Chapter 24 “Secretly Planning”.

“You two??”

Shen Tang slowly widened his eyes, looked at Jiang Yao on the right, then at Duan Zhuxian on the left, and placed his index fingers together, “My God, am I dreaming? Xiao Wei, come and pinch me.”

Duan Zhuxian nodded, “You’re not dreaming. After we get the certificate tomorrow, Jiang Yao will be my wife.”

Another earth-shattering revelation.

Jiang Yao’s head buzzed, his face flushed red, and he wished he could rush over to shut Duan Zhuxian’s mouth.

He had no idea what got into Duan Zhuxian to announce their marriage in front of Shen Tang.

And calling him “wife” so affectionately, making it seem as if they were in a love relationship that had come to fruition.

Sure enough, Shen Tang misunderstood, clapping his hands and said: “Good, good, good, the clown is actually me! I thought you two were having a conflict, and I thought of a bunch of mediation methods. But It turns out you two were secretly planning!”

Secretly planning.

This accusation was too much.

Jiang Yao felt even more wronged than Dou E, walked up to Shen Tang, and tried to explain, “The enemy and the marriage partner, these two are actually not conflicting, can you understand?”

Shen Tang smiled and said: “Understand, understand, it’s the fun between you young couples.”

Jiang Yao rubbed his forehead, experiencing the feeling of being completely unable to explain himself for the first time.

With a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, Shen Tang shook his head and sighed dramatically, “Such a big thing happened, and none of you told me. I must be a really unimportant friend.”

Mentioning this, Jiang Yao suddenly got energetic: “Look who’s talking. Back when you were a freshman and started dating your wife, you didn’t report to me right away either, did you? It wasn’t until someone asked you to bring Xiao Xu over to meet me that you remembered your good buddy here.”

Jiang Yao flipped through the old accounts in his mind, then remembered the unhappy parting in the heavy snow that year, and glared at the door without good temper, meeting Duan Zhuxian’s gaze that had been waiting there.

“What are you looking at? Do you want to lose your eyes?”

Jiang Yao’s expression was fierce, like a prickly thorn.

“It’s getting late. We should go home.”

Duan Zhuxian extended his hand and gently wrapped it around Jiang Yao’s slightly stiff shoulder.

*

After bidding farewell to Shen Tang and his wife, Jiang Yao broke free from Duan Zhuxian’s arm and quickly put half a meter of distance between them.

He felt extremely uneasy, not knowing what Duan Zhuxian was up to.

Since Jiang Yao hadn’t driven over earlier, he instinctively followed Duan Zhuxian after leaving the building.

The sky was a heavy smoky blue, as if it concealed a hidden play.

Under the cover of night, Jiang Yao quietly glanced at Duan Zhuxian’s profile for a while and couldn’t help but ask, “How did you know Shen Tang lives here?”

Duan Zhuxian responded nonchalantly, “It wasn’t hard to find out.”

With Duan Zhuxian’s ability and connections, it’s indeed easy to find out someone’s address, but it still takes some time and energy, especially for a busy person like Duan Zhuxian who values every second.

Jiang Yao squinted slightly, his tone laced with a hint of sarcasm, “You wouldn’t have investigated it a long time ago, ready to visit at any time, would you?”

Given Duan Zhuxian’s habit of secretly making arrangements, he believed Duan Zhuxian could do this.

“Just checked.” Duan Zhuxian turned his head to look at Jiang Yao, “To pick you up.”

The moonlight just peeked out of the clouds, illuminating Duan Zhuxian’s face, which appeared open and sincere.

Jiang Yao was stunned for a moment.

The feather that appeared out of nowhere on his chest began to itch again through the air.

Until he heard the sound of unlocking the car.

“Get in the car.”

Duan Zhuxian opened the passenger door, his movements and tone were crisp and decisive, with a sense of urgency.

When Jiang Yao got in the car, the tickling sensation in his chest hadn’t subsided. He was distracted and didn’t notice the top of his head, and bumped into a hand.

Despite his apparent hurry, Duan Zhuxian’s hand was gentlemanly, shielding Jiang Yao from the doorframe.

Sitting in the car, Jiang Yao received a message from Shen Tang: [Though this might seem like hindsight, I always had a feeling you two might have something going on. [dog head emoji].]

Jiang Yao sent back a question mark.

Shen Tang replied: [Back in school, you both were always focused on each other, with an incredibly strong connection. I always felt like the third wheel.]

