Chen Boqiao's three-day itinerary in the newly independent country is full.
In order to meet Zhang Fu's requirements, blur the real reason for Chen Boqiao and Zhang Jue's marriage, and give the outside world more room for imagination. In addition to negotiating marriage with Zhang Jue's family, Chen Boqiao will also meet several important business people. Meet and sign several agreements that were negotiated before arrival to relocate some of Zhaohua Energy's operations in North America back to the New Independent State.
However, in the afternoon of the second day, Chen Boqiao ended the negotiation as soon as possible, left his subordinates and accompanying reporters in the hotel, and went to visit the Zhang family's mansion in advance.
Nearly four o'clock, when Chen Boqiao set off, he texted Zhang Jue, but Zhang Jue didn't see it.
He was very lethargic these days. He went to bed at two o'clock, fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes, and was not woken up by his mother until five o'clock.
He opened his eyes, and his mother was standing not far from his bed, wearing a beautiful long dress, and her expression was a little flustered: "Xiaojue, Chen Boqiao is here."
Zhang Jue sat up, and suddenly his old habits relapsed for some reason. He reached out to touch the cigarette on the bedside table, but when he touched the cool metal edge, he was stunned and retracted his hand.
"Downstairs with your father," said his mother, not noticing his movements, "and brought me a present."
Zhang Jue got out of bed and asked his mother, "What did you give me?"
"I didn't watch it," the mother shook her head, "a little nervous."
Zhang Jue went into the dressing room to change out of his pajamas and walked out. Seeing his mother leaning against the door, he looked at him hesitantly, as if he had something to say, so he approached her and asked, "What's wrong?"
After watching Zhang Jue for a while, her mother didn't say a word. She stood on tiptoe, and quietly pulled out a few strands of Zhang Jue's hair that had been accidentally caught in the collar of the turtleneck sweater, and walked out holding Zhang Jue's hand.
Chen Boqiao and Zhang Jue's father are chatting.
The sofa in the living room is very large. Chen Boqiao sat on the single sofa by the floor lamp and listened intently to Zhang Fu's retelling of the doctor's prediction of Zhang Jue's physical condition.
Zhang Jue's situation was more stable than what Dr. He expected at the time. There was not much pregnancy reaction, and various indicators were developing normally. They decided to follow the conservative advice of the hospital, let it develop, check regularly, and observe for a period of time.
The date of the wedding has yet to be fixed.
As soon as Zhang Jue and his mother passed the corner of the corridor, Chen Boqiao's eyes shifted, he smiled at Zhang Jue and said, "Awake?"
Zhang Jue hummed vaguely, his father cleared his throat, and asked his wife how the food in the kitchen was being prepared.
The mother asked on the inside line, the chef said it was okay to eat, and they went to the restaurant.
The western table is very long, and the four people sit at opposite ends of the table, and everyone is far away. Halfway through the meal, Zhang Fu suddenly received an impromptu appointment from the president. After hurriedly eating a few more bites, he said sorry and went out.
Zhang Jue's mother didn't talk much, so the three of them finished their meal quietly and went to the living room to sit for a while.
Due to the presence of the elders, Chen Boqiao kept a distance from Zhang Jue, and his expressions and movements were also restrained, as if the two were still good friends, sitting and chatting peacefully together.
The mother asked Chen Boqiao some innocuous questions. She didn't know much about Zhang Jue's student days, and asked if they were friends when they were in Roche.
"I thought he only had Harrison as a friend at school," she said, holding the china cup.
Chen Boqiao didn't lie to Zhang Jue's mother, saying that they had a very good relationship, but just smiled gently, avoiding the trouble and lightly mentioning that he had lost his high school graduation book, and turned his face to ask Zhang Jue if Zhang Jue was still there.
On this day, Chen Boqiao and Zhang Jue's parents talked a lot, but they didn't talk much with Zhang Jue. Zhang Jue listened quietly, saw Chen Boqiao's eyes, and was stunned for a while before he realized that Chen Boqiao was asking him.
"It should be there." Zhang Jue thought about it and said.
However, he had forgotten that in the study, the attic or in his own room, the photo that was widely circulated on the Internet, and Chen Boqiao's graduation photo, he had photocopied versions, but he was too embarrassed to say it.
Chen Boqiao put down the glass and asked Zhang Jue to take him to see it.
Mother paused for a few seconds and said that she wanted to go to the conservatory to prune the flowers, so she would not go upstairs with them.
Zhang Jue and Chen Boqiao got up together and took Chen Boqiao through a short corridor covered with a dark red carpet to the wooden staircase. Zhang Jue turned on the wall lamp on the stairs and looked back at Chen Boqiao.
Zhang Jue's father believed that bright lights affected thinking, so the nights in his home were always dark and quiet.
Chen Boqiao also stood watching Zhang Jue in the dim warm light, tall, handsome, and flawless, like an expensive wax statue in the twilight.
The heating steamed from the wooden floor, turning the not-so-narrow stairwell into cramped and hazy.
"Going upstairs." Zhang Jue said softly. Chen Boqiao did not speak, and followed him up the stairs unhurriedly.
The second room on the left hand side of the second floor is where Zhang Jue's father works. There is no carpet on the mahogany floor, and the entire wall is filled with dense books. Zhang Jue shoots the books above each bookcase. The lights were turned on, he walked to the wall with the label "Zhang Jue", lowered his head slightly, and looked for the graduation book Chen Boqiao wanted.
Chen Boqiao stood and waited not far behind him.
There are too many books on the bookshelf. There are picture albums from his childhood and reading materials from his school days. He has not seen them for a long time. He pressed his finger on the spine of one book after another, and couldn't help but start to wonder if the graduation book was not in the study at all. , suddenly a hand lightly placed on his shoulder, and the faint scent of rosin and sea salt came close to him.
Chen Boqiao hugged him from the back neither lightly nor heavy, Zhang Jue turned his head to look, Chen Boqiao glanced at the bookcase briefly, looked down at him, and described Zhang Jue easily: "You are too serious to look for it. ."
He pressed Zhang Jue's shoulder, made Zhang Jue turn around, lowered his head slightly, kissed Zhang Jue's forehead, and then put his right hand on Zhang Jue's lower abdomen through the soft sweater.
"I am—" Chen Boqiao said with a faint smile, "—I want to find a place with no one with you."
Zhang Jue's back was against the bookshelf, and his waist was hanging in the air, and he was quickly embraced by Chen Boqiao.