Chapter 14 "I dare not steal Mr. Duan's bed."
Duan Zhuxian had probably just finished a shower. He was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and trousers with a soft fabric, and his hair was slightly damp.
Jiang Yao stared at him, his eyes sweeping back and forth from head to toe, finally landing on the button that was fastened to the very top. A question mark popped up in his mind -
What about the habit of being half naked after bathing?
Jiang Yao curled his lips.
Forget it, Duan Zhuxian never tells the truth, so I don’t want to bother with it.
The two looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds, separated by four or five meters of air.
Duan Zhuxian raised his eyebrows slightly and laughed briefly: "Why did Master Jiang suddenly come to me to ask for shelter?"
The ridicule was palpable.
Jiang Yao instinctively wanted to fight back, but realizing that he needed help from someone, he decided to give in to someone first.
"Yeah." He lowered his voice. "My brother is watching me. I'll just sleep on the floor. Is that okay?"
"no."
Duan Zhuxian threw down two words, stroking his black hair that was blown fluffy, walked to the bedside table, closed the open book, and stuffed it into the drawer.
Jiang Yao took a quick glance and it seemed to be related to traumatic stress.
Although Duan Zhuxian's reaction was understandable given their friendship and arranged marriage, Jiang Yao still felt a little disappointed when he heard this firm rejection.
What's more, this master bedroom is very large. It is not only divided into sleeping area and leisure area, but also has a small tea room made of rosewood. If one more person lives here, it won't take up much air at all.
"I know this might be a bit of a stretch for you." Jiang Yao, holding the blanket, took two steps forward, unwilling to give up, and said to the slightly indifferent figure, "But you promised to play along with me. Mr. Duan has even made billions of dollars in transactions. You wouldn't go back on your word for such a small matter, would you?"
Jiang Yao's tone was a little hurried, and his voice was a little slurred after drinking, which sounded like a scolding to Duan Zhuxian's ears.
After Jiang Yao finished talking, Duan Zhuxian turned around slowly.
"I mean, there's no need to sleep on the floor when there's a sofa."
Jiang Yao was stunned and said "Oh".
It seems that someone is not too heartless.
Duan Zhuxian said, "You pick one between the sofa and the bed."
Jiang Yao joked, "I wouldn't dare snatch Mr. Duan's bed."
He strode to the sofa and just as he spread the quilt on it, he suddenly realized that what he had just said seemed ambiguous.
Then, a certain awful night that should have been buried forever but was still fresh in the memory of both parties slowly emerged in their minds.
The cause of the incident happened to be a fight over a bed.
He suddenly felt a little bit nervous, but also had a glimmer of hope -
Maybe Duan Zhuxian is a forgetful person and didn't think of it?
He turned around calmly and happened to meet Duan Zhuxian's half-smile. The hot feeling on his back like needles suddenly rushed to his face.
Jiang Yao, are you sick? Why are you digging a hole for yourself?
Jiang Yao cursed himself inwardly and coughed lightly: "Don't think too much."
Duan Zhuxian raised his eyebrows: "What do you think I would think?"
Jiang Yao's face instantly caught fire, and blood rushed to his ears through the capillaries, making his temples buzz.
His face must have been so red that it was unbearable to look at.
But then Jiang Yao thought mischievously, let it be red, his face turned red anyway because he drank alcohol, and this little bit of color is just like the effect of water falling into water.
"How can I, a sunny and cheerful person, know what's going on in your dark mind?"
Jiang Yao pretended to be calm. Without waiting for Duan Zhuxian's response, he said, "Can I borrow your bathroom to take a shower?" and slipped into the bathroom in his pajamas.
After taking a shower, Duan Zhuxian was already sitting on the bed with a laptop between his legs. He was wearing a pair of glasses on his nose, which was rare. His eyes, which were usually deep and bottomless, were hidden by the reflection of the lenses.
When Jiang Yao saw the look of this gentleman, he couldn't help but say: "Tsk, working in the bedroom, what's wrong with that?"
He remembered that Duan Zhuxian used to go to the study to work overtime.
Duan Zhuxian raised his head slightly upon hearing this. The light reflected from his lenses disappeared, and three words came out of his pale lips: "I like it."
As the words fell, the sight behind the lenses stopped squarely on Jiang Yao's face, hitting his heartbeat.
Perhaps because it was late at night and everyone was asleep, Duan Zhuxian's deep voice lingered in the extremely private bedroom, with an inexplicable grainy texture.
Jiang Yao felt as if something had scratched his eardrum, causing it to feel itchy.
He rubbed his ears unconsciously, looked away, turned off the headlights, yawned and sat down on the sofa.
"Then you can roll it slowly. I'll lie down first as a sign of respect."
Since Duan Zhuxian was still working, the soft light at the head of the bed was turned on, and the light spread to the sofa on the other side, leaving only a thin layer of mist.
Such an environment should have perfectly met Jiang Yao's needs for sleeping brightness, neither dark nor dazzling, but ever since he touched the pillow, his sleepiness seemed to be taken away bit by bit.
