Chapter 15
Jian Huaiyi had barely stepped into the company when someone put an arm around his shoulder and led him to the stairwell.
Elder Brother Jian peeked around stealthily to see if anyone was passing by. Seeing no one, he instantly transformed into a husky.
“Little brother, have you missed big brother? Big brother has missed you so much! Come, let big brother give you a hug.”
Jian Huaiyi disgustedly dodged Elder Brother Jian’s sniffing nose. Looking at Elder Brother Jian, who was dressed in a formal suit, he couldn’t help but say, “Elder Brother Jian, can you stop acting like a stalker?”
Who in the entire company would believe that the decisive President Jian, who was so impressive on the outside, was actually a stalker and a brother-obsessed person in private?
Elder Brother Jian chuckled, his phoenix eyes half-closed.
“What do you know? In the words of today’s young people, big brother’s called a brother-con.” (Brother-con: a person obsessed with their younger sibling)
Jian Huaiyi brushed off the hand on his shoulder and said to Elder Brother Jian, “Then go obsess over Jian Luo Jia.”
“Hey—Jian Lao’er, that’s not right,” Elder Brother Jian suddenly became serious.
Jian Huaiyi raised an eyebrow.
Elder Brother Jian continued, “Big brother doesn’t favor anyone, ah. If I had to favor someone, it would be you, Jian Lao’er.” Saying this, he nervously sniffed Jian Huaiyi’s neck. “That stinky kid Jian Luo Jia, how can he compare to our precious Huaiyi?”
Jian Huaiyi: …
Jian Huaiyi expressionlessly said, “Scram.”
Elder Brother Jian knew when to stop, stepping back three paces and adjusting his tie.
“Speaking of which, little brother, how did the blind date go?”
Finally getting to the point.
Jian Huaiyi scoffed, his eyes ambiguous.
Elder Brother Jian immediately lost his composure, shaking Jian Huaiyi’s shoulder anxiously. “Little brother, you didn’t agree, did you?”
“It can’t be, Jian Lao’er, your sister-in-law just agreed to give me a chance to pursue her.”
Jian Huaiyi looked at Elder Brother Jian, who was clutching his head: “Didn’t Grandpa tell you who the blind date was?”
“No, Grandpa only said it was a wealthy returnee from overseas.”
Zhao Yanting did seem to have studied abroad for a year; he could be considered a returnee.
“It was Zhao Yanting.”
Elder Brother Jian’s wail stopped, he coughed twice, stood up, and said to Jian Huaiyi, “Yanting ah.”
“What about Yanting?”
Elder Brother Jian was confident. “Yanting was probably tricked by his Grandpa too.”
Jian Huaiyi raised his eyebrow. “Mm.”
“I knew it.” Elder Brother Jian laughed. “That kid Yanting is also half my little brother. Grandpa’s really getting senile.
“But big brother hasn’t seen him for a long time. The last time was when he came to ask big brother about you. I was getting along well with your sister-in-law, and this kid suddenly scared me. Forget it, let’s not talk about the blind date anymore. Thanks to little brother for saving me. Big brother has transferred ten million yuan to your account, remember to check it.”
Jian Huaiyi: …
Then he realized something and frowned. “Yanting came to ask you about me?”
“Yeah.”
Jian Huaiyi felt something was wrong. “What about me that he had to specifically ask you?”
Elder Brother Jian scratched his head, recalling, “About you and Lu Yang. He seemed to ask how I felt about…” Saying this, Elder Brother Jian suddenly understood. “Little brother, could it be that Zhao Yanting likes you?”
“This stinky kid, so he had his eye on you, huh?” Elder Brother Jian felt the heartache of his precious cabbage being taken by a pig.
Jian Huaiyi remained silent.
“Elder Brother Jian, get back to work.”
“Okay!”
Elder Brother Jian quickly left, only realizing something was wrong when he got on the elevator.
Elder Brother Jian: Little brother is such a domineering CEO, hehe, I like it.
Jian Huaiyi replied with a full stop to Elder Brother Jian’s puzzling message.
He sat at his workstation for a day, and finally, it was time to get off work.
His phone dinged.
Jian Huaiyi opened his phone. It was a message from Jiang Xiaohui.
[Boss, I’m your dog: Boss! The flowers you arranged yesterday were just bought!]
His gaze paused briefly on Jiang Xiaohui’s WeChat nickname. Jian Huaiyi moved his finger and then paused, deleting it.
[The best boss in the world: Mm.]
Jiang Xiaohui took a picture of the empty flower vase and sent it to Jian Huaiyi.
[Boss, I’m your dog: Boss, it’s that bunch of Eustoma and sunflowers!]
[The best boss in the world: ?]
Jiang Xiaohui typed quickly.
[Boss, I’m your dog: Recording the boss’s first flower arrangement.]
Jian Huaiyi curled his lips and sent: Mm.
“Chatting with a coworker?”
Through the rearview mirror, Liang Xun secretly calculated that the person beside him had smiled twice in five minutes.
