Shoutout to Alinaza for the commission!
Part One
Just after the May Day holiday ended, Jiang Se returned to Beicheng and immediately received a call from the police station saying Tian Guang wanted to privately reconcile with her, asking if she was willing to come to the station.
Tian Guang was a product manager at “Jingqin Technology.”
The day before the holiday, she and Xu Zhou went out to negotiate business with Tian Guang. This old p*rvert took advantage of the moment when Xu Zhou stepped away to take a call, sent the assistant away, and quietly put his hand on her thigh, implying that if she spent one night with him, he would sign the contract that evening.
Jiang Se pretended not to understand and asked Tian Guang to be clearer while pulling out her phone from her bag and quietly started recording.
After collecting evidence, she pushed Tian Guang’s hand away, stood up directly, opened the private room door, called the police, and guarded the door.
Coincidentally, as the door opened, someone walked out of the opposite private room.
Jiang Se sized him up and threw her bag over, whispering, “Please be a witness.”
As she finished speaking, the intoxicated Tian Guang realized what Jiang Se was doing and became furious, rushing over to grab her phone.
“You b*tch, couldn’t get me to fall for you so now you want to slander me! Do you think the police will believe what you say?!”
Tian Guang was tall and burly, making Jiang Se look like a weakling.
The man opposite glanced at Jiang Se’s face briefly, then slowly looked away to Tian Guang’s furious face.
His shoe subconsciously stepped half a step forward.
“You don’t need to come over, I can handle this.”
Jiang Se only needed him as a witness, not to rescue her.
After all, they were their own father’s recognized talent; they wouldn’t lose to a drunkard.
When Tian Guang’s filthy hand reached out, she easily grabbed his wrist, pulled hard, and lifted her knee heavily into his stomach.
Dad said the stomach is very vulnerable, and a heavy knee strike is enough to make an old p*rvert drunk.
Jiang Se’s move was extremely clean and decisive. Tian Guang fell to the ground clutching his stomach in pain, his angry face turning dark purple.
Jiang Se took a step back and met Tian Guang’s angry, painful gaze, calmly saying, “I advise you to restrain yourself. What you said just now and your attack on me should have been caught on the hallway surveillance. Even if not, I have a witness.”
When she said “witness,” she deliberately glanced at Lu Huaiyan behind her.
Only then did Tian Guang notice a man standing across the hall. Following Jiang Se’s gaze, his dark purple face instantly turned pale.
“Little Chairman Lu…”
Hearing “Little Chairman Lu,” Jiang Se recalled what Tian Guang had confidently said at the table—
“Our Jingqin is backed by the Lu Group. If your Hongsheng partners with Jingqin, it’s like climbing the big Lu family tree, endless money!”
With a slight shift of her gaze, she looked at Lu Huaiyan and politely asked, “Is Jingqin Technology a subsidiary of the Lu Group? If so, what punishment does your company have for managers like Tian Guang who use their position to s*xually harass others?”
This was Jiang Se and Lu Huaiyan’s first meeting.
She was the victim of workplace sexual harassment, and he was the witness.
When Jiang Se threw the bag to him, she had already recognized him as Lu Group’s “Young Chairman Lu.” They didn’t know each other personally, but Jiang Se had seen him on the cover of financial magazines.
Her question about whether Jingqin was a subsidiary of Lu Group was intentional.
The CEO of Jingqin was Lu Huaiyan’s third uncle, Lu Jinqin, and Tian Guang was Lu Jinqin’s brother-in-law. Strictly speaking, Lu Huaiyan and Tian Guang were somewhat related.
But how did Lu Huaiyan answer that night?
He said that although Jingqin Technology’s owner’s surname was Lu, it had no relation whatsoever to the Lu Group.
In one sentence, he completely separated Jingqin from Lu Group and made Lu Group’s stance clear.
When the police arrived, Lu Huaiyan didn’t rush to leave, and gave a detailed statement about what Tian Guang had said and done.
Jiang Se was not physically harmed. Though there was phone footage and surveillance, Tian Guang had dodged it all claiming he was drunk and didn’t know what he was doing or saying.
Jiang Se had already planned to have someone investigate Tian Guang after the holiday; there had to be more victims of his harassment.
“I thought this would be left unresolved, but how come that old p*rvert wants to privately settle with you again?” Xu Zhou asked, slowly steering with a puzzled look. “Didn’t he leave the station bragging about suing you for defamation? From his tone, this isn’t his first time handling this kind of thing.”
A noble and cold face flashed through Jiang Se’s mind.
She slowly looked down and said, “I’m not going to reconcile with him. The failed cooperation with Jingqin is mostly my responsibility; I’ll find a more suitable partner.”
“Responsibility, my *ss!” Xu Zhou laughed at her, “If I hadn’t gone to take that call that day, I’d have punched that old p*rvert twice. The talent I work so hard to recruit, and he dares to try to sleep with her?”
Jiang Se smiled.
As a top student at A University, she naturally received many offers after graduation. The reason she was willing to join Hongsheng, a fledgling company, was because she liked Xu Zhou’s character.
Of course, she was also confident in Hongsheng’s future.
She originally thought Tian Guang’s matter would take a few months before any follow-up, but just a few days later, Jiang Se received news that Tian Guang had been dismissed.
Xu Zhou came over carrying a coffee cup and tapped her desk, smiling warmly: “Surprised? The CEO of Jingqin, Lu Jinqin, personally fired Tian Guang. I heard Tian Guang’s sister who supports her brother almost divorced Lu Jinqin at the civil affairs office over him.”
Jiang Se said, “The police haven’t finished investigating yet. How could Lu Jinqin fire him at this time?”
Xu Zhou: “Probably pissed off too many people, karma caught up.”
For some reason, Jiang Se suddenly recalled the earlier call from the police.
Tian Guang had completely changed his arrogant attitude and insisted on privately settling with her. Was it because the settlement failed that he got fired?
Part Two
She heard news about Tian Guang again two weeks later.
Three former Jingqin employees who had been s*xually harassed by him joined forces to report. These girls had not only WeChat call records but also audio and video evidence, plenty of ironclad proof.
Tian Guang had already been detained by the police.
That evening, Xu Zhou invited her to a lounge bar for drinks, saying it was a celebration.
The lounge bar was right in the business district. Although it was a weekday night, it was lively.
