Chapter 74 "You really don't want to try the water bed?"
It was evening when Duan Zhuxian came back. After nightfall, Duan Zhuxian took Jiang Yao to his private hot spring villa, which was the itinerary they had arranged before.
Pushing open the gate of the courtyard, you are greeted by red bricks and black tiles, towering ancient trees, and hyacinths lining the road like piles of snow, as if you have accidentally walked into a film and television shooting location from the Republic of China.
The building is not big. Although the bluestone slabs on the ground have deepened anti-slip grooves, the faded complex patterns on the wall and door pillars reveal that this place is quite old.
Jiang Yao has always liked this kind of old-fashioned buildings with a sense of time, like parchment scrolls filled with trivial daily life.
By touching the cold and rough texture brought by weathering, you may be able to uncover a corner of the secret in the dull and silent appearance, just like inadvertently understanding someone.
Leaving Jiang Yao to wander around the yard, Duan Zhuxian went to hand over the work to the housekeeper first.
The housekeeper is a local woman in her forties or fifties. When she took over the management of the villa, she heard that the owner was a 23-year-old young man named Duan who was studying abroad.
The agent relayed that Mr. Duan’s only request was to preserve the ancient charm of the place as much as possible.
She has been managing the business diligently for four years, but Mr. Duan himself has never come once during this period. Today is the first time she has met Mr. Duan, and he is accompanied by his newlywed lover.
She explained some matters related to the villa to Duan Zhuxian, and at the end she wished him and his lover "a happy wedding and a long and happy marriage." It was just the most polite and unoriginal blessing, but she received a heartfelt thank you from him, as if these eight words were the most beautiful vision for him.
Perhaps because she grew up in Yuan City, a city full of romance, she was naturally romantic in her thoughts. She always felt that the reason why Mr. Duan bought this villa was related to romance.
After seeing the housekeeper off, Duan Zhuxian walked back along the path. From afar, he saw a tall, lean man squatting by the pond feeding goldfish. Because of his slightly forward leaning posture, the hem of his short sweater revealed a small part of his fair waist, and he was scattering fish food slowly with his hands.
Duan Zhuxian could almost imagine Jiang Yao's leisurely and casual demeanor.
He walked closer with a smile on his face, but found Jiang Yao in a daze.
Most of the time, Jiang Yao was flamboyant and dynamic in front of him, with his soul filled with the vibrant red. It was rare for him to fall into deep thought from time to time like he was today, looking confused.
Of course he knew what Jiang Yao was thinking, it was nothing more than his history of secret crushes.
In the eyes of others, the unexpressible feelings seem more like a self-touching one-man show, but Jiang Yao has the softest heart and will feel sad for him and empathize with him.
He actually didn't want Jiang Yao to be overwhelmed by his emotions, which was why he had never revealed his past.
Jiang Yao is a clam with a hard exterior, but not as strong as it looks inside. Once her heart is filled with energy and can no longer bear it, she will choose to escape at critical moments, such as when he confessed to her for the first time.
But this time, Jiang Yao did not run away. Instead, she chose to stand by his side, trying very hard to share the bitterness and sadness he had accumulated over the past ten years.
Duan Zhuxian sighed, her heart softened, and she just wanted to love this man more.
When Jiang Yao felt a familiar body temperature from behind, he was stunned for a moment. Most of the fish food in his hand fell to the ground. The fish and his thoughts were startled.
He came back to his senses and found a coat on his shoulders and a person beside him.
Jiang Yao immediately returned to his usual demeanor. He fed the fish with Duan Zhuxian for a while, then suddenly said, "Duan Zhuxian, I want to hear about your life abroad."
Duan Zhuxian paused and said, "Nothing interesting happened during those years abroad because my schedule was very tight. Apart from necessary gatherings and social events, there were almost no entertainment activities."
Jiang Yao rubbed the tip of his nose, which had turned red from the night wind, and spoke with a nasal tone: "Chen Tang said that he met you at the door of the psychological clinic that year. You went to see a doctor, right?"
Duan Zhuxian's Adam's apple moved slightly and he said "hmm".
Jiang Yao was puzzled: "Why didn't I notice that you were in a bad state?"
