On his two previous visits, Diao Yishi had sat obediently on the sofa, listening to Xu Zhengyang and Chen Chaojiang's casual conversation. He would only offer a few awkward answers with a forced smile when Xu Zhengyang asked him questions. However, after those two visits, the now uninhibited Diao Yishi reverted to his old ways, boasting about the lives of those wealthy second-generation heirs in Beijing—how they partied, how they raced cars, how they indulged in extravagant parties, how they picked up girls…
What he said struck Xu Zhengyang and Chen Chaojiang as very novel and...unbelievable.
Even though they had experienced a lot outside, as two people who had always lived in the lower rungs of society, they had no idea what real urban life was like nowadays. Xu Zhengyang and Chen Chaojiang had never been to a bar, a nightclub, a KTV, a large bathhouse, a banquet, or any so-called "party".
After all, they live in different environments and have different friends. Among these buddies, celebrating a birthday is at most a matter of buying some dishes and having a few drinks at home; they wouldn't even buy a birthday cake, feeling that would be a bit embarrassing.
Also in the audience was Chen Chaojiang's younger brother, Chen Chaohai, who is seventeen years old and attends high school in the county.
Chen Chaohai's personality was completely different from his brother's. He excelled academically, had a cheerful personality, and was well-liked from a young age. Because of his timid nature, he never caused trouble, and was often forced to speak up when bullied by Chen Chaojiang. However, he was, after all, a rebellious teenager. Therefore, he was both surprised and somewhat envious of the lives of the wealthy second-generation heirs that Diao Yishi described.
"Don't think about living that kind of life, just focus on your studies."
When Diao Yishi paused in his speech, Chen Chaojiang gave his younger brother a cold look.
"Oh, I know." Chen Chaohai nodded obediently.
Xu Zhengyang laughed and said, "Chaojiang, once you've recovered from your injury, let's go to those bars and nightclubs and have some fun. They're quite interesting."
Chen Chaojiang hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."
"Let's go to the capital! I'll take you to the best places to play!" Diao Yishi said excitedly.
Xu Zhengyang smiled and waved his hand. Just as he was about to say that there was one in Fuhe City, his phone rang. Xu Zhengyang took out his phone and looked at it. It was Li Bingjie calling. He couldn't help but think that Li Bingjie had sent him several text messages these days, mentioning that she was with Ye Wan, but she hadn't mentioned Chen Chaojiang.
However, Xu Zhengyang knew that Chen Chaojiang and Ye Wan had been in contact these past few days because he had seen Chen Chaojiang sending text messages. Given Chen Chaojiang's personality, who would he be texting with? He didn't need to ask to know.
After answering the phone, Xu Zhengyang said, "Bingjie, are you free today?"
"Zhengyang, we'll be in your village soon."
"Oh? Ye Wan is gone?" Xu Zhengyang could hear a hint of amusement in Li Bingjie's words, and asked with a smile. He glanced at Chen Chaojiang as well.
No, you're with me.
"Huh?" Xu Zhengyang was taken aback, his gaze towards Chen Chaojiang filled with surprise, before he said with a wry smile, "Why is she here?"
"Let's talk about it when we get there."
"Okay." Xu Zhengyang hung up the phone and said to Chen Chaojiang, "Ye Wan is here... You're quite something, keeping a low profile."
Chen Chaojiang frowned slightly and said coldly, "I don't know."
Xu Zhengyang smiled wryly and said, "It was my oversight that delayed your business. Since they've come to Fuhe City, you should at least give them a token of appreciation."
“I wanted to invite her to Jingniang Lake that day, but she didn’t have time.” Chen Chaojiang paused. “Then I told her I was busy.”
"Because you were injured?"
"Um."
Xu Zhengyang felt a pang of guilt again and stood up, saying, "Let's go to my house. Ye Wan will be here soon, so you can chat at my place. We'll have lunch there this morning."
