Chapter 63 Greed 6 Whose favor
"Zhiyan, what a rare guest."
Chang Qiuyi set some refreshments in the small flower hall, and asked her to hang a gauze curtain outside the moon gate today to block out the strong sunlight. Wang Zhiyan glanced at the moon gate with hanging flowers, smiled calmly and continued.
"My mother sent me to bring you something."
As soon as he finished speaking, the servant behind him handed over a gift box. There were quite a lot of things in it. Chang Qiuyi looked at them and praised them before letting anyone take them in.
"It's hard to believe that you are so busy every day and still help run errands."
Chang Qiuyi looked at Wang Zhiyan with a smile. He was simply dressed in a shirt and trousers, and rimless glasses. His every move did not have the frivolous air of a young man. He was not like Fang Zijing who was born with a rebellious and flamboyant look. Instead, he was decent and gentle, and did things slowly and steadily.
"No matter how busy I am, I have to make this trip. I'll also come to visit Jiayu and Yanze."
Chang Qiuyi paused and took a sip of tea to hide his expression.
"Fang Zijing lost his temper at the horse farm yesterday, and the Liu family went to apologize in person early this morning. My friend told me that Jiayu and Yanze were not very happy when they left."
Chang Qiuyi was smiling. Wang Zhiyan did not participate in anything, but he figured out so many things in a short period of time.
"It's just children playing around. It will be fine after a while."
Wang Zhiyan smiled and nodded in agreement: "Yes, I thought that if Liu Jing was offended, he should apologize as well. If Fang Zijing's temper was the cause, it would be hard to deal with. He is used to being a mess, and he will listen to anyone."
He glanced slowly at the gauze curtain on the moon gate that was moving in the wind, as if he was looking outside through it.
"But I think he will give me face. He should apologize to his two brothers."
Chang Qiuyi looked at Wang Zhiyan, who had an upright demeanor. He spoke so beautifully. No matter how dirty something was, he could make it sound so beautiful.
"Jiayu didn't say anything when he came back. Yanze came back early yesterday and hid in his room. I didn't even have a chance to ask him anything."
"Let me call him over. It's a rare occasion that he doesn't go to dance practice this morning."
Wang Zhiyan smiled and nodded, not mentioning Kong Jiayu at all. He only said some nice words and stopped there. They both knew what the other was planning.
"Aunt Chang!"
Wang Zhiyan faced the moon gate and saw a figure running towards him from afar. He lifted the gauze curtain suddenly, and a little sweat broke out on his forehead. His soft black hair stuck to his forehead. His lips and cheeks were rosy, and he smiled beside the ruby-colored trumpet creeper.
"Anything delicious?"
Kong Yanze turned around and saw Wang Zhiyan. His smile froze and he coughed lightly: "Hello?"
Wang Zhiyan stood up, stretched out his hand, and smiled: "Wang Zhiyan, we met last time."
Kong Yanze's memory wasn't that bad, and they were sitting where they met last time. He stretched out his hand to shake his, and his fingers were lightly pinched. Before Kong Yanze could react, Chang Qiuyi had already pressed him down.
"You guys chat first." After saying that, he turned around and left with the servant.
"Excuse me for disturbing you. I wanted to ask Jiayu if he had a quarrel with Fang Zijing and the others yesterday, but Aunt Chang said you were there."
Kong Yanze naturally thought that this meeting was a coincidence, and he also felt that the man was quite enthusiastic and must have a good relationship with his brother.
"It's okay. I don't have anything to do today."
Wang Zhiyan raised his eyebrows, took the initiative to pick up the teapot to pour tea for him, and asked casually: "Aunt Chang said that you have to practice dancing every day, which is very hard. Will it delay you?"
Kong Yanze had a good impression of him. He took the teacup with an embarrassed smile on his face and inadvertently let the guest pour tea for him.
"No, I usually do some strength and flexibility training in the morning, which is quick, and then I keep training in the afternoon and evening."
“It’s so hard.”
