Chapter 65 Discovery
Wu Zhou told him, "I'll arrive in about an hour, try to be before 10:30."
Jiang Xia gave a soft "hmm," then asked hesitantly, "Are you driving?"
Wu Zhou patiently replied, "The driver is driving."
Jiang Xia paused for a moment, then reminded him, "Um, drive carefully."
Wu Zhou lowered his voice, trying to remain calm: "Are you concerned about me?"
Jiang Xia coughed, his face flushed: "I came by high-speed rail today. The roads in Haijiang are not easy to drive on."
It's not just difficult to drive, especially the road leading up the mountain to the racetrack. The vegetation along the way is covered in frost, and it gets colder the higher you go.
The two looked out the window at the same time. It was already dark, but they could vaguely see the mountains covered in white.
There's a race tomorrow, and there were quite a few cars on the way to the race venue today. Even though it was late at night, the drivers were still occasionally blinded by the headlights of oncoming cars, and some reckless drivers even forced their way in.
If his boss hadn't been sitting in the back seat, he would have really wanted to curse.
Wu Zhou wasn't in a hurry to hang up, and seized the opportunity to talk to Jiang Xia: "Is it colder on the other side of the mountain?"
Jiang Xia held the phone and paced back and forth slowly, gently kicking her feet: "There is a little, but I brought very thick clothes."
"That's good." Wu Zhou's voice was very soft, so Jiang Xia could clearly hear the car horn coming from the phone.
Are there many cars on the road?
Haijiang is one of the few high-altitude areas near Mengcheng. It is located in the mountains and has a decent geographical location, but the terrain is inconvenient, which means that even if many industries move here, the transportation costs are a huge expense.
Furthermore, due to its high altitude, the Haijiang River experiences generally low temperatures in winter, making transportation difficult and increasing the risk of accidents.
Therefore, from the very beginning, when planning, Haijiang focused on three major sectors: tourism, culture, and intangible cultural heritage.
In recent years, Haijiang has also begun to develop in the direction of skiing, and outdoor skiing is currently the largest in Montreal and the surrounding area.
This year, the tournament also hosts an international points competition, attracting many international players, which will undoubtedly boost the fan economy.
Therefore, a professional translator was specially hired this time. Jiang Xia's appearance fee is not low, and he is serving a single contestant.
Jiang Xia understood the cause and effect, so... he was actually quite worried about Wu Zhou.
As the high-speed train wound its way through mountains and valleys, he saw the winding mountain roads...
Jiang Xia gripped his phone tightly. Actually, he didn't really want to call Wu Zhou, but when he was on the phone with him, he didn't feel so lonely.
Wu Zhou didn't explain, only saying, "Don't worry."
Jiang Xia opened his mouth, wanting to say that he wasn't worried, but the words wouldn't come out. In fact, he was worried to the point of bursting.
He discovered that Wu Zhou always had an accurate grasp of his own thoughts.
That was true before, and it is true now.
Wu Ming also complained that his older brother, an engineering student, must not be sensitive enough to find a girlfriend.
Jiang Xia really wanted Wu Zhou to turn back and not come any further; the roads were difficult to navigate, and what if something unexpected happened…
But Jiangxia was also looking forward to his arrival.
He was conflicted, but Wu Zhou was unwilling to back down, so Jiang Xia had no choice but to give in.
Wu Zhou whispered, "I brought you a gift."
"What is it?" Jiang Xia asked curiously.
Wu Zhou smiled and said, "You'll find out when I get there. Where are you staying?"
"A star-rated hotel provided by the government."
The hotels near the mountaintop were almost fully booked. Jiang Xia asked, "Have you booked a hotel yet?"
Wu Zhou said, "I'll go back after I've come to see you."
In the freezing cold, Jiang Xia stopped, his heart pounding wildly. Someone had traveled for nearly ten hours just to see him.
Jiang Xia's voice was muffled: "We can video call..."
Wu Zhou said softly, "But you'll be even happier if I bring you a gift."
Jiang Xia couldn't say anything else, and could only give a soft "hmm".
In the boundless silence, a sharp screech of brakes startled him awake.
