Chapter 23.2

Duan Zhuxian counter-questioned, and restarted the car when the light turned green.

Seeing Duan Zhuxian’s smile that wasn’t quite a smile, Jiang Yao suddenly realized that he had asked a stupid question.

The possibility of Duan Zhuxian wanting to be close to him was as low as Duan Zhuxian having a crush on him.

Jiang Yao pondered for a moment, it’s very likely because Duan Zhuxian wanted to impress his grandfather and gain his acknowledgment, so he was desperate to try anything. It was probably a mentality of being suppressed for too long and eager to succeed.

He could understand it quite well. He had also had times when he was not expected by his parents and brother, and thus wanted to prove himself.

From this, he even somewhat understood why Duan Zhuxian, a person who prides himself on being aloof and never bowing his head, would take the initiative to offer himself and marry his sworn enemy.

Thinking about it was quite poignant.

Very rarely, he felt a kindness towards Duan Zhuxian and suddenly wanted to fulfill Duan Zhuxian’s small wish.

“Alright then.” Jiang Yao turned his head to look out the window, “I’ll try my best.”

Duan Zhuxian didn’t ask where Jiang Yao was going next, he just directly took him back to their marriage house. The whole journey was smooth, the car didn’t get stuck in traffic even once, the whole process was incredibly smooth and natural.

By the time Jiang Yao realized it, they had already arrived at the front door of their home.

Duan Zhuxian parked the car steadily, walked around to the passenger side, and personally opened the car door for Jiang Yao.

Jiang Yao didn’t get out of the car immediately, he made a stern face and set some ground rules with Duan Zhuxian, forbidding him from getting aroused every time he sees him.

Duan Zhuxian, leaning on the top of the car door with one hand, a faint smile in his eyes, said: “Then, Young Master Jiang, you should also not run away from home at the slightest disagreement in the future.”

Jiang Yao immediately retorted, “Who ran away from home? I was busy with work.”

Duan Zhuxian “Hmm”ed and made a “please” gesture.

Jiang Yao got out of the car, staring at Duan Zhuxian’s half-smiling profile, feeling that Duan Zhuxian didn’t believe his words at all.

*

A while ago, Jiang Yao had been working non-stop at the company, so he took a few days off for himself. Coincidentally, he received an invitation from Shen Tang, [Xiao Wei and I have moved into our new home, and we would like to invite you over for a casual meal.]

Jiang Yao asked, [Who else will be there?]

Shen Tang replied, [Just you, we’ll invite the others later.]

Jiang Yao paused for a moment, then lightly typed out four characters: [What about Duan Zhuxian?]

It took a while before the reply came through, a long message: [I might as well tell you straight, I’ve actually noticed the conflict between you and Zhuxian a long time ago. I pretended not to notice because you both kept it from me. Although I’m not sure what happened, I thought it best to invite you separately. I’ll explain this to him when I invite him later.]

Jiang Yao was a bit surprised at Shen Tang’s sudden confession. He thought Shen Tang didn’t know about his broken relationship with Duan Zhuxian.

After all, during their student days, he and Duan Zhuxian mostly met as opponents. After graduating from high school, they didn’t go to the same university, so it was normal for them to become estranged.

However, Shen Tang’s arrangement was for the best; Jiang Yao wasn’t ready to face his fiancé and his fiancé’s crush at the same time.

*

Shen Tang has always been frugal, so Jiang Yao picked two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon from a private winery as a gift to congratulate them on their new home.

The couple’s new home is located within the second ring road, a four-bedroom, two-living room apartment of over a hundred square meters, in a school district.

When Jiang Yao arrived, the couple was cooking. After leading him into the house, they returned to the kitchen to continue preparing dinner, without asking for his help.

Jiang Yao, a kitchen killer, was also happy to be idle. He sat on the sofa and watched TV for a while. In a daze, his gaze fell on the two figures not far away.

Although Shen Tang and Xu Yuewei are already married, their behavior still remains in the honeymoon period. Even a spoonful of soup needs to be tasted by you and me, and the whole kitchen is filled with a warm atmosphere.

Seeing this, Jiang Yao couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy.

