WT Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Rainy Day, I Care.

Chapter 48 Rainy Day, I Care.

In a daze, Wen Shixi repeatedly pondered Jiang Quanyu’s voice, but still couldn’t discern what the hidden heart was trying to say.

He only asked, “Do you mean, you’re willing to give me a bigger cage?”

Jiang Quanyu lowered his gaze, looking at Wen Shixi’s lips as he spoke.

His fingertips moved, touching that soft place lightly, as if confirming the existence of the person before him.

Jiang Quanyu slowly closed his eyes and said in a low voice, “To be honest, if a cage could keep Wen Shixi locked up, I wouldn’t mind doing it.”

Wen Shixi paused, “…Are you serious, Jiang Quanyu?”

Jiang Quanyu: “What do you think?”

Wen Shixi frowned slightly: “I don’t want to be in a cage.”

Jiang Quanyu took a deep breath and exhaled softly.

“If you really don’t want to be locked up… then don’t think about running away anymore.”

In the scorching breath, Wen Shixi felt a tide of cold loneliness, as if Jiang Quanyu in front of him was immersed in a deep sea, his whole body bound by the seawater, leaving only a chill.

Wen Shixi’s eyes flickered slightly, wanting to glean a little reason from that disappointment.

A strange illusion even made Wen Shixi feel that he was the one holding the key to the cage.

After a moment, Wen Shixi’s voice softened slightly, and he asked helplessly, “Is there a difference between me not running away myself and being locked in a cage by you?”

He lightly tugged at the corner of Jiang Quanyu’s clothes: “You don’t want me to leave. Then at least show some sincerity, like promising now that you won’t have people watching me anymore.”

Hearing this, Jiang Quanyu’s brows furrowed slightly as he considered it.

Wen Shixi: “Is it that difficult?”

In the silence, Jiang Quanyu was silent for a moment before finally making a decision and saying, “It’s not difficult. I’m just a little surprised that we would negotiate terms like this.”

Wen Shixi: “You agree?”

Jiang Quanyu paused for a moment, his lips slowly moving: “You just said you didn’t want to be my younger brother anymore.”

Hearing this, Wen Shixi’s eyelashes drooped slightly.

For a moment, Wen Shixi couldn’t tell if what he had just said was a fit of anger or the truth.

He was very angry and didn’t want to continue being Jiang Quanyu’s younger brother.

But for a long time, he sometimes felt that this was the only thing he had.

Although it was thin, like dust in the air, just because he was Jiang Quanyu’s younger brother, even if they had no contact, they wouldn’t immediately disappear into the crowd of strangers as soon as they separated.

Jiang Quanyu looked at Wen Shixi’s lowered gaze and continued, “But I will still use other methods to deny what my father said at the press conference. At least, I won’t give others more room to discuss your identity.”

Wen Shixi: “You don’t have to do this. I really don’t care.”

Jiang Quanyu’s fingertips wandered, lightly brushing against the ends of Wen Shixi’s hair.

“I care,” Jiang Quanyu said.

Wen Shixi thought for a moment: “Whatever.”

In the silence, Jiang Quanyu slowly released Wen Shixi’s body.

The intertwined body temperature dissipated in the air, carrying a lingering, ethereal quality.

Jiang Quanyu lowered his eyes and looked at the scraps of paper on the ground.

Wen Shixi no longer belonged to the Jiang family.

Unable to tell whether it was a dream awakening or finally stopping self-deception, Jiang Quanyu’s deep, dark eyes were a murky mess, reflecting nothing.

After a moment of hesitation, Jiang Quanyu stepped forward and walked towards the entrance.

Wen Shixi watched the departing figure, thought for a moment, and suddenly spoke.

“Jiang Quanyu.”

His footsteps stopped in response.

Wen Shixi frowned tightly, his lips pursed.

He belatedly realized that he didn’t know why he had called out to Jiang Quanyu.

It was just that the figure that had been standing in front of him not long ago was suddenly moving further and further away, as if something had been hollowed out, bringing a continuous sense of tearing.

Wen Shixi thought for a moment and slowly opened his mouth: “Uncle wants your theme park project. I know this may not be much to you, but if you know… be careful.”

Hearing this, Jiang Quanyu’s back paused slightly.

Wen Shixi’s voice was like a breeze that could make people stop breathing to listen, slow and pleasant.

After a moment, Jiang Quanyu said, “Wen Shixi, rather than that, take care of yourself.”