Chen Chaojiang hesitated for a moment and said, "I won't go over there. I'll tell her she's not home." Chen Chaojiang understood that the reason Xu Zhengyang had suggested meeting and having a meal at his home was because he was worried that Chen Chaojiang's house was old and he was afraid that Chen Chaojiang would lose face.
But Chen Chaojiang didn't care about any of that; he just didn't want the other person to know that he had been hurt because of his one-sided love.
Now that Ye Wan is coming, he certainly doesn't want her to know that he was lying to her.
"Chaojiang, you've started lying, haven't you?" Xu Zhengyang rebuked him sternly.
"A white lie." Chen Chaojiang uttered this rather literary phrase in a cold tone.
"Nonsense, you're like Pigsy wearing glasses, pretending to be a college student." Xu Zhengyang laughed and stood up, saying, "Fine, I'll join you in lying."
Chen Chaojiang's lips curled into a slight smile.
Xu Zhengyang and Diao Yishi walked out together.
The sun was blazing outside, the weather was scorching, and it was already 11 a.m.
When they passed by a small shop, Diao Yishi couldn't resist the sweltering heat and ran in to buy two bottles of green tea. The two of them drank the tea while sweating profusely as they walked towards the east of the village.
Back home, Xu Zhengyang figured Li Bingjie would be there soon, so he didn't go inside. Instead, he moved a stool to the porch inside the courtyard gate, lit a cigarette, and waited for Li Bingjie to arrive. He wondered to himself if Ye Wan and Chen Chaojiang had actually gotten together.
Diao Yishi couldn't stand the heat outside, so as soon as he got home, he went inside to enjoy the air conditioning.
A moment later, the black Audi A8 slowly came to a stop at the gate of the courtyard, and Xu Zhengyang smiled as he got up and walked out.
The car door opened, and Li Bingjie, dressed in an elegant knee-length dress, stepped out of the car like a lotus emerging from the water; the other door was then pushed open, and Ye Wan got out of the car.
Ye Wan wore a gray-green sun hat with black sunglasses perched under the long brim. She wore a light gray U-neck vest, gray-blue denim shorts, and mid-heeled sandals, giving her a refreshing, neat, and dashing appearance.
After the two got out of the car and closed the door, the car drove to the elm trees on the east side of the courtyard gate.
"Welcome, welcome, come in quickly, it's hot outside..." Xu Zhengyang smiled and extended his hand to invite her in. This polite gesture was naturally directed at Ye Wan. Li Bingjie was an acquaintance, so there was no need for such formalities.
"Sorry to bother you." Ye Wan took off her sunglasses and smiled politely.
As they talked, the three of them walked into the courtyard and went straight into the main hall.
The living room was empty. Xu Rouyue and Ouyang Ying were surfing the internet in the east bedroom, while Diao Yishi had gone to the outer room of Xu Zhengyang's bedroom in the west. Yuan Suqin was preparing lunch in the kitchen, while Xu Neng had gone to the construction site on the North Ring Road in the county.
"What would you like to drink?" Xu Zhengyang asked politely.
"No need, thank you." Ye Wan took off her hat, raised her hand to smooth her hair, smiled, and looked around the room with a hint of curiosity at the fresh and elegant decorations and furniture.
Xu Zhengyang took orange juice from the refrigerator and poured two glasses for the two of them. He placed them on the coffee table and sat down, saying, "I heard from Bingjie that you had arrived in Fuhe City. I was thinking of taking the time to show you some hospitality, but I've been busy with family matters these past few days and didn't want to bother you..."
"You make me feel a little embarrassed," Ye Wan smiled and asked directly, "Where does Chen Chaojiang live?"
"Huh?" Xu Zhengyang was slightly taken aback.
Before Xu Zhengyang could finish his lie, Ye Wan said, "Brother Xu, I know Chen Chaojiang is at home, and I know he's injured. I want to go see him."
