Chapter 24 Chapter 24 "He lied to me."
Jiang Mian has a calm personality and decisive methods, which is what Mr. Jiang values.
Unfortunately, everyone has a weakness. Whenever it comes to Qiao Yu, he becomes extremely anxious, and everything he says and does is filled with a strong sense of uneasiness.
The person on the other end of the phone saw that he was about to go crazy again, and hurriedly tried to persuade him in a soft voice.
Jiang Mian closed his eyes and took a deep breath for a while. He hung up the phone when he felt a little calmer.
The evening sun was warm, carving out several neat rectangles on the wooden floor.
There are green plants on the workbench in the open kitchen. The stretched leaves are coated with golden light and tremble slightly in the wind brought in by the fresh air system.
Jiang Mian put away his phone, turned around and glanced at the bedroom, only to find that the door was only half-open.
He paused, walked over quickly, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Qiao Yu was still sleeping in the room.
"Aren't you hungry too?" Jiang Mian said to himself.
As soon as he finished speaking, Qiao Yu opened his eyes.
The two of them stood one after another, looking at each other on the bed and under the bed.
"Did I wake you up?" Jiang Mian pushed the quilt back and sat on the edge of the bed.
Qiao Yu retracted his gaze, lying on his back and looking at the ceiling: "What time is it?"
His vocal cords were hoarse from the high heat, and when he opened his mouth he was startled by the sound of his own voice.
I felt dizzy and as if something was shattering deep in my heart, like the snow on the eaves after the New Year, which melted into water and fell down in the sun.
It is now half past six in the evening and Qiao Yu has almost finished a day's sleep.
His fever has almost subsided, and at least he doesn't feel as headache-inducing anymore.
Although my nasal cavity was still blocked, it was at least unblocked and I no longer had to breathe through my mouth.
"Don't you want to eat something?" Jiang Mian handed Qiao Yu a coat.
Qiao Yu shook her head: "There are still things to do at school."
Compared to their previous interactions, their harmony was terrifyingly harmonious.
Qiao Yu didn't scold him or treat him coldly. She communicated with him normally and spoke and acted without emotion.
"Ayu," Jiang Mian called him at the entrance, "Would you like to have something to eat?"
"No need," Qiao Yu bowed and put on her shoes, "I'm going to the cafeteria."
Jiang Mian took out a light grey cashmere scarf and put it on him. Qiao Yu did not refuse and wore it obediently.
Jiang Mian thought about it and decided to follow Qiao Yu out and sent him to the school gate.
"I'm going to be away for a while." Jiang Mian said.
"Well," Qiao Yu stood at the intersection, "Call me if you have anything."
Jiang Mian opened his mouth, but couldn't find anything wrong with this sentence: "Okay, I'll come find you again."
Qiao Yu walked towards the school. Before entering the gate, he suddenly turned around and looked back. Jiang Mian was still standing there.
He was still wearing the same dark grey coat, which made him look taller and more slender.
It's just that his hair is unkempt and looks a little messy. A lot of things must have happened recently, making Jiang Mian exhausted.
I am probably the most troublesome one.
Qiao Yu laughed at himself in his heart.
He could actually see the confusion and embarrassment in Jiang Mian. He was like a puppy who didn't know what he had done wrong and was afraid of being abandoned, so he just obeyed his master.
But this is a huge mistake.
Qiao Yu withdrew his gaze, turned around and walked into the school gate.
There was no one in the dormitory. Qiao Yu was dressed neatly and fell on the bed.
He was silent for a while, then, while still lying still, he tore off the scarf from around his neck.
There was nothing to do at school, and Zhou Shuhe had already asked for a day of sick leave for him. The reason he had to come back was simply because he didn't want to be with Jiang Mian.
The emotions that he had tried so hard to suppress began to boil over when he was alone. Qiao Yu slowly curled up his body and placed his hand on his heart.
It hurt so much there, and something was snapping and breaking.
This feeling reminded Qiao Yu of the snow on the eaves after the New Year, which melted into snow water under the sun and fell down in small amounts.
The feeling of falling as if weightless was very uncomfortable. Qiao Yu buried his face in the quilt, silently suppressing the emotions that were about to get out of control.
Because he is allergic to tears, he usually doesn't let himself cry.
Over the years, he only encountered some troubles in taking care of his grandma, but he would never cry in front of her.
Emotions are something that you just need to hold back and get over the initial rush, then when you think about it later it won’t be a big deal.
