Chapter 173 Nian Nian tries to drink
Jiang Duan: "You're taking the problem too seriously."
After saying that, he stood up, cleaned up the dishes left by Shi Nianzhu after dinner, and took them to the kitchen to wash.
Chu Qingyu followed him to the kitchen counter and snorted disdainfully as he watched him calmly wash the dishes.
"Just pretend. If you like him, then you like him. No matter what you do, you will refuse to admit it. Wait until he starts dating someone else and then you will be honest. I wonder how long you can remain calm and whether you will still be stubborn by then."
The sound of running water was suddenly cut off. Jiang Duan turned off the faucet, and the dishes that were washed clean as new were put back in place in an orderly manner.
After doing all this, Jiang Duan looked back at Chu Qingyu with calm eyes: "You don't need to use provocation to say these nonsense to me."
He would never do anything out of the ordinary, especially when the target was Shi Nianzhu.
"Ha." Chu Qingyu laughed out loud, pointing at himself exaggeratedly. "I'm trying to provoke you? Don't be so ungrateful, Jiang Duan. I treat you like a brother, so I've repeatedly advised you. If it were just some random person, I wouldn't even bother to get involved!"
Jiang Duan still looked at him in the same way, his expression unchanged, and he was reluctant to utter a word.
Without the sound of running water from the faucet in the kitchen as background music, the silence between the two seemed even more stiff.
After a while, Chu Qingyu, who didn't want to make the situation too awkward, said calmly: "Forget it, forget it. I didn't say all this to argue with you. I'm just an observer, and I think Nian Nian's feelings for you may not be all family affection. You don't have no chance..."
There was a slight ripple in Jiang Duan's eyes, and he turned his face away, as if avoiding Chu Qingyu's words.
Seeing this, Chu Qingyu rolled his eyes even more mercilessly behind his back, and said in a desperate tone, "Tsk, you coward! If it were me, no matter if it was a brother or a sister, as long as they weren't my biological children, I would have kidnapped them right after graduation. I watched them grow up, I spent time and love them, so why can't they be mine? It's only natural that they become my wife."
He ignored Jiang Duan's reaction and walked straight out of the kitchen, as if giving up on doing any more useless work.
After choosing her tops and bottoms in the cloakroom, Shi Nianzhu closed her suitcase and opened the door. She saw Chu Qingyu curled up on the sofa by himself. She looked around and asked, "Where's Brother Duan?"
Chu Qingyu lazily said: "I'm in the kitchen thinking about life."
Shi Nianzhu: “?”
"Just washing dishes." Jiang Duan glanced at Chu Qingyu indifferently, then looked at Shi Nianzhu, "Have you chosen your clothes?"
"Yeah. Then let's take a break and go out for lunch at twelve."
Shi Nianzhu plopped down on the sofa, curled up a pillow in his arms, opened his phone and scrolled through it, replying to some unimportant messages, occasionally looking up to interject a few words into the conversation between Jiang Duan and Chu Qingyu.
Not long after, it was time for dinner. Since the barbecue restaurant was not far from the university town, the three of them simply took the subway instead of driving.
After dinner, Chu Qingyu said that he wanted to prepare well for the dinner party in the evening and take good care of his appearance. He paid the bill and left.
Jiang Duan and Shi Nianzhu were not in a hurry to go home.
It was early June and the weather was not yet unbearably hot. The two of them walked slowly along the commercial street of the university town and bought many small items such as mugs and dolls.
Seeing that the time was almost up, they took the subway back home.
Before going out, the two took a shower, changed into clean and light clothes, and drove to the meeting place.
Jiang Duan drove the car as usual.
Shi Nianzhu sat in the passenger seat, playing a single-player game. His legs swung happily from side to side. But tonight, he was wearing shorts, and the lines of his calves were beautiful, his skin showing no hardship. The way they swung was hard not to attract attention.
While waiting for the red light, Jiang Duan lazily rested his palm on the steering wheel, and his eyes looking at Shi Nianzhu's calves were unclear because of the dim light in the car.
The image of Chen Yasheng that Chu Qingyu mentioned in the kitchen popped up in his mind involuntarily.
He felt a little regretful. He regretted agreeing so easily to let Shi Nianzhu take him to the dinner party.
What's the point of thinking about this? He always couldn't refuse Shi Nianzhu's request. Instead of imagining that he didn't allow Shi Nianzhu to attend the dinner, he should have suggested that Shi Nianzhu change into a longer pair of pants before leaving.
But the suggestion was useless. Even if Shi Nianzhu wanted to wear Jiang Duan, she wouldn't force him to change.
“Beep beep—”
The honking of the car behind brought Jiang Duan back to his senses. His subconscious told him that the impatient honking of the car behind him was because the light had turned green. He stepped on the accelerator and crossed the intersection.
When they arrived at the box, everyone else had already arrived. Chu Qingyu was dressed up and sat among the crowd. While he was getting along with everyone, he also noticed Jiang Duan and Shi Nianzhu who came in.
