Lintian stopped teasing him: "It's getting late, it's ten o'clock, you must be sleepy."

"A little."

"I baked a lot of steamed buns for you, they're all piled up on a plate, you can take them home and eat them later."

Jiang Xia tilted her head and looked at him: "?"

The aroma of steamed buns wafted into his nose, and he returned to the campsite.

"many."

The Yangtze River Gorge is breathtaking.

"There's so much food, I probably won't be able to finish it. It would be a shame if it got cold and didn't go well with Mr. Zhan's cooking."

He remembered Wu Ming saying that food doesn't taste good when it's cold, and he felt that packing food for camping was also inappropriate. He felt ashamed just imagining that scene.

Jiang Xia found an excuse.

Unexpectedly, Zhan Lintian packed it up for him, saying, "If it gets cold, just heat it up."

Ying Hua and a few others were cleaning up the chicken wings they had eaten when they spoke up for Zhan Lintian, saying, "This is a token of his appreciation."

Zhan Lintian added, "When I was a child, I would come to his house to play, and he would always bring me food. Adults always like to give kids treats."

Jiang Xia looked at him and chuckled, "I'm not a child."

“My Wenwen plays well with you, it’s the same for both of us.”

They chatted back and forth, and in a daze, Jiang Xia found himself holding a bag of steamed buns.

Yinghua asked: "Where is Wu Zhou?"

"He was drunk, so I asked the waiter to take him inside for some hangover soup."

"I'm not waiting for him."

It's getting late, and it's time to end this.

Jiang Xia hadn't been drinking. Zhan Lintian strolled over to his car with his lunchbox and put it away.

"Be careful on the road."

Jiang Xia said as soon as he got into the driver's seat, "Thank you for your concern."

Looking at the smile on his face, Zhan Lintian thought about what had just happened. If he had been a little slower, would he have actually kissed Wu Zhou?

Judging from his expression, he's probably nervous, and because of his slight attraction to Wu Zhou, he doesn't know whether to go along with it or resist...

Wu Zhou has waited so long, he won't give up after just a superficial attempt...

Zhan Lintian's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. If he were the one who had been close to Jiangxia...

The sound of Jiangxia's car engine woke up General Manager Zhan.

After watching Jiang Xia leave, he got into his car and was about to tell the driver to start the car.

Yinghua walked over and chatted with him for a few minutes. Seeing that he was in a bad mood, she asked curiously, "Who has upset you, young master, this time?"

No.

"Come on, tell me."

Zhan Lintian pondered for a moment, not wanting to hide his feelings, and leaned back in his seat: "I'm helping people find love, but I'm not very happy about it."

"Whom are you helping, a man or a woman?"

"A man."

"Do you think the woman he's interested in isn't good enough?"

Zhan Lintian thought to himself that Wu Zhou was a high-quality candidate, except that he wasn't female.

Ying Hua scoffed, "Don't tell me you've also set your sights on someone else's partner."

Zhan Lintian suddenly remembered Jiang Xia's smiling eyes from earlier and chuckled, "Forget it, I'm not joking with you anymore. I'm leaving. Maybe he feels disappointed because he's in a relationship and doesn't have as much time to hang out with me anymore."

Yinghua thought to herself, "Hmm, that seems to be a possibility."

"They're gone."

Zhan Lintian waved and instructed the driver to leave.

He was in the car, his eyes closed, deep in thought.

Jiang Xia and Wu Zhou were so close just now, have they officially started dating?

No, it shouldn't be; Jiangxia's reaction seems off.

Zhan Lintian is in a better mood.

He arrived home first, and an hour and a half later, he sent a message to Jiang Xia: "Are you home yet?"

Jiangxia just parked the car. He got home a little late tonight. The gathering ended around 10 p.m., and he didn't get home until 12:30 a.m.

He was a little sleepy. As he walked upstairs, he yawned and replied to General Manager Zhan, "We're here. We're in the stairwell."

Wu Zhou also sent a message, but he didn't reply.