Qiao Yu has been holding it in like this all the time, and he is able to digest his emotions in a closed loop.
Occasionally, Ji Zhongyuan would come across this and comfort him with a few words, and Qiao Yu would respond with some "hmm" and "ah".
Ji Zhongyuan was amused by his reaction and said, "I don't know who is comforting whom."
Qiao Yu was depressed and unable to recover for a long time.
So when he stands up again, he will not fall down again easily.
But this time the blow was too great.
It was so big that Qiao Yu couldn't accept it for a while.
The truth slapped him in the face unexpectedly. It was so painful that Qiao Yu tried his best to leave Jiang Mian gracefully.
Being abandoned is terrible enough, and then being deceived.
And he actually believed it, comforting himself that if Jiang Mian hadn't lost his memory, he would definitely come back to find him.
He was even still wondering how long the "some time" Jiang Mian had mentioned before meant. Qiao Yu felt ridiculous when he thought about it.
The tears were absorbed by the bedding, leaving no trace except for a small dark stain.
Qiao Yu sat up again, sniffed, and went to the bathroom to wash his face.
There was a message from Jiang Mian on his phone. He saw it but didn't click on it.
-
Jiang Mian reported his daily life to Qiao Yu as before, but still did not receive any response.
He stared at Qiao Yu's portrait in a daze until he heard footsteps behind him.
"Are you in love?" Jiang Jinhua asked casually.
Jiang Mian put away his phone: "It's Yu Lu."
Jiang Jinhua raised his eyebrows slightly.
Although the Qin family is not as good as the Jiang family, they are still a well-known family in Beijing.
Qin Yulu is the only eldest daughter of the Qin family. She has two half-brothers. Although her mother is the original wife who has passed away, she still has a very important status in the Qin family.
The fact that Jiang Mian can be a couple with Qin Yulu has something to do with Mr. Jiang's style.
If we really find out the backgrounds of these two people, Jiang Mian would be considered to have climbed the rich ladder.
"That's great. You two are a perfect match. When you get married, you can establish a firm foothold in Beijing."
Jiang Mian smiled and opened the office door: "That's Yu Lu's."
"Don't spoil me too much," Jiang Jinhua walked in first, "You are the future successor of the Jiang family."
There was something interesting in what Jiang Jinhua said, and the two people following him subconsciously raised their eyes.
When the eldest brother died unexpectedly, Mr. Jiang brought Jiang Mian back and wanted him to be Jiang Junyao's whetstone.
Raising sons is like raising a Gu. They fight with each other until they are bloodied. The one who stays is definitely the best.
Unfortunately, things did not turn out the way he wanted.
Jiang Mian studied diligently abroad, and when he returned home occasionally he would clean up the mess made by Jiang Junyao.
Jiang Mian showed no interest in power and money, and because of this, the two brothers had a pretty good relationship.
When he returned to China this time, although Mr. Jiang said openly that he would let Jiang Mian have more involvement in the company, it was just talk and he did not actually give him power.
Jiang Mian was just an empty shell company and didn't have any shares, so he would be hindered in everything he did.
Fortunately, he has recently established a relationship with the Qin family. With his outstanding appearance, he has charmed the young lady and made her fall in love with him. Jiang Jinhua is finally willing to take a look at this up-and-coming star and assess his worth.
He couldn't tell whether Jiang Mian was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid, but Jiang Jinhua knew that the barking dog never bites.
Therefore, from time to time, he would throw out some half-truths and observe Jiang Mian's reaction.
Jiang Mian didn't react, as if he didn't hear anything, and walked to the chair in front of the desk and sat down: "Jiang Junyao, I can't handle it, you think of a way."
As the topic progressed to some dangerous content, others dropped the documents in their hands and fled the scene.
Jiang Jinhua laughed after hearing this: "What can I do?"
Jiang Mian relaxed, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his legs: "What does my dad mean?"
They called him back from abroad, asked him to work every day, and finally gave him nothing.
How can a working man get anything out of it? How can he be such a complete ox and horse?
Jiang Jinhua glanced at him and said, "What's the hurry?"
Jiang Mian shrugged.
Compared to in public, Jiang Mian and Jiang Jinhua are much more relaxed when they are together in private.
It was as if he had taken off the gentleness and politeness he usually pretended to have, revealing his inherent laziness.
"Jiang Junyao gave me the land in Lincheng to manage, but all the money went into his pocket. I tried to ask for more authority, but once it came to equity and ownership, he refused to give up at all. He's very smart."