"Hey! Our team leader is here!" Chu Qingyu stood up and arranged a position for them to move around conveniently. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he pressed Jiang Duan's shoulder and let Jiang Duan sit between Chen Yasheng and Shi Nianzhu.
Jiang Duan asked him, "What do you want to do?"
"I didn't do anything." Chu Qingyu pretended to be confused and quickly returned to his seat near the girl he had a crush on. He smiled very gently, asked something in a low voice, and then gently and considerately helped the girl next to him change her drink.
Shi Nianzhu was completely confused. He tugged at Jiang Duan's arm and said, "Brother Duan, what are you and Chu Qingyu talking about?"
Jiang Duan shook his hand and said, "Nothing."
"Jiang Duan, who is this little brother you brought with you? Please introduce him to us." One of the team members started the conversation, and the others also became excited.
"Let's get to know each other. Everyone here is a friend."
Shi Nianzhu is not an introverted person and took the initiative to introduce himself: "Hello everyone, I am Jiang Duan's younger brother Shi Nianzhu."
"Niannian is my younger brother whom I have known for ten years. It's his first day in Beijing, so Jiang Duan and I can't let him have dinner alone. Please don't mind." Chu Qingyu helped him smooth things over.
Sure enough, everyone at the table got through this part with laughter.
"Shi Nianzhu..."
Someone whispered Shi Nianzhu's name in his ear, and Jiang Duan looked at Chen Yasheng sensitively.
Chen Yasheng met his gaze without flinching or avoiding it, and raised the corner of his mouth slightly, "I just think the name sounds nice."
Jiang Duan stared at him for a few seconds, then looked away and ignored him.
The ordered food and drinks were presented to the table one after another by the attentive waiters. The wine, drinks and juices were also placed on the side and divided evenly among the people at the table.
Shi Nianzhu ate attentively for a while, and felt her stomach was a little full. Like a kitten stealing fish, she said to Jiang Duan with a little anticipation: "Brother Duan, I want to try that sparkling wine, the green apple flavor."
"Okay, let's test our alcohol tolerance first, don't drink too much."
Jiang Duan was about to stand up to help him get a bottle, when suddenly, a hand holding green apple-flavored sparkling wine passed by him and was handed to Shi Nianzhu.
"I have an extra bottle. I'll give it to you." Chen Yasheng said with a smile.
Out of courtesy and good manners, Shi Nianzhu immediately took the bottle of sparkling wine and nodded to him with a smile, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. This brand of sparkling wine, the grape flavor is also delicious."
"Thank you for the recommendation. I will try it." Shi Nianzhu clutched the bottle of sparkling water.
Chen Yasheng wanted to say something, but after his eyes seemed to inadvertently pass over Jiang Duan's face, he closed his mouth, leaned back in his chair, and stopped talking.
Shi Nianzhu was completely focused on the sparkling wine and naturally had no time to pay attention to the undercurrents between the two of them.
By the time Jiang Duan came back to his senses, Shi Nianzhu had already finished half a bottle of sparkling wine.
"How does it feel?" Jiang Duan pinched his slightly rosy face, which felt warm.
"I'm not dizzy at all, but I feel hot. Does this mean I can drink a lot?" Shi Nianzhu's eyes were moist from the alcohol and he looked a little dazed.
"It means you are intolerant to alcohol. Your body cannot metabolize too much alcohol at once, and your skin easily turns red." Jiang Duan spoke slower and explained clearly.
"Oh." Shi Nianzhu digested this fact, "Then I won't drink after I finish this bottle."
After saying that, he anxiously asked Jiang Duan's opinion: "I'm not dizzy, just blushing. I should be able to finish this bottle, right? It's quite delicious."
"Go ahead and drink." Jiang Duan's mood eased a little, and he even had the leisure to joke with him, "You're not driving anyway."
"...That's right." Shi Nianzhu felt that this made sense, and continued to sip the sparkling wine steadily and contentedly.
Before the party dispersed, Shi Nianzhu had already slowly finished a bottle of sparkling wine. Jiang Duan lowered his head and asked softly, "Are you still hungry? Have you eaten enough?"
"I'm not hungry. I'm done eating."
"Then let's go home?"
"Okay." Shi Nianzhu took Jiang Duan's arm and stood up to leave.
"Wait a moment, Shi Nianzhu."
"Hmm?" Shi Nianzhu stopped and turned around following the voice. Jiang Duan knew who was calling Shi Nianzhu, but now he had to turn around with him and look at Chen Yasheng who called them.
Chen Yasheng raised his phone and said, "Shi Nianzhu, could you please add my contact information?"
"It's inconvenient." For the first time, Jiang Duan, a dull man, showed such impatience that he interrupted their conversation directly.
Shi Nianzhu's eyes showed surprise, and the hand on Jiang Duan's arm unconsciously used a little force, "Brother Duan..."
Jiang Duan lowered his eyes and looked at him: "Reject him, Nian Nian."
It wasn't an order, but an almost pleading tone.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
