Shi Hao did not live alone. He had an older brother who was over a decade older and had already turned gray.
When Jiang Wang went to knock on the door, Shi Hao only opened it a crack, watching him warily. “What do you want?” he asked.
“My family name is Jiang, you should have heard of me. ” Jiang Wang smiled as he offered a cigarette. “It seems there was a misunderstanding with Linqiu before. Let’s clear the air before the New Year to avoid any unpleasantness later on.”
When Shi Hao heard about that issue, his face turned pale, but he opened the door a bit wider.
“I really didn’t mean it,” he defended himself. “And it was such a small matter; there was no need to remember it for so many years. We’re all men, is it really necessary?”
“Not necessary at all. On my way here, I told Linqiu it was just a little misunderstanding,” Jiang Wang replied with an easy smile. “Come on, let’s go inside for a bit and have some tea. It won’t take long.”
Shi Hao glanced at Ji Linqiu and, seeing that he seemed to be taking Jiang Wang’s words seriously, finally opened the door fully.
“It won’t take long!”
Ji Linqiu dutifully played the role of a background observer for thirty minutes.
Strictly speaking, they only discussed the unpleasant matter briefly when they opened the door. Afterward, it was just Jiang Wang boasting to Shi Hao. They chatted about international affairs, stocks, oil, and covered a whole range of profitable businesses in the city.
At first, Shi Hao was somewhat skeptical and a bit reserved, but as the conversation went on, he became completely drawn in by Jiang Wang’s charisma. Before long, he was laughing heartily, calling Jiang Wang “brother,” and even inviting his own brother over to listen in on the excitement.
Jiang Wang had been generous with red envelopes in the past few days, and his easygoing manner quickly made him popular.
Shi Hao felt relaxed and at ease, basking in Jiang Wang’s presence until he even showed a hint of deference.
Ji Linqiu found it all quite absurd for him to sit here.
“Now that we’ve cleared the air,” Jiang Wang said, slapping his thigh and looking very amicable, “is there anything else we need to discuss? We should get it all out today—new year, new beginnings!”
Shi Hao paused for a moment, then turned to look at his brother.
The old man tapped his cane. “Listen to Boss Jiang, just say what needs to be said. Don’t create any more misunderstandings with the Ji family!”
Suddenly faced with this question, Shi Hao was stunned for a while, completely unprepared for the sudden shift.
Jiang Wang was all too familiar with such cluelessness, wearing an expression of a good-natured person.
“If there’s anything we’re hiding from each other, it’ll only be awkward when we meet again later, right?”
Shi Hao steeled himself, taking advantage of having his brother and Jiang Wang present, he stood up and apologized to the previously silent Ji Linqiu.
“Right, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched your sister.”
Ji Linqiu’s pupils narrowed.
“What did you say?”
Shi Hao didn’t notice the murderous intent in Ji Linqiu’s voice. With his head lowered, he stammered, “Back when she wasn’t married, I used to tease her a lot. I pinched her butt, but I didn’t do anything worse. You have to believe me.”
All of Ji Linqiu’s suppressed anger erupted at once, his voice chilling, “You dared to touch my sister?”
Jiang Wang turned around, his voice low, “Brother Shi, it wouldn’t be excessive to beat such a bastard thing, right?”
Both members of the Shi family were taken aback, and before Shi Hao could react, Ji Linqiu kicked him directly.
“Ah—” Shi Hao had let his guard down, completely unprepared for the blow, and he fell to the ground, howling, “You!!”
The old man swayed, trying to get up, but Jiang Wang pressed him back down lightly, saying casually, “This is just a little fight between the younger generation, you don’t need to get involved.”
“Stop! Stop! It hurts! My face!!”
Ji Linqiu had never hit anyone before today, his eyes were fierce, and his movements were quick and clean, precise and powerful.
Jiang Wang leisurely provided pointers from the side, “Don’t kick the stomach, it can rupture the organs.”
“Yes, that elbow strike was solid, keep the muscles relaxed.”
A few times, Shi Hao attempted to get up or fight back, but he found no opportunity.
He quickly found himself with a nosebleed: “You—how dare you!”
Ji Linqiu let out a cold laugh, kicked Shi Hao again, then turned to leave.
He didn’t even speak to Jiang Wang afterward, turning around and heading home, ignoring the surprised greeting from his mother at the gate as he dashed toward the smoke-filled kitchen.
Inside, a group of aunts and sisters gasped, “Qiuqiu, what are you doing here?!”
“This is the kitchen, who are you looking for? Are you hungry? Why do you look so unwell?”
“I’m here to take my sister home.” He reached out and grasped Ji Changxia’s wrist, pulling her out of the endless preparations for family feasts. “You don’t need to cook anymore, the dishes we’ve prepared are already enough.”
“Hey, Linqiu, why are you suddenly managing women’s affairs?”
“Don’t! She hasn’t finished chopping the meat yet!”
Ji Linqiu was filled with cold fury, his eyes sharp and piercing.
“Now, there are plenty of people going out to eat for the New Year’s Eve dinner, who would volunteer to suffer like this?”
“My sister, Ji Changxia, is not anyone’s servant.”
After saying that, he took her by the hand and strode upstairs, leaving no chance for anyone to refute him.
Several middle-aged women huddled around the stove, looking both confused and angry.
