Although Xia Wei finally got her wish to watch a movie starring Film Emperor Mo, Jiang Zhi Zhou really did begin ignoring her. Xia Wei was quite surprised. It turned out that this uptight man would actually play love games?
But who"s afraid of that! Would she, a veteran of relations.h.i.+ps, lose against a rigid man who has never been in love before? Ha!
At noon, Jiang Zhi Zhou did not pick her up for lunch as usual. Xia Wei did not try to find him, but ordered takeout to eat at the shop instead. She had hoped to boast to her girlfriend group, but hadn"t expected these latest developments.
Jiang Zhi Zhou: Today"s lunch [picture][picture][picture][picture]
Xia Wei: "..."
Mapo tofu, steamed fish, braised eggplant, and three different types of soup. Each photo was even a beautifully framed close-up.
... How did he eat so much by himself???
As if afraid she would miss it, Jiang Zhi Zhou sent an identical message to his circle of friends. Xia Wei let out a laugh from the corners of her mouth. Does this boyfriend still want to spend the next Chinese New Year together?
She found a news article she had once seen before, and forwarded it to her own circle of friends.
Xia Wei: [Emotional World] Is it really necessary to keep talking to a boyfriend who loves to eat alone?
Jiang Zhi Zhou: "..."
While he was looking for a news article of his own in response, he received a phone call from his mother. He paused and picked up the phone: "Mom."
"Zhi Zhou, have you had lunch?"
"I was just eating. What"s up?"
"Oh well. Your father and I would like to discuss something with you. Tonight, book a private room for us at work. Let"s have dinner together."
"Sure." Jiang Zhi Zhou was inevitably curious. "What"s it about?"
However, his mother refused to reveal much. "It"s a complicated matter, one better discussed in person. We"ll see you tonight and talk about it."
"Okay." After Jiang Zhi Zhou finished speaking to his mother, he booked a private room at the restaurant. Intuition told him that whatever his mother wanted to say to him had to be important. Still, he didn"t have a clue what it could be about despite brainstorming until dinner, when he walked into the private room and saw his sister-in-law sitting inside.
Was this yet another blind date?
As if reading his mind, his sister-in-law smiled and said, "No worries, today isn"t about your love life."
Jiang Zhi Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, but on the other hand was even more confused. "What is it, then?"
Seating him in a vacant spot, his mother smiled and told him, "The company has taken on a relatively large new project recently. Your grandfather means for the younger generation to be entrusted with more responsibilities, and it"ll be an interesting challenge for you. Your brothers and sisters will also be involved."
Jiang Zhi Zhou"s brow creased. The company that his mother was talking about was Jiang Corporation. He glanced over at his father, who only snorted coldly and said nothing. After mulling it over, Jiang Zhi Zhou asked his mother, "Are you hoping I"ll partic.i.p.ate too?"
"Indeed." Jiang Zhi Zhou"s mother knew that he might be reluctant, so she persuaded him with a smile. "Your grandfather will likely be taking this opportunity to choose a successor. Since you"re a member of the Jiang family, you should partic.i.p.ate."
"But I have my own circle outside of Jiang Corporation and have so far been disinterested in it."
The Jiang family was famous in A City, with many complex coalitions and factions under its wing. His uncle"s branch ran a famous martial arts school, while his grandfather"s was focused on business. From time to time, his two uncles and even his cousins appeared in major financial magazines.
Only his father was a maverick, having focused solely on cooking for decades. The Jiang family kept an ancestral recipe book, and years ago, when his father accidentally found this dusty old book in the attic, he had diverged from the family path.
According to the book, it was written by an old Jiang ancestor who ran a small eatery named Tian Xia Restaurant. Although it was a bit of a hole-in-the-wall, his superb cooking made it famous in Beijing, attracting many n.o.bles and local gentry. Later, this little restaurant developed into an exclusive dining place catering to the wealthy, with the dishes constantly refined to become more and more in line with the ident.i.ty and taste of the very rich.
After getting his hands on this book, his father had become very interested in cooking. Regardless of being beaten and scolded by his grandfather, he had done just as he liked, and finally, his grandfather had had no choice but help him set up a restaurant of his own. It had been utterly unexpected for that restaurant to do so well.
Jiang Zhi Zhou had studied cooking at his father"s knee from a young age, and once his own career began, he had naturally taken the world by storm. As for the Jiang family and Jiang Corporation, he had little contact with them.
Listening to his words, his sister-in-law interjected, "Tian Xia Restaurant is one thing. Your grandfather set it up for your father to play with. Jiang Corporation is a completely different ball game."
When she said this, Jiang Zhi Zhou"s father flared up, "What do you mean it was set up to play with? How well is the place doing right now? Who in A City hasn"t heard of Tian Xia Restaurant?"
When Sister-in-law saw that he was serious, she said, "Tian Xia Restaurant is great, yes, but today we"re not here to discuss the restaurant."
Jiang Zhi Zhou interjected, "Dad is right. We have been running Tian Xia Restaurant for a long time. Business is very good, and it makes a lot of money."
"It"s true that it"s making money, but how can it compare to Jiang Corporation?" His sister-in-law didn"t understand why both father and son were in such a temper. "Since your grandfather is looking to let the younger generation take on more responsibility and all your various brothers and sisters are going, why don"t you go as well?"
"Why should he have to fight with them over a slice of the pie? He should go where he loves and pursue his own pa.s.sions." Jiang Zhi Zhou"s father"s voice was cold, his face full of disdain.
