Beijing’s winter was deep and protracted...
The man who entered my vision was tall and slim; perhaps he had just returned from abroad and misjudged the weather, wearing attire that was rather thin, a neatly buttoned long-sleeve white shirt paired with crisply ironed black trousers.
He was scholarly and clean, exuding a heavy aura of books.
mbers of the Jiang Family were all naturally good-looking, and even if their features weren’t perfect, their temperant and poise wouldn’t be lacking.
This man was no exception, his facial features weren’t particularly delicate, not as sharp as Jiang Yanting’s, nor as mischievous as Jiang Chengsi’s, certainly different from Jiang Jinsang’s elegance. He could be described in one word...
Plain!
He had a pair of quite beautiful peach blossom eyes, which could be due to his light attire or perhaps the bright lights, made his face appear sowhat pale. His looks were clearly that of a romantic, yet his lips were thin, cold and icy.
"Xiaowu." His voice carried a unique depth and maturity, magnetic and pleasant to hear.
"Third cousin," greeted Jiang Jinsang upon seeing him, an indication of their rather unfamiliar relationship by deliberately adding the word "cousin."
"This must be Miss Tang," their gazes t, and Tang Wan felt an inexplicable jolt in her heart.
Perhaps it was because he had rushed to catch the flight, but there were so red veins in his eyes. His pupils, ink-dyed, were deep and unfathomable. He was soone with a particularly strong bookish air, yet, paradoxically, the angle of his jaw was sharp.
This gave him an overall sense of frostiness.
"Hello," Tang Wan greeted him politely.
Jiang Chengsi was also present, and the old lady had co out of her room. He had brought gifts for everyone.
Jiangjiang had received his gift, a little model that boys liked, and was already sitting to one side, engrossed in playing with it.
To Tang Wan’s surprise, she too had received a gift, "Thank you."
"I should be the one apologizing to you."
Nobody deliberately ntioned Jiang Shuyan, but seeing her grandson after such a long ti, the old lady was naturally delighted, "Shiyi, how long are you back for this ti? Are you leaving again?"
"I’m not leaving," said Jiang Shiyi with a steady voice, showing almost no emotion.
With the family going through such a serious ordeal, Jiang Chengsi and Jiang Zhaolin having fallen out, and Jiang Shuyan seriously ill in the hospital, he couldn’t possibly leave at this ti.
"It’s better if you stay, I worry about you being all alone abroad."
...
After chatting for over ten minutes about trivial matters, Jiang Shiyi stood up to leave. The old lady didn’t ask him to stay longer, just that he should co by the house when he had the ti.
Jiang Shiyi stood up, picking up the coat that was resting on one side, and with a peripheral glance to Jiang Chengsi who was sitting aside, said, "Fourth brother, co out with for a mont."
Jiang Chengsi took a deep breath, knowing the inevitable couldn’t be avoided.
The two stood outside the house, one thinly clad and cutting a striking figure, the other somber in black. One too rigid, the other too roguish, they didn’t resemble brothers born of the sa mother.
"Brother... about Shuyan, it’s impossible for to have realized the truth and still have indulged her by sending her abroad. Doing so truly hard her, I..." Jiang Chengsi didn’t finish his sentence before being interrupted.
"Is there no room for reconciliation between you and father?"
"Don’t others understand our relationship? Don’t you know it yourself? Did you co today to diate?"
"No," Jiang Shiyi denied directly, "I just want to tell you to visit mother more often when you’re free. I still need to go ho and pack things for the hospital."
Having said that, Jiang Shiyi drove away. Jiang Chengsi squinted his eyes.
Since the eldest brother passed away, and Jiang Shiyi went abroad soon after, they had seen each other only a handful of tis over the years. Truly, this third brother was an enigma, not easy to understand or read.
...
Tang Wan had already followed Jiang Jinsang back to the room to apply dicine. No matter how gently he was, rubbing and massaging her back slowly, it still hurt so much that her scalp went numb.
"What does your cousin do? He seems to have a strong scholarly air, doesn’t look like he’s in business."
"Your father also looks quite refined, and my brother says in the business world, he’s decisive and ruthless, not the least bit soft." Jiang Jinsang said with a smile.
Tang Wan choked on her words, her dad... indeed, that was true.
"He’s indeed not in business. He was very good at math and science in school, but he went abroad early. He majored in chemistry in university, got his Ph.D., and now works in a lab at a foreign company. As for what exactly he researches, he ntioned it once, but I don’t quite rember."
"Chemistry? A true scholar," Tang Wan mused. Her own physics and chemistry grades were diocre, and she had struggled with them in high school. In college, when studying advanced mathematics, she would stay up all night before exams to the point of losing hair, not to ntion majoring in sothing like chemistry or physics.
Jiang Jinsang rely smiled, continuing to apply the dicine.
Tang Wan pursed her lips. Having only t him once, she couldn’t tell if he was friend or foe, and surprisingly, the gift he had given her was a carefully selected fla-blue water cup.
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