Chapter 34 Red Rose (Includes a kiss)

Wu Ming's appearance disrupted Jiang Xia's peaceful state of mind. While washing up, he saw a look of despair and numbness on his face in the mirror.

Now that Wu Ming has left, the house has returned to its former tranquility, but emotions are like a raging tornado, spreading in all directions and almost suffocating the river gorge.

Wu Zhou's sudden visit disrupted Jiang Xia's mood, leaving him at a loss.

"Mr. Wu, I've made some ginger soup. Would you like to try it?"

Jiang Xia tried to ease the awkwardness and had no time to think about Wu Ming anymore. She hurriedly wanted to go to the kitchen.

"Ginger soup..."

Wu Zhou noticed that the ends of his hair were still damp under the towel on his head, with water droplets running down his neck and down his collar.

Wu Zhou's eyes darkened slightly.

The river gorge seemed a little cold, and it shivered slightly.

Wu Zhou reached out and took the towel off Jiang Xia's head, saying softly, "Shall I wipe you down first?"

Jiang Xia finally responded, waving his hand hastily and taking a few steps back: "No need, no need..."

However, the next moment, Wu Zhou took several large steps closer and stood in front of Jiang Xia. The living room was too small.

Jiang Xia took two steps back and his waist hit the sofa.

Wu Zhou liked to trap himself in narrow spaces, where he would freeze in place, with no one to tell him what to do.

However, it wouldn't be good to directly drive Wu Zhou away—Jiang Xia rarely does anything that offends people.

Even though Jiang Xia clearly guessed Wu Zhou's intentions, she didn't want to break ties with him.

He couldn't afford the consequences of a complete falling out, and Wu Zhou had also given him a lot of leeway, always stopping short of making any moves.

The next moment, Wu Zhou reached out, took the towel, and gently wiped his hair.

Jiang Xia kept his head down, his body radiating heat. Every time Wu Zhou gently rubbed him, his head drooped even lower.

Wu Zhou chuckled, feeling as if he were patting a parrot's head, the little bird drooping down in fits and starts.

Wu Zhou ran his fingers through Jiang Xia's hair, making sure it was no longer dripping, and then asked with a soft laugh, "Jiang Xia, am I... bullying you like this?"

Jiang Xia pursed his lips and remained silent.

But he didn't speak, and Wu Zhou didn't speak either. They just stared at him quietly, which made Jiang Xia feel uneasy.

He murmured, "Wu Ming just left, so..."

“I know, I came here specifically to see you.” Wu Zhou interrupted him, gently stroking his hair, his fingers inadvertently brushing against Jiang Xia’s neck, feeling the man tremble in front of him.

Mr. Wu was even more assertive tonight than before.

Jiang Xia turned his head to look at the ground to one side, hesitating to speak, unsure how to ask him to leave.

The kettle in the kitchen was bubbling, and the spicy aroma of ginger soup began to fill the air.

Wu Zhou then said, "Didn't you want me to try the ginger tea?"

He found a reason not to leave immediately.

Jiang Xia hummed in agreement, took out her newly bought cup, poured half a cup, and handed it to the man on the sofa.

Wu Zhou observes the cup in his hand.

Jiang Xia thought he was being dismissive: "I bought it specially, but I haven't used it yet."

He went to the supermarket to buy bowls, plates, and cups as spares, in order to prevent the situation from happening again.

Jiang Xia hesitated, then asked, "What should we talk about next?"

Wu Zhou started the conversation by asking, "How's work going?"

Jiang Xia couldn't stand upright next to him, so he sat on the sofa at the far end.

"It went very smoothly, thank you..." Jiang Xia took a sip of hot tea.

Is there anything I can do to help?

Jiang Xia didn't dare to actually ask him for help: "Yinghua's meeting this time mainly revolved around literary books. I'm looking at what books Yifang Publishing House has published every year since its establishment."

He prepared two sets of documents accordingly.

One set is categorized by year, and the other by the content of books throughout history.

The other party is a large publishing house that has published many books abroad, but Jiang Xia has not read many of them. He can only search online one by one, referring to the initial table of contents provided by Ying Hua.

There's no problem with world-class classics, but the key issue is the number of books published in recent years. Jiangxia has very little information about them, both domestically and internationally.

Wu Zhou glanced at them and said, "Some of these are recommended readings from my school when I was studying abroad. I can write some notes for you."

Jiang Xia looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Wu Zhou pointed to several of the books: "The original authors were professors from my former university or a nearby university. I've read some of them as recommended reading."

Jiang Xia quickly compared the regions where Party B was located and found that it was indeed the country where Wu Zhou had studied.

With his help, many notes were added to the information about Jiangxia.

"Overall, this publishing house's style in recent years has leaned towards science and engineering academic research books, and the second largest area is children's literature. When Yinghua talks to them about cooperating on books, it will most likely start from these two aspects. If you have enough vocabulary in these areas, there shouldn't be too much of a problem."

Jiang Xia held his pen and took careful notes.

After the conversation ended, Jiang Xia was surprised to find that the distance between the two of them had changed from a gap of one person to being right next to each other.

