Chapter 38 Brakes
Upon hearing that familiar voice, Wu Ming's pupils constricted sharply. His gaze shifted and landed on Jiang Xia's smiling face as the other person approached step by step... Utter silence descended—like a bolt from the blue, causing his eardrums to ache. He couldn't hear a sound, only a buzzing roar in his mind.
He stood frozen in place. Under the clear blue sky and on the lush green grass, Jiang Xia walked step by step towards him, handing over the gift.
Jiang Xia, who should have been on the island, smiled and said, "Congratulations on your engagement, Wu Ming."
Wu Ming stared at Jiang Xia's face, muttering as if in a dream, "How did you get here?"
Jiang Xia heard this, looked at him gently, and replied calmly, "I didn't board the plane, Wu Ming. This is a gift I specially chose for you. Once again, I wish you a happy engagement."
Wu Ming's pupils moved, and he saw the beautifully wrapped gift.
The gifts were prepared in advance, and the ribbons on the wrappings were neatly arranged.
So... he already knew about his engagement.
Wu Ming opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word, hoping that Jiang Xia would say something else, something else, even the weather or gifts, so that he could continue the conversation.
But the gorge remained silent.
He didn't say things like "You deliberately tricked me into going on a trip to the island" or "You've been hiding it from me all along." He couldn't bear to say those hurtful things, and in the end, all that was left was silence.
What should I say? Saying anything would be superfluous.
Jiang Xia smiled, tilted her head slightly, and gave him a polite smile.
The wind ruffled Jiang Xia's hair, finally bringing Wu Ming back to his senses. He quickly walked towards Jiang Xia, instinctively wanting to question him about why he hadn't boarded the plane and why he hadn't gone to the island as planned.
I'd also like to ask him if he watched the entire engagement ceremony?
Wu Ming, who had impatiently pushed away the guests, had even forgotten how to stand. He needed someone to help him up and he could only stand by leaning on them.
Zhan Lintian spoke up at the opportune moment, teasing, "Is Mr. Wu so happy that he's lost his mind?"
But just as he opened his mouth to argue, Wu Zhou, who was standing next to him, raised his hand first, signaling his assistant to help take the gift from Jiang Xia's hand.
Wu Zhou thanked Wu Ming on his behalf, then looked at Jiang Xia's face and said in a low voice, "Welcome, I hope you have a good day."
Wu Zhou looked at him without any hesitation.
The two sentences from Zhan Lintian and Wu Zhou quickly made the surroundings lively again. Someone patted Wu Ming on the shoulder with a smile. The warmth of the other person's palm seemed to be able to penetrate the suit, but Wu Ming felt cold all over.
No one could see through his panic and helplessness; everyone was happy for him at his engagement party.
The other person laughed and said, "I didn't expect you to be the first among us to get married."
This seemingly calm meeting was like a raging storm. Wu Ming's heart was in turmoil, and he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.
My throat feels tight and painful when I breathe.
He wanted to go up and talk to Jiang Xia, but Zhan Lintian suddenly put his hand on Jiang Xia's shoulder, his fingertips brushing against Jiang Xia's shirt collar: "Come on, let's go get something to eat. We're already here, so have fun."
Zhan Lintian also greeted Wu Zhou, saying, "Mr. Wu, you go ahead with your work. I'll take care of Jiang Xia for you."
Wu Zhou watched Jiang Xia's retreating figure, then hummed in agreement, "Thank you for your trouble."
Wu Ming only watched as Jiang Xia turned around and smiled at him, without saying a word, then waved and left with Zhan Lintian.
It was so ordinary that no one noticed anything unusual, as if it were always meant to be this way.
Jiang Xia was never introduced into Wu Ming's social circle. He always did this, rushing over after the party to pick up the drunken Wu Ming.
But today, Wu Ming remains in the same place.
The sun was shining brightly, the grass was lush and green, there was delicious food and champagne, beautiful people and stunning scenery—everything was wonderful.
Jiang Xia turned back and waved again, then turned and left.
