"Let's go."
"You agreed?" Xie Jianyuan looked delighted.
"Mm, lead the way."
Following Xie Jianyuan through the bustling crowd, Xu Chun finally arrived at a secluded booth.
"Let me introduce him. This is Xu Chun, a senior in my industry."
Smiling, Xie Jianyuan introduced him to a man on the sofa. Xu Chun felt somewhat helpless, but he walked over to shake the man's hand politely.
But when he got close enough to see the man's face, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his face went deathly pale, as if all the blood had drained from it in an instant.
"Hello, we meet again. I'm Jiang Xiuyan."
Sitting on the sofa, Jiang Xiuyan smiled and held out his hand, his eyes fixed on Xu Chun's face.
Chapter 7: Scandal
Xu Chun came to his senses, forced a smile, and reached out to shake his hand.
"President Jiang."
Xie Jianyuan glanced between the two of them and raised an eyebrow.
"You two know each other?"
"We've met once before," Xu Chun explained gently.
They had met at a dinner before, but because Xu Chun had deliberately avoided him, they hadn't spoken at length. He hadn't expected that he still wouldn't be able to avoid him.
Xie Jianyuan seemed very interested in the subject and persisted, "Where did you meet?"
Jiang Xiuyan smiled. "At a dinner."
His gaze remained on Xu Chun's face. Looking at the two similar faces before him, he had a thousand thoughts running through his mind.
Xu Chun looked at Jiang Xiuyan, then at Xie Jianyuan. He hadn't noticed before, but now it seemed that Xie Jianyuan was even taller and broader than Jiang Xiuyan.
He also noticed Wei Jiahe sprawled on the sofa like a corpse, and his gaze flickered. He knew this man: in his previous life, he had been a good buddy who hung around Xie Jianyuan. What Xu Chun remembered most about him was the scandal he later became embroiled in with a certain actress.
"Do you usually like coming here to have fun, Mr. Xu?" Jiang Xiuyan asked Xu Chun.
Xu Chun frowned almost imperceptibly. He hardly ever went to places like this. Aside from his company team's strict rules, he personally disliked places that were too noisy. If he hadn't been looking for Xu Jin, he would never have come here.
Though that was what he thought, he still answered gently, "I come by and sit for a while now and then."
Xie Jianyuan raised an eyebrow with a faint smile. "Somehow, that feels a little out of place."
Xu Chun smiled. "How so?"
Xie Jianyuan gazed at him with a smile. "It's just my personal impression, but you seem like the type to make a cup of tea and read the newspaper at home, Senior."
Xie Jianyuan had a magic that put people at ease without their noticing. After chatting with him for a bit, Xu Chun's body, which had been stiff with vigilance, relaxed considerably.
He had heard before that some people had extremely high emotional intelligence and blended into the atmosphere without making a sound. By the time others noticed, they would find themselves chatting happily with them. Now that he thought about it, Xie Jianyuan was just that type.
A hint of genuine amusement entered Xu Chun's eyes. "You make me sound like an old man."
Xie Jianyuan curved his lips into a smile. "That's the impression I get."
The two looked at each other for a moment, both struggling to hold back their laughter, then turned their faces away at the same time.
Jiang Xiuyan gave the two of them a meaningful look. "You two seem close."
Hearing him speak, Xu Chun only then remembered that he was still there, and his smile involuntarily faded a little.
Xie Jianyuan idly shook the dice and said with a smile, "Actually, I misunderstood Senior the first time I saw him."
"Why?" Jiang Xiuyan asked.
Looking at the silent Xu Chun, Xie Jianyuan said, "I saw him 'teaching a newcomer a lesson' and thought he was hard to get along with."
After a moment's thought, Xu Chun remembered the incident he meant and smiled as well. "I remember now. You seemed a little hostile toward me at the time."
Xie Jianyuan, too, was lost in recollection. He narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled. "Was I? How could I possibly be hostile toward you, Senior?"
Xu Chun smiled noncommittally. Although Xie Jianyuan denied it, Xu Chun's own instincts couldn't have been wrong.
Watching the two chat so happily, Jiang Xiuyan felt a complicated mix of emotions. He tipped his head back and drained his glass, then said in a low voice, "It's almost eleven. Let's go back."
Interrupted, Xu Chun froze for a moment and looked at Jiang Xiuyan. Although he had prepared himself mentally, looking at his face again still brought a faint stab of pain to his heart.
This was someone he had genuinely loved. He hadn't expected to end up in such a sorry state, being told that he was nothing more than a joke.
The four left the hotel together. Jiang Xiuyan and Xie Jianyuan each supported one of Wei Jiahe's arms, while Xu Chun walked at the back wearing a mask.
When they parted at the intersection, the two of them worked together to bundle Wei Jiahe into the car that had come to pick him up. Jiang Xiuyan then glanced at his watch and said to Xie Jianyuan, "I'll give you a ride."
"No need. Someone's coming to pick me up in a little while."
It was a little cold outside at that hour, and the night wind was biting. Very few pedestrians were out on the sidewalk so late. Xu Chun deliberately dawdled at the back, watching the two men talking under a streetlight ahead and planning to say goodbye to Xie Jianyuan and leave once Jiang Xiuyan was gone.
After he had waited quite a while, there was still no sign of the two stopping. Xu Chun, barely able to stand the cold, pulled his collar closer, glanced at the time on his phone, and couldn't help yawning.
I might as well leave without saying goodbye. They won't notice if I just go like this. For once, Xu Chun didn't want to worry about being polite.
"Senior." Xie Jianyuan turned, intending to call Xu Chun over, but when he noticed that Xu Chun seemed to shiver from the cold, he frowned and walked over with a concerned expression. "What's wrong? Are you too cold?"
As he spoke, he reached out to check his temperature. Seeing this, Xu Chun quietly avoided his hand and smiled gently. "I'm fine. I'll head back first, then."
"Take care on your way back, Senior. Goodbye."