Jiang Yao still remembered the time when Duan Zhuxian had just returned to China. He had met Duan Zhuxian at a banquet after a long absence. At that time, Duan Zhuxian was as high and mighty as he remembered, with a strong aura, even more glorious than before.
He even thought that Duan Zhuxian had lived a good life during those years abroad and had forgotten about his mortal enemy. Only he was like a loser who couldn't cross the river, and was often disturbed by the past memories with Duan Zhuxian.
Duan Zhuxian lowered his eyes and smiled bitterly: "By then, my mental state had basically recovered, otherwise I wouldn't have gone to see you. I was afraid of scaring you."
During the time he was studying abroad, he almost lost the ability to perceive pleasure. He was cold and gloomy, like a precision machine that was forced to run. Jiang Yao, such a sunny person, would never accept such a person appearing in front of him.
Jiang Yao tilted his head and looked at Duan Zhuxian's profile, which looked a little pale under the street light.
"I have another question. When Jiangli was in crisis last year, how did Hua Yan come up with an aid plan in such a short time? And how did he quickly propose a marriage proposal when my parents were unwilling to give up their controlling stake?"
He had thought about this matter before the marriage and believed that it was most likely a coincidence, or perhaps Hua Yan had been coveting Jiang Li for a long time.
But when he learned about Duan Zhuxian's "deliberate" past, he suddenly felt that the whole thing was not that simple.
“I was the one who led it.”
Duan Zhuxian said.
"Huayan's previous involvement was mostly in the manufacturing sector. After I returned to China, I took the initiative to introduce the internet economy to my grandfather. After my persistent lobbying, he finally became interested in it."
"I originally planned to have Hua Yan and Jiang Li cooperate and become Jiang Li's strong backing, so that I could have an inseparable relationship with the Jiang family, but Jiang Li suddenly ran into trouble."
"So I changed my mind and handed the investment proposal to my grandfather. I know him well; he's both enterprising and cautious. Saving Jiangli is profitable, but with the government involved, it's not a simple matter. Therefore, he needs two prerequisites: either control or relative security through in-law relationships."
"And I only want you."
Jiang Yao was stunned after listening to Duan Zhuxian's extremely calm explanation of his plan. After a while, he said, "What if your grandfather didn't agree to your proposal and insisted that your other brothers and sisters marry me?"
Duan Zhuxian said, "That's impossible. I know the Duan family better than anyone else. As long as I recommend myself, everyone will help me to facilitate this marriage, fearing that the task will fall on their children."
Jiang Yao continued to argue: "What if your plan fails, and it's not the Duan family that ends up marrying into my family? For example, if my parents find a better partner than Hua Yan, you can't interfere in other people's affairs, right?"
Duan Zhuxian stretched out his hand, lightly holding Jiang Yao's waist, and said nonchalantly, "Who said I can't control it?"
Jiang Yao narrowed his eyes: "You wouldn't try to steal the bride on the spot, would you?"
Duan Zhuxian pressed his palm hard, pressing the person into his arms: "Why not?"
Jiang Yao groaned from the collision, bent his knee and hit Duan Zhuxian with quite a bit of force, but Duan Zhuxian remained unmoved, looking as if he accepted everything Jiang Yao did.
Just like no matter what possible obstacles he brought up, Duan Zhuxian had a way to overcome them. If he really couldn't overcome them, he would just push them down and flatten them.
Jiang Yao curled his lips and said, "I just don't think you'd do that. Why do you like me so much? Am I really that good?"
From birth to now, in the nearly twenty-seven years of his life, Jiang Yao has known that he is the best among his peers and can excel in every aspect. Therefore, he is confident, proud and arrogant.
But when facing Duan Zhuxian, he raised such extremely unconfident questions twice.
Duan Zhuxian laughed dumbly: "Yaoyao, how do you want me to say it so that I can accurately express how good you are?"
Jiang Yao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly looked away, his ears turning red in the night.
After the heavy topic related to the past came to an end, the two chatted about other things for a while, and slowly talked about Duan Zhuxian's meeting with his partners today. In fact, they just drank a few sips of tea.
Duan Zhuxian remembered something and said, "The partner also brought a friend with him, who happened to be your high school classmate."
Jiang Yao asked, "Who is it?"
Duan Zhuxian said, "He said his name was Hu Ye."