Wang Zhiyan smiled. He had a handsome appearance and a gentle temperament. He did not seem aggressive. Kong Yanze felt comfortable listening to him.
However, when he lowered his eyes to look at the teacup, no one knew that there was interest and appreciation in his eyes.
"Ah, I got off track. I left early yesterday. I don't know if my brother had any unpleasantness with them. Sorry for taking up your time."
"No." Wang Zhiyan shook his head and smiled: "Come to think of it, this is actually the second time we meet. You and Jiayu are both the sons of Kong Bo, and I just got to know you now."
"It's nothing." Kong Yanze heard the self-blame in his words, as if he felt that he was being treated a little differently, so he immediately confessed everything about himself.
"When I was young, I moved out with my mother for a while and didn't live here. Later, I didn't go to school like my brother did. I kept learning dancing and spent more time with dance troupes abroad than at home."
Wang Zhiyan then showed an expression of realization. He was very good at chatting. He would ask questions after hearing something from Kong Yanze's words. Moreover, his words were very thorough and it didn't sound like he was trying to pry into others' affairs. If you think about it carefully, it was all revealed by himself.
"My brother has always been more serious than me in every subject since he was young. I am no match for him. I get sleepy when I hear about math. By the time I wake up, my brother has already finished a test paper..."
"Kong Yanze."
As Kong Yanze was speaking, he heard Kong Jiayu's voice and immediately stood up and looked over.
"Brother! You're here?"
Kong Jiayu walked quickly and grabbed Kong Yanze's arm with a look of panic on his face. Kong Yanze wanted to ask something, but did not say anything out of consideration for Wang Zhiyan.
"It's already this late, why don't you go practice dancing?"
Kong Yanze was about to say something, but when he met Kong Jiayu's gaze, he immediately fell silent.
"Then I'll leave first." Kong Yanze glanced at Wang Zhiyan. He just smiled and waved his hand. He was very good-tempered and didn't care about the excuse that Kong Jiayu found which had obvious loopholes.
"Are you here to see me or him today?" Kong Jiayu looked at Wang Zhiyan opposite him and the gentle smile on his face faded away, revealing a playful smile.
"Do you even need to ask?" Wang Zhiyan reached out and took the cup that Kong Yanze had used, leaning back in his chair and playing with it.
Kong Jiayu sneered: "You always have high standards, my brother is really not worthy of your attention."
Wang Zhiyan lowered his eyes to look at the tiny patterns on the small celadon cup, then raised his eyelids and glanced at him.
"Your father wouldn't even dare to talk to me like that, but you feel bad for your brother."
"But haven't you already planned to push him out?" Wang Zhiyan lowered his head and stroked the smooth and delicate porcelain cup. He didn't know what he was thinking about, and chuckled.
"At this point, you can't help it even if you don't want to. Fang Zijing is not easy to serve, you should think more about who to rely on."
"What do you mean?" Kong Jiayu clenched his hands on his knees, trying hard to maintain his shaky self-esteem.
"What do you mean?" Wang Zhiyan sighed, "Beautiful things are very fragile. He is very cute, and I don't want him to suffer too much."
"Kong Bo has encountered some problems recently, right? The little face he got from Zhou Baiqiao is about to be exposed. Be careful not to die too ugly, or he will suffer more in the end."
"One is always better than several." Wang Zhiyan said as he put down the porcelain cup. The lens reflected a cold light, but he kept smiling.
Kong Jiayu could hardly breathe and tried his best to maintain his composure.
"Have you finished talking?" Chang Qiuyi came out and Wang Zhiyan stood up with a smile.
"We're done chatting, it's time to leave."
Chang Qiuyi pulled Kong Jiayu, but he seemed to have lost his soul.
*
In the afternoon, the sky suddenly became gloomy and there was a loud bang and thunder in the sky.
Kong Yanze opened the door to the balcony. The room was stuffy. He could faintly smell the scent of water vapor just by lying there. It was subtle and ambiguous, but he knew that a rain was coming.
