Lin Yingtao still remembers that one time in Hong Kong, she was hungry in the middle of the night. She sat on the small bed that was only 1.2 meters wide, and her stomach kept growling. Jiang Qiaoxi casually put on a T-shirt and said he would go get her something to eat.
Less than ten minutes later, he came back and brought in a plate of fried rapeseed. Lin Yingtao was very surprised. She thought Jiang Qiaoxi would bring some biscuits, instant noodles or something, but Jiang Qiaoxi said there was only a handful of rapeseed in the refrigerator.
"I just fried it casually." Jiang Qiaoxi's tone was stiff and a little apologetic.
Lin Yingtao picked up a rapeseed and ate half of it. It was too salty. She stuck out her tongue. Jiang Qiaoxi simply opened his black water cup with Eisenhower's quotations printed on it, poured the water out, and poured it into Lin Yingtao's small bowl, letting her rinse off the salt taste.
It was from that time that Lin Yingtao felt that Jiang Qiaoxi needed her so much - so what if he was a genius student? He couldn't even cook or stir-fry rapeseed. How could he take care of himself if he was so stupid
Lin Yingtao was eating unhappily at the moment, eating the last piece of delicious braised beef in the house, and she wanted to cry but had no tears. Jiang Qiaoxi came back from get off work, unbuttoned his shirt collar, rolled up his sleeves and ate. When he learned that most of the braised beef in the house had been taken away by Qin Yeyun, Jiang Qiaoxi chuckled and coaxed his wife, "Braise it again."
Lin Yingtao, however, felt seriously deceived and her feelings were wasted!
Qin Yeyun's Weibo account has more than 400,000 followers. She runs a Taobao purchasing agent store, selling cosmetics, and asks her father to help with shipping. When she has nothing to do, she goes to her friend's beauty salon to sit in on the job and recommend products to people.
"Qin Yeyun is very famous now," Lin Yingtao said, sitting on the bed in her nightgown, continuing to select photos. She loved taking photos since she was a child, and her uncles and aunts also liked to take photos of her. There were so many photos at home that it was hard to choose. "She's an 'Internet celebrity'!"
Jiang Qiaoxi finished his shower and went into the kitchen to get a black brown to eat. He walked to the bed and picked up a photo.
I don’t know who took the photo.
On the small road to the dormitory of the Qunshan construction site, all around were electric construction workers in blue work clothes. Team leader Yu had not taken off his safety helmet yet, and he was laughing beside him. A big rooster, with a rope tied to its feet, was tied to a tree, standing with its head held high. Lin Yingtao, a small girl with two ponytails, was picked up by her father, covering her fingers and crying loudly. It seemed that she had just touched the big rooster secretly, and was bitten on the hand.
Lin Yingtao was tired of choosing, and she selected more than 80 photos, and asked Jiang Qiaoxi to help her choose. Wedding PPT should put as many photos as time permits, but the photos of Jiang Qiaoxi growing up sent by Uncle Jiang Zheng were too few. Even after asking the former school teachers and the cousin who lived far away in Hong Kong, they could only gather about 20 photos to use.
Lin Yingtao leaned in Jiang Qiaoxi's arms, closed her eyes, and soon fell asleep to the rustling sound of Jiang Qiaoxi gently flipping through photos.
Jiang Qiaoxi looked at these photos and felt that his wife was amazing. The same film was used in the same era, but Jiang Qiaoxi looked blurry and lifeless in the photos. Even Duchamp, Yu Qiao, and Cai Fangyuan were confused at times, but Lin Yingtao, her smile, her every move, no matter who took the photo or what angle it was, just a glance back while eating a sweet pear in front of the camera, made people feel that she was so vivid and full of vitality.
Old photos from before the millennium, without PS filters or beauty cameras. Everything in 2014 is so new, and the past is full of sincere magic because it is old.
Lin Yingtao slept for a while. When she turned over, her head hit Jiang Qiaoxi's arm and the pillow, waking her up.
She rubbed her neck and found that Jiang Qiaoxi was still awake. She leaned over and asked, "Have you picked it out..."
Before she finished her question, Jiang Qiaoxi suddenly turned around and kissed her. Lin Yingtao closed her eyes and enjoyed the kiss.
"I really want to go back to the mountains..." Lin Yingtao said suddenly.
Jiang Qiaoxi put the photos aside. He didn't plan to choose any more. His wife was so cute, it would be a waste if he didn't put them all at the wedding for his uncles and aunts to see. He turned off the reading light and lay down. He hugged her and said, "Let's go after the wedding."
