"Brother Zhi."
The door was pushed open.
Short hair, white dress, it was Jiang Wei'er.
"Why did you bully Ah Wan again?"
Apart from Madame Jiang, the only person in their family whom Ah Wan felt was sensible when dealing with serious matters was Jiang Wei'er.
"Miss Wei'er." Ah Wan had grown rather fond of Jiang Wei'er because of her rock-like fists. She was once a Taekwondo student but had dropped out of the dojo two years ago, which was when she had met Xiao Linshu.
'What a shame...sigh'
Ah Wan picked up his phone and ordered something for the young master who hadn't eaten anything yet.
Jiang Zhi was lying on his side and did not bother to get up to greet his aunt. "What are you doing here?"
"Call me auntie, okay? You should be more respectful of your elders." Jiang Wei'er lifted her skirt before plopping down on her seat. Then, she placed one of her legs onto the coffee table, swinging the white canvas shoe on her feet in an unladylike manner.
"Xiao Linshu." Jiang Zhi called out without revealing any hint of emotion in his voice.
Thinking that the person was actually present, Jiang Wei'er flinched as soon as she heard his name. In an instant, she had retracted her leg and clamped both of them shut, placing her hands neatly over her knees and sitting upright at 90 degrees sharp—the ideal posture for an ideal woman. Then, she looked over toward the room's entrance.
Xiao Linshu was nowhere to be seen.
Jiang Wei'er pursed her mouth and raised an eyebrow at Jiang Zhi. "You looking for a beating today?"
He glanced at her white skirt before sitting upright. He was wearing a low-collared sweater that had slanted to one side from when he was tossing about in his sleep, revealing his well-defined collarbone.
The form of Jiang Zhi's bones accompanied by his perfect skin was a piece of art in and of itself.
Jiang Wei'er's memories of her third brother and his wife were too blurry for her to remember their faces, but anyhow, their looks must've been top-notch to be able to produce such a good-looking son.
"Aren't you tired?" he asked.
This must've been Xiao Linshu's favorite skirt. As a whole, he preferred a plainly-dressed woman with a bright, innocent smile... something that Jiang Wei'er was trying hard to emulate. The real Jiang Wei'er whom Jiang Zhi knew was someone who rocked leather miniskirts on a daily basis, chain-smoked, visited the dancefloor every night, and laughed like a braying donkey.
Restraining herself like this, the overflowing cheerfulness of Jiang Wei'er from the past was fading away.
Jiang Wei'er maintained her posture and continued to sit like a well-mannered lady. "What do you know? I am, what you call, a love-maniac." She said in a righteous tone. "Just wait till you meet the love of your life. For the sake of love, you would be willing to place yourself at a position lower than scum."
Jiang Zhi tugged at the collar of his sweater and pulled it upward to cover his exposed collarbone. The grey wool sweater paired well with his pale white skin.
"Hold back on the nonsense" he snorted.
'Lower than scum? Only scum would do such a thing.'
Jiang Wei'er didn't bother to start a debate with her bratty nephew. "About that film you've made in cooperation with Xue Baoyi, are you guys aiming for an award?"
He got up and popped a pill into his mouth, although, due to being too hasty when gulping down the water, his throat started to itch. As he resisted the urge to cough, he replied. "What are you trying to say?"
"You think Lin Shu's suited for that role?"
2 years ago, Xiao Linshu had just been another B-list actor with little to no recognition in the entertainment industry, however, he was able to climb to his current position entirely due to Jiang Zhi's film. If it were not for Jiang Wei'er who had spoken to her nephew about this man, he wouldn't have stood a chance to play in that movie, and only God knows where he would be today if that hadn't happened.
"No. Not suited." Jiang Zhi placed the empty glass down.
Jiang Wei'er had gotten her answer. "Fine, I get it now." She stood up from her seat. "I'm gonna head back to work."
The fifth child of the Jiang family, Jiang Wei'er, chose not to live a life of overflowing abundance and instead, opted to work as someone else's assistant.
"You can't stand being served, huh?" Jiang Zhi spoke in a tone that made it sound as though his aunt's foolish decision did not affect him one bit. "Is being someone's fool more enjoyable?"
Xue Bingxue had dedicated his life to serving Jiang Wei'er, but instead of accepting his love, she had run off to serve Xiao Linshu.
'This seems promising.'
Jiang Wei'er smoothed out her white skirt. "Don't laugh at me. You'd do the same thing someday."
Jiang Zhi took a sip of water to wet his itching throat. "I'm a boss, waiting to be served."
"Just you wait and see."
Jiang Wei'er smiled sweetly before leaving.
Shortly after, Ah Wan entered the room. "Boss, I've ordered some grub for you." He quickly added, "Miss Zhou's the one delivering it."
Something told Ah Wan that this Miss Zhou and the young master was a match made in heaven. Tied together by the string of fate, she was even the one delivering lunch for Jiang Zhi.
"Come in."
The voice rang out, sounding hoarse, and was followed by a fit of coughing.
Winter had arrived and his physical condition was deteriorating.
When Zhou Xufang entered the room with the food, Jiang Zhi was in the middle of putting on his clothes. His entire torso, up to his neck, was wrapped tightly under thick clothing to shield against the bitter cold. She had once heard from Fang Lixiang that Jiang Zhi was born with a congenital disease that affected both his heart and lungs. His organs were slowly being worn out and no medicine was able to successfully treat his condition.
