Tang Yang was stating facts. Jiang Shiyan smiled, “It doesn’t make me feel any better.”
Another “It’s okay,” Tang Yang said, “False in comfort, true in showing off.”
Jiang Shiyan: “Do you still want to eat bullfrog fish head? It’s not on the map, but I’ve been there.”
He hadn’t even symbolically uttered “I don’t want to take you” when…
“Not today,” Tang Yang feigned regret, “Director Gan just called me and said there’s a department gathering tonight. I can’t miss it.”
He had intended to reject her but ended up being rejected himself.
Jiang Shiyan choked, his hand on the car key but unable to start the engine.
Once, “clicked,” it died.
Twice, it died.
The third time, it barely started.
Jiang Shiyan gripped the steering wheel, his face as gloomy as an overcast sky.
Tang Yang, having reclaimed her dignity after being likened to a sensitive plant despite chasing away the dog herself, was so happy she could barely contain herself while playing a game.
The game music was too low, so she turned up the volume a bit.
Glancing at his expression, hmm, she turned it up even more.
After half an hour of silence, they arrived at Youran Residence, as mentioned by Gan Yiming.
Jiang Shiyan was brief: “Get out.”
Tang Yang nimbly got out of the car, waving at the driver’s seat with curved eyes: “Thank you.”
Big Boss Jiang had been upset the whole way, and Deputy Director Tang’s final smile was the catalyst for ending their friendship.
Big Boss Jiang couldn’t even be bothered to grunt an “mm,” shifting gears to leave.
Tang Yang called out “Hey, hey” twice, holding onto the car window.
Jiang Shiyan turned his head.
The face in the car window was backlit by the street lamps, as small as a palm.
A pair of large, bright black eyes, glistening as if filled with tears. She exclaimed “Wow,” her eyes seeming to speak along with her words, pitifully saying, “Jiang Shiyan, aren’t you going to tell me to drink less?”
How could he not know she was acting? Jiang Shiyan’s heart still skipped a beat for a moment, then he put on a sardonic smile much like Tang Yang’s, mimicking her earlier tone: “Not today…”
The final syllable dragged on.
Tang Yang turned and left, while Jiang Shiyan revved the engine thunderously.
From then on, for unknown reasons, they severed ties without saying goodbye.
————
Youran Residence was a national chain of old establishments, and the queue was always long.
When Tang Yang entered, the hall was packed.
She saw her colleagues at a large table in the distance and smiled, then her gaze fell on the only empty seat at the table, next to Gan Yiming.
“Deputy Tang, you must drink three glasses as punishment,” Fan Linlang stood up to greet Tang Yang.
Just a moment ago, Deputy Tang was still at the door, engaging in a lively argument with Jiang Shiyan.
Now, she tilted her head and coughed lightly, walked over, and said to a male colleague, “I have a bit of a cold and can’t handle the hot air from the air conditioner. Could I trouble you to move over there? I’ll sit next to Linlang.”
“Deputy Tang, you’re not avoiding me, are you?” Gan Yiming smiled warmly.
“I wouldn’t dare,” Tang Yang coughed twice more and sat down. “I was fine at noon, but I went out with a friend in the afternoon and caught some wind. My head feels as heavy as iron. If I catch more wind,” Tang Yang imitated Gan Yiming’s tone, “Director Gan, you’re not trying to get me hospitalized for a work injury so everyone can inherit the snacks on my desk, are you?”
Gan Yiming’s face didn’t fall, and he laughed heartily.
Everyone joined in the laughter.
As the dinner began, people came to toast one after another. Tang Yang uniformly substituted tea.
After two rounds, she simply took out a bottle of vitamin C without its shell, pretending it was cold medicine. After that, no one approached her again.
————
Under the trees at the entrance of Youran Residence, an R8 was parked.
The body was jet black, crouching like a dark panther.
A hand extended from the driver’s window, the skin fair, fingers long and slender, holding a cigarette between the joints. The cigarette tip flickered on and off.
The fingers on the cigarette occasionally tapped, dropping a string of ash.
From the moment Gan Yiming made the first call to Tang Yang in the afternoon, Jiang Shiyan felt something was off.
The Credit Review Department had staff specifically for handling life matters, so why was the director so enthusiastic? He needed to ask about Tang Yang’s outings, and who she was with, and even personally notified her about a simple gathering…
After dropping Tang Yang off, he had intended to go home, but the further he drove, the more uneasy he felt.
Jiang Shiyan, his head spinning, circled the building of Youran Residence ten times before returning to his starting point.
As a friend, he should call to remind Yang Ge.
But just as he picked up his phone, Jiang Shiyan remembered that he had just told her this afternoon that she was a grown-up and surely knew what she was doing. If he said it again, wouldn’t she think he was being nagging?
