Although he had already told his grandfather that he would be returning to A City at the end of the month, Jiang Zhi Zhou was still working hard in S City.
There was an internal meeting held today and he was the first one there. Sitting down, he was about to pull out his phone to send Xia Wei a text when the message tone rang.
Jiang Zhi Zhou raised an eyebrow. What a coincidence.
Sadly, the message was not from Xia Wei, but from little Jiang Man Man. When she had added him on QQ, Jiang Zhi Zhou had been completely taken by surprise. He didn"t think that Man Man, being still so young, would have a QQ account. Later, he had learnt that her mother had helped her apply for it together, so that they could video call each other.
Upon hearing this explanation, Jiang Zhi Zhou"s heart could not help but ache for her. Man Man was still so little, she shouldn"t have to bear such hards.h.i.+p. If he ever had a daughter of his own...
Ahem. Jiang Zhi Zhou felt a little embarra.s.sment over his own thoughts. He opened Jiang Man Man"s chat window to see what she had sent.
Jiang Man Man: [Crying.jpg]
Jiang Zhi Zhou"s mouth curved up ever so slightly. Although Jiang Man Man couldn"t spell well, she knew a lot of expressions. Jiang Zhi Zhou had stolen a lot from her.
Jiang Zhi Zhou sent her a voice message. "What"s wrong, Man Man?"
Jiang Man Man returned, also with a voice message: "Daddy and Mommy quarreled again."
Her voice sounded very hurt. Jiang Zhi Zhou softened his own and asked, "Why did Mom and Dad quarrel?"
Jiang Man Man replied, "Mommy said that Daddy wasn"t sending me to kindergarten, just caring about work and ignoring me. Mommy wanted Daddy to send me back, but Daddy didn"t want to."
Jiang Zhi Zhou comforted: "Man Man, don"t be upset, uncle will cook you a good meal tonight, okay?"
Jiang Man Man: Okay
"Sending your girlfriend messages again?" At that moment, Jiang Le Zhang and Jiang Le Xin walked into the meeting room. Seeing Jiang Zhi Zhou sitting alone, engrossed in his phone, Jiang Le Zhang made a joke of it.
Jiang Le Xin looked at her cousin with some surprise: "You have a girlfriend?"
Before Jiang Zhi Zhou could answer, Jiang Le Zhang answered for him: "Indeed! Among us brothers and sisters, you"re the only single dog."
Jiang Le Xin: "..."
"It"s Man Man." Jiang Zhi Zhou handed his phone over.
Jiang Le Zhang asked: "What happened to Man Man?"
"She said that her father and mother are quarreling again."
Jiang Le Xin smiled, "No wonder eldest cousin isn"t here yet. He"s usually the most active one at meetings."
Jiang Le Zhang looked over at her askance: "You"re exactly the same! Workaholics, both of you. Don"t pretend to be so superior." He sighed. "Poor Man Man. No wonder people say that reincarnation is a skill. What an irresponsible father."
[Crystal: "Reincarnation is a skill"; if you"re born to a good family, life is easy - if you"re born to a bad one, life is hard.]
Jiang Zhi Zhou put his mobile phone away, not expressing his own opinion. Jiang Le Xin turned on the computer and told Jiang Le Zhang: "Tonight, you"ll be having dinner with the partner"s manager."
"What? Are you talking about that flirtatious woman?" Jiang Le Zhang said, unhappy. "Why must I go? She was nasty to me from the very first!"
"That"s why you"re going." Jiang Le Xin"s voice was light and gentle.
"..." Jiang Le Zhang looked at her incredulously. "Are you pimping out your own dear brother for business?"
"You should be glad you can still be pimped out, otherwise you"d be completely useless."
Jiang Le Zhang: "..."
He couldn"t believe human nature could be so cruel.
Looking over at Jiang Zhi Zhou sitting quietly nearby, he asked mournfully, "Cousin, is Tian Xia Restaurant still hiring, by any chance?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou thought for a moment. "We do need waiters, but our requirements are quite strict and we currently only need women."
"...Are there no other positions?"
"Janitor?"
Jiang Le Zhang: "..."
With his ident.i.ty, he should at least be a manager!
"Fine, I understand, this society is just deprived of brotherly love." Pretending to be sad, he said to Jiang Zhi Zhou, "I heard you told grandfather that you"ll only be here until the end of the month. Going back to A City?"
"Yeah." Jiang Zhi Zhou didn"t know how he had heard it, but he didn"t feel like hiding the truth. Jiang Le Zhang blinked at him. "But why? I"m still waiting for you to rise up from behind like a dark horse, to take down Jiang Cheng Yue and Jiang Le Xin."
"Even though Tian Xia Restaurant isn"t comparable in size to Jiang Corporation, there are still a lot of things going on there. I can"t leave it for too long."
Jiang Le Zhang said: "I think it"s probably that you can"t leave your girlfriend alone for too long."
Jiang Zhi Zhou: "..."
Why is he insisting on the existence of a girlfriend? Even though it"s true.
"I don"t want to stay here either. I"ll go back with you..."
Before Jiang Le Zhang finished, Jiang Le Xin interrupted: "You can try. Do you not believe that Dad will freeze all your a.s.sets?"
Jiang Le Zhang: "..."