He subconsciously looked towards the yard. Uncle Zhou wouldn't want to go out to smoke in this weather. Kong Yanze felt a little regretful, but he quickly took out his shoes, picked up his umbrella and prepared to go to the dance studio.
Let's go early today, before the rain starts.
The window at the end of the corridor on the second floor was half open, and most of the smoke was blown away by the moist wind outside the window. Zhou Baiqiao stood in front of the window and watched the raindrops finally fall.
"Sir, your request has been fulfilled."
Hearing this, Zhou Baiqiao turned his head and hummed in a low voice. The secretary behind him hesitated and asked in a low voice: "Jinnan... when are you going to take action? The Fang and Wang families seem to have given up, but they have been making moves behind the scenes. I'm afraid Kong Heng won't be able to hold on. What if he is cut off..."
Zhou Baiqiao raised his hand casually, and the secretary shut up immediately with a tactful look. He bit the cigarette holder and looked down through the dense rain curtain and smoke. A bright blue umbrella looked like a bright flower blooming on the gray road.
The man holding the umbrella held it at an angle, passed by the small peach tree and turned around twice. Zhou Baiqiao saw his profile.
From the fair and full forehead to the furry eyebrows and eyes, the long eyelashes that look a little curled when viewed from the side, the upturned nose tip and lips, and indeed there is some childish cheek flesh on the face when viewed from the side.
He bit the cigarette holder and watched him leave the yard with an umbrella. Zhou Baiqiao lowered his eyes and felt the steam on his face. The cigarette holder was broken by his bite, so he pinched it and put it out in the ashtray.
The secretary naturally knew who he was looking at. For someone like Zhou Baiqiao, there was no one he could see. If he did, it would not be a good thing for the child.
He was ordered to check, and found out that the child had been learning dancing and had been kept away from these complicated circles under deliberate teaching. However, so many years of deliberate free-rangeness and constant indulgence made him unaware that there was always a deadly rope around his neck.
Zhou Baiqiao let out a sigh and smiled faintly, but he didn't mean to laugh.
"Kong Heng is reluctant to let go, and he doesn't have the courage. Maybe, he still has a glimmer of hope in his heart."
Zhou Baiqiao closed the window, took the handkerchief to wipe his hands, then turned and walked towards the room.
"Just in case there's a sucker who's really willing to help him out, just because he's having fun."
The secretary didn't dare to accept the joke. He was not sure how much Zhou Baiqiao liked the child.
"Kong Heng is targeting the Wang and Fang families, but he has really picked the wrong people." The secretary carefully considered his words: "Those two are young and hot-tempered, and I'm afraid they want to swallow them all up. Whether it's Jinnan or... the young master, they won't leave anything for others."
Zhou Baiqiao leaned back on the sofa, holding a few pieces of document paper, listening to him talk, and did not stop him from saying it.
"Then do you want to find someone to look after...the young master?" The secretary tried to guess Zhou Baiqiao's attitude and asked tentatively.
Zhou Baiqiao smiled and continued looking at the documents in his hand without raising his head.
"He's really likable. What? Are you worried about him too?" He said casually, in a gentle voice, as if jokingly.
The secretary has been with him for many years and knows that Zhou Boqiao never jokes. "I didn't think it through."
"He is still young. He cries after playing for a while and feels the pain. Only then can he understand some truths that others cannot teach him no matter how hard they try." Zhou Baiqiao said, and without stopping him from reading the document, he casually marked it.
"Only then can you know whose favor to please and whose little bitch to be." He always spoke in a gentle and generous tone of an elder, and the secretary was startled by the obviously vulgar and obscene word.
Zhou Baiqiao has been a good uncle for such a long time recently that he almost thought that Zhou Baiqiao was going to restrain himself this time.
*
"elder brother?"
No matter how uneasy he was, he had to keep the appointment. Fang Zijing even called to pick him up. Kong Yanze changed his clothes and lay down in front of Kong Jiayu's door before leaving and called out.
"Brother? I'm going out."
It was already dark by eight o'clock in the evening. Chang Qiuyi took off her makeup and still looked charming without any makeup. It was cool at night and Kong Yanze didn't want her to stay any longer.
