Chapter 12 Keen Insight (Two-in-One)
Seeing Jiang Xia standing by the door, Wu Zhou got up from the bed and approached step by step. In the quiet room, the sound of leather shoes hitting the floor forcefully invaded Jiang Xia's social distance.
Jiang Xia took a step back and steadied himself by holding onto the door.
The man in front of me was tall and imposing; when he got close, he almost blocked the light from the top of the doorway.
So close... Jiang Xia could almost feel the intense heat emanating from Wu Zhou's body.
Jiang Xia's lips touched, but he didn't speak.
The man bent over, his voice growing increasingly hoarse: "I hope Wu Ming and Miss Xie will get married soon."
Jiang Xia paused slightly, then continued, saying softly, "The four great joys in life are the wedding night, passing the imperial examination, and the day one's name is on the honor roll. Mr. Wu must be hoping that Wu Ming can complete this important life event as soon as possible."
He was no longer a naive young man; at twenty-six or twenty-seven, when he brought up marriage, he had a reasonable and well-founded argument that was impossible to fault.
He hoped that Wu Zhou would go along with it and reveal the reason why he was urging Wu Ming to get married.
Wu Zhou took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, but didn't light it: "Actually, I don't care about Wu Ming's marriage. It seems that young people nowadays don't want to get married."
Jiang Xia hesitated, not caring about Wu Ming's situation, but he was happy that Wu Ming was willing to get married.
That's so contradictory.
Seeing Jiang Xia frown, Wu Zhou took a step forward, reaching out to touch his face: "Jiang Xia, I..."
At that moment, Wu Ming sent another message to Jiang Xia, the notification sound ringing incessantly.
"Jiang Xia, are you going home now?"
"My brother isn't with you anymore, is he? I want to call you."
Jiang Xia glanced at it quickly and sighed helplessly.
Seeing that he didn't reply, Wu Zhou withdrew his hand and sneered, "Jiang Xia, you should have your own living space."
Jiang Xia gave a soft "hmm," indicating that he would stay home after get off work.
If Wu Ming doesn't have time to come see him, he'll still ask him what he did that night and who he saw.
He was not happy that Jiang Xia made friends; on the contrary, he would express jealousy and unhappiness if Jiang Xia made new friends.
Over the years, Jiangxia has only had him as a close friend, so what his elder brother said is very true.
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "I'll go back to Wu Ming first."
Wu Zhou didn't know what he was writing; he just watched as Jiang Xia's lips moved slightly while he typed.
The man picked up a glass of whiskey from the cabinet next to him, tilted his head back, and downed half a glass of whiskey in one gulp.
As the drink went down his throat, Wu Zhou put down his glass and suddenly asked, "Jiang Xia, are you against marriage?"
The two people looked into each other's eyes.
Jiang Xia felt awkward looking away from his gaze, a strange unease creeping into her heart. She pondered the topic for a long time before replying, "It's something to long for, something to do with someone you like."
He once fantasized about marrying Wu Ming.
The couple's wedding will be held on the lawn, where everyone will send their blessings. After dinner, they will take a walk hand in hand and return to their hometown of Duliang to relive their youthful memories.
But this is something that can never be achieved...
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door. He looked out and his eyes lit up. It was two assistants that Assistant Xie had invited.
Jiang Xia breathed a sigh of relief and quickly opened the door to welcome them in: "Please come in."
"Thank you both for taking care of Mr. Wu."
Jiangxia just wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Wu Zhou finally lit a cigarette, and through the swirling smoke, he said, "Jiang Xia, let's talk sometime. I'll be waiting for your news."
He added, "It's about Wu Ming."
Jiang Xia waved his hand: "I'm fine with whatever you say, but it's up to you, Mr. Wu, to make the final arrangements."
Jiang Xia left with cheerful steps, realizing that he was indeed not used to associating with Wu Zhou.
With a poker face and a cold demeanor, Wu Zhou, in Wu Ming's words, has an overly strong fatherly air about him.
Jiang Xia returned to his residence late at night.
The old lady downstairs had already packed up her stall, and the road was full of parked cars, but she put a few buckets in her usual parking spot—between two trees—to prevent others from parking there.
Jiang Xia moved the water buckets aside and skillfully parked the car.
The trees on the nearby streets were mostly cut down in the past two years, but the aunt said she needed shade while selling fruit and wouldn't allow these two trees to be cut down.
In the end, the staff left behind the two trees.
Jiangxia successfully secured a "parking space" that no one was vying for, located between two trees, because most people couldn't park there.
He sat in the car, closing his eyes to think.
Before I meet Wu Zhou again, I must find out his background...
Actually, Wu Ming has an older brother who cares about him... Jiang Xia is very envious.
I envy Wu Ming, who leaves early and returns late, because his older brother will come to see him and care about him.
She had wondered if Wu Zhou were her own brother, would he also take care of her?