Zhan Lintian typed: "Then I'll talk to you again tomorrow. Good night."

"good evening."

"Jiang Xia!" The motion-activated lights in the hallway suddenly turned on.

Jiang Xia stopped and stood on the next platform, looking at Wu Ming leaning against the door.

His eyes were red, and his once neatly styled hair was now messy and curly. The words of concern he was about to say turned into anger: "Where have you been?"

Why didn't you reply to my message?

Jiang Xia continued upstairs and told him, "I was driving and didn't see you. I went to a party with friends."

Before Wu Ming could speak, Jiang Xia opened the door, but instead of rushing in, she stood at the doorway, looked at him, and said with a smile, "You always act like this when you go out to play, don't you? It's normal, isn't it?"

Wu Ming could only express his grievances: "I've been waiting for you here for a long time. Why did you change your password?"

Jiang Xia lowered his eyes: "The lock was broken. I called a locksmith a few days ago to open the door, and changed the password for security. I forgot to tell you."

Jiang Xia could explain every word Wu Ming said in a very casual way.

Wu Ming felt as if he had punched cotton, all the force of which had been completely neutralized.

He tried to hug Jiang Xia, but as soon as he reached out, Jiang Xia easily dodged him and went inside.

The two people stood on opposite sides of the door, talking to each other.

Wu Ming apologized frantically: "I'm so sorry. I know it was my fault for hiding my relationship with Xie Xingzhang, which made you angry. You were also angry that I deliberately arranged for you to have dinner with my older brother. I've thought it through and I know I was wrong."

Jiang Xia has a good temper, but Wu Ming felt that the situation had exceeded his expectations, and he was trying his best to salvage it.

He found a reason why Jiang Xia was angry and apologized verbally.

Wu Ming was busy with his engagement. If he didn't get engaged, the Xie family would definitely expose him and ruin his reputation: "I... I've been too busy lately."

Jiang Xia looked at him, gave a soft "oh," and asked with a smile, "What have you been busy with lately? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Wu Ming didn't dare look at him, nor did she dare tell him that she was preparing for her engagement.

"You're busy too, I won't tire you out. I'm working hard, I'll wait until things are finished..."

Once my elder brother has finalized the terms with the Xie family... the wedding won't have to happen.

At that time, the Xie family will no longer be able to use Xie Xingzhang's pregnancy and abortion as a threat.

Jiang Xia watched his near-collapse performance quietly.

So this is what it's like to watch someone ramble on and on to cover up a lie.

Was I just as pathetic when I was hiding my crush back then?

He has read many books and met many people. Literature allows people to come into contact with different ideas. Thinking brings pain, but it is also an outlet for emotions and an endless way to receive the feelings of others.

He despised the treacherous villains in the book.

Therefore, he constantly demands that he be as perfect as possible so that he doesn't become the kind of person he once hated.

Jiang Xia is now actively seeking out all the bad things about Wu Ming, extinguishing any remaining hope.

He was not involved in his marriage to Miss Xie.

Just as Wu Ming said at graduation, the two of them should always be friends.

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "I know, I understand, so I didn't bother you. I really didn't look at my phone tonight; I was driving the whole time."

Wu Ming then noticed the packaged box in Jiang Xia's hand. Because it was a transparent box and a transparent bag, he could see the baked buns inside at a glance.

How shabby...

He said with a mix of heartache and helplessness, "What do you want to eat? I'll have someone bring it over for you. These baked buns are getting cold."

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "It tastes good even when it's cold."

Before Wu Ming could say anything more, his phone rang. It was his older brother calling.

"Where are you?"

"I……"

"Go home now, and don't forget that you still have to accompany Xie Xingzhang to try on clothes tomorrow morning."

Wu Ming hesitated for a moment, then finally hummed in agreement.

"I see."

His elder brother was now helping him suppress the gossip, and Wu Ming dared not disobey his "orders," so he had no choice but to leave Jiangxia's home.

