Chapter 15: “He has someone else in his heart.”

Early the next morning, Jiang Yao was a bit stupefied to find himself crawling out of Duan Zhuxian’s bed.

Not far away, on the long sofa where he was supposed to sleep, Duan Zhuxian was sitting.

Obviously, he had also just woken up not long ago. His hair was disheveled, hanging loosely in front of his forehead, and his eyes, hidden under his brow bones, were blurred with remnants of sleepiness, diluting his usually sharp demeanor.

He didn’t seem as cold and harsh as usual.

Jiang Yao bent his knuckles and rubbed his slightly aching temples, trying to shake off the lingering effects of alcohol, but he still had no memory of changing beds.

Could he have blacked out again?

Last time he drank too much, he failed to grab the bed and was dominated by the winner on the bed, which can be described as the second greatest humiliation in his life.

The first was when Duan Zhuxian denied their friendship in public.

With a hoarse voice, he asked Duan Zhuxian suspiciously, “Was it me who drove you out of bed?”

Duan Zhuxian didn’t answer, and after a long pause, he got up: “It’s eight o’clock, tidy up a bit, and come downstairs for breakfast.”

His demeanor was as calm as a light breeze and clear sky.

This made Jiang Yao feel that Duan Zhuxian had tacitly agreed.

After all, Duan Zhuxian has always been so pretentious. Back when they were in school and he occasionally surpassed him in exams, he would act as if nothing was amiss, detached from worldly concerns, though God knows how many exercise books he secretly gnawed at home.

However, since it was about fighting for territory, it must have involved a fierce battle, and Duan Zhuxian would not have easily given up the bed to him.

But Duan Zhuxian didn’t look like he had been violently treated by him; that exquisitely sculpted face was still infuriatingly perfect, not even a red mark on it.

Could it be possible he hit him where the clothes covered?

Jiang Yao pondered this and took the opportunity to observe secretly while Duan Zhuxian was changing his clothes.

With his upper body bare, Duan Zhuxian’s hand paused on his trouser waist, and his gaze glanced at Jiang Yao from the corner of his eye.

“If you want to look, just look openly.”

“Damn, who wants to look at you…”

With a long stride, Jiang Yao jumped off the bed and turned to enter the bathroom to wash up, fleeing faster than a rabbit.

Only after the person had left did Duan Zhuxian continue to undress.

He had intentionally provoked Jiang Yao just now.

The gaze Jiang Yao cast on him was too presumptuous, too entangled, dragging from head to tail like a hook, and even more so, it seemed to want to follow the clothes, and looked deeper.

In the weakest moment of willpower in the early morning, he was directly provoked by his gaze.

*

Jiang Yao went downstairs one step ahead of Duan Zhuxian. Duan Zhuxian was late to arrive, and it was unclear what he was messing around with in the bathroom. After a while, he finally arrived leisurely, his body carrying steam, as if he had taken a shower.

When the two sat face to face, Jiang Chen was still sleeping soundly upstairs.

This was the first time he had sat at the same table for breakfast with Duan Zhuxian after their fallout.

It could be called a “century frame-up.”

But the audience did not show up.

So annoying.

Jiang Yao stuffed three small steamed bun into his mouth at once, looked towards Duan Zhuxian’s Western breakfast, and suddenly realized that they were eating different meals.

He was somewhat puzzled: “How did the chef here know I love shrimp-filled small steamed bun?”

Duan Zhuxian stirred his coffee and said methodically, “In high school, your family’s driver would bring you breakfast every morning, and shrimp-filled small steamed bun appeared most frequently.”

Jiang Yao was picky about food and can’t get used to the food in the cafeteria. His three meals a day were all delivered from home.

The chef assigned to this house was particularly skilled in making dumplings and buns, with thin skin dough and generous fillings, and the shrimp was fresh and smooth. Yet, suddenly, Jiang Yao felt a loss of appetite.

He chewed mechanically a few times and said vaguely, “I didn’t expect you to remember such a trivial thing.”

“I remember all your trivial things.”

Duan Zhuxian said.

Jiang Yao was stunned, his thoughts were in a mess for a moment, and he reflexively blurted out, “Are you showing off your good memory here?”

But his tone wasn’t as provocative as before, somewhat elusive.

Duan Zhuxian raised his eyebrows without saying a word.

I got it right, didn’t I!

Jiang Yao immediately became stubborn, tapping his fingertips on the table, “Then let me test you.”

Duan Zhuxian lifted his chin, indicating him to go ahead.

Jiang Yao asked, “Do I like salty tofu pudding or sweet tofu pudding?”

Duan Zhuxian replied without hesitation, “Sweet.”

“Soft peaches or hard peaches?”

“Soft.”

Jiang Yao choked, and suddenly revealed a sly smile, “What about apples then?”

Duan Zhuxian paused, then slowly said, “You don’t like apples, especially green apples.”

Jiang Yao opened his mouth, then closed it, admitting defeat.

