If I Die, Will You Still Hate Me? - Chapter 4
If I die one day, I must have my bones…
The Yancheng Group headquarters is located near the sea—a location meticulously chosen by Ye Xun.
This is because Jiang Xuzhou once said that if he died one day, he absolutely wanted his ashes scattered into the sea, to drift everywhere.
Ye Xun leaned back in his chair, gazing out at the calm ocean.
If Jiang Xuzhou really died and his ashes were scattered into the sea, he would certainly see this building.
And the person sitting at the very top of it.
The thought made Ye Xun feel extremely good; he tapped his fingers twice on the desk.
At the same time, two knocks sounded from outside the door.
“Enter.” Ye Xun turned back to his desk.
“President Ye, President Zhao is waiting in the conference room,” the secretary said.
“I’m on my way,” Ye Xun put on his jacket.
In the conference room, Zhao Mingrong supported his chin with one hand, while the other listlessly played with the Newton’s Cradle ornament on the table. In his fifties, he was well-preserved, with a good physique and a decent face—neither rotund nor heavily wrinkled. The dark blue suit he wore looked almost better than it did on the advertising models.
“President Zhao, you came so early without giving me advance notice.” Ye Xun smiled brightly, his leg barely across the threshold before his hand stretched out. “I would have certainly met you at the door.”
“Little Ye, there’s no need to be so polite.” Zhao Mingrong clasped Ye Xun’s extended hand, squeezing it lightly twice. “I’m just here this time to catch up with you.”
“Just to catch up?” Ye Xun countered with a smile.
“Just to catch up,” Zhao Mingrong replied with a smile as well, though his eyes were deep and profound, like a wolf scouting for prey.
Ye Xun sat down opposite Zhao Mingrong, his eyes slightly narrowed, concealing his scrutinizing gaze. He asked in a casual, conversational tone: “President Zhao, what would you like to chat about?”
“President Ye’s business is getting bigger and bigger; do you have any plans for the next step?” Zhao Mingrong asked. “Have you considered expanding into real estate development?”
“We could cooperate together.”
Ye Xun lowered his eyes, fiddling with the ring on his finger, tilting his head as if contemplating something.
“Care to consider it?” Zhao Mingrong continued.
Zhao Mingrong’s Zhao Group and Jiang Xuzhou’s Baiwen Group were the two largest real estate companies in Mochi City.
If Ye Xun were to cooperate, choosing one would undoubtedly be the best option.
Zhao Mingrong understood Ye Xun’s vindictive nature and was certain he would never cooperate with Jiang Xuzhou.
“President Ye, won’t you think about it?” Zhao Mingrong pulled back the small ball at the end of the ornament, then released it.
The metal sphere struck the one before it, and the ball at the very front rebounded, producing a series of collision sounds.
As the final sound faded, Ye Xun’s hand stopped fiddling with the ring. He looked up: “President Zhao, a pleasure to cooperate.”
Zhao Mingrong expected the cooperation to succeed, but he didn’t expect Ye Xun to agree so readily.
“A pleasure to cooperate, President Ye.”
After seeing off Zhao Mingrong, Ye Xun pushed open Cheng Zhaolin‘s office door.
“Zhaolin, keep an eye on the Zhao Group for me,” Ye Xun said. “Especially Zhao Mingrong.”
Cheng Zhaolin didn’t understand what Ye Xun was plotting now: “Why?”
Ye Xun “tsk”ed in annoyance and smacked the back of Cheng Zhaolin’s head: “Just keep an eye on them. Why so many questions?”
“Oh, right, bro,” Cheng Zhaolin rubbed the back of his head where he was struck, then took off the ring on his finger and placed it in Ye Xun’s hand. “Do you think Jiang Xuzhou might have misunderstood something about us yesterday?”
“Misunderstood what?” Ye Xun put the ring away.
“Misunderstood that we’re a couple. That wouldn’t be good,” Cheng Zhaolin scratched his head, looking troubled. “If you two got back together, wouldn’t I be very awkward in the middle?”
