Chapter 176: Du Du and Jiang Xingliu Side Story (4)

Chapter 176: Du Du and Jiang Xingliu Side Story (4)

Lu Qingwan felt that bringing Du Du back to meet Jiang Xingliu was indeed a very wise decision.

Du Du's facial expressions became noticeably more varied.

Although... they weren’t exactly pleasant expressions.

Jiang Xingliu's frequency of visiting became higher and higher, and every time Du Du saw him, he would wear a scowl, often shooting Jiang Xingliu dirty looks.

However, Jiang Xingliu didn’t get angry. If Du Du didn’t object, he’d inch closer; if Du Du resisted fiercely, he would step back, always maintaining a position that was neither too far nor too close.

It was driving Du Du up the wall.

But Lu Qingwan and Shen Zhixue were thoroughly entertained.

Du Du was becoming more and more like his old self.

"I had no idea your Jiang Xingliu was such a master at wearing someone down with persistence!" Lu Qingwan sat on the sofa in the living room with Shen Zhixue, watching the two figures in the garden through the large floor-to-ceiling window while snacking and observing their interactions. "This is priceless. Look, Du Du’s shovel is practically aimed at Jiang Xingliu’s face."

Shen Zhixue stretched lazily: "Like attracts like."

The two of them watched, thoroughly amused, but Du Du was absolutely livid.

He was planting roses in the garden, a variety he was particularly fond of. There was no special reason; back when he was in the hospital, he would look out the window every day, feeling utterly lifeless.

Then one day, after a heavy rain, a tiny rose suddenly sprouted outside the hospital window.

From a delicate bud, it grew taller day by day, and every day, he could see that the little rose had grown taller than the day before.

Watching this little rose, he endured those tough times. Later, he always had roses by his window. He loved looking out the window when the gray outside was brightened by a splash of vibrant red.

And Jiang Xingliu, like a madman, brought a sweet orange sapling as tall as a person and insisted on planting it next to his roses, squatting beside him and digging the hole together.

Du Du couldn’t take it anymore: "Would you just leave?"

Jiang Xingliu paused, then moved half a step to the side and continued digging.

Du Du: "..."

Du Du: "Can you just get out of my house?"

Jiang Xingliu didn’t comply this time: "Not a chance."

Du Du deliberately flung the soil, sending it flying all over Jiang Xingliu: "Are you going or not?!"

Jiang Xingliu's military uniform was soon covered in dirt, but he remained unfazed, still digging his hole with his head down: "I’m planting it right here."

Du Du asked angrily: "Don’t you have a home of your own?"

Unexpectedly, Jiang Xingliu replied seriously: "Not yet."

"Aren’t you the Imperial Commander?" Du Du sneered. "Can’t you afford a piece of land?"

Jiang Xingliu turned to look at him: "I can afford it, but my wife won’t let me come home."

Du Du frowned: "Your wife?"

Jiang Xingliu pointed to the ground beneath his feet: "This land is mine."

Du Du immediately grasped what Jiang Xingliu was hinting at, his ears flushed red as he snapped, "Are you crazy? This is my place, what makes you think it’s yours? Get out!"

"You said you came back to the city to see your uncle," Jiang Xingliu began, "so why haven’t you gone to see Lu Qingyan?"

Lu Qingyan’s been filming out of town these past few days. Jiang Xingliu was just messing with him.

Du Du hurled the shovel at him in anger and stood up, "What’s it to you, huh? Can you just leave me alone?"

Jiang Xingliu brushed off the dirt from his clothes and stood up, "You used to bug me like this too."

"You!" Du Du was so mad his stomach started to hurt.

"Honestly, I kinda liked it when you bugged me back then."

After Jiang Xingliu finished speaking, Du Du was momentarily taken aback. He couldn’t wrap his head around how someone could be so blunt, one second making him furious, the next saying something that made his ears burn.

He felt oddly wronged, "So what are you saying now?"

Jiang Xingliu looked at him, "I thought I made it clear, Yuan Jibai—I’m chasing you."

He used his full name for the first time.

Since he was a kid, everyone called him by his nickname. Even when Jiang Xingliu was pissed at him, he only called him Du Du in a stern voice.

Du Du’s eyes widened as he pointed at the sweet orange tree on the ground, "Is this your idea of chasing me?"

Jiang Xingliu glanced at it, "It’s your favorite—I grew it myself."

"You’re nuts." Du Du turned and stormed off, rushing upstairs past the living room.

Shen Zhixue and Lu Qingwan watched him scurry off like a startled rabbit.

"How many more days do you think it will take for your son to be won over by Jiang Xingliu?"

Lu Qingwan cracked a melon seed with a click, "I bet at least half a year."

Shen Zhixue shook her head, "Three days."

Lu Qingwan was indignant, "You underestimate our Du Du. He's a very stubborn omega!"

"It's not that I don't believe in Du Du," Shen Zhixue said, holding a pillow, "but I trust the Jiang family men too much. When they want something, it usually doesn't take this long."

"Don't be so sure. Our Du Du isn't that easy to handle!"

"How much Du Du likes Jiang Xingliu, we can both see, and Jiang Xingliu knows it too," Shen Zhixue sighed, "Honestly, I kind of hope Jiang Xingliu doesn't succeed so easily. He and Jiang Huizhou are similar in some ways—smart, arrogant, meticulous. Things that come too easily never leave a deep impression on them."

Lu Qingwan nodded, agreeing with Shen Zhixue's analysis.

Jiang Xingliu watched Du Du's retreating figure, stood still for a moment, then silently crouched down and planted the unfinished roses and sweet orange together. Only after finishing did he get up and leave.

"He's actually quite upset, isn't he?" Lu Qingwan analyzed, "Was he just pretending in front of Du Du?"

Shen Zhixue was scrolling through her phone, "It's good that he's upset. Don't mind him. Let me show you the new drama I've been working on..."

"I'm not watching," Lu Qingwan refused, "Your dramas don't have kissing scenes. I don't like them."

Shen Zhixue clicked her tongue, "How shallow."

"Yes, I am that shallow," Lu Qingwan said, "Watching your dramas is worse than following our Du Du's emotional journey. Your son has already left. What are you still doing here?"

Shen Zhixue: "..."

Lu Qingwan: "You should leave now, or Jiang Huizhou will come looking for you again. I didn’t make dinner for the two of you."

Shen Zhixue stormed off home to confront Jiang Huizhou.

Du Du sat in his room, frustrated, and tossed the toy model to the floor.

He couldn’t fool himself. When Jiang Xingliu stood there and said, "Yuan Jibai, I'm pursuing you," his heart felt like it was going to leap out of his chest.

He had never dared to acknowledge his feelings for Jiang Xingliu.

He was scared, truly scared. An inexplicable restraint held him tightly, keeping him from mustering the courage to take that step.

In Jiang Xingliu's heart, Shen Zhixue might always be more important than him.

He kept thinking this, foolishly and stubbornly, over and over. Even though he knew Shen Zhixue couldn't become a stumbling block between them, he was still afraid.

This invisible thorn stabbed at him painfully.

While he pettyly compared his place to Shen Zhixue’s in Jiang Xingliu’s heart, he felt overwhelmingly guilty, thinking he must be crazy to be so jealous of Shen Zhixue.

Shen Zhixue had always treated him so well.

He felt like a jealous, ungrateful rat lurking in the shadows.

He didn't want to see Jiang Xingliu anymore because once he started seeing him, this conflicting feeling would constantly rip his thoughts to shreds, and the sensation was just too unbearable.

He didn't want it.

He didn’t want to turn into the kind of spiteful person he imagined, someone who’d envy an elder.