Jiang Zhi Zhou"s mother urged, "Why are you so angry? She"s right, isn"t she? Since it"s the Jiang family business, of course we"re eligible to partic.i.p.ate."
"I think you"ve been far too influenced by little sister on this matter!"
When she heard him say this, his sister-in-law"s face darkened. "Brother-in-law, what do you mean? I"m not in this for the Jiang family! Am I asking for any of the money you made? It"s just that your two brothers have completely excluded you. They compete amongst themselves while isolating you in a restaurant. Aren"t you also surnamed Jiang?"
"Come now everyone, don"t get angry. We"re all family here." Jiang Zhi Zhou"s mother came out to play mediator. Jiang Zhi Zhou"s sister-in-law was flushed with anger, and she turned her face away. His father also looked unhappy, sitting silently on the side.
Jiang Zhi Zhou was silent for a moment, then said: "I"ll take a look at that project, but I won"t promise anything." He didn"t want to get involved this dispute, but only like this could he temporarily resolve the disagreements between his elders. "Where is it, and how long will it take?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou"s mother said: "In S City. It"ll probably take over a month."
Jiang Zhi Zhou"s eyebrows. .h.i.t the ceiling. To be in S City for an entire month...
"Don"t feel too much pressure. Just like you said earlier, we have Tian Xia Restaurant to rely on. You"re just there to make your presence known," his mother said. "Don"t worry about me and your father back here."
"Mmhmm." He wasn"t worried about that, but rather something else.
The elders left after the meal, and Jiang Zhi Zhou sat in the office, dialing Xia Wei"s phone number. She was still at the nail shop, and felt a burst of joy in her heart to see his call.
So she"d won after all! Ha! When she picked up the phone, her tone was somewhat smug, "What"s the matter Mr. Jiang, weren"t you busy ignoring me?"
"..." Jiang Zhi Zhou paused and said to her, "I need to tell you something, are you in the shop right now? I"ll pick you up."
Xia Wei listened to his serious tone and unconsciously put her laughter away: "What"s the matter? You sound so serious."
"Let"s talk in person. Are you in the store?"
"Yes."
"I"ll be there in about ten minutes."
Not long after, Jiang Zhi Zhou arrived at the nail shop to pick her up. She wondered what this was all about. It couldn"t just be an excuse he"d made up, right?
Suns.h.i.+ne happily greeted her upon her arrival at Apartment 1808, prancing about barking loudly. Recently, she had begun taking Suns.h.i.+ne downstairs to keep Tangerine company, hoping that they would befriend each other. She pulled Suns.h.i.+ne over to the sofa and asked Jiang Zhi Zhou: "What happened?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou loosened his tie and said: "I have to take a trip out of town. I may be gone for about a month."
"Out of town?"
"Mmm, S City."
"So far away... When do you leave?"
"In a couple days." Jiang Zhi Zhou frowned. Knowing that they had to be separated for so long, he had lost interest in the game of "Ignoring You". When two people are together, it always feels like there"s so much time to play around, only for them to be caught off guard later. They had wasted so much time.
Xia Wei was silent for a while before asking, "Why are you leaving so suddenly? Did something come up?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou sighed and sat down on the sofa. "The company is running a relatively large project. Grandpa hopes that some of us in the younger generation will get involved in it."
Xia Wei"s mouth fell open in surprise. "You had a company?"
"...it"s not mine, it belongs to the Jiang family. I personally don"t really want to go, but my family elders quarreled over the matter, so I decided to at least take a look."
"What will you do about Tangerine?"
"You take him upstairs. I"ll prepare cat food for him before I leave. In addition..." He stopped to look over at Xia Wei. "I"ll tell the kitchen to send you lunch every day."
! ! !
"Free?!"
"I guess......"
Xia Wei couldn"t believe it: "You mean I can eat at Tian Xia Restaurant for free for a whole month??"
"Well....."
"Ahhhh! I"m suddenly hoping you"ll stay in S City for a while!"
Jiang Zhi Zhou: "..."
He suddenly wanted to keep playing the Ignoring You game for a bit longer.
Two days later, Jiang Zhi Zhou packed up his things and set off for S City. Xia Wei and Suns.h.i.+ne came together to send him off. "Do you really not need me to take you to the airport?"
"No, my family will be at the airport and they"ll see you if you come." Although he had said before that the ugly wife would meet her in-laws sooner or later, today was obviously not a good time to make the introductions. "I"ll contact you when I get there."
"Sounds good."
Xia Wei bid him goodbye outside the apartment building. Before leaving, Jiang Zhi Zhou told her, "Take care of Tangerine, Suns.h.i.+ne, and yourself."
"I will."
"Get home from work early in the evenings to keep them company."
"I know." In fact, she had been coming home early at seven o"clock nowadays. "You take care of yourself too."
"Yeah." Jiang Zhi Zhou looked at her awkwardly.
"Was there something else?" Xia Wei asked, puzzled at how he was standing still, looking at her.
Jiang Zhi Zhou licked his lips and said, "Nothing."
He wanted to hug her or kiss her, but held himself back, thinking about the hangups she had. If he kissed her now, maybe they"d also break up right now.
"I"ll see you later." Jiang Zhi Zhou turned and got into the car.
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Crystal: So, I"m carrying over the translation of "sister-in-law" from the previous translator, but I actually feel like she should be Jiang Zhi Zhou"s elder by a generation, like his aunt.
Also, I believe the "brothers and sisters" being mentioned are actually cousins (they"re just referred to as gege and jiejie), but they haven"t spelt it out so it"s hard for me to tell. When I was growing up it was common to call my older cousins that.