Chapter Thirty-Four Cold Wave
Jiang Chuan hung up the phone and returned to the living room. He then turned around and closed the sliding door to the balcony, shutting out the chill around him.
Lin Yu sat with her back to herself on a bar stool not far away. Her back was bathed in the warm yellow light of the chandelier, and the cold light from her phone pierced a transparent crack on her profile. She was surrounded by darkness, like a forgotten lighthouse in disintegration at sea.
Hearing footsteps, she turned around, her pupils still shimmering with tears. Jiang Chuan keenly sensed the alienation beneath her loneliness, as if he too were isolated from her emotional world.
But Lin Yu's body reacted in the opposite way. She even smiled at Jiang Chuan, raising her jade-like arm, the protruding part of her wrist bone gleaming with the glaze of celadon.
It's clearly a gesture of begging for a hug. Like a cat, it exposes its soft belly to its owner, tries to please them, receives a reward, and then swaggers away, stepping on its owner's face.
As Jiang Chuan approached, he caught a whiff of the delicate fragrance emanating from her hair. He readily embraced Lin Yu from behind, pressing his chest against her prominent shoulder blades, letting her sink her entire body into his strong and powerful embrace.
Lin Yu felt as if she were being immersed in a bathtub filled with warm, comforting water. Jiang Chuan's thumb rubbed against the hollow of her collarbone, where lingering dewdrops of the night had accumulated.
A light pink scar peeked out from the rolled-up sleeve, abruptly climbing across the pale skin, like a vine extending down the forearm into the unseen sleeve.
Lin Yu traced the grooves of the scar with his index finger and said cryptically, "It seems like I always have the ability to make others get hurt for me."
Jiang Chuan didn't delve into the deeper meaning of her words. He simply used his chin to press against the hollow of her hairline until she winced in pain and snapped out of her dazed state.
The embrace gradually evolved into a gentle struggle. In the sound of fabric rubbing together, the memory beneath that scar was awakening under her fingertips, like a zipper sealing away the past.
......
Jiang Chuan hung up the phone outside the restaurant's private room, glancing impassively at the sky outside the floor-to-ceiling window. A cold wave had arrived, the sky was overcast, and the low-hanging, rolling dark clouds pressed down, making it hard to breathe.
The wind whipped at the plane trees lining the street, their dry, wintery branches trembling. Pedestrians hurried along the street, shops had already reinforced their doors and windows, and the entire city was on edge in the calm before the storm.
He put away his phone and turned to go back to the private room, but bumped into Lin Yu not far down the corridor. Lin Yu was leaning against a marble pillar, bending his leg and frowning as he fiddled with his heels.
Two weeks had passed, and her bangs had grown even longer, covering her eyebrows, eyes, and the faint scar on her forehead when she bent over.
Today she wore a fitted business suit, a dark suit skirt paired with brand new black high heels, and light makeup, revealing a touch of fragile charm in the cold winter.
Jiang Chuan walked silently to her side, his tall figure casting a shadow beside Lin Yu. She seemed to sense something and looked up, unexpectedly meeting Jiang Chuan's smiling black eyes.
His gaze was gentle yet slightly mischievous, as if he had already anticipated her reaction. After a brief silence, Jiang Chuan spoke first.
"Aren't you cold?" he said, glancing at her bare calf exposed to the air.
What are you doing here?
Lin Yu pulled his thin collar tighter. He had worn a knee-length wool coat when he left home that morning and had taken a ride directly to the underground parking garage, so he hadn't felt particularly cold. But now, standing in the empty hotel lobby, Jiang Chuan's question sent a chill down his spine.
Suddenly, I found myself missing the fleece-lined four-piece bedding set in my rented room. I really wanted to open a portal in my bedroom right away and teleport her back to my warm bed so she could take off all her clothes and rummage around in bed for ages.
"I'm going to talk some business with the client." Jiang Chuan was wearing a well-tailored dark gray wool suit today, his hands casually in his pockets. He looked like a tall, straight cedar tree, and even the cold weather couldn't dampen his composure.