They sat in a corner at the bar counter. While the bartender was mixing drinks, Xu Zhou leaned toward Jiang Se and mysteriously asked, “Do you know who Tian Guang offended that made him suffer so badly this time?”
“Who?”
“Lu Group’s Little Chairman Lu, Lu Huaiyan.”
Lu Huaiyan?
Jiang Se was stunned, and slowly a refined face appeared in her mind.
The bartender just pushed over two shots of tequila. Jiang Se lifted her glass and said, “What did Tian Guang do to offend him?”
“Not sure,” Xu Zhou said. “I guess Lu Jinqin has his dirt in Lu Huaiyan’s hand, so he doesn’t dare to protect Tian Guang.”
Jiang Se said “hmm,” no longer discussing the topic with Xu Zhou, and slowly squeezed some lime juice into her glass.
Xu Zhou looked at her and smiled: “When you beat up Tian Guang, weren’t you afraid he’d retaliate?”
“No.” Jiang Se propped her chin on one hand and smiled, “If I can’t make it in Beicheng, I’ll just go back to Tongcheng. There’s still a bar at home waiting for me to inherit.”
She shook her glass and said, “Our family’s liquor has a unique flavor, no worse than here.”
Her voice held a smile and sounded very proud.
Xu Zhou chuckled and was about to tease her when Jiang Se’s phone rang.
She answered and stood up, walking toward the side door across from the stairs. Her eyes casually glanced at the man descending the wooden stairs, and her steps instinctively slowed.
The man wore a well-fitted suit, his shirt collar open revealing a bit of prominent collarbone. Compared to the last time they met, he seemed a bit more relaxed.
When Jiang Se looked over, he happened to look back.
The bar was dimly lit and noisy.
On the other end of the call, Xie Ying heard the background noise and quickly asked, “Where are you, Sese? Why is it so noisy?”
Jiang Se nodded lightly to Lu Huaiyan, then pushed open the bar’s side door, saying, “I’m drinking at the bar.”
Lu Huaiyan followed her out. As the side door closed, his voice mixed with the bar’s music and came through the flowing air.
“Mother.”
They stood under the bar’s eaves, at a distance neither too far nor too close, each speaking on their own phone.
Xie Ying was Jiang Se’s elementary and middle school classmate from Tongcheng. Both grew up on Fuchun Street. Xie’s uncle and her father were close friends, so they were somewhat childhood friends.
Jiang Se wasn’t paying much attention to the call.
Whether distracted by the bar singer holding a guitar singing “Unexpected Encounter,” or by the person standing nearby also on the phone, she wasn’t sure.
Xie Ying was still in England.
His parents divorced when he was three. Custody went to his mother, but she was a career woman in England and couldn’t care for him, so she sent seven-year-old Xie Ying to Tongcheng to be raised by Xie’s uncle until after middle school exams, then called him back to England.
Unlike Jiang Se, who was always academically excellent, Xie Ying was a poor student. Jiang Se had been working for three years; he was still struggling in university awaiting graduation.
Xie Ying asked her on the phone, “Will you come for my graduation ceremony this summer?”
Without thinking, Jiang Se refused: “No, when you graduated high school, Little Ye and I already represented the Jiang family at your ceremony. Let Little Ye go to your university one. He can go abroad on his own now.”
Xie Ying was a bit disappointed but didn’t insist and said regretfully, “Then I’ll come back to Tongcheng to see you all after the graduation.”
Jiang Se replied lightly, “Mmm.”
The call ended just as the song “Unexpected Encounter” finished, and the person next to her also hung up.
This side door was for bar staff to move goods and was much quieter than the main door facing the street.
Lu Huaiyan opened the side door and nodded toward Jiang Se: “You first.”
Jiang Se took a few steps forward but didn’t enter the bar. Standing two steps away from him, she said, “I haven’t had a chance to properly thank Little Chairman Lu for what happened that night.”
That day, Jiang Se was busy handling Tian Guang’s issue and hadn’t found a moment to thank him seriously.
Lu Huaiyan lifted his gaze to her.
Her outfit today wasn’t much different from that day: a neat shirt and pants, long hair down, delicate features, eyes clear yet calm.
Compared to seven years ago, her brows and eyes had opened up, and her temperament had grown colder.
She was no longer the young girl he met in England.
Lu Huaiyan nodded lightly: “No need to be polite.”
Jiang Se added, “Which private room on the second floor is yours, Little Chairman Lu?”
Lu Huaiyan looked at her, paused, then smiled: “Want to invite me for a drink?”
Jiang Se nodded.
She didn’t like owing people favors. That night, because he was there, the old p*rvert dared not act recklessly, and the later statement-taking delayed him quite a bit.
Both morally and reasonably, she owed him thanks.
“No need.” The smile gradually spread across the man’s eyes and brows. “Consider what happened that night me doing a good deed. You don’t need to thank me.”
—
Back at the bar, Xu Zhou said, “It’s the bar’s shoutime segment. Want to go up and sing a song to treat everyone’s ears?”
Jiang Se sang well but rarely sang. Whether at company team-building events or private gatherings, she seldom sang, but every time she did, she amazed everyone.
Xu Zhou only mentioned it casually, expecting Jiang Se to refuse. But as soon as she swallowed her drink, she put down her glass and said, “Okay, I’ll sing a song.”
Second floor private room.
Lu Huaiyan had just taken the glass handed to him by Guo Song when a familiar voice came through the microphone.
“A song ‘Five Hundred Miles’ dedicated to all who are willing to stand up for justice.”
Lu Huaiyan paused, then slowly walked to the window and looked down at the stage on the first floor.
The girl sat on a high stool in the center of the stage, holding an acoustic guitar, singing calmly and contentedly.
Her voice was very clear, slightly lower than most girls, with a pleasant laziness.
Coincidentally, this was a favorite song of Linda’s and a movie soundtrack. Lu Huaiyan had heard it several times while in England.
“Zhuang He changed bar singers? Not bad.” Guo Song came to Lu Huaiyan’s side, glanced downstairs, and said, “Looks like a student. Could she be Zhuang He’s little girlfriend? Heard Zhuang He found a college freshman girlfriend.”
Lu Huaiyan glanced sideways at him: “No, she would look down on Zhuang He.”
Guo Song raised his eyebrow: “You know her?”
Lu Huaiyan didn’t reply but recalled their first encounter at Eton.
