Chapter 35 Jealousy

The man behind him embraced him and whispered in his ear, a sound that was both a soft laugh and a flirtatious question.

A warm palm was placed on Jiang Xia's stomach and gently pressed.

"So soft..."

In the dream, Jiang Xia had absolutely no strength to pull the other person away.

Her legs were also clamped tightly by the other party, and her feet kicked the other party's calves, but the man gently rubbed against her instead.

The person behind him was whispering intimately to him, flirting with him like a couple.

The other person kissed Jiang Xia from the red mole on his cheek to his neck, and Jiang Xia felt hot all over.

The other person was still whispering in her ear, asking, "Jiang Xia, am I being unfair to you?"

Jiang Xia recognized the familiar tone and words; he realized who was behind him.

Wu Zhou murmured softly, "Jiangxia..."

The next moment, his chin was gripped, and Wu Zhou kissed him forcefully...

On a cold winter day, the river gorge was awakened by the heat.

The ceiling above him was snow-white, and the outside was brightly lit. He vaguely remembered that he had forgotten to close the curtains before going to bed last night...

The alarm clock by the bedside kept ringing.

He came to his senses and silently covered his flushed face with the blanket. How could it be Wu Ming's older brother?

Ten minutes later, the alarm clock rang for the second time.

Jiang Xia took a deep breath and got out of bed. Standing by the bed, he rubbed his face and quickly washed up.

"Wake up, we have a meeting at nine..."

Jiangxia set the time: the meeting will start at 9 o'clock, it is now 6:30, and it will take about 40 minutes to an hour to get there by taking the ring expressway.

The three districts are connected by a bridge, and although Montreal's road planning and traffic diversion are well done, he still allowed two hours of traffic congestion time.

After tidying up, Jiang Xia checked his phone again before leaving. Wu Ming had sent a message at three in the morning.

“Jiangxia, the houses in Linjiang Bay are nice. I’ll go take a look for you later, and you can choose the type of apartment you like.”

Jiang Xia looked at that sentence.

Last time, Wu Ming said that within 20 million yuan, one could choose any house in Mengcheng.

However, this time in Linjiang Bay, the developer has two projects: one is a villa area, and the other is a 32-story high-rise residential complex.

Jiang Xia opened the website, and the lowest listed price for this property was 40 million yuan per unit.

Jiang Xia typed back: "Too expensive, never mind, thank you."

He put away his phone, quickly went downstairs, and drove to the meeting place.

At 7:30, he arrived at the Montreal Publishing House building on time.

He found a parking lot nearby and slowed his pace as he walked toward the publishing house building to avoid sweating from walking too fast.

At eight o'clock, Zhang Hui, the apprentice, walked out of Exit B of the Mengcheng Publishing House subway station.

The young man carried documents in his left hand and breakfast in his right. As soon as he exited the subway station, he spotted Jiangxia standing to the side, waiting for him.

"Master!"

Jiang Xia was dressed in a formal suit today, with a solid-colored tie that matched his suit, and was looking down at the time.

Hearing the voice, he turned around and smiled at Zhao Hui: "This way."

"Master, the tea is unsweetened," Zhang Hui said somewhat flusteredly. "Would you like a hamburger or fried dough sticks?"

Jiang Xia took the hamburger: "I rarely eat oily food. Thank you. Please go inside and wait."

You can try it occasionally, but not now. Eating too much oily food all of a sudden will upset your stomach.

Yinghua came in at 8:30.

He wasn't in a hurry; he lived nearby and didn't need to worry about traffic jams.

After shaking hands with Jiang Xia, Ying Hua jokingly asked, "What time did you get up?"

"Six-thirty, let's leave some buffer time."

"It's so early. I told you to stay at my place last night so you could sleep in a little longer. Let's go to the meeting room. I'll have to trouble you today."

"You're welcome. I will definitely do my best."

Jiang Xia followed with a smile, and Zhang Hui followed closely behind.

