Chapter 17
Jinzhou's winters are dry and long. Xia Wan toiled away on the old bank building project, her days seemingly in slow motion, slipping smoothly between blueprints, the construction site, and her apartment. Her farewell to Jiang Yu faded with time, and Xia Wan's life returned to near-absolute tranquility. There was no intersection, no avoidance, as if the agreement reached at the Jincheng alley that night had truly pushed the two back to their original, uninterrupted paths.
Until one ordinary Saturday afternoon.
Xia Wan, at Lin Wei's insistent request, accompanied her to a large, newly opened cultural and creative bookstore. The shop was imbued with design, with large floor-to-ceiling windows framing a bustling city scene. Inside, the spacious interior, with warm, yellow lighting, created a tranquil atmosphere. Lin Wei dove headfirst into the cultural and creative section and its bestsellers, while Xia Wan, as usual, headed for the more secluded architectural and art section.
Tall bookshelves stood in a row, the air thick with the distinct scent of paper and ink. She traced her fingertips along the rows of book spines, her gaze intently searching for reference books that might be helpful for her project. She remembered seeing a monograph on the integration of bank architecture and decorative art during the Republican era, but the library didn't have it at the time.
She stood on tiptoe, scanning the top shelf carefully. Just as she was about to give up, a dark blue cloth-bound book with a gold-stamped spine caught her eye: "A Study on the Construction of Modern Bank Architecture"! It was exactly what she wanted!
The book was placed very high, and she could only barely touch the bottom edge of the book by standing on tiptoe. She took a deep breath and prepared to try again.
At this moment, a slender, strong hand with distinct joints stretched out from above her side and easily pulled out the heavy book.
Xia Wan turned back subconsciously.
Jiang Yu stood beside her, neither too close nor too far, maintaining just the right social distance. He wore a soft, dark turtleneck sweater and matching slacks, casually layered with a dark gray cashmere cardigan. He lacked his usual businesslike aura and instead had a more homely, gentle air. In his hand, he held the book "A Study on the Construction of Modern Bank Architecture."
"This one?" He handed the book to her, his eyes calmly fixed on her face. His tone was purely inquiring, without any familiarity or deliberateness, as if he just happened to see a classmate in need of help.
Xia Wan's heart skipped a beat at that moment. She hadn't expected to see him again here, in this way. Their frequency of "goodbyes" seemed a bit too high. She quickly suppressed the surprise in her eyes, regaining her composure. She nodded, "Yes, thank you." She reached out to take the heavy book, and her fingertips inevitably touched his slightly cool fingertips for a moment, as subtle as static electricity.
"Looking for information?" Jiang Yu asked knowingly, his eyes sweeping over the books she was holding on to the history of Republican-era architecture and structural reinforcement technology. He relaxed, leaning against the bookshelf beside her, not wanting to move away, but not getting too close either, maintaining a natural flow of communication.
"Well, there are some things about the old bank project that need to be verified," Xia Wan answered truthfully, looking down at the book in her hand. The book was in good condition, but it was obviously an old edition. The inner pages were a little yellowed, exuding a faint, old book-like aroma.
"This is an edition from the early 1990s. It's very informative, especially with detailed records of several unique foundation treatment techniques and the mechanical properties of decorative structural components. The illustrations are also very valuable." Jiang Yu's voice sounded beside her, his tone steady and professional. "The later reprints deleted a lot of content. You're lucky; this should be the last copy in stock."
Xia Wan paused, flipping through the pages of a book, and looked up at him. He was looking down at the other books on the shelf, his profile softened by the warm yellow light. His words had precisely nailed the value of this book, the very insight her project needed. There was no showmanship, no pretense, simply pure sharing of information, like critiquing a valuable reference at an academic conference.
"Really? That's quite a coincidence." Xia Wan suppressed the slight ripple in her heart and tried to keep her tone calm. "Boss Jiang, do you also research this kind of unpopular information?"
"I happened to look through it." Jiang Yu's gaze shifted from the bookshelf back to her face, remaining calm. "I once took on a similar historical building renovation project and did some research." He paused and added, "The Municipal Library's 'Local Documents and Special Collections Department' might have a more comprehensive collection of these old editions of professional books, especially some internal technical reports that were not publicly available at the time."
More accurate and practical information! Xia Wan's heart skipped a beat. She had indeed overlooked the Special Collections Department when searching for information before, focusing only on the general reading room and database.
"Thanks for the heads-up. I'll check it out later," she said sincerely. This time, her thanks were less distant and polite, and more respectful of the professional information itself.
"You're welcome," Jiang Yu nodded slightly. A brief silence fell between the two of them again, with only the gentle background music from the bookstore playing. The atmosphere wasn't awkward, but rather strangely peaceful. There were no tentative steps, no burdens, just the pure joy of two professionals meeting by chance in this temple of knowledge, sharing information.
