Chapter 41
The high-speed train pulled smoothly into Jinzhou West Station. In late winter, early spring in Jinzhou, the air still held a lingering chill, but the sun had already begun to warm it. The bustling crowds and familiar city noises instantly pulled one back to reality from the serene dreamland of Suzhou.
Li Mo was already waiting outside the station, taking the luggage. As the car drove toward the city, the streetscape outside the window felt familiar yet a little unfamiliar, as if coated with a soft light filter freshly brought back from Jiangnan.
"Shall I take you home first?" Jiang Yu asked Xia Wan, tilting his head. He still held her hand, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the smooth back of her hand.
"Yeah." Xia Wan nodded, leaning back in her chair, watching the familiar streets speed by outside the window. She felt a strange sense of security in her heart. Although she had left the poetic and picturesque Suzhou, the sense of security brought by this person beside her made her feel that no matter where she was, she was home.
The car stopped downstairs of the apartment building. Xia Wan unbuckled her seatbelt and prepared to get out.
"Wait," Jiang Yu called to her. He leaned over and naturally adjusted her collar, which had been wrinkled by the seatbelt. His fingertips brushed the skin on her neck, causing a slight shudder. His gaze rested on her face, a subtle hint of reluctance in his eyes.
"Have a good rest." He said in a low voice, "Tomorrow..."
"Tomorrow is Monday, and I have to go to work." Xia Wan continued with a gentle smile on her face, "I know, Mr. Jiang. I will eat on time, work hard, and not cause you any trouble." She deliberately imitated his previous instructions, with a hint of playfulness in her tone.
Jiang Yu's lips curled slightly at her amusement, a warmth shimmering in his deep eyes. He reached out his hand, but this time, instead of touching her cheek or hair, he gently rubbed her slightly moist lower lip with his fingertips—the spot that held countless sweet memories of Su Cheng. His gesture carried a hint of intimacy and a gentle possessiveness.
"Call if you have anything," he said finally.
"Yeah." Xia Wan's cheeks were slightly hot, and she nodded gently, "You too."
She pushed open the car door and got out, the cold wind making her shiver. She glanced back inside the car and saw Jiang Yu looking at her through the window, his eyes focused. She waved to him, then turned and walked quickly into the apartment building.
Returning to her familiar nest, the air seemed to still linger with the scent of her departure. Xia Wan set down her luggage and looked around, a strange feeling of homecoming, a blend of peace and tranquility and the aftertaste of her journey enveloping her. She walked to the desk, her gaze settling on the dark blue diary. This time, her heart felt no ripples, only a calm tenderness. She didn't need to open it to confirm anything, because Su Cheng's kiss, the embrace under the lamplight, the cuddling on the way home, had become annotations more vivid and sweet than any words.
She took out her phone and sent a message to Lin Wei:
"Wei Ma, safe return! Su Cheng reporting, mission accomplished! (Victory gesture)"
Lin Wei replied almost immediately:
"!!! (Fireworks) Quick! Voice! Details! I want to hear the sugary stuff!"
Xia Wan laughed and ignored Lin Wei's "voice" request, simply replying:
"The scenery is beautiful, the food is great, and the night garden is... dreamy. In short, it's perfect."
Lin Wei: "(smirking) Very dreamy? Hmm? How dreamy? Has anyone... umm? (raised eyebrow emoji)"
Xia Wan: "(Knocking head) Lin Weiwei! Keep your thoughts pure!"
Lin Wei: "Tsk! I'm just concerned about your happiness! Okay, okay, I know you're shy. Just come back safely! I'll have dinner with you another day and torture you right in front of me!"
Putting down her phone, Xia Wan began packing. She placed the garden atlases Su Cheng had brought back in a prominent spot on her desk and put her clothes in the washing machine. Even as she went about these daily tasks, a gentle smile remained on her lips. The memory of Su Cheng flowed quietly through her heart like a warm current.
The next day, Monday.
The familiar atmosphere of the design institute filled the air. Colleagues greeted her warmly, congratulating her on the gold medal and curiously inquiring about her trip to Suzhou. Xia Wan responded appropriately, a professional smile on her face, but the quiet sweetness and brilliance in her eyes could not be concealed.
"Mr. Xia, you look so good! The climate and soil in Suzhou are really good for health!" A female colleague joked with a smile.
Xia Wan just smiled and didn't respond, but her ears turned slightly red.
Work quickly took up most of her time. The gold award had a significant aftereffect, with new project offers, media interview requests, and internal sharing sessions all pouring in. Xia Wan buried herself in her desk, processing emails, revising proposals, and communicating with various parties. The intense work pace temporarily made her forget the beauty of Suzhou.
