Chapter 32 Following
Zhan Lintian deliberately stood by the kitchen and blocked Jiang Xia with one hand.
He bent down slightly, tilted his head closer to the river gorge, deliberately teasing him. Seeing that the man had no room to hide, he slowly and deliberately asked with a smile, "So tell me, if Wu Zhou confessed his feelings, would you say yes?"
He seemed determined to get to the bottom of things.
Jiang Xia looked embarrassed, pursed his lips slightly, and after a moment of silence, said, "How can falling in love be so simple?"
Seeing that Jiang Xia did not answer directly, Zhan Lintian had his answer in mind.
If it's hard to tell what's true and what's false, it's false; if it's hard to distinguish right from wrong, it's wrong; if you can't answer now, well... that probably means you won't agree.
He let go of her hand, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his lips: "Alright, I won't tease you anymore."
As he spoke, he lifted the jacket draped over his left forearm, revealing a bag hanging from it.
Zhan Lintian said softly, "It's a Chinese pastry called Lotus Flower Pastry, recommended by a friend."
Jiang Xia had not noticed before, but when he suddenly saw the exquisite flower cake, he was stunned.
Zhan Lintian handed it over and said, "Since I took your cookies, I naturally have to return something else. Hmm, how long will it take for these cookies to bake this time?"
Jiang Xia took the lotus-shaped pastry and replied awkwardly, "It should have been ready by now."
"original?"
Jiang Xia touched the tip of his nose sheepishly, glanced guiltily to the side, and explained, "I noticed Wenwen can't eat very sweet things, so I changed the recipe. But the cooking time..."
As he spoke, he took out a baking tray, picked up a cookie with chopsticks, and held it up to the light; its color was noticeably darker.
"Mr. Zhan, look, it's a little burnt..."
Jiang Xia said earnestly.
Zhan Lintian leaned in to take a look: "Is it burnt? Let me try it."
As he spoke, he opened his mouth to bite the biscuit in Jiang Xia's hand, but Jiang Xia quickly dodged and disposed of the biscuit, saying, "Eating burnt food is bad for your health."
"Fortunately, I prepared a lot of materials, so I can try again."
He made two more trays of animal crackers and put them in the oven. The baking time and temperature were too high before, so he readjusted them.
Fortunately, he only prepared a small amount, but he had a feeling something might go wrong, so he used a little to test the heat first, and sure enough, it burned.
Jiang Xia opened the kitchen window; the burnt smell of the scorched cookies was unpleasant.
The range hood also broke down a bit; when it rains, it pours.
A gentle breeze blew in from outside, carrying the damp smell of the river not far away.
My hometown, Duliang, is a place with high humidity all year round, as is Mengcheng. Jiangxia is used to this humid atmosphere.
The stuffiness in the room was dispelled by the air.
Zhan Lintian was still lamenting the cookies in the trash can, clicking his tongue in amazement: "You threw them away so quickly, I didn't even get to eat them. I've never seen you so quick in front of Wu Zhou."
Jiang Xia looked puzzled. What did he mean? "General Manager Wu?"
Zhan Lintian raised an eyebrow: "It's nothing, let's not talk about him anymore, he's not here. Are you waiting at home for the cookies to bake? Does that take time?"
Jiang Xia shook his head: "It can be timed."
The cookies still need to be baked, and the range hood is having some problems, making the room stuffy.
Seeing that he was rubbing his nose, affected by the smell, Zhan Lintian said in a low voice, "Shall we go downstairs for a walk?"
Jiang Xia nodded.
It was rather chilly outside, so he wore an extra light gray short-sleeved knitted cardigan. The cardigan had a zipper, a wide lapel, and a lighter-colored fur collar underneath.
It's a popular style from the beginning of the year, featuring the character "座山雕" (Zuo Shan Diao). Jiang Xia didn't plan to buy it at first. The outer material is soft wool, and most importantly, this style doesn't have a hood, but the collar can be pulled up to the head, which perfectly protects the neck and looks very warm.
