Chapter 18

Jiang Yu, feeling cozy and a bit sleepy, soon dozed off. Half-asleep, she felt someone draping a jacket over her. Opening her eyes, she saw Jiang Zhe by her side. She rubbed her eyes and asked, “Is it okay for me to lie here and not meet your friends?”

Jiang Zhe didn’t see any issue. “You can keep sleeping. We’ll leave soon.”

It was clear they still had things to discuss. Jiang Yu thought she should at least meet his friends, so she followed him, saying, “I’ll see if there’s anything else to eat.”

When they reached the group, Jiang Yu noticed beer bottles on the ground. Remembering they had driven, she asked Jiang Zhe, “You didn’t drink, right?”

Jiang Zhe shrugged, “I’m not interested in alcohol.”

Wei Cheng, overhearing, quickly added, “We wouldn’t dare let him drink. Not only because he’s driving, but even if he weren’t, we couldn’t let him drink. If he got drunk, you’d have to take care of him, and that’s not what a man should do.”

Jiang Yu had indeed seen such men before and appreciated their responsible attitude. She felt a sudden fondness for Wei Cheng and his friends.

The others greeted Jiang Yu warmly, calling her “sister-in-law” and “boss lady.”

Jiang Zhe brought over the lounge chair. A bespectacled guy named Xiao Luo said, “Wow, we used to invite Jiang Zhe out, and he’d always stay away from the crowd. This is the first time I’ve seen him so active. I guess having a wife really makes a difference. I even tried some of his barbecue earlier and was surprised at how good it was.”

These friends had known each other since college and still kept in touch. Although Jiang Zhe wasn’t very sociable, they were used to his ways. Xiao Luo’s comment was clearly meant to tease Jiang Yu.

A man at the grill chimed in, “I can’t compete with you, Jiang Zhe. Now that your wife is here, you better show off your grilling skills.”

Jiang Zhe ignored the banter and asked Jiang Yu, “Do you want more to eat?”

Having already eaten quite a bit, Jiang Yu shook her head, “No, I’m full.”

Jiang Zhe, without a hint of emotion, said, “Alright, then I won’t grill anymore.”

His friends immediately teased him, “Wow, if the wife wants it, he grills. If not, he stops. How can you be like this?”

After the laughter died down, someone asked, “When’s the baby due?”

Jiang Yu replied, “In about three months.”

The person smiled, “Great, I’ll make sure to give you a big red envelope when the baby is born.”

Someone else immediately suggested, “Why wait until the baby is born? It’s the first time meeting Jiang Zhe’s wife, so we should give her a gift now.”

Amid the ensuing laughter, people started giving Jiang Yu red envelopes. Some had prepared them in advance, while others transferred money via WeChat, with amounts ranging from a few thousand to ten thousand yuan. Jiang Yu felt overwhelmed and looked at Jiang Zhe, who was unfazed, “Take it. They can afford it.”

Jiang Yu: …

After receiving the envelopes and sitting for a while longer, Jiang Zhe noticed Jiang Yu seemed bored and asked, “Do you want to take a walk on the beach?”

From where they sat, they could hear the soothing sound of the waves. Some people were collecting shells with flashlights, and some were with their children. Jiang Yu did want to walk along the beach, so she agreed, “Sure.”

Jiang Yu informed everyone before heading over, thoughtfully taking one of her clothes.

The wind by the sea was stronger, and without proper clothing, it could get chilly. Fortunately, Jiang Zhe had brought a jacket for her, so despite the wind, she felt warm.

At the beach, children with shovels were digging for crabs with their fathers. Watching the children jumping around, Jiang Yu recalled playing by the sea with her family as a child and curiously asked Jiang Zhe, “Have you ever gone sea fishing?”

Jiang Zhe shook his head, “No.”

She was surprised. Given her colorful childhood, she assumed he had similar experiences. She asked, slightly shocked, “What was your childhood like?”

Jiang Zhe reflected for a moment, “Mostly spent with books, and weekends were often spent attending interest classes.”

“What special skills do you have?”

Jiang Yu laughed, feeling like she was conducting an interview.

“I learned some martial arts, played a bit of violin, dabbled in painting, and studied chess and Go for a few years.”

Jiang Zhe’s “a bit” was probably a lot by her standards.

Thinking about her own skills, Jiang Yu smiled, “I don’t know much. I spent my childhood running around with friends. In university, when asked about my talents in a club, I thought for a long time and said I could sing.”

Jiang Zhe saw no problem with that. At least her childhood was simple and happy.

“What songs can you sing?”

“That was in the past. After starting work, I got busy and stopped singing. Now I might be off-key.”

“Can I hear you sing?”

The wind blew Jiang Yu’s clothes and hair. She initially wanted to refuse, but seeing the expectation in his eyes, she thought for a while and hummed a tune. Afterward, she shyly asked, “Was I off-key?”

Jiang Zhe replied, “I thought it was lovely.”

“My shoes seem to have sand in them.”

Jiang Zhe knelt down to take off her shoes. Worried she might not balance well, Jiang Yu held his hand and asked, “Am I heavy?”

Jiang Zhe emptied the sand from her shoes and helped her put them back on, “No.”

After putting her shoes back on, they walked along the beach for a while longer before heading back. Before leaving, Jiang Yu saw a beautiful shell and asked Jiang Zhe to pick it up for her. Because of her condition, she couldn’t bend down. Wanting to play in the water but fearing the cold, she left with some regret and told Jiang Zhe on the way back, “After I have the baby, I definitely want to come back and enjoy the beach properly.”

Jiang Zhe agreed.

That night, Jiang Zhe dreamt he was walking alone on a dark beach. As dawn broke, he saw someone in the distance. It was Jiang Yu with a little girl who looked like her, playing freely by the sea. He could hear her singing the song from earlier, and it sounded beautiful.

**

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