At the airport.
When Jiang Zhi Zhou entered the VIP waiting room, his two brothers and one sister sat inside. The eldest brother Jiang Cheng Yue and third sister Jiang Le Xin held a tablet and computer respectively, and simply nodded to him as he walked in. Only the second eldest Jiang Le Zhang said in amazement and a hint of ridicule, "I didn"t expect you to actually be here."
Jiang Zhi Zhou greeted them and found an empty sofa to sit down on. A member of the staff walked up to him and politely asked, "How do you do, sir. Would you like something to drink?"
"A cup of hot milk, please."
"Okay, just a second."
Once the staff member left, a five or six-year-old girl ran in from outside. Seeing Jiang Zhi Zhou, she rushed up happily and jumped all over him, "Uncle, you came too!"
Jiang Zhi Zhou caught the child and smiled at her, "Yes I did. Is Man Man also going to S City?"
"Yeah, Man Man wants to be with Daddy!"
"Does Man Man not need to go to kindergarten?"
"Man Man doesn"t want to go to kindergarten. Man Man wants to go to S City with Daddy." Jiang Man Man said this with her little face scrunched up in a frown.
"Man Man, don"t make trouble. Come and sit down." Jiang Cheng Yue finally put down his tablet, and moved over to his daughter.
Jiang Man Man looked at Jiang Zhi Zhou reluctantly after being scolded. "Man Man wants to eat uncle"s steamed eggs and spare ribs."
Jiang Zhi Zhou couldn"t help laughing. "Why don"t I cook for you later tonight, okay?"
"Okay! It"s a promise!"
After successfully baiting and hooking Jiang Zhi Zhou, Jiang Man Man sat down obediently next to Jiang Cheng Yue. Jiang Le Xin, whose eyes had been fixed on her computer, smiled and said, "Man Man is still so small. If it were me, eldest brother, I would have chosen to stay at home and take care of her."
"Once we arrive there, there"ll be someone to look after her," Jiang Cheng Yue shrugged. "I know how to take care of my affairs. Perhaps you should start your own family before lecturing me about my daughter."
Jiang Le Xin"s face darkened. She pursed her lips and stayed silent. Jiang Le Zhang, meanwhile, winked over at Jiang Zhi Zhou as if he was watching a drama and eating popcorn.
Honestly, Jiang Zhi Zhou sometimes wondered if he really was Jiang Le Xin"s brother.
He had no interest in interfering in the affairs of his older brother and third sister, but he was often worried about how it would affect Jiang Man Man. Jiang Cheng Yue was a workaholic, often staying at his office for three days in a row, working without rest and sleeping at his desk. Man Man"s mother had finally given up on her marriage, declaring it akin to being a widow, and divorced him.
Jiang Zhi Zhou had only learnt about this divorce after the fact. He was quite independent and had little contact with his brothers and sisters at home. However, a huge ruckus had been made over the fight for Man Man"s custody, until even his father could not bear it.
In the end, full custody of Man Man had been given to his eldest brother, and she lived her life from then on not only without a father to love her, but also without a mother.
Thinking such thoughts, Jiang Zhi Zhou could not help but watch Jiang Man Man. She sat quietly beside Jiang Cheng Yue, staring curiously at the tablet in his hand. Perhaps for her it was a treat simply to be able to sit quietly next to her father.
"Excuse me, sir, here is your milk." The staff member put a gla.s.s of milk down in front of Jiang Zhi Zhou and politely withdrew. Jiang Zhi Zhou took a photo of the table and sent it to Xia Wei, "Here I am in the departure lounge."
Xia Wei: Why does your departure area look so different from my departure area?
Xia Wei: Oh, I see, you"re in the VIP waiting room! Capitalist!
Jiang Zhi Zhou: ......
Jiang Zhi Zhou: I"ll bring you to the VIP waiting room next time.
Xia Wei: Pshhh, I don"t care.
Xia Wei: But are there any other drinks aside from milk?
Jiang Zhi couldn"t help but laugh.
"Ladies and gentlemen, sorry to disturb you, but your flight is ready for boarding." The staff member came in again and prepared to bring them over to the gate. Jiang Zhi Zhou took a drink of milk and stood up, while Jiang Cheng Yue and Jiang Le Xin finally put away their electronics. On the way, Jiang Zhi Zhou sent a final message to Xia Wei: "Currently boarding the plane. Let"s chat when I land."
Xia Wei: Have a safe journey!
After the two-hour flight from City A to City S, Jiang Zhi Zhou turned his phone back on and prepared to text Xia Wei. Suddenly, Jiang Le Zhang hooked an arm over his shoulder from behind and asked with a grin, "Who"s that you"re updating? I saw you sneakily texting in the waiting room just now. Did you finally get a girlfriend?!"
"..." Jiang Zhi Zhou"s QQ had just opened. He put away his mobile phone quite calmly and retorted, "Weren"t you playing with your mobile phone for ages just now in the waiting room? New girlfriend too?"
Although he wasn"t too close to this older male cousin of his, he had heard some stories about him from his father. Jiang Le Zhang laughed and said, "Why are you coming along to S City this time? Were you forced to come, like me?"
Jiang Le Xin, who had been walking next to them, snorted: "Don"t think so highly of yourself. How is fourth brother like you? He"s been independent at Tian Xia Restaurant for quite a while now, as compared to you!"
Jiang Le Zhang"s eyebrows shot up. "Is that any way to talk to your brother? Sometimes I feel like you"re not my younger sister, but my older sister!"