"Wanwan! Look what I found!" Lin Wei's excited voice approached from afar, breaking the silence. She held a uniquely shaped brass bookmark in her hand and flew over like a cheerful bird. But when she saw Jiang Yu beside Xia Wan, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. The smile on her face froze in an instant, replaced by astonishment and a hint of vigilance.
"Uh... Mr. Jiang?" Lin Wei looked at Jiang Yu, then at Xia Wan, her eyes quickly scanning between the two of them, full of questions.
"Lin Wei." Jiang Yu nodded to her, his attitude was as calm and distant as usual, but also with basic courtesy. "Are you accompanying Xia Wan to buy books?"
"Ah? Oh, yes, yes." Lin Wei stuttered a little, obviously she had not recovered from this "chance encounter".
"We just happened to meet and chatted about the project." Xia Wan naturally took over and explained to Lin Wei, her tone frank and without any attempt to hide the truth. She raised the old book in her hand and said, "I found some useful information."
Lin Wei looked at the two men's calm expressions suspiciously, wondering to herself: Were they really just discussing projects? What a coincidence? But seeing Xia Wan's expression normal and Jiang Yu's typical "stay away from strangers" demeanor, she swallowed her doubts and said with a dry laugh, "That...that's great, great. Wanwan, do you want to see more? I'll go over there and take a look."
"Almost done." Xia Wan picked up the books she had chosen, along with the dark blue "Construction Analysis," and said, "Let's go and check out."
"Okay!" Lin Wei immediately took Xia Wan's arm and led her towards the cashier like a child. Before leaving, she gave Jiang Yu a polite fake smile, "Goodbye, President Jiang!"
Jiang Yu stood there, watching Xia Wan being half-pulled, half-dragged away by Lin Wei. Her figure remained thin, and she seemed to be struggling to hold the thick stack of books, yet she walked steadily. His gaze lingered for a few seconds on the dark blue spine of the topmost book in her arms. His deep eyes showed no emotion, but the corners of his lips, usually tightly pursed, seemed to relax for a moment, barely perceptible.
He withdrew his gaze, turned around, and continued browsing among the bookshelves, as if what had just happened was really just an ordinary encounter and a brief academic exchange.
In front of the cashier.
"Tell the truth! What's going on?" Lin Wei lowered her voice and asked impatiently, "Why is he here? And talking to you about the project? Are you... really okay?"
Xia Wan placed the book on the counter, took out her mobile phone, scanned the code and paid calmly.
"It was really just a chance encounter." She watched the cashier scan the barcode of the old book and said calmly, "He helped me get the book and mentioned some useful information. That's all."
"Is it that simple?" Lin Wei didn't believe it.
"It's that simple." Xia Wan paid and took the packed schoolbag. It felt heavy in her hands, with the unique sense of solidity that paper brings. She turned to look at Lin Wei, her eyes clear and calm. "Weiwei, we are just ordinary classmates now. It's normal to say hello and chat about work when we meet, isn't it?"
Lin Wei looked at Xia Wan's calm eyes, opened her mouth, and finally said in a frustrated tone, "Alright, alright, if you say so, we're classmates! But..." She leaned closer to Xia Wan and winked, "The way he looked at you just now, although he still had that dead look, I always felt that... it seemed not so cold anymore? Is it my illusion?"
Xia Wan didn't answer. She simply carried her bag and walked out of the bookstore. The winter afternoon sun shone warmly on her body. She looked down at the books in her bag. The dark blue "Construction Analysis" lay quietly on the top.
When he handed over the book just now, the cool touch of his fingertips seemed to still be there.
And there was the confident and practical professionalism he brought to the table when he mentioned the Special Collections Department.
There is no ambiguity, no temptation, only pure communication and sharing based on common areas.
This feeling… is very solid. Like opening a dusty old book, your fingertips touching the yellowed pages. Although they carry the chill of time, you can still sense the real and profound light that settles beneath them.
This glimmer of light, devoid of romance, simply illuminated the value of the name "Xia Wan," as an independent professional. And this was precisely the light she needed most at this moment, the light she could most readily accept. As for Lin Wei's comment about "her eyes weren't that cold," Xia Wan exhaled softly, melting into the cool winter air.
In Xia Wan's world, the two of them shouldn't have this much interaction anymore, because there was no need. They hadn't seen much since graduation, but judging by their current frequency, it was indeed a bit unusual.
As an "old classmate", you shouldn't do that.
Could it be that he really wants to "get to know each other again"?
Perhaps a renewed understanding can truly begin with this small, unburdened act of "seeing." Seeing her abilities, her field, her existence as an independent individual. This, more than any deliberate attempt to get closer or compensate her, gave her a sense of peace and respect.
In fact, she could wait. She had already spent her entire youth waiting, but she was afraid to wait. She wasn't pretty enough, not outstanding enough, and her personality was still dull. Would he like Xia Wan like this? And there was also "Shen Zhiyao" standing between them.
Maybe it's time to reorganize my mood.
Before Xia Wan could start to calm down, fate played a joke on her unexpectedly.
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