Before the meeting started, Jiang Xia changed his WeChat Moments signature: Meeting in the morning, please leave a message if you need anything.

He then turned off his phone and placed it face down on the table.

Although Ying Hua did not demand that the content of the meeting be kept confidential, he still acted in accordance with the rules.

The second party's representatives entered the meeting room promptly at 9:00 AM.

They also brought a translator with them. The middle-aged man with gray hair at the head of the group praised Jiang Xia when he shook hands with him.

It's probably slang; Jiang Xia isn't entirely sure what it means, but it definitely carries a complimentary connotation...

Wu Zhou studied abroad for many years, so he is more familiar with translating this kind of slang.

Jiang Xia thought to himself, "I can ask Mr. Wu about it when I have dinner with him tonight, so I won't be unable to translate it next time."

During the short meeting, Wu Ming woke up at ten o'clock and, upon seeing Jiang Xia's reply, hurriedly sent several messages.

“I heard from a friend that the houses there are very nice, and you don’t need to worry. I will pay the property management fees for thirty years, and you can sell them and buy new ones after a while.”

"It's more convenient for you to go to work there; it's closer to the Economic Development Zone."

"Jiang Xia, it's already 10:30. You must be at the company by now. Why aren't you replying to my messages?"

I couldn't get through on the phone either.

After finishing breakfast, Wu Ming remained restless. Finally, he grabbed his coat and ran outside, saying, "Uncle Li, please arrange a driver for me. I need to go out."

He was in a hurry, like a whirlwind passing through Wu and Zhou.

Things were no longer under his control, and Wu Ming had no desire to get his elder brother's consent.

He needs to go find Jiangxia.

During this period, everything was wrong. Many times, as soon as Jiang Xia and I met, fate would somehow separate us.

Wu Zhou sat on the sofa, legs crossed, hands on her knees, not looking at him, and said only one sentence: "He has a simultaneous interpreting job today and is not in the company."

Wu Ming stopped abruptly, nearly stumbling and falling, then asked with keen insight and instinct, "Brother, how did you know?"

Wu Zhou finally looked up and glanced at him: "He changed his WeChat Moments signature this morning; it wasn't like this last night."

What kind of WeChat Moments signature?

Wu Ming suspiciously clicked on the Jiangxia profile picture.

“I never noticed that before.”

He breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother, you're so observant?"

Wu Zhou didn't respond or explain, but instead asked, "He should have told you about the work arrangements beforehand, didn't you forget?"

Wu Ming scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. He seemed to have said something like that, but he couldn't remember it.

However, it's a foregone conclusion that Jiang Xia will refuse to give him the house.

Wu Ming understood that Jiang Xia wouldn't readily accept others' kindness. If that was the case... he could try a different approach, taking things step by step.

Wu Ming said, "Then I'm going to celebrate for him tonight and wish him a successful completion of his work."

Wu Zhou interrupted, "The engagement is in seven days. You're going to the Xie family for dinner tonight."

Wu Ming looked dejected and let out a long sigh. He stood up and said, "Big brother, have you reached an agreement with the Xie family? Is an engagement the only option? Just give them whatever they want."

"If you're not satisfied with my approach, you can resolve it yourself." Wu Zhou looked at him coldly, and Wu Ming slunk away.

Since the Xie family wants the Wu family's cooperation, Wu Ming really can't bypass Wu Zhou and talk to the Xie family directly.

In the end, he realized that he had indeed neglected Jiangxia, so he contacted Assistant Xie and asked him to prepare a gift.

Two months ago, Jiang Xia failed to get a personally signed copy of a certain book.

Wu Ming then used his connections to ask a friend to go directly to the original author to communicate and request an autograph.

He then solemnly taught it to Assistant Xie, repeatedly instructing him: "Be sure to give it to Jiang Xia! He likes it very much."

"Yes, Second Young Master."

Mr. Wu arranged for Assistant Xie to book a restaurant, and Assistant Xie thought to himself that he would deliver the food there later.

