Chapter 31 speculates that he genuinely regrets his actions this time.
The day Zhou Cuo returned from Haishi, Song Huai went to the airport to pick him up.
On the way, Song Huai was thinking that he had to get to the bottom of everything he was going to say today.
In his view, Zhou Cuo's consistent avoidance of the topic speaks volumes.
This time, they even went to Haishi to warn people; they must have figured things out by now.
However, Song Huai still wanted a definite answer.
He picked up Zhou Cuo and drove him directly to Huaisheng.
As soon as they entered the private room, Song Huai spoke up, "Brother? Have you thought it through? Give me a straight answer?"
Zhou Cuo had been silent the whole way back, and didn't react to Song Huai's words.
"You're not still trying to say, 'I only see her as a younger sister,' are you?" Song Huai's tone was somewhat urgent. "Really?! You just got back from Haishi and you've already forgotten?"
“No,” Zhou Cuo’s voice was a little hoarse, “I was just wondering when my feelings for Xinglan started to change.”
Zhou Cuo's thoughts were somewhat confused.
He had been thinking about this issue ever since Jiang Yunye raised it.
He thought of the way her eyes sparkled when he gave her that out-of-print physics book after he returned to China.
He thought again of the way she quietly waved to him at the airport when he went abroad;
Even earlier, back then, wherever I went, she would obediently follow behind me, quietly like a little tail.
"When?" Song Huai sat down beside her. "Don't you think you've always treated Xinglan differently?"
Zhou Cuo looked at Song Huai, his eyes questioning.
“Take the recent time for example,” Song Huai said. “I went to an auction with you. There was a sugar-white jade bracelet with a starting price of 800,000. You didn’t even blink and bid up to 3 million to win it.”
Song Huai clicked his tongue at this point, "Do you remember what I said when I asked you why you took the pictures?"
“I said…it suits her very well.” Zhou Cuo’s voice became a little hoarse again.
"Yes, you said it suited her perfectly, without even thinking about it, you just blurted it out."
“Over the years, wherever you go, you think of him. Even when Cheng Rui and I come across some strange little gadgets, we send them to you to show you.” Song Huai’s tone gradually became more intense.
"Just think about this one thing, which other woman have you ever done that for?"
Song Huai's words struck Zhou Cuo's heart like a heavy hammer.
"Was it really that obvious?" Zhou Cuo smiled wryly and finished the wine in his cup. "Why didn't I notice it sooner!"
“It’s not too late now. Let’s think of a way. Xinglan may seem aloof, but she’s actually very soft-hearted!” Song Huai said.
“What can I do?” Zhou Cuo poured himself another glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp. “All the messages I send out get are polite replies, and when I ask her to meet me, she always says she’s busy.”
"There will definitely be a solution, but the prerequisite is that we need to find out why Xinglan suddenly distanced herself from you so that we can address the problem effectively!"
“Actually, it wasn’t exactly sudden,” Zhou Cuo put down his wine glass, rubbed his temples, and slowly began to speak. “I went abroad to study for my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Although I was abroad and we had less contact, we never completely lost touch. At that time, Xinglan wasn’t avoiding me like the plague.”
"Later, my mom said she wanted to meet my girlfriend. At that time, I was dating Su Wan, so I brought her home."
"Could it be... that we ran into Xinglan?" Song Huai had a guess, but he still needed to confirm it.
“Not only that.” The scene from that day flashed before Zhou Cuo’s eyes.
That day, when he got home and parked his car, he saw Jiang Yunye walking towards him through the bed.
Without thinking twice, he got out of the car and opened the car door for Su Wan.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Yunye rushed up expressionlessly, punched him, and said, "Zhou Cuo, you're really something!" before entering the villa.
He and Su Wan were left standing there, looking at each other in bewilderment.
Su Wan even asked if the timing of today's selection was inappropriate.
He comforted Su Wan and led her into the villa.
When he encountered the butler, the butler's expression turned strange.
What happened next was even stranger. His mother came out and asked him why he was only coming back now, but she stopped talking before she could finish her sentence.
Jiang Xinglan then came out as well, but after a brief exchange of glances, she said, "The things have been delivered, so my brother and I came ahead."
Although Jiang Xinglan's expression seemed normal, Zhou Cuo still felt that something was amiss.
Especially when seeing Xinglan and Jiang Yunye off, they saw Uncle Jiang and Aunt Lin get out of the car.
After a brief farewell, the family left.
After listening to Zhou Cuo's description, Song Huai suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "I understand!"
"Could it be that Xinglan liked you back then, but when she saw you bring your girlfriend home, she became disheartened and started to distance herself from you?"
Song Huaiyue found it increasingly reasonable, "And Jiang Yunye punched you that way entirely to avenge his sister!"
"That's right!" Song Huai slapped his thigh. "That's exactly it!"
"Is that so?" Zhou Cuo still felt something was off.
“It must be!” Song Huai stood up. “Think about it, Xinglan has always clearly defined the relationships since she was little. You might not feel it because you are in the middle of it.”
“But her treatment of you is completely different from her treatment of me and Cheng Rui,” Song Huai said. “At least, I’ve hardly ever received any gifts from her.”
Zhou Cuo glanced at him. "Are you sure?"
"...Yes, but that's all thanks to you!" Song Huai thought for a moment and then changed his words.