Heh, quite the keen observer.

Jiang Yao thought to himself.

I used to have a crush on you, and you never noticed. What a dense straight guy you are.

Jiang Yao stared at Shen Tang’s message for a long time, then placed his phone face down on his lap. He turned his head to look out the window, and caught a glimpse of Duan Zhuxian’s profile reflected in the glass.

As for Shen Tang’s inference, he didn’t want to deny it completely, he was not the kind of untruthful person like Duan Zhuxian.

To be honest, over the years, Duan Zhuxian’s presence had indeed been more significant than Shen Tang’s.

To him, Shen Tang was like a beautiful figure standing quietly in a beautiful oil painting: a breathtaking sight at first glance, evoking the aesthetic and emotional stirrings of youth.

But as time passed, the picture gradually became old and blurred, the figure and the background gradually merged into one, and in the end, only a touch of gorgeous but hollow color was left.

Duan Zhuxian, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He was like a silent explosion, or a flare shot into his world. Its strong light was dazzling, causing an earth-shattering riot, leaving a deep mark that remained undiminished even as time changed.

Even when he liked Shen Tang back then, at the end of his gaze towards Shen Tang, there was often Duan Zhuxian, his rival in love.

As for Duan Zhuxian, Jiang Yao never saw any indication that he cared much about him.

Except when he deliberately annoyed him.

He thought Shen Tang’s last statement was a bit exaggerated.

Shen Tang and Duan Zhuxian had a childhood friendship. He, who came out of nowhere and confronted Duan Zhuxian from the start, wishing to appear in the middle of every road to block Duan Zhuxian, how could he compare?

The car drove along a wide road, and a call from “Zhang Hao” popped up on the car screen.

Duan Zhuxian raised his hand to answer.

The voice on the other end came through the speakers, “Mr. Duan, are you alone right now?”

Zhang Hao’s tone was hesitant, as if he had something to report, but was afraid of leaking secrets.

Just as Duan Zhuxian was about to let him continue, Jiang Yao tapped on the window glass. “Pull over to the side. I want to check out the place across the street. Call me when you’re done.”

He had noticed an open architectural design exhibition on the other side of the street when they turned the corner earlier.

Duan Zhuxian glanced at Jiang Yao. “You don’t need to avoid this.”

Jiang Yao lifted his chin defiantly. “I’m not interested in eavesdropping. Don’t blame me if something goes wrong later.”

Duan Zhuxian’s eyebrows raised slightly: “When have I ever blamed you?”

…Jiang Yao was speechless.

On the surface, it seemed that Duan Zhuxian had never really complained about him, on the contrary, he had a lot of opinions about Duan Zhuxian.

“Alright, alright, I won’t disturb Mr. Duan’s work.”

As soon as the car stopped, Jiang Yao quickly got out, throwing a hasty remark over his shoulder. His eyes were evasive, his tone irritable, and his movements of opening and closing the door were a bit rough.

This was a typical sign of Jiang Yao feeling guilty.

Duan Zhuxian’s gaze followed him closely until the cool figure disappeared around the corner of the flower bed. Only then did the smile on his lips gradually fade.

On the other end of the call, Zhang Hao had been holding his breath for a while. Suddenly, Duan Zhuxian’s cold, businesslike tone snapped him back to attention, prompting him to quickly start reporting.

For a moment, he almost doubted if he had dialed the wrong number.

The gentle man who was just talking with a smile, didn’t look like the Mr. Duan he knew at all.

In the past few days, following Duan Zhuxian’s instructions, Zhang Hao continued to investigate Duan Feiyi’s movements and made some new discoveries: “Duan Feiyi has a residence in Xiting, you should know, right?”

Duan Zhuxian responded with a “Hmm”, his eyes slightly cold.

The house Zhang Hao mentioned was the only asset his mother had left him before she went abroad. When he was sixteen, his father, Duan Song, had taken it away using unconventional means and gifted it to He Feifei and Duan Feiyi to curry favor with the He family and secure their business support.

He had lived there alone until the mother and son duo came with the property deed, brazenly moving in and kicking him out.

Zhang Hao continued, “The house was transferred in the middle of the year and is now registered under someone named Liu Jing.”

Liu Jing was a technician at Cheng’an Group. He is not a particularly important figure in the company, but he had access to crucial information about securities trading. Duan Feiyi had been the main person from Huayan assisting Cheng’an with its listing. The fact that a multi-million yuan property was involved in their dealings indicated that their relationship was far from ordinary.

