Caught completely off guard.
A dead silence suddenly fell over the private room.
By the time the two of them sat down, Xi Gaoyuan had finally processed the meaning of “fiancée.” His eyes went wide. “You two are planning to get married?” Jiang Wen said, “Yeah.”
A few more seconds of silence followed, then Zhao Binlin slammed the table. “Damn! You’re really something, seriously!”
After that, the whole group erupted, teasing and bantering—these were all people who’d grown up together, and their jokes flew around without restraint.
Everyone knew, to varying degrees, about Jiang Wen’s rocky romantic history, and exchanged knowing smiles, chattering away all at once—some calling Feng Ning “sister-in-law,” others calling her “future sister-in-law.”
“So the girl Jiang Wen’s had a crush on since freshman year of high school was you all along. Better late than never—wow, gorgeous, just as expected.”
“This guy’s been single for years, it had us wondering if there was something wrong with his sexual orientation. We were about to send him to see a therapist.”
Jiang Wen let them talk about his embarrassing history without a word.
Feng Ning was quite used to handling this kind of scene—she was a master at warming up a room. She let others finish talking, chimed in with a joke here and there, and quickly blended right in with them.
While everyone else was busy teasing Jiang Wen, Zhao Binlin scooted over and said, very solemnly, “Feng Ning, that I’ve lived to see you and Jiang Wen finally get your happy ending—I’m genuinely happy. I’m happier than Jiang Wen’s own parents, probably.”
Feng Ning was amused. “That happy, huh?”
“Of course I am.” Zhao Binlin slapped his own thigh. “All these years, you two ignored each other, and it tortured me too, an innocent third party.”
“What torture did you go through? Tell me.”
Feng Ning put on a listening pose, ready to hear him out.
“I went through way too much torture to finish in a few hours—let’s have a drink first.”
As he spoke, Zhao Binlin poured Feng Ning a small cup of alcohol, then poured one for himself.
Jiang Wen appeared to be listening intently to someone else talk, but his eyes stayed fixed on Feng Ning the whole time. The moment he saw Zhao Binlin pouring her a drink, he tugged at her hand.
Feng Ning, smiling, turned back. “Hm? What is it?”
Just then, Xi Gaoyuan called out to Jiang Wen, “Come on, have a couple of drinks too.”
Jiang Wen refused without a second thought. “Not drinking.”
Xi Gaoyuan let out a “heh,” finding him unreasonable, and pressed harder. “Why not? You have to drink.”
Jiang Wen tilted his chin toward Feng Ning. “She won’t let me.”
Xi Gaoyuan: “?”
Someone else groaned and laughed mockingly. “Bro Wen, don’t you have any dignity as a man? Be a man and just do it.”
Jiang Wen’s eyes held a mocking glint as he said unhurriedly, “You’ve got a man’s dignity, all right—but do you have a wife?”
“………”
“Damn, not even married yet and already so smug. Salted fish flipping over, aren’t we impressive.”
Jiang Wen was about to open his mouth again, but Feng Ning quickly cut him off before he could say something else shocking. She waved a hand at the group. “It’s fine, it’s fine, you all drink.”
Jiang Wen frowned slightly out of habit and glanced at her. “You were the one who told me to quit drinking yesterday.” Feng Ning said, “A little now and then is fine.”
Jiang Wen let out a reluctant “oh,” tapping his fingers against his glass, and told them, “Pour the drinks, then.”
He’d become the very picture of a henpecked husband, outwardly proper but actually flaunting his devotion, drawing plenty of complaints. Xi Gaoyuan was utterly speechless, grabbing a wine bottle as if to hurl it. “That’s enough, I’m about to throw up. Jiang Wen, quit being so sappy. Drink or get lost.”
…
…
Zhao Binlin specifically swapped seats with someone else and plopped down right next to Feng Ning. “I’m not into hanging out with this bunch of rowdy men, no fun.”
Feng Ning couldn’t help laughing. “So… are we going to have a little private chat here?”
“Tch, exactly what I had in mind.”
After chatting for a while, Zhao Binlin seemed to remember something. “You know Jiang Wen is actually pretty secretly wild, right?”
“Secretly wild?”
