Chapter 66 "Duan Zhuxian, come home with me."
Duan Zhuxian turned sideways and looked at Jiang Yao: "Ask."
Jiang Yao took a deep breath, barely perceptible, and uttered in a flat tone: "Before me, have you ever liked anyone else?"
"No." Duan Zhuxian said without hesitation, "I said, this is my first love."
The night was dark, and Duan Zhuxian was standing with his back to the light. Jiang Yao had poor night vision and could not see Duan Zhuxian's eyes and expression clearly.
But it would be meaningless even if he saw it. As long as Duan Zhuxian wanted to deceive him, he would have ten thousand ways to make sure he couldn't find any flaws.
Duan Zhuxian teased: "Why did you suddenly think of asking this? Are you feeling jealous again?"
"Just asking." Jiang Yao pinched his wrist and twirled his fist. "But if you dare to lie to me, you're done."
If Duan Zhuxian really had a white moonlight before him, he, as his current lover, would be a little jealous and feel a little uncomfortable. This is human nature, but he would not mind too much. After all, he had briefly liked someone else during his adolescence.
But he couldn't accept Duan Zhuxian lying to him about such things.
Being open and honest is a thing of the past, being secretive is the only sign of something fishy, just like the moonlight remains but the feelings are still there.
Duan Zhuxian raised his hand, wrapped his palm around Jiang Yao's slightly cold fist, and pressed it against his chest: "I know, if I lie to you, you will beat me to death."
Jiang Yao pulled out his fist and put it in his pocket: "I changed my mind. I won't do such violence."
Duan Zhuxian raised his eyebrows: "Are you so kind to me?"
Jiang Yao raised his chin slightly and said, "Hmm." "If I beat you to death, I'll have to bear the legal consequences. I don't need to pay for it myself. If you lied to me, I'd just kick you out. Let's meet at the Civil Affairs Bureau. It won't waste each other's time. Isn't that merciful enough?"
Looking at Jiang Yao's suddenly cold expression, Duan Zhuxian pulled him into his arms, a helpless arc rising at the corner of his lips: "You might as well beat me to death."
Jiang Yao pretended to hit Duan Zhuxian on the back with his fist.
Duan Zhuxian groaned exaggeratedly and hugged her even tighter.
Jiang Yao was forced to rest his chin on Duan Zhuxian's shoulder and said nothing more.
Although he didn't believe Duan Feiyi's lies at all, and Duan Zhuxian also expressed his opinion in front of him, there was still a small knot in his heart that couldn't be dug out.
In short, it's not very comfortable.
*
When I returned to the house, the servants had already set the table for the New Year's Eve dinner in the dining room.
Mr. Duan was not feeling well, so he went back to another quiet little garden to sleep.
A large group of people sat around the long table, and the focus was still on Duan Zhuxian. Many people wanted to know what the old man had asked Duan Zhuxian to do upstairs just now, and they tried to hint at it in various ways, with one person taking turns to make a move.
Although Jiang Yao was sitting next to Duan Zhuxian, almost no elders took the initiative to talk to him, as if they ignored him and were deliberately excluding and ignoring him.
He had known that this group of people who claimed to be the old nobles of Lingbei would look down on the Jiang family from outside the area. Without these idiots to disturb him, he was happy to have some free time.
He was browsing his phone with his right hand when his left hand, which was resting on his knees, was suddenly grabbed. A pair of bony fingers squeezed into his fingers without any explanation, and the slightly rough fingerprints slowly rubbed across his palm, which was very teasing.
Jiang Yao's eyes were still on the phone. Not willing to be outdone, he turned over his hand and pressed Duan Zhuxian's hand down, squeezing it provocatively, waiting for the other party to break free with brute force.
However, Duan Zhuxian did not make any big movements. He just scratched his palm with his fingertips, and the itchy feeling instantly spread and reached the bottom of his heart.
Jiang Yao was a little lost for a moment, and the next second, his left hand, which had just taken the initiative, was pushed back by Duan Zhuxian.
He felt that he was careless and glanced at someone next to him with dissatisfaction.
The other person still had that masked, steady expression on his face, spoke appropriately, and dealt with the elders with ease, but he was secretly flirting with him under the table.
He curled his lips and secretly commented, "hypocritical."
In the past two years, although Duan Zhuxian has been gaining momentum and catching other members of the Duan family off guard, he has always maintained a respectful attitude in front of his elders. So in their eyes, no matter how glorious Duan Zhuxian looks, he is still the most unpopular junior in the Duan family.
After a few drinks, some people finally couldn't hold back their thoughts.
"Ah, if Sikai hadn't been taken away by the police, our party this year would have been even more lively."
A middle-aged man with half-gray hair suddenly sighed with a red face.
Jiang Yao raised his eyebrows slightly.
The Sikai this person was talking about was a distant cousin of Duan Zhuxian. He was imprisoned for economic crimes years ago. His parents did not come to the old house to pay New Year's greetings and have dinner tonight.
There are all kinds of rumors about this matter, and some even speculate that Duan Zhuxian is involved.