He was born in a business family. From the time he could remember, his parents were busy with business all day, and he and Jiang Chen were mostly taken care of by nannies. His growing environment always lacked a bit of familial warmth.

Later, when he reached the age of adolescence, he realized his sexual orientation. He also fantasized about building a family with a gentle and virtuous handsome guy in the future to make up for the regrets of his childhood.

Jiang Yao squinted his eyes, the loving and busy couple in front gradually turned into a phantom, and a clear image slowly emerged in his mind, which was the scene of him and Duan Zhuxian cooking together.

The small stew pot was bubbling, and the warm yellow light from the window fell on Duan Zhuxian’s focused profile…

It took a while for Jiang Yao to come back to his senses, he exclaimed ‘Damn’ and quickly chased that person out of his mind.

The next second, his phone rang, the caller ID showed: A Certain Duan.

He glanced at Shen Tang to make sure he was preoccupied, then walked over to the window to answer the call.

As soon as he picked up, the person on the other end got straight to the point: “Where are you?”

Jiang Yao raised an eyebrow: “I don’t recall having the obligation to report my whereabouts to Mr. Duan.”

Duan Zhuxian’s tone softened: “In front of you, I’m not Mr. Duan.”

Jiang Yao knew what Duan Zhuxian meant, because they were going to get their marriage certificate at the civil affairs bureau tomorrow.

He didn’t want to tell the truth, but he was afraid that Duan Zhuxian, a suspicious guy, would misunderstand that he went to a nightclub and then start lecturing him with a bunch of pros and cons and moral principles.

After weighing it over and over again, he decided to tell the truth: “I’m at Shen Tang’s new home.”

The other side suddenly fell silent, and after a long while, he said: “Don’t stay too late.”

Although the tone didn’t carry any emotion, Jiang Yao felt a bit irritable when he heard it.

Besides asking him to maintain the image of a “married man” in front of outsiders, Duan Zhuxian is not a person who is overly demanding. He had been immersing in the company and construction site for a long time, and Duan Zhuxian had never personally looked for him. This time, he suddenly even wanted to control his meeting with friends, there is probably only one reason—

Duan Zhuxian doesn’t want him to be in the same place with Duan Zhuxian’s secret crush.

A bit of irritation in his heart suddenly surged up to his throat, Jiang Yao’s mind heated up, and he asked in a strange voice, “By the way, didn’t he invite you to be a guest?”

He feigned surprise, just like a green tea.

But as long as it can make Duan Zhuxian jealous, being a tea is no problem.

Afterwards, Duan Zhuxian didn’t say much more, just reminded him to pay attention to the time, and then hung up the phone. The last sound echoing in the receiver was much colder than before.

Clearly, he had managed to irritate Duan Zhuxian, but his own mood seemed to worsen as a result.

This mix of satisfaction and annoyance might only be explainable by quantum mechanics.

A few minutes later, Shen Tang and Xu Yuewei finished their preparations and began serving the dishes.

The two of them flirted openly at the dinner table, and Jiang Yao gave face and joked around, the three of them laughing continuously.

Riding on the momentum of showing off their love, Shen Tang talked about his time studying in North America and his long-distance relationship with Xu Yuewei. He lamented that after going abroad, he didn’t have a single friend he could talk to. His words revealed a sense of being ‘a stranger in a strange land.’ Fortunately, his beloved wife was there for him, providing him with unconditional spiritual support from across the ocean.

The more Jiang Yao listened, the more confused he became, and he couldn’t help but interrupt, “Wasn’t Duan Zhuxian also there?”

Shen Tang replied, “I didn’t go to school in the same region as Zhuxian.”

Jiang Yao was taken aback upon hearing this.

Shen Tang continued: “During the entire study abroad period, I only met him once. It was only that day that I found out he was also in North America.”

The sudden breakdown of his long-held beliefs caught Jiang Yao off guard, causing his fingers to loosen abruptly, and his chopsticks clattered into his bowl, leaving him with a bloated feeling in his chest and throat that was hard to digest.

Could it be that Duan Zhuxian was too timid? He chased after him but didn’t dare to ask him out, only daring to observe from a corner in secret?

No wonder he only knew how to abuse his power back then, setting traps for his love rival behind his back, never daring to confess openly.