At that moment, Wu Ming felt dizzy and disoriented, like a hollowed-out puppet, letting others lead him through the joyful atmosphere of the engagement banquet.
Only after the guests had left did Wu Ming find a moment to rest, his steps unsteady as he searched for the river gorge.
Jiang Xia was sitting next to Zhan Lintian, holding a ginkgo leaf in his hand. Zhan Lintian was sitting next to him and talking.
It was too far away to hear clearly, but Jiang Xia was tilting her head and looking at him intently as she listened to what President Zhan was saying.
Seeing the calm on Jiang Xia's face, Wu Ming's panicked heart was inexplicably calmed down.
He grinned and walked over, wanting to put his arm around Jiang Xia's neck as usual, wanting to lean on him affectionately.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming to the engagement party?"
Zhan Lintian glanced at Jiang Xia first, then looked at Wu Ming with interest.
Jiang Xia raised his head and put away the leaves.
Jiang Xia no longer avoided his gaze and asked with a smile, "I was afraid you didn't want me to come, so I didn't tell you."
This was the truth. He didn't directly say, "You tricked me into going to the island and didn't let me attend the engagement party," leaving each other with a little dignity.
Jiang Xia got up, the chair legs slid on the ground, and the chair body made a very slight sound.
With almost no one else around, Jiang Xia wasn't in a hurry to leave and gave Wu Ming a final farewell.
His voice was cold: "It's getting late, I should go."
Wu Ming hurriedly said "Hey," wanting to explain that he wouldn't actually marry Xie Xingzhang, but only wanted to let this love affair gradually calm down and let everyone focus on other things before peacefully breaking up.
But with Zhan Lintian still beside him, he could only awkwardly shut his mouth and swallow his words.
Jiang Xia is not a talkative person and will not gossip, but Wu Ming does not know Zhan Lintian's character and dares not speak out.
He planned to talk to Jiang Xia alone tonight, knowing that Jiang Xia was definitely angry about the lie he had told him.
Finally, he could only add helplessly, "Jiang Xia, I didn't mean to hide it."
Jiang Xia just smiled and said, "It's alright, you go ahead with your work, I'll be going now."
Looking at that smile, Wu Ming felt that the distance between the two was gradually widening. Although they were standing face to face and looking at each other, there was an invisible barrier between them.
There was a time when they would never be so distant when they met...
Seeing that Wu Ming was still preoccupied with something, Zhan Lintian continued the conversation, saying to Jiang Xia, "Let's go. See you another day, Mr. Wu."
Wu Ming couldn't stop him, but seeing other people standing next to Jiang Xia, he felt particularly annoyed and asked somewhat pointedly, "Jiang Xia, you and him..."
He actually knew Zhan Lintian, but he still asked a question, hoping Jiang Xia would explain.
Jiang Xia stopped, turned around and looked into his eyes: "He is my friend."
Wu Ming stared blankly at his retreating figure.
Weren't we friends before?
Jiang Xia followed Zhan Lintian and left, walking to the parking area.
He looked at President Zhan and said, "President Zhan, thank you for today."
Zhan Lintian looked into his eyes and curled the corners of his lips: "Verbal thanks aren't sincere enough. Are you busy this afternoon?"
Jiang Xia shook his head: "I took leave and originally planned to rest at home."
“That’s perfect, come with me.” Zhan Lintian walked to his car first. “I’ll drive in front, you follow behind.”
Jiang Xia was curious about where he was going, so she opened her car door and drove after him.
After leaving the city, Zhan Lintian's car noticeably sped up, and Jiang Xia followed suit, saying into the car phone, "Mr. Zhan, where are we going?"
Zhan Lintian's voice came through the speakers, with a slightly husky, electric quality.
"Moon Pond Cultural and Sports Mountain".
Jiang Xia had heard of this place before; a while ago, the subway line 6 was covered with its advertisements, and his colleagues who usually take the subway to work also talked about it.
It's a project that combines business and philanthropy.
The public service area is more like a park, with local intangible cultural heritage museums and other facilities; the commercial area is designed to host events such as cycling and marathons, taking advantage of the terrain.
