Chapter 18
The project for the old bank building entered its critical phase. A load-bearing wall located at the former underground vault site experienced unexpected settlement and microcracks during temporary support during the final stages of demolition, raising tensions on site. Xia Wan and his team spent days in the cold, damp basement, repeatedly surveying, measuring, analyzing data, and holding meetings to discuss reinforcement plans, often working late into the night.
That evening, another lengthy technical coordination meeting concluded, and it was nearly dawn. The winter night's chill weighed heavily on her like a waterlogged quilt. Xia Wan, wrapped tightly in her down jacket, walked out of the brightly lit yet chilly project building with a few colleagues. The cold wind scraped against her face like a knife, and she shivered, instinctively wincing. The chill irritated her old rib injuries, giving her a familiar, sore, swollen feeling.
"What a terrible weather! Mr. Xia, how are you going to get home? Do you want to take a taxi?" asked colleague Xiao Zhao, rubbing his hands.
"Okay, call a cab." Xia Wan pulled out her phone. Her fingertips were numb from the cold, and she was a few beats slow to unlock the screen. The taxi app indicated there were more than twenty people in line ahead of her, and the estimated wait time was over forty minutes.
"Tsk, how long do we have to wait for this?" another colleague wailed, looking at his phone. "How about... squeeze in my electric scooter? It's a bit cold..."
Xia Wan looked at her colleague's electric bike shivering in the cold wind and shook her head: "No, I'll wait a little longer. You guys go first and don't catch a cold." She didn't want to trouble others, and even more so, she didn't want to be blown by the wind in the cold night.
Colleagues gradually left, and soon, Xia Wan was the only one left standing at the empty project office entrance. Under the dim glow of the streetlights, she wrapped herself tightly in her down jacket, pacing like a reed swaying in the chilly wind, trying to dispel the cold. The waiting number on her phone ticked slowly, each second feeling incredibly long. The cold permeated every pore, spreading from her feet upwards. Her fingers were numb from the cold, and even her breath was foggy.
Just when she felt like she was freezing, two glaring headlights pierced the darkness, approaching from afar before finally stopping not far in front of her. It was a black sedan, its model low-key and sleek.
The car window rolled down, revealing Jiang Yu's sharply defined profile. He was wearing a dark cashmere coat, and the car's heater was on full blast, creating a stark contrast to the bitter cold outside.
"Xia Wan?" His voice came through the car window, remarkably clear in the still, cold night. His tone held just the right hint of surprise, as if they had just happened to meet by chance. "You're still here this late?"
Xia Wan was dazed from the cold, staring at the person in the car, unable to react for a moment. Her brain seemed frozen, her thoughts becoming incredibly slow. How could he be here? At this time, in this place?
"Just...just finished a meeting." She answered subconsciously, her voice trembling slightly because of the cold, and her lips were a little purple.
Jiang Yu's gaze lingered for a moment on her reddened nose and slightly trembling body, his brows furrowed slightly. Without further question, he pushed open the door and got out. A biting cold wind instantly blew into the car, but he seemed oblivious to it, quickly walking around the front of the car and approaching her.
"Get in the car," he said succinctly, his voice steady and unyielding. It wasn't an order, but it was powerfully persuasive. He opened the passenger door, and a warm, dry breath blew in.
Xia Wan was moved by the warmth and almost instinctively wanted to move closer. But her reasoning instantly returned, and she subconsciously took a half step back, wrapping her clothes tightly around her. "Don't bother, the car I called will be here soon." She shook her phone screen, which showed that there were still fifteen people in the queue.
Jiang Yu glanced at her phone screen, then looked up at her pale face and slightly trembling body. He didn't insist, nor did he leave. He just stood by the car door, his tall figure blocking some of the biting wind for her.
"It's hard to get a taxi here at night. It's too cold, and you're not dressed enough." His voice remained calm, stating objective facts without any accusation or excessive concern. "I'm just going back to the city, so it's on my way. We're just classmates, just hitchhiking. Don't feel burdened."
His attitude was frank and direct, his reasons were fully justified, and completely within the boundaries of being an "ordinary classmate." There was no extraneous concern, no deliberate approach, simply the most basic humanistic concern and the fact that he was passing by.
The cold wind was still howling, and Xia Wan felt like she was losing feeling in her toes. The slowly ticking numbers on her phone screen seemed so hopeless. But the car door before her was open, and inside, a warmth that could dispel all the chill. More importantly, he offered a reason that made it impossible for her to refuse—"Just a ride between classmates."
If I refuse again, it will seem deliberate and pretentious.
Xia Wan hesitated for less than two seconds. Survival instinct and a desire for warmth overwhelmed everything else. She stopped struggling and whispered, "Then... I'll trouble you, Mr. Jiang." She lowered her head slightly and quickly slid into the passenger seat.
The car door closed, instantly isolating her from the biting cold and howling wind outside. The warm, dry air enveloped her like a gentle blanket, and every cell in her frozen body seemed to sigh in comfort. The air inside was clean, filled with the subtle scent of the car's incense and the crisp fir aftershave he wore.