Zhan Lintian had been watching him the whole time. He was so afraid of the cold, yet when he went to the port to pick up Wu Ming, he arrived in such a hurry and dressed so hastily that he was freezing.
The clothes worn by Jiang Xia and Zhan Lintian are different.
Mr. Zhan was only wearing a black patchwork stand-up collar sweatshirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and one hand in his pocket.
Jiang Xia asked, "Mr. Zhan, are you cold?"
"I have a lot of internal heat, and I feel quite hot."
Jiang Xia didn't say much: "That's true. Standing next to General Zhan feels like having a furnace next to you, so warm and cozy."
The two went downstairs for a walk.
It was still early, and the old lady at the fruit stand was still setting up her stall. She saw Jiang Xia and greeted him, "Out for a walk?"
Jiang Xia answered truthfully: "The range hood at home is malfunctioning, so I opened the window to let it air out and came down for a walk."
The old woman's eyesight wasn't good, but she could still tell that the man beside her this time wasn't the one she had seen last time.
But he also looks quite mature and composed.
Before she could speak, she saw Zhan Lintian wave his hand and say, "Hello, Grandma."
"Hello, young man," the old man said with a smile.
Seeing that there was no fruit in Jiang Xia's house, Zhan Lintian looked at Jiang Xia and asked, "What kind of fruit do you want? I'll buy it."
Jiang Xia countered, "Would President Zhan like some fruit?"
"I haven't been eating much lately."
Jiang Xia said, "I usually just come down and buy what I want to eat; I don't hoard it. There's no need for you to trouble Mr. Zhan with the expense."
Jiang Xia put it rather tactfully, but in reality, if he wanted to eat fruit, he would just go downstairs and buy one or two, wash them with the old lady's water, and eat them before even reaching the upper floor, without even bringing the fruit pits or other waste into the house.
Convenient and clean.
The old woman watched them chat together with a smile, washed two winter peaches, and gave one to each of them: "Take these and eat them. It's better to have something to eat while you're walking so you won't get bored."
Jiang Xia said thank you, thinking to himself that he would scan a few more yuan next time he bought something.
The two people walked towards the riverside promenade with peaches in their hands.
The river was rushing and the river breeze was blowing. Jiang Xia originally thought there was no one there, but unexpectedly there was an open space in front of him, where several people with folk musical instruments were rehearsing. Jiang Xia didn't know what tunes they were playing, but he thought they sounded very nice.
Two people were practicing dancing in front of the band. Zhan Lintian and Jiang Xia walked along the riverbank toward them.
Zhan Lintian lagged slightly behind Jiang Xia, tossing a peach in his hand, and asked, "Speaking of which, would you like to ride with me to Wu Ming's engagement banquet?"
Jiang Xia nodded: "Then thank you very much, President Zhan."
Since President Zhan has spoken, I can't just refuse outright.
Jiang Xia was a little nervous and asked, "This is my first time attending an engagement party like this. Are there any things I should be aware of?"
Thinking of the red envelope he had prepared, he asked, "For example, if I want to give a red envelope, will there be any etiquette staff to receive and accept it?"
Zhan Lintian explained to him little by little: "Usually, someone will be arranged to receive the gifts. Engagement is not as serious as marriage, so there shouldn't be too many elders attending. After the speeches, it will probably be the young people's turn."
"Since it's an outdoor venue and the weather is quite cold, they'll probably arrange a band and dancers. Let's see if any of the people there know how to dance; maybe they'll dance to celebrate."
Zhan Lintian said, "You can jump if you want."
Jiang Xia turned around, looked at Zhan Lintian, and slowly walked backwards. Hearing this, he laughed and said, "I can't jump."
As she finished speaking, the wind ruffled Jiang Xia's hair: "At most, I can only spin around. I learned a little bit of ballroom dancing in college, but I've completely forgotten it."
Zhan Lintian's voice was weak: "Hmm?"
