Not at Home

The two men entered the elevator one after the other.

The elevator doors slowly closed.

In the enclosed space, only the faint hum of the elevator remained.

Jiang Yu said, "They're already in the private room. I left my phone in the car, so I came down to get it."

He thought of the girl who had come with Xi Jin earlier and, like an older brother looking out for his younger brother, asked with a smile:

"Was that your girlfriend just now?"

Xi Jin gave him an incredulous smile, as if the idea were absurd. "No."

Jiang Yu was just sighing over the missed opportunity.

Then Xi Jin added, "My girlfriend's at home."

"So you really do have one."

Surprised, Jiang Yu leaned forward. "When did you start dating?"

Xi Jin didn't want to linger on the subject. He turned to Jiang Yu and asked:

"That junior you invited out—this isn't just a simple reunion, is it?"

"..."

Caught out, Jiang Yu was instantly a little embarrassed. He tugged at the tie around his neck.

"It's not like that. I used to have quite a thing for her, though."

He paused, then added with a smile:

"I don't know if it was fate, but I happened to run into her today."

"She's a little shy, so I invited her classmates to dinner with us."

"That way it wouldn't be too awkward with just the two of us."

Xi Jin leaned against the elevator wall, his gaze resting on Jiang Yu's face, which was written all over with the first stirrings of love.

A smile touched his brows, and even his voice was softer than usual.

He looked every bit like a man on the verge of falling into the net of love.

Xi Jin's lips curved.

"Since fate's brought her to you, Brother Jiang, you'd better hold on tight."

"Nothing's happened yet."

Jiang Yu smiled even more broadly, not forgetting to return the good wishes.

"I hope you and your girlfriend make it to the altar soon. I'll be waiting to drink at your wedding."

As they spoke,

the elevator arrived at the floor with a ding.

The doors slowly opened.

The two men said their goodbyes.

One went left, the other right.

Xi Jin thought of what Jiang Yu had just said.

I'll be waiting to drink at your wedding.

Even the breeze stirred up by his steps seemed tinged with pleasure.

Jiang Yu returned to the private room.

"Sorry."

As he spoke, he walked straight over and sat down beside Nan Xingyu, his gaze falling instinctively on her profile.

The soft light traced her delicate profile, her long lashes hanging down. She was very pretty.

He didn't dare look for long. Turning to the others, he said, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Lin Piaopiao teased him. "Senior Brother Jiang, we thought you were going to skip out on the bill. This meal's really expensive. We almost decided to play rock-paper-scissors, and whoever lost would wash dishes here for a month."

"I'm really sorry."

Jiang Yu pressed his palms together. "I ran into an old friend and chatted with him for a bit."

Lin Piaopiao, as familiar as if they were old friends, said, "Why didn't you invite him along?"

Jiang Yu took out his phone and put it on the table. "I couldn't persuade him to come," he joked. "That big shot's time is precious. He was already doing me a favor by talking to me for a few minutes."

"Who is it? He's that important?"

Lin Piaopiao was curious. "Even the famous Lawyer Jiang of the Beijing circle couldn't persuade him?"

Jiang Yu raised a hand in embarrassment. "Don't tease me, or I really will skip out on the bill."

Lin Piaopiao immediately made a gesture of zipping her lips.

Then she went back to talking with Li Ziyan about the weirdos who pursued her.

The sound of the two women chattering soon filled the private room.

Jiang Yu picked up his chopsticks, but his gaze kept drifting uncontrollably toward Nan Xingyu beside him.

She sat with her head obediently lowered, eating her food. Her chopsticks held a piece of greens, which she chewed in small bites.

Her long eyelashes fluttered gently as she chewed.

She was still as quiet and peaceful as before.

Even the air grew warm and pleasant when he was beside her.

Lin Piaopiao suddenly looked over. "Senior Brother Jiang, tell me, isn't a guy like that a weirdo?"

Jiang Yu froze for a moment.

He'd been so busy looking at Nan Xingyu that he hadn't heard their conversation at all. He gave an awkward smile.

"I didn't quite catch that. What happened?"

"Why is it that the guys who pursue me are either crooked melons and split dates or fucking idiots?"

"I had a cup of milk tea that cost twenty yuan, and he asked, 'Do you usually drink stuff this expensive?' He said I was wasteful. I didn't fucking ask him to buy it!"

"×&%￥#@..."

She repeated everything she'd just complained about, then sighed.

"Where have all the quality men gone?"

She remembered the old friend Jiang Yu had mentioned. "Senior Brother Jiang, do you know anyone suitable? Introduce your little sister to someone?"

Jiang Yu noticed that Nan Xingyu wanted a tissue, so he pulled one out and handed it to her.

Too embarrassed to look at her, he looked diagonally across the table instead. "Sure. I'll keep an eye out for you."

Nan Xingyu paused slightly.

She took the tissue he offered.

Luckily, Xi Jin wasn't there.

"Don't just say it and forget about it."