Jiang Yu quickly got into the driver's seat and closed the door. He didn't start the car immediately, but reached out and quickly tapped a few times on the control panel next to the steering wheel.
"The temperature has been turned up a bit. The seat heating is on." He looked straight ahead and said while fastening his seat belt. His tone was as flat as if he was reporting the weather forecast, without looking at her.
"Thank you," Xia Wan whispered, feeling the gradually rising warmth from the seat beneath her, spreading from her tailbone all the way to her frozen limbs. It was so comfortable that she almost wanted to sigh. She quietly moved her frozen fingers, and her fingertips began to warm up, with a slight tingling sensation.
The car drove smoothly into the night. The cabin was eerily quiet, save for the faint whirr of air from the air conditioning system. Xia Wan leaned back in the soft, warm seat, her tense body and nerves slowly relaxing in the warmth. The exhaustion from days of overtime washed over her like a tide. She tilted her head to watch the streetscape rapidly receding outside the window, illuminated by streetlights and then cast into darkness. Her eyelids grew heavy.
Jiang Yu drove intently, his gaze fixed straight ahead. His profile, illuminated by the dim light from the dashboard, looked cold and hard. The car was quiet; he could clearly hear the person beside him breathing, which gradually became more even and long. He glanced sideways, glancing at them from the corner of his eye.
Xia Wan had already fallen asleep. She leaned back in her chair, her head tilted. The hood of her down jacket obscured a small portion of her face, and the warmth of the warm air faded the paleness of her cheeks, revealing a faint blush. Her long eyelashes cast a small shadow beneath her eyelids. Her brows were relaxed, her lips unconsciously pursed, her face as peaceful as a defenseless child. Clearly, she was exhausted.
Jiang Yu's gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds, his deep eyes devoid of emotion. He calmly shifted the air conditioner's vents slightly, avoiding direct airflow into her face. The car's speed also remained steady, gliding along the empty, late-night streets.
He didn't wake her up, nor did he try to cover her with clothes. He just drove quietly, like a most competent driver, making sure the passengers arrived at their destination safely.
After an unknown amount of time, the car slowly stopped downstairs of Xia Wan's apartment.
Xia Wan fell into deep sleep, clutching her backpack tightly in her arms. Wrapped in warmth, her consciousness seemed to float in the air. She seemed to be back in that classroom packed with desks, sitting at that desk piled high with exercise books.
"Wanwan, Wanwan, I'm going home now! See you at Sunday evening study! Bye, I love you!" Lin Wei put on her little schoolbag and skipped out of the classroom.
She remembered this day: a Friday in her senior year of high school. That afternoon was the once-in-three-month "visit day" for students. Finally, they could be released from the confines of school, and their classmates rushed out the gates. Back at Xia Wan's home, her parents had taken her younger brother to visit relatives out of town. When she returned, she was alone at home, and she might as well have been studying at school.
So she sat there quietly watching her classmates leave the classroom one after another.
Jiang Yu left the classroom shortly after Lin Wei. When he stood up, the back of his chair hit the table behind him with a slight "bang." He said "sorry," pushed his chair forward, and walked into the aisle.
"Hey, Jiang Xueba, are you going to find the school belle?" A classmate joked, and Jiang Yu smiled and gently hit the other person's chest.
The minds of young girls are always delicate and sensitive. Xia Wan's heart was like being hit by a table, with a "bang", shaking her world.
After the classroom quieted down, she quietly opened her diary and recorded today's "Jiang Yu".
She didn't know when she fell asleep, she only heard a voice above her head...
"Xia Wan, what kind of dream did you have about me?"
The voice was like a revelation. She opened her eyes suddenly and saw Jiang Yu staring at her. Dreams, memories, and reality overlapped. For a moment, she didn't know what day it was. She subconsciously replied, "No, I didn't have any dreams..."
Jiang Yu frowned slightly, with a puzzled expression on his face.
Xia Wan's grip on the documents subconsciously tightened. The cold, hard touch of the metal pendant on her backpack brought her back to consciousness. She immediately sat up straight, a trace of embarrassment flashing across her face. "Sorry, I fell asleep." She glanced out the window at the familiar apartment building and quickly unbuckled her seatbelt. "Thank you, Mr. Jiang, for your trouble."
"We're here." Jiang Yu's voice remained calm. "Be careful of the steps."
"Well, thank you." Xia Wan pushed open the car door, and the cold air rushed in instantly, making her shudder, and the remaining sleepiness completely dissipated. She quickly got out of the car, stood outside, and bowed slightly towards the driver's seat, "Mr. Jiang, be careful on the road."
The car window slowly rose, blocking her view. Jiang Yu simply nodded at her without saying anything else. The black car silently slid into the night and quickly disappeared.
Xia Wan stood there, watching the car disappear until the taillights melted into the darkness. The warmth from the car still lingered on her body, and her cheeks seemed to still be warm from the heated seats. The absurd dream she had just had brought back memories of the young Jiang Yu, the naive Jiang Yu.
How could you not like him?
The old rib injury seemed to ache even more, just like her aching heart.
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