It wasn't until lunch break that the phone screen lit up. It was a message from Jiang Yu. There were no words, just a photo.
The photo showed an exquisite business settee on a large desk, with the huge floor-to-ceiling windows of his office and the Jinzhou city skyline in the background. In the corner of the photo, his hand, clearly defined and strong, was visible, holding a silver fork.
Then came the second message: "Report: Eat on time. Where's Xia Gong?"
A simple photo, a simple question, but like a pebble dropped into the lake of her heart, it instantly rippled the sweetness Su Cheng had brought back. Xia Wan looked at the familiar corner of his office in the photo, at the hand holding the fork, fingers intertwined with hers just last night, and couldn't help but smile. She could imagine the slight curl at the corners of his lips when he sent the message.
She picked up her phone, took a picture of the simple cafeteria meal on her plate, and sent it over. The caption read: "Standard cafeteria meal, strictly following President Jiang's instructions."
The message was replied almost instantly: "Yeah. Good boy."
The simple word "good," with his characteristic composure and a subtle hint of doting, made Xia Wan's heart skip a beat and her cheeks warm. She quickly put away her phone, fearing that her colleagues eating nearby would notice something was wrong.
The afternoon was still busy. But in between, the photo of her lunch and the word "good" would inadvertently surface in her mind, bringing a subtle sweetness that dispelled the fatigue of work. As she processed emails, the rhythm of her fingertips tapping on the keyboard seemed to lighten.
When she was about to get off work, she received Jiang Yu's third message:
"I have a social engagement tonight that I can't turn down. It'll end around nine. I'd like to see you. Is that convenient?"
It wasn't an order, but a respectful inquiry that clearly expressed his longing.
Xia Wan's heartbeat quickened again. She looked at the message, and the clear expectation in his deep eyes seemed to emerge before her eyes. Without hesitation, she replied:
"Okay. I'll wait for you at home."
After the message was successfully sent, she realized how quickly she had agreed, and her cheeks flushed again. But the anticipation in her heart was like a spring bud breaking through the soil, rapidly growing.
At 9:10 in the evening, the doorbell rang on time.
Xia Wan took a deep breath and walked over to open the door.
Jiang Yu stood outside the door. He was dressed for social events: a dark suit, white shirt, and a loosened tie. He wore a subtle hint of fatigue, but his eyes were unusually bright, like stars in the dark night. He smelled faintly of alcohol, mixed with the crisp scent of fir, creating a unique, aggressive masculine charm.
"Is it over?" Xia Wan moved aside to let him in.
"Yeah." Jiang Yu walked in and closed the door behind him. The small space in the entrance was instantly filled with his scent and a hint of alcohol.
He didn't change his shoes immediately, nor did he head for the living room. He simply stood before Xia Wan, his tall figure carrying an invisible sense of oppression. He looked down at her, his deep eyes, under the warm yellow light of the entrance hall, surging with undisguised, intense longing and a hint of suppressed desire. The exhaustion from socializing seemed to vanish the moment he saw her, leaving only the person before him who made him so eager to return home.
"Are you tired?" Xia Wan was flustered by his gaze and asked in a low voice.
Jiang Yu didn't answer. He took a step forward, closing the last bit of distance between them. His hot, alcohol-scented breath brushed against her hair and cheeks. His gaze, like a physical object, locked onto her parted lips, the clear desire within making Xia Wan's legs weaken.
The next moment, he stretched out his arms and, with irresistible force, suddenly pulled her into his arms! His movements were eager and overbearing, as if he wanted to rub her into his body. His chin rested heavily on the top of her head, and he let out a satisfied, long sigh, with a hoarseness from alcohol and deep longing:
"Xia Wan...I miss you."
This low, hoarse call, with its frankness and vulnerability fueled by the alcohol, instantly broke down all of Xia Wan's defenses. She hugged his slender waist tightly with her backhand, buried her face deep in his warm neck, greedily breathing in his scent of alcohol and fir, and muffledly replied:
"Yeah... I missed you too."
The lighting in the entrance hall is warm and quiet.
He returned tired from the social event and drunk.
She waited quietly at home.
An eager and strong hug, and a straightforward sentence of missing someone with the smell of alcohol.
There is no poetic and picturesque scene of Suzhou, only the most simple return to port of Jinzhou at night.
But this small entrance, this close embrace of warmth, and this undisguised longing made her feel more real, solid, and...sweet belonging than any beautiful garden scenery.
She knew that the daily life that belonged to her and Jiang Yu had quietly begun with the warmth of this embrace and the words "I miss you." The future might be busy and full of separations, but the beacon of home would always be shining for each other.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
