"How many days are the bosses staying in Xinhai? What are your plans next?"
"I'm not going back with them." Ada snapped back to reality. "Yansheng happens to be on vacation. It's a few days in a row. He said we'd go to Hangxiang to visit his parents."
Jiang Ruoqi found the source of her melancholy. "You don't want to go?"
"It's not that I don't want to." Ada scratched her head in annoyance. "He and I both work and live in Gangcheng. We can't take care of his parents, so it's only natural to come back during holidays. I'm definitely willing to cooperate. But every time we go back, his parents always find some excuse to pressure me into having kids. It's so annoying to hear it over and over!"
Jiang Ruoqi understood. In their generation, they were pushed about their studies, and after work, they were pushed about marriage and childbirth. Their whole lives were being pushed.
Unfortunately, they had met Ada, the young lady who was adamant about not having children. No amount of pressure would work.
This was a clash of two fundamentally different values, irreconcilable, with only one side forced to compromise.
"I don't want Yansheng to be caught in the middle, but just the thought of going to his parents' place makes me irritable. And now I have to stay under the same roof for several days..." Ada looked up and exhaled. "Honestly, Seven, I'm afraid I'll go crazy holding it in."
"It's not that serious." Jiang Ruoqi pressed down on Ada's hand, which was about to raise the glass again, and stuffed two nuts into her palm. "I'm going to Hangxiang for New Year's too. We'll keep each other company, and the days will pass quickly."
Ada was puzzled. She tilted her head. "Why are you going there for no reason? For Meng Shang?"
"Meng Shang's grandmother is seriously ill, and he's on duty for New Year's..."
"So you're going to fulfill his filial piety? It's his grandmother, not yours." Ada argued matter-of-factly. "I really don't understand this concept of unconditionally accepting your partner's family after marriage. I'm marrying the person, not their family. Can't everyone just take care of their own family? Why drag the other party into it?"
"In theory, yes, but it's hard to completely detach from the family that raised us." Jiang Ruoqi stroked Ada's silky, beautiful long hair. "So from romance to marriage, it's a process of loving the person enough, and then loving what they love."
Ada retorted, "So with you and Meng Shang, it's all tolerance and no love?"
"Pretty much." Jiang Ruoqi said it, but in her heart, she felt it wasn't entirely true.
Yet the affection still hadn't blossomed into deep love. What she was doing was just increasing the leverage she needed when asking for tolerance. "So we need to be more tolerant of each other than ordinary couples."
"Suddenly I understand why those people only date and don't marry." Ada shrugged. Seeing her own glass was empty, she reached for Jiang Ruoqi's. "But you promised—you'll come to Hangxiang with me. If I'm alone, I'll really die of anxiety."
"What's there to be anxious about? Fretting over nothing is useless. Things will work out in the end." Jiang Ruoqi ordered two more cocktails from the bartender, this time with low alcohol content.
"Keep up that self-persuasion. Internalizing emotions will only hurt you. I can't stand it."
Ada pouted again, partly out of annoyance that Jiang Ruoqi looked down on her drinking capacity.
Jiang Ruoqi surrendered. "Please, drink less. I have to work tomorrow."
This trendy bar in the central area naturally gets more crowded as the night deepens. With dazzling lights and hazy alcohol, there were many pick-up attempts, half genuine and half fake.
And there were always "prey" who thought they were "predators," watching from the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.
"Don't make that face. Every time I get you out, you're all gloomy, reeking of work. Our Brother Xiao came all the way from Yuanjing, not to see you like this!"
"Keep that hookah pipe away from me." Duan Jinchen moved contemptuously to the corner, putting distance between him and his friend.
He had no idea when smoking shisha had become trendy, but this group always pulled out two big water pipes and put them on the table. It was only because Xiao Yunzhou was on a business trip to Xinhai and he wanted to meet up that he hadn't left already.
The people in the private room were all from similar backgrounds—the younger sons or daughters of wealthy families who were neither the outstanding ones nor the eldest, so they had no desire to inherit the family business. They held idle positions in their own companies and spent their time having fun. As long as they didn't get wild ideas about starting a business, their families would generally give them whatever they wanted.
"It's legit, fruit-flavored! Why are you so bothered?" The guy deliberately brought the pipe closer to Duan Jinchen. Just as he was about to say something else, the door of the private room swung open, and a man in a suit with glasses walked in. He quickly nudged Duan Jinchen. "Hey... Brother Xiao is here!"
"Brother Xiao!"
"Brother Yunzhou!"
The Xiao family of Yuanjing, with early red-capitalist roots, later rode the wave of the times and grew to prominence. Their businesses spanned finance, technology, shipping, and more.
Xiao Yunzhou was the second son of the family, but against convention, he took over the group company. A couple of years ago, he became a titular executive director, earning a reputation as a prominent young talent in the circle.