However, large-scale events require advance application, and the competition has not officially started yet.
"Go for a walk in the park?" Jiang Xia asked, puzzled, but didn't ask any further.
Actually, I can do whatever I want today. I've known Wu Ming for so many years. When we meet today, perhaps that "It's okay" isn't about letting go or forgiving, but about saying goodbye.
Whether we meet again or not seems to matter anymore.
If Wu Ming still wants to be friends, he can readily admit that Wu Ming is one of his friends...
After all, it's always easy to say something.
Jiang Xia drove behind Zhan Lintian, and he was the only one in the car.
Even though the wind was howling outside the car window and Mr. Zhan's car was right in front of him, he still felt a weight lift from his heart.
He was twenty-six or twenty-seven years old and had known Wu Ming for fourteen years. Wu Ming had occupied most of his time in his long life.
Now he's letting go of it all—his middle school, high school, university, and all those memories after graduation. From now on, he'll walk this path alone.
The development of Mengcheng is too fast. People come and go, and the residents upstairs and downstairs are no longer the same few families. My colleagues have also changed again and again.
Everything is changing, but he is nostalgic and prefers a quiet and peaceful life.
You could open a small shop in Duliang, sell some food, develop a few regular customers, look at their familiar faces, chat with them occasionally, and then grow up like that, into middle age and old age...
Fruit spoilage is high, so careful budgeting is needed to avoid losses; opening a large store is too much trouble, so it's better to open a noodle shop...
Life goes by like this, and it doesn't seem so bad.
Jiang Xia followed Zhan Lintian up the mountain road, keeping the speed below 30 km/h.
Mr. Zhan's car has good mountain climbing performance and is easy to drive; Jiang Xia's car doesn't have the same visibility as his, but if you're careful, there won't be any problems.
Jiang Xia followed behind his car until it pulled into the parking lot.
The parking lot was empty. Zhan Lintian drove straight into a parking space, and there happened to be an empty space next to him.
Jiang Xia was distracted and slowed down, putting distance between himself and Boss Zhan's car. He then instinctively sped up to catch up.
He didn't notice that Zhan Lintian had already stopped the car, and only when he was about to hit the rear of the other car did he instinctively slam on the brakes.
His forehead slammed hard against the steering wheel, the pain making his nose sting and ache. He quickly buried his head in the steering wheel to calm himself down, managing to hold back his tears.
Before Zhan Lintian even got out of the car, he heard a screeching sound of brakes. He hurriedly got out and ran over, his voice tense: "Jiang Xia?!"
Jiang Xia rolled down the car window and rubbed his temples. "I'm fine."
Zhan Lintian looked at his reddened eyes, but Jiang Xia just smiled and waved his hand: "Mr. Zhan, I'll park the car first."
He seemed indifferent to everything, but this usually calm and cautious man nearly caused a rear-end collision.
Zhan Lintian felt something clench tightly in his chest, a throbbing and painful sensation, as he stared at the rear of Jiang Xia's car...
When Jiang Xia parked the car, rubbing his forehead as he got out, he put his hand down, and Zhan Lintian noticed a red mark between his eyebrows.
While Jiang Xia was in a daze, Zhan Lintian bent down slightly and got closer to his face.
The two were very close, and Jiang Xia could feel the other's warmth. They were too close, so he couldn't help but lower his eyes and stop looking at him.
The man gently pinched the band-aid and lightly placed it on his forehead.
Instead of backing away, Zhan Lintian gently stroked Jiang Xia's cheek with his right hand, his fingertips lightly rubbing the red mole on his cheek. His voice was hoarse, and he said with heartache, "It's alright, it's nothing."
.
A note from the author:
[Crying][Crying][Crying], what a happy Friday! I was busy both morning and afternoon, and even took phone calls after work. Luckily, we agreed to handle everything together on Monday. I sent out small red envelopes to everyone, and then I stayed up all night writing this make-up update, and will revise the 9 AM update for tomorrow.
Boss Zhan: Wu Zhou, I'm going to take care of your future wife for you. [Fanfan]
Wu Zhou: [Okay]
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