Chapter 78 Accomplices (Bonus Chapter)

Wu Zhou has always been known for his sharp tongue, and his concise words struck Wu Ming right to the heart.

He never held back his anger towards his younger brother.

Wu Ming was still unwilling to give up and wanted to seize the last opportunity, so he pleaded, "Big brother, you promised me you would keep an eye on Jiangxia..."

Wu Zhou snorted coldly.

“You’re dreaming. I didn’t agree to that.” He scolded his brother.

After being reprimanded, Wu Ming tried hard to recall, and it seemed that his older brother... had never explicitly pointed it out.

Wu Ming's limbs went limp, and he slid from the sofa to the floor, head bowed. "Big brother, I beg you, please keep an eye on Zhan Lintian for me. Jiang Xia is soft-hearted. If he takes advantage of her, she will never break up with him for my sake..."

Wu Ming was on the verge of collapse. The situation was like a runaway carriage hurtling towards a cliff, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't avoid the tragedy of falling off the cliff.

The stubborn Jiang Xia in junior high school, the cheerful and hardworking Jiang Xia in high school, and the resolute Jiang Xia in college—these are all things that keep entangled with him. He simply cannot accept the ending where Jiang Xia and he part ways.

He hoped that his elder brother could implicate Zhan Lintian, preferably until he and Xie Xingzhang canceled their engagement, and that he could return to China safely and reunite with Jiang Xia in the midst of heavy snow.

There must still be a chance...

Tears streamed down his cheeks, landing silently on the soft carpet.

"Please, help me," he whimpered, curled up on the ground, forehead pressed against the earth, like a young animal that had lost everything, howling in the dead of night. "I...love him, brother, do you understand?"

After a long pause, a soft murmur came from the other end of the phone: "Who doesn't love him?"

Wu Ming, in a fit of desperation, declared: "If you don't help me, I'll fight to the death. My surname is Wu, and my interests are aligned with the Xie family's..."

One surname binds them all together.

But Wu Zhou shattered everything with just one sentence: "Wu Ming, how much more disappointed do you want Jiang Xia to be in you?"

Wu Ming stopped trembling, but his pupils continued to tremble. He recalled the smile in Jiang Xia's eyes when they parted at the airport. There was relief, mockery, and loss in the smile. Every emotion was piercing his heart.

But back then I was slow-witted and clumsy with words.

If only I had embraced Jiang Xia back then...

He used to mock Jiang Xia for being a "literary youth," but now he regrets it. Being a literary youth is great...

He knew nothing, didn't know how to express his pain to Jiang Xia in words, nor did he know how to quote classics and recount in detail how his heart was being torn apart inch by inch...

He was in great pain and couldn't speak; tears streamed down his face first.

Will Jiang Xia think he didn't hurt deeply enough...?

Wu Ming gasped for a long time before Wu Zhou said only, "I will protect Jiang Xia. Everything will go according to his wishes. So, Wu Ming, no matter what the outcome, please respect his decision."

Wu Ming gritted his teeth and said firmly, "Brother, if you can't control Zhan Lintian, then please keep an eye on Jiangxia for me."

“He’s really soft-hearted. I’m pretty sure that as long as I go back to China and play the victim, he’ll definitely come back to me. Then the opportunity will arise…”

"But the premise is that he won't hurt anyone when he turns around, so we can't let Zhan Lintian pester us to establish a relationship!"

Wu Zhou gripped his phone tightly: "I see, you really know him..."

A soft laugh came from the other end of the phone: "Okay."

Wu Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After hanging up, Wu Zhou put down his phone, placed it face down on the table, and continued looking at the computer screen.

He needed to finish his current task and then rush back to see Jiangxia.

Recently, Mr. Wu's work efficiency has improved significantly. He used to always work overtime, but now he consistently leaves work before 8 p.m.

At 7:30 p.m., the secretary knocked on the door.

Wu Zhou stared at the screen for too long, then closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

The secretary came in and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Wu, would you like me to arrange dinner?"

