Chapter 3 Reunion with Zhan Lintian

Wu Ming's thoughts wandered. He wiped the grease from his mouth and made up his mind: "Jiang Xia, you live too far away. Move to my house and keep me company."

Jiang Xia coughed, handed him a glass of water, and politely declined the absurd suggestion: "My place is close to the company, so it's convenient for me to get to work."

Jiang Xia refused, and Old Master Wu, who was standing to the side, naturally understood that his words were just an excuse, thinking to himself that this young man was very sensible.

The white-haired old man turned his head and scolded his grandson in a low voice: "Wu Ming, if you could learn from Jiang Xia, you could save your grandfather a lot of trouble."

Wu Ming had no choice but to chuckle and rub his nose.

"I'll eat first, I'll eat first."

He continued eating.

But after Wu Ming had eaten and drunk his fill, things went back to normal – they couldn't just date, they had to get engaged.

The old man believed that he had reached the age to get married, and naturally, he couldn't let the woman follow him without a proper status.

The eldest brother didn't speak, but his attitude was clear—it must end.

Jiang Xia stood in the corner, unable to interrupt other people's business, and kept looking down at the pattern on the floor tiles.

Wu Ming simply grabbed Jiang Xia to stop him from leaving. After thinking it over, he realized that only Jiang Xia was on his side: "No, I won't get engaged."

Old Master Wu retorted angrily, "Have you been dating Xie Xingzhang?"

Wu Ming's voice was a little softer, and he sounded somewhat unsure: "Dating doesn't mean you have to get engaged."

They just wanted to restrain their tempers because the Xie family was well-off.

"Besides, just because the Xie family agreed doesn't mean Xingzhang agreed."

He became more and more convinced of his point, and shook Jiang Xia: "Jiang Xia, you're right, aren't you?"

Jiang Xia was a little dizzy. Although it was warm in the manor, he had come in a hurry and had only put on a coat. The air conditioning in the car was on full blast, and his throat was dry and swollen.

Now, in a flash, he coughed twice.

Wu Ming realized what was happening: "Why didn't you wear more clothes?"

Jiang Xia sighed, glanced at Wu Ming, and then lowered his eyes: "We can talk about this slowly, but don't try to kill yourself. I was very scared when I heard the news just now."

I was more than just scared; my heart was practically leaping out of my chest. I felt dizzy and disoriented, and during the hour-long drive, I imagined countless tragic outcomes.

They were afraid that Wu Ming might actually jump or slip and fall.

Back in my school days, a classmate slipped and fell two or three meters down a rocky slope and died...

Under the light, Jiang Xia had faint dark circles under his eyes. He hadn't slept well since last night, and now his older brother had dragged him here.

His heart was beating very fast, and he felt very uncomfortable.

Wu Ming cupped Jiang Xia's face in his hands and said earnestly, "Don't worry, I never intended to actually jump down. I just wanted to scare them."

Jiang Xia smiled slightly, pursing her lips.

The two of them spoke in unison, and Jiang Xia's words brought the old man back to his senses. They couldn't really force someone to their death just to get him married.

But the eldest brother wasn't buying it. He sat on the sofa, legs crossed, looking down at everyone with an air of superiority: "I wouldn't mind throwing you off."

Wu Ming shrank his neck.

Wu Zhou spoke calmly, but said something malicious: "If you're not dead, then it's as if our ancestors disagreed."

"Okay, let's rest."

Wu Ming said "Oh," and Jiang Xia looked at him: "I'm going back too, I have to go to work tomorrow..."

Wu Ming pulled him along, saying, "You can sleep at my place. I want to chat with you."

Wu Zhou stood up and walked towards them, his leather shoes clicking against the floor tiles.

Wu Zhou walked to the side of the two men, put one hand in his pocket, and looked down at Jiang Xia: "I'll send someone to take you back."

Jiang Xia breathed a sigh of relief.