“I told you, our law firm isn’t far from you.” He then tapped his forehead. “How’s the recovery going?”
Lin Yu touched his forehead. Half a month had passed, and the wound on his head no longer hurt, leaving only a barely visible light pink scar. "I've had two follow-up checkups, and it's nothing serious!"
The discomfort forced a weak smile. "The company took on an EPC project a few days ago, and today they came to discuss cooperation with the client. Both sides' leaders were dressed to the nines, which made me feel like I had to go through all this torture too."
Jiang Chuan nodded in understanding, his gaze following her curled-up knee to the fresh wound; the festering flesh resembled a decaying rose. "New shoes?" he asked softly.
Lin Yu was in a daze, tormented by the hard leather of the high heels. He finally understood the pain of the little mermaid in The Little Mermaid, who longed for the prince's love, walking on the edge of a knife after growing legs.
From this perspective, high heels can indeed be considered the most beautiful instrument of torture for women. For 21st-century professional women, love has long since become a mere spice in life; only their careers are worth exchanging souls with a sorcerer.
Lin Yu was unwilling to sell his soul for anything, but he was also thrown into the pot of fame and fortune, rising and falling with the ladle stirred by his superiors.
She quietly slipped her left foot half an inch out of her black patent leather shoe. After a day of repeated rubbing, the blood droplets at the wound had long since dried and congealed, leaving them nowhere to hide from Jiang Chuan.
Seeing her frown and remain silent, he turned and walked towards the tool room. Lin Yu watched him briefly talk with the cleaning staff, and then he returned a moment later with a band-aid.
"Do you need any help?" he asked considerately, his gaze sweeping over the hem of her skirt, which made it difficult for her to bend over.
Lin Yu shook her head. "No need, no need, just help me to that chair over there." She pointed to a row of seats by the French windows, her voice filled with a weary compromise.
Jiang Chuan leaned against the marble pillar, watching Lin Yu settle into a chair and begin tending to her ankle wound. She crossed her legs, tore open the adhesive bandage packaging, and carefully applied it to the wound.
The soft, wispy hair at the nape of her neck, under the light, resembled the downy hair of a newborn baby, making her look incredibly endearing. Her pearl hair ornament swayed gently with her movements, revealing the pale blue veins behind her ears.
"Can we finish before nine o'clock?" Jiang Chuan tapped the clock face lightly with his fingers. Outside the window, the rain poured down, and the sound of the rain made his voice sound like a sharp paper cutter cutting through the rain curtain, with an undeniable crispness.
"The rain is too heavy, I'll give you a ride."
After putting on his shoes, Lin Yu remained seated, looking up at him. From this angle, Jiang Chuan's figure appeared exceptionally tall and imposing, carrying a hint of authority. "It'll take about another hour."
She paused. "You didn't drink?" Her tone held a hint of skepticism towards the unspoken rules of business dinners, yet it also seemed to offer him a way out. After all, she wasn't sure if his question was merely out of basic politeness.
"I'm the dominant party in this situation." Jiang Chuan said half-jokingly, half-seriously, facing the challenge head-on, glancing at his watch. "Perfect timing."
This exchange convinced Lin Yu that he wasn't just being polite. Considering her rented apartment was nearby and the weather was truly terrible, she stopped her pretentious refusal. "Then thank you for your trouble."
A burst of laughter suddenly erupted from a private room not far away. Lin Yu turned her head to look, then stood up, supporting herself on the back of her chair. The stinging pain in her ankle had lessened considerably. She had been out for too long; it was time to go back. "I'm in room A09. See you later."
Jiang Chuan pointed to the room at the end of the corridor. "If you're finishing early, you can come directly to my private room."
Lin Yu took a few steps and then stopped. When he turned around, his face wore a polite but distant smile, neither as familiar as in Feicheng nor as vulnerable as when he was tending to his wounds. "This...isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
“It’s alright, we’re a regular customer.” Jiang Chuan paused, then added, “Don’t just stand there waiting like an idiot.”