Lin Piaopiao smiled. "Was the person you ran into a man or a woman?"

"A man," Jiang Yu said.

Lin Piaopiao raised an eyebrow. "Handsome?"

Jiang Yu thought of that highly recognizable face and couldn't help laughing.

"Very handsome, and not just ordinarily handsome."

"Wow!"

Lin Piaopiao ran over excitedly and leaned against the table. "Do you have a photo?"

Jiang Yu said, "You should all have seen him before. He's very famous, even at Peking University."

"Huh?"

Lin Piaopiao grew even more excited. "He's from Peking University too?"

Li Ziyan suddenly joined the conversation. "Who else could be the most famous person at Peking University besides Xi Jin?"

At the sound of that name,

Nan Xingyu, who was gnawing on a spare rib with her head down, paused.

Then she thought about it.

How could it be him?

She went back to biting her spare rib as though it had nothing to do with her, cheeks bulging as she worked to separate the meat from the bone in her mouth.

Jiang Yu hesitated. Seeing Lin Piaopiao's increasingly expectant gaze, he couldn't bear to tease her any longer.

"He's out of the question. He has a girlfriend."

"Tsk."

Lin Piaopiao's face fell instantly. She stood up in annoyance. "Senior Brother Jiang, why didn't you say so earlier? You got me excited for nothing."

She instantly lost interest in knowing who it was.

She returned to her seat.

"I'm sorry. Don't be angry."

Feeling that he'd upset the young woman, Jiang Yu apologized.

"If there are any suitable handsome men around me in the future, I'll definitely introduce them to you."

He even patiently asked what type she liked.

Li Ziyan cut in. "Lawyer Jiang, you're single yourself, yet you're worrying about other people's love lives. Why don't you just..."

Noticing her look, Lin Piaopiao immediately said:

"Don't go playing matchmaker, now. Senior Brother Jiang is too proper. A bad girl like me had better not sully him."

As she spoke, she noticed Nan Xingyu, who had barely said a word since they came in.

Then she looked at the refined, gentlemanly Jiang Yu.

She immediately clapped her hands. "Senior Brother Jiang, what do you think of our Xingyu?"

In another private room,

Xi Jin arrived late.

Jiang Zheng, chairman of the Jiang Group, and Xi Kun had already been chatting inside for a while.

Jiang Yuexi sat beside Jiang Zheng.

"Hello, Uncle Jiang."

Xi Jin greeted him politely. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Oh, our world champion is here!"

Jiang Zheng's face was wreathed in smiles, his eyes full of appreciation.

"You really are a fine-looking young man. You're much more handsome in person than on TV."

Jiang Zheng's ancestors had had many connections in political circles, and he had always placed special value on people who brought glory to the country.

He said to Xi Kun, "President Xi, you're truly blessed to have such an outstanding son. Not only is he handsome, he's accomplished too."

Hearing someone praise Xi Jin's excellence, Xi Kun showed a trace of pleasure.

"He's just a rascal. How could he compare to your daughter, President Jiang? Yuexi is beautiful and capable, already able to take charge on her own at the company at such a young age."

Xi Jin sat down beside Xi Kun.

His gaze naturally turned across the table.

With their elders present, Jiang Yuexi still gave him a warm smile.

Xi Jin's gaze swept lightly over her.

As though he hadn't seen her at all,

his eyes settled on the baijiu glass in front of him. He picked it up, gave it a casual glance, then put it down again without interest.

The person across from him was about to explode with anger.

The elders exchanged compliments.

The two younger people only offered a few words when they were mentioned, neither showing much expression in their eyes.

A server knocked and entered with a dish.

It was giant river prawns drunken in Shaoxing wine.

Nan Xingyu liked them.

He remembered that the auntie who cooked had bought giant river prawns today too.

Perhaps it was because Nan Xingyu had caused a fuss by pretending to be drunk.

Whenever he saw anything involving alcohol, he didn't want her to touch it again.

He sent the auntie a message.

[Make the giant river prawns oil-braised or steamed.]

A reply came shortly afterward.

[All right, Mr. Xi.]

Xi Jin put down his phone and was about to pick up his chopsticks when another message arrived.

[Mr. Xi, Miss Nan said she won't be home for dinner tonight. Should I cook the prawns and put them in the fridge, or wait until Miss Nan comes back to make them?]

Xi Jin stared thoughtfully at his phone.

"Xiao Jin."

Jiang Zheng called to him, raising his glass. "What has you so absorbed?"

Xi Jin put down his phone. "A school notification."

He stood with his glass, respectful and polite. "Uncle Jiang, let me offer you a toast."

Smiling, Jiang Zheng raised his glass toward him from across the table. "I'll have to savor a toast from you, Xiao Jin."

Xi Jin maintained his composure, but his thoughts were in turmoil. "I'll finish mine. Please drink as you like."

He tipped his head back and drained the baijiu in his glass.

The fiery liquid slid down his throat, but it did nothing to calm him.

He gently set down his glass. "Sorry, I'm going out to make a call."