Wu Zhou declined, saying, "No need."

He stood up, grabbed his coat, walked to his secretary by the door, and said with a light laugh, "I've been going home for dinner lately; my wife is waiting for me at home."

The secretary said "oh" twice, nodded, and her lips twitched. So the boss is no longer single?

The boss's tone, as if he were admitting something without being asked, was just like a peacock spreading its tail feathers.

They just asked him if he wanted to order dinner; nobody asked him if he had a wife!

The secretary had heard about it before; no wonder people said he'd been ordering flowers a lot lately.

Before going to find Jiangxia, Wu Zhou went to the flower shop to pick up the flowers he had ordered. Today's flowers were a perfect sweet combination of blue star flowers and pale yellow floral paper.

The color scheme is light and sweet.

The recent heavy snowfalls are a strong indication of an impending snow disaster.

Traffic control measures are in place in Mengcheng, and roads are undergoing frantic desalination.

Wu Zhou's driver kept stopping and starting along the way.

Zhan Lintian and Jiang Xia were also stuck in traffic.

The two sat in the back seat.

Jiang Xia was wearing a mask, and Zhan Lintian gently tugged at the mask strap: "Are you sick? Shall I take you to the hospital?"

Jiang Xia first shook his head, then covered his face, glanced at the barrier again, and finally looked at Zhan Lintian.

He raised an eyebrow, his brow furrowed, and said with a hint of anger, "Didn't you think about the trouble that would cause you by leaking your payment information?"

Zhan Lintian moved a fraction closer and asked, "What kind of trouble will there be?"

Jiang Xia frowned: "Others will know you're pursuing a... man."

Zhan Lintian retorted, "It's better than saying I'm still a bachelor."

Jiang Xia frowned, his eyes serious, when he was suddenly pulled into Zhan Lintian's arms. He turned around and sat diagonally on Zhan Lintian's lap.

Zhan Lintian shook him gently and said, "I can feel your anger and your emotions, but Jiang Xia, the more you consider my interests, the happier I am."

He pulled down Jiang Xia's mask with his fingers, revealing his face underneath.

"After the darkest hour comes the dawn, isn't that right?"

"And..." he deliberately drew out his words, "If everyone knew I was pursuing you, and in your eyes my reputation was ruined, would you be willing to take responsibility?"

Jiang Xia frowned: "That's just sophistry."

Zhan Lintian scoffed: "There's no sophistry involved. Wu Ming did make several phone calls from the Fog Country."

"Block him and don't answer his calls," Jiang Xia advised.

Zhan Lintian said softly, "Who cares about him? I didn't answer. If he had agreed, he would be a homewrecker, and I could call him back and yell at him."

Zhan Lintian hugged him and joked.

Jiang Xia looked at him and breathed a sigh of relief: "He has no right to insult you."

"I'm sorry..." Jiang Xia apologized instinctively.

Zhan Lintian stared at him, his heart softening, and he couldn't help but swallow.

"It's because you try to handle everything in a very respectable way that people will take advantage of you."

Jiang Xia avoided eye contact: "Sometimes there's no need to fall out with someone."

This is his life motto, and it has helped him countless times.

Mr. Zhan understands Jiangxia perfectly well, but he handles things too skillfully and still wants to find a balance in his relationship.

It's likely that many people have secretly courted him over the years, but Jiang Xia has unconsciously and politely "rejected" them all.

If there hadn't been some warning signs, would that idiot Wu have been keeping such a close eye on him?

"Twenty-seven years old...and handsome..." President Zhan listed his merits.

"Person of good moral character, no romantic history, no bad habits, and what is your annual salary?"

He asked Jiang Xia.

After waiting for a while, Jiang Xia sighed: "Last year, after taxes, we had more than fifty..."

Zhan Lintian nodded: "1.8 meters tall, devoted to relationships, good-tempered, and highly educated..."

He couldn't even imagine how popular Jiangxia would be...

Good investments are snapped up quickly, and so are good investment opportunities.

Now, in the back seat, the driver is driving in the front.