"Aunt Chang, please go back and ask someone to open the small door for me at night."
Chang Qiuyi was wearing a thick shawl and adjusted his silk shirt. The sheen of the satin looked like liquid metal under the light. She reached out and touched his cheek, wanting to say something but not saying it, just mumbling something in a low voice.
Kong Yanze didn't hear clearly and showed a puzzled expression, but Chang Qiuyi didn't say anything else and patted his shoulder.
"Then I'll leave. Aunt Chang, you should go to bed early."
Chang Qiuyi watched him get into the car, and standing under the lights of the flower trees in Xiaoguanlan, he finally made the sound clear.
"Don't be afraid."
When Kong Yanze was a child, he either practiced dancing or went to the sanatorium to visit his mother. Later, he joined a dance troupe, but Kong Heng's people kept a close eye on him. He was a minor at that time and had never been anywhere. When he went out to play, he could only think of shopping, watching movies, and watching dance dramas.
Before he walked in, he thought it looked like a theater. The exterior was decorated so nicely and it was not located on any busy commercial street. He didn't hear any noise before he opened the door.
"You're here? Jiayu didn't follow you today?" Kong Yanze recognized him as the man who was at the horse farm that day. He was leading a brown horse that day.
"Tan Xuan." He smiled and stretched out his hand. Kong Yanze also stretched out his hand, but Tan Xuan suddenly withdrew it.
"Since we're here today, it's best not to spoil Young Master Jing's fun. He's been in a bad mood lately and doesn't have much patience."
Kong Yanze curled his fingers, thinking that it was none of his business how that grandson felt, and then he thought of Kong Jiayu, hummed softly, and thanked him again.
Tan Xuan looked at him and smiled, without saying anything else, he led him all the way inside, passing by the hall. The dance floor in the middle was full of people. There were people dancing in the center, both men and women, and someone was playing DJ on the hollow hanging platform.
Kong Yanze followed Tan Xuan all the way, receiving glances from people some bright and some dark, but no one dared to come close to him. The lights here were dim and the colors were bright. Everyone's face was like a ghost, wanton and obsessed, and their eyes were naked.
Kong Yanze couldn't help rubbing his arms, and turned his face away, not daring to look around. Fang Zijing didn't find a box, but a booth. He sat in the middle, with many people sitting next to him, and many people wanted to get close to him.
"Don't look at it. Master Jing is waiting for someone today. It's not your turn to look at it anyway."
Someone laughed and said, "What's the origin of this? Why does it make Master Jing wait?"
Fang Zijing heard it, smiled, crossed his legs, held his phone and tapped it intermittently, and said something.
"First-rate stuff."
"Just not very obedient."
Kong Yanze saw the red-haired man with his collar open at a glance. He looked up and waved at Kong Yanze. Everyone around him fell silent. One person turned to his face, glared at him and wanted to whistle, but was immediately pulled back by the people next to him.
"You're here? I said I'd pick you up, but you're not willing to do it."
Fang Zijing grabbed his wrist and pulled him to sit down. The music in the dance floor was dynamic and loud. Fang Zijing put his arm around his waist and spoke in his ear.
Kong Yanze pushed him and replied, "You don't have to answer it." Fang Zijing pointed to his ear. Kong Yanze didn't know whether he was really deaf or pretending.
He shook his head and tried to push his arm. Fang Zijing suddenly pressed down hard on his waist. Kong Yanze lost his balance and fell on his legs, hitting his chin on his leg.
Fang Zijing pressed on his back, preventing him from getting up, and occasionally played with his hair with his fingers.
"Master Jing, aren't you quite obedient?"
Someone saw the problem and wanted to teach the disobedient little thing a lesson. Fang Zijing grabbed him by the back of the neck and lifted him up. Kong Yanze couldn't twist him away and supported himself on the chair with his hands.
Kong Yanze couldn't hold up the disguise on his face and looked angry. Fang Zijing looked at him with a condescending attitude.
"Let him obey today."
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