Translator: Xena
Editor: tart
Jiang Yao couldn’t remember when Duan Zhuxian’s cold and sarcastic mouth had become so humorous.
He lowered his eyebrows and stared at Duan Zhuxian’s face fiercely, trying to find some flaws.
But in those deep eyes, there was the same calmness as always, as if he was standing aside from the matter.
He was truly worthy of being his old enemy who has been at loggerheads with him for so many years. Even with something as outrageous as sharing the same household registration booklet, he still refuses to form a united front with him!
Before He Lu said those words earlier, he had naively hoped that Duan Zhuxian could reach a consensus with him so they could work together to find a way to cancel the marriage.
Whenever Jiang Yao gets upset, he likes to touch his cigarette box. He reached into his pocket and searched for it but couldn’t find it for a long time.
He lowered his head, patted his trouser pockets, and said, “What bad luck.” Suddenly, he heard the sound of something knocking on a cardboard box.
The next second, a cigarette was placed against his lips.
It turned out to be the custom-made cigarette he often smoked. It was not as pungent and smelly as ordinary cigarettes and was difficult to buy in China.
The subtle smell of tobacco made his heart itch. In the end, he didn’t reject it. He opened his lips slightly and received the cigarette into his mouth.
Duan Zhuxian raised his hand beside Jiang Yao’s lips to block the wind, and with his other hand he pushed open the lid of the lighter. His thumb flicked at the grinding wheel, and with a click, a faint blue spark appeared.
In the few minutes after the cigarette was lit, Duan Zhuxian did not leave, but stood silently by, as if waiting for a reply.
There was an inexplicable sense of hateful “everything is under control” calmness to him.
Jiang Yao was unhappy, but was too lazy to chase the person away. He took long and light puffs of the cigarette, the orange light between his fingers flickering without rhythm.
When he walked to the trash can to knock off the ashes, Jiang Yao vaguely saw through the gap in the bamboo curtain not far away how his father offered tea to Duan Song and how Duan Song patted his father on the shoulder. The two looked like good brothers…
He agreed to this marriage himself. Not only did his parents not force him, they also advised him to think twice.
It was not that he couldn’t go back on his word, it was a blind date after all, but if he just walked away now, he would be delighted but he would also offend the Duan family. For Jiang Li, it would be like one disaster on top of another. Moreover, it would be difficult to find a backer who could stabilize the other shareholders in a short period of time.
He should be more mature. He was twenty-six years old, not sixteen. The least he could do was to not be outdone by some person named Duan.
On the distant horizon, the melting sunset gradually cooled and sank.
Jiang Yao slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke. He suddenly felt an eerie tranquility after a storm. Although he left behind a mess that was impossible to clean up, he no longer had the desire to fight.
“Have you calmed down?” Duan Zhuxian asked him.
Jiang Yao put out his cigarette and spoke in an awkward tone, “Let’s make it clear first, we’re only collaborating on this aspect. As for anything beyond that, don’t even think about it.”
“Anything beyond?” Duan Zhuxian’s tone slowed down a little, as if he was playing with these two words. “Is there anything more beyond this between us?”
Jiang Yao meant to write off all the grudges that had raged between them.
He knew that Duan Zhuxian understood what he meant and was deliberately using his words to bully him.
He rolled his eyes and didn’t pay attention to Duan Zhuxian.
“Since we’re going to cooperate in the future, I can’t possibly not have my partner’s WeChat right?”
Duan Zhuxian took out his cell phone and waved it in front of Jiang Yao.
Jiang Yao paused for a moment, said “Oh”, took out his cell phone, and went straight to the blacklist.
Duan Zhuxian lowered his head slightly, and his eyes followed Jiang Yao’s white and slender fingertips to the screen.
He was the only one on Jiang Yao’s blacklist.
Duan Zhuxian raised his eyebrows slightly. “I’m the only one you have blacklisted?”
Jiang Yao, who had his head lowered as he stared at his phone, hummed. “Yes, I arranged a luxurious single jail cell for President Duan. You don’t have to thank me. This is what you deserve.”
A laugh hit his eardrum without warning, carrying a magnetic texture.
Jiang Yao’s thumb paused on the screen. “What are you laughing at?”
Duan Zhuxian replied, “I didn’t expect to be so special to you.”
Jiang Yao raised his eyelids and said angrily, “If you say one more word, I won’t let you out.”
Duan Zhuxian raised his chin, motioning Jiang Yao to continue. His expression has returned to its mysterious state.
Jiang Yao unhappily clicked on Duan Zhuxian’s profile picture of a snow globe that hadn’t changed in years, and turned off the “Blacklisted” button.
Duan Zhuxian’s WeChat was finally released after serving its sentence.
A sentence of seven years and nine months.
*
In fact, on that terrible snowy night during their senior year of high school, after they parted ways in front of the small grocery store outside the school, Jiang Yao did not immediately block Duan Zhuxian on WeChat.