He had gone to an alumni meeting at the public school, and on a whim went to a fish and chips shop at night. The staff there had changed and didn’t recognize him, telling him the shop was closed as soon as he entered.
There was one last customer in the shop, a girl with a canvas backpack, wearing a T-shirt and jeans.
She had black hair and black eyes, looked at him once, and asked, “Do you speak Chinese?”
Lu Huaiyan was about to ask if the front desk owner was around, but when Jiang Se asked that, he naturally didn’t ask and replied calmly that he did.
At that time, he thought she was trying to strike up a conversation or needed help.
But Jiang Se wasn’t after either. She put a takeout box on the table beside him and said, “I bought the last two orders of fish & chips. This one’s on me.”
Lu Huaiyan looked at her directly.
A very pretty girl, with a hint of youthful student awkwardness, but her demeanor was calm, her tone neither humble nor arrogant, with measured politeness, a well-educated manner.
She seemed to be in a hurry, put down the box, pushed the door, and hurried out of the restaurant without looking back.
A wind chime hung at the restaurant door. The chime jingled with her departing footsteps. Before the door closed, a few voices drifted in the evening breeze.
“Second sister, why did you only buy one? That little bit won’t be enough for us.”
“We’re closed, just one left. Eat it if you want.”
“No problem, there’s still an open restaurant nearby. I’ll take you. Sese, Little Ye, after fish and chips, what else do you want to eat?” Another young man’s voice.
The three voices faded.
Lu Huaiyan’s gaze left the girl’s ponytail swaying in the summer night and focused on the takeout box on the table, then he smiled softly.
That night at the hotel, Lu Huaiyan had already recognized her when she threw the bag over.
Her face was delicate and highly recognizable. Seven years passed, yet he could still recognize her at a glance.
Normally, in such situations, he would have called Li Rui to handle it.
The reason he left the social engagement to be her witness and helped her deal with Tian Guang was to repay her for that box of fish and chips.
Therefore, when the girl just now wanted to buy him a drink to thank him for “standing up for justice,” he refused.
Guo Song saw him keeping his eyes down and not replying, tapped his glass, and laughed: “So you really know her. I’ll have to warn Zhuang He later. That girl’s exactly the type Zhuang He likes.”
This time Lu Huaiyan replied: “What type?”
“Looks cold and pure. Zhuang He’s always liked that kind.”
Lu Huaiyan swirled the drink in his glass and took a calm sip: “Where’s Zhuang He?”
She specially sang a song to thank him for his ‘justice,’ so naturally he would carry that justice through to the end.
Part Three
After stepping down from the stage, Jiang Se hadn’t reached the bar when someone stopped her.
A good-looking but very flirtatious man.
He said he was the bar owner, called Zhuang He, and asked if she wanted to work as a part-time singer at the bar.
Jiang Se naturally understood what was in his eyes and coldly refused.
Fortunately, Zhuang He didn’t persist. After getting rejected, he took a call, handed her a business card, and left in a hurry.
Jiang Se threw the card into the bar’s trash bin.
All the incidents that night ended there.
Neither she nor Lu Huaiyan kept each other’s contact information. Jiang Se thought their interaction would probably end that night.
Summer passed in a blink. Occasionally, she heard updates on Tian Guang’s case from Xu Zhou.
The lawyer handling the case for the three girls was known in Beicheng for being tough and relentless. As the case gained attention, more victims came forward, including a real estate agent involved in Tian Guang’s property deals.
Although Hongsheng missed the chance to cooperate with Jingqin, they received an olive branch from Shengqi Technology.
Shengqi Technology was a genuine subsidiary under the Lu Group and one of the leading companies in chip research and AI.
Standing under a big tree is comfortable. Hongsheng’s current products focused on smart home tech. If they could cooperate with Shengqi, just the marketing costs saved would be a huge amount.
Though she didn’t understand why Shengqi chose Hongsheng, no one wanted to miss such a good opportunity.
“The person in charge over there specifically assigned me and you to be responsible for this project.”
Jiang Se was a bit surprised: “Me?”
“Yeah, you.” Xu Zhou nodded with a smile, “This is an opportunity. Cooperation with Shengqi is our chance. Let’s work hard!”
The two of them had always shared a kind of tacit understanding at work. Jiang Se smiled, “Got it.”
She didn’t ask why Shengqi had singled her out. Since the opportunity came, anyone who didn’t know how to seize it would be a fool.
A few days later, when meeting the Shengqi person in charge, he took the initiative to explain.
“The year you were a junior, during the W-PEC finals, Assistant Li and I went to watch. It was very exciting.” The person in charge, named Aaron, sounded a bit regretful speaking of it, “We pay attention to every W-PEC Cup final contestant, but unfortunately Miss Jiang didn’t send her resume to the Lu Group after graduation.”
“Don’t tell me you specifically asked for Sese to follow up on this project just to poach people from me, Aaron.” Xu Zhou joked lightly with Aaron, who he had some acquaintance with, “No way, even if your ‘Little Chairman Lu’ personally tries to steal from me, no chance.”
Aaron laughed, “Who dares? Everyone knows Director Xu is very protective. Besides, Little Chairman Lu has been in Europe these months. Even if he wanted to steal people, he couldn’t.”
Xu Zhou raised his eyebrows, “The Lu Group’s project in Europe must be a big one.”
Lu Huaiyan had spent a lot of time in Europe these two years. Xu Zhou thought when he came back to Beicheng in May, it meant the European project was wrapping up, but it wasn’t.
“It really is a big project. If it weren’t for Old Lu’s 80th birthday in May, Little Chairman Lu wouldn’t have come back. Originally Assistant Zhou said Little Chairman Lu would only be back for a week, but then for some reason, it got postponed two weeks before he left.”
The Zhou Assistant Aaron mentioned was Zhou Qing from the Lu Group Chairman’s office, whom Xu Zhou also knew. Following Aaron’s words, they chatted casually about Li Rui’s gossip.
Jiang Se listened quietly but her mind drifted.
He said Lu Huaiyan deliberately pushed his schedule back two weeks. Those two weeks coincided exactly with the time the three girls sued Tian Guang.
That night at the bar, when that man said just to treat it as him standing up for justice, it really was standing up for justice.