After lying in bed for a long time and unable to fall asleep, Jiang Yao simply turned sideways towards Duan Zhuxian and started a topic, telling him about all the complaints his brother had made to him tonight, in order to let Duan Zhuxian avoid any minefields that might encourage his brother's rebellious psychology, and try his best to cooperate with him to complete the tasks assigned by his parents.
During this time, Duan Zhuxian didn't look up or say anything, and it was unknown whether he was listening or not.
After someone kept muttering to himself for a long time, Young Master Jiang lost his temper and snorted coldly, "See? This is the tragic end of a commercial marriage. Some idiots are still rushing to snatch the marriage."
After he said that, he opened his slightly closed eyelids and glanced at Duan Zhuxian.
Duan Zhuxian also looked up at him and finally spoke: "We won't go that far."
The tone is firm.
Jiang Yao paused and sneered, "Yeah, those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. With our relationship, it can't get any worse."
After he finished speaking, he raised his eyebrows provocatively and prepared a hundred sentences for Duan Zhuxian to fight.
Unexpectedly, Duan Zhuxian seemed to be deaf again, lowered his eyes and continued to browse emails.
?
Jiang Yao was choked.
What does Duan Zhuxian mean?
Does it mean that his interpretation is correct, or does it imply that his understanding is wrong?
The more Jiang Yao thought about it, the more he realized that Duan Zhuxian's level had improved.
Compared to the past when he would fight him for three hundred rounds, Duan Zhuxian now often left an ambiguous sentence and quickly ended the battle, leaving him standing there and losing his composure.
It's like riding a roller coaster and suddenly getting stuck at the top, hanging in the air with no way up or down.
One-sided verbal battles were boring, so Jiang Yao closed his eyes and decided to force himself to sleep. Fortunately, sleepiness finally returned.
In a daze, a low and calm voice unexpectedly fell into my ears, like a voice from outer space.
"Because your brother and your sister-in-law have no emotional foundation."
Another sentence full of ambiguity.
Look at what he said. Didn’t Duan Zhuxian’s rank improve?
But he was extremely sleepy at the moment and had no energy to look at Duan Zhuxian's expression when he said this, to see how much sarcasm was in it.
After a long while, Jiang Yao finally muttered, "Alright, we've been fighting for so many years, let's just say it's a kind of relationship..."
The moon gradually disappeared into the clouds, and the sofa in the corner was left with only its even and tranquil breathing, like the lingering sound of the moonlight outside the window.
Duan Zhuxian raised his head from the email that had not been opened for a long time, and his gaze, which had been restrained behind his lenses for a long time, finally fell unscrupulously on the sleeping man.
The person who was arguing with him in a sarcastic manner just a second ago, put away his fur and lay flat on his back the next second, like a fox taking a nap with its belly turned up, with his aggressive mouth breathing slightly, without any defense.
Jiang Yao's lips are fleshy, full in the middle and slightly upturned at both ends. When they quarrel, they will pout their lips unconsciously, as if he is playing tricks, making people want to temporarily put aside winning or losing and coax him softly.
But sometimes, when he was annoyed by the young master's nagging, he would have some dangerous thoughts, such as shutting up this mouth in some straightforward way.
Jiang Yao turned over in his sleep. Because the sofa was a bit narrow, half of the thin blanket on his body fell to the ground, and the other half was held in his arms.
Duan Zhuxian walked over, bent down and grabbed the edge of the quilt. Just as he pulled himself out two centimeters from Jiang Yao's arms, Jiang Yao pulled him back forcefully and held him tighter like a baby.
After a while, still feeling unsafe, Jiang Yao bent one of his long legs and pressed it on the quilt. The stretching movement caused the hem of his clothes and the waistband of his pants to separate, and the snow-white waistline was clearly exposed to Duan Zhuxian's eyes.
Duan Zhuxian's expression is slightly complicated.
Two hours ago, when Jiang Yao came in and asked for shelter, he was actually very surprised.
Clearly, something like that had happened between them, and Jiang Yao was so angry that she wanted to never see him again.
But in the blink of an eye, Jiang Yao pretended to have forgotten Guang, and even in some aspects, he still retained an almost naive trust in him, thinking that he could write off everything with an indifferent attitude.
Little do they know that such "generosity" will only make people become more and more greedy, and they can't stop wanting more.
Duan Zhuxian's eyes darkened a little. He forced himself to look away from that waist and continued to adjust the quilt. Afraid of waking the person up, he had to cover Jiang Yao with the half that fell on the ground.
He had just tucked in the quilt when he saw the man beneath him twitch his lips and utter a low chuckle: "Shameless old thief, look at the sword..."
Immediately afterwards, Jiang Yao stretched out his two slender arms from the sofa, clenched his fists and waved them towards his chest, closing his eyes and frowning more and more.
Judging from the posture that he was about to go berserk at any second, he must have used up all his martial arts skills but still failed to hit the opponent.
The old thief in the dream must be him, as he could make Jiang Yao so anxious.
How can there be such a beautiful and lovely person?
But it appeared in front of him early, year after year, fresh and warm, and he could never get enough of it.
Duan Zhuxian stood up straight, rubbed his eyebrows, and felt completely depressed.