"Really?" Lin Yingtao turned her head and asked.
"Yeah." Jiang Qiaoxi nodded. It sounded like he had this plan in mind a long time ago.
Lin Yingtao sat up and said excitedly in front of him: "Why don't we go this week!"
Jiang Qiaoxi frowned: "Ah?"
Lin Yingtao was so excited that she knelt on the bed and jumped slowly: "My vacation is almost over! What if I don't have time after the wedding!"
Jiang Qiaoxi suddenly turned over from the bed, with his back to Lin Yingtao. "I don't have time this week," he said coldly, closing his eyes and falling asleep.
Sure enough, the next second his wife pounced on him and made a fuss. Jiang Qiaoxi turned around with a helpless smile. He grabbed Lin Yingtao's hands and went behind her.
Lin Yingtao turned around and was pushed onto the bed by him, with her hands crossed behind her back. Lin Yingtao smiled and stretched out her foot to kick him.
"Lin Qile!" Jiang Qiaoxi pretended to be angry and pressed directly on her.
Lin Yingtao went back to her parents' home for dinner. Before dinner, she called her aunt and asked if she and Jiang Qiaoxi would stay at her home when her aunt and her family came to the provincial capital to attend the wedding.
"No, we're not going. What are we going to do in your new house?"
Lin Yingtao muttered, "When I was a kid, I always stayed at my aunt's house when I went to Beijing. We have a new guest room!"
"That was when we were little," said the eldest aunt. "It was the 1990s, and hotels were so expensive! No, no, we've already booked a hotel for the National Day holiday. We won't go to your house and be a light bulb!"
Mother Lin finished cooking, opened the window, and called downstairs, "Lao Lin! Qiao Xi! It's time to eat!"
She turned around and called her daughter, "Cherry! Go down and ask them to come up to eat."
Lin Yingtao hurried downstairs in her slippers. She pushed open the door of her apartment and walked to the door of their garage.
The old Santana bought in 2005 was nearly ten years old and was on the verge of being scrapped.
The hood was open, Jiang Qiaoxi rolled up his shirt sleeves and bent over to inspect his father-in-law's "old car".
"Let's fix it later. Let's go upstairs and eat first." Lin Yingtao said. She walked over and took her father's hand.
Electrician Lin turned around, looked at his daughter, then looked at his son-in-law. He sighed and said, "My eyesight is not good anymore." He smiled and said, "You see, Qiaoxi can do everything."
Lin Yingtao said: "When my father was young, he could do everything, even repair cars!"
"Me?" said Electrician Lin.
Jiang Qiaoxi said from the side: "Dad, you used to repair Yingtao's bicycle."
Electrician Lin chuckled: "That little car... I can't fix that little car now."
Jiang Qiaoxi wiped the oil off his hands and closed the hood. He took the towel Lin Yingtao gave her and said, "Dad, let's go upstairs to eat first."
In late August, Cai Fangyuan flew back from Shanghai. The "Dabieye" house he bought in full in the provincial capital a few years ago was officially renovated.
He also brought over half of the young people in his company in Shanghai, under the pretext of a "vacation," and invited old friends who lived in the provincial capital to come to his new home to "warm the pot" and "warm the house."
Lin Yingtao reluctantly agreed to his request to show off his wealth because of their many years of friendship.
Cai Fangyuan had lunch at Lin Yingtao's house at noon. In the afternoon, he and several partners went to visit Manager Jiang Qiaoxi's new office.
Lin Yingtao, a childhood friend of Mrs. Jiang and Cai Fangyuan, was just sitting there bored and keeping them company.
"You said you are a couple, but you have never been to his office?" Cai Fangyuan asked in the elevator. He was wearing a suit that fit him well and wrapped around his fat body.
"Why should I come?" Lin Yingtao said.
Cai Fangyuan said: "Aren't you worried about what might happen to him, huh? A beautiful receptionist? A pretty secretary?"
Lin Yingtao frowned and stared at Cai Fangyuan.
The private equity fund company where Jiang Qiaoxi works is headquartered in Shanghai. They rented the 39th floor of the newly completed financial building in the provincial capital as their office. The receptionist is a young man in his early twenties, who looks like he just graduated. He wears thick glasses and has a look of indifference after reading too much data: "Do you have an appointment? What time is your appointment with Manager Jiang?"
Cai Fangyuan pointed at Lin Yingtao's head and tried to use her face to get in: "This is your manager Jiang's wife."
The young man glanced at Lin Yingtao and asked, "Excuse me, do you have any ID?"
