rumor

The end of the new year is approaching, and Xi Yufeng took some time to go to Meng Chao's side.

It was also rare for Meng Chao to stay in the company without running around. When Xi Yufeng knocked on the door and entered, he was staring at a document in a daze. He didn't realize until he came up to him, and randomly threw the document upside down on the corner of the table.

Glancing at the obvious hospital logo on the paper, Xi Yufeng asked, "Auntie isn't feeling well?"

"No." Meng Chao said, "Just a medical report."

Xi Yufeng didn't ask any more questions, and the two sat down to discuss business.

The Meng family and the Xi family plan to cooperate again. This time the project will be led by Xi Yufeng himself, and the Meng family will be mainly responsible for bidding and attracting investment.

Meng Chao joked about this: "You also know that our family's business has always been steady and steady. This time, we took such a big risk because of your face."

Of course Xi Yufeng knew.

Previously, he wanted to take advantage of the gambling agreement to overthrow Xi Wangchen and Xiao Yin in one fell swoop, and get back the shares held by their mother and son, but unexpectedly, something unexpected happened.After the concession was made, the blow to them became very limited. In addition, Xi Chengli deliberately balanced the two sides, and even defended the mother and son. Small punishments and big punishments let this matter pass.

Xi Yufeng also understood that this was done to put pressure on him, so as to promote his marriage with the Meng family.And at present, it seems that there is indeed only one way to dispel Xi Chengli's guard and let him relax his vigilance while gaining the support of the Meng family.

"Yes." Xi Yufeng said quietly, "I will not let the Meng family suffer."

"Who said that?" Meng Chao smiled, "I mean, we are not only people on the same boat now, but also a family soon. It is necessary to help each other, and there is no need to distinguish so clearly."

Xi Yufeng laughed: "Just take a formality, is it considered a family?"

Two days ago, Xi Yufeng visited Meng's house and signed a cooperation agreement in the name of a prenuptial agreement in front of the two elders.The items in it have already made it clear that this is an agreement for both parties to feel at ease. It clarifies the validity period of the marriage, the ownership of the property, and the rules that need to be followed in the marriage, except that it does not mention the general sense of marriage responsibilities, such as Be faithful.

"Why don't you count?" Meng Chao said, "Born into this kind of family, you should have realized that your marriage is not independent. But in contrast, you can gain spiritual freedom, just like Meng Lan, who plays small games outside every day. Boy, I had a hot fight with a male idol a while ago, and it is said that I have changed another one in the past two days."

Xi Yufeng is not interested in this kind of thing: "As long as she is happy."

"Listen, is this something that a man who is about to become a husband can say?"

"I never intended to be anyone's husband."

"But she may not want to be your wife."

Xi Yufeng frowned slightly: "What do you want to say?"

"I want to say that although your operations are just business affairs, and our family really needs a relationship to restrict you, but..." Meng Chao put it off for a long time, "Have you ever thought about it? Broken the hearts of two people?"

It reminded Xi Yufeng of giving Meng Lan the wine that Jiang Ruo gave him in Jinyuan that day.

It's not that he didn't know that he hurt Jiang Ruo's heart, but even if he was given another chance, he would still do it.

Meng Lan is his fiancee in name, and he still needs the support and help of the Meng family, so in front of so many people, he should give the Meng family face no matter what, even if he has already realized that Meng Lan's motives are not pure , at least not just for a bottle of wine.

After a few seconds of silence, Xi Yufeng said, "I have no choice."

Ever since he was 19 years old, dark clouds were pressing down on the city, and the torrential rain was about to pour, and there was only one road left in front of him.

He has no choice but to step up and go to the end.

Before leaving, seeing a potted plant by the window of Meng Chao's office, Xi Yufeng raised his chin: "What is this?"

"Monstera." Meng Chao also looked over, quite proudly, "A gift from a partner said it was a Brazilian white tortoise with white spots called 'Jin', which is a rare variant of monstera."

Xi Yufeng said: "Let him send another pot."

"why?"

"I want this basin."

"..."

When he heard that Xi Yufeng wanted this pot of white turtles to give to Jiang Ruo, Meng Chao couldn't help teasing while he was speechless: "You really care about the little actor this time?"

Xi Yufeng ignored him, let Shi Mingxu, who followed, come in and hug the flowerpot, then turned and left.

Jiang Ruo received this pot of white brocade monstera on a certain day at the end of January.

The two episodes of the variety show that he participated in as a flying guest were recorded in S city, and it was already midnight when the last day ended, so he still insisted on rushing back to Fengcheng that day.

Chen Muxin sent him to the shooting location - the gate of a local park, and said with a smile: "Brother Jiang, you don't have to avoid me, there are so many people around, I won't do anything out of the ordinary."

The filming lasted for three days, and Chen Muxin really performed well, at least he didn't do any outrageous behavior under the camera, no matter who saw them, they were just ordinary friends.