Jiang Se unconsciously curved her lips slightly but quickly pressed them flat again. She took a light sip of coffee, clearing the messy thoughts, and refocused on today’s main matter.
To grasp the olive branch Shengqi offered, Jiang Se was busy for the next month, barely leaving work before eleven every night.
For the upcoming National Day holiday, if not for Jiang Ye urging her to return to Tongcheng, she had planned to go back on October 2nd.
Pressed by Jiang Ye, she obediently booked a flight for September 30th.
By the time the plane landed, it was already 7 pm.
Just after Jiang Se left the airport hall, Jiang Ye called. The kid had just gotten his driver’s license a few months ago, and she and Jiang Tang secretly lent him 200,000 yuan to buy his first Jeep.
Though it was secondhand, he loved it dearly.
As soon as the call connected, Jiang Ye’s loud voice came through: “Second sister, are you out yet?”
Jiang Se was about to answer when her peripheral vision caught the glass door ahead, and her voice instinctively faltered as she turned to look.
Amid the bustling crowd, a tall, slender figure stood out.
That figure soon disappeared beyond the glass door.
Jiang Se didn’t see the face, only the back, and only a quick glimpse. Reason told her it probably wasn’t Lu Huaiyan.
But her sixth sense gave her a strange certainty.
Certain that person was Lu Huaiyan.
“Where are you? Why aren’t you talking?”
The noise from the phone interrupted her thoughts. Jiang Se withdrew her gaze and walked toward the glass door on the other side, saying, “Do you know the usual place where Mom and Dad pick me up?”
“How could I not? When I went out to pick you up, Dad told me at least ten times and even drew me a map, afraid I wouldn’t find you.”
Hearing “map” made Jiang Se laugh out loud: “That’s because you always get lost. If you don’t find the right place, you’ll be our joke for a whole year.”
Because of his poor sense of direction, Jiang Ye had been teased a lot by his two older sisters growing up.
He didn’t understand it himself, he never got lost while gaming and could remember any strange map after one try, but in real life, it was another story.
Luckily, this time he found the “old place” Jiang Se mentioned without trouble. After picking her up, he pointed to a box of wine-filled chocolates on the center console and said, “Brother Xie Ying asked me to bring this for you. He gave one to big sister too.”
These wine-filled chocolates were handcrafted, special from Belgium.
The year Jiang Se went to England for Xie Ying’s graduation ceremony, she had just finished her college entrance exam and needed a graduation trip, so she took Jiang Ye on a grand tour of most of Europe.
At that time in Belgium, she tried these chocolates and was amazed, buying ten boxes to bring back home.
Jiang Se wiped her hands with a disinfectant wipe, tore open the box, took out a whiskey-filled piece, and popped it into her mouth.
“Brother Xie Ying seems to have a girlfriend.” Jiang Ye said while eyeing Jiang Se, “I went to his graduation ceremony in England. That girl was always with him, holding his hand, and Brother Xie Ying didn’t refuse.”
Jiang Se glanced at him: “He’s a year older than me. He’s already twenty-four. What’s so strange about dating?”
Jiang Ye didn’t reply.
Xie Ying had liked second sister for many years and last year said he would come back to Beicheng to look for a job right after graduation. But when he graduated, he turned around and held hands and kissed another girl.
Luckily, Jiang Ye happened to catch him.
Although in his eyes, few men could measure up to his two sisters, Jiang Ye had been Xie Ying’s loyal advisor for many years. When Xie Ying gave up, Jiang Ye felt an inexplicable sense of betrayal.
Seeing him silent, Jiang Se teased, “What are you mad about? I don’t like Xie Ying. If he hung around me forever, I’d feel uncomfortable. This way is best, at least I don’t have to avoid him anymore or worry about affecting Uncle Xie’s and Mom and Dad’s friendship.”
Jiang Ye snorted, “You just can’t give up the salty milk tea from Uncle Xie’s place.” When Jiang Se was in college, whenever Xie Ying came back to Tongcheng for summer break, Jiang Se would make Jiang Ye buy the salty milk tea for her just to avoid him.
Jiang Se naturally replied, “Of course I can’t give it up. You should be glad Xie Ying didn’t come back, or else you’d be running errands to buy milk tea for me every day these past few days.”
“Even if Brother Xie Ying isn’t back, I can still run errands to buy milk tea. It’s not far.” Jiang Ye paused, glanced at her, and asked, “Haven’t you met anyone you want to date yet?”
As soon as he said that, Jiang Se was stunned, her mind flashing a cold, stern face.
“Not for now.” Jiang Se leaned back in her chair and asked meaningfully, “Why, have you met someone?”
Jiang Ye’s ear turned red, “Not for now either.”
—
By the time the car returned to Liyuan Street, it was almost ten o’clock.
Dinner was already prepared by Jiang Chuan, all dishes Jiang Se loved.
Pear and lean pork soup, plum-flavored ribs, squirrel fish, fish-flavored shredded pork, and steamed crab.
Yu Shiying specially came back from the bar to eat with Jiang Se. As soon as her eyes landed on Jiang Se’s face, she started nagging, “Haven’t you been resting well lately? Why do you look thinner? Have you been eating properly in Beicheng?”
Jiang Se stepped forward and hugged her, deliberately leaning her weight onto Yu Shiying and said, “Feeling the heavy blow from your daughter? I haven’t lost any weight. I’m just a bit tired from the flight and look a little haggard.”
This little trick of hers didn’t fool Yu Shiying. She grabbed her wrist, measured it, and said, “You’ve clearly lost three or four jin.”
Jiang Se: “……” Her weight really had dropped three jin this month.
Yu Shiying let go of her wrist and brought out a stew pot from the kitchen, saying, “During the National Day holiday, have your dad make you more delicious food. After dinner, you should rest in your room first.”
Then she turned to Jiang Ye: “When your second sister is resting, come help out at the bar. Don’t disturb her.”
“Who can disturb her? In our family, only second sister has the ‘pig’ attribute. Ten alarms won’t wake her once she’s asleep.” Jiang Ye teased Jiang Se, “Do you remember, Mom, how many alarms you had Dad buy during her college entrance exam?”
Jiang Se’s exam location wasn’t at No.1 High School, and it took over an hour to drive there. To avoid being late because of traffic, Jiang Chuan booked her a room near the exam site.
Yu Shiying originally wanted to accompany her but was refused by Jiang Se.