Jiang Xia searched his memory, tried to recreate the original movements, and took a few light steps forward: "That's it."
He was performing a ballroom gliding step, but it took too long and his movements weren't standard. He just stood there with his hands outstretched, his arms empty, as if he were holding the wind in his arms, and spun around twice.
Jiang Xia turned around, looked at him one last time, and continued walking backward, leading him forward.
Zhan Lintian, with one hand in his pocket, faced Jiang Xia with a gentle gaze, and couldn't help but smile as he looked at Jiang Xia, who led him step by step forward...
General Manager Zhan applauded enthusiastically: "Well done!"
"Thank you for the compliment," Jiang Xia said, stepping back with his hands behind his back. He looked at Zhan Lintian and then briefly recounted Ying Hua's situation.
Without mentioning that Ying Hua had come to the company specifically to see her, following Wu Zhou's instructions, Jiang Xia only said, "President Ying misses you."
Zhan Lintian murmured, "So he knows to ask you to whisper sweet nothings in his ear?"
Jiang Xia coughed suddenly. "Cough cough, what pillow talk?"
"Mr. Zhan has a real talent for choosing words."
Zhan Lintian raised an eyebrow. Isn't this just pillow talk?
Based on Jiang Xia's behavior during the day and his few words tonight, he roughly guessed the outline of the matter.
That's why Jiang Xia ate with Wu Zhou during the day.
President Zhan looked at Jiang Xia, who was slightly worried, and reassured him, "I know, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Jiang Xia felt relieved and smiled at him.
The two strolled around for half an hour and returned home to find the cookies already baked.
Jiangxia packed the items in a paper bag and attached animal stickers.
"Wenwen should like it."
He was a little nervous. What if the child didn't like it?
Upon hearing this, Zhan Lintian said, "She will like it."
It was getting late, and Zhan Lintian was carrying several bags of cookies to head back.
Jiang Xia was about to see him downstairs when President Zhan suddenly stopped at the door, turned around, gently patted Jiang Xia's head, and ruffled his hair.
"They're gone."
Jiang Xia stood there, stunned. "Goodbye."
Before leaving, Zhan Lintian said, "I'd like to play golf tomorrow if I'm free. If he's free, he can come and play with me."
Not wanting to put Jiang Xia in a difficult position, he directly assigned Ying Hua to handle the communication with him.
Jiang Xia understood.
After Zhan Lintian left, Jiang Xia remembered that he hadn't tried on a suit yet.
Fortunately, I can still fit into it, but it's clearly different from last year's loose fit...
He seems to have been eating too much lately.
Mr. Zhan sent another box of lotus-shaped pastries. I'll put them in the fridge for now...
Jiang Xia was slightly troubled and sent a message to Ying Hua.
Ying Hua replied, "Yes, yes, I will definitely go tomorrow."
"Zhan Lintian seems to be in a good mood lately."
Jiang Xia was puzzled.
Ying Hua asked, "Jiang Xia, I have a question for you. Do you know who Zhan Lintian is pursuing lately?"
Jiang Xia let out a sound of surprise. This was President Zhan's private matter, and he knew nothing about it.
Ying Hua didn't ask any further questions.
Jiang Xia was in a good mood and slept soundly until dawn.
Wu Ming was also in a good mood, tacitly agreeing that Jiang Xia was about to fly to the island for a vacation, and was not afraid that his engagement with Xie Xingzhang would be exposed.
He resumed sending messages to Jiangxia at the same frequency he had before.
Today, Jiang Xia received a constant stream of messages from him as soon as she got to work.
"Jiang Xia, when you get to the island, remember to take lots of pictures and show them to me."
"It's a lot of fun there, and there's lots of delicious food too."
"By the way, have you packed your luggage?"
Upon seeing the message, Jiang Xia first checked the alarm she had set for the flight ticket refund, then remembered the red envelope she had already prepared, and replied, "Everything is packed."
Not a single one was missed.
.
A note from the author:
Jiangxia: I have a big surprise for you.
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