Fifteen minutes later, the call ended.

Duan Zhuxian rubbed his temples, then drove across the street, keeping within the speed limit.

After getting out of the car, he walked briskly towards the center of the square, and saw a small bunch of red hair swaying unabashedly in the night wind from afar.

The last bit of coldness in his eyes dissipated like mist, and his hurried steps slowed down.

Jiang Yao was holding his phone, scanning a QR code to vote for an architectural project displayed in a shop window. He was seriously writing a review, until his face full of scrutiny.

Duan Zhuxian didn’t disturb him. He slowly stepped back a few steps, put a cigarette in his mouth, thought for a moment, and decided not to light it.

Jiang Yao was immersed in his own world, writing a long paragraph with great concentration. Only after he finished sending it did he realize there was someone behind him. He looked up and saw the reflection of a man standing not far behind him in the glass.

Duan Zhuxian stood with his back to the light, his face hidden in the shadows, only revealing his eyes that were silently watching him.

For a moment, Jiang Yao felt that those eyes were softer than the autumn night sky.

Jiang Yao put one hand in his pocket and turned around: “Is Mr. Duan cosplaying a ghost?”

“Did I scare you then?”

Against the street light behind him, Duan Zhuxian’s gaze fell on Jiang Yao’s face from beginning to end. His teasing words were neither harsh nor cold, and his faint expression blended into the gray-blue night like water.

Jiang Yao was stunned for a moment, sensing a hint of low pressure.

He walked up to Duan Zhuxian, bent over and looked up, curiously asking from a lower perspective, “Duan Zhuxian, are you in a bad mood?”

No matter how casually he tried to disguise it, he couldn’t completely hide from this fox-like man who always seemed to see through him.

This was the experience Duan Zhuxian had gained over the years.

Duan Zhuxian’s gaze slowly swept over the beautiful face close in front of him, his thin lips moved slightly: “No.”

Huh, stubborn.

Jiang Yao pouted but kindly didn’t expose him.

He took out a cigarette and lighter from his pocket, lit it, and then used his own cigarette to light the one between Duan Zhuxian’s fingers. In the deserted square plaza, he stood side by side with Duan Zhuxian in the cold wind, accompanied Duan Zhuxian until he finished his cigarette, and then they returned to the car together.

On the way home, Duan Zhuxian asked Jiang Yao, “You seemed dissatisfied with that library design just now.”

Jiang Yao couldn’t be bothered to criticize Duan Zhuxian’s unethical act of peeking at his phone and explained briefly, “Architecture is public art. I value practicality over artistry.”

Duan Zhuxian nodded, “You mean it’s flashy but impractical.”

“Exactly.” Satisfied with the correct response, Jiang Yao straightened up slightly. “Although the design boldly uses an inverted triangle, it blindly pursues innovation while ignoring the support and material density of the lower levels. Its load-bearing performance is too poor to be practical. Its main purpose is to be made into a 3D model and displayed in a beautiful window for passersby to take photos and post on social media. At least in my view, it’s just a piece of art, it can’t be called architecture.”

When talking about his favorite topic, Jiang Yao’s typically proud and arrogant face became uncharacteristically calm and serious.

Duan Zhuxian turned his head to glance at Jiang Yao, “I didn’t expect you to be so down-to-earth.”

Jiang Yao rolled his eyes, his voice cool, “There are many things you don’t expect. You act like you’re above the world, not caring about others at all.”

Duan Zhuxian chuckled but didn’t correct Jiang Yao’s misconceptions.

At this moment, Jiang Yao was in high spirits, continued to analyze the earlier case, verbally modifying it and detailing the selection of materials, elevator layout, and cost control, his hands busily gesturing the prototype in his mind.

Like a vibrant star shining in the deep sky, radiating a unique light.

Duan Zhuxian glanced over at him, and under the cover of night, he secretly captured a ray of that starlight.

Jiang Yao talked non-stop halfway through, suddenly realizing that he seemed to be talking to himself, and Duan Zhuxian was probably tired of listening.

“Forget it, you don’t understand anyway. Why am I even talking to you about this?”

Jiang Yao mumbled, and his body, tense from excitement, gradually softened like a deflated ball.

After returning to the car seat, he casually put on his hooded jacket, pulled down the hood to cover his eyes, and pretended to sleep.