Lin Yu's dinner party ended precisely fifty minutes later, and the client's group, like a flock of migrating penguins, waddled at the front of the procession.
Lin Yu lagged behind the penguin army, a heavy laptop bag slung over his left shoulder, and a folder that was about to slip out of his hand, looking like an over-decorated Christmas tree.
Jiang Chuan had been waiting calmly by the French windows. When he saw Lin Yu come out, he put down his crossed legs and stood up to greet him.
He was empty-handed, without even a briefcase, and his composed and neat appearance contrasted absurdly with Lin Yu's disheveled state.
The dean, nearing fifty, sported his signature receding hairline and chatted idly with Lin Yu, slightly tipsy. His shiny forehead gleamed under the light, his academic air almost entirely gone, a testament to his experience in officialdom.
He had been plied with quite a bit of alcohol by the client, and his face was flushed like that of a soy-sauce-marinated crab. Around the corner, several project team leaders were attentively escorting the client to the elevator.
Jiang Chuan observed everything discreetly from a distance. When he realized that Lin Yu was the only woman at the entire dinner, his brows furrowed slightly.
Lin Yu noticed his gaze and unconsciously kept an eye on Jiang Chuan's actions out of the corner of her eye while answering. The dean sensed Lin Yu's distraction, narrowed his eyes, followed her gaze, and grinned knowingly.
"When did Xiaolin get a boyfriend? No wonder you were so unwilling to be set up with Xiaodong before.
The folder in her hand slammed onto her knee. "No, no," she quickly explained. If her hands hadn't been completely occupied, she would have waved her arms and loudly denied it, not stopping until she had given the dean a cold.
But rather than being misunderstood, she was even more reluctant to let the hospital know Jiang Chuan's true identity, as that would only lead them to misunderstand her relationship with the supplier and cause unnecessary trouble.
"This is... a ride-hailing driver," she explained, forcing a smile. Jiang Chuan seemed to sense her call, and at the opportune moment, he took out his car keys, slipped the metal ring of the key onto his finger, and lightly turned it.
"Oh, the competition is fierce in every industry these days," the dean chuckled, his voice like an old-fashioned bellows, clearly mistaking it for a young girl's shyness. Just then, the driver called.
"The rain is getting heavier outside, be careful on the road." After giving a few instructions, he followed the others and staggered into the elevator.
After the leader disappeared from sight, Lin Yu nervously walked towards Jiang Chuan. "Have you been waiting long?" She forced a guilty smile, secretly wondering who she should talk to to stop the rumors that she had a boyfriend from spreading in the hospital.
"Who is Xiao Dong?" Jiang Chuan, like an elegant cheetah, launched a surprise attack on Lin Yu.
Lin Yu inwardly slapped her thigh in embarrassment, but outwardly feigned ignorance and innocence. "Hmm? Oh..." Jiang Chuan watched her clumsy acting without flinching, a faint smile playing on his lips. "A colleague who's rich...
"Oh..." Jiang Chuan deliberately dragged out his words, mimicking Lin Yu's way of speaking. "Don't you like coal mine owners?"
"Hmm..." Lin Yu replied absentmindedly, wanting to end the topic as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Chuan persisted. "Then what type do you like?"
"Huh?" Lin Yu yawned sleepily between Jiang Chuan's questions, opening his misty almond-shaped eyes and looking at him blankly.
Do ride-hailing drivers like it?
Jiang Chuan watched with a wicked amusement as her face shifted from confusion and embarrassment to panic and finally settled into a fawning expression. The displeasure he felt from being distanced vanished instantly.
He looked down at Lin Yu, then slowly asked, "Aren't you wearing a coat?"
"Oops!" Lin Yu slapped his forehead, realizing with a start, "I left it at the company!"
I was busy organizing materials and revising PPTs in the afternoon. After get off work, I rushed over with my colleagues. My nerves were on edge the whole way from the parking garage to the restaurant, and I didn't even notice the chill.