Footsteps sounded again, walking step by step to the door.

The sound of the door closing was dry and echoed silently.

–

In the darkness of night, the towering Jiang Corporation building stood in the center of the economic lifeline of the harbor area.

The glass facade of the office building reflected neon lights, mirroring the lights of thousands of homes.

Inside a luxurious top-floor office, Chen Jiale waited leisurely.

This afternoon, after seeing Jiang Lian’s interview, Jiang Quanyu immediately ordered the cruise ship to dock at the nearest port, abandoned a boatload of people, and flew directly back to Linggang, which was simply outrageous.

Young Master Chen slipped away faster than anyone else. Anyway, Jiang Quanyu knew which manufacturers he wanted to choose, so he didn’t want to waste time on the cruise ship, waiting to be gnawed to the bone by those entrepreneurs.

But as soon as he chased Jiang Quanyu back, he heard that Jiang Quanyu had prepared adoption papers and went to Wen Shixi to sign them.

Chen Jiale really didn’t understand why Jiang Quanyu was so fixated on that layer of brotherly relationship when he had such a good opportunity.

More importantly, Chen Jiale was also afraid that if Wen Shixi had problems again and again, it would affect Jiang Quanyu, and even affect the progress of the entire project.

When the moon was directly overhead, Jiang Quanyu and a group of publicity department employees finally ended the meeting.

For Jiang Quanyu, the fact that his father had made Wen Shixi’s adopted son status public without consulting him was clearly meant to provoke him.

But he didn’t plan to deal with it calmly, pretending that nothing had happened.

At the very least, the publicity department would formally respond to this matter in the name of the Jiang Corporation, proving that Wen Shixi had terminated his adoption relationship with the Jiang family at the age of eighteen, and was definitely not kicked out.

As the group walked, the assistant took the lead in opening the partition door. Jiang Quanyu, with a look of deep weariness, silently walked into the office.

Then, Jiang Quanyu saw Chen Jiale slumped on the reception sofa playing a game console.

Seeing him return, Chen Jiale waved to Jiang Quanyu.

“Hi.”

Jiang Quanyu walked towards the desk: “What are you doing here?”

“Did you really go to Wen Shixi to sign the papers?” Chen Jiale asked, yawning, “Did he sign them?”

Jiang Quanyu walked to the desk, his voice neither light nor heavy: “Why are you so concerned about this?”

“Because I don’t want this to happen again,” Chen Jiale said. “Although the cruise ship gala ended normally, according to the original plan, we still have to go to the Yawan area to investigate the tourism market there. If you keep disrupting the plan like this, we won’t be able to handle it.”

Jiang Quanyu: “I know what I’m doing. The market research in the Yawan area was extra content anyway.”

Chen Jiale thought for a moment and compromised: “Okay, so have you finished dealing with your personal affairs?”

Jiang Quanyu raised his hand and pinched his brow.

Then, Jiang Quanyu looked at the assistants by the door: “You guys can go back first. Confirm the details with the Secretary-General directly tomorrow morning.”

Hearing this, the few people said goodbye and walked out of the room one by one.

Jiang Quanyu sat in the swivel chair behind the desk, his gaze calm and distant, looking at Chen Jiale: “Are you very free?”

Chen Jiale: “Just curious.”

Jiang Quanyu: “If you’re so free, go work with the planning team to further refine the theme park zoning plan.”

Chen Jiale understood, put down the game console, and joked: “Looks like it didn’t go smoothly, President Jiang.”

Jiang Quanyu raised his eyes, looked at Chen Jiale, and said nothing.

Chen Jiale: “Seriously, haven’t you thought that this is a good thing? Your relationship with Wen Shixi is no longer brother and brother, but alpha and omega.”

Jiang Quanyu: “You should know what an alpha is in Wen Shixi’s eyes.”

Chen Jiale thought for a moment: “I’ve heard that those alphas who can’t catch up with Wen Shixi say that Wen Shixi treats people like disposable pills, to be thrown away after use.”

Jiang Quanyu’s eyes were peaceful, looking at the empty office.

Rather than becoming a specific kind of relationship, Jiang Quanyu had always just wanted Wen Shixi to stay obediently by his side.

He didn’t want either the love relationship that Chen Jiale was so enthusiastic about, or the marking that Wen Shixi was used to playing with.

In that case, the brotherly relationship was actually the closest to the stable ideal he yearned for.

What’s more, if they weren’t even brothers, what would be left between him and Wen Shixi?