Jiang Xia sighed... "Thinking about such trivial things."
The lighting in the house wasn't very good, so Jiang Xia put on his glasses and sat on the bay window to write.
He wrote on the paper and then crossed it out.
He analyzed various points on paper and pondered for a long time, but still couldn't explain what Wu Zhou meant by his drunken ramblings that night.
Jiang Xia was a little annoyed, biting his pen. Damn it, could it be that his elder brother thought Wu Ming didn't want to get married because he was bewitched by him?
Wu Zhou's strange and eccentric appearance may be due to childhood trauma.
Now my younger brother has no shortage of money, love, or friends.
Wu Zhou, being a single guy, was even more provoked.
Rather than rushing to see Wu Zhou, Jiang Xia could only contact Zhan Lintian first.
The other party said we could meet at 7 pm tonight.
Mr. Zhan, who sleeps late, replied to the message as soon as he saw it: "I'll pick you up tomorrow."
Jiang Xia sent his address.
He continued scrolling through WeChat; Wu Ming was still sending messages.
"Jiang Xia, are you asleep?"
"Honey, why aren't you replying to me? It shouldn't be too late back home at this hour."
"You're not dating someone too, are you?"
The long message was interspersed with emojis from time to time.
Jiang Xia felt exhausted and didn't want to reply, so she closed her eyes to rest.
He fell asleep on the bay window without realizing it, and his biological clock woke him up promptly at 7:30 in the morning.
After brushing his teeth and washing his face, Jiang Xia changed into a linen gray shirt, put on a trench coat, wore his work badge, grabbed his bag, and went out.
He ran into Assistant Xie, who was passing by, as he went downstairs: "Thank you for your help last night. The gift from President Wu is a membership to the rooftop restaurant in Hengtian Building. The food is delicious. You should try it sometime. President Wu has already put in a good word for you."
Jiang Xia accepted it and said thank you.
Well, Wu Zhou is quite generous; you have to book that restaurant six months in advance.
Jiang Xia thought he would go eat another day, but when he got to the company he started working.
This was his first time taking on a major role in a project, and he felt a lot of pressure. The original poet needed to translate and publish his work in China, and within a year or two, many publishers offered him opportunities.
The author ultimately decided on the company where Jiang Xia worked.
Jiang Xia sat at his workstation reading poetry.
This is a modern poem, very simple, describing the poet's stroll through the forest of his hometown on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year.
If translated normally, it would be a landscape poem.
However, he learned that the author wrote this poem the day after his father's death.
"Suffering is the cradle of literature."
He learned this phrase when he was in college, but he was too young to understand it well.
Only now does he understand that thinking can bring mental anguish.
She was always thinking about her relationship with Wu Ming and her future, and the more she thought about it, the more painful it became.
He had to put those painful feelings into words and forcibly tear them out of his body.
He changed jobs three times, all voluntarily. Each time, the bargaining chip he used to change jobs was a fragment of text he wrote during a time of pain. Those words resonated with others, leading them to buy the corresponding books.
Wu Ming even threw him a celebration banquet. Wu Ming couldn't understand those words, nor did he understand his inner venting; he was simply celebrating the achievement those painful words brought to his friend.
Jiang Xia took out a fountain pen, the nib glided across the paper, wrote a few sentences, and then stopped.
He got up and went to the hallway to sober up; two colleagues were smoking.
"Want one?" my colleague asked enthusiastically.
"Thank you, I don't smoke."
"Have a twitch, it'll feel better."
Jiang Xia shook his head again, the wind brushing against his face.
"Team Leader Jiang, there's a dinner party tonight, would you like to go?"
Jiang Xia shook his head: "I have an appointment."
Colleagues joked, "Are you dating someone?"
Jiang Xia replied calmly, "No."
Seeing that he was not in a good mood, his colleagues did not say anything.
After he finished get off work, Wu Ming sent him a message, reporting his day's itinerary in detail.
In the morning, I drove an hour to a famous Instagram-famous shop and brought Xie Xingzhang a handmade bread. Afterwards, I went speeding on the highway with my friends. In the afternoon, I called my grandfather and asked my older brother to stop interfering in his affairs. In the evening, I went to a bar and met some like-minded friends. We made plans to climb a snow mountain next month.
Jiang Xia was drinking coffee to stay awake when he saw the other person's schedule for half a day. He felt dizzy and thought that if it were him, he would probably be exhausted after driving for an hour to check out a dessert shop.
Jiang Xia chose not to reply.
He didn't want his secret crush on Wu Ming to cause Wu Ming to be suspected by his wife after marriage, so the best way was to stay away.
Normally, Wu Ming would call him long ago if he didn't reply, but Wu Ming still hadn't answered even as it was nearing the end of the workday...
Jiang Xia sighed, having to admit that Wu Ming was so lucky that he had no shortage of love, and his own affections were not even icing on the cake.
get off work.
