The grapes were really delicious, you could taste that there were no additives or high-tech stuff involved. Jiang Shen sat comfortably on a bamboo chair, feeling quite at ease.
“Where did you buy this chair?” Jiang Shen asked.
“Like it?” Zhao Louyue handed him a cup of tea. “I made it myself. I’ll make one for you when I have time.”
Jiang Shen was surprised, “You can do this too?”
“To be honest,” Zhao Louyue said, promoting himself, “I can do everything except have kids.”
Jiang Shen: “…”
As the sky gradually darkened, the lights in the yard came on. From what the two brothers said, it seemed they stayed here on weekends when they had nothing else to do.
“Have you collected all the crispy dates from Yuwei Village?”
“I’ve collected some,” Zhao Louyue replied. “I left out the ones with poor quality.”
Jiang Shen nodded.
After finishing two cups of tea, Jiang Shen was about to leave. Zhao Louyue didn’t stop him but instead gave him three large bunches of dark purple grapes. “If you want to eat them, you have this month. They might be gone by next month.”
Jiang Shen took them, “Alright, thanks.”
Jiang Shen placed the grapes on the passenger seat, turned the car around, and waved goodbye to Zhao Louyue and his brother.
As the car lights gradually disappeared on the dark road, Zhao Xiangting casually said, “I didn’t expect, bro, that you’d bring Jiang Shen here.”
“It’s not some secret base, he just came,” Zhao Louyue replied. “Remember to put away the tea set, I’m going to take a shower.”
“Okay.” Zhao Xiangting couldn’t argue with that, but he still felt something was off.
The time spent in the small courtyard was a memory shared only between him and his brother. His brother held the only key, and generally, no one else could enter. Despite Zhao Louyue’s success in recent years, he never revealed a word about his past, no matter how much the outside world probed.
If you asked Zhao Xiangting, it wasn’t about rejecting their poor past. On the contrary, despite the financial struggles back then, he and his brother were always spiritually rich and supportive of each other.
His brother seemed to be able to chat with anyone, but he actually kept a strong sense of distance. Yet, Jiang Shen just walked in so naturally today.
Zhao Xiangting couldn’t figure it out, so he decided not to think about it.
When Jiang Shen got home, Jiang Wenze and Tian Lu were watching TV, but Jiang Mao was nowhere to be seen.
He asked the maid to wash the grapes, and when he came out after changing clothes, Tian Lu was praising the grapes, “These are delicious, where did you buy them?”
“A friend gave them to me,” Jiang Shen replied.
Jiang Wenze suddenly chimed in, “Your friends from Yuwei Village?”
The joy in Jiang Shen’s heart instantly vanished.
Tian Lu also put down the grapes, frowning as she asked Jiang Shen, “Did you go to Yuwei Village again?”
Jiang Shen retorted, “Can’t I go?”
Jiang Wenze placed his teacup on the table with a slight thud.
“What did they ask from you?” Jiang Wenze asked again.
Jiang Shen’s face turned cold, “Ask? When I returned to the Jiang family, they didn’t ask for anything. What could they possibly want now?”
Jiang Wenze’s temper flared for no reason, “Don’t think of them as so noble!”
“Then don’t speak so harshly! The agreement back then was that I could return anytime. I’ve been working hard for the company these past two years without delay,” Jiang Shen stood his ground.
Jiang Wenze laughed in anger, “Look at you, usually so obedient, but when it comes to Yuwei Village, you become so defiant.”
Jiang Shen felt that if the conversation continued, it would definitely lead to a fight. He tried to suppress his temper and said in a deep voice, “I have some work to do, I’ll head upstairs first.”
Tian Lu pursed her lips, and the forced smile quickly faded.
She understood that Jiang Erkun and Wang Xiuyu were genuinely good to Jiang Shen. They raised him for twenty years, so it’s normal to have contact. But in her heart, she felt conflicted and resistant, perhaps because Jiang Shen was truly at ease with that couple. He would act spoiled with Wang Xiuyu, but never with her.
Tian Lu had tried, but failed. She wanted a perfect child, and now that she had one, she had forever lost the natural closeness with him.
For her and Jiang Wenze, it wasn’t so much disgust as it was frustration and jealousy.
When Jiang Shen came out after his shower, he saw his phone lighting up.
He picked it up and saw a message from Zhao Louyue: [Did you get home safely? Why no message?]
Jiang Shen rubbed the screen and replied: [I’m home. Chatted with my parents for a bit, then took a shower, didn’t check my phone.]
Zhao Louyue sent a photo, showing Zhao Xiangting cleaning fish under the lights in the yard.
His face clearly showed a look of deep resentment.
Jiang Shen: [He knows how to do this?]
Zhao Louyue: [He didn’t before, but he had to learn in the past two years. He’s an adult now, no work, no food.]
Yeah, right, Jiang Shen thought. Even if Zhao Xiangting slacked off, Zhao Louyue would still take over.
[We’re making fish tomorrow. By the way, I’m pretty good at cooking fish. I’ll invite you to try it next time.]
[Okay.] Jiang Shen replied briefly, [I’m going to sleep.]
Zhao Louyue: [Mm, good night.]
Zhao Louyue wasn’t pushing too hard, though each time he would inch a little closer.
That afternoon, while Jiang Shen was still in the office, Cong Gaoxuan suddenly called.
“Drop whatever you’re doing and come to the hospital.”
Jiang Shen frowned, “What’s going on?”
“Fu Cheng got into a car accident and is hospitalized,” Cong Gaoxuan lowered his voice. “The news is being kept under wraps. You know, he made a lot of noise in recent years and offended some people. Whether this was an accident or intentional is still under investigation. My dad was Mr. Fu’s student, so we’re on our way. And since you’re one of the main developers of the ‘Mingxi’ project, I think you should come too. Fu Cheng won’t mind.”
Jiang Shen also felt it was necessary to show up and agreed, “Alright, I’ll buy some things and head over.”
“I’ll make an appearance and then fly to the neighboring city. See you when I get back.”
Jiang Shen: “Okay.”
Jiang Shen sent a text to Fu Cheng to express his concern, naturally not expecting a reply. Then he bought some nutritional supplements and drove to the location Cong Gaoxuan had sent. As soon as he got upstairs, he was stopped by two bodyguards. One of them made a call, reported Jiang Shen’s information, then nodded twice and politely stepped aside.
Fu Cheng knew about the close relationship between Cong Gaoxuan and Jiang Shen, and he was quite grateful that Jiang Shen came to see him.
Fu Cheng was staying in the best-equipped hospital room. As Jiang Shen opened the door, he suddenly wondered if Zhao Louyue was there.
There were four people in the room, but Zhao Louyue wasn’t among them. They were all important figures in the Lin Du business circle.
But what Jiang Shen didn’t expect was that Duan Chaosheng was also there.
His father, Duan Nan, was the vice president of the Lin Du Chamber of Commerce. Like Cong Gaoxuan, he was visiting with his father. At the same time, he was also Yu Bai’s good friend.
Speaking of which, that ex-boyfriend, Jiang Shen hadn’t thought about him for a long time.