“What’s gotten into him, acting all high and mighty after reading a few books? Linqiu’s mother, aren’t you going to manage this??”
“There are still a few fish to be cleaned, why is he unhappy to find his sister?”
“Seriously, who does he think he is, coming in here so hotheaded like this?!”
Ji Linqiu pulled Ji Changxia into the study and closed the door, leaving them alone for over forty minutes, with no one knowing what was said inside.
During that time, the Ji couple anxiously peeked in several times, too wary of their son’s sudden anger to interfere, so they turned to Jiang Wang for insight.
“Ah, he’s made an enemy again,” Ji Guoshen sighed.
“What are you thinking?” Jiang Wang chuckled. “Young people have a lot of fire, if they can’t come to an agreement, they’ll just fight it out, and it’s not like they’ll lose many teeth over it.”
It would probably just mean a couple of weeks in bed recovering, bruised muscles and aches everywhere—serves him right.
“Besides,” he leaned against the wall and looked toward the study, “someone like Linqiu, if anyone had eyes, they’d compliment him.”
“Those who hate him must be blind, no matter how much you flatter them, the result will be the same.”
Ji Guoshen pondered this and thought it made sense but continued to wait anxiously.
When the study door opened again, Ji Changxia came out, her eyes red from crying as she hugged her brother tightly and choked out that she would remember what he said.
Ji Linqiu silently nodded, walked her out, then closed the door again. He didn’t emerge until dinnertime.
Earlier, Jiang Wang had spread the word that he had a wide network and knew all the right people.
The Shi family, knowing they were in the wrong, sent someone that evening with wine as an apology.
That grandson was still in bed howling in pain, having used almost an entire bottle of medicinal wine for his bruises.
Jiang Wang didn’t seek Ji Linqiu out but instead spent the afternoon watching “My Fair Princess 2” with a group of children.
He understood that Ji Linqiu needed to sort through a lot of things.
This person had previously trusted in order to the point of adhering strictly to the mundane definitions of propriety, never stepping out of line.
If he hadn’t seen him again, Ji Linqiu might have lived his whole life like that—patient and submissive, without a single thorn.
It was only after today’s fight that he realized, with blood now on his knuckles, how much more alive he could feel.
As the butterfly in the show flitted away, Ji Linqiu finally went downstairs and sat down to dinner with everyone, calm and indifferent.
The layer of warmth and kindness he usually exuded had shed away.
It was as if the mountain mist had dissipated, the night snow had melted, leaving him with clear contours and a sharp presence.
The Ji couple had never seen him angry before, cautiously serving him several pieces of goat and wild boar meat, watching him silently fill his bowl with soup.
In contrast, Ji Changxia had a bright smile on her face.
“By the way, Linqiu,” Chen Danhong said, having barely touched her meal, sounding a bit relieved, “after dinner, come to my room, I want to show you something.”
She noticed Jiang Wang and worried he might misunderstand that they were trying to avoid him, so she smiled and said, “It’s just a piece of clothing. Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. We should wear new clothes for the New Year, right?”
Jiang Wang had not thought much of it, but at that moment, he clumsily dropped the dried bamboo shoots from his chopsticks and instinctively asked, “Can I come see?”
“Of course!”
His expression grew complicated.
After dinner, they went upstairs into the elderly couple’s bedroom.
Chen Danhong opened the wardrobe and began, “You know, Mom always saw you as a child, but today, looking at you, I realize you’ve grown up — over twenty now and starting to protect your sister.”
Her hands bore the grooves left by years of well water, with several faint frostbite marks.
“Actually, Mom had this coat ready for you for a long time. I wanted you to wear it for the New Year.”
As she carefully removed the new garment, wrapped in red cloth, she slowly unfolded it.
“But you… didn’t come back.”
One year without returning, three years, five years.
Chen Danhong smiled, a bit self-deprecatingly, finally half-jokingly expressing her grievances to her son.
“I told your dad, Guoshen, if our son acts like he doesn’t have us as parents, then this coat can wait until I die before he wears it.”
“I truly can’t bear to think it, but I might have to wait until that day to see you wear this coat.”
Jiang Wang stood beside them, watching as the coat slowly unfolded.
The stand-up collar was well tailored, the buttons a deep gray.
The double-breasted style cinched at the waist, made from a blended wool fabric.
The size and style were all customized to fit Ji Linqiu’s physique.
Jiang Wang had worn this coat for over a decade, and he could recall every detail of its texture by touch.
Now, it lay before them, pristine and untouched, quietly awaiting its owner.
Jiang Wang dared not speculate why Ji Linqiu had given him this coat all those years ago.
At that time, he might not have even known it was a long-awaited gift from a deceased mother, or perhaps it was out of some indescribable emotion that Ji Linqiu temporarily took it off and gave it to a struggling student, never to be seen again.
He still remembered that moment when he was about to leave Hongcheng, seeing Ji Linqiu at the train station.
Cold and calm, standing alone in the bustling waiting area, wearing the coat left behind by his mother, like a forgotten messenger pigeon.
No letters, no path, and no nest to return to.
Until he spotted the fifteen-year-old student, his smile warming up once more, still able to call out his name after all those years.
“Jiang Wang, how have you been lately?”
Now, as he looked at this coat that had returned to him, his gaze moved slowly from the collar to the sleeves.
He found himself back at the beginning of the story.
His heart felt cold, yet his throat burned hot.