Wu's eldest brother still has a say; otherwise, if Wu Mingzhen had kept him here, Jiang Xia doesn't know if he would have been able to fall asleep.

It's unpleasant to keep many things on your mind, so you have to keep yourself busy to avoid thinking about them.

He couldn't calm down in front of Wu Ming.

Before leaving, Jiang Xia apologized to Grandpa Wu for the trouble he had caused. Grandpa Wu exchanged a few polite words and expressed his hope that Wu Ming would learn more from him.

Jiang Xia shook his head; these were just polite words.

Wu Ming is the second young master of the Wu family, but he is not as dazzling as his eldest brother. He also does things as he pleases and does not follow the elders' wishes in some ways, but he is an outstanding person in other aspects.

What can he learn from me...?

Jiang Xia turned and left. After getting into the car, the driver took the ring road to his residence.

On the way back, my phone kept ringing.

Wu Ming kept sending him messages.

"My mind is completely blank today."

"I should have known better than to go looking for Xingzhang last night."

Jiang Xia stared blankly at those words and typed a few words: "Didn't you say last night that your friend's bar was opening?"

Wu Ming was quite frank: "A friend of Xing Zhang opened a bar, and I went to support him. I didn't expect to be photographed like this."

"I'll take you there another day. It's in the Xijiang Park area. It's huge, and there are lots of famous paintings that I've collected from abroad hanging inside."

“I remember there was a painting by vvlula that you would definitely like.”

Jiang Xia saw the words "vvlula", copied them, and searched for them on Xiaohongshu.

A recent portrait painting by an emerging international artist sold for over two million US dollars.

This is indeed a great honor.

Because the other person is not yet dead.

However, there are not many of her paintings online, and Jiang Xia wanted to find a topic to talk about but didn't know how to start. Playing on his phone makes him dizzy, so he had to put it down for the time being.

He drifted off to sleep.

Upon arriving home, the driver politely woke him up: "Mr. Jiang, we've arrived."

Jiang Xia said thank you and went upstairs wearily. He hadn't done anything, but he was so tired that he was swaying and almost fell to the ground. He had no interest in reading Wu Ming's message.

Sometimes he felt that his time flowed differently from Wu Ming's.

From last night to tonight, the whole day, Wu Ming first went to a cruise ship party in international waters, got drunk, and then got up at midnight to go on a date with his girlfriend.

I wandered over to my house in the early hours of the morning and started arguing with my family, saying I wouldn't get engaged.

They started making a scene this afternoon, and this evening they're threatening to jump off a building and go on a hunger strike.

All I do is go to work, get off work, rest, and then go to work, get off work, and rest again.

Jiang Xia felt so tired just thinking about it that she fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, his first thought was to see what Wu Ming had sent him later.

After we said goodnight to each other last night, the other person didn't send any more messages.

Jiang Xia went downstairs to get his car, thought for a moment, and sent a message: "Good morning, I'm downstairs at the company now."

About an hour later, Wu Ming replied, "Good morning."

This was followed by a cat emoji yawning.

The other person looked like they hadn't woken up yet.

Jiang Xia asked, "What's the schedule for today?"

"They still won't let me go out. Hey, what era are we living in? It's supposed to be about free love, but it's like I'm breaking a law just because I'm dating. It's like my girlfriend won't survive if I don't marry her."

Jiang Xia replied, "That's not the case. I'll go take care of my work now."

Okay.

He put down his phone and got busy with work, so he didn't look at it again. In the afternoon, he looked through it carefully again, but still couldn't find any news about the engagement between the Wu and Xie families, nor did he see any vlogs posted by Ms. Xie about it.

It seems that the two young people's resistance is beginning to bear fruit.

However, Ms. Xie received an apology gift for the incident that Wu Ming had instigated.

She also showed off her newly received pair of Cartier bracelets in her vlog.

Copywriting: "You who understand me."

It is obvious that this "you" refers to Wu Ming.

Jiang Xia gave a thumbs up; the two of them were indeed a good match.