"If I were your older sister, I wouldn"t bother to talk to you. I"d just beat you up."
Jiang Le Zhang: "..."
"No wonder she isn"t married yet," he whispered in Jiang Zhi Zhou"s ear. Looking at Jiang Cheng Yue and Jiang Man Man on the other side, he continued, "Big brother too, spending all his time at work until his wife ran away. Ahhh, upon reflection, poor Man Man got the worst of it."
Jiang Zhi Zhou did not express an opinion, merely removing the arm draped over his shoulder. Jiang Le Zhang wasn"t in the least affronted but merely leaned in mysteriously, saying, "Do you think it"s true that Uncle has an illegitimate child somewhere out there? It must be, otherwise why would eldest brother be such a desperate workaholic?"
Jiang Le Xin snorted again, "If you were half the man big brother is, father would wake up laughing from his dreams."
"...it"s too tiring talking to you." Jiang Le Zhang said, moving away to tease Jiang Man Man. Jiang Zhi Zhou"s ears were much quieter after he left.
Once arrived at the hotel, even before putting away his luggage, he sent a message to Xia Wei. "I"ve arrived at the hotel."
Just like in the waiting room, he took a photo. When Xia Wei received it, she had to complain about capitalists again. "This is a suite! My dear Mr. Jiang, are you actually going to live here for a month?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou: Alas, this is the hotel that the company secretary booked.
Xia Wei: ... Alright, I"m convinced that you have money now. Next!
Jiang Zhi Zhou: :)
Xia Wei: I slipped a mask into your suitcase. You didn"t unpack it secretly, did you?!
Jiang Zhi Zhou: No
Xia Wei: That"s good, remember to apply it :)
Jiang Zhi Zhou: .....
Xia Wei: And send me a photo with it on :)
Jiang Zhi Zhou: .....
Over the next few days, Xia Wei received a photo of the facial mask and earnestly preached about the importance of frequent masking.
She rather wanted to apply one herself.
When she got up the next morning, just after coming out of the bathroom, she received notification of a delivery. Xia Wei felt rather puzzled. She hadn"t bought anything recently, so who could have who sent her a delivery? Was it Jiang Zhi Zhou?
She wanted to call him and ask, but considering how busy he might be, she held back. Forget it, she"d wait until noon to open it and check out the contents.
The parcel was delivered right on time at noon. In order to open it quickly, Xia Wei brought her Tian Xia takeout lunch home. After picking up the parcel from the security room, she took a look at the details - sent from S City!
Now convinced that Jiang Zhi Zhou had sent her something, she ran back to her apartment with the package and her meal. As soon as she opened the door, Suns.h.i.+ne barked enthusiastically in greeting. Even Tangerine let out a rare meow.
Xia Wei put down her meal, and Suns.h.i.+ne joined her, eyes on the food. Xia Wei quickly moved her lunch to the table. "This is mine. You just ate this morning."
"Woof!" Suns.h.i.+ne wagged his tail happily despite the cruel rejection.
She found a knife and opened the package, finding a bottle of eye cream and a face-slimming ma.s.sager lying inside. The packaging had been done very carefully, leaving the items perfectly intact even after long-distance transportation. Seeing these two things, Xia Wei confirmed her suspicions that this was a surprise present from Mr. Jiang.
She still didn"t call him, but sent a message saying, "Mr. Jiang, I"ve just received a bottle of eye cream and a face-slimming ma.s.sager! I wonder which suitor sent it me? [cups chin]"
Jiang Zhi Zhou did not immediately reply, but Xia Wei didn"t worry too much about it. Instead, she took photos of the eye cream and ma.s.sager joyously and sent them to her girlfriends to show off: "Hahahaha I suddenly received this parcel! Too happy ahahaha."
Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: Have you somehow made a fortune, buying such expensive eye cream!?
Invincible Little Sweetie: That face-slimming instrument must cost around 3,000...
Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: Hahahaha I didn"t buy them, they were sent by Mr. Jiang
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: ... I"m not that old, but I can"t keep up with you guys. You"re upstairs and downstairs neighbours, why send it by mail?
Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: Oh, I forgot to tell you. He left for S City on business two days ago.
Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: [Picture][Picture][Picture][Picture]
Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: My recent lunches have all been free takeout from Tian Xia Restaurant. Now that the first few days are over, I can finally try out all the different dishes ~(≧▽≦)/~
Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: ............I feel sorry for all the instant noodles I"ve eaten with you these past few years.
Invincible Little Sweetie: You can not love, but please don"t hurt
[Crystal: "You can not love, but please don"t hurt" is in a bunch of anti-animal-cruelty videos. So think of it as if Jiang Zhi Zhou is a pet, haha]
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: ... Wait, how long have you been in a long-distance relations.h.i.+p?
Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: Why did he have to go, isn"t he the boss?
Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: It"s not for Tian Xia Restaurant, but for the Jiang family company.
Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: ... He still has an entire company to inherit???
Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: Then you can rest a.s.sured; while he"s away, I don"t even know how many women are staring at him.
Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: ...Aren"t you exaggerating?
Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: I"ve been told that it"s really easy to misunderstand each other when long-distance.
Xia Wei frowned gently. When she had still been in university, she had been in a very stable relations.h.i.+p. The only issue was that they lived in two different countries. Like many couples in long-distance relations.h.i.+ps, they were unable to survive the period of separation and eventually broke up.