Another elder took a sip of wine and said half-smilingly and half-seriously, "Speaking of this, I can't help but talk about Zhuxian."
Duan Zhuxian nodded slightly, looking as if he was listening attentively.
Seeing this, the elder, acting like an educator, became even more assertive and shouted at Duan Zhuxian, "We are family after all. How could you so easily provide evidence to the police?"
Duan Zhuxian said with some difficulty: "The police came directly to my office with a clue that day. I was caught off guard."
The elder shook his head: "You are already 27 years old, and you still don't know how to adapt."
He Lu interrupted, "Don't be too hard on Zhuxian. He's still a young man, after all. How can he be perfect in everything?"
The elder smiled and said, "Okay, okay, I know you feel bad for Zhuxian, so I won't say anything more."
Second Uncle once again took the opportunity to flatter him: "Ah, after all these years, I've seen your sister-in-law not only treat Zhuxian like her own child, but also raise him to such an outstanding level. Who wouldn't be moved by this?"
At first, Jiang Yao was still eating melon seeds and watching the show, but gradually, he became a little restless.
After only seeing one ten-thousandth of the hypocrisy in this family, he no longer dared to think about what kind of environment Duan Zhuxian grew up in.
No wonder Duan Zhuxian always wears a thousand masks and is so unpredictable.
His mood was shrouded in a layer of damp absurdity, which made Jiang Yao's chest feel stuffy and he could only drink to suppress it.
The topic turned to He Lu, and everyone complimented her on her "magnanimity".
At this moment, a middle-aged man next door suddenly snorted coldly, "Fortunately, Zhuxian was raised by his sister-in-law. Unlike a certain morally corrupt woman who has only been married to the Duan family for a short six months and has caused so many scandals. If Zhuxian had followed her, who knows what kind of crooked thing he would have become."
After the drunken voice fell, the atmosphere became quiet for a moment, and everyone glanced in the direction of Duan Zhuxian at the same time.
Seeing that Duan Zhuxian was drinking tea silently, just like before, and didn't react much when they mentioned his biological mother, they felt relieved and joined the ranks of criticizing.
When this group of people spread rumors, their expressions were so natural that it didn't even seem like they were acting, as if they had told lies so many times that they had even deceived themselves.
Jiang Yao secretly clenched his fists, his knuckles turned blue and white, but he still couldn't suppress the shock and anger in his heart.
The moment his fist unclenched, a sneer appeared on his lips.
Even if Duan Zhuxian could endure it, he couldn't endure it anymore.
The bottom of the wine glass slammed heavily onto the table, silencing half of the laughter and conversation, and everyone's eyes fell on Jiang Yao.
"Regarding the stories made up by the elders, I have a different version."
The chattering crowd suddenly fell silent, somewhat unable to react to what Jiang Yao was saying.
Jiang Yao raised his hand and drew a half circle with his index finger towards everyone present, finally pointing to the forehead of the middle-aged man who spoke the most unpleasantly.
"You're the legendary Fourth Uncle, right? So it was you who hired someone to play the adulterer in an attempt to tarnish a woman's reputation. Looking at your respectable appearance, I never imagined you could do such a despicable thing."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expanded air that had been heated by the fireplace instantly contracted and dropped to freezing point.
The others couldn't hide their surprise and dismay, and glanced at Duan Zhuxian again.
These past events happened around the time when Duan Zhuxian was born. In order to prevent future troubles, they threatened the woman and told her not to tell the truth to Duan Zhuxian, otherwise Duan Zhuxian would have no place to stand in the Duan family. The woman was not ignorant of the times and would certainly not speak nonsense.
In the years that followed, Duan Zhuxian grew up without any support. Although his attitude could not be described as submissive, he was still law-abiding. When he was young, he did not fight or compete, and allowed all parties to divide his interests. Even though he later emerged as a rising star, was appreciated by the old man, and even gradually came to power in Huayan, he did not take any retaliatory measures against them.
Therefore, they collectively concluded that Duan Zhuxian was probably not very clear about the grievances and entanglements of the previous generation, and even after twenty years of indoctrination, he regarded his biological mother as a shame.
Duan Song chuckled, "Xiao Jiang!"
Jiang Yao ignored him and slowly scanned the crowd with his sharp eyes.
Seeing this, the third cousin who was sitting next to Duan Zhuxian quickly lowered his voice and said, "Zhuxian, keep a close eye on your people and tell them not to spread such false information."
After he finished speaking, he immediately stared at Duan Zhuxian's reaction, but Duan Zhuxian just took a sip of tea slowly and said, "Nothing, just chatting. I happen to want to listen too."
This strangely calm attitude made the third uncle feel uneasy. His lips turned purple, and he even began to suspect that Duan Zhuxian had heard about these things before.
He was about to say something else when Jiang Yao interrupted him: "Seeing your uncle is so eager to deny it, he must be remembering that time when he called the media to witness the adultery, intending to use the power of public opinion to prove his infidelity."
My third uncle suddenly widened his eyes and began breathing much faster.