*

Wu Ming's stay-at-home order was lifted three days later.

Because his birthday is coming up soon.

Assistant Xie also delivered a gift on behalf of the Wu family, thanking him for persuading Wu Ming to come out for dinner.

Qianfangzhai's pastries have become very popular recently, with long queues forming at the small shop. Customers take a number to pick up their food, and the numbering is done by reservation only.

Assistant Xie also bought a small box for himself, yawning and saying incoherently, "This is very popular lately, and the boss asked me to prepare some thank-you gifts. I troubled you quite a bit the other day."

Jiang Xia accepted it and said politely, "No need to be so polite."

He probed further: "What's the situation between Wu Ming and Miss Xie?"

Assistant Xie shook his head and looked at his car: "I don't know. It's mainly because Miss Xie is also resisting. We can only wait and see how things go. We can't force her to do something against her will."

Jiang Xia asked, "That's true. Wu Ming's birthday is coming soon, and he can't stay locked up forever."

Assistant Xie chuckled, "Yes, we said at the beginning of the year that we would celebrate his birthday properly."

"I don't know what the arrangements are for this year."

Jiang Xia guessed that it should be much the same as last year.

Invite your best friends to celebrate at a private beachfront location in Montreal, or charter a cruise ship and celebrate at midnight on your birthday.

Wu Ming has recently taken a liking to cruise ships. He might not go for drinks if you invite him, but he'll definitely go on a sea trip.

But with Ms. Xie joining us this year, the birthday celebration might be affected.

Jiang Xia usually doesn't participate in his parties, but he will meet with Wu Ming on the afternoon of his birthday to have a meal, celebrate, and exchange gifts.

Assistant Xie thought about it and agreed, so he said no more.

In the following days, Jiang Xia took the pastries from the gift box and delivered them to the company. He didn't like pastries, and they would just go bad if left unattended, so he might as well take them out to do someone a favor.

The goods that the Wu family could use as a return gift must not be ordinary items; he had checked and found that they were not available to the average person.

Some colleagues would start to wonder what was going on with him.

In social interactions, I'm not afraid of what others might think, nor am I afraid of what others might think wildly; I'm just afraid that others won't think anything at all.

Jiang Xia sold the boxes for a thousand yuan and distributed the pastries to his colleagues. He didn't sell the pastries because he was afraid that if buyers bought them but didn't eat them, the pastries would spoil and he would have to pay for them back.

It would be better to share it with my colleagues.

Colleagues with whom he usually gets along will certainly be happy to accept it, while some colleagues who don't get along will also maintain a superficial good relationship with him because they suspect the source of the pastries. Editor-in-Chief Sun is Jiangxia's mentor.

Jiang Xia now has even stronger connections in private, and he is happy to promote and help him. He immediately offered to send him on a business trip abroad for about half a month.

Because the foreign poets are still alive and quite old, many sentences not only need to be translated accurately, but also need to convey the original meaning the poet intended to express.

Given the author's advanced age and the translator's desire to experience the local customs and culture, it would be best to let them go and experience it firsthand.

They get paid to travel abroad on public funds, and they also receive a decent salary.

After Jiang Xia was selected, the second person to accompany him was not decided for a long time, which caused the plan to be delayed again and again, and no one knew the specific departure time.

He went to find out what was going on, but his superior didn't know the exact departure time either.

Please don't run into Wu Ming on his birthday...

What people fear most is what they are most likely to come to pass.

The afternoon before Wu Ming's birthday, the editor-in-chief called them to a meeting to finalize the selection of a female colleague named Qiao Ciyou for a business trip.

The two had a flight departing from Montreal International Airport at 3 a.m. that night, transiting through Zihua Airport, and finally landing at the capital airport of the country.

The company originally planned to book them a flight for the next morning, which was a reasonable time. However, Typhoon Nangka was approaching, and the Montreal route was suspended for the next day.