Jiang Xia heard the driver anxiously ask, "Boss, are you alright?"
Wu Zhou grunted before replying, "It's nothing. It was just a chain-reaction rear-end collision, so I was going very slowly..."
He paused, then heard the sound of the door opening and closing; he must have gotten out of the car to check.
“There were three cars. We were the first one. The car behind us was rear-ended and then hit us.”
These last few words were meant for Jiang Xia to hear.
Jiang Xia gripped her phone tightly, suddenly becoming hoarse and unable to speak. Finally, she hummed in agreement: "It's good that you're alright."
Jiang Xia lowered his eyes: "If it's really not safe..."
Wu Zhou interrupted him and hurriedly hung up the phone: "Wait for me. I'll take care of what I'm doing first and then contact you."
He brought a driver and an assistant, but continuing the call would only send Jiang Xia more unsettling messages.
Jiang Xia was filled with anxiety when she received a WeChat message from Wu Zhou half an hour later: "I'm fine, you should rest first, it's too late."
Jiang Xia typed a message asking, "Are you going back?"
I'll come see you again tomorrow.
Jiang Xia breathed a sigh of relief, but was also somewhat disappointed.
On second thought, it's not so bad. I can go to bed earlier. The opening ceremony is at 10 a.m. the next day.
Before 9 p.m., the athlete skied down from the slopes, found Jiangxia, and said that he was in good shape and wanted to go back to the hotel to rest.
Jiang Xia took him back to the hotel.
After the contestants entered the room, they hung a sign on the door indicating that they were resting.
The hotel's soundproofing was excellent; after closing the door, Jiangxia found that he couldn't hear any other noises.
His room was a single room, but the contestants had suites, sleeping in the innermost room.
The outside corridor is covered with a thick carpet, so as long as no one rings the doorbell or knocks on the door, it won't affect them.
Jiang Xia lay in bed, scrolling through her phone, thinking that since the other party wasn't coming, she should get some rest.
He placed the alarm clock he had brought on the bedside table, thought for a moment, then turned the phone volume up to the maximum, and finally lay down peacefully with it to his ear.
Around 11 o'clock, Jiang Xia woke up abruptly when WeChat beeped.
It was a message from Wu Zhou: "I've arrived."
Wu Zhou had just sent this message and didn't plan to send a second one to avoid bothering the other party, but Jiang Xia replied instantly.
"Where are you now?"
"Not asleep? We're almost at your hotel."
Jiang Xia didn't change out of her pajamas; she simply put on a down jacket and quickly went downstairs.
The hotel on the mountaintop wasn't very tall, and Jiang Xia ran straight up the stairs. When he got to the hotel entrance, he noticed that it was snowing lightly.
A bright blue car was driving towards them in the distance. Wu Zhou's usual van was black. Jiang Xia was still gazing into the distance.
When the sapphire blue van stopped not far away, the doorman stepped forward and opened the door. Wu Zhou got out of the car, first glancing down at his watch before looking up.
A small bunch of red tulips in my hand, sprinkled with snow powder.
Red, green leaves, falling snow—Wu Zhou stood in the snow, holding it, his gaze falling on Jiang Xia.
Jiang Xia was panting from running down the stairs, her breath turning into white mist in front of her, her eyes red-rimmed, and she was staring straight at the man in front of her.
When Wu Zhou raised his hand just now, Jiang Xia noticed that his left wrist was wrapped in gauze. So, did he still hurt his hand when the rear-end collision happened?
Jiang Xia stood there, stunned, watching Wu Zhou stride towards her, hand her the tulips, and then hug her tightly.
With their body heat mingling, Jiang Xia felt like his heart was about to explode tonight.
Wu Zhou let go of his hand and said, "It's too late, you should get some rest."
Jiang Xia quickly asked, "Are you going back to Mengcheng tonight?"
He was just scrolling through Douyin (TikTok) when it recommended a lot of videos of local car accidents that happened today.
The city of Mengcheng is okay, but the roads in Haijiang County are really difficult to travel on, with lots of cars and slippery surfaces.
The latter half of the night is even more unbearable. If the car breaks down on the way, and you can't turn on the heater to keep warm, you might freeze to death.