Jiang Xia had just returned home when he saw a Jeep Wrangler with an unfamiliar license plate appear downstairs.
Zhan Lintian rolled down the car window and gestured to him upstairs: "Hey, what a coincidence."
Jiang Xia quickly went downstairs, picked up a small bag, got into the car, and sat in the passenger seat.
"A gift? For me?" Zhan Lintian asked curiously.
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "It's for little Wenwen. If President Zhan wants it, it seems we'll have to wait until next time."
Zhan Lintian gripped the steering wheel tightly and merged into the main lane: "Okay, but what did you talk about with Wu Zhou yesterday? You seem quite troubled?"
"I'm fairly familiar with Wu Zhou, so I can give you some advice."
"But he's a very straightforward person, why would he beat around the bush with you?"
Jiang Xia looked out of the car window: "I don't know him."
The car soon arrived at the islands in the prime area near the confluence of the three rivers.
This land is protected by policy and cannot be sold to the public. Jiang Xia wonders: Can the Zhan family acquire this land?
Collusion between government and business?
Seeing his confusion, Zhan Lintian explained, "I have an elder relative who is a local. He was involved in real estate development in Mengcheng in the last century. He originally lived in what is now the city center, but after the demolition, he was allocated land here. At that time, this place was very remote and couldn't compare to the land in the city center. His family had no descendants, so my father inherited it as an heir; otherwise, it would have been demolished too. Since the beginning of the century, no new houses have been allowed to be built here. The original residents are not allowed to renovate or sell their houses, and they need to maintain their houses every year to keep them clean and tidy."
"It's not some extraordinary method."
He smiled.
Jiang Xia quickly and awkwardly replied, "This place is very nice."
At the same time, Jiang Xia silently covered the lower half of his face.
Was my expression just now very obvious?
Zhan Lintian's observation skills are too sharp. You can hardly hide anything from him. He saw through your feelings for Wu Ming at a glance before.
What a terrifying man...
Jiang Xia chose to remain silent.
As soon as Jiang Xia got out of the car after it entered the manor, a little girl with pigtails ran over and exclaimed, "Uncle!"
Jiang Xia guessed that she was Wenwen and bent down to hand the gift to the child.
The child looked at him and slowly accepted the gift: "Thank you, handsome uncle."
Jiang Xia asked with a smile, "You're so cute."
Wenwen happily went around to Zhan Lintian's side: "Uncle, I want a hug."
Zhan Lintian refused: "Uncle twisted his wrist playing golf, let Auntie carry you."
Wenwen looked at her aunt, and then at Jiangxia, who was taller than her aunt.
...
A little while later, Jiang Xia, carrying a five-year-old girl, followed Zhan Lintian toward the reception room.
She really enjoys being carried around.
Jiang Xia said gently, "Many children don't like walking with adults because they can only see the lower half of the adults' bodies."
He gently shook Wenwen: "If she plays with other children, and everyone is the same, she won't always need an adult to carry her."
Zhan Lintian nodded, it seemed that was indeed the case.
Zhan Lintian noticed that Jiang Xia had taken off her coat and asked the aunt to hold it to prevent the decorative buttons on the coat from poking the little girl.
He then rolled down his sleeves from his forearms, and the piled-up fabric would prick the children.
Everything was meticulously done...
Zhan Lintian asked directly, "Are you good with children?"
Jiang Xia paused, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "When I was little, I lived with my grandmother. My grandmother had five or six children. After school, I would help my grandmother take care of my younger cousins."
Jiang Xia didn't want to continue the topic, so he changed his tune: "President Zhan, I need your help with President Wu's matter."
Instead of answering directly, Zhan Lintian asked Wenwen, "Wenwen, if an uncle didn't like your friends but cared about you, cared about your future schooling, and thought about your future, what do you think he meant?"
Jiang Xia stopped in his tracks. This sentence seemed to be referring to the relationship between Wu Zhou, Wu Ming, and himself.
Holding a cookie in her hand, Wenwen proudly looked up and said in her childish voice, "Then he must really like me."
When Jiang Xia saw her like this, he said gently, "You are the cutest little girl."
Halfway there, Wenwen got sleepy, so her aunt carried her to wash up and go to bed. Children need to be asleep before eight o'clock.
He and Zhan Lintian went to the reception room.
Zhan Lintian poured him tea, and Jiang Xia awkwardly said thank you, then truthfully relayed what General Manager Wu had said after the gathering last night.
After saying that, Jiang Xia took a sip of tea.
After listening, Zhan Lintian narrowed his eyes and tapped his knees lightly with his fingers.
After a long silence, he finally said, "Jiang Xia, is it possible that Wu Zhou feels differently about you?"
A note from the author:
later.
Zhan Lintian: Who can have better eyesight than me? [Burning with sobs]
If my brother really gets together with Jiang Xia, Mr. Zhan, you won't be happy.
Wu Ming, who is far away abroad: I always feel very uneasy.
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