Cai Fangyuan suddenly laughed: "Your fund manager's wife came to visit someone, and she had to bring her marriage certificate to get in?"
Jiang Qiaoxi was working in the conference room, and no one was in the office. Cai Fangyuan and his group were brought in by Jiang Qiaoxi's assistant. Cai Fangyuan asked the assistant, hinting at Lin Yingtao: "Do you know her?"
Lin Yingtao hit Cai Fangyuan from the side.
The assistant smiled and said, "There is a photo of his wife on Manager Jiang's desk. We have all seen it."
This was the first time that Lin Yingtao came to her husband's office. It looked exactly like Jiang Qiaoxi's style. It was simple, spacious, and well-lit. There was nothing else except a desk, a wine cabinet, a row of bookshelves, a fish tank, and a pot of evergreen. On his desk, besides various materials, there were also cups, pen holders, a few photo frames, and a bronze bull statue.
Most of the documents on the desk were confidential, so she couldn't go over and look at them. Lin Yingtao looked at the several computer screens on his desk, which were stacked up and down, and all of them were filled with indexes that she couldn't understand.
Cai Fangyuan and several partners were chatting on the sofa.
"What is that?"
“Bloomberg terminal?”
"Wow, this is so advanced," Cai Fangyuan crossed his hands over his chest, "I feel like I've seen this in an American TV series!"
The partner laughed and said, “It’s just like a science fiction movie, right?”
Jiang Qiaoxi's assistant came again, bringing some hot tea. He walked to the back of Jiang Qiaoxi's desk, where there was a wine cabinet with wine and a coffee machine. The assistant brought the fruit over and said, "Have some fruit first. Manager Jiang's meeting isn't over yet."
"It's okay, we're not in a hurry," Cai Fangyuan said. He lowered his head and looked in the fruit bowl. Several bananas were lying on the plate of black and brown bananas with their butts sticking up. He picked up the bananas and asked, "Jiang Qiaoxi, can this banana move by itself?"
Lin Yingtao looked at him from the side and took a plum to eat.
Cai Fangyuan and several partners talked about Jiang Qiaoxi’s “great achievements”.
"When our company was recruiting technicians, we also recruited a young man from Hunan," Cai Fangyuan said. "He was a year younger than us. He went to high school in 2006. He participated in a math competition that year. In the south, he had heard of Jiang Qiaoxi. He was from our provincial experimental school. We grew up together."
One of the partners said, “Isn’t he from Hong Kong? Did he graduate from the University of Hong Kong?”
"Yes," Cai Fangyuan nodded hurriedly, peeling the banana skin, "I'm from Hong Kong University, studying business! Law!"
Another boss came over and looked about the same age as Cai Fangyuan and Lin Yingtao's parents: "This double degree is incredible."
Cai Fangyuan said: "Yes, what can he not do?"
Lin Yingtao was struggling to bite the hard skin of a black plum. Cai Fangyuan was talking about CPA, CFA, bar exam, blah blah, and ordinary people were lucky to have one. Jiang Qiaoxi was "competent in both business and law" and had worked at Morgan Stanley for more than two years before going out on his own. "In June this year, we held an investor meeting here. All kinds of senior executives and industry experts all came to our second-tier provincial capital that night," Cai Fangyuan said to several bosses. "I went to the meeting and saw that many people went to talk to Jiang Qiaoxi. Really, I suspect they came just for my old classmate. He had just returned in June!" Cai Fangyuan said, motioning to Lin Yingtao, "He bought a house here and got married with this lady!"
Lin Yingtao was eating plums and listening happily, when suddenly every uncle came to shake her hand.
"So what is this office?" someone asked.
Cai Fangyuan frowned and said, "I guess. I guess this office was set up specifically for him! They set up a platform for him to do private placement. In fact, his family has deep connections in this circle, and Jiang Qiaoxi himself is also a little famous. Of course, he didn't tell me directly when I asked him. Maybe he wanted to wait until the end of the year—"
"Isn't he going to continue his studies? Isn't he going to study for an MBA?" someone asked.
Before Cai Fangyuan could reply, Lin Yingtao suddenly said, "He will definitely go back to study."
Cai Fangyuan looked at her and felt that Lin Yingtao didn't quite understand Jiang Qiaoxi's work. "Did he tell you that?"
Lin Yingtao said seriously, "I think so." She looked at Cai Fangyuan's teasing expression and said angrily, "Why? No way!"