Wu Zhou reached behind him and rested his hands on the armrest of the sofa, casually half-pulling him into his arms.

With their skin touching, Jiang Xia's skin felt hot.

Jiang Xia bent down and placed the folder on the coffee table, smiling and thanking him softly.

Looking at Jiang Xia's profile, Wu Zhou said softly, "I wish you a successful simultaneous interpreting session tomorrow."

Jiang Xia lowered her voice: "Thank you, I don't know how to thank you enough."

Wu Zhou then said, "If it's alright, after the simultaneous interpreting work is finished, could you treat me to dinner tonight? I'll choose the place, okay?"

Jiang Xia's pace was disrupted by the rushed arrangements, and she said, "Wu Ming might ask me out to dinner..."

Mr. Wu gave a low snort and said decisively, "He won't have a chance."

"Wenwen from President Zhan's family wants to see me, I..."

“I can also invite her to come and celebrate with you,” Wu Zhou generously offered.

Jiang Xia didn't even have a chance to refuse now.

But since Mr. Wu can say that, then tomorrow night will probably just be a regular meal.

Jiang Xia saw that he had written at least two thousand words of notes for himself, both handwritten and electronic. He had also contacted former classmates to learn about the latest research directions of the authors of several books during their time teaching at the university.

Jiang Xia relaxed, smiled, and nodded: "Okay."

He wanted to escort Wu Zhou downstairs, but politely declined, saying, "You've changed into lighter clothes, don't go downstairs and catch a cold."

After watching him disappear, Jiang Xia closed the door, her legs felt weak, and she went back to her bedroom, collapsed into bed, and covered her head with a pillow.

When Wu Zhou got close just now, she thought he was going to kiss her.

His phone rang, and he quickly picked it up to see that it was Zhan Lintian asking him when he would be going to play with Wenwen the next night.

Jiangxia answered truthfully.

Looking at the question, Zhan Lintian replied, "I think Wu Zhou's plans for tomorrow will be more than just a simple meal."

Jiang Xia: "?"

Upon seeing the question mark, Zhan Lintian knew that Jiang Xia hadn't reacted yet.

It's more likely that Wu Zhou will confess his feelings.

He was used to having unrequited love, used to not easily expressing his feelings, and instinctively projected his own habits onto others.

Zhan Lintian sent a message: "Where should we eat tomorrow?"

Jiang Xia gave the address.

Zhan Lintian replied: "I understand. Have fun tomorrow. It's getting late, get some rest."

"good evening."

Zhan Lintian put down his phone, took out a cigarette, lit it, but had no interest in smoking it.

Wasn't my original intention to make Jiang Xia understand Wu Zhou's intentions so that he could make a decision?

Previously, he thought it was impossible for Jiang Xia to be moved by Wu Zhou.

but……

Zhan Lintian, with a cigarette butt between his teeth, said, "Something's not right. There's also Wu Ming..."

He snapped out of his reverie and stubbed out his cigarette. Last time, Jiang Xia seemed to dislike the smell of cigarettes; he preferred sweets.

at the same time.

Wu Zhou was on his way home when he told the driver, "Go to a flower shop, find a famous one."

The driver said, "I know a brand. When the second young master gave flowers to other girls before, they all liked that brand's style. It's very famous."

It's not cheap either; a regular bouquet can cost several thousand.

The car stopped in front of the flower shop, where there were employees on duty 24 hours a day.

Before he arrived, he had already contacted the shop owner through his assistant to arrange for his order to be accepted tomorrow, but he needed to confirm the flowers he wanted in advance.

Wu Zhou went into the flower shop on the sixth floor. There were many kinds of flowers inside. He stopped at the rose shelf, and the dazzling red roses caught his eye.

He imagined Jiang Xia holding a red rose, the red color complementing his face...

Send him red roses; hopefully, it won't scare him away...

Jiang Xia was frightened by him tonight.

After falling asleep, I had a hazy dream.

I dreamt that he was sleeping at home, and a pair of hands wrapped around his waist from behind, pulling him into a man's arms.

The man behind him kissed his neck and ears, sucking on the red mole on his cheek.

Their bodies were pressed together, he clamped his own calves between his legs, and Jiang Xia lightly stepped on his calves—to no avail. Instead, the man chuckled and rubbed his feet against each other: "So soft..."

The man then guided him to turn his head, kissing him all the way to the corner of his mouth, gently holding his lips in his mouth.

The soft, smooth touch made Jiang Xia's body burn with heat. The man behind him kissed him deeper and deeper, his fingertips caressing his chin.

"Open your mouth..." the other person coaxed.

Jiang Xia was in a daze, his whole body stiff, and he dared not speak, fearing that the other party would take the opportunity to enter.

After her lips were moist and swollen from the man's kisses, he asked with a satisfied yet mischievous grin, "Am I... taking advantage of you like this?"

A note from the author:

Zhan Lintian: I can't figure out what you're trying to do?

Wu Zhou: Think about Wu Ming.

Zhan Lintian: ...Then dealing with him is more important.