Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 398 - 398 393 One Kiss and It Moves

Chapter 398: Chapter 393: One Kiss and It Moves Chapter 398: Chapter 393: One Kiss and It Moves “They say ‘no family enters a house unless they belong,’ and looking at this map business, the Second Brother and Hong Jing really were two peas in a pod, neither having a clue.”

In those days, without navigation, carrying a map for a road trip was essential. Then, upon arrival in the destination city, one could always get out of the car and ask for directions if something wasn’t right.”

As they neared Binzhou, Mu Jiawen and Hong Jing explained that before they set off, they had checked the local weather forecast and news. Snowy Town had been sealed off due to a heavy snowfall before the New Year, and nobody knew if it had returned to normal, but to be safe, they decided it would be better not to go there.”

Hong Jing naturally had no objections, as she and the Second Brother were just hitching a ride anyway.

Chatting along the way, the two of them became somewhat familiar with each other. In the middle of their conversation, the Second Brother’s phone rang.

Given the limited, enclosed space of the car, the other three passengers could hear the speech on the other side of the call loud and clear.

“Hello, Mao Mao?”

“Brother, you don’t keep your word. You promised to visit me during the winter vacation, so why haven’t you come even after the New Year has passed?”

Indeed, the Second Brother had gone back to Yunzhou before the New Year, mainly to burn paper for his parents and then to clean up their old house. Shortly after, he had rushed off to North City to pick up Hong Jing.

He was in such a hurry that he completely forgot about visiting Mao Mao.

The Second Brother lied guiltily, “Well, Mao Mao, I’ve been too busy recently, I couldn’t make it back.”

“…”

“Are you angry? Bro apologizes, next time I will definitely keep my word, okay?”

“…Brother, I miss you.” There was an unidentifiable coquettish tone in her voice.

“Bro misses you too.”

Initially wearing a faint smile, Hong Jing’s expression froze upon hearing this. She diverted her gaze from the window and turned to look at the person in the passenger seat.

But the Second Brother was completely unaware that he had said something inappropriate, continuing to patiently soothe Mao Mao, “Look, it’s already mid-February, not many months left until the summer holidays. When your vacation starts, you can come to Beijing and brother will treat you to something delicious…”

Even though Mu Jiawen was slow on the uptake and rather blunt when it came to feelings, she too sensed something odd in the Second Brother’s words.

Not to mention Jiang Yan, who would have kicked him if he hadn’t been driving at that moment.

When they entered Binzhou and stopped to find a place to eat, Jiang Yan took the Second Brother aside to the restroom. As they came out and waited for the two women, Jiang Yan advised him, “Mao Mao is seventeen now, she’s obviously one of those who mature early. You have a girlfriend now, you need to understand what should be said and what should not be said, got it?”

“Huh?”

Second Brother looked puzzled, realizing from his brother’s serious expression that this was no joke. He scratched his head in confusion, “But, bro, Mao Mao’s just a kid.”

Jiang Yan gave him a sidelong glance, “Iron Second Brother, I’ve told you before, don’t always be unnecessarily good to others; it might not be good for you in the long run. Take Mao Mao for example, you are neither blood-related nor do you have any other relation to her. The extent to which you helped her before was enough. If you keep going, it will become a burden for you, understand?”

“But bro, Mao Mao and Jiajia…”

“Does Jiajia keep in contact with Mao Mao much? Even with Xu Qian, they only connect occasionally. Moreover, that has nothing to do with you. I just told you, and I’ll repeat it; Mao Mao is seventeen, she’s not a child. Your every word and action might create misunderstandings, you get it?”

What Jiang Yan did not know was that the misunderstanding had already occurred.

Late to realize, the Second Brother suddenly grasped an issue, “Bro, are you telling me all this because Hong Jing got angry over the call I had with Mao Mao just now?”

It might not be rage, but certainly, she must have felt uncomfortable.

Jiang Yan sighed, “It’s not about whether Hong Jing is angry or not, it’s about you. Don’t turn yourself into a central air conditioner. Don’t be good to someone just because they seem pitiable. There are many pitiable people in the world; can you care for each and every one? Live your own life well and mind your own business less.”

