Chen Yuan hadn’t been to what was, in name only, his other home for many years. Since finishing junior high, he had hardly ever returned to Kyoto, and his memories had begun to fade with time.
As they drove, he recognized some of the scenery. The flowers and plants growing in the greenbelts along the road seemed familiar, but some streets looked as if they had been completely redesigned, leaving him with no impression of them whatsoever.
The driver headed toward the quieter suburbs.
Chen Yuan quietly watched the scenery outside the car window, but his mind was entirely occupied with thoughts of the two sisters. He felt no warmth at the prospect of arriving home—or rather, this place didn’t feel like home to him at all.
Even Jiang Zhengfeng rarely returned.
Jiang Zhengfeng was usually either away on business or in a foreign country; what little time remained was spent at the office. He was barely home for even a few days a month. This was what Chen Yuan remembered from junior high: coming home from school to guard an enormous house, with no one to even play with. The feeling had been torture.
After lunch, Ji Hai and Pei Youwen went to find a hotel to rest before another meeting that evening.
The three of them wouldn’t be able to return to Lanjing tonight and would have to wait until the next morning.
As it happened, Jiang Zhengfeng had cleared his schedule. Wanting to have a long-overdue talk with Chen Yuan, the two of them returned to his home in Kyoto together.
In fact, since they met today, Chen Yuan’s attitude toward his biological father had already improved significantly. As he matured and delved deeper into the industry, he increasingly realized how little he knew about him. It turned out that in others’ eyes, Jiang Zhengfeng was more than just an entrepreneur.
He hadn’t respected Jiang Zhengfeng much before. After being brought to Kyoto, he hadn’t been treated particularly well; instead, his life of just going to and from school felt like being imprisoned, a far cry from the free and happy days in Qishui County. He used to wonder why Jiang Zhengfeng would apologize to him but never spend time with him. Words without action are worse than silence. But now, he was beginning to understand his father’s difficulties.
It came back to the old saying: a person plays countless roles in their lifetime, and sometimes, your hands are tied.
Take Chen Yuan himself, for instance. As a boyfriend, he felt he was letting down both Ningning and Yaoyao by liking two people at once. If the sisters resented him for it, what explanation could he possibly offer? He had no other choice but to remain silent.
Jiang Zhengfeng, of course, was delighted. He felt that guiding Chen Yuan onto the path of business competition wasn’t a bad thing. At the very least, his son was much more mature than when he had first entered university and no longer challenged him at every turn.
After a drive of ten-odd minutes, they arrived at the entrance of a villa built against a mountain in the suburbs.
Chen Yuan stepped out of the car, took a deep breath of fresh air, and gazed at the enormous, manor-like building before him.
"It hasn’t changed at all. It’s exactly the same as when I was here in junior high."
"Of course not. It’s been here for years. I’ll pass it on to you when I’m no longer living here," Jiang Zhengfeng said kindly.
"I don’t want it. The worst part about a big house is how empty it feels. Staying here is no different from being in prison."
Chen Yuan rejected the offer without a second thought.
Right now, the place he cherished most was his modest home in Lanjing. That was where his heart felt warm and at ease. Though it had little monetary value, in his eyes, it was better than any paradise.
The building before them was no recent construction.
It had passed through several generations of owners before Jiang Zhengfeng bought and renovated it over a decade ago, finally giving it the feeling of a lived-in home.
It was a reminder that compared to things that could endure for so long, a human life was fleeting.
The assistant got out of the car and followed closely behind Chen Yuan.
"Yuan, do you still remember the way to the main hall? I was the one who brought you here back in junior high. In the blink of an eye, you’re all grown up," Jiang Zhengfeng’s top assistant, Chacha, teased gently.
"I’ve forgotten. Could you lead the way, Chacha?"
"Alright. Cha, take him to change his clothes. Yuan and I are going to play some tennis later."
"Understood, President Jiang."
Chacha nodded obediently.
Time had flown. When Chen Yuan first met the assistant, she had already been with Jiang Zhengfeng for several years. She wasn’t even thirty back then, and still unmarried.
But now, her hair was tied up in a bun, and fine lines had appeared at the corners of her eyes. She carried herself with the unique charm of a mature woman, her every expression full of allure.
Following her, Chen Yuan went to change into some athletic wear. He hadn’t been in this room, which was once his, for a very long time. To his surprise, it had been kept spotlessly clean.
