#39: Kiss Me

The accident was Ji Qiuchi’s unilateral responsibility; she had been drinking, and the alcohol test confirmed drunk driving. She was very cooperative, and the traffic police handled it quickly.

Jiang Yan got into the car, bringing with him a chill. Lin Xingzi leaned closer to him. He looked at her bright eyes, and his initial impulse to gently push her away changed to a soft embrace around her waist as he asked her about the contract.

“I won’t sign it. I’ll tell Uncle later,” Lin Xingzi hadn’t thought of a good reason yet. She had taken a risk by trusting Ji Qiuchi, and she felt uneasy. On one hand, she was bothered by the consequences of losing a big contract because of herself; on the other hand, she suspected the Zhan family harbored unspeakable secrets.

“Let’s go eat. You said your colleagues were treating. Is it too late now?”

“No, it’s not late.”

Jiang Yan gave the address, and the driver followed the navigation.

The car could only go as far as the community entrance; it couldn’t enter. Lin Xingzi and Jiang Yan got out and walked. Haishi’s winter was wet and cold. There were rows of sycamore trees along the road, their withered leaves scattered everywhere, rustling underfoot.

While waiting for the elevator, Jiang Yan briefly introduced her. “Two of them are my university classmates. The tall one is Qi Zheng, and the slightly fatter one is Chen Huhuhu, we call him Erhu. He’s a great cook, and we’re eating at his place tonight. The others started working a few years before me.”

“Then how will you introduce me later?”

Lin Xingzi had only intended to tease Jiang Yan. Despite his scheming, he only used “wife” this and “wife” that in front of Zhan Yan. Zhan Yan lived across the street, and sometimes they’d meet on the way to work, but once he left, Jiang Yan wouldn’t even hold her hand.

The door opened, and the gazes of six or seven men all focused on her face. Lin Xingzi felt embarrassed and lightly tugged on Jiang Yan’s sleeve.

Jiang Yan clasped her hand and led her inside. “My wife, Lin Xingzi.”

After a brief silence, the living room erupted again, some serving dishes, others pouring tea.

“Hello, sister-in-law, I’m Erhu.”

“Hello, sister-in-law...”

Lin Xingzi remembered Jiang Yan saying some were older than him, but they all, as if by agreement, uniformly called her “sister-in-law.” Lin Xingzi wouldn’t blush when acting spoiled in front of outsiders, but she turned crimson from the men’s enthusiastic flattery.

The food was already prepared, and beer and liquor bottles lined the floor.

At first, they were a bit restrained, but after a few drinks, their courage grew, and they forgot that Lin Xingzi was Director Lin’s daughter, asking her how she and Jiang Yan met.

“You two kept it too well hidden. Jiang and I were roommates in college, bunk beds, and lived in the same apartment for two years after work, yet I had no idea.”

Lin Xingzi thought to herself: Because we never even dated. We skipped dating and went straight to getting married.

One by one, they started chanting. Erhu was the boldest, but his alcohol tolerance was poor. Jiang Yan laughed and punched him. “Alright, that’s enough.”

“Oh, our Comrade Xiao Jiang is shy. Then you drink three cups. After three cups, we’ll move on!”

“This is wedding wine, whether you drink it or not, Jiang Ge, it’s up to you.”

Each cup was filled to the brim. Jiang Yan drank one after another. As he tilted his head, drops of wine trickled down, rolling past his Adam’s apple. Lin Xingzi watched, feeling thirsty, and picked up the juice in front of her to drink.

Someone lit a cigarette. Jiang Yan frowned slightly. “Put out the cigarette.”

“Jiang Ge, you used to smoke often...”

He used to smoke to relieve fatigue when he was tired, but Lin Xingzi disliked the smell of smoke, so he quit.

“Sister-in-law is here. You’re so high and mighty, making her breathe your secondhand smoke. Put it out quickly, open the window and air it out!”

“The food’s getting cold.”

They were all drunk, stumbling over wine bottles with clanging noises every time they moved. Amidst a flurry of boasting and wild revelry, Lin Xingzi listened with considerable interest. Jiang Yan placed his jacket behind her chair to block the draft and poured her a glass of plain water. Before going to the kitchen to reheat the dishes, he warned Erhu, who loved to instigate, “Don’t let her drink.”

“Jiang Ge, don’t worry, Jiang Ge’s wife is my...”

Lin Xingzi: ????? I refuse.

“Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha, you tell him, Erhu, keep going. Did you slur your words? That’s what you get for always running your mouth!”

One drunken remark made the big men laugh, falling over themselves. Men’s happiness was that simple.

“Jiang Ge is a good man, capable both in the kitchen and the living room. He’s the face of our bureau, and his strength is undeniable. Sister-in-law, you don’t know, Jiang Ge used to handle cases like he had a death wish two years ago. He jumped from three stories to catch drug dealers. One time, he almost lost half his arm.”

Lin Xingzi hadn’t seen this side of Jiang Yan.

Even after he was transferred back to Haishi and they lived together daily, he would always clean himself up before coming home, no matter how disheveled he was outside.

“Current Jiang Ge is still fierce, but he knows to cherish his life now, which is good!” The man picked up his glass, clinked it with the brother next to him, and downed it in one gulp.

Lin Xingzi pointed to her left shoulder. “He has a scar here.”

“From a gunshot, probably. I was on that mission. Jiang Ge is incredibly tough. He stayed on the rooftop for two hours without moving. Only after the mission was over did I realize he’d been shot.”

Lin Xingzi felt a pang of sadness. She hadn’t eaten much, absentmindedly picking at the peanuts in the dish.

The living room was lively. Jiang Yan heated all the dishes and brought them out. He cooked a bowl of noodles, steaming hot. Lin Xingzi seemed normal, but she quietly curled her hand into his palm when he sat down.

Her hand was cold. Jiang Yan squeezed it gently and handed her a clean pair of chopsticks. “Eat this. It’s tomato-based soup, light.”

“Mm,” Lin Xingzi replied softly.

Listening to Jiang Yan and his friends laugh and chat, her nose felt a little sour. Not wanting to be noticed, she kept her head down, eating her noodles.

Her hand was cold, but her face was very red, and she said little, just sitting in a daze. Jiang Yan noticed something was off. “Did you drink?”

“...I just wanted to taste what was in your cup. I didn’t drink much.”

The bottle of alcohol on the table was empty. Her face was almost buried in her bowl. Jiang Yan cupped her chin, lifting it, and she was caught off guard, locked in her eyes.

Last time, when he explained that hug with Ji Qiuchi in her third year of high school and brought up Jiang Yi, her eyes had looked exactly like this: brimming with tears, the corners red, as if she would cry any second.

Jiang Yan’s heart twinged. He picked up his cap and covered her face, telling Erhu they had to leave.

She was overly well-behaved in the car. Ten minutes into the drive, the alcohol started to kick in. She leaned drowsily into Jiang Yan’s embrace, just calling his name but saying nothing else.

Jiang Yan carried her upstairs, placing her on the bed. Lin Xingzi hugged his neck, refusing to let go.

“Jiang Yan.”

“Was I wrong to be jealous before?”

“You go protect the world. I can protect myself, not be a burden to you, not become your liability.”

During those years alone abroad, she had thought of him.

Cold liquid flowed onto her neck. She refused to look up. Jiang Yan turned on the bedside lamp, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently patting her back. “You’re not a burden.”

“Jiangjiang, you are courage.”

More brave and fearless, but also more understanding of sacrifices, because he had to come back to see her.

After a long while, Lin Xingzi tugged at his clothes, lifting her moist eyes. “Then kiss me.”