“That settles it,” Zhou Cuo loosened his tie and leaned back on the sofa. “Later, I asked my mom what Xinglan’s family was doing there, and she just told me that Xinglan came to deliver some things.”
“Later I even asked Jiang Yunye,” Zhou Cuo rubbed his temples, “but every time I brought it up, he just shut up.”
“He acted as if he would leave immediately if I asked him one more question,” Zhou Cuo continued. “After a while, I realized I wouldn’t get any answers, so I stopped asking.”
"When you broke up with Su Wan, didn't Xinglan say anything?" Song Huai asked again.
Zhou Cuo shook his head. "I didn't tell Xinglan, but I think she should be able to find out from Su Wan. I remember that the two of them had already started working on a project together at that time."
"So after you broke up, you didn't even think about contacting Xinglan again, even as a friend?"
Zhou Cuo remained silent.
"What?" Song Huai asked, puzzled. "You didn't realize it back then?"
“I really didn’t realize it.” Zhou Cuo’s tone was indescribably complicated.
Song Huai had a guess in his mind. He vaguely remembered that Cheng Rui had mentioned to him that Zhou Cuo had a girlfriend.
But... when was that?
Song Huai checked the time, somewhat incredulous, "You didn't turn around and start dating someone else, did you?"
Although Zhou Cuo still didn't speak, his expression revealed his reaction.
Song Huai knew this was tacit agreement. He paused for a long while before uttering a sentence:
"Zhou Cuo, you're really something."
Then he sat heavily back on the sofa, sighed, and rubbed his forehead, "I'm starting to regret setting you up with Xinglan."
"Who could stand this!" Song Huai was also at a loss for what to do.
"I think it's already pretty good that Xinglan is still willing to visit your family during holidays and festivals, and will greet you when we meet normally."
“Song Huai, you said you would have a way,” Zhou Cuo said.
Song Huai pursed his lips. "Let me think about it, let me think about it."
A few more days passed as I thought about it.
Looking at Zhou Cuo's gloomy expression, Song Huai asked, "Why are you doing this? What have you thought of this time?"
“Song Huai, I’ve realized that I’ve never gone to the cinema with Xinglan in all these years.”
"You don't even realize you like her, so it's inappropriate to take her to the movies for no reason," Song Huai said, pursing his lips.
"Let's not talk about this anymore," Song Huai said. "Cheng Rui is getting married at the end of the month, and Xinglan should go."
“I’m planning to organize a get-together in the next few days. You need to make a good impression and not be like last time at Shiguang Restaurant, where you didn’t say anything.”
"Understood." Zhou Cuo nodded.
"Okay, I'll call Xinglan now and ask. She shouldn't be asleep yet." Song Huai took out his phone and dialed Jiang Xinglan's number.
Jiang Xinglan's phone rang just as she came downstairs and told her mother that she agreed to participate in the dating reality show. She had just opened the door when she heard the ringing.
Jiang Xinglan picked up her phone, saw it was Song Huai calling, and pressed the answer button, "Brother Song Huai, what's up?"
"Nothing much, how about we get together in a few days?"
"I don't have time. I've applied for a top-tier journal and have a lot of things to do," Jiang Xinglan said truthfully.
“Uh…” As a medical device professional, Song Huai naturally knew the importance of this matter, but for his brother, “it’s just a simple meal, it won’t take up much time.”
"Brother Song Huai, you still have time to organize a gathering?" Jiang Xinglan asked, somewhat puzzled.
She glanced at the calendar on the desk and continued, "Logically, you should have received the official contract from the research institute yesterday. Why didn't you receive it?"
"Hmm? Is that so?" Song Huai asked in surprise. "Let me take a look."
Song Huai picked up his phone and checked his email; there was indeed an email inside.
Song Huai clicked on it and saw that it first congratulated him on obtaining the agency authorization.
He was asked to submit some documents by October 20th.
Song Huai glanced at it and found the content to be quite complicated; no wonder they gave him 20 days.
"Thank you, Xinglan," Song Huai said. "Then I won't bother you any longer. I need to see what I need to prepare first."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Cuo realized that it was indeed the same Song Huai he knew, who wasn't very reliable.
“But it’s almost National Day, and the company will be on holiday. It won’t make a difference if we wait a day or two. We’ll arrange a time and place, and you can bring Yunye along!” Song Huai said quickly, hanging up the phone before giving Jiang Xinglan a chance to refuse.
"Is this the solution you were talking about?" Zhou Cuo stood to the side, arms crossed, looking at him speechlessly.
"As long as I hang up quickly enough, Xinglan won't have a chance to refuse."
As soon as Song Huai finished speaking, his phone received a message:
"Brother Song Huai, I'll tell my brother to be there on time. As for me, I won't be going."
Song Huai's initial smugness has now completely vanished.
"What?" Zhou Cuo looked at Song Huai's expression and immediately understood. "It was sent by Xinglan, right? She rejected it?"
"Hmm," Song Huai sighed, "We don't really have to wait until Cheng Rui gets married, do we?"
Song Huai was getting a little frustrated. He realized that Xinglan had really changed a lot over the years.
Would Jiang Xinglan, now that she's like this, still like Zhou Cuo?
He genuinely regretted it this time.
It's unclear whether his advice to Zhou Cuo was right or wrong.
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Author's Note: A little short today, goodnight everyone! [cat paw][cat paw]
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