Feng Ning thought about it. “Yeah, a bit.”
“You don’t know this—for all these years, on the surface, Jiang Wen never let me bring you up, but he was so extra about it. He’d constantly hint at me, hint about you, you know what I mean? He’d never come out and say it directly, he’d always beat around the bush asking about you.”
Feng Ning was curious. “How did he beat around the bush?”
Zhao Binlin finally had a chance to talk, and once he started, out came a flood of complaints. “Jiang Wen and I have a time difference, you know. He’d often find me to chat in the middle of the night. I’d want to sleep, and he’d call me long-distance—once a month without fail, more punctual than you girls’ periods.”
…
…
At first Zhao Binlin had no idea what Jiang Wen was up to—he figured he was just lonely in a foreign country, missing him. So he’d actually been quite touched, and like a total fool, he’d chat along with Jiang Wen, rambling about this and that, awkward small talk, gritting his teeth through it.
But after chatting for ages, feeling like they’d exhausted a lifetime’s worth of conversation between brothers, his throat dry enough to smoke, Jiang Wen still showed no sign of hanging up. Zhao Binlin, puzzled, asked, “Jiang Wen, did something happen to you? This sudden burst of enthusiasm from you is honestly making me uncomfortable.”
“What could possibly happen to me.”
“Well, good thing nothing did.” Zhao Binlin yawned. “Let’s leave it here then, I’m going to sleep. Hanging up, okay?”
“Wait.” Jiang Wen said. “Talk a bit more.”
Zhao Binlin deflated. “Bro, are you trying to borrow money from me? How much do you want, just say it.”
After more back-and-forth stalling, Zhao Binlin suddenly had a flash of inspiration. “Oh right, I recently asked that person out for a meal.”
“Who.”
“Feng Ning.”
Jiang Wen fell silent, and after a moment let out an “oh.” “What about her.”
Zhao Binlin reported honestly, “She’s doing pretty well, it seems. I asked around indirectly—she’s not dating anyone yet, though plenty of guys are after her.”
Jiang Wen suddenly spoke up. “You didn’t mention me to her, did you?”
Zhao Binlin said very loyally, “Don’t worry, I didn’t say a single word, and neither did she.”
Jiang Wen: “……”
They talked a bit more, and once the sleepiness passed, Zhao Binlin got more and more animated, gesturing wildly.
Jiang Wen cut him off. “Okay, go to sleep. I’ve got class.”
Then, the phone let out a string of busy tones.
Zhao Binlin, wide awake now, pulled the phone away from his ear: “?”
…
…
Getting to this part of the story, Zhao Binlin himself couldn’t help laughing. “And then I got it, you know—I was just a tool being used. After that, whenever Jiang Wen called, I didn’t bother with small talk anymore. I’d go straight to telling him about you—done in a few minutes.”
At the end, he added, “And you know what? Every time I post a group photo on my WeChat Moments, this bastard Jiang Wen checks who liked it.”
Feng Ning didn’t quite catch on. “Checking that for what?”
“I don’t know either.” Zhao Binlin said, implying something. “Probably checking whether you’d liked it.”
“……”
Feng Ning stole a glance at Jiang Wen.
With his friends around, he seemed relaxed, carrying an air of casual ease.
The moment she turned her head, Jiang Wen immediately caught her gaze. While talking with someone else, he spared a glance to look at her.
This family-style gathering went on for a long time. When they’d arrived, it had still been snowing; by the time they left, the snow had stopped.
Feng Ning went to the restroom, and when she came out, she didn’t see Jiang Wen anywhere.
She turned her head, searching around.
Not far off, a group of young women were pushing and laughing at each other. One woman with big curls fixed her clothes and walked toward a man leaning against a pillar nearby.
She cleared her throat. “Hey, handsome, can I add you on WeChat?”
Under the lights, the man’s features were sharp and clear, his expression scarce, yet he looked more handsome than any movie star, by a good three parts.
He was slow to answer. “Let’s be friends.”
Making eye contact with Feng Ning for a few seconds, Jiang Wen lazily shifted his gaze to fix on the woman asking for his contact. “Sorry, I’m married.”
Big-curls beauty: “?”
“My wife’s right behind you.”