On the headboard, he even found an old MP3 player he’d left behind in junior high.
Chen Yuan picked it up and saw a thick outline of dust on the surface beneath it.
...
"My old back and bones... If I don’t warm up a bit, a young fellow like you is going to run me ragged. Oof—"
Standing in the bright living room, where tennis rackets lay on the coffee table, Jiang Zhengfeng went through a comical warm-up routine that resembled morning calisthenics. He stretched his back, then squatted in a horse stance, sighing dramatically all the while.
"If you’re not up for it, you could have Chacha play with me for a bit first. Save you the trouble of gasping for breath later."
"Nonsense. Your old man isn’t that weak," Jiang Zhengfeng retorted, refusing to back down. "When I was younger, I could play all day and into the night, no problem. I used to go all out with clients back then. Ask Cha if you don’t believe me."
"It’s true, I saw it with my own eyes," Chacha chimed in. "He played from ten in the morning until nearly dawn. The deal was that the client would sign the contract if President Jiang won, but the client hadn’t specified a time limit, so they just had to keep playing. In the end, the other guy conceded."
"But time is unforgiving. Now I’m not sure I could even last two hours on the court." Jiang Zhengfeng finished his warm-up, picked up his racket, and added, "By the way, you haven’t been falling behind on your schoolwork, have you?"
"No."
"Good. My plan is to promote you from Lanjing to headquarters next year. You can take a six-month leave of absence from your studies. What do you think?" Jiang Zhengfeng said suddenly.
Chen Yuan was taken aback. "That’s sudden. When?"
"Next spring."
"No, no, no," Chen Yuan refused without a second thought. "I’ve barely been at Bauhinia Company for any time at all. I’ve just gotten used to how things are now. Moving to headquarters is too fast."
Staying in Lanjing was the most important part of his plan.
The two sisters had now made a home for themselves there. How could they possibly come with him to Kyoto? Their relationship wasn’t even that serious yet, and besides, their studies were also in Lanjing. Uprooting everything would be ridiculous.
"Bauhinia Company is just a stepping stone. Once you’ve proven your abilities, coming to headquarters is the real plan. You’ve seen enough of the small-time squabbles; it’s time you experienced the big leagues."
"Stepping stone or not, I’m settled in Lanjing, and besides..." Chen Yuan suddenly hesitated. This was the perfect moment to be honest. He took a deep breath and said gravely, "Dad, there’s actually something I need to tell you."
"Hm? Go ahead and say it."
Since Chacha was practically family, there was no need to be evasive.
Chen Yuan spoke openly, not at all bothered by her presence.
"I have a girlfriend now... I want to finish my degree in Lanjing, quietly and properly, so I can be with her."
Unexpectedly, his confession was met with silence from both Jiang Zhengfeng and Chacha.
A racket was placed on the table with a soft CLACK.
"I know," Jiang Zhengfeng said after a pause, trying his best to sound gentle.
"So, I can’t come to Kyoto. I don’t have a good feeling about this place, and it’s not because I’m cowardly or scared. I can come after I graduate. Since I’ve chosen to follow your path, I won’t have any regrets."
In response to his sincere tone, Jiang Zhengfeng simply adjusted his glasses, then sat down and motioned for Chen Yuan to do the same.
Chacha tactfully brought over the freshly brewed pot of tea, pouring it with her head lowered, not saying a word.
’She sighed internally. ’The young master couldn’t hold it in after all.’ Chen Yuan had no idea that Jiang Zhengfeng and his assistant knew everything about his life in Lanjing.
Back then, it was precisely the two assistants who had advised Jiang Zhengfeng to interfere as little as possible in the younger generation’s affairs.
That was why he had allowed things between Chen Yuan, Jiangg Ning, and Jiangg Yao to develop this far.
"So you’re finally willing to talk about it." Jiang Zhengfeng’s strange remark made Chen Yuan frown. He continued, "Dating... That’s normal, I understand. It’s a rare university student who doesn’t date. This is the prime age for it. But there’s just one thing I don’t get, Yuan... What’s this about you dating two of them?"
COUGH COUGH COUGH— The assistant, in the middle of pouring tea, suddenly choked, her face flushing bright red.
’This father and son were usually emotionally intelligent and easy to get along with. But for some reason, whenever they spoke to each other, they both seemed to become completely tactless, incapable of even the slightest bit of subtlety.’
’Was that something you could just ask so directly?’