Jiang Jinhua also sat back and said, "I grew up in a black water pool, how stupid can I be?"
Jiang Mian sighed: "Then what should I do next?"
"Well, I have a piece of land that is currently being put up for bidding. The old man values this project very much. You go and do it, and do it well. As for the little sesame in Lincheng, if the second brother wants it, just give it to him."
Jiang Mian received another big job and thanked him lazily: "Thank you, Uncle San."
This topic comes to an end.
"Have you been going to Huaicheng too often recently?"
Jiang Jinhua changed the subject and looked straight into Jiang Mian's eyes.
Jiang Mian was playing with his nails with his head down, and said nonchalantly, "Will it not delay my work?"
"Do you think you can hide this from your dad?"
"If you know, then you know," Jiang Mian stretched out his five fingers and admired himself, "Who doesn't have anyone outside?"
This is irrefutable.
Jiang Jinhua had no choice but to settle for the next best thing: "If you want to play, be more restrained. Don't let the second brother grab your braids and make yourself look bad."
"How dare he say that to me?" Jiang Mian stood up and walked out of the office, with his back to Jiang Jinhua, raising his hand to say goodbye, "You worry too much."
After leaving the office, Jiang Mian received a call from Qin Yulu.
However, the person speaking on the other end of the phone was not the eldest lady, but Jiang Junyao.
"How about it?"
A colleague came towards him and nodded to him with a smile.
Jiang Mian responded politely and put on a smile: "Let's talk about it later."
-
More than half a month after school started, Qiao Yu's life continued as usual.
Study, work part-time, go home and sleep with grandma.
I received a laptop in the middle of the month. It should have been bought by Jiang Mian. Qiao Yu didn’t open it.
He tried hard to erase Jiang Mian's presence from his world, but his grandma and Aunt Sun would mention Jiang Mian's name from time to time.
At first Qiao Yu had some reaction, but gradually she became numb, and finally she was able to lie calmly and say that Jiang Mian was working out of town.
It can also be regarded as a disguised form of desensitization.
Ji Zhongyuan would still give Qiao Yu a ride after his night shift, and the topic of their conversation avoided being about a certain person, so it was quite relaxing.
Ji Zhongyuan’s birthday was at the end of March, and Qiao Yu hadn’t decided what gift to give him yet, so she just asked directly.
"Come with me to climb the mountain." Ji Zhongyuan said.
"Ah?" Qiao Yu turned his head and looked over. "Climbing a mountain?"
"Yeah," Ji Zhongyuan raised his chin, "I wanted to ask my mother to go, but she was tired and didn't want to go."
Qiao Yu retracted his gaze, lowered his head and said "hmm", neither saying yes nor no.
Ji Zhongyuan is quite popular, so he won't have trouble finding anyone to go hiking with.
The other party's intention was quite obvious, he just wanted to take Qiao Yu out for some fun.
If this question were asked on a normal day, Qiao Yu would definitely not go.
He was reluctant to spend the money and didn't have the time, and it was somewhat inappropriate for him to go with Ji Zhongyuan.
But the strange thing is that he just asked Ji Zhongyuan what gift he wanted in the previous sentence.
"Not going?" Ji Zhongyuan saw his hesitation.
Qiao Yu shrank his neck, nestled himself in the car seat, and whispered: "I...my mentor may not let me go..."
"Forget it then," Ji Zhongyuan sighed deeply, deliberately emphasizing his tone, "There's really nothing we can do about it!"
Qiao Yu was amused by his words: "Brother Yuan, if you want me to be happy, let me treat you to a meal!"
Ji Zhongyuan glanced at him and said with a smile: "You are being sentimental."
Qiao Yu rubbed his nose and compromised: "If we go hiking, where should we go?"
At ten o'clock in the evening, Ji Zhongyuan parked the car on the side of the road.
Qiao Yu took off his seat belt, hung his schoolbag on one shoulder, and took two cups of milk tea bought by Ji Zhongyuan from the car.
The car door closed with a bang, and he was stunned for a moment as he stopped.
There was a slender figure standing under the street light at the entrance of the alley, and Qiao Yu subconsciously looked away.
"Oh," Ji Zhongyuan didn't avoid it, "He's still looking for you?"
Qiao Yu exhaled, raised his eyes again, took out a cup of milk tea from the paper bag and gave it to Ji Zhongyuan: "Ignore him."
