"Brother Siyan! Why didn't you look for me when you went back to Beicheng!"
The boy's shout came from the open door. Su Er paused, holding the spoon. She found it a bit noisy, but since they were all Jiang Siyan's friends, she still looked up and waited quietly for the person to arrive.
Su Er sat in the seat of honor, and inevitably, the moment Zhao Linsheng stepped into the private room, he saw that face with the rose turned to the side.
One second, two seconds...
Su Er casually looked away, not paying any attention.
Jiang Siyan scoffed coldly, "What are you looking at? You're so clumsy, don't you even know to greet people?"
Zhao Lin pouted childishly. She's just a woman, why can't he even let her look at him? When did Brother Si Yan become so petty?
He leaned back in the chair behind Jiang Siyan and called out to them one by one, "Brother Siyan, Brother Zhaoqi, Sister Qingshu, and this is..."
Zhao Linsheng paused, then grinned and asked Jiang Siyan for confirmation, "Little fairy, right?"
Su Er was taken aback, thinking she had misheard, but out of courtesy, she put down the spoon. Just as she was about to get up, a slight pressure on her shoulder pushed her back down.
Su Er simply extended her hand and said, "Hello, Su Er."
Before Zhao Linsheng could even extend his hand, Jiang Siyan intercepted Su Er's hand, took it in his palm and squeezed it lightly, saying, "There's no need to be so polite with him."
Su Er's cheeks appeared even more rosy against the backdrop of the delicate flower by her ear. She curled her fingers slightly but didn't pull away, only whispering a reminder to him, "Everyone's watching."
Zhao Linsheng was young and couldn't hide anything on his face. He stared in disbelief for a moment, then couldn't help but complain, "Brother Siyan, you're being way too mushy."
Meng Zhaoqi seized the opportunity to joke, "Linsheng, Qingshu and I have been watching this mushy stuff all night. Your arrival can help relieve some of our burden."
Jiang Siyan didn't loosen his grip, leaning back in his chair with a leisurely air, and said, "Old Meng, I remember back in high school..."
Meng Zhaoqi quickly called for a stop, "Hey, Jiang Siyan, is this how you act as a brother? That's really disloyal!"
Mo Qingshu looked at it suspiciously and asked, "What about high school?"
Zhao Linsheng was also curious and looked at Jiang Siyan with eager eyes.
Meng Zhaoqi hurriedly stood up, raised his glass, and drank the wine in it in one gulp. "I'll drink it as punishment, okay? This temper... Xiao Su, you have to keep a close eye on him."
Su Er was suddenly called out, and all eyes on the table seemed to be on her. Even though she was used to being watched, she couldn't stand it at this moment. She could only secretly run her fingertip lightly across his palm and say shyly, "Stop messing around."
Jiang Siyan smiled lightly and hooked his fingers around hers, interlocking theirs, and said, "You have to listen to what our Er'er says."
In the latter half of the dinner, under pressure from Jiang Siyan, Su Er ate a little more.
The rest of the time was spent listening to their conversation, about how Jiang Siyan was a mischievous little monkey in the compound when he was a child, climbing on the roof and tearing off tiles. If you were to ask who had the most broken tree branches piled up in their backyard, it would definitely be the Jiang family.
Su Er couldn't help but smile as she listened, and a few times she couldn't hold back her laughter and would lean against Jiang Siyan.
Jiang Siyan also pulled her closer, supporting her waist, and said, "Aren't you afraid of laughing so hard your stomach will hurt?"
Their closest moment to date was probably the night Su Er got drunk, when their chests were pressed very close together through their thin clothes.
Amidst the sound of their kissing splashing water, you could hear their hearts beating in unison.
But in that instant, devoid of lust, they simply held hands tightly, and Su Er seemed to feel that the lines on their palms matched like never before.
Each sentence seemed to bring the spirited young Jiang Siyan vividly to life before her eyes. She chatted and laughed with his childhood friend, getting closer to him, someone she knew nothing about.
Su Er couldn't help but ask herself what this little bit of satisfaction that filled her heart was for.
Was it because he got to know this group of people? Or was it because he was willing to put in this much effort for her?
Neither.
—It seems that it was simply because she knew him a little bit more.
It was already 10 p.m. when we finished eating.
After working at a high intensity for so long, Su Er was easily overcome by sleepiness as she relaxed tonight.
She clung to Jiang Siyan's arm, blinking hard to stay awake, but the pressure on his arm gradually increased as her consciousness faded.
Jiang Siyan leaned down and asked, "Tired?"
Su Er smiled sheepishly, nodded, and said, "A little."
Jiang Siyan gently stroked the tip of her nose with his knuckles. "Get in the car first, I'll chat for a bit more."
Su Er was indeed at her limit, so she said goodbye to Mo Qingshu and the others and got into the car first.
The car was well-sealed, isolating it from all outside noise. She grabbed a cushion and put it under her head, then leaned against the window and fell asleep in no time.
Zhao Linsheng had heard a couple of reprimands at the banquet earlier, and fearing that the topic of reprimanding him would continue, he said goodbye and disappeared without a trace.
The conversation outside the window continued. Meng Zhaoqi glanced at the car parked steadily at the door, chuckled meaningfully, and asked, "Old Jiang, you're not that old yet, you can't still be stumbling over the word 'love,' can you?"
Upon hearing this, Mo Qingshu pinched Meng Zhaoqi hard, "You think you're so high and mighty? You haven't stumbled yet? Stop talking nonsense."
Upon seeing his wife's anger, Meng Zhaoqi immediately whispered to coax her, "How can we be the same? We've been childhood sweethearts for so many years..."
Before Meng Zhaoqi could finish speaking, Mo Qingshu interrupted him coldly, "Alright, I'm going back to the car now. Si Yan, you had to see this funny."
Jiang Siyan had been watching this for so many years and was used to it, but he was troubled by what Meng Zhaoqi had just said, and asked him, "How old am I?"
Twenty-eight, but only five years older than the young girl, how old is that?
Meng Zhaoqi found it strange, "You're actually bothered by this?"
Jiang Siyan didn't answer him. He struck a lighter, lit a cigarette, and exhaled a deep puff of smoke, feeling a bit lighter in his heart.
Meng Zhaoqi also had a cigarette with him, and then talked to him, "But, to be honest, I ran into your uncle a while ago, and he talked to me about your marriage. I think he prefers the one from the Cheng family, and wants to get married."
Jiang Siyan squinted at the tinted car window. "This is not a decision I can make as an old man."
Meng Zhaoqi followed his gaze and paused for a moment, then asked with a smile, "What? Are you really interested?"
Jiang Siyan flicked off his cigarette ash and said in a nonchalant tone, "It's not that bad."
No one else can make decisions for him; he also has his own considerations regarding his own interests.
The bright moonlight could no longer conceal the cold indifference that surrounded him.
Jiang Siyan didn't elaborate further. After his cigarette burned out, he waved his hand and said, "We'll talk about it later. I'm going back now."
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