Killing two birds with one stone...

Assistant Xie took the book with both hands and got into the car. The scenery outside the car window changed as the car drove across the bridge.

He got out of the car and went upstairs. At dusk, he entered the restaurant, walked to Jiang Xia's side, and handed him the book.

"A gift from the second young master."

Jiang Xia asked in confusion, "Wu Ming didn't tell me."

He said it was a surprise.

Jiang Xia had just finished a busy day. After a meeting in the morning, he had lunch with Ying Hua and others.

He went home in the afternoon and changed into a looser set of clothes before coming to the appointment.

On the way, only General Manager Zhan sent a message inquiring about Wu Zhou's situation; Jiang Xia was unaware of the details—because General Manager Wu hadn't sent him any messages that day.

Wu Ming, on the other hand, made another half-hour phone call in the afternoon. The conversation was quite disorganized, and he was unwilling to hang up.

Now... Jiang Xia lowered his eyes and, through the transparent crystal case, saw a collection of poems quietly placed inside.

Jiang Xia's eyes welled up with emotion, and after a moment she said, "I will talk to Wu Ming, but if you meet with him first, please give him my thanks."

Assistant Xie nodded: "Then I'll be going now, it's time to go home. There's not much work today, Mr. Wu is working from home, hehe."

Jiang Xia waved to him, urging him to leave early, since his child was still young.

Jiang Xia sat down again, resting his chin on his hand and gazing at the scenery outside the window, still not opening the precious book.

Zhan Lintian arrived earlier than Wu Zhou, and he also brought Wenwen with him.

The child no longer had a cold or fever, her condition improved, and she was jumping around in her cute little dress, circling around Jiangxia's legs.

"Uncle Jiang, when can I come to play with you?"

"I have many toys."

You smell nice.

Jiang Xia chuckled and picked her up. It was probably the scent of the fabric softener from her recently changed clothes that the child liked.

The sales assistant said this fabric softener is suitable for winter, and its scent is like the feeling of sunshine on your skin after many gloomy days.

To put it more poetically, Jiangxia suggests buying a bottle and giving it a try.

It smells mild and sweet, somewhat like milk candy.

But after smelling it so much, he couldn't smell it anymore.

Wenwen is still young, but she has a keen sense of smell. Plus, her uncle takes her out to play, so it doesn't matter what she does, just being out is a good thing.

Zhan Lintian leaned to the side and sniffed near his ear, confirming again: "It does smell quite nice."

Jiang Xia leaned to the side, and Zhan Lintian reached out and hooked his waist, pulling him back.

He laughed and asked, "Why are you hiding? I'm not going to eat you."

Zhan Lintian raised an eyebrow: "Compared to me, I think Wu Zhou is the one with ulterior motives. He really likes you. People should be more open-minded and keep moving forward."

Jiang Xia lowered his eyes: "I understand."

Zhan Lintian hesitated, but all his unspoken words were condensed into one sentence: "You..."

In the foggy country, he watched PDFs of love dramas about studying abroad every day, encountering all sorts of rotten people, cheating, having affairs, and entangled in love and hate. It was as if their love was like a storm, coming and going quickly.

Most of the accusatory articles, thousands or even tens of thousands of words long, cannot compare to Jiang Xia's consistent denial of liking Wu Ming.

Because I like him, I have to consider Wu Ming's feelings.

Nowadays, people who are devoted to their relationships are left speechless after being hurt.

Zhan Lintian looked at Jiang Xia, who was comforting a child, and thought to himself, "If it were him, I hope he can find happiness..."

Zhan Lintian's eyes darkened, his smile faded, and then he patted Jiang Xia's hair, subtly tidying his hair.

"Enjoy your dinner. If things go wrong, I'll bring Wenwen with me. After all, I trust Wu Zhou won't hit someone who's all smiles," Zhan Lintian said.

Just then, Jiang Xia's phone vibrated.