Jiang Ruo had no choice but to explain: "I didn't avoid you, I rushed back because... something urgent."

Chen Muxin nodded with a smile, not sure if he believed it or not: "Then Brother Jiang, you should be busy, I will go back too."

"……Um."

"See you later."

"See you in a year."

It was early in the morning when the plane landed in Fengcheng, and Lao Liu drove to pick him up. On the way, he told Jiang Ruo that Mr. Xi was going to the next city on a short business trip today, and he would probably come back later.

In fact, it wasn't very late. Jiang Ruo slept for a while after arriving at Xi Yufeng's residence, and went out to shop in full gear at noon.When I came back, it was already dark, and the cake I ordered online had just arrived when Xi Yufeng called me, saying that I had just got off the plane and asked where he was.

"Where else can it be?" Jiang Ruo clamped the mobile phone in the crook of his neck, fiddled with the food he just bought, "at your house."

Xi Yufeng laughed on the phone: "That's your home too."

Jiang Ruo didn't answer.

When Xi Yufeng arrived home, Jiang Ruo was already putting the fried vegetables on the plate.

He is not good at cooking, thinking that there must be more than just cakes on the table, so he barely made two home-cooked dishes to support the scene.

On the other hand, Xi Yufeng was stunned when he saw the cake in the middle of the dining table, and it took him a while to realize that today is his birthday.

"How do you know?" Xi Yufeng asked.

Jiang Ruo smiled and said, "Did you forget that I almost took a copy of your ID card to borrow usury?"

The two sat down to eat together after a long absence.

When asked how the filming of the variety show was going, Jiang Ruo said: "There are two personal bodyguards, so it is very safe."

Xi Yufeng: "You know that's not what I asked."

Jiang Ruo pretended to be stupid: "Then you want to know if it's fun? They're all young people in their early twenties together, of course it's fun."

Xi Yufeng, who was celebrating his 29th birthday, chuckled noncommittally.

Just like Jiang Ruo's birthday last time, almost all the cake went into Jiang Ruo's stomach, and the table and the boat car lost their appetite, and they didn't even move their chopsticks a few times.

After clearing away the dishes and chopsticks, seeing that Jiang Ruo was about to throw away the unfinished dishes, Xi Yufeng stopped him and said, "Put it in the refrigerator, and you can still eat it after reheating it tomorrow."

The hand holding the plate paused, Jiang Ruo hesitated for a moment, then sealed the dish with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator.

Then, Xi Yufeng took Jiang Ruo to the dance studio to look at the plants placed in the window.

After confirming at the door for a long time, Jiang Ruo walked in slowly, bent down to observe the pot of white turtles, stretched out his hand to touch the leaves carefully, and sighed for a long time: "This is very expensive."

Judging from the degree of brocade and the year of growth, the sum of the plants he raised on the balcony is not worth a fraction of this pot.

Xi Yufeng came over and stopped beside him: "Like it?"

Only then did Jiang Ruo have time to look up at him, and smiled with his eyes bent: "Well, I like it."

He didn't just talk about his liking, he immediately touched the pot of soil to test the humidity, and ran to the kitchen to scoop up a ladle of water to water it.

Also wipe the leaves with a wet facial tissue, one by one, both the front and the back.

While wiping, he said, "When I'm not around, remember to wait for the pot soil to dry up and give it a wave of water."

Xi Yujing was tired of watching him take care of the plants, so he said, "I send it to you, you take care of it yourself."

Jiang Ruo pouted: "Then I'll ask Aunt Fang."

After taking care of it, Jiang Ruo moved the plants to a place with suitable lighting, and suddenly thought of something, and asked, "Why did you give me a present for your birthday?"

Xi Yufeng leaned against the mirror of the dance studio, leaned on the wooden handrail with one hand, and held an unlit cigarette in the other: "Didn't you give me a bottle of wine?"

"..."

Seeing Jiang Ruo lowered his face, looking unhappy, Xi Yufeng stepped forward, raised his hand, clamped his chin with the tiger's mouth, pinched his cheeks with his fingers, and forced him to look up with gentle movements.

The unavoidable sight instantly crashed into those deep pupils, so close that he could see himself inside.

Jiang Ruo's breathing couldn't help but stagnate.

Xi Yufeng's eyes always give people an illusion of affection, especially when he looks at himself.

"Still angry?" Xi Yufeng lowered his head, and pressed his cool thin lips against the corners of Jiang Ruo's lips, his voice was hoarse as if coaxing, "Don't be angry, okay?"

Jiang Ruo was not angry.

He just thought, this person is really bad, and he is still taking advantage of his status as a birthday star and his reluctance.

It's a pity that there is only one bottle of that wine, and Jiang Ruo won't just buy another bottle as a gift for anyone.