Back then, Yu Shiying was even more nervous than Jiang Tang during her exam, staying awake for three days straight. To avoid another sleepless three days, Jiang Se insisted on going alone.
Those days, the first thing she did upon waking was to check in on the family chat, telling them she was awake and hadn’t overslept.
Jiang Se didn’t bother responding to Jiang Ye’s teasing and leisurely lifted the lid off the stew pot, saying to Yu Shiying, “After dinner, Jiang Ye can wash the dishes. I’ll go back to the bar with you. I haven’t even seen Dad yet.”
Although Jiang Chuan’s personality was straightforward and rough, he was actually very thoughtful. After months without seeing his daughter, how could he not miss her?
Jiang Se carried a pot of pear soup and pushed open the door of “Wangchuan.” Jiang Chuan’s eyes immediately flicked over and he cheerfully waved, “Sese!”
“Dad.” Jiang Se walked over to the bar and placed the soup pot on the long wooden table, saying, “Mom said you didn’t take a single sip of the soup. Go drink it first; I’ll watch things here for you.”
Jiang Chuan smiled and picked up the soup pot, “Alright, I’ll go drink it. Whatever liquor you want, tell your little brother Yang and he’ll mix it for you.”
The “little brother Yang” Jiang Chuan referred to was the bartender at “Wangchuan,” also Jiang Chuan’s apprentice. His bartending skills were top-notch and quite famous on Fuchun Street.
Jiang Se nodded, just about to order some sparkling wine when an excited voice came from the door: “Bro, I promise the liquor here is something you can’t drink anywhere else in Beicheng!”
Jiang Se looked toward the voice and her gaze met a pair of cold, deep-set eyes.
She was stunned for a long moment before raising her brows and nodding with a smile at the approaching man.
She really hadn’t mistaken him at the airport.
The bar’s lighting was brightest at the counter. At the moment Jiang Se smiled, Lu Huaiyan felt as if everything around him quieted down.
She must have just taken a shower; her thick black hair still damp hanging over her shoulders made her pale face look even smaller.
Jiang Se stood behind the bar, separated by a wooden table full of signs of age, smiling as she said, “What a coincidence.”
Lu Huaiyan smiled too, “Quite a coincidence. Is this your family’s bar?”
When the question slipped out, Lu Huaiyan naturally recalled what she had said at Zhuang He’s bar, holding her glass and smiling—
“There’s still a bar at home waiting for me to inherit.”
Her tone was calm and gentle, but you could clearly hear the pride beneath her words.
As if what she was going back to inherit was a crown.
Jiang Se responded with a “Mm,” “Our liquor really isn’t available in Beicheng. Whatever you want to drink, I’ll treat you.”
She glanced at Han Xiao.
Han Xiao had been waiting to introduce himself and took over the conversation, “Thanks, I’m Han Xiao.”
He reached out his hand to shake Jiang Se’s but it was pressed down as soon as it was raised.
Han Xiao: “……”
Jiang Se nodded, “I’m Jiang Se.”
She pulled out a drinks menu from the wooden holder for them to order.
“No need to look at the menu, I’m a regular here,” Han Xiao quietly withdrew his hand and smiled, “I’ll have a pear blossom white. Bro, do you want the same? It’s my favorite drink.”
Lu Huaiyan didn’t look at the menu, directly looking at Jiang Se, “The same as you is fine.”
Jiang Se nodded and slid the menu back into the holder, “Wait here for a bit.”
After she left, Han Xiao couldn’t hold it in anymore. Moving his stool closer to Lu Huaiyan, he lowered his voice and said, “What’s going on, Bro? How do you know Miss Jiang? You don’t seriously have feelings for her, do you?”
Didn’t even let him shake her hand. He just didn’t believe Lu Huaiyan had no interest in Jiang Se.
Lu Huaiyan glanced at him coldly: “You should leave after finishing this glass of liquor.”
Han Xiao: “……”
Han Xiao never dared to disobey his brother’s words. After finishing the pear blossom white, he pretended to have something to do and left. At that time, Lu Huaiyan had only drunk about half of the “Qiuliang” in his glass.
Jiang Se asked him, “Are you used to drinking it?”
Lu Huaiyan nodded: “This liquor is quite good.”
Although it’s a floral liquor, the liquor is mellow, with the fragrance of osmanthus mixed with a faint sweetness, and a long-lasting taste. It truly is a liquor he can’t get in Beicheng.
Jiang Se’s eyes curved slightly: “This is the osmanthus liquor I brewed two years ago.”
This stopped Lu Huaiyan from drinking. He put down his glass and glanced at Han Xiao’s empty glass, saying, “That glass Han Xiao drank, is that liquor you brewed too?”
Jiang Se shook her head: “No, that was made by the bartender using my mom’s fruit wine plus some brandy. I don’t often brew liquor; I only join in when my mom brews. In my whole life, I’ve only brewed two jars.”
“What’s the other jar?”
“Plum liquor. That jar is buried in my family’s yard. I brewed it on my eighteenth birthday.” Jiang Se added some sparkling water to her glass and leisurely said, “On my twenty-eighth birthday, I plan to drink that jar. Then brew another jar to save for my thirty-eighth birthday.”
Lu Huaiyan lifted the corner of his mouth: “What kind of liquor does Miss Jiang Se plan to brew at twenty-eight? Still plum liquor?”
“I don’t know,” Jiang Se’s fingers tapped unconsciously on the glass, casually saying, “I’ll see when the time comes. If there are pretty flowers nearby, then I’ll brew flower liquor. If there’s sweet fruit, then fruit liquor.”
The two chatted in a casual, patchy way, on very informal topics, until Jiang Chuan returned after finishing the soup, then they tacitly stopped talking.
Jiang Se introduced Lu Huaiyan to Jiang Chuan, “Dad, this is my Beicheng—”
She paused slightly. She and Lu Huaiyan were hardly friends. Declaring unilaterally that Lu Huaiyan, the little chairman of the Lu family, was her friend was a bit presumptuous.
If one must define their relationship, it could only be—
“The boss of the client company.”
Jiang Chuan knew Jiang Se was handling a major project. Hearing this, he politely invited Lu Huaiyan to drink two glasses of liquor.
After two glasses, Jiang Chuan asked Jiang Se how she managed to open the secret jar of osmanthus liquor.