Jiang Xia sat casually on his lap, and Zhan Lintian stroked Jiang Xia's face, a hint of affection appearing in his eyes and face... a feeling that Zhan Lintian had slowly guided out...

Zhan Lintian's eyes were dark. If Jiang Xia and he were to establish a relationship, he would let him feel... and let his body, which had been parched with loneliness for many years, become nourished.

You have to find your own opportunities.

But I can't scare Jiang Xia. For example, last night I dreamed that I was pinning Jiang Xia down on the floor and bullying him, not letting him get up.

Jiang Xia was guided to be more self-aware, which allowed people to better understand him.

His heart pounded wildly in his chest with each word, like a feather brushing against the tip of a feather, making him tremble uncontrollably.

Zhan Lintian didn't think there was anything shameful about thinking these things... He and Jiang Xia would do such things sooner or later...

Together they will explore the souls that are most compatible between the two people, using the most irresistible methods in Jiangxia to help him mature and accept her as his lover...

At this moment, Jiang Xia was still quietly gazing at herself...

Zhan Lintian hugged him tightly and rubbed him like a cat.

Jiang Xia asked, bewildered, "What...is wrong?"

Zhan Lintian touched Jiang Xia's ring finger without making a sound: "I like you so much."

I really want to see Jiangxia wearing a ring...

Jiang Xia let out a soft "ha".

After arriving home, Zhan Lintian was reluctant to leave and wanted to follow Jiang Xia. As soon as Jiang Xia got off the bus, he saw Wu Zhou's text message.

He'll be here in a few minutes...

During the tug-of-war, Jiang Xia politely declined Wu Zhou and Zhan Lintian's offer to go upstairs.

He only took the bouquet of flowers that Wu Zhou had given him.

Jiang Xia wouldn't let them go up; they were to wait here, not wanting the driver to be sitting next to them.

Seeing that the lights were on at Jiang Xia's house, Wu Zhou didn't rush to leave.

Wu Zhou said, "Shall we find a place to talk?"

Zhan Lintian smiled and said, "Okay."

The drivers temporarily moved the car to a nearby location. Zhan Lintian listened briefly to Wu Zhou's account.

"Of course I know he's soft-hearted..."

"If Wu Ming really returns to China..."

Zhan Lintian: "I will not allow him to meet with Jiang Xia."

The two looked at each other without saying anything more. Before leaving, they both asked the driver to take a detour to Jiang Xia's apartment building.

Jiang Xia actually came downstairs.

He was shoveling snow around his grandmother's fruit stand.

Looking at the pile of snow, he half-squatted down and patted it down, making a circular motion.

Jiang Xia faced the old woman and spoke to her with a smile.

The old woman vaguely saw two friends standing far, far behind him, but she didn't go up to them and didn't know if they were Jiang Xia's friends.

The old man thought about it and decided not to call them over...

The two were watching Jiangxia build a snowman, and as they gazed at the scene before them, the corners of their mouths unconsciously turned up...

Wu Zhou murmured, "His happiness is the most important thing..."

Zhan Lintian complained, "If Wu Ming returns to China... can Jiang Xia really be heartless?"

"I can refuse, but..."

Neither of them looked at each other, but they both knew in their hearts that... Jiang Xia had to give them a proper status.

A note from the author:

Zhan Lintian and Wu Zhou: [rolling their eyes]

If it weren't for Wu Ming being such a thorn in their side, confidently declaring he could seize Jiangxia, they really wouldn't want to cooperate.

But the thought that it might make Jiangxia happier came to mind.

Small Theater

On Jiang Xia's birthday, he didn't want to celebrate, but since the two of them had already made preparations, he had no choice but to go along with it.

He had just finished work out of town and hadn't gotten back yet, so the two of them came here and booked a private room to set up the venue.

The two men sat on either side of him, imprisoning him.

Someone handed him the drink, and his lips touched the warm liquid; the liquid seemed sweet…

The two voices came out one after the other.

"Give it a try..."

"You can try some..."