"Afraid Ji Zhixiu wouldn't go, Lu Cong leaned on his table. 'I've mixed two new drinks. Want to try them? I know you must be lonely with your wife not home, let's go relax outside.'"
Seattle.
Ji Zhixiu crossed his long legs, gently swirling a glass of red wine. His handsome face, illuminated by the lights, appeared even more mysterious, drawing one in to explore.
Chang Qin glanced at his watch. "I have to be back by ten, just letting you guys know. I need to go coax Qingqing to sleep."
Lu Cong: "Got it, got it. By the way, how has Zhilan been lately?"
Ji Zhixiu was more casual now, his voice lazy. "I'm not sure. But my mom gave her some of her private savings, so she should be doing alright."
"I saw her at the hospital a few days ago. She was going for her prenatal check-up alone," Chang Qin said.
Ji Zhixiu gave a dry laugh. "As expected. If this marriage lasts a year, I'll eat my hat."
Chang Qin felt a craving for nicotine and popped two pieces of gum into his mouth, chewing. "No one had faith in this relationship from the start."
Lu Cong sighed. "You brothers didn't try to stop him."
"We tried, but he wouldn't listen. They're adults now, shouldn't they think about the consequences of their actions?" Ji Zhixiu raised his glass, taking a sip of wine. He tilted his head back slightly, revealing his sensual Adam's apple.
Chang Qin: "Speaking of which, how are you doing? Didn't your mom want to set you up on a blind date?"
Lu Cong grinned slyly. "I've found a way to solve that. I hired a master, who told my mom that I need to maintain my purity until marriage for everything to go smoothly."
Chang Qin gave him a thumbs-up. "Impressive."
"Humble, humble. Oh, right, this person I found, I think she's quite skilled. Even though she's young and a woman, I think she's very accurate. She said your brother-in-law will be back soon, and my sister is over the moon. Even my sister really likes her." Lu Cong stroked his chin. "Her name is Qin Xiaoyan, I think? Want me to introduce her?"
Ji Zhixiu refused. "No need. There's nothing for me to divine."
Chang Qin shook his head. "No, thank you."
None of them could have imagined then that they would later have reason to seek out Qin Xiaoyan.
"Alright, if you don't need it, then fine. You won't have this chance again if you want it later," Lu Cong huffed. "She calculated who my destined person is, and she said my true love hasn't arrived yet."
Seeing his two brothers with their significant others, Lu Cong felt a pang of envy. He sighed pensively. "Now, only Mu Yuan and I are truly free in body and mind."
Chang Qin grabbed a handful of peanuts and suddenly squinted, looking behind Lu Cong. "Look, isn't that Ji Zhilan?"
Ji Zhixiu twitched his fingers, put down his glass, and turned to look. After a moment of recognition, he nodded. "It's her and Jiang Cheng."
Lu Cong: "What are those two doing here?"
Chang Qin: "It looks like Jiang Cheng has had a bit too much to drink."
In the distance, Ji Zhilan grabbed Jiang Cheng's wrist. "Your mother asked me to find you, worried you, her precious son, would get lost. And here you are, looking for other women?"
Jiang Cheng said irritably, "Ji Zhilan, which eye of yours saw me looking for other women? I can't even come out for a few drinks when I'm in a bad mood?"
"Still trying to argue? What else would you be doing here if not looking for women?"
Hearing their argument, Lu Cong quickly stepped forward. "Zhilan! Calm down, calm down! You're pregnant, let's talk about this calmly."
Ji Zhilan turned and saw him, feeling a wave of wronged emotion. "Brother Lu Cong."
Jiang Cheng's expression shifted the moment he saw her looking at Ji Zhilan, and he felt a surge of displeasure.
Lu Cong raised his hands in a gesture of sincerity. "Zhilan, this bar is owned by Chang Qin. We're law-abiding citizens, we don't offer any special services. Don't slander us. And you two, stop arguing about this."
He slung an arm around Jiang Cheng's shoulders. "My brother-in-law is here for a few drinks today, consider it on me. It's late, you two should head back. Need a ride?"
"Sure..." Ji Zhilan was about to agree.
Jiang Cheng said coldly, "No need."
He removed Lu Cong's arm and put it around Ji Zhilan. "Thank you, but no trouble. I'll take my wife home now."
"Okay, be safe." Lu Cong wasn't stupid, and he was puzzled by Jiang Cheng's sudden hostility. But since they didn't need a ride, so be it.
Ji Zhilan glanced at Lu Cong, smiled at him, and then left with Jiang Cheng.
Lu Cong walked back through the crowd and plopped down in a booth. "They're gone."
Chang Qin: "What did they say?"
Lu Cong: "Zhilan thought he came out to see other women, and they were arguing. I told him I don't have any women here."
Chang Qin's bar was impeccably clean. Many of the part-time servers were students working to fund their education. With Chang Qin as the boss, people generally didn't dare to cause trouble here.
Ji Zhixiu propped his forehead on his hand. "They're not far from divorce."
...
As soon as they entered the door, Jiang Cheng flung Ji Zhilan's hand away. "Brother Lu Cong, you call him that familiarly."
Ji Zhilan sat down steadily on the sofa and rubbed her wrist. "Jiang Cheng, I didn't say anything about you, but you're saying things about me? He's a friend I grew up with, what's wrong with me calling him brother?"
"Oh, 'lover boy'?"