Finally, it was quiet. When he saw Wu Ming, he quickly opened Wu Zhou's WeChat and sent a message: "Wu Ming is here."

Jiang Xia closed the door and typed to General Manager Wu: "Thank you for helping me out, General Manager Wu."

After taking a shower, he sat down at the dining table, picked up a cream bun, and took a bite.

It doesn't taste as good when it's cold as it did when it was freshly baked.

But what does it matter?

This is someone else's thoughtful gesture.

Jiang Xia chuckled. In his memory, he was very young before his parents passed away, and he couldn't remember many things. The few things he could remember were waiting for his parents to come home from get off work and bring him the things they would bring.

Sometimes it's a small jelly, sometimes a small apple, or a fun flower.

That was his expectation for the day.

Like a hunter returning from a hunt, proudly displaying his spoils.

In junior high school, I ate only three meals a day to save money and strictly controlled my spending.

While others lined up for food at the cafeteria, he stayed in the classroom doing his homework and finished the steamed buns he had prepared.

He likes to eat steamed buns, which are very filling.

When Wu Ming finished eating, he would bring him something back, maybe a hot meal or a grilled sausage.

Jiang Xia felt a long-lost warmth from him.

He used to be like his own hero, riding a tall horse and barging into his life.

Wu Ming is starting a new life, and so is I.

Jiang Xia put the remaining baked buns in the refrigerator to have for breakfast tomorrow.

Wu Ming's engagement party is coming soon. What kind of gift should I prepare for him?

Speaking of which, I should express my gratitude to Mr. Zhan for his exceptional care tonight.

His little niece tasted the cookies he baked last time... I should make some of those and send them over.

Jiang Xia sent a message to inform him of this and asked if he would be free tomorrow.

Zhan Lintian: "Yes."

After saying goodnight to each other, Zhan Lintian was still unsettled. It was impossible for Jiang Xia to agree directly tonight.

Given his personality, he would only agree to a relationship if he really, really liked someone and was certain he wanted to spend his life with them.

Zhan Lintian took out a cigarette, but didn't light it.

This view on relationships is quite good.

My own sister and brother-in-law fell in love at first sight, got married and pregnant in a flash, but their relationship broke down before the baby was even born.

But she still gave birth to the child.

He had witnessed their heated arguments, the two people who had vowed to be together forever at their wedding now locked in fierce battles.

Zhan Lintian did not want a marriage like theirs.

He is an investor, and for him, seeking steady progress is the optimal solution in the current socio-economic climate.

If only my future partner could be as thoughtful as Jiang Xia before entering into a relationship and marriage...

He finally fell asleep, but dreamed that Jiang Xia had changed out of his formal attire and was baking cookies in his pajamas.

"What are you doing?"

He approached from behind, but Jiang Xia didn't turn around; he just chuckled softly, "Want to try some?"

He slowly placed his hands on either side of the stove on Jiang Xia's waist, and with a light laugh, he encircled her.

Zhan Lintian bent down and rested his head on Jiang Xia's shoulder, his tone languid: "Okay, I'd like to try it."

.

A note from the author:

Jiangxia: Stop calling my name.

Wu Zhou nodded: I'll listen to you.

Jiangxia: Let's release it first.

Wu Zhou remained unmoved.

Zhan Lintian: A man's words are deceitful.

The reason for setting the story in Mengcheng was that, when I was conceiving the idea, I thought of it as the place where Wu Ming and Jiang Xia's relationship broke down. Rather than highlighting the city's prosperity, I wanted to emphasize Jiang Xia's confusion in the city.

Then I thought of the character "蒙".

Actually, this place is a combination of the topography and geographical location of several major cities, taking a small portion of it, so it's quite a mixed bag.

[Glasses]

Zhan Lintian always had all sorts of crazy thoughts because he was a bit of a lecher. He'd seen her at first sight on the cruise ship at the dock. [doge emoji]

I'll be posting on the trending topics list on Sunday. For every 1,000 more favorites added to the list, I'll update one more chapter! [glasses]