Jiang Se honestly said, “I had a small trouble last time. Little Chairman Lu happened to help, so I invited Little Chairman Lu to drink some ‘Qiuliang’.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chuan enthusiastically filled two more glasses for Lu Huaiyan.
He chose sorghum liquor, and the glasses were not ordinary white liquor cups but small cups about half the width of a palm.
When Lu Huaiyan left the bar, Jiang Se worried he might be drunk.
The man’s car was parked at the parking lot near the main road on Fuchun Street.
He didn’t rush to find a designated driver, instead slowly walking and chatting with Jiang Se.
Seeing him walking steadily and looking clear-headed, Jiang Se felt at ease and began introducing the history of Fuchun Street.
Near midnight, there were still many tourists on the street. As they brushed past people, the distance between them gradually shortened.
The river flowed gently at their feet, and the summer breeze blew softly.
The ancient town held an enchanting atmosphere on a summer night.
Almost at the parking lot, Lu Huaiyan stopped.
“Planning to stay here a few days?” he asked.
“Five days.” Jiang Se pushed her wind-tousled hair behind her ear. “And you?”
They stood under a streetlight. When she looked up at him, her eyes lit by the light were like a calm, clear lake.
Lu Huaiyan’s Adam’s apple moved down slowly. “Also five days.”
Jiang Se smiled, “Then we return to Beicheng on the same day. Quite a coincidence.”
The man’s sharply defined face slowly lifted into a slight smile. “Mm.”
He had a cold-looking face, with sharp, structured features and a noble, handsome appearance. Even when smiling, there was a sense of distance.
But at this moment, Jiang Se felt no distance at all. Instead, she felt a comfortable warmth like spring breeze.
Han Xiao came to Tongcheng because of a film city project. Lu Huaiyan didn’t say why he came to Tongcheng.
Jiang Se didn’t ask. With such shallow acquaintance, she wouldn’t bring up topics best left unspoken, nor try to get close to Lu Huaiyan just because of a chance encounter.
On such an ordinary night, chatting casually and relaxing was enough.
Jiang Se didn’t ask, but Lu Huaiyan brought it up himself: “I’ll be wandering around Tongcheng for a few days. Are there any good places to visit? Preferably less crowded.”
Jiang Se thought carefully: “Tongcheng has many spots worth checking out, but during the National Day holiday, every place is packed with tourists. Places with fewer people are basically nonexistent.”
Lu Huaiyan said calmly, “Do you have plans these days?”
Jiang Se paused, glanced up at him, and said, “Tomorrow I’m going back to my old high school to deliver some liquor to the teachers. On the second, I’ll go to Hanshan Temple. On the third and fourth, I’ll probably be back and forth between the bar and home. On the fifth, I’ll rest half a day then prepare to return to Beicheng.”
“Your old high school is Tongcheng No. 1 High School?”
“Mm.” Jiang Se was surprised he knew about No. 1 High School. “Have you been?”
“No, but I know Tongcheng No. 1 High School is in the old town of Tongcheng. I heard the buildings there are historic. I don’t have anywhere else to go, so how about I accompany you tomorrow to deliver liquor, and you show me around there?”
He said this with his usual composed demeanor.
It seemed like this suggestion was just a casual thought, unplanned and straightforward.
Jiang Se quietly met his deep eyes.
This was their third encounter, all by chance. After this night, she still wouldn’t ask for his contact information. Whether they would meet again later was another matter.
But now he wanted to artificially set up their next meeting.
Lu Huaiyan didn’t avoid her gaze and asked frankly, “Why? Is it inconvenient?”
Jiang Se wasn’t the type to be self-indulgent. Hearing this, she instinctively shook her head and said, “It’s not inconvenient. If you don’t mind the buildings being a bit old over there, let’s meet tomorrow morning at the Confucian Temple in the old town.”
“No need to trouble yourself. I’ll come pick you up, you show me the way. We’ll take the small roads, the main roads might be congested.”
His reason was actually quite valid. Tomorrow is the first day of the holiday, the roads are bound to be congested. Taking the small roads would be more convenient, and only old city locals like Jiang Se would know those routes.
Jiang Se nodded in agreement.
Part Four
The next day Lu Huaiyan drove an SUV to pick up Jiang Se.
Jiang Se couldn’t help but laugh when she saw the modified SUV. “Although the road to the old town is a bit rough, it doesn’t really require an SUV.”
Lu Huaiyan came over and handed her the wine jar. “Have you eaten breakfast?”
Jiang Se nodded, “You?”
“I ate too.”
After placing the things properly, Jiang Se noticed some snacks and bread on the center console when she got in the car.
She glanced back at the man holding the door for her and asked, “Is this for me?”
“Mm, in case you get bored on the road, you can eat.”
Jiang Se looked into his eyes, said “Thank you,” then bent down to sit in the passenger seat.
It takes about an hour to drive from Fuchun Street to No.1 High School, but because it was a holiday, there were many cars and slow traffic, so it actually took an extra half hour to get there.
By the time she finished delivering the liquor and came out of the teacher’s building, it was nearly noon.
Jiang Se dialed Lu Huaiyan’s phone.
They had exchanged phone numbers and WeChat last night before parting. When she went to find her teachers, Lu Huaiyan said he would wander around the school. At this point, Jiang Se didn’t know where he was.
The phone rang once and connected. Jiang Se asked, “Where are you?”
“At the Honor Wall of your school,” his deep voice carried a hint of a smile, “I’m looking at the old you.”
The Honor Wall was covered with photos of outstanding graduates. Jiang Se was the second-highest scorer in science for the Tongcheng college entrance exam that year, so naturally she was on it.
The “old you” Lu Huaiyan meant was Jiang Se’s photo from that year.
Just a sixteen-year-old girl.
Jiang Se looked up at the blazing sun overhead and felt her ear getting a bit hot.
“Alright, wait for me there.”
Lu Huaiyan’s gaze was still on the half-length photo on the Honor Wall, “No rush, take your time.”
After saying this, he didn’t hang up but chatted casually with her again, “Did you commute or board?”
“Boarded. No.1 High School is too far from home, and my parents run a bar and are busy, so I just stayed at school.”
“Did you get used to it?”
“Yes. Four girls per dorm room. When we got tired from studying, we’d sit on the floor and secretly play poker. The loser would buy milk tea.”
A low chuckle came through the receiver, “How many times did you treat?”