"Mm, long time no see." The second-floor private room was relatively enclosed. Even though the space was large enough, the cloying smell of shisha was still faintly detectable. Xiao Yunzhou disliked it, but only furrowed his brows slightly, his expression unchanged. "You guys go ahead and have fun. Don't mind me."
After another round of meaningless pleasantries, he responded flatly and took a seat next to Duan Jinchen.
"Brother Yunzhou, long time no see."
Duan Jinchen had been neighbors with Xiao Yunzhou while studying abroad. Although their families had no business dealings, the bond formed in a foreign land kept their relationship solid.
"We haven't met, but we've kept in touch." Xiao Yunzhou curved his lips, and his narrow eyes finally showed a hint of genuine warmth. "I heard you joined the company. How is it?"
Compared to someone as outstanding as Xiao Yunzhou, Duan Jinchen felt unusually embarrassed. "Just doing odd jobs. What's there to say?"
"It's fine. Take it slow. You don't need to know everything. As long as there's someone around who does, that's enough." Xiao Yunzhou spoke slowly and leaned back in his seat. "I think this is your father's way of trying to mend your relationship. You need to seize the opportunity."
That wasn't it at all. Just a couple of days ago, he nearly made his father furious.
Duan Jinchen licked his lips. With so many people around, it wasn't a good time to talk. So he suggested, "Brother, let's talk outside?"
Xiao Yunzhou raised an eyebrow. He had come here mostly to see Duan Jinchen anyway, so he naturally agreed. "Alright."
Coming out of the private room on the second floor, the air was slightly fresher. But from the railing, one could see the bar counter and booths below. Alcohol was diffusing into the air, creating a tipsy atmosphere no matter what.
Duan Jinchen was weighed down by thoughts. He leaned on the railing with both hands, not knowing where to start.
"What's the matter?"
Xiao Yunzhou half-turned, resting one hand on the railing for support, his posture still upright. He habitually looked down. The partygoers below were still clinking glasses, as if their "day" had just begun.
His gaze swept across the bar, then moved back, eventually landing on two ladies sitting side by side, dressed very office-like. One of them looked particularly like a gorgeous, delicate butterfly orchid—in a word, she caught his eye.
They had just turned down the man who came to give them a drink and hit on them. They seemed to be purely there to drink away their troubles.
The assessment sounded odd, but most of the people here were expecting a fleeting romantic encounter. They wouldn't turn down every gesture of goodwill.
"Bro, the old man wants me to get married."
Xiao Yunzhou snapped back to attention, but wasn't surprised. "You don't want to? Is there someone you like?"
"Not really." Duan Jinchen scratched his head in frustration. "It's just... the person he wants me to marry..."
Duan Jinchen couldn't find the words. The thought of marrying Jiang Ruoqi made him close his eyes and envision a future full of predictable chaos, but it wasn't entirely unacceptable.
It was annoying. He couldn't quite figure out this feeling.
"What's her attitude?" Xiao Yunzhou didn't understand what Duan Jinchen was thinking, but he understood arranged marriages.
"She probably doesn't know yet. And I think she has a lover."
Xiao Yunzhou found the word "lover" quite apt. Neither "love interest" nor "partner" was accurate. Only "lover" could express intimacy while implying distance.
"Then why are you worried? Since she has a lover, it's better for her to refuse than for you to refuse."
"What if she agrees?" Duan Jinchen felt he didn't know Jiang Ruoqi very well. What if she was just playing around and actually agreed to the marriage? Then he would lose the upper hand.
"Owen, look at the people behind that door. Most of them, including us, are destined to sacrifice their marriages."
Xiao Yunzhou's expression remained indifferent. "While enjoying the advantages of privilege, if one contributes nothing to the family that provides all the material conditions, then marriage is the only thing left to sacrifice. There are gains and losses. It's actually quite reasonable."
"At worst, you can agree on an open marriage. Just be careful not to get caught by those troublemaking media outlets in your circle."
Xiao Yunzhou withdrew his gaze from the bar, turned to Duan Jinchen, and asked, "Any more questions?"
Duan Jinchen shook his head, but he hadn't quite processed Xiao Yunzhou's substitution theory.
"Good." Xiao Yunzhou paid no attention to Duan Jinchen's state. Instead, he stopped a server who was heading upstairs with drinks. "Excuse me. Could you send two Tequila Sunrises to the two ladies at the bar downstairs? Thank you."
"Certainly, sir. Would you like to leave a message?"
Xiao Yunzhou's fingers tapped twice on the railing. "No need."
"Very well, sir."
Duan Jinchen, curious, followed Xiao Yunzhou's gaze downstairs. When he saw who it was, his skin prickled with goosebumps. "Uh, bro... I think you'd better not send that drink."
Xiao Yunzhou lowered his eyes. "What, you know them?"
"Yeah, unfortunately." Duan Jinchen nodded with a look of despair. "One of those two ladies is married, and the other... she might end up marrying me."