Today, all the planes have flown to other places to take refuge. Jiang Xia originally planned to celebrate Wu Ming's birthday tomorrow with gifts and a meal, but now things have changed, so he has to send the gifts out earlier.

He contacted Wu Ming by phone.

When Wu Ming heard that he was going on a business trip, he was so angry that he started cursing on the other end of the phone.

"A typhoon is coming, and the company still sends you on a business trip. With your crappy company, I might as well support you."

Jiang Xia said, "Just treat it as a trip. Give me your address and I'll send you the gift in advance."

He went home to get the gift first, then took a taxi there. Given the crowds along the Huijiang River at night, he knew he wouldn't be able to find a parking space if he drove himself.

Jiang Xia was still on the phone with Wu Ming.

He replied to Wu Ming: "Sure, but staying at home is boring. If I don't go to work, life will be too boring."

Wu Ming exaggeratedly said, "It's boring, but there are so many fun things to do."

He kept rambling on and on, and sounded somewhat drunk.

The car was parked on the side of Huijiang Road. It started to rain. Jiang Xia, holding a pale yellow long-handled umbrella and carrying a gift box in one hand, strode forward in the rain.

Rainwater swirled around the hem of his suit jacket, and with each breath, it dampened his long eyelashes.

In the blink of an eye, the light and shadow shifted before him. The parking spaces outside the hotel were filled with brightly colored cars, their vibrant colors reflected on the wet ground. Neon lights and halos overlapped, and the surrounding light shifted.

When he ran to the hotel entrance with his umbrella, a white-gloved waiter smiled and asked him what was wrong, offering to help him fold up the umbrella.

Looking around, Jiang Xia hadn't seen Wu Ming yet, but he saw several people smoking cigars and enjoying the rain on the outdoor lawn on the first floor.

Jiang Xia felt that the person looked familiar; someone had also attended the last cruise ship party.

Those people were also looking at him.

A man was sitting at the very back.

Jiang Xia couldn't see clearly, but he could see a black shirt wrapped around his strong waist, his crisp suit trousers taut, and a cigar in his hand, the cigarette tip glowing, his fingertips lightly tapping.

He sat there, and his presence swept over you like a typhoon.

It is something that cannot be ignored.

Jiang Xia felt he was being watched, so he closed his umbrella, turned around, and hid further inside.

Wu Ming ran over with a grin and handed him a sapphire: "It was a gift from someone else. I think you'll like it."

The azure gemstone refracts dazzling light.

Jiang Xia handed him the gift box, saying, "Happy birthday."

Wu Ming, holding the large box, said regretfully, "I had already booked a private room for tomorrow, planning to go eat with you."

Jiang Xia glanced at his phone: "My flight is at three o'clock, it's urgent, I need to go home and pack my things."

It's 8 o'clock now, and I should be home by 9 o'clock in an hour.

I showered, packed my things, and set off at 10:30. It would take more than two hours by taxi to the airport, and if I was unlucky enough to get stuck in traffic, I would be in big trouble.

If we don't leave tonight, we won't be able to leave tomorrow.

Jiang Xia looked at him and smiled at him. The wind brushed against his cheek and moistened his eyes.

Wu Mingleng Shen.

Jiang Xia turned and left.

Wu Ming is a good friend who is never stingy with money or emotions, but he is unwilling to bring himself into his social circle.

Even the address for the dinner party was something I found out on the spot.

Jiang Xia also understood that the so-called unrequited love was just one person's helplessness, and Wu Ming did not have to bear this feeling that would not be recognized by others.

He turned and left at just the right pace, neither too fast nor too slow, the water splashing from his leather shoes wetting the back of his trousers.

If I only treat Wu Ming as an ordinary friend, then everything is perfect.

A note from the author:

Wu Ming: Jiang Xia, stay the night and sleep with me.

Wu Zhou: [Angry] No way!

The head of the household, who seemed to have a curfew in mind, later stayed out late at night, enthusiastically keeping guests at Jiangxia's house. [Facepalm peeking]