Late at night, fatigue emitted a low hum within his body.

Jiang Quanyu was momentarily lost in thought, the sensation of a deep kiss branded on his lips suddenly clear and wonderful when he thought of Wen Shixi’s face.

Together with the memory of occupying that youthful body seven years ago, in this ambiguous late night, it dyed the name Wen Shixi with an indescribable sweetness.

Jiang Quanyu lowered his eyes, a churning muddy mess in his eyes.

When he looked up again, Jiang Quanyu said to Chen Jiale, “By the way, there’s something I want to discuss with you. Have your trusted subordinates in the United States do something for me.”

“Huh?” Chen Jiale didn’t quite follow Jiang Quanyu’s train of thought: “What is it? Aren’t we talking about Wen Shixi?”

“Go to the United States and find someone for me,” Jiang Quanyu said, “His name is Tang Yi. He’s Tang Xu’s father. I’ve always wanted to find out where he is through Tang Xu, but it seems that Tang Xu doesn’t have any contact with him either.”

Chen Jiale was puzzled: “Who is this person?”

“Do you have to ask for a reason for everything you do?” Jiang Quanyu tapped his fingers on the desk: “Why not just name your price.”

Chen Jiale smiled: “Come on, you’ve been looking for this person all this time. If you can’t find him, how can I?”

“In the Jiang family, there’s no one I can trust,” Jiang Quanyu said. “Besides, finding someone also depends on fate, doesn’t it?”

“Okay, sure, but what are you looking for Tang Xu’s father for?” Chen Jiale said, sitting up from the sofa: “Are you really going to marry Tang Xu?”

Jiang Quanyu frowned, feeling that Chen Jiale was really hopeless.

“Aren’t you going home yet?” Jiang Quanyu asked.

“I’m keeping you company,” Chen Jiale said. “You look like you’re about to die. Shen Chuji said it’s best not to leave you alone.”

Jiang Quanyu: “There’s no need for that.”

“Then just think of me as homeless,” Chen Jiale laughed. “Anyway, your office is so big, what’s wrong with me sitting here for a while?”

–

Wen Shixi went to sleep late at night, and did not sleep soundly.

The bits and pieces spent with Jiang Quanyu in dreams, like naive illustrations, were torn to pieces and flew away into the distance. No matter how hard he ran and chased, he couldn’t catch up, and could only watch those memories drift further and further away.

The phone’s vibration crossed over the dream, waking the child wandering in the dream. In a dim light, Wen Shixi slowly opened his eyes.

It was raining lightly in Linggang today, and the weather forecast showed that it would drizzle all day long.

Wen Shixi dazedly opened his eyes, brought the phone to his eyes, and saw several consecutive text messages.

“Is this Wen Shixi?”

“I’m Chen Jiale.”

“I sent you a friend request. Accept it and I’ll show you something.”

“Why haven’t you added me yet? You’re not still asleep, are you?”

“Wake up soon. You’ll be happy when you see it.”

“…”

Young Master Chen had no sense of proportion and was just sending text messages like instant messages.

After reading all the harassing text messages sent by Chen Jiale, Wen Shixi frowned and replied.

“I just woke up. What am I looking at?”

Chen Jiale replied at the speed of light: “Add me quickly.”

“Look at Lin Yining.”

“Didn’t you want to throw him into the sea?”

“I specifically recorded a video for you.”

Wen Shixi: “…”

A few minutes later, Wen Shixi finished washing up and took out bread from the refrigerator. With one hand, he accepted the friend request sent by Chen Jiale, and three videos quickly appeared in the window.

In the video, Lin Yining was tied to the back of a wave-making boat with a long rope, seemingly wakeboarding, but in reality he was holding a surfboard, being dragged back and forth in the sea, struggling with all his might, and was almost drowning.

Chen Jiale specifically said: “Jiang Quanyu specifically instructed me to ask a friend to take Lin Yining to the sailing club ^^”

Wen Shixi’s gaze inexplicably lost focus as he looked at the name on the screen.

Of course, he knew that Jiang Quanyu would not really kill anyone, but he had not thought of this method.

Before Wen Shixi could reply, Chen Jiale was talking to himself in the dialogue box, having a great time.

“Did you just wake up and see the message?”

“Check the corporate platform. Jiang Quanyu had the public relations department send out a press release.”

“He said there’s no need to tell you specifically, but since you’re awake, go take a look.”

Wen Shixi was puzzled, and while eating bread, he switched applications and opened the community platform application.