Although he didn’t fully understand the meaning of being a central air conditioner, the Second Brother knew his brother must be right, and this wasn’t the first time he was telling him this. But he was forgetful and would forget as soon as he turned around.

Now…

He turned his head and saw Hong Jing walking out closely followed by Mu Jiawen, their faces still adorned with light smiles, but their eyes deliberately avoiding looking his way. As they came close, Hong Jing visibly—and intentionally—stopped to move to the other side of Mu Jiawen.

The second brother: …

As expected, she was angry.

He scratched his head, puzzled, and wondered if the phone call he’d made earlier was really that outrageous? He just treated Jiajia as a child. All he did was indulge her by playing along with what she said; he had no other intentions.

Later during the meal, because Jiang Yan and Mu Jiawen were present, Hong Jing couldn’t very well give the second brother the cold shoulder, so she resumed behaving normally. However, when she talked to the second brother, her demeanor was somewhat indifferent.

After finishing the meal and heading to the nearby ice sculpture hall, Jiang Yan purposely held Mu Jiawen’s hand and kept a distance from the other two, deliberately walking in opposite directions from them.

“Does this idiot know how to sweet-talk?”

Mu Jiawen glanced at the ice sculptures and then turned her head to look over there. She saw the second brother trying to hold Hong Jing’s hand, but she shook him off as soon as he touched her. Chuckling, Mu Jiawen said, “Serves him right!”

But seeing the second brother get rejected once and not taking the initiative again, she became anxious and said, “Go on, try again! You’re not just big and tall for eating, are you? Can’t you just grab her hand and not let go, you blockhead…”

Seeing her more interested in the spectacle than moving forward, Jiang Yan, resigned to the fact, almost had to half carry her as he stepped forward, while lowering his head and whispering in her ear, “Can you focus your attention on me?”

Mu Jiawen played right along, turning her head and planting a kiss on his cheek. A couple who had just come over to look at the ice sculpture python nearby immediately stopped in their tracks, giving them a strange look which clearly meant: This is a public place, have some decency!

Unfazed, Mu Jiawen pointed at the giant ice sculpture python and teasingly accused Jiang Yan, “Liar, you said it’d move if I kissed you. Why hasn’t it moved?”

Jiang Yan: ….

He deadpanned, “There are too many people now, it’s too shy to move, but wait until everyone’s gone and see if it doesn’t then.”

The couple: ….

Can people really date like this nowadays?

Listening to them, it actually sounded quite interesting.

The two who were too shy to even hold hands in public caught each other’s eye, and their cheeks simultaneously flushed.

Meanwhile, the other two seized the moment to leave for the next exhibit.

After completing their tour, they waited at the entrance for about three minutes, when they saw the second brother walk out with one hand in his pocket and the other holding Hong Jing’s tightly clasped hand.

Mu Jiawen surreptitiously swept a glance at their interlocked fingers and raised an eyebrow.

Staying in Binzhou until the fifth day of the new year, Jing Junyang called Jiang Yan.

“…you borrow Qi Lihong for a couple of days first, not to mention anything else, her ability to organize documents and find loopholes is top-notch… Yes, yes, I know, I’ll definitely give it another run-through when I get back. Okay, that’s settled then.”

Jing Junyang’s father was quite the character. Not long after he left, he actually triggered a wave of resignations. Coupled with the New Year’s holiday, it directly resulted in Jing Junyang and his aunt finding themselves shorthanded when they arrived at the company.

Of course, when they said “shorthanded,” they mainly referred to trustworthy people.

He still wasn’t planning on taking over the company, but the thought of driving his dad and those three into a frenzy with rage once the company came into his hands made it a must-take for him.

He certainly wasn’t going to let them benefit from it.

His grandfather didn’t hold old-fashioned views about preferring males over females, and he had agreed to let his aunt manage the company. Now, his aunt too was borrowing trusted and familiar subordinates from branch offices, hoping to quickly untangle the mess in the company after the New Year and before work officially resumed, to get the company back on track.