Chapter 06.2

At that time, Duan Zhuxian was stirring his steaming coffee with a calm demeanor, as if he were in a clean and elegant high-end restaurant.

The girl tentatively stepped forward and said softly to Jiang Yao, “Hello, you must be Jiang Yao, right? My name is Xu Yuewei. I heard from Shen Tang that you took good care of him in the past.”

Xu Yuewei, who would later become Shen Tang’s wife.

After the initial turmoil, Jiang Yao’s face regained its lazy smile. He stood up and personally invited Xu Yuewei to sit down.

“Of course, of course, we’re buddies after all. I didn’t expect such an innocent kid like Shen Tang to get a girlfriend as soon as he started university.” After saying this, he playfully punched Shen Tang’s shoulder. “You’re quite something, having such a beautiful girlfriend and not making it public sooner.”

“We’ve only just confirmed our relationship not long ago,” Shen Tang said, glancing at his girlfriend and sitting down next to her, then looked up at Jiang Yao with a smile. “Among all my old friends, you and Zhuxian are the first to know.”

The atmosphere among the three during the meal was as usual, seemingly calm on the surface.

Duan Zhuxian was still cherished words like gold, and Jiang Yao still occasionally teased Shen Tang as before.

But Shen Tang no longer reacted to Jiang Yao with his previous timid embarrassment; instead, he focused more attention on taking care of the girl beside him, exuding a sense of maturity in every move.

Jiang Yao saw it all clearly, and although he wouldn’t admit to feeling sour, there was a miraculous and indescribable sense of relief in his heart.

The boy who always wore a shy smile in his memory was gradually changing throughout the meal, no longer fitting the image that Jiang Yao had liked.

Jiang Yao knew he wasn’t that sentimental.

Persisting from high school to university was simply due to unwillingness to give up and not wanting to lose to Duan Zhuxian so easily.

Now, having lost alongside Duan Zhuxian, there was no longer any need to insist.

But he was still very displeased, realizing after some thought that it had little to do with Shen Tang and mostly stemmed from someone else.

After the meal, Shen Tang took Xu Yuewei to the place where she worked and studied.

Jiang Yao and Duan Zhuxian did not follow to avoid being a third wheel, instead they sat face to face at the messy table with dishes and cups.

The moment Shen Tang disappeared outside the door, Jiang Yao stretched his legs under the table, his right foot, which had been held back for a long time, forcefully kicked the crossbar of the chair between Duan Zhuxian’s legs, and a dark smile appearing on his face.

“What, seeing me heartbroken finally balances things out for you?”

Duan Zhuxian’s gaze flickered slightly, without saying anything, he threw something into his arms.

Jiang Yao glanced down and saw that it was the Christmas gift he had prepared for Shen Tang, a wristwatch neatly packed in a small box and placed in the pocket of his down jacket. It must have fallen out at some point and ended up in Duan Zhuxian’s hands, perhaps when he went to the restroom earlier, but it didn’t matter anymore.

Jiang Yao suddenly stood up, causing the chair to emit a harsh scraping sound as it moved backward, and he strode out of the restaurant.

The watch worth more than 100,000 yuan was thrown into the trash can on the roadside without any hesitation. The black satin box was instantly covered with a thin layer of snow, as if frozen.

Soon after, the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow came from behind.

Jiang Yao turned around to see Duan Zhuxian following him out.

Although Duan Zhuxian had not answered his question earlier, based on his understanding of Duan Zhuxian and combining it with Duan Zhuxian’s deliberate action of letting him meet Xu Yuewei, Jiang Yao was certain that Duan Zhuxian was in a good mood at this moment.

He wasn’t at all surprised that Duan Zhuxian would do such a thing.

Duan Zhuxian was never an upright person; that heart of his, which had sought but never obtained, had long since twisted into something unrecognizable.

The snow fell heavily, and neither of them carried an umbrella.

Snowflakes hung from Jiang Yao’s furrowed brow, held fast by the warmth of his skin. As he blinked, they gradually melted into tiny droplets, adorning his trembling eyelashes, making his eyes seem moist all over.

As he brushed past Duan Zhuxian, he heard him call out.

“Jiang Yao.”

He looked up, and a warm hand suddenly brushed over his eyes, then gently across his cheekbone.

“Don’t be too sad.”

The roadside was noisy, the north wind howled, and he couldn’t hear Duan Zhuxian’s tone clearly, but he could feel the warmth imprinted by his fingertips.

It was scalding.

Unexpectedly, it stole a beat of his heart.

Too gentle, gentle like a mockery.

He stood frozen in place, his gaze suddenly turning to those dark eyes, only to be kept out by their calm and depth.

Just like the merciless rejection he remembered.

A surge of anger flared up in Jiang Yao’s heart.

“Which eye of yours saw me being sad? If you think you can mock me with this, think again!”

He angrily uttered these words and walked away without looking back.

In fact, he couldn’t remember whether he was truly sad that day; all he remembered was Duan Zhuxian coming specifically to gloat and pretending to care, trying to mock him with such a despicable face.

He had planned to spend the entire Christmas with Shen Tang, but he left that afternoon and refused Shen Tang’s offer to see him off.

After leaving Q University, he blocked Duan Zhuxian.

*

“Yao Yao, now that it’s just family here, tell your mom the truth, do you and Duan Zhuxian have some kind of grudge?”

On the way home from the restaurant, Yuan Li sat in the car, asking Jiang Yao with a worried look.

She was a woman after all, naturally perceptive. Despite the entire meal being about investment, she still sensed something was off.

Pulled from distant memories, Jiang Yao said lightly, “We went to the same school, crossed paths, but we’re not close.”

Hearing this, Jiang Qingtian turned his head from the passenger seat, his face beaming with joy: “See, I told you, if the two kids really had a conflict, Duan Zhuxian wouldn’t have taken the initiative to engage in this marriage.”

Jiang Yao also said, “Mom, don’t worry about me, there’s a whole lot of company matters waiting for you to handle.”

Yuan Li was coaxed by father and son, nodding her head and said: “That puts my mind at ease.”

Jiang Yao showed a smile to reassure his mother, but his mind involuntarily conjured up various past events.

Regarding this marriage, he was also puzzled, even though Duan Zhuxian had given him a very official explanation.

Curled up in the car seat, he opened WeChat and asked Duan Zhuxian: [You wouldn’t be trying to disgust me on purpose by initiating this marriage with me, would you?]

A few minutes later, he received a reply from Duan Zhuxian: [Think whatever you want.]

Jiang Yao could imagine Duan Zhuxian typing that message with an infuriatingly nonchalant expression.

He felt like going through the internet cable to pick a fight.

His brows knotted, he typed rapidly: [Is it too late to cancel the wedding now?]

Duan Zhuxian: [It’s too late, wife.]

Damn!

Jiang Yao didn’t even blink as he blocked Duan Zhuxian again.

【Author’s Note】

Duan Zhuxian: How long will the sentence for calling out “wife”?