In the evening, Jiang Qiaoxi got off work early. He drove with his wife and followed Cai Fangyuan's car in front.
Lin Yingtao sat in the passenger seat with her big eyes half-opened, looking listless, her hands resting on her lower abdomen.
While waiting for the traffic light, Jiang Qiaoxi turned his head to look at her and see her appearance.
"Isn't it coming?" he asked.
"Here it comes." Lin Yingtao said with a pale face.
Jiang Qiaoxi frowned, as if confused, and looked at her again.
The red light ahead turned green, and Jiang Qiaoxi asked, "Is it coming?"
Lin Yingtao looked at him: "Why do you think you are here?"
"Jiang Yulu is here." Jiang Qiaoxi said.
Lin Yingtao didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and hit his shoulder with her hand: "My period has come!" Jiang Qiaoxi, who was driving, also laughed.
Cai Fangyuan's villa was full of young people, cooking hot pot in a lively atmosphere. Cai Fangyuan came in, looking like Fa Ge, he really has been rich for too long: "Friends, please take care of the carpets and furniture! Our old man will come to inspect tomorrow. He is used to being a leader, so he likes to check the hygiene. There are so many problems..."
Lin Yingtao felt very uncomfortable in her stomach, so she sat next to Jiang Qiaoxi and ate hot pot. Jiang Qiaoxi asked her from time to time what she wanted to eat, but she always shook her head.
Cai Fangyuan called Huang Zhanjie, and it just so happened that Huang Zhanjie couldn't come today because it was the deadline. Huang Zhanjie also asked: "How much will you give to Lin Qile and Jiang Qiaoxi's wedding?"
Cai Fangyuan looked over and saw that the two of them were right there, with Jiang Qiaoxi coaxing Lin Yingtao to eat. Cai Fangyuan said, "Just give as much as you want, old classmates, what are you afraid of?"
Huang Zhanjie said anxiously, "I don't know how much to give! My classmates haven't gotten married yet! Give... 10,000?"
"Wow!" Cai Fangyuan was shocked, "You are so rich..."
"Eat a little at least." Jiang Qiaoxi picked up a shrimp paste, blew on it, and put it into Lin Yingtao's small spoon, his tone a little tough.
Lin Yingtao lowered her head and ate the shrimp paste.
Cai Fangyuan said: "Lin Yingtao, why are you still acting like a child?"
Lin Yingtao suddenly raised her big eyes and looked at Cai Fangyuan from afar across the hot pot.
Cai Fangyuan smiled and said, "Before, Uncle Lin spoiled you, and now Jiang Qiaoxi spoils you. Look how much he spoils you."
Lin Yingtao said, "Why are Jiang Qiaoxi and I the only ones here?"
Cai Fangyuan said: "Other people don't have summer vacation."
Lin Yingtao said: "Everyone should have summer vacation."
Cai Fangyuan said, "Think about it! Who will Du Shang go to treat his illness during the summer vacation? Who will fly the plane for Yu Qiao during the summer vacation?"
The artist at Cai Fangyuan's company was a young woman who took out some painkillers from her bag and gave them to Lin Yingtao. Lin Yingtao quickly thanked her.
In front of the younger generations, Lin Yingtao unknowingly acted like an adult.
Cai Fangyuan went to the kitchen to get her a cup of hot water, and then went upstairs to find a room, which was fortunately already decorated. "Come here," Cai Fangyuan said in a rare friendly voice, supporting his childhood friend Lin Yingtao's arm, "lie down here for a while, and if you need anything, press the bell at the head of the bed."
Lin Yingtao said: "Why is there a bell? It's like a hospital ward!"
Cai Fangyuan said helplessly: "My dad insisted on installing it! He insisted that every big boss' bedroom must have one!"
Lin Yingtao sat on the edge of the bed, covering her eyes and laughing with Cai Fangyuan.
Jiang Qiaoxi sat downstairs and ate hot pot with Cai Fangyuan. They talked about work and family. Cai Fangyuan asked, "My dad said Uncle Jiang will be back from Sudan next month?"
Jiang Qiaoxi nodded.
"What about your mother?" Cai Fangyuan said.
Jiang Qiaoxi was stunned for a moment and shook his head.
He didn't say anything, and Cai Fangyuan didn't know what this shaking of his head meant.
The young employees cleared the table and started playing Werewolf. Jiang Qiaoxi had never played before and didn't understand the rules. He stood up and was then pulled to sit down again.
It was rare to have such a handsome young man at the table, and no one wanted to let him leave.
