Chapter 16 Out of Control
Jiang Xia wrapped one arm around the child, adjusted his posture to the side, the hem of his suit jacket brushing against the sofa, the shirt underneath pulled up, outlining the waistline that was faintly visible beneath the fabric.
Jiang Xia had no time to pay attention; he first blew on the food to cool it down before handing it to Wenwen's mouth, saying, "Phew."
"Ah~" The little girl took the spoon into her mouth and held it there, blinking her eyes as she looked at him.
Jiang Xia tugged at the spoon handle, but didn't dare to pull too hard.
He gave a helpless, bitter smile. He hadn't helped take care of anyone's child in a long time, and he wasn't very good at soothing people anymore.
The last time I took care of my child was when he was in elementary school in my hometown.
He boarded at school from junior high until he graduated from university. He only attended primary school as a day student. There was no other reason for this, as the public primary schools in his area did not offer boarding facilities.
His day school life wasn't much better than boarding school. His grandparents took care of many grandchildren, and Jiang Xia, as an older child who was already in school, had to take on the responsibility of taking care of his younger cousins.
He was responsible for feeding the one- or two-year-old children.
In his memory, feeding his child was always chaotic, and it could take an hour to finish a bowl of rice. He had to do his homework while feeding his child.
But Wenwen is very well-behaved.
Jiang Xia's heart softened, and she coaxed, "Is it that delicious?"
"Come on, let go, Uncle will feed you again."
Wenwen had a fever and felt dizzy. Her little hands were grabbing at everything. She used to play with her aunts' hair at home, but Jiangxia's hair was too short for her to grab. She was pouting in grievance.
Seeing this, Jiang Xia tried to distract her by letting her play with her tie: "Look at your uncle's tie, isn't it different from your maternal uncle's?"
Zhan Lintian usually likes to wear wide, solid-colored ties and has a cold expression, which can be frightening to children.
The Jiangxia line features a narrow black tie with gold checkered patterns, made of a relatively soft fabric.
He usually likes to wear brown trench coats or mid-length coats. This combination makes him look less formal and more gentle.
The tie, with its shimmering gold threads, was exactly what a five-year-old would like. Jiang Xia let her play as she pleased, as long as she was willing to eat; after all, a full stomach was essential for bringing down her fever.
Not liking to eat is common for most children, and now that the biggest problem has been solved, he feels relieved.
Just as General Manager Zhan finished his meal in a hurry and put down his chopsticks, Jiang Xia took over holding the child and feeding him.
Zhan Lintian sat down next to Jiang Xia, his body heat passing through the air to Jiang Xia.
Jiang Xia felt a bit uncomfortable, as his body was burning with heat and he shifted to the side.
Seeing this, Zhan Lintian teased, "Why are you hiding?"
Jiang Xia blushed and instinctively apologized, "I'm sorry."
Although Zhan Lintian doted on this child, he rarely spent time with him, leaving the entire process to the elders in the family. At this moment, he was not very skilled at feeding the child, and his palm inadvertently brushed against Jiang Xia's fingertips.
Jiang Xia dared not move an inch.
Zhan Lintian frowned as he fed the little girl, who sat up straight to eat, and he sat up straight as well.
Fortunately, he no longer needed to coax the child to open his mouth with repeated "ah" sounds.
Jiang Xia smiled, lowered his head and pursed his lips, a gentle laugh escaping his lips. It turned out that one thing could subdue another.
He said, "If Mr. Zhan gets married and has children in the future, he will definitely be very good at educating them."
Zhan Lintian said in a low voice, "I don't have any plans to date for the time being."
Jiang Xia quickly said, "I'm sorry."
Zhan Lintian said, "It's okay."
At that moment, the child was sleepy after finishing his meal and snuggled into Jiang Xia's arms, asking him to perform magic tricks in a childish voice.
Jiang Xia took out a coin, facing it towards the little girl, so that she could see it clearly.
He flipped his fingertips, controlling the coin to appear and disappear, and as he flipped his right hand, his fair skin was revealed at the cuff.
When Zhan Lintian saw this, he thought, "This person is really sunbathing. His skin is already fair, but the skin under his clothes is even whiter..."
Wenwen stared wide-eyed for a long time, and finally reached out to see his palms.
"The coin is hidden here..."
Jiang Xia glanced at General Manager Zhan, revealing a troubled expression as if asking for help.
Zhan Lintian raised an eyebrow, lightly tapped his knee with his fingertips, and waited for Jiang Xia to place the coin on his lap and push it back. He smiled, reached out, took the coin, and put it in his pocket.
The two managed to deceive the children right under their noses.
Jiang Xia couldn't help but turn around, meet his gaze, and mouth, "Thank you, President Zhan."
Zhan Lintian looked at him with a smile and replied in a low voice, "Don't be so polite."
The child was getting anxious after searching for a long time without finding it.