Now that he was in the dance room, Jiang Ruo dragged Xi Yufeng to dance, saying that this time the variety show had a pas de deux, and he specially learned a few dance steps from the ballroom dance teacher.

Xi Yufeng frowned after hearing this: "It can't be with—"

"Dancing with girls from other groups." Jiang Ruo patted him on the shoulder with a smile, "Why are you so jealous?"

I wanted to refute, but seeing Jiang Ruo smiling so heartily, Xi Yufeng didn't say anything.

Since that day, Jiang Ruo has become very obedient, and even his flamboyant temper is rarely exposed in front of him.

It seems that it has been a long time since I saw him laughing from the bottom of his heart.

They danced this dance for a long time.

For a long time, Jiang Ruo was sweating slightly, but his palms were cold, with a sense of urgency that was about to melt.

The movements were contradictory, the dance steps were extremely slow, and with the slight sway of the body, Jiang Ruo fell on Xi Yufeng's shoulders, and even his breathing slowed down deliberately.

Turning around, he saw lights outside the window and heard the faint sound of traffic.It reminded him of that early autumn night similar to midsummer, when he was immersed in the trance of returning to the spotlight, Xi Yufeng half-truthfully asked him how he planned to repay, but he didn't say anything, just turned over and sat across from Xi and Feng. body, to pull his pants.

Maybe now, it's time to do the same.

But Jiang Ruo couldn't bear it, he couldn't bear to bear the present tender moment.

Even if he knew that it was a fantasy, an illusion created by his delusion, as long as he stretched out his hand to touch it, everything would shatter in an instant.

But in the end, the bell still struck, and the minute hand mercilessly crossed zero.

Taking a deep breath, let the smell belonging to Xi and Feng penetrate into his nostrils for the last time, occupying him wholeheartedly, Jiang Ruo's hand on Xi and Feng's shoulders exerted a little force to separate the two bodies.

Suddenly stopped swinging, as if returning to reality from a dream.

Xi Yufeng looked down at him: "Stop dancing?"

Jiang Ruo let go of her hand with a "hmm", and took a step back.

The figure just landed in the clear light in front of the window.

"Just stop here." He looked at Xi Yufeng from a place that seemed far away, "Let's stop here."

The long silence is enough to make the loud heartbeat return to the dead silence like the night.

After a long time, Xi Yufeng finally recovered his voice and said, "What do you mean?"

"Literally." Jiang Ruo said calmly, "Let's divide...separate."

For a very short moment, Jiang Ruo almost used the word "break up", so when he came back to his senses, he slightly curled the corner of his lower lip, as if laughing at his presumption.

It's just a lover who can't see the light, how can I use such a bright and decent word as "break up"?

In Xi Yufeng's eyes, this smile only meant asking questions knowingly.

"Why?" he asked again, "Because I'm getting married?"

Jiang Ruo said "um" again: "We agreed."

"Agreed?" Xi Yufeng asked in a low voice, "Then did I tell you that this is involuntary?"

"I told you too, I'm not a third party—"

Xi Yufeng interrupted him involuntarily: "Meng Lan and I are only bound by interests, and the marriage is in name only. Who dares to say that you are a third party?"

Maybe no one knows, but whenever she hears the word "marriage", it feels like a sharp needle is stuck in Jiang Ruo's heart.

He was even afraid that if he didn't persist until the end, he would be riddled with holes and unable to sustain himself.

Jiang Ruo breathed out with difficulty: "But the gossip is so casual, can you ask Xi to silence them all? Can you make them speechless? This is also a big deal for that Miss Meng. kind of harm."

Injury... This is the second time Xi Yufeng heard such a description in a short period of time.

He still felt inexplicable: "I have already drawn up an agreement with the Meng family, we will live our own lives, and there is nothing unfair to her."

"What about me?" Almost immediately, Jiang Ruo asked, "Is it fair to me?"

Faced with such unreasonable questioning, Xi Yufeng frowned: "I said, except for this, I can give you anything you want..."

"But I love you."

The air stopped flowing for a moment, and time ticked forward.

Jiang Ruo heard his voice trembling, but he couldn't control it, he couldn't stop it.

"But I love you..." he repeated softly, "I love you."

The moment he said it, it was as if thousands of butterflies flew out of his stomach, and the extreme emptiness that followed, as well as the pain that he knew he couldn't get a response, made Jiang Ruo feel dizzy.

Even so, he still curled the corners of his lips, even though his smile was feeble and pale.

He asked Xi Yufeng: "Is this... fair?"

The author says:

How soft-hearted Xiao Jiang is, let Xiao Xi spend his birthday properly...

The metaphor of the butterfly comes from a widely circulated saying, which originated from butterflies in my stomach, and is now mostly used to describe heartbeat and liking, such as "the feeling of liking someone is like thousands of butterflies dancing in the stomach".