Xu Zhengyang suddenly remembered that when he was texting Li Bingjie yesterday, he had casually mentioned that he hadn't left the village for the past two days and that Chen Chaojiang had suffered a minor injury. He hadn't thought of checking on him before, so he looked at Li Bingjie with a wry smile.
Li Bingjie had an innocent expression on her face, and her eyes seemed to tell Xu Zhengyang that she really didn't mean it, and she didn't know what happened.
That's exactly how it is. Li Bingjie, a girl even more clueless about romantic relationships than Xu Zhengyang, wouldn't possibly know the contents of the text messages between Ye Wan and Chen Chaojiang. Moreover, since Ye Wan arrived in Fuhe City, she hasn't mentioned Chen Chaojiang to Li Bingjie at all. It was only last night, when she saw Li Bingjie sending a text message, that she casually asked where Chen Chaojiang was staying. And it was precisely because of this that Li Bingjie asked Xu Zhengyang where they had been these past few days.
At the time, neither Li Bingjie nor Xu Zhengyang took it seriously; it was just a casual conversation.
So, Li Bingjie simply told Ye Wan that Chen Chaojiang had suffered a minor injury.
Today, Ye Wan proposed to come to Shuanghe Village. On the way here, a cold smile would occasionally appear on his lips, and his eyes, hidden by his sunglasses, also showed a hint of worry.
Left with no other choice, Xu Zhengyang could only pretend that he knew nothing before and said with a smile, "It's just a minor injury. He's at home now. No rush, let him rest for a while and cool off. I'll call him and have him come over right away."
"No need." Ye Wan's smile vanished, and she said calmly, "Would you mind taking me to his house, Brother Xu?"
"It's very hot outside..."
"It's alright." As she spoke, Ye Wan stood up, put on her sun hat and sunglasses, and smiled, "Bingjie, wait for me here for a while."
"Oh, okay." Li Bingjie nodded, slightly bewildered.
Helpless, Xu Zhengyang could only smile wryly as he got up and said as he walked out, "Alright." After leaving the house, Xu Zhengyang called out to the east room, "Rouyue, Bingjie is here. Come and talk to her for a while. I'm going out for a bit."
"Okay, I know," Xu Rouyue replied from inside the house.
Through the glass window, Xu Zhengyang could see his sister and Ouyang Ying standing up and looking outside. Xu Zhengyang smiled and waved, then walked towards the courtyard gate with Ye Wan.
In the outer room of Xu Rouyue's bedroom in the east wing, Ouyang Ying frowned and muttered, "Hey, that woman looks familiar."
“Yes.” Xu Rouyue also walked towards the door with some confusion, then suddenly stopped and turned around, saying, “Oh, isn’t she that… that Ye Wan? The one we met at World Park last time…”
"Oh, right, hehe, Chen Chaojiang even went to ask someone for their phone number." Ouyang Ying said with a gossipy look, "Could it be that Brother Zhengyang took her to find Chen Chaojiang?"
"You're so silly!" Xu Rouyue said with a smile. "Come on, let's go sit in the main room for a while."
"I'm not going. She's your future sister-in-law, you go with her." Ouyang Ying pouted and sat back down at her computer desk, continuing to browse her entertainment news. Little did she know that her words had just carried a hint of jealousy that was easy for anyone to detect.
Xu Rouyue's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly turned her head, opened the door, and went out, thinking to herself, "Oh no, could Yingying really have fallen for my brother?"
...
Under the scorching sun, the streets were scorching hot, and in the air more than a meter above the ground, visible heat waves flowed and distorted like wisps of smoke.
There wasn't a soul to be seen on the streets and alleys. In the scorching heat, people stayed indoors and refused to come out.
Xu Zhengyang, dressed in shorts, a black vest, and slippers, walked along rather lazily, squinting in the intense sunlight.
Ye Wan strolled casually down the street, looking around the ordinary village with a hint of curiosity.
We remained silent the entire way.