Fortunately, she was very sleepy and fell asleep lying down.
Zhan Lintian asked his personal assistant to come and help carry the sleeping child to the bed inside.
The assistant was afraid of waking her.
Seeing this, Zhan Lintian was glad that Wenwen had met Jiang Xia once at home before and had a close impression of him, which is why he was willing to let him hold her and feed her today.
Only the two of them remained in the office.
Seeing that things were going well, Jiang Xia stood up and placed the red envelope on the desk: "I won't be able to attend Wu Ming's engagement banquet, so please ask President Zhan to pass this on for me."
Zhan Lintian glanced sideways and saw the words "May you have a happy marriage for a hundred years" printed on the red envelope. He got up and moved closer, slowly encroaching on Jiang Xia's social distance.
Jiang Xia took two steps back in fear, put one hand in his pocket, and bent down to look at the person: "Why didn't you give it to him yourself? Hmm, you knew Wu Ming would keep it from you, right?"
Zhan Lintian looked at the small mole on Jiang Xia's cheek. This person liked Wu Ming, but also knew that Wu Ming was not his final choice. He preferred to be rational from the beginning and refuse to admit that he liked Wu Ming.
Jiang Xia lowered her eyes, gave a soft "hmm," and said in a very low voice, "He didn't tell me, so naturally he didn't invite me."
Zhan Lintian said in a low voice, "I can bring a male companion in. Are you really not going? Don't you want to see your friend's grand engagement party?"
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "No need."
His eyes shone with a light, as if he had let go of his worries.
Zhan Lintian asked in a low voice, "Jiang Xia, how many years have you known Wu Zhou?"
"Wu Ming? Fourteen years." Jiang Xia couldn't believe it.
Zhan Lintian corrected: "It's Wu Zhou."
Jiang Xia frowned slightly, "I have to do some calculations."
During my summer vacation at university, I went to Montreal to work and happened to meet Mr. Wu, who was temporarily returning to China, at Wu Ming's house.
This was considered their official meeting, but they didn't talk, greet each other, or exchange names that night.
One of them is Wu Ming's good classmate.
One of them is Wu Ming's older brother.
Wu Ming was the key figure in their relationship; without him, their lives would never have intersected.
Before this, Jiang Xia had always heard about this "famous" older brother from Wu Ming, about Wu Zhou studying abroad, Wu Zhou and his friends co-founding a studio, and obtaining patents...
Jiang Xia did the math: "It's been almost seven years, but we're still not familiar."
He genuinely doesn't know people well.
So when President Zhan said that Wu Zhou liked him, Jiang Xia thought about it for a long time and finally concluded that President Zhan had misjudged him.
If Wu Zhou knew that these two people were talking about him like this behind his back, he would probably be so angry that he would vomit blood.
Jiang Xia just wanted to leave and said urgently, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Zhan."
Zhan Lintian suddenly grabbed his hand and asked with a smile, "So impatient? You really don't want to take my opinion? I still think Wu Zhou's attitude towards you is unusual. Why don't you try to test him?"
"With me here, there's no need to worry about not having a chance to see Wu Zhou."
Jiang Xia waved and left with a smile: "President Zhan, I will consider your suggestion and invite you to dinner another day."
Go out, take the elevator, go downstairs, get in the car.
Jiang Xia sighed as she sat in the car. She was finally done with this; she was so tired…
He went to the sky hotel he had booked, sat down to eat, and saw many couples on dates in the restaurant. Someone was playing the violin, but Jiang Xia wasn't very familiar with the piece.
The food filled his stomach, but he still felt empty inside.
Jiang Xia looked at the city skyline of Mengcheng. This bustling international metropolis, with its bright lights and vibrant nightlife, carried the dreams of countless people.
I have nowhere to stay, and after I finish eating, I'll have to go back to my room where I live alone.
Wu Zhou...
Jiang Xia took a bite of steak, looked down at the salad in front of him, his eyelashes trembled slightly, and his thoughts were churning. He really had no connection with President Wu.
It wasn't until the winter break of my sophomore year that I took on several tutoring jobs in Montreal, tutoring students until just before New Year's Eve.
He needed to catch the early morning train back to Duliang, but couldn't get a taxi.
Wu Ming didn't have a driver's license at the time and couldn't drive. Unfortunately, it was close to the Lunar New Year, and many of Wu's workers were on holiday, leaving only two drivers on duty in Mengcheng.
Wu Ming arranged for a car to pick them up, but unexpectedly, it was the same business car that Wu Zhou usually used, and Wu Zhou was also in the car.
That was their first formal conversation.
Jiangxia banished his memories, forced himself to eat, and became more carefree and chubby. Perhaps he could interpret it literally: gaining weight really does make one more easygoing? Everyone says so.
He returned home after he had eaten his fill, but the old lady hadn't packed up her stall yet.