The black sedan sped along the straight highway.

In the distant sky, the stingy stars hid themselves behind the clouds.

When they got home, Jiang Yao rushed upstairs energetically, but was stopped halfway by Duan Zhuxian: “Go to bed early, we have to get the certificate tomorrow.”

“I know, I know.” Jiang Yao brushed off Duan Zhuxian’s arm in front of him, his tone as perfunctory as it could be.

“Don’t stay up late.”

Standing behind Jiang Yao, Duan Zhuxian reminded him once more.

Jiang Yao’s movement of pushing the door paused, and suddenly felt a pang of guilt. He had indeed planned to work on some designs and modify the exhibit he saw today.

“Are you addicted to nagging like Old Lady?”

Jiang Yao threw back a sentence in annoyance and scurried back to his bedroom.

*

The next morning, Jiang Yao was woken up by Duan Zhuxian. Next to his pillow was a brick-like architecture reference book, his desk was cluttered with messy drawings, and his computer was in standby mode.

When Duan Zhuxian entered the room, he wasn’t surprised at all.

Jiang Yao half-opened his eyes, vaguely saw the neatly dressed figure by the bed, then closed his eyes again, and murmured a word: “Sleepy.”

He had a good bone structure, a high degree of facial folding, and a face that was only the size of a palm when viewed from the front. His mouth was tucked in the quilt, and his speech was different from his usual arrogant tone, it had a kind of softness like the water towns of the south of the Yangtze River.

The Jiang family had moved from the south. Two years ago, when Duan Zhuxian was on a business trip to the capital of Jiang Yao’s home province, he had made a special detour to visit the small town where Jiang Yao was born. The place was beautiful with clear mountains and waters, and clusters of flowers, a good place for nurturing people.

Feeling a slightly cool and mischievous hand trying to lift his warm quilt, Jiang Yao clutched the quilt tightly and curled himself up like a shrimp: “Just let me sleep a little longer, please…”

It was rare to hear Jiang Yao acting coquettish, and Duan Zhuxian’s heart softened. He patted the quilt and said in a coaxing manner: “I’ve already let you sleep an extra hour.”

In the end, Jiang Yao sat up under Duan Zhuxian’s gentle but firm wake-up service.

“How about we get the certificate another day?”

Jiang Yao mumbled in a daze, the tuft of red-dyed hair at the back of his head sticking up messily. As he nodded off, the little tuft wagged like a tail, giving off a lazy vibe.

Duan Zhuxian maintained his bending posture, somewhat helplessly supporting the swaying person in front of him: “My grandfather found a good auspicious day from a master, if we miss today, we will have to wait another three years.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yao’s sleepy eyes suddenly brightened: “Isn’t that great?”

Duan Zhuxian, without further ado, heartlessly pulled him out of bed.

Jiang Yao put on his slippers reluctantly. He stumbled with each step, so sleepy that his head was about to plunge into the underworld. Just as he was planning to take advantage of Duan Zhuxian’s unpreparedness to lie back down, he was quickly caught by him.

Without blinking an eye, Duan Zhuxian directly caught the slippery little fox by the waist and carried him straight to the bathroom, giving his waist a playful squeeze in the process.

Realizing what was happening, Jiang Yao gasped, and his sleepiness was completely gone.

“What are you doing?”

“Seeing you so sleepy, I’m helping you wake up.”

Duan Zhuxian, with an attitude of great kindness, held Jiang Yao’s soft body from behind and stared at his slightly trembling eyelashes.

Forget it, someone offered himself, don’t refuse a gift.

Jiang Yao simply squinted his eyes, leaned into Duan Zhuxian’s embrace, and lost control for a moment.

He was stunned for a moment, subconsciously turned his head, and met Duan Zhuxian’s astonished expression. Then, a smile flashed in those black eyes and quickly spread to the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.

Jiang Yao was annoyed and embarrassed: “What are you laughing at?”

Duan Zhuxian spoke the truth, “I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.”

Jiang Yao: “…”

Duan Zhuxian leisurely pulled out a tissue, thoughtfully helping Jiang Yao tidy up his clothes, and then patted Jiang Yao’s butt, signaling that he could move, treating him with the same care as a child.

Jiang Yao’s face turned red, almost biting his back teeth in frustration. He felt his male dignity had been severely damaged. Until he got into the car to the Civil Affairs Bureau, he didn’t pay any attention to Duan Zhuxian.