Ji Zhongyuan took it very naturally: "Did the negotiation fail?"
"There's nothing to talk about." Qiao Yu lowered her head and poked open her cup, then walked over with Ji Zhongyuan. "He lied to me."
Ji Zhongyuan pricked up his gossipy ears: "What did I lie to you about?"
"The amnesia is fake." Qiao Yu said in a flat tone as if he was talking about what to eat for lunch.
Ji Zhongyuan wasn't too surprised.
He just raised his hand and rubbed the back of Qiao Yu's head, and then the hand naturally dropped and rested on Qiao Yu's shoulder, presenting a half-hugging gesture.
Qiao Yu did not reject it.
Jiang Mian watched the two of them walking towards him side by side, and Ji Zhongyuan took the initiative to greet him.
After all, they watched each other grow up, and as an older brother, he would not embarrass his younger brother.
Jiang Mian frowned and did not accept the kindness.
When he was in high school, he didn't get along with Ji Zhongyuan, a model student. Later, after he got together with Qiao Yu, he disliked Ji Zhongyuan more and more.
At that time, Jiang Mian thought that it might be because Ji Zhongyuan knew Qiao Yu earlier than him and had been with Qiao Yu for a few more years than him, so he was jealous.
He accepted the jealousy calmly and attributed the feeling to himself.
But now it seems that Ji Zhongyuan's feelings for Qiao Yu are obvious, and his unreasonable aversion is justified. There is no need to smile and pretend to be a good person.
Jiang Mian directly picked up the backpack from Qiao Yu's shoulder.
The strap swept away Ji Zhongyuan's arm at the same time as it was pulled away. Qiao Yu was caught off guard and felt a sense of relief on her shoulders. She could feel the strong smell of gunpowder between Ji Zhongyuan and Jiang Mian.
He didn't want to argue with Jiang Mian in front of Ji Zhongyuan, that would be disrespectful.
Qiao Yu turned his head away: "Brother Yuan, you go back first."
Ji Zhongyuan nodded, raised his hand provocatively, and rubbed Qiao Yu's hair again: "Wait for me to inform you about what we talked about in the car. Send me a message before you go to bed tonight."
Qiao Yu responded.
After Ji Zhongyuan left, Jiang Mian didn't speak for a long time.
Qiao Yu was not stupid and knew the reason, but he still condoned all of Ji Zhongyuan's actions.
It wasn't that he wanted to anger Jiang Mian on purpose, he just felt that there was no need for him to avoid suspicion in front of Jiang Mian.
Like they really had something going on.
Qiao Yu reached out and tried to take her schoolbag back from Jiang Mian.
Jiang Mian refused to let go, and the two of them were in a stalemate for a moment, and finally Qiao Yu gave up.
"Let's not do this."
He found that he could talk to Jiang Mian calmly.
"I admit that we were together before, but that was when we were young and ignorant. I don't have any feelings for you now, and nothing will happen in the future. Jiang Mian, can we part ways in peace?"
If Jiang Mian really lost his memory, then his sudden departure without saying goodbye could still be explained.
But he didn't, and not only did he lose the opportunity to explain, but he also added a layer of deception.
Qiao Yu couldn't take these things lightly.
But Jiang Mian also calmed down a lot: "We can't disperse."
Without any negotiation, he told me clearly.
Qiao Yu didn't know where his confidence came from.
"Then I have nothing to say."
Jiang Mian didn't understand: "Because I always leave?"
Qiao Yu couldn't tell the real reason, so he nodded.
"One year at most," Jiang Mian said, "I'll tell you everything after I've dealt with the Jiang family's affairs."
"No need," Qiao Yu just felt tired, "I don't want to know."
The schoolbag was still in Jiang Mian's hand, but Qiao Yu didn't want it anymore.
He walked into the alley, and when he passed by Jiang Mian, his wrist was grabbed: "Qiao Yu."
He was called by his full name, as if he was the one who made the mistake.
Qiao Yu struggled back and said, "Let go."
Jiang Mian's grip was so strong that he couldn't break free.
"What on earth do you want to do?" Qiao Yu said in a trembling voice, "Can you please give each other some dignity?"
"Dignified?" Jiang Mian curled his lips, "What does that mean? I can't live without you, and you can't live without me."
Jiang Mian's face looked very bad, and his eyes were fixed on Qiao Yu.
Qiao Yu was a little scared by his stare, and his palms were wet with sweat.
"I did all this for us. If you don't want me now, you might as well kill me."
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