Jiang Yao leaned slightly in his direction, putting on a curious attitude. "You've pursued her before, haven't you? You only regretted that you were already married and had accomplished nothing, just licking the boots of your cousins. She didn't even look down on a piece of trash. If you couldn't get her, you'd just destroy her. You're really something."
"You--" The third uncle covered his chest tightly and couldn't say a word for a long time.
Jiang Yao glanced at the woman sitting beside him with a red face and said, "Don't just stand there. Give him some medicine."
His wife woke up as if from a dream and quickly took out a quick-acting heart pill.
The scars that had been covered up for more than twenty years were suddenly exposed without any warning, and the foul-smelling pus instantly flowed into the hearts of every person harboring evil intentions, making them feel uneasy.
Ever since they fabricated this past event 27 years ago, they have often mentioned it after dinner, and they have repeated it so many times that even they themselves almost think that the woman's interference and infidelity are real.
Duan Songfeng's face, which had been shining for half a day, was now pale and blue. He waved his hands awkwardly at everyone and said, "Children are ignorant."
He turned to look at Jiang Yao and angrily scolded: "Xiao Jiang, how dare you talk to your elders? Where did you hear these rumors?"
"A rumor?" Jiang Yao crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Now that you've reminded me of this, I remember something. Before the cheating scandal was orchestrated, who framed Ms. Qin as the mistress, nearly forcing her to have a miscarriage?"
Duan Song never thought that the son-in-law he had recruited would be so arrogant and lawless. He was speechless for a moment.
He subconsciously exchanged a glance with He Lu, and their four eyeballs seemed to be connected by their sight, turning and touching each other, inseparable.
The oldest man at the table had a face as black as the bottom of a pot, and he tapped the ground fiercely with his cane: "You are a nameless young man in Lingbei, don't stir up trouble in the Duan family!"
The woman sitting in the distance muttered, "I told you from the beginning that Zhuxian's marriage was a bit mismatched. He's from a small town and really has no manners."
Duan Zhuxian's expression, which had been calm throughout, suddenly changed. Just as he was about to speak, Jiang Yao grabbed him.
Jiang Yao looked at the woman who had just spoken, raised the corners of his lips and smiled: "Fourth Aunt, right?"
Their eyes met, and the woman immediately looked away nervously.
Jiang Yao nodded: "You are right. I am indeed a rather vulgar person. I can't say polite words. I lose my temper even more after drinking. I hope everyone will bear with me."
He took a sip of wine while speaking, and his attitude was quite sincere.
Duan Song's sullen expression suddenly softened a bit. He thought that this kid must have realized that he was too arrogant and was just putting on the attitude of an elder to teach him a lesson. He hurried to stabilize the situation, but he saw Jiang Yao tap the wine glass with a "clang" and raised his eyelids.
"So, I'll just keep speaking my mind." Jiang Yao smiled casually. "Excuse me, is it such a great thing to become a family with a bunch of you guys named Duan?"
"Since you, the Duan family, think you are so high and mighty that you disdain to associate with the lower classes, why do you still crawl in the gutter and use such despicable means to harm others?"
The fourth uncle slammed the table and stood up: "You have a mother but no father to teach you, you are rebellious!"
Jiang Yao smiled nonchalantly: "Fourth cousin, I have a little story about you too, do you want to hear it?"
Fourth uncle immediately shut up and sat back down.
Jiang Yao looked at everyone, and wherever he looked, they all avoided him. "Dear uncles, aunts, and cousins, if you have anything else to say, feel free to say it. Don't be afraid to remind me. I was just talking nonsense after drinking, and I won't take it seriously."
He spoke at a steady pace, his tone even mild, but his words were like boiling oil, frying and crackling on the old faces.
This group of people had been looking at each other in bewilderment, but they had no way to drive the people away. After all, the one who really had the final say here was the old man, and it was the old man who invited Jiang Yao to the New Year dinner, and the old man was not present at this time.
They've been celebrities their entire lives, desperately trying to save face even when their inner demons are completely rotten. They usually associate with people of their own ilk, and only know how to flatter each other. When someone confronts them for the first time, they're completely at a loss for words.
Jiang Yao waited for a while, and when no one said anything, he glanced at his watch and nodded, "It's getting late. It seems everyone is tired and can't talk any more. Let's have a drink together next time we have a chance. You guys keep talking, and I'll keep listening."
After saying that, he lazily stood up in the dead silence and stretched out his hand to Duan Zhuxian who was sitting on the seat: "Duan Zhuxian, come home with me."
His expression was still arrogant, but his eyes revealed a hint of tenderness that only one person in the world could see.
Everyone at the table focused their attention on Duan Zhuxian.
Duan Zhuxian is still a member of the Duan family after all, and the blood of the Duan family flows in his body.
Besides, Duan Zhuxian has always been a decent person, and his words and deeds are flawless. How could he allow a marriage partner from the countryside to trample on his family and insult them, so as to be disgraceful and wanton?
Doesn't this mean he doesn't care about his reputation at all?
The three seconds of their gaze locked together seemed as long as half a century in the eyes of others.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Duan Zhuxian put down the teacup he had been playing with for a long time and placed his hand on Jiang Yao's palm.
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