The pattering raindrops hit the glass window, making crisp sounds.

The entire gray sky was filled outside the window, the rain blurring his vision, making everything ambiguous.

The official website and corporate account of Jiang Corporation simultaneously posted a short but formal announcement.

“In response to several unrealistic messages recently, Jiang Corporation is uniformly responding, hoping that some media will not continue to use Jiang Corporation for hype, and also hoping that everyone will no longer discuss other people’s family private affairs.”

“Now formally clarify: The current Chairman Mr. Jiang Quanyu has not established a marriage contract with anyone, nor is he in a romantic relationship with anyone. And, regardless of whether Mr. Wen Shixi has a legal kinship relationship with the Jiang family, he is still a member of the Jiang family and a close and friendly family.”

After sending everything he wanted to send, Chen Jiale shut up beautifully.

Wen Shixi was left alone, sitting in the bay window in the rain.

His gaze swept over the marriage contract and love, and finally landed on the last line.

In the sound of the rain, Wen Shixi thought again of the loneliness in Jiang Quanyu’s eyes last night.

Wen Shixi didn’t quite understand, what does a close and friendly family mean?

Didn’t Jiang Quanyu say that he didn’t need a family when they quarreled to the point of despair that year?

So this statement can be considered Jiang Quanyu’s compensation?

Could it be that Jiang Quanyu remembers every word he said seven years ago?

Listening to the rain, Wen Shixi opened his mouth and bit into the cold bread taken out of the refrigerator again.

The cold and stiff bread was particularly difficult to bite, and it was impossible to chew or swallow. Only after it was dyed with body temperature in his mouth and softened a little bit could it be slowly swallowed.

Wen Shixi turned his head and looked at the scraps of paper on the ground that no one had cleaned up.

Originally, after personally tearing up that document, all the chains and heavy pressure that bound him disappeared without a trace.

His heart was dry and light at the same time.

But gradually, his heart became wet little by little in the continuous sound of rain.

Wen Shixi leaned on the glass for a while, slowly got up, and walked towards the pieces.

His footsteps were light, as if he was cautiously stepping into the ruins of his memory, his gaze wandering between the pieces of paper, looking at those incoherent words.

Then, he slowly squatted down.

He belatedly realized that this piece of fragment carried the years from Wen Shixi’s seven to eighteen years old in the old Jiang family residence.

It was the loneliest three years of his life as a dependent, and the countless times he spent with Jiang Quanyu, filling his entire memory.

One piece after another, drizzling, murmuring, continuously.

–

It rained for more than a week in Linggang. On the day it stopped slightly, Wen Shixi looked at the sharply decreased temperature and called the piano tuner, informing him to come home to tune the piano.

The end of autumn was gradually approaching, and the withered yellow leaves fell from the branches. In the blink of an eye, it was a scene of entering winter.

Cheng Xuan had not returned to Vienna and had come several times, bringing different flavors of bread and the sheet music Wen Shixi wanted.

No matter how Cheng Xuan entered the house, Jiang Quanyu did not appear again, making Wen Shixi wonder whether Jiang Quanyu had really revoked his surveillance of him or whether he was just holding back from coming to him.

Every day at night, Wen Shixi sat in front of the piano.

He listened to the sound of the piano under his fingertips, closed his eyes in the endless music, and occasionally felt that as long as he had the piano in his world, nothing else mattered.

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, because it was a concerto, the single part was always not full enough and needed to be presented completely with the symphony orchestra.

Cheng Xuan visited again one afternoon. He sat on the sofa, quietly listening to Wen Shixi practicing the piano.

Until the last heavy note of the first movement steadily dissipated, in the unspeakable sound waves, a trembling light flickered in Cheng Xuan’s eyes.

Cheng Xuan had never doubted that Wen Shixi’s hands were a pair of magical hands.

The reason why he wanted Wen Shixi to go to Vienna with him was not simply because he liked Wen Shixi as a person and wanted Wen Shixi to be by his side, but because Cheng Xuan had always believed that Wen Shixi definitely had the ability to create his own legend.

On the sofa, Cheng Xuan thought for a moment.

Combining with the sound of the rain, he said to Wen Shixi: “A few days ago, the teacher sent me a message that the school orchestra’s report performance is about to begin, but I heard that the student in charge of the piano concerto has temporarily gone abroad to compete and can’t participate in the rehearsal… Shixi, would you like to try it and play this piece with the school orchestra?”