After all, they’d been together for so long as both enemies and friends, and have created countless memories together. After his mood calmed down, he inevitably felt reluctant to part.
Such complicated emotions continued until the first Christmas after the college entrance examination, when he went to Q University to find Shen Tang.
That day, he sat in the school restaurant where they had agreed to meet, waiting for Shen Tang to finish class.
When the time came, the wind chimes on the glass door rang and he looked towards the door with anticipation.
The person who walked into the restaurant covered in snow was a tall and long-legged young man.
The other party was wearing a dark grey coat with no buttons fastened. The snow on his shoulders looked like he was in a hurry.
The black turtleneck sweater contrasting with the man’s pale face had a lonesome atmosphere, but it did not take away from his cold expression at all.
“Why did you come here?”
The moment their eyes met, Jiang Yao suddenly leaned forward and unconsciously raised his voice.
“It seems more reasonable for students from Q University to appear in this restaurant than students from B University.”
The voice he hadn’t heard for half a year came closer, sounding more mature.
Duan Zhuxian walked slowly into the restaurant and his face, with superior bone structure, was gradually enveloped with dimness from the earlier daylight.
Jiang Yao knew he was in the wrong, so he snorted twice in disapproval. Just as he was about to lower his head to send a message to Shen Tang, he suddenly felt the light in front of him dim.
As he looked up, Duan Zhuxian sat on the chair opposite him and asked the waiter for a cup of hot Americano.
Jiang Yao looked around. There were only a few sporadic customers in the store, and there was no shortage of empty tables.
Duan Zhuxian merely drank his coffee as soon as he sat down and didn’t seem to want to talk to him about the past.
Besides, Duan Zhuxian didn’t consider him a friend, and they have no past relationship. If they had to to be labeled with a relationship, they could be considered love rivals at best.
Jiang Yao narrowed his eyes slightly, with obvious doubt. Just as he was about to ask, the glass door was pushed open from the outside again.
Shen Tang was here.
A long-haired girl also came in. They both wore the same red scarf and held hands.
Jiang Yao’s brain short-circuited a little, causing him to sit in the chair dazedly for a long time. It was not until they came over talking and laughing that he looked away from their clasped hands.
“Who is she?”
Jiang Yao lifted his eyes and asked.
The girl’s face turned slightly red. She was sensitive and noticed the subtle ups and downs in Jiang Yao’s emotions.
“This is my girlfriend.” Shen Tang placed his palm on the back of the girl’s hand and gently helped her out of the predicament. “It was Zhuxian who heard that you were coming and suggested that I take this opportunity to bring Xiaowei here so that you can meet her.”
When Jiang Yao heard this, his solidified thoughts suddenly exploded in his mind like a startled flock of pigeons.
His first reaction was not to respond to Shen Tang’s explanation, but instead to look at Duan Zhuxian near him.
Currently, Duan Zhuxian was stirring his steaming coffee, his movements neither hurried nor slow and his expression was calm, as if he was in a bright and elegant high-end restaurant.
The girl took a tentative step forward and softly said to Jiang Yao, “Hello, you’re Jiang Yao, right? My name is Xu Yuewei. I heard from Shen Tang that you used to take special care of him. ”
It was Xu Yuewei, who later became Shen Tang’s wife.
After the initial turmoil, Jiang Yao regained that lazy smile on his face. He stood up and personally invited Xu Yuewei to take a seat.
“Of course, of course, we‘re brothers. I didn’t expect that this innocent child Shen Tang would have a girlfriend right after entering college.” After saying that, he punched Shen Tang on the shoulder. “You bastard, why didn’t you make it public sooner that you have such a beautiful girlfriend?”
“We just confirmed our relationship not long ago.” Shen Tang glanced at his girlfriend, sat down next to her, then looked up at Jiang Yao with a smile, saying, “Among my old friends, you and Zhuxian are the first to know.”
During the meal, the atmosphere among the three people was the same as usual, looking peaceful on the surface.
Duan Zhuxian was still very frugal with words, and Jiang Yao still teased Shen Tang occasionally like before.
But Shen Tang no longer reacted in a lukewarm and shy manner towards Jiang Yao. Instead, he focused more on taking care of the girl beside him, his every move carrying a sense of maturity.
Jiang Yao saw it all but his heart didn’t feel sour. On the contrary, he felt a miraculous, indescribable sense of relief.
The boy in his memory who always had a shy smile on his face changed little by little as their meal progressed until he was no longer who he liked.
Jiang Yao certainly knew that he was not that affectionate.
The reason he was able to persist on this from high school to college was simply because he was unwilling to give up and didn’t want to lose to Duan Zhuxian easily.
At this moment, he and Duan Zhuxian were defeated together, so there was no need to force it anymore.
But he was still very unhappy. After thinking about it, he realized that it had little to do with Shen Tang and was mostly caused by someone else.
After dinner, Shen Tang sent Xu Yuewei to the place where she worked and studied.