Jiang Chuan's suit jacket, still warm from his body, draped over Lin Yu's shoulders. Lin Yu caught a whiff of pine resin mixed with the scent of cigar embers. He casually took the documents and laptop from her hands, supporting them with one arm, the shirt cuffs accentuating his muscular physique. Raindrops pattered like flowing beads on the French windows.
"The car is parked on the ground. It's windy outside, so put on your coat." His hand, which was gently supporting her lower back, was warm through her coat, making him look steady and reliable.
"Thank you!" Lin Yu pulled his coat tighter and buried his face in his suit collar. He followed Jiang Chuan down to the lobby on the first floor in the elevator.
Before the cold wave hit, Shanghai was filled with a damp and chilly atmosphere. The buildings outside the window faded into a depressing and blurry silhouette against the leaden sky.
Jiang Chuan's car was parked directly opposite the porch, with broken sycamore leaves stuck to the windshield. The sirens of the wind squeezed in through the window cracks, carrying with them a curtain of rain that was blown haphazardly, like thousands of poisoned willow-leaf knives, mercilessly striking the hotel's revolving glass doors.
Lin Yu took his computer and watched as Jiang Chuan pulled a long-handled black umbrella from the doorman, letting him put his arm around his shoulder, and together they stepped into the rain.
The rain was heavier than the two had expected. The city's drainage system was overloaded, and sewage could not be drained in time, forming winding muddy streams on the road. With each step, the water instantly submerged their shoes, and the sweeping rain soaked Jiang Chuan's trouser legs.
The black umbrella was whipped up into an inverted trumpet shape by the gale. Lin Yu pulled his coat tighter and walked out, but after only a couple of steps, he stumbled, his heel getting stuck in the gap of a manhole cover submerged in sewage, leaving him stuck in a dilemma.
She stood there awkwardly, withered leaves floating in the sewage sticking to the backs of her feet, but the gathered hem of her skirt and the heavy objects in her hands prevented her from bending down to check them in time.
The umbrella had lost its original purpose. Jiang Chuan slanted the tip of the umbrella into the flower bed next to him, and without saying a word, he reached into the murky water with his right hand, grabbed her ankle, and then grabbed the sole of her shoe and lifted her up with force.
Lin Yu used the leverage to pull off the heel, instantly regaining control of his body.
As they stood up, out of the corner of their eye, they caught a glimpse of a yellow and black temporary construction fence about twenty meters away, being tossed about by the strong wind and hurtling towards them. The rusty steel-toothed plow scraped against the concrete ground in the puddles, making a sharp, piercing sound.
A rumble of thunder struck, and Jiang Chuan reacted before Lin Yu could react. Seeing there was no way to avoid it, he turned and pulled her into his arms with one hand, using his other hand to shield her. He shoved the railing aside, crashing into a fire hydrant not far away.
The protruding steel plate at the joint of the fence, like a scythe with a sharpened handle, pierced through Jiang Chuan's expensive shirt and cut a horrific wound on the outside of his left arm.
The stench of blood mixed with the smell of rust exploded in the rain curtain, and blood rolled down the white sleeves, dripping onto the dirty, damp water, bursting into strange and bewitching red petals.
"You're bleeding!" Lin Yu exclaimed, gripping his arm.
"Don't move."
It all happened so suddenly that neither of them could react for a moment. Jiang Chuan whispered to comfort the frightened Lin Yu, his injured arm still in a blocking position.
Lin Yu's cheek was pressed against the front of his soaked shirt, and he could hear his heartbeat overlapping with the loud thud of the fence hitting the ground.
Jiang Chuan lowered his gaze and saw that her eyes were red, her trembling eyelashes were covered with water droplets, and her whole body bloomed with a breathtakingly beautiful color in his arms. The rain washed the bloodstains into a pale pink color, flowing down his taut forearm and into the gaps between Lin Yu's fingers that were supporting his wound.
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