Mr. Wu sent me a message: "I'm almost at the door."

Jiang Xia was still puzzled when Assistant Xie said that General Manager Wu hadn't gone to work today, and that he should have gone upstairs with him.

But Wu Zhou was a little late...

Zhan Lintian quickly carried Wenwen to another table and ordered a lot of simple dishes for the child to eat by herself.

Wenwen's voice was muffled, and she didn't understand. She asked him, "Uncle, why can't we play with Uncle Jiang?"

"Because Uncle Jiang has a date."

"Then why didn't you go on a date with Uncle Jiang, Uncle?"

Wenwen, eating her unappetizing vegetables, puffed out her cheeks and asked in her childish voice, "Can Uncle Jiang still play with us in the future?"

Zhan Lintian covered her mouth: "Don't talk while you're eating. Didn't your uncle bring you here? If you make too much noise, you won't be able to stay here any longer."

Startled by him, Wenwen quickly fell silent and nodded.

Zhan Lintian stared intently at Jiang Xia, who was about to go to the restaurant entrance to greet President Wu.

But the moment you turn around, the dazzling red color is the first thing that catches your eye in the gorge.

Wu Zhou was dressed in a formal suit and holding a bunch of highland red roses. The green leaves at the bottom of the bouquet were not removed; they were clustered together and tied with a black silk ribbon.

The bouquet was large, but Wu Zhou was tall with broad hands and long, thick fingers, and easily pinched it with one hand.

The flowers swayed slightly as he walked, and Wu Zhou held them in front of him, carefully tending to them.

Wu Zhou gazed into Jiang Xia's eyes, approaching step by step, his footsteps thunderous and his pace slightly hurried.

He slowly stood in front of Jiang Xia, handed her the flowers, and said in a hoarse voice, "May your work go smoothly."

He simply wished Jiangxia success in his work.

Jiang Xia hesitated, and Wu Zhou did not confess directly; he had been leaving room for maneuver these past few days.

Whether Jiangxia accepts it or not, their relationship will not break down.

If Jiangxia agrees, we can take it a step further.

Jiang Xia hesitated for a long time, but Wu Zhou was not in a hurry either.

He has always been patient.

Jiang Xia finally accepted the bouquet with both hands. Looking at the dark red roses in her arms, she suppressed her emotions and asked softly, "Why did you give me roses?"

Wu Zhou looked her over; the dark red roses, like silk, accentuated Jiang Xia's face, making her even more beautiful.

"Because it suits you perfectly."

Jiang Xia, in particular, was wearing a brown velvet shirt with fine shimmer and a well-fitting cut. He was sitting upright, holding a bouquet of roses that symbolized love.

Jiang Xia pursed her lips, her face flushed, and whispered her thanks.

"I..." Jiang Xia was about to speak when her phone rang again.

Wu Zhou frowned, but still calmly said, "Phone? Sit down first."

Jiang Xia waved his hand, lowering his voice somewhat embarrassed: "It's the alarm clock."

Wu Zhou repeated: "Alarm clock?"

After a moment of silence, Jiang Xia whispered the truth: "The alarm that reminded me to cancel my plane ticket was because Wu Ming suggested I go to an island for a trip. I was thinking of attending an engagement party and couldn't go, so I canceled the ticket."

Wu Zhou chuckled: "I understand."

They spoke softly. Zhan Lintian was quite far away, and although he could see the river gorge, he couldn't hear Zhan Lintian's voice.

Zhan Lintian could only see Jiang Xia's lips moving as they whispered to each other.

Jiang Xia, perhaps speaking too softly and fearing Wu Zhou might not hear him, leaned forward slightly.

This action is an instinctive expression of trust in the other person...

Zhan Lintian stared silently, expressionless. What was he laughing at?

.

A note from the author:

Wenwen: Uncle, why wasn't it you who went on a date with Uncle Jiang? [Please!]

Zhan Lintian: Oh right?!