Jiang Se smiled, “Not once.” She never lost.
The ten-minute journey passed in a blink since she had someone to talk to.
Passing through the last stretch of tree-lined road, Jiang Se finally saw Lu Huaiyan.
He was still standing by the Honor Wall looking at the photos.
Jiang Se didn’t call out, but he seemed to have eyes on the back of his head. He turned his head knowingly to look at her.
The man’s gaze was calm and focused.
His strong, sharp face, bathed in fierce sunlight, inexplicably softened a little.
It was quite contradictory. His aura was cool and distant, yet he somehow showed a trace of gentleness.
Her phone was still pressed to her ear, not yet hung up, and the receiver transmitted the sound of wind swirling around him.
For a moment, Jiang Se heard not the wind, but her own heartbeat.
Startled, the receiver suddenly carried his voice: “Why are you slowing down? Tired?”
His deep, pleasant voice barged into her ear, colliding with her increasingly rapid heartbeat.
Jiang Se’s ear again felt warm from the sun. She blinked, quickly hung up, and quickened her pace toward him.
Lu Huaiyan waited until she approached and asked again, “Tired?”
“No.” Jiang Se’s eyes met his briefly before looking away. She tilted her chin behind him, “Are you hungry? Want to eat lunch first?”
“I’m fine either way, up to you.”
Jiang Se had eaten some snacks in the car, so she wasn’t hungry, but afraid he might be, she still decided to eat lunch first.
Once outside the school gates, she didn’t know where to go eat.
Nearby small restaurants catered mainly to students: good food, cheap, and large portions, but the environment wasn’t great. She wondered if this Lu family heir could tolerate it.
Just as she was about to ask if he minded, the man lifted his chin and pointed to the Lanzhou noodle shop across the street from the school gate. “Is this the noodle shop you mentioned on the Honor Wall?”
Jiang Se belatedly recalled that the Honor Wall didn’t just show photos, but a short profile, and her profile mentioned her favorite off-campus food was Lanzhou noodles.
Jiang Se calmly said, “The owners of this noodle shop are from Lanzhou. Their noodles taste better than ‘Mianshijia’ in Beicheng.”
“Mianshijia” is a famous chain noodle shop in Beicheng, with a branch near A University. Her words showed how much she really loved this Lanzhou noodle shop.
Lu Huaiyan said, “Let’s eat here then.”
The noodle shop was small. Although students were on vacation, business was still good, with almost all tables full.
The shop owner’s wife obviously recognized Jiang Se, quickly prepared a table for them, happily saying, “Still the signature beef noodles, three-thin style, no scallions, no cilantro, right?”
Jiang Se smiled and said yes, then turned to Lu Huaiyan, “Which soup base and noodles would you like?”
Lu Huaiyan said, “Same as you.”
Jiang Se told the owner’s wife, “Two bowls of signature beef noodles. I’ll give him half of my noodles.”
This is the usual move for couples dining out.
“All right, Student Jiang, your boyfriend is really handsome.”
The owner’s wife finished complimenting and hurriedly placed their order. Jiang Se was silent for a moment but still took the initiative to explain, “I ate quite a few snacks on the way here, so I’m really not hungry. That’s why I asked the owner’s wife to split my bowl of noodles in half for you.”
Lu Huaiyan looked down as he opened his chopsticks, smiled slightly at her words, and said, “Mm, I know.”
After finishing the noodles, Jiang Se leisurely led Lu Huaiyan around the Confucian Temple area.
This part of the old town has many long and narrow tree-lined roads. Although the sun was blazing, walking on the bluestone paths didn’t feel hot at all.
Jiang Se wore a blue French-style bellflower dress printed with white flowers. Her shoulder-length hair was tied into a fishtail braid hanging behind her, with some fine wisps of hair falling on both sides of her cheeks.
Lu Huaiyan’s casual shirt was navy blue. At a glance, the two looked like a couple wearing matching outfits.
Many people came to check in at the old town today. When passing by, quite a few slowed their steps to glance at this well-matched and pleasing-to-the-eye couple.
But they seemed accustomed to others’ gazes and didn’t care at all.
One carefully introduced the local architecture, while the other listened attentively, occasionally curling his lips to respond.
When the sun was about to set, their old town check-in trip finally came to a successful end.
On the way back, Lu Huaiyan asked Jiang Se, “Are you going to Hanshan Temple alone tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“Coincidentally, I also plan to visit Hanshan Temple these few days.” Lu Huaiyan’s hand rested on the steering wheel as he asked in a suggestive tone, “You accompanied me around the old town today; how about I accompany you to Hanshan Temple tomorrow?”
Lush trees passed by the window. Jiang Se looked at the side profile of the man reflected on the glass. A strange feeling surfaced in her heart, but she quickly suppressed it.
Part Five
They went to Hanshan Temple in the morning.
It was a tradition for the Jiang family to visit Hanshan Temple for a peace amulet every year after their birthday.
Jiang Se’s birthday was spent in Beicheng this year, so naturally she didn’t have time to return. In the past two days, Yu Shiying reminded her twice to remember to go to Hanshan Temple for a peace amulet.
“Will you ask for one later?” On the hillside, Jiang Se wiped the sweat from her forehead with a tissue and asked Lu Huaiyan, “Hanshan Temple’s peace amulets are quite famous.”
Lu Huaiyan asked back, “Do you come here every year to ask for a peace amulet?”
“Before university, my mom occasionally agreed to let me skip it. But after I got into university, it wasn’t allowed. If I don’t bring a peace amulet back to Beicheng, she worries and can’t sleep.” Jiang Se smiled as she spoke, “My mom really believes in this.”
Lu Huaiyan smiled too, “Then I’ll follow local custom and ask for one with you.”
Today was the second day of the holiday. More people than usual came to ask for peace amulets and matchmaking fortunes. By eight or nine o’clock, there were already two long lines at the entrance of the main hall.
Jiang Se was about to walk toward the end of the line when Lu Huaiyan suddenly called her back: “No need to go to the main hall. We’ll enter from the back hall.”
Saying this, he walked toward the back hall with ease, clearly not his first time at Hanshan Temple.
The back hall of Hanshan Temple is not open to the public. Jiang Se watched Lu Huaiyan’s back thoughtfully and followed him.
There was only a young novice monk at the back hall. Compared to the noisy front hall, this place was much quieter.
