Chapter 16
The work in Jincheng finally ended after New Year's Day. Xia Wan stayed at home so much that he didn't want to go to Jinzhou. At home, he had his mother's nagging, delicious meals, familiar neighbors, and memories of him.
"You must take good care of yourself when you go to Jinzhou. You look so thin, like a bamboo pole!"
Before leaving, Mother Xia continued to give instructions as before.
"I know, Mom, I will. But who says I'm naturally beautiful? I won't gain weight no matter what I eat. Isn't it up to you on this point?" Xia Wan was packing her luggage, and her mother went out to pour her some water.
Xia Wan looked towards the bookcase. In the right drawer, there was a small notebook with a combination lock. As if possessed, she walked over, took it out, and held it heavily in her hands.
It was a small, light blue notebook with a combination lock and a cute yellow cat printed on it. Even Xia Wan herself couldn't remember the combination. Inside the bulging notebook were several pieces of paper folded into envelopes. They were letters from her teenage years that she hadn't been able to send, and of course, she had no intention of sending them.
"Wanwan, remember to take the box of dumplings I made with you when you leave!" Mother Xia said as she walked into the house.
Xia Wan quickly stuffed the notebook into her backpack and said, "Got it, Mom!"
Life in Jinzhou seems to have pressed the restart button.
Xia Wan returned to Jinzhou and resumed work. The review report for the old factory building had already been submitted, sparking some small-scale discussions within the industry, but she studiously avoided any topic that might involve Jiangyu Company. The new project involved the renovation of an old Republican-era bank building. The drawings were complex, the historical data was patchy, and the workload was enormous. She buried herself in the thick drawings, dusty archives, and the need for repeated site visits. Physical fatigue was the perfect anesthetic, temporarily shielding her from the desolate, forcibly demarcated space within her heart.
Lin Wei carefully observed her for a few days and found that she was normal except that she was quieter, so she dared to approach her.
"Wanwan, Jincheng...are you okay?" she asked tentatively.
"It's okay." Xia Wan raised her head from a pile of yellowed architectural drawings and smiled faintly but sincerely. "It's all resolved. Jiang Yu and I... have made it clear."
"Have you explained it clearly?" Lin Wei's eyes widened. "How did you explain it clearly? He..."
"We're classmates again." Xia Wan interrupted her, her tone as calm as if she was stating the weather. "Ordinary classmates, nothing more."
Lin Wei opened her mouth, looked at the unquestionable calmness in Xia Wan's eyes, and finally swallowed back all the words in her heart, turning them into a sigh: "Okay, classmates are classmates. As long as you don't get yourself wronged." She patted Xia Wan's shoulder, "Don't hold it in, sister is always here."
Xia Wan nodded, a warm feeling in her heart. She knew Lin Wei's concerns, but at this moment, this clearly defined "classmate" relationship made her feel a long-lost sense of relief. No longer had to guess his gaze, no longer had to bear the pressure of "compensation," and no longer had to live under anyone's shadow. She just had to be herself and focus on the path she was on.
Jiang Yu was equally silent. No calls, no messages, and no "enthusiastic" arrangements from Li Mo. It was as if he had truly vanished from her life. Xia Wan occasionally heard the name "Jiang Yu" in industry news or from colleagues, always accompanying a successful bid for a major project or a breakthrough in a technical challenge. He was still the calm, self-possessed, and exceptionally resourceful CEO, standing at the pinnacle of the industry. It seemed as if the confused, honest, and even somewhat clumsy man from Jincheng had been just an illusion.
They returned to the track of life before the class reunion, and everything before seemed like a dream.
However, the change was not without a trace; it just happened in a way that Xia Wan had not anticipated and was extremely subtle and restrained.
A mid-term project briefing meeting. Party A, the design institute, the construction company, and the supervisor all gathered. Xia Wan attended as a representative of the structural safety assessment team. Midway through the meeting, a heated argument erupted between the construction company representative and a young engineer from the design institute regarding the reinforcement plan for a key historical load-bearing component. The construction company insisted on using modern reinforcement techniques, which were more convenient but could affect the historical appearance. The young engineer, however, argued for more complex and costly traditional methods that would maximize the preservation of the original appearance. The atmosphere in the meeting room was somewhat tense.
Xia Wan listened intently, her fingers unconsciously twirling a pen. From both a professional and cultural heritage perspective, she leaned toward the young engineer's proposal, but she also understood the construction company's concerns. As she was debating how to intervene, a quiet voice echoed from the other end of the conference table.
"Excuse me."
It was Jiang Yu. He had also attended the meeting at some point, sitting next to the Party A representative, apparently as a specially invited consultant. He wore a well-tailored dark gray suit, his posture composed, his gaze calmly scanning the two sides of the dispute.
"The key to choosing a plan lies in balancing safety, cost, and historical value." His voice was low, but it carried a natural sense of control, instantly capturing everyone's attention. "The construction company's demand for efficiency is reasonable, but preserving the historical features is a key value point of the project and cannot be ignored." He paused, his gaze fixed on Xia Wan. "Engineer Xia is a structural safety appraisal expert with in-depth research on the structural characteristics and reinforcement techniques of historical buildings. I believe her opinions should be used as an important reference."
His words were logically clear and his stance was objective. He was completely based on the overall interests of the project. He pointed out Xia Wan's professional identity and naturally pushed her to a key position in decision-making, but there was no intimacy or deliberateness that crossed the line.
Xia Wan was slightly startled. She hadn't expected him to mention her in this way on this occasion.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on her. Xia Wan gathered herself, set aside her momentary distractions, and quickly entered a professional state. She stood up, walked over to the projector, and, drawing on the blueprints and on-site survey data, presented her views in a clear and well-reasoned manner. She pointed out the potential risks of the construction company's plan and analyzed the feasibility and room for improvement of the young engineer's proposal. Her voice was clear, steady, and her logic was rigorous, her professionalism fully on display.
Ultimately, with her professional analysis, the meeting reached a consensus and adopted the optimized traditional process solution. The young engineer looked at her with gratitude.
The meeting ended and the crowd dispersed. Xia Wan was packing up her documents when Jiang Yu stood up from the other end. Across the still-cleared conference table, his eyes fell on her again.
"Very thorough analysis, Mr. Xia." His tone was flat, as if he was evaluating any outstanding colleague.
"Thank you, Mr. Jiang." Xia Wan also responded calmly, nodded slightly, and maintained the same professional and distant politeness.
Without further ado, he turned and left the meeting room. Xia Wan watched him disappear through the doorway, her fingertips lightly tracing the edge of the folder. At that moment, his eyes held only pure admiration for her professionalism, devoid of any impurities. This feeling... was strange, yet also... good.
Xia Wan walked out of the conference room building. The winter sunlight was a little pale. She exhaled a breath of white air and watched it dissipate in the cold air.
I said goodbye, but I didn’t expect to see you again.
Jinzhou is so big, so big that they didn't see each other from college to employment; Jinzhou is also so small, so small that they met, slept together, fell in love, broke up... and then met again in nearly half a year.
Xia Wan looked at the pale asphalt road, lit by the equally pale sunlight, feeling a mixture of emotions. But there was also a sense of relief. He seemed to be genuinely trying to "reacquaint" himself with her. Not with Xia Wan, the "trouble" for whom he needed to be responsible, but with Xia Wan, the "structural safety assessor."
Was this... a good start? Xia Wan didn't know. But at least, they were back to their old ways, stranger classmates. Perhaps they would never see each other again.
Xia Wan put on the hood of her down jacket and walked away with a small bag of documents in her arms.
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