Jiang Xia sat downstairs enjoying the breeze. A peaceful day passed, and he hadn't really done anything.
Perhaps it will be another high-energy day for Wu Ming abroad.
Seeing his lost and dejected look, the old woman said, "Are you really not going to find a girlfriend?"
"No need, I haven't thought about it yet."
The old woman gave him a banana and said, "Where's your friend? You mean that loud, boisterous hoodlum who sometimes dyes his hair all sorts of colors? I haven't seen him lately."
Jiang Xia laughed: "His name is Wu Ming, he's not a hoodlum."
"He's getting married, and his girlfriend is very beautiful. Once he has a new family, I guess he won't have any more contact with his friends, which is normal."
The old woman said, "Don't you young people go to bars? Why don't you go and meet some people there?"
The wind was too strong, and the old man, who is a little hard of hearing, spoke very loudly.
Jiang Xia stood up, smiled, and said, "That's right, I'm going to try to make new friends."
On the surface, Jiang Xia was happy, but when she got home that night, she was so bored that she did housework to relieve her emotions.
He then noticed a suit jacket hanging inside the kitchen door; Wu Zhou had forgotten to take it.
It's past 8 PM now. I can fold the clothes, send a message to Wu Zhou, and contact Assistant Xie... That way, when Assistant Xie passes by a nearby intersection, I can wait in advance and hand over the clothes directly.
To avoid any unforeseen complications.
Jiang Xia thought about it and gave up the idea.
He had already exhausted himself looking for Zhan Lintian today.
He's a low-energy person, he can't handle several things at once, he's too tired, let's talk about it tomorrow.
Jiang Xia opened his coat and looked inside. Luckily, he hadn't cooked at home during the day, otherwise his bespoke suit would have been stained with oil...
Jiang Xia hung up the clothes and looked at them, faintly smelling the lingering fragrance of incense.
Although I wasn't used to Mr. Wu coming over, at least he was a real person, and my house became quite lively.
The more lively it was last night, the quieter it is now.
Jiang Xia finished her housework and lay exhausted in bed. Tomorrow is Sunday, a day off. What should she do?
Going to the park... I don't want to go alone.
I'm trying to meet up with friends... but when I look through my contacts, it seems most of my colleagues have families.
Wu Ming's wealthy and leisurely friends... I'm not familiar with them.
Staying at home... is so boring.
He would rather have boldly confessed his feelings to Wu Ming and been rejected, because perhaps one day he could calmly move on to the next relationship and accept the next person.
She was extremely cautious, refusing to let anyone get close, fearing that she would leave a stain of "promiscuity" when she got along with Wu Ming in the future...
The ridiculous thing is that if Wu Ming really doesn't like him, all the pain he suffers is his own fault.
Jiang Xia knew better than anyone else that he was fortunate he hadn't hurt anyone, but he was just having trouble thinking things through.
He half-closed his eyes, looking at his phone, scrolling through videos of Du Liang, and looking at information about the properties there.
Late at night, Wu Ming suddenly sent a message: "Jiang Xia, I'm making a surprise trip back to China tomorrow. You must come pick me up at 10 a.m. tomorrow."
Jiang Xia stared at the message for a long time before replying with an "okay".
The next morning.
Inside the airport, Jiang Xia was standing in the crowd when someone grabbed her neck from behind before she could even see Wu Ming.
Wu Ming lay on his back.
He was slightly taller than Jiang Xia, who bent over to look at the grinning person behind him.
Wu Ming, wearing sunglasses, cupped Jiang Xia's face in his hands, oblivious to the slight redness in Jiang Xia's eyes as they were pressed together.
"I'm practically moldy from staying abroad."
"By the way, Jiang Xia, have you found out why my brother is forcing me to get married?"
Wu Ming rolled his eyes: "Has he really lost his mind? Does he really think he's some kind of patriarch from feudal society, wanting to control everything? He's got that fatherly attitude all over him."
Jiang Xia's lips twitched. He didn't know what to say. After Boss Zhan's unreliable assessment, his brother went from being mentally unstable to being suspected of being gay.
A note from the author:
Every time Jiang Xia goes into a daze, Rabbit silently opens her drafts and finds intimate chapters featuring Zhan Lintian and him, or Wu Zhou and him. [Owl emoji]
By the way, Wu Zhou's feelings for Jiangxia developed over time, because Wu Ming would always talk about it with his older brother for more than ten years, and he would post about it on his WeChat Moments every day.
Wu Ming: (Photo) The food Jiang Xia made was delicious. Students should have a good meal on the weekend to nourish their brains.
Wu Ming: (Photo taken in high school) I caught a top student who was seriously tutoring me.
Wu Ming: (Photo) The book that Jiang Xia helped translate is amazing. I heard that this translation has received rave reviews. I want to latch onto his coattails and live off him.
Wu Zhou: [Daily View]
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