Ye Xun: “…”
Get back together my ass. Even if every man on this planet died, he wouldn’t be with Jiang Xuzhou.
Absolutely impossible!
However, Ye Xun thought back to the gala a few days ago and Jiang Xuzhou’s calm expression.
Did Jiang Xuzhou not realize he was messing with him? Ye Xun quickly dismissed that thought; after all, anyone with eyes could tell he hated Jiang Xuzhou’s guts.
That left only one possibility:
Jiang Xuzhou was enduring it in silence, perhaps hoping to use it to ease their relationship.
Ye Xun sneered internally. He wouldn’t let Jiang Xuzhou succeed.
Cheng Zhaolin was unaware that Ye Xun’s thoughts had drifted across the Pacific and continued to look at Ye Xun with a sincere expression.
Ye Xun glanced at him, resisting the urge to smack him again: “Let him misunderstand. He’s not going to eat people.”
He wanted to use this misunderstanding to end any lingering feelings between them.
Having dropped that line, he got up to leave, leaving Cheng Zhaolin wailing behind him: “He does acupuncture! It hurt me to death last time!”
The black SUV drove out of the Baiwen Group and stopped at the Mochi City Paternity Testing Center.
Jiang Xuzhou pushed the door open and walked into the lobby.
“Son, where is this place?” Mei Yue asked, bewildered.
Jiang Xuzhou’s face was mostly covered by a mask, revealing only his beautiful eyes: “The Paternity Testing Center.”
Mei Yue had only heard the name on TV dramas. She rubbed her ears, repeating uncertainly: “Paternity Testing Center?”
“You child, honestly,” Jiang Yongjun slapped his thigh. “What are you spending money on? You might as well use this money to…”
The rest of the sentence was slapped back by Mei Yue.
Jiang Xuzhou frowned and didn’t look back at them. He clenched his left fist against his lips and coughed.
He might have caught a chill yesterday at the hospital without noticing, or perhaps he caught the flu.
He’d get checked again after he finished with this busy period. Jiang Xuzhou thought.
He rolled up his sleeve, had the doctor draw his bl00d, and after instructing them to “Rush the report,” he hurried away.
In the back seat of the black SUV, Jiang Xuzhou leaned back with his face up. His head felt as if it were filled with lead, his neck unable to bear its weight. His temples throbbed relentlessly.
He likely had a fever. He raised his hand to touch his scorching forehead.
“President Jiang, should we go to the hospital?” the driver asked, looking at Jiang Xuzhou through the rearview mirror.
“No need.” The thought of the pervasive smell of disinfectant in the hospital made Jiang Xuzhou’s headache even worse.
“Back to the company?”
“Home. Back to Linhai Mansion,” Jiang Xuzhou said.
The car ran over a small pebble, causing a slight bump.
Linhai Mansion was Jiang Xuzhou and Ye Xun’s first home, a small villa by the sea.
Ye Xun loved the sea, loved pulling Jiang Xuzhou to walk along the beach, and loved eating seafood.
Jiang Xuzhou still remembered Ye Xun standing in the villa’s yard, excitedly explaining why he chose this particular house:
Because Jiang (江) and Xun (浔) both contain the radical for water (三點水). Where there is water, there is prosperity; their life would prosper, and their business would prosper.
It was a pity one couldn’t wish for too many things at once. For them, after all the twists and turns, only their business prospered.
Jiang Xuzhou rubbed his temples, sighed inwardly, and stared out the window with unfocused eyes.
“President Jiang, we’ve arrived,” the driver said, pulling the car to a stop.
“Alright, you can go back,” Jiang Xuzhou stood steady in front of the villa’s gate.
Since he and Ye Xun broke up, and Ye Xun moved out of this villa overnight, he had never returned, nor had the place been cleaned.
The password lock at the door automatically recognized its long-absent owner and clicked open.
The yard hadn’t been cleaned for too long; weeds sprawled everywhere, the tallest ones nearly reaching Jiang Xuzhou’s height. A breeze blew, and the swing in the corner of the yard swayed with it.