The novice monk and Lu Huaiyan obviously knew each other. Seeing him, the monk smiled and greeted, “Little Chairman Lu.”
Lu Huaiyan nodded in response, “My friend and I came to ask for peace amulets.”
The novice monk responded repeatedly, then took out two yellow talisman papers for them to write their lunar birth times on, “The abbot is in the front hall. I’ll invite him to bless the amulets for you on the way.”
After the monk left, only the two of them remained in the back hall.
Incense smoke curled gently, and wooden fish drums sounded softly.
Jiang Se’s restless and strange feelings slowly settled in this moment.
“Do you come to Hanshan Temple often?” she asked.
“Not often, but I’m somewhat acquainted with the abbot here. The Lu family has donated the restoration costs for Hanshan Temple over the past few years.” Lu Huaiyan patiently explained, “My mother comes here often. The bamboo grove behind Hanshan Temple is where she lives.”
A few minutes later, the returning novice monk brought back two octagonal boxes containing the peace amulets.
This was Jiang Se’s first time getting a peace amulet so quickly. It only took about ten minutes. Before, when Yu Shiying brought her and her eldest sister and Xiao Ye, it usually took one or two hours.
They returned the way they came. After leaving the back hall, Lu Huaiyan said, “It’s still early. Want me to take you for a walk in the bamboo grove?”
Jiang Se glanced at the sky. The sun hung low on the branches; even the light was soft.
It was not even nine o’clock yet, indeed still early.
“Isn’t that where your mother lives?”
Lu Huaiyan said, “She and my stepfather went to a geological exploration event these two days. They’ll be back on the fourth.”
Jiang Se said nothing and quietly looked at Lu Huaiyan.
They stood in the corridor outside the back hall. The shade was dense, and a few rays of light filtered through the overlapping branches.
The fine dust floating in the light was like the emotions flooding Jiang Se’s heart, rising and falling.
His initiative was too obvious.
As if he didn’t care at all that she could see through his intentions and openly revealed his feelings for her.
“Lu Huaiyan.”
Calling out “Lu Huaiyan” aloud, Jiang Se suddenly felt an absurd sense of “what is this night.”
Two nights ago, she still politely called him “Little Chairman Lu,” and now she even called him by his full name, with a tone that was somewhat self-righteous.
Lu Huaiyan stood on the wooden steps and responded with a calm “Mm,” patiently waiting for her next words.
Jiang Se looked into his cold, deep eyes hidden behind his glasses and asked word by word, “Are you pursuing me?”
Lu Huaiyan gave a light “Mm” again, but this time, a smile crept up the corners of his brows.
“I am pursuing you.”
Jiang Se pressed her lips: “We’ve only met five times.”
Lu Huaiyan chuckled softly: “Six times. Seven years ago, we met once in a small restaurant in Eton. That time, you treated me to a box of fried fish.”
It was him…
Long-forgotten memories slowly revived, Jiang Se was drawn into that night by his words.
At that time, when he came in, the lights in the shop had already dimmed halfway.
He stood in the shadows; Jiang Se only caught a glimpse of a blurry profile.
“I thought you were also a tourist from China, and figured you might only go to that fried fish place once, so I shared a box with you.” Jiang Se’s gaze fell on the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. “You weren’t wearing glasses then.”
Lu Huaiyan chuckled lightly: “Is it because I was wearing glasses that you didn’t recognize me that night at the hotel?”
Jiang Se hadn’t really looked closely at his appearance in the UK, treating him as a stranger she happened to meet. Staring fixedly at a stranger’s face was impolite.
Yet in that moment, the man before her gradually overlapped with the man who appeared that night at the fried fish shop.
The memory of that night was no longer an insignificant frame of the journey.
The meeting from the future gave that night new meaning, and that night’s chance encounter added a sense of inexplicable destiny to all subsequent meetings.
Jiang Se didn’t answer his question, instead asked him: “When I asked you to be a witness, did you recognize me?”
“Yes.”
“Did you help me because you recognized me?”
“Mm.” Lu Huaiyan’s tone remained frank and composed. “If the person Tian Guang was harassing wasn’t you, I would have left that matter to someone else to handle that night.”
“Tian Guang was dismissed, and those employees from ‘Jingqin’ came out to sue him was that your doing too?”
Lu Huaiyan gave a faint “Mm.”
Jiang Se stared at him for two seconds: “When did it start?”
Lu Huaiyan smiled again: “Start what?”
He asked bluntly: “Start liking you? Or start wanting to pursue you?”
Jiang Se did not respond.
Lu Huaiyan slowly swept his gaze over her clear eyebrows and eyes, and said: “Jiang Se, that night we met at Zhuang He’s place was the third time I met you. Things happen three times.”
If their first encounter seven years ago only made him remember her, and their reunion at the hotel stirred his heartbeat, then their third meeting at the bar completely awakened his desire for her.
Falling in love with someone may take time to settle, but liking someone often happens in an instant.
This girl’s personality couldn’t stand being pressured. Too strong a pursuit would only make her loathe it.
He originally intended to take it slowly.
But he happened to meet her again the first night after returning from Europe.
After drinking the “Qiuliang” she handed him, he didn’t want to wait anymore. For the first time in his life, he felt so impatient, like a green youth just fallen into love.
The phrase “things happen three times” revealed his inherent dominance and assertiveness without reservation.
Jiang Se pressed her lips, then heard him say: “You don’t have to answer me hastily. When we return to Beicheng, we’ll have more contact. You can take your time to assess me.”
Jiang Se asked him: “What kind of contact?”
Lu Huaiyan said: “The Shengqi and Hongsheng project will be led by me. For at least the next year, as the client party and you as the contractor party, we’ll meet frequently.”
No wonder Shengqi, such a wealthy and powerful company, would extend an olive branch to the fledgling Hongsheng.
Jiang Se raised her eyes: “You did it on purpose.”
Lu Huaiyan smiled slowly: “Mm, I did it on purpose.” His frank attitude left no room for dislike.
Jiang Se heard her heart pounding again.
The air was filled with a faint sandalwood and a trace of light agarwood fragrance.
The fine dust floating in the mist was slowly blown away by the early autumn breeze.
At the moment the dust settled, she slowly curved her brows and eyes, and said: “You lead the way. That bamboo grove, I want to see it.”
(The End)