Duan Zhuxian leisurely took a sip of his coffee, and looked at him with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, “I told you, I remember everything.”

Hmm, indeed showing off.

Jiang Yao huffed lightly, holding the fragrant soy milk, and turned his head to glance at the slowly rising morning sun outside the window.

Perhaps because of the good weather, his mood was inexplicably better.

*

Today is Saturday, no need to go to the company. After breakfast, Jiang Yao sat on the living room sofa and watched a documentary about building overpasses for a while, then received a call from Chen Yiqi.

He walked to the window to answer the call, and the other party’s hurried voice came through instantly.

“Brother, guess what kind of nightmare I had yesterday?”

Hearing this, Jiang Yao guessed the reason for Chen Yiqi’s call, but still gave him the right to speak first.

Chen Yiqi took a deep breath, “I dreamed that you were going to marry Duan Zhuxian!! Damn it, please don’t hit me, I know having this kind of dream is pretty unlucky.”

Jiang Yao cleared his throat, “It’s true, it’s arranged by the family.”

As his words fell, there was a dead silence on the phone for a few seconds, followed by a burst of rapid breathing.

“Damn, Jiang Yao, have you lost your mind? What about your sworn rivalry with him? Besides, there’s Shen Tang between you two.”

Chen Yiqi’s voice was too loud, turning into a sizzling current sound, and it was clear that he was really anxious.

During high school, he and Jiang Yao were not in the same school and could only meet during holidays.

He will always remember the snowy night of Valentine’s Day in their third year of high school. He went to find Jiang Yao to play games. The Jiang Yao who opened the door for him had a gloomy face, slightly red eyes, and his right little finger was still wrapped in gauze, which scared him.

It was the first time he saw his arrogant good brother so downcast, like an eagle whose pride had been broken.

Jiang Yao didn’t take the initiative to explain, so he had to feign ignorance, pulled a bunch of topics but couldn’t raise Jiang Yao’s interest. He even asked Jiang Yao if he had thought about what birthday gift to buy for Duan Zhuxian, but the answer he got was: “Don’t mention him to me again in the future.”

Without asking, he could guess that Jiang Yao’s bad mood was related to Duan Zhuxian.

Duan Zhuxian must have committed a grave sin to agitate such a proud and open-minded person like Jiang Yao to this extent.

Later, Jiang Yao told him everything piece by piece, which also confirmed his guess.

“I’ve lost interest in Shen Tang a long time ago.”

Jiang Yao clarified on the phone.

“What about Duan Zhuxian?” Chen Yiqi asked, “He has someone else in his heart.”

Jiang Yao was silent for a moment, his fingertips tapping the windowsill in a disordered rhythm, his gaze falling on the bluestone road outside, “That’s his business.”

Chen Yiqi asked persistently, “Can you accept that the person by your side will always have a ‘white moonlight’ in his heart?”

Jiang Yao laughed while pinching the bridge of his nose, “Xiao Chen, aren’t you being childish? It’s just a marriage alliance. Were you expecting a lifelong partnership? It’s all for the benefit of our families; it’s not as complicated as you think.”

In the distance, gardeners were pruning trees in the courtyard, maintaining the appearance of the plants and grass.

Jiang Yao finally managed to appease his ruffled childhood friend and ended the call, standing by the window for a while to enjoy the view.

A couple of meters away from the window, two small bushes stood side by side—one growing upright and robust, the epitome of health, while the other seemed proper at first glance but had a cluster of branches and leaves sneakily stretching into the nearby begonia bushes.

Chen Yiqi’s words inexplicably lingered in his mind.

White moonlight…

The term was quite fitting.

Shen Tang and Duan Zhuxian had been acquaintances for many years, long before he knew Duan Zhuxian. Shen’s father, a somewhat famous writer, had been a frequent visitor to the Duan family as their guest. Over time, the two boys of the same age became friends.

Born into a family of scholars, Shen Tang was nurtured to embody the essence of knowledge and manners, with a gentle and elegant temperament. With such a bright and gentle moonlight before one’s eyes, who wouldn’t be moved?

Although he and Duan Zhuxian were far from being each other’s significant other, they had agreed on a contract marriage, with a specific contract laying down the terms, ensuring a match of equal social status and fairness. However, it turned out he was the only one who entered the arrangement with a clear conscience and clean slate.

Thinking this way, it seemed like he had lost from the start.

Jiang Yao propped his chin with his hand, and his brows slightly furrowed.

Is it too late to find a ‘white moonlight’ now?

The gardener outside had finished tending to this section and was packing up his tools, ready to move to the west side of the garden.

Jiang Yao opened the window, pointed at the bush that was “overstepping its bounds,” and said to the gardener, “Trim off this excessive part.”

The gardener didn’t see anything particularly wrong with the bush but decided to follow the orders of the male homeowner anyway.

[Author’s Note]

Some boomerangs from the ‘white moonlight’.