A cell phone not far away lit up, and a message was received from the other side of the ocean. It was from Gu Heng, a good friend of Duan Zhuxian when he was studying abroad, asking him what he was busy with recently after not contacting him for so long.
Duan Zhuxian replied, "Prepare to get married."
Eight thousand kilometers away, Gu Heng, who was sunbathing on the beach, suddenly sat up, his sunglasses half falling off in shock. "So sudden?? Who is it??"
Duan Zhuxian: "Him."
Gu Heng almost thought he was daydreaming, and after a long while he replied, "Oh my god, you finally got that person? Could it be the legendary business marriage?"
When studying abroad, Gu Heng knew that Duan Zhuxian had a white moonlight in his heart, but he didn't know who it was. He only knew that Duan Zhuxian had a very bad relationship with that person and it was absolutely impossible for them to fall in love unless the love was forced.
He was actually quite puzzled. How did an academic elite with an outstanding IQ, who could stir up the financial world during his student days, get himself into such an unsolvable dilemma?
Later, he figured out the answer: God opened a hundred doors for Duan Zhuxian, so he had to close a window, otherwise other mortals would not be able to survive.
Duan Zhuxian looked at Gu Heng's message, paused, and replied with a "hmm", without denying the word "bind" used by the other party.
He did use the most dishonest method that Jiang Yao would definitely be disgusted with.
Gu Heng quipped, "A forced melon isn't sweet, and it might even be poisonous. For details, take a look at my cousin and his ex-husband. Their divorce was so undignified."
His cousin is the young master of the Gu family bank. He once married the eldest grandson of a real estate tycoon. Their marriage and divorce caused a sensation in the city.
"Everything depends on human effort."
Duan Zhuxian only replied with four words.
At the beginning, it was he who personally handed Jiang Li's information to his grandfather, and it was he who secretly facilitated Huayan's initial plan to invest in Jiang Li when Jiang Li was in trouble.
Then, it’s marriage.
With the marriage certificate, he and Jiang Yao have the closest relationship in the world. Even if Jiang Yao hates him, they will eventually return to their common home.
As for how they should get along in the long years to come, he, like Jiang Yao, had no idea.
But there is one thing he is sure of, no matter what happens in the future, he will not let Jiang Yao go, and the word "divorce" does not exist in his dictionary.
Jiang Yao's evaluation of him was actually very accurate. He was selfish and had never been an upright person.
It is not an exaggeration to call him a "hypocrite".
Duan Zhuxian glanced at the sofa.
The sleeping man had wrapped himself in the little world rolled up by the quilt, leaving only a strand of red-dyed hair on the back of his head sticking out, completely unaware that he had fallen into a sinister and long-lasting trap.
Such a pure appearance reminded Duan Zhuxian of the first time he met Jiang Yao in his freshman year of high school.
It was late autumn.
On the volleyball court next to the dogwood tree, a tall and spirited young man in a red sweatshirt swaggered past him.
At the moment of taking off, his thin narrow waist bent backward in a tough arc, and he dunked the ball amid cheers, establishing an unshakable score difference between the two teams.
After the intense game, the boy was surrounded by a group of teammates and left the field. He was like a red fox showing off its might, with its tail raised, full of pride and satisfaction, more eye-catching than the scorching sun in the sky.
When he passed by Duan Zhuxian, he suddenly stopped, tilted his head and asked, "Are you Duan Zhuxian? I've seen you on the academic record board. My name is Jiang Yao, from Class 7."
Duan Zhuxian recalled for a moment and said, "Hmm," "The person below me is you."
Jiang Yao raised the corners of his lips and said, "You'd better remember my name, Jiang as in Jiangshui, Yao as in Yaoran, because next time I will be on top of you."
"We'll see."
Duan Zhuxian accepted the provocation calmly.
When Jiang Yao heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up, as if his desire to win was ignited.
"Don't worry, I won't let you down." Jiang Yao extended his hand towards Duan Zhuxian, glanced at the dust on his palm from touching the ball, and then retracted it. "It's a bit dirty, so I won't shake it for now."
Someone was calling Jiang Yao from a distance. They were a few classmates from other classes. Jiang Yao was liked wherever he went and had an absurdly good relationship with others.
Before leaving, Jiang Yao said to Duan Zhuxian, "You look quite tall, so you should be able to play volleyball. Let's play against each other next time we have a chance."
It's about "battle" rather than "teaming up".
In response to this, Duan Zhuxian just raised his eyebrows and did not express his opinion.
Perhaps from the very beginning, he was pushed to the opposite side by Jiang Yao, who unilaterally gave him the position of an inseparable and untouchable opponent.
He looked at Jiang Yao's swaggering back as he walked away, as if he was looking at an unexpected accident in his life. He calmly played with the arrogant red in his eyes.
The color of ripe fruit exudes an enticing sweetness.
It was not until much later, when he gradually became addicted to it, that he realized it was sour.
The deeper you hide it in your heart, the more painful it will be.
Until it seeps into the lungs, the sourness lingers.
【Author’s words】
Short segment: Hart soft
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