Jian Huaiyi nodded, clearly not wanting to say more. He then noticed that the car wasn’t heading home and asked in confusion, “Is there something planned for tonight?”
Liang Xun’s voice softened slightly, “Mm.”
A minute of silence hung in the air.
“No time?” Liang Xun suddenly spoke.
Jian Huaiyi was startled. The anti-collision warning lights flashed outside the window, and the car had already turned onto the highway.
“I have time.” Jian Huaiyi pursed his lips, looking at the yellow lights outside, and asked Liang Xun, “Where are we going?”
Although he knew Liang Xun wouldn’t sell him, he was still curious about this long journey. Where exactly was Liang Xun taking him?
“West City.”
The light turned red ahead. Liang Xun opened the center console and handed Jian Huaiyi a bottle of milk.
Jian Huaiyi took it, momentarily thinking that Liang Xun had recovered his memory.
“How did you know I drink this brand of milk?”
“Just grabbed one,” Liang Xun said.
“Oh.”
It seemed he was overthinking it. Jian Huaiyi didn’t ask any more questions and twisted off the cap, taking a gulp.
Milk residue remained on his lips, making them look very unsightly.
Liang Xun’s knuckles brushed against the steering wheel logo. He had OCD. He glanced in the rearview mirror, as if ants were crawling across his chest, irritatingly uncomfortable.
“Mouth.”
Jian Huaiyi raised his eyebrow, not hearing Liang Xun clearly. “What?”
Liang Xun pursed his lips tightly. It was a red light again. He took a tissue from the front and reached his arm halfway, then changed direction and put the tissue in Jian Huaiyi’s hand.
“You have something on the corner of your mouth.”
Jian Huaiyi wiped off the milk residue with the tissue.
They finally arrived, Liang Xun parking the car in the parking lot near the garden.
The sea surged at night, the slightly fishy sea breeze blowing past.
The beach was packed with people; yellow light bulbs adorned the railings, as if an event was being held.
After looking for a while, Jian Huaiyi finally figured out what the event was.
A livehouse performance by his favorite singer.
His home had a whole cabinet of CDs of his albums.
After graduating from university, Jian Huaiyi hadn’t attended any of his concerts and rarely paid attention to their offline events.
He was just a silent fan, listening to one or two songs from his albums when he was feeling down.
Even so, at this moment, Jian Huaiyi still felt his blood boil, instinctively following the crowd forward.
The wind howled in his ears, his figure overlapping with his younger self, as if he had returned to that youthful age when he had disregarded everything just to catch a date.
Halfway there, he was stopped. “Sir, please show your ticket.”
It was like a bucket of cold water poured over him. Jian Huaiyi pursed his lips, returning to reality. “Sorry,” and then walked back, hands in his pockets.
He then suddenly realized that Liang Xun was gone. He furrowed his brow and looked around for Liang Xun.
“Jian Huaiyi.”
The man’s low voice came from behind him, a hint of nervousness in it.
Jian Huaiyi turned around, and Liang Xun appeared again.
Liang Xun jogged to Jian Huaiyi, waving the two ticket stubs in his hand in front of his eyes.
“Let’s go, let’s go in.”
After saying that, Liang Xun walked forward first.
That afternoon, Qin Zhu suddenly told him that one of Jian Huaiyi’s favorite singers was holding a livehouse concert in City A.
This was outside his area of knowledge, so Liang Xun spent some time understanding what a “livehouse” was.
Qin Zhu was very perceptive and asked Liang Xun if he wanted to book tickets. Liang Xun glanced at him faintly and didn’t say no.
Qin Zhu understood and opened the ticketing website to book tickets. Unfortunately, the tickets were already sold out.
However, he still managed to get two tickets at a high price through his connections.
Liang Xun curled his hand, remembering Qin Zhu’s meaningful words that day: “Mr. Liang, if you really like Young Master Jian, don’t be too pretentious (crossed out) too cold. As far as I understand, Young Master Jian has many pursuers. As Young Master Jian’s currently closest “friend,” you have a great advantage, so seize the opportunity at all costs.”
“Boss, this is the principle you taught me.”
Liang Xun’s eyes turned cold. He knew, of course, that Jian Huaiyi had many pursuers; he didn’t need Qin Zhu to remind him.
Qin Zhu smiled professionally. Before five o’clock, seeing his boss leave early, he felt both relieved and heartbroken.
The waves rolled, lapping at the beach.
Jian Huaiyi felt a numbness in his chest, as if something was breaking through the boundary, about to lose control.
His hand was suddenly taken, Jian Huaiyi’s body stiffened, and he looked up to meet Liang Xun’s cold profile.
Liang Xun hadn’t held hands with anyone before, and he held Jian Huaiyi’s palm clumsily.
Jian Huaiyi looked down at their inexplicably intertwined hands, his heart beating rapidly, the feeling of losing control even stronger.
“Liang Xun, you…”