But men understand men best. If Gan Yiming didn’t have ulterior motives, he could make her a bowl of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall with his fingertip.
Besides, he wasn’t trying to prevent other men from approaching her. It’s just that Gan Yiming had a family and could still act like this, clearly not a good person. What if he set a trap for Tang Yang, and got her drunk? Tang Yang’s alcohol tolerance was limited to two ounces…
The cigarette butt was extinguished against the car door with the back of his hand.
Jiang Shiyan dialed a number.
————
Cheng Siran’s parents were old friends of the Jiang family. If Cheng Siran hadn’t gone abroad for middle school, they would have been childhood sweethearts. Cheng Siran returned last year and often met up with him, Shen Chuan, and Feng Weiran, creating a small WeChat group where they got along well.
Feng Weiran was a married man with a childish side, while Shen Chuan was a playboy who didn’t discriminate. In Cheng Siran’s classification, Jiang Shiyan belonged to the type who talked about big breasts, long legs, and cars all day, but when a minor celebrity approached him, he was clearer-headed than anyone else.
Typically flirtatious, but ultimately innocent.
It was the first time he had called this late at night.
“What’s up, Yan-dog?” Cheng Siran gave himself a Sichuan opera entrance effect.
“Siran-dog,” Jiang Shiyan rested his foot on the car hood, his eyes fixed on the two faint marks on the tip of his leather shoes, frowning, “Are you at Youran Residence? The one next to Huishang Bank. I remember Uncle Cheng said he wanted you to train a bit last time.”
“I am, but all three rounds are fully booked tonight,” Cheng Siran said, “But if you need it, I can immediately…”
“It’s not for me,” Jiang Shiyan interrupted, “Can you check if there’s a table booked by Huishang Bank?”
Cheng Siran searched on the computer: “By the window, Credit Review Department.”
Jiang Shiyan pressed his temples: “Help me keep an eye on someone.”
Cheng Siran: “…”
Jiang Shiyan described: “Pink down jacket, yellow sweater, shoulder-length hair, slightly curled, very fair skin…” Finally, “A shorty.”
Quite pretty.
Cheng Siran spotted her on the monitor and instructed his staff, then exclaimed, “Who is she?”
Jiang Shiyan blurted out in a tone that suggested Cheng Siran was asking a stupid question: “A very important person.”
As soon as he said it, Cheng Siran, who had only considered “client” or “relative” as possible answers, was stunned: “A girl—”
At the same time, Jiang Shiyan also felt his answer wasn’t quite right and quickly interrupted: “She’s a very close friend of mine, we’ve known each other since first year of high school, high school classmates, university classmates, economics and management top student… She just transferred back to A City, doesn’t know the place well, her department is a mess, and as a brother, I naturally have to look out for her… Although her temper isn’t great, she’s a good person, typical sharp tongue but soft heart…”
After rattling off a long list of praises without giving Cheng Siran a chance to respond, Jiang Shiyan seemed to realize he had been talking for a long time.
“It’s hard to explain to you,” Jiang Shiyan tugged at his shirt collar in frustration, “Anyway, just keep a good eye on her, but don’t be too obvious. In the future, whenever she comes, keep an eye out. If she drinks too much or if anything happens…”
Cheng Siran: “I’m your brother too.”
Jiang Shiyan: “While I’m alive, don’t come to Yixiu for your promotional videos.”
Cheng Siran stood at attention and saluted: “Yes, Dad, I’ll take good care of Grandpa, nice and docile.”
After Cheng Siran confirmed with the manager that the table had ordered beer, and with the nearby waiter that the “shorty” in the pink down jacket was fine and sitting with two other women, he reported back to Jiang Shiyan.
Jiang Shiyan felt he had fulfilled his duty as a friend. The R8 became easier to drive, the traffic lights no longer blurred, and the roads no longer forked. He even put on some upbeat country music, nodding and humming all the way home.
Meanwhile, inside Youran Residence, Cheng Siran had a delayed realization: First of all, Youran Residence’s safety was an industry benchmark, and how much customers drank was their own business. As the owner, he couldn’t possibly go and take away their wine bottles. And then, what did he mean by “It’s hard to explain to you”?
Wasn’t it Jiang Shiyan himself who had been rambling on just now? Had he asked any questions? Was this man completely unreasonable?
But… wait a minute.
He, Cheng Siran, didn’t believe in pure friendship between men and women, especially when it came to Big Boss Jiang, who measured time in seconds. For a woman to reach this level of importance to him, there were only two possibilities.
One, girlfriend. Not the case.
So that left only the second possibility.
Author’s note:
Mini-scene:
Jiang Shiyan: Shorty, shorty, it’s Fat Bro!
Tang Yang: Fat Bro, Fat Bro, it’s Shorty!