Ji Zhilan's face turned red with anger at Jiang Cheng's unreasonable words. "What right do you have to mention him? Are you as gentle and considerate as Brother Lu Cong? Is he as attentive and rich as him?"
The more she spoke, the more Ji Zhilan found Lu Cong's merits.
Jiang Cheng suddenly leaned in, cornering Ji Zhilan. "Ji Zhilan, I know what you're thinking. Let me tell you, even if you like Lu Cong, you should see if your 'Brother Lu Cong' even likes you!"
Ji Zhilan's face flushed. "What nonsense are you talking, Jiang Cheng!"
She had never thought about being with Lu Cong! She admitted, at first, she had looked down on Lu Cong, but now, how could she possibly be worthy of him?
Jiang's mother came out of the room on the second floor and peered out. "Son, I asked Zhilan to find you. You're back but not sleeping, what are you whispering about downstairs?"
Jiang Cheng glared at her and called out, "Mom, we're going to sleep now. You should go to bed too."
"I'm so sleepy, I'm going to bed now. You two should sleep early too."
Jiang Cheng lowered his head and pulled Ji Zhilan up. "Go upstairs and sleep."
Ji Zhilan pushed his hand away. "Don't touch me. You smell of alcohol, it's disgusting."
Jiang Cheng laughed. "I'm disgusting? You married me even though I'm disgusting. Stop pretending."
Ji Zhilan shoved him and walked upstairs. At the same time, she made a firm decision in her heart: she was going to divorce him!
She and Jiang Cheng couldn't go on like this anymore!
...
When Jiang Mian's scenes were finished, Zhao Xinxin was in tears. "Master, what will I do when you leave? Your disciple will miss you."
Jiang Mian patted her. "It's okay. When you return to Kyoto, we can go out and play together."
Ling He stood beside her and handed her a tissue. "Wipe your face. You're crying so ugly."
Zhao Xinxin didn't want to bicker with him, she was too heartbroken. She grabbed Jiang Mian's arm. "Wooooo... I'll miss you, Master..."
Ye Yi said coolly from the side, "If you delay any longer, she'll miss her flight."
"What?!" Zhao Xinxin immediately let go of her. "Then you should go quickly. I'll come to Kyoto to find you after I finish filming this drama."
Jiang Mian nodded. "Then just message me on WeChat. Also," she whispered in her ear, "Cheer up. I'm rooting for you and Ling He."
Zhao Xinxin suddenly became shy. "Really... really? I understand. You should go now."
She looked up at Ling He, who frowned, not understanding the sudden bashful expression. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" she said hastily.
"If nothing's wrong, then focus on preparing for your next scene."
...
Jiang Mian got on the plane and closed her eyes, preparing to rest.
"Excuse me, could you move over, please?"
The voice was very close, and extremely familiar. Jiang Mian took off her eye mask. "Ye Yi?"
Ye Yi smiled warmly. "What's up?"
She got up to let Ye Yi sit down. "Why are you here too?"
Ye Yi: "My scenes are finished, so I'm going back naturally."
His character was unimportant, so he could finish filming whenever he pleased, it was that easy.
"Oh," Jiang Mian replied, putting her eye mask back on.
Ye Yi tilted his head to look at her, undisguised interest in his eyes.
Li Laidi and Xiang Long sat behind Jiang Mian. Seeing Ye Yi follow them, Xiang Long secretly made a mental note. He planned to report it to General Manager Ji as soon as they got back.
Li Laidi was happy thinking she would see her mother when they returned. Xiang Long, infected by her mood, lowered his voice. "Laidi, will you come with me to see my parents when we get back? They're very kind."
Li Laidi smiled. "Okay."
"Really? You really agreed?" Xiang Long was overjoyed and couldn't help but embrace her.
"I really agreed."
She had thought it through. Sister Mian was right. A man as excellent as Xiang Long was not someone she should miss, but someone she should hold onto tightly.
After getting off the plane, Jiang Mian didn't notice Ye Yi, and the man had already vanished without a trace.
Jiang Mian got into the car. "Take Laidi home first."
Xiang Long nodded. "Got it."
After dropping Li Laidi off at her place, they returned to the villa.
Ji Zhixiu wasn't home today. Aunt Song was overjoyed to see her return.
"I feel like the young madam has lost weight while you were out working. Now that you're back, what do you want to eat? I'll make it for you, I'll make sure you gain it all back."
Jiang Mian hugged Xiao Yu Gan. While she was away, Xiao Yu Gan had become even fatter under Aunt Song's care. His fur was glossy, and he felt wonderful to the touch. She stroked him a few times and smelled him. "Perfect, I've been craving Aunt Song's fried meatballs. Let's have some tonight?"
"Of course, of course. I'll make them for you." Aunt Song tied on her apron and was about to head to the kitchen.
Jiang Mian didn't stop her. For Aunt Song, as long as people enjoyed her cooking, it was the greatest affirmation and meaning in her life.
She dialed Ji Zhixiu's number, her voice sweet. "Honey—"
Ji Zhixiu's pen scratched a line across the paper, rendering a contract worth twenty million null and void. The man's expression remained unchanged. "You're back?"
"I'm back."
"Why didn't you say so? I could have picked you up."
Jiang Mian curved her lips. "I wanted to surprise you. I'll be back for dinner tonight."
Coming home for dinner, these simple domestic instructions were something he had fantasized about countless times. Ji Zhixiu let out a low laugh, his eyes seemingly filled with a thousand tender emotions. "I'm coming back right now."