When they were almost at Chen Chaojiang's house, Xu Zhengyang said with a smile, "Actually, Chen Chaojiang didn't want to see you because he didn't want you to know he was injured and he was afraid you would worry."
Ye Wan paused for a moment, seemingly a little embarrassed, then said casually, "Really? Do friends have to be this cautious?"
"Hmm, I think so too." Xu Zhengyang nodded, thinking to himself, "Don't pretend to be innocent in front of me. Just now, she was so anxious and insisted on coming to see Chen Chaojiang at my house. Besides being angry at Chen Chaojiang's well-intentioned lie, wasn't she just worried about him? Hmm, Chaojiang is awesome, it seems he really did win this girl over."
Reaching Chen Chaojiang's house, Xu Zhengyang stopped and said, "So, this is Chen Chaojiang's house. They said they were going to rebuild it into an apartment building this year... They had been talking about rebuilding it for a while, but his parents weren't happy about it. They said that since they had already bought a house in the city, rebuilding this old house wouldn't be of much use, as long as it was still habitable..."
If this were Xu Zhengyang himself, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to embellish his image; he would have been straightforward and honest. But for his brother's sake, he had to add a few nice words. Little did he know, his language skills were terrible, and his mentality was equally weak. To others, his words sounded like something a matchmaker would say.
Of course, Ye Wan, who was unfamiliar with rural customs, did not know that such words were commonly used by matchmakers.
Ye Wan hadn't expected Chen Chaojiang's house to be so old and dilapidated. To be honest, she hadn't considered what Chen Chaojiang's house would look like when she came, and having just visited Xu Zhengyang's house, she had subconsciously assumed that Chen Chaojiang's house would be the same.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, Xu Zhengyang greeted, "Chaojiang, look who's here! A distinguished guest!"
The bamboo curtain at the door was lifted, revealing Chen Chaojiang's mother, Zhu Cui. Seeing Xu Zhengyang arrive with a beautiful young woman, Zhu Cui was immediately puzzled and asked in surprise, "Zhengyang, who is this...?"
"Auntie, hello, I'm Chen Chaojiang's friend." Before Xu Zhengyang could speak, Ye Wan took off her sunglasses and greeted him with a polite smile.
"Ah, hello, hello, come in quickly." Zhu Cui was a little nervous and confused.
Xu Zhengyang and Ye Wan walked into the main room with smiles on their faces.
The interior was still in its old, dilapidated state, with no false ceiling, exposed beams and rafters, a cement floor, and whitewashed walls that had turned yellowish. The furniture and furnishings were also old, and a 21-inch old-fashioned color TV was still placed in the TV cabinet. However, the house was equipped with air conditioning, and the temperature was cool and pleasant.
Upon hearing Xu Zhengyang's voice, Chen Chaojiang knew something was wrong; Ye Wan must have arrived.
So when he came out of the east room, his pale face and his usually cold, narrow eyes held an awkward expression.
"Um, please sit down." Chen Chaojiang said politely, though he wasn't good at formalities, so his words came out a little awkwardly. "My family is poor and simple, please don't mind..."
Pfft! Ye Wan couldn't help but laugh out loud, then quickly regained her smiling expression.
After the two sat down, Zhu Cui paused for a moment before saying, "Well, I'm going to buy groceries. I'll just eat at home this morning." With that, she walked out, her face a mixture of suspicion and slight delight. She thought to herself, "My relationship with Xu Zhengyang is really going to be successful! Not only did I earn money and buy a car, but I also found a girlfriend? And the girl is quite beautiful, like a fairy, no less attractive than Xu Zhengyang's girlfriend."
As soon as Zhu Cui left, Ye Wan's smiling face was instantly clouded with gloom, and she sneered, "So, you're busy at home, aren't you?"
"I'm sorry." Chen Chaojiang had regained his composure and uttered these three words coldly.
Xu Zhengyang pursed his lips, hesitating whether he should leave.