Jiang Xuzhou collapsed onto the swing, exhausted.
Ye Xun was the one who insisted on buying this swing. When the yard was first renovated, Ye Xun stood under the tree, circled it once, and came to a conclusion: this tree was perfect for a swing.
Jiang Xuzhou put his hands on his hips and mimicked him, circling the tree twice, but couldn’t reach the same conclusion. He looked at Ye Xun, confused.
“You wouldn’t understand. Master Ye’s eyes are more reliable than yours.”
Afterward, Ye Xun dragged him to find a carpenter and had a swing made.
“A child’s temper,” Jiang Xuzhou commented when Ye Xun climbed the tree to hang the swing.
Now, the person who used to sit on the swing had probably long lost interest in it.
Jiang Xuzhou gathered a little strength, moved to the front door, and pushed hard.
A cloud of dust billowed at his face, choking him into a coughing fit.
Using the light from the streetlamp outside the window, he could make out the original arrangement of the room: the table was leaning to one side, two of the four chairs were overturned, and one was tossed into the corner; the curtain was half-drawn and half-open, revealing a few newly built high-rise buildings outside the window; several ornaments on the TV cabinet had fallen to the floor, and the flowers had withered.
Jiang Xuzhou stumbled onto the sofa, only to be choked by the dust again. He tore off his mask and threw it aside. The coughing grew more violent, deeper. He struggled to curl himself into a ball, his hand pressed tightly against his wildly beating heart.
He felt that no matter how hard he tried, the foreign sensation in his throat persisted.
Jiang Xuzhou braced himself up and stumbled based on memory toward the dining room.
Unexpectedly, just as he reached the cupboard, a wave of heat surged up his throat, and the metallic taste of bl00d shot straight to the top of his head. He lowered his head and vomited fresh bl00d.
The bl00d sprayed out with each forceful cough and exertion.
His consciousness was becoming increasingly blurred. He fumbled for his phone and pressed the volume button three times.
Jiang Xuzhou couldn’t remember who his emergency contact was—maybe Ye Xun, maybe Wu Yi.
Anyone would do, as long as they didn’t let him die here, as long as this house didn’t turn into a ‘murder house.’
The time it took to connect felt incredibly long.
So long that he was about to give up.
“Hello, President Jiang…” The line finally connected.
“…Linhai Mansion.”
The sea was calm in the evening. The dark blue night sky and the sea merged into one, silent and peaceful.
Ye Xun finished his video conference and pressed the bridge of his nose, taking several deep breaths. For some unknown reason, his chest felt heavily constricted today, like the oppressive atmosphere before a sudden storm.
He opened the window and took a few deep breaths, but the suffocating feeling only intensified.
Ye Xun knew something was wrong. He quickly walked to the desk phone: “Zhaolin, any activity from the Zhao Group?”
“No, bro. Why?” Cheng Zhaolin said, swallowing a mouthful of snacks.
Ye Xun: “Nothing. Eat less. Eating late at night makes you gain weight easily.”
“I’m still growing!” Cheng Zhaolin retorted.
Ye Xun wanted to tease Cheng Zhaolin a bit more, but the phone rang, interrupting him.
It was 9:30 PM, his private time, and very few people called him at this hour.
Except for…
Ye Xun frowned, staring at the three large characters on the screen—Jiang Xuzhou.
Why would Jiang Xuzhou call him?
How dare Jiang Xuzhou call him?
Ye Xun’s hand, hanging by his side, clenched tightly into a fist.
In the end, faced with the choice between smashing the phone and answering, he chose the latter.
Today, Mochi City welcomed a long-awaited rainy day. The downpour came suddenly and timely.
Ye Xun didn’t take an umbrella or put on a jacket. He sped all the way to the seaside villa. The oppression that had been pressing on his chest thoroughly erupted when he saw the person lying there.
“Jiang Xuzhou!” Ye Xun practically stumbled to Jiang Xuzhou’s side, shaking as he tried to find his pulse.
However, it was utterly still.