Wu Zhou said, "There's nothing to do tomorrow, but it's not easy to find accommodation on the mountaintop. If we stay here, we'll probably have to drive to a place that's quite far away."
After the rear-end collision, his assistant arranged for another car from the same industry to take him here.
If we leave now, our assistant will still need to find another car.
Jiang Xia hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "I'll go and ask if there are any rooms available."
Jiang Xia, holding a flower, strode towards the front of the stage.
The receptionist politely explained that all rooms were temporarily booked, and while there were indeed guests who hadn't arrived yet, those were reserved rooms and they couldn't release them.
The front desk then called nearby hotels, but after some inquiries, they still couldn't find anything. Perhaps they could try asking nearby guesthouses.
Jiang Xia pursed her lips, regretting that she should have booked a room for Wu Zhou a few hours earlier, regardless of whether he left or stayed tonight.
The receptionist smiled and said, "Mr. Jiang, although you have a single room, we can add an extra bed."
"Single rooms are available for two people, and in special circumstances, three people can stay together."
She smiled, knowing that accommodation on the mountain was inconvenient, especially in winter, and if she wasn't more accommodating, the hotel would be punished if something went wrong.
The consensus among leaders is that the standards can be appropriately relaxed.
After all, the purpose of holding the event is to enhance the local reputation, and we can't afford to lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of small gains.
Jiang Xia looked at Wu Zhou: "Can you...accept this?"
Wu Zhou smiled and said, "Okay."
Jiang Xia took him back to the hotel room.
Shortly after, the waiter brought over a blanket.
He said with a hint of apology, "I'm very sorry, too many people wanted extra blankets tonight, so it's a bit late."
Jiang Xia said thank you: "It's alright."
He spread the blankets on the bed and did all that before looking at Wu Zhou.
A little awkward...
Previously, he slept with President Zhan, but that was because President Zhan shamelessly followed him around. As for Wu Zhou... he was invited by him.
Jiang Xia pursed her lips and said softly, "Do you have pajamas?"
Wu Zhou was still wearing a suit, and it seemed that he had come by car as soon as he got off work.
"I didn't bring it."
Jiang Xia busied himself with everything, handling it skillfully. He had been on so many business trips that he could count with his eyes closed what hotels could and couldn't provide.
It's too cold.
Jiang Xia pushed the other person to take a hot shower. When Wu Zhou came out, he saw that Jiang Xia had changed into a dark blue nightgown and was taking out cotton swabs, iodine and new gauze.
"May I see your wound?" Jiang Xia looked into his eyes.
Wu Zhou was overjoyed. The two sat on the bay window, and Jiang Xia helped him treat it, noticing that his wrist was slightly swollen.
Jiang Xia disinfected his wound, applied the liniment he had brought with him, and asked softly, "How did you get hurt?"
"When the rear-end collision occurred, Hua was about to hit the back of the seat in front of her, so she used her hand to brace herself."
Jiang Xia lowered his head and said softly, "It doesn't matter if it's flowers."
"But that was a gift for you."
Wu Zhou noticed that Jiang Xia's cheeks flushed red instantly, the blush spreading down to the fabric below her neck, and then he saw two hickeys on the back of her neck.
Wu Zhou slowly narrowed his eyes.
A note from the author:
Jiang Xia likes to sleep in on non-working days, and he likes to cling to people when he sleeps. Sometimes when Wu Zhou wakes up and wants to get out of bed first, Jiang Xia will hug him around the waist, bury his face in his lover's shoulder, and whisper, "You can sleep a little longer."
There was no way around it; usually, Wu Zhou would agree without any resistance at this point, and would secretly kiss him a couple of times before lying back down.
*
Mr. Zhan loves summer the most. In the summer, Jiang Xia would wear short sleeves and shorts at home. Actually, not much was exposed, only his calves and arms. But when his wife swayed in front of him, he felt as white as an ice cream popsicle, cool and refreshing. Kissing her a couple of times was also satisfying.
In most cases, Jiang Xia would let him have his way.
She has such a good temper.
Zhan Lintian still couldn't understand how Wu Ming had managed to play such a terrible hand.
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