When Jiang Yao heard this, alarm bells immediately rang in his mind!
Isn’t Hu Ye the big idiot who doesn’t care about gender, especially likes to interfere with young couples, and once confessed his love to Duan Zhuxian on the campus wall?
Seeing Jiang Yao's face suddenly darken, Duan Zhuxian asked, "What's wrong?"
Jiang Yao said: "You don't forget that this person likes you..."
Duan Zhuxian frowned slightly, as if his recollection was fruitless, and said lightly: "There are many people who said they like me."
Jiang Yao: "?"
Why is this guy still showing off?
Duan Zhuxian: "But I don't remember any of them."
Jiang Yao: "..."
Duan Zhuxian said helplessly: "My attention was completely on you at that time, how could I have the energy to think about others?"
Jiang Yao was instantly comforted by this, but still a little worried, and asked, "You two haven't added each other on WeChat, right?"
Duan Zhuxian said: "No."
Then he handed the phone to Jiang Yao to see.
Jiang Yao checked and found that it was indeed not added.
Duan Zhuxian asked with a half-smile, "Are you not jealous anymore?"
"Who's jealous?" Jiang Yao took a half step back, looking a little angry. "Anyway, you like me the most, only me, and you can't change it in this lifetime. You're finished!"
Duan Zhuxian chuckled: "Well, I was finished a long time ago."
Jiang Yao glared at him for a long moment, then looked down at the goldfish wagging its tail in the pond. He scattered his last handful of food and muttered, "I'm done, too."
The small wooden box containing fish food was empty. Jiang Yao asked, "Is there any more fish food?"
Duan Zhuxian raised his eyebrows slightly: "I didn't bring you here to feed the fish."
*
The semi-open-air hot spring pool was extremely quiet at night, with only the ripples of the spring water, like the echo of an echo, revealing everything that had just happened.
Two men were hugging each other in the pool. The one with fairer skin was lying on the other's shoulder facing each other. The bulging shoulder blades due to the hugging posture brought out the slender and smooth curve of the back. There was no movement at all, like a piece of jade falling into the misty water. At first glance, it seemed as quiet as if there was no worldly thoughts.
But the moment he raised his head, his eyes and cheeks were flushed, and his lips were slightly open as he breathed, which made people very excited.
Duan Zhuxian's downcast eyes, rolling Adam's apple, and eager look were all seen by Jiang Yao.
Jiang Yao no longer had the energy to call him a beast. A few strands of black hair were wet and stuck to her skin. She couldn't tell whether it was hot spring water or sweat.
Even though there was water all around him, he felt dehydrated.
He said, "I don't want to soak anymore."
Duan Zhuxian: "Well, let's go back to the bedroom and continue."
Jiang Yao: "?"
Duan Zhuxian leaned close to his ear and whispered, "There's a large water bed in the bedroom. It can relieve nerve and muscle pressure and promote blood circulation. When you exercise, your whole body will rise and fall."
Jiang Yao was shocked: "How could there be such obscene things here? Didn't you buy this a few years ago?"
Duan Zhuxian said, "When I was in high school, the school organized a tour of old buildings. You said you liked houses that had a sense of age, so when I happened to pass by this place, I thought you would like it. Later, when I earned my first pot of gold abroad, I immediately bought it."
Jiang Yao blinked with emotion: "Are you buying it and planning to give it to me?"
Duan Zhuxian shook his head: "At that time, I didn't think that we would have a future, but imagining how I would make you happy, or some more wonderful scenes, could help ease the depression a little."
Jiang Yao: "..."
Duan Zhuxian is even more reserved than he imagined.
"Baby, you really don't want to try the waterbed?"
Duan Zhuxian hugged Jiang Yao and sat him on his lap, then looked up and asked, his tone not frivolous at all, but with a hint of loss between his brows.
Although Jiang Yao knew that Duan Zhuxian was acting, he still fell into the trap without any resistance.
That's right.
Once a person loves too much, he or she will become the other person's hostage, and that uncontrollable heart is a weapon presented to the other person.
But he was willing to be held hostage by that bastard Duan Zhuxian forever in this life, the next life, and the next life.
Wrapping his arms around Duan Zhuxian's neck, Jiang Yao said in a hoarse voice, "Then, let's give it a try."
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