"Sorry for being late." Jiang Cheng Yue walked in at this moment, followed by several managers and a.s.sistants. Jiang Le Zhang whispered into Jiang Le Xin"s ear; "It"s still eldest brother who has more style."
Jiang Le Xin glared at him without saying a word. Meanwhile, Jiang Cheng Yue put down his laptop and sat. "Let"s get started."
Even after a full day"s work, Jiang Cheng Yue, Jiang Le Xin, and the others still had other things to do. Only Jiang Zhi Zhou returned to the hotel alone. He changed out of his suit and called Jiang Man Man: "Man Man, have you had dinner yet?"
Jiang Man Man replied in a cute little voice: "Not yet! Man Man was waiting for uncle to come home."
Jiang Zhi Zhou smiled and said: "Then come over to uncle"s room. Your uncle will make dinner." The suites they live in were all equipped with kitchenettes. Although the others didn"t use them very much, they were very convenient for Jiang Zhi Zhou.
"Man Man is coming over now!"
Jiang Man Man"s babysitter sent her to Jiang Zhi Zhou"s room before leaving. Jiang Man Man hung around the kitchen door and watched Jiang Zhi Zhou curiously: "Uncle, what are you doing?"
"Your uncle is making Man Man"s favourite steamed eggs."
"Amazing!"
Jiang Zhi Zhou smiled a little. Xia Wei also liked steamed eggs, almost more than fried rice. "If Man Man is hungry, first eat some cake. Uncle bought it on his way home."
"No! Man Man wants to save her stomach for uncle"s food."
Jiang Zhi Zhou smiled back at her: "Then go play in the living room first. Food will be ready soon."
"Okay." Jiang Man Man paused for a moment at the door and asked, "Why is uncle back already, but Daddy isn"t home yet?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou paused for a moment while beating eggs. "Because your Daddy is busy, while uncle is lazy."
Jiang Man Man frowned. "Can"t Daddy be lazy too?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou put down the bowl, squatted beside Jiang Man Man and patted her hair. "It"s not right to be lazy. Daddy works hard to buy things for Man Man."
"Man Man doesn"t want Daddy to buy things. Man Man wants Daddy to take me out to play." Jiang Man Man said, tearing up. "All the other children in the kindergarten have moms and dads, only Man Man doesn"t."
Jiang Zhi Zhou licked his lips, not knowing what to say. In the end, he could only hug her, saying: "Man Man, when your Daddy comes back, uncle will teach him a lesson, okay?"
"Okay." Jiang Man Man sniffled.
Jiang Zhi Zhou wiped away her tears and said: "Man Man, don"t cry, you"ll have delicious things to eat soon."
"Yes!" Jiang Man Man replied, trotting over to the living room to wait. Jiang Zhi Zhou looked at her back and compared her to Suns.h.i.+ne and Tangerine.
He wondered if Xia Wei had eaten by now?
This in mind, Jiang Zhi Zhou made a video call to Xia Wei after he finished cooking. Defenseless little Xia Wei immediately accepted. "What"s up, Mr. Jiang, do you miss me?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou turned the camera to the dishes, fresh from the pot. He said to Xia Wei, "I just cooked and didn"t know if you had eaten yet, so I thought I"d show you."
Xia Wei: "..."
Just break up with me, you rat!
"My little niece loves steamed egg too. Your tastes are quite alike."
Xia Wei: "..."
"Are you trying to kill me with anger and inherit my nail shop?" Xia Wei felt that it was already quite nice of her not to dump him right this instant. "I"m now ignoring you for 72 hours, goodbye!"
She was about to turn off the video when a cute little voice came from the side, "Uncle, is dinner ready?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou turned, and the camera swept over the tiny figure of Jiang Man Man. Jiang Man Man saw the phone he was holding and scooched over curiously. "Uncle, who are you video calling with?"
"Oh, is this your little niece, how cute!" Xia Wei excitedly squealed from the other end of the screen. What a cute little kid!
Jiang Man Man looked at her sparkling eyes and then at Jiang Zhi Zhou: "Uncle, is this older sister your girlfriend?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou didn"t deceive his niece. "Will you say h.e.l.lo to older sister?"
Jiang Man Man waved her hand at the camera: "h.e.l.lo, older sister!"
Xia Wei suddenly felt cured. This morning a girl in the subway had called her an auntie! She was only 18 years old, why would anyone call her auntie! d.a.m.n it!
"What a good girl Man Man is!" She looked at Jiang Man Man lovingly.
Jiang Man Man giggled: "Uncle"s girlfriend is very beautiful, just as pretty as my mother."
......
Xia Wei really wanted a daughter like Jiang Man Man now. How delightful!
"Man Man is also very cute!" Xia Wei boasted back without reservation. "We girls are both adorable!"
Jiang Zhi Zhou: "..."
He restrained his laughter and said to Jiang Man Man: "Man Man, run over to the living room and wait for me."
"Okay."
Jiang Man Man walked away, leaving only Jiang Zhi Zhou in the camera. He looked at Xia Wei with a smile: "You"re really so kind, putting yourself in the same age group as Man Man."
Xia Wei: "..."
"Do you really think she"s cute?" asked Jiang Zhi Zhou.
"Mhm." Xia Wei pretended to answer indifferently.
Jiang Zhi Zhou smiled and said: "I do too. It would be great if we had such a lovely daughter ourselves."