Jiang Yao and Duan Zhuxian did not follow to act as light bulbs, but rather continued to sit face to face in front of the messy dining table.
The moment Shen Tang disappeared outside the door, Jiang Yao stretched his legs under the table, and with his right foot, which had been held back for a long time, he stepped hard on the chair’s horizontal bar between Duan Zhuxian’s legs, a gloomy smile appearing on his face.
“What? Seeing me lose my love made you finally feel more at peace?”
Duan Zhuxian’s eyes flickered slightly, and without saying anything, he threw something into his arms.
Jiang Yao looked down and saw that it was the Christmas gift he prepared for Shen Tang, a watch which was placed in a small box and was in the pocket of his down jacket. It fell out at some point and landed in Duan Zhuxian’s hands, perhaps when he went to the bathroom just now, but it didn’t matter anymore.
Jiang Yao stood up abruptly, causing his chair to rub against the ground with a harsh sound, and strode out of the restaurant.
The watch worth tens of thousands of dollars was thrown into the trash can by the roadside without any hesitation. The black satin box was instantly covered with a thin layer of snow, as if it was freezing over.
After a while, the sound of footsteps on snow came from behind him.
Jiang Yao turned around and saw Duan Zhuxian following him out.
Although Duan Zhuxian did not answer his question just now, based on his understanding of Duan Zhuxian and the fact that Duan Zhuxian deliberately let him meet Xu Yuewei, he concluded that Duan Zhuxian was in a good mood at this moment.
In fact, he was not at all surprised that Duan Zhuxian would do such a thing.
Duan Zhuxian has never been an open and candid person. His heart, which has been unable to attain what it wanted, has long been twisted into something unknown.
It was snowing heavily and neither of them had an umbrella.
A few snowflakes hung under Jiang Yao’s frowned brows, firmly held by the temperature of his skin. As he blinked, they gradually turned into tiny droplets which adhered to his trembling eyelashes, making his eyes look like it was filled with moisture.
As he passed by Duan Zhuxian, he heard Duan Zhuxian call him.
“Jiang Yao.”
He looked up, and a warm hand suddenly brushed over his eyes before gently wiping his cheekbone.
“Don’t be too sad.”
There was a lot of noise on the roadside and the north wind was howling. He couldn’t decipher Duan Zhuxian’s tone, but he could feel the warmth from his fingertips.
It was awfully hot.
Without warning, it stole his heartbeat.
It was so gentle, so gentle that it seemed like he was being teased.
He stood there in a daze, his gaze suddenly turned to those black eyes, but was blocked by their calmness and depth.
It was just as he remembered, that ruthless rejection.
Jiang Yao suddenly felt a surge of anger in his heart.
“Which eye of yours saw that I was sad? If you want to make fun of me with this kind of thing, then don’t waste your breath.” He uttered in a rage before leaving without looking back.
In fact, he couldn’t remember whether he was sad that day or not. He only remembered that Duan Zhuxian came to make fun of him and pretended to care about him, trying to mock how hateful he appeared.
He had originally planned to spend the entire Christmas with Shen Tang, but he left that afternoon and rejected Shen Tang’s offer to send him off.
After leaving Q University, he blocked Duan Zhuxian.
*
“Yaoyao, it’s just us here right now, so tell Mom the truth, is there any conflict between you and Duan Zhuxian?”
On the way home from the restaurant, Yuan Li, who was sitting in the car, asked Jiang Yao with a worried look.
After all, she was a woman and was naturally perceptive. Even though the entire dinner was about investment, she still noticed something was amiss.
Being dragged out of his old memories, Jiang Yao said calmly, “We were in the same school before and we know each other, but we’re not that familiar.”
Jiang Qingtian heard this and turned back from the front passenger seat with a cheerful expression. “Look, let me tell you, if the two children really had a conflict, Duan Zhuxian would not take the initiative to take on this marriage.”
Jiang Yao also said, “Mom, don’t worry about me. There are still a lot of things waiting for you to deal with in the company.”
Yuan Li, who was coaxed by the father and son, nodded. “Then Mom is relieved.”
Jiang Yao gave his mother a comforting smile, but his mind still involuntarily recalled the past events.
He was also puzzled by this marriage, even though Duan Zhuxian had given him a very official explanation.
He curled up in the car seat, opened WeChat, and asked Duan Zhuxian: [Did you take the initiative to marry me so you can disgust me on purpose?]
A few minutes later, he received a reply from Duan Zhuxian: [Whatever you think.]
Jiang Yao could even imagine the nonchalant and asking-for-a-punch look on Duan Zhuxian’s face when he typed this sentence.
He kind of wanted to rush over through the Internet connection and start a fight.
His brows were knitted together as he typed: [Is it too late to break off the marriage now?]
Duan Zhuxian: [It’s too late, Wife.]
Fck!
Jiang Yao blocked Duan Zhuxian again without blinking.
【The author has something to say】
Duan Zhuxian: How many years is the sentence for calling someone “wife”?