What a poor little thing.
She recognized Ah Wan's order and figured out that it must've been for Jiang Zhi, hence, she added a couple more mantis shrimps as a special treat.
Jiang Zhi looked over at her as soon as she stepped foot into the room. She was wearing a uniform issued to delivery drivers as well as a bright yellow helmet on top of her head, her palm-sized face blown bright red by the harsh winter wind outside.
"For you to take up a delivery job, is acting not providing enough cash for you?" His face was cold and unfriendly, reflecting his foul mood.
Zhou Xufang shook her head and gave a surprisingly honest reply. "I know the boss of the porridge restaurant. Since they are really busy during the weekends, I wanted to help them out."
She placed the takeout on the tabletop. "Eat it while it's hot. There's a lot of shrimps in there too."
Jiang Zhi stood close to her but they were still separated by a sofa. "How much are they paying you per round of delivery?"
No doubt, he was curious about her.
Jiang Zhi was well-known to despise women, but somehow, he wanted to know more about this girl. Even if it demanded his life, even if it pissed him off, he was so curious about the girl standing before him that it made himself uncomfortable.
"Distance matters. For this order, I'm being paid 7 yuan." Zhou Xufang replied, her face devoid of any emotion. "If I receive a good review, I'll get paid 8 yuan," she added seriously.
"..."
Jiang Zhi felt a mini migraine going on in his brain.
8 yuan. How many orders did she need to deliver to be able to afford a can of premium imported milk?
Out of habit, Zhou Xufang pulled down her helmet to shield her face. "Well then, I'm going back to my delivery job."
Just as she was about to turn and leave, Jiang Zhi shouted for her to stop. "How are you gonna do that?"
Zhou Xufang stopped in her tracks and turned around. Her hat was one size too big and covered her entire head, her large eyes contrasting with her cute, child-like face. Still, those eyes appeared cold, hollow, and desolate, just like the weather outside.
"I drive." Zhou Xufang replied.
A delivery worker driving a car?
Just then...
Assistant Director Zhao shrieked like a banshee through his loudspeaker so everyone on set was able to hear his voice. "WHOSE CART IS THIS? THIS IS NOT A PARKING LOT!"
It took a second for Zhou Xufang to process the Assistant Director's words before she ran out of the room yelling, "It's mine, it's mine!"
It was his first time seeing her acting so alive. Finally, he had caught a glimpse of her acting like a girl her age.
"..."
His head had started throbbing in pain again and his lungs were hurting badly as well, causing him to bend over while coughing.
Ah Wan scampered over to pour the young master a glass of water. Zhou Xufang's words were still fresh in his memory. "Boss, Miss Zhou is working really hard. How 'bout we leave her a good review?"
He admired the hard-working girl who never gave up despite her poor background.
Without saying anything, Jiang Zhi opened up the lunchbox. He stared at it for quite a while before picking up his spoon.
Seeing that the young master hadn't objected to his proposition, Ah Wan took out his phone and prepared to write Zhou Xufang a nice review only to discover a surprising function. "Whoa, apparently we can also reward the rider."
'Miss Zhou had to go through so much trouble just to earn eight yuan'
"Boss, let's give Miss Zhou a reward." Ah Wan urged Jiang Zhi.
Jiang Zhi was holding the spoon between his long bony fingers around which wound greenish veins.
"If you wanna do that, then go ahead. I don't see the need to report everything you're about to do."
Hearing this, Ah Wan went ahead and played around with the in-app rewarding system. Since he rarely ordered takeout meals, he wasn't very familiar with navigating around the app. After fumbling around for a while, he made yet another discovery. "The app only allows a maximum reward of fifty yuan, boss."
While Ah Wan was by no means, a high-earner, he still wanted to reward Zhou Xufang with a thousand yuan.
"Fine, I'll continue rewarding her the next round."
After completing the transaction, Ah Wan became even more excited than before. "There's her phone number here, too! We can add Miss Zhou on WeChat now!"
Ding!
Jiang Zhi's spoon made a loud resonating sound as it hit the side of the bowl. He raised his head to look at Ah Wan. "Why would you do that?"
His face, despite his disposition, was beautiful, like that of a plum blossom.
No doubt, he was an attractive man, but in those eyes, like a blossom shrouded in mist, there was a slight hint of melancholy. Just what kind of family was it that managed to produce such a noble young prince, one that overflowed with complex emotions?
Ah Wan's heart was racing from being glared at by the young master. The 1.9 meter-tall two hundred pound meathead replied in a voice akin of a mouse. "We...we're friends, after all."
Jiang Zhi tossed his spoon aside and coughed lightly. He patted the corner of his mouth with a clean napkin, lecturing his overly-romantic bodyguard. "I didn't notice this back then, but you're really good at making things up, huh?"
"..."
Oh, how annoying this man was!
Despite Jiang Zhi's reaction, Ah Wan was adamant about adding her on WeChat.
"Send her phone number to me."
Jiang Zhi said in a voice as cold as the weather outside.
Perhaps Ah Wan's brain operated slower during winter. "What phone number?"
Jiang Zhi's ink-dark eyes narrowed, intensifying his gaze so much that it almost burned a hole through Ah Wan's skull.
"Oh."
Ah Wan immediately sent the contact number of the screen-protector selling, delivery-riding, part-time acting girl over to the young master.