Having arranged a reasonable explanation for the unexpected facts, Jiang Yao said ‘Oh’ in understanding.

Shen Tang recalled a bit, “At that time, I went to meet a friend near Zhuxian’s school, and I happened to run into Zhuxian at the entrance of his clinic.”

Jiang Yao asked, “Clinic?”

Shen Tang nodded, ‘My friend is a psychologist, but Zhuxian probably wasn’t there for a consultation.’

“Oh, that’s indeed impossible.”

Jiang Yao smirked.

Someone like Duan Zhuxian, who has a cold face and a tough heart, would only be the one to mess with other people’s minds.

Shen Tang remembered something, and added, “When we were eating, he mentioned you.”

Jiang Yao paused in the middle of picking up his food, and raised his eyelids, “Why did he mention me for no reason? Did he say bad things about me?”

Shen Tang couldn’t help but laugh, “You really treat him as an enemy.”

Jiang Yao hummed a few times, without refuting. Since it was already clear, he didn’t plan to gloss over it.

“Zhuxian said, the sweet and sour pork loin at that Chinese restaurant is quite good, and it’s your favorite sweet and sour taste.”

Shen Tang finished speaking with a smile, seeing Jiang Yao in a daze, he thought Jiang Yao didn’t hear him at all.

But Jiang Yao just suddenly thought back to a time when he and Duan Zhuxian were having breakfast together. Duan Zhuxian had specifically ordered shrimp dumplings for him, saying that he remembered all the little things about him.

He pursed his lips, his heart was tingling, as if being tickled by a feather across his chest, he couldn’t quite describe the feeling.

While eating a few bites of food, he casually asked Shen Tang, “What else did he say about me?”

Shen Tang pondered for a moment, then shook his head, “I can’t remember, it seems like he didn’t talk about you after that.”

Jiang Yao simply responded with an “Oh,” and didn’t ask any further.

He could tell that Shen Tang was telling him these things in an attempt to resolve the tension between him and Duan Zhuxian.

By the time it was past nine in the evening, Shen Tang wanted to keep Jiang Yao at home for the night, but Jiang Yao politely declined.

He and Duan Zhuxian had a major life event to handle the next day, so it wasn’t appropriate for him to stay out overnight.

On the TV, an esports competition was being broadcasted. Jiang Yao and Shen Tang were casually criticizing the players’ rookie mistakes. Just then, the doorbell rang, and Xu Yuewei went to open the door.

Shen Tang followed her gaze and saw Duan Zhuxian outside the door. He immediately stood up, and his face showing surprise.

Jiang Yao was even more surprised than Shen Tang.

He didn’t expect Duan Zhuxian to really come!

His white moonlight has become a husband, yet he couldn’t let go?

The tingling sensation he felt during dinner instantly vanished.

Jiang Yao, with his legs crossed, continued to watch the esports competition, showing an indifferent attitude as if he didn’t know Duan Zhuxian, even though Duan Zhuxian’s gaze had been stuck on him from the beginning, completely impossible to ignore.

Ha, I’ve been killing fish in the supermarket for ten years, my heart is as cold as the knife in my hand.^[1]老子在大潤發殺了十年魚，心已經和手裏的刀一樣冷了(Lǎozi zài dà rùn fā shāle shí nián de yú, xīn yǐjīng hé shǒu lǐ de dāo yīyàng lěngle.) = I’ve been … Continue reading

Jiang Yao brainwashed himself.

“So Zhuxian is here.”

Shen Tang said with an awkward smile as he walked over.

He was a bit worried that the two enemies would clash and cause some unpleasantness, his small house couldn’t bear it.

Duan Zhuxian hummed, and said lightly, “I’m here to pick up my wife.”

“Who the hell is your wife!”

Jiang Yao, who had been killing fish in the supermarket for ten years, jumped up from the sofa.

“Well, that’s not accurate, it should be called——”

Duan Zhuxian paused, his gaze passed over the shocked Shen Tang, and landed on Jiang Yao’s face, which was flushed and had a concealed expression. And he slowly uttered three words^[2]The three words that Duan Zhuxian uttered are “未，婚，妻”(wèi, hūn, qī), which translate to “Fiancée” in English..

“Fiancée.”