Cai Fangyuan explained to the young people on his behalf: "Manager Jiang is busy making money! No one has the chance to bully him normally! Just play games with him!"
Everyone at the table laughed.
Just playing Werewolf, without any background music. The planner went to the TV and looked through the old Hong Kong movies in the boss's drawer.
He took out a copy of "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella", glanced at Stephen Chow and Athena Chu on the cover, and put the disc into the DVD.
Cai Fangyuan took a look at the ID card issued to him, and his eyes immediately became obscene. He looked at the picture on the TV and said, "I saw the news today that "A Chinese Odyssey" will be re-screened in October."
Jiang Qiaoxi also looked at his identity and put the card away. When he heard Cai Fangyuan's words, he turned around to look at the TV.
"Manager Jiang," the female employee sitting opposite said with a smile, "Is this really your first time playing Werewolf?"
"Really." Jiang Qiaoxi had just finished analyzing the situation on the scene like others. After the analysis, a group of people started to make a fuss. He looked at her with an innocent expression.
The female employee immediately put her hands in front of her, covering her face and refusing to look into Jiang Qiaoxi's eyes.
"No, no, it will affect our judgment!" they laughed.
After a game was over, Jiang Qiaoxi and Cai Fangyuan took advantage of an opportunity, and the two werewolves ended the game.
When the second round started, Jiang Qiaoxi took a look at the identities and started flirting with Cai Fangyuan again.
The planner said: "As soon as Manager Jiang and Boss Cai exchanged glances, they both started thinking of bad things! They started thinking of killing people!"
Meishu slammed the table across the table and said, "These must be two more werewolves!"
"Don't misunderstand me, don't misunderstand me!" Cai Fangyuan quickly stretched out his hand to clarify, "We are both good people this time!!"
Jiang Qiaoxi sat aside, nodded, and said nothing.
In fact, Jiang Qiaoxi only spoke when it was his turn. He was always concise and clear in his words. No matter how others questioned him, his own logic was very fast and he could re-infer everyone's identity in a few words. If someone was confused and said they didn't understand, Jiang Qiaoxi could repeat it a second time, and there was no mistake from his first time, so people could not doubt the authenticity of his words. He was also very good at "reducing the dimension" to explain his theory.
The receptionist on the other side held her face in her hands and said stupidly: "Manager Jiang is so clear and organized! I understand everything!"
Cai Fangyuan said while eating sunflower seeds: "When I was in elementary school and high school, I explained the questions to his wife all day long! This is all learned through practice!"
At the end of the second game, until the werewolf killed the good citizen Cai Fangyuan, everyone still thought that Jiang Qiaoxi was the prophet.
The real prophet had died long ago. He covered his face at the table for more than ten minutes, and only now raised his head and said, "Manager Jiang! You are so insidious!!!"
Cai Fangyuan had eaten half of his melon seeds, with the shell still pinched in his hand, when he was completely shocked by Jiang Qiaoxi's true face.
"This is a naked IQ crush!!" Meishu said gloatingly.
At the beginning of the third round, everyone voted Jiang Qiaoxi out, and it was unanimous to kill him.
Jiang Qiaoxi sighed: "You don't want to play with others anymore, right?"
I went upstairs to play with my wife.
Cai Fangyuan was educating the single female employees of the company downstairs. She raised her hand and said, "My childhood friend has been brave enough to pursue a man since she was young. Look at what a good husband she got!"
The female employee curled her lips and said, "Then you can ask your childhood friend to come down and share her experience with you!"
Cai Fangyuan smiled: "I guess she can't tell me what experience this is... Experience, the experience is that her husband just happens to like her!"
Zhizunbao said on the screen:
"I once had a true love in front of me, but I didn't cherish it. I regretted it when I lost it."
Lin Yingtao sat up from the bed. She was still listless and leaned in Jiang Qiaoxi's arms.
"At first, Cai Fangyuan said to invite all old friends to come and warm the pot together. I thought they would all come," Lin Yingtao put her chin on his shoulder and whispered, "If you think about it carefully, you will know that it is impossible..."
Jiang Qiaoxi said: "On the day of our wedding, they will all come."
The author has something to say: －－－－－－－－－－－－－－
Notes to this chapter:
＊ "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella": A classic nonsensical comedy romance film produced and released by Stephen Chow's Color Star Film Company in 1994. It is based on "Journey to the West" and tells the story of how Zhizunbao fell in love with the fairy Zixia and eventually grew up to be the Monkey King. "Once there was a true love... too late to regret." is a line in the film.
＊“Dabieye”: a large villa.