Waiting for the Wind to Come | Chapter 43 | A Clear Future | Novela.app

Xu Mingjuan was silent for a moment. "Does your Teacher Zheng know?" "She knows. Jiang Weifeng told her right away," Lin Jiang replied obediently, looking like a child waiting to be punished after doing something wrong. Hearing this, Xu Mingjuan gave a faint smile. "It seems you two are serious then?" Lin Jiang’s heart skipped a beat. She looked up, then lowered her gaze, answering firmly, "Yes." Xu Mingjuan didn't say much else. She stood up and patted Lin Jiang’s shoulder. "Alright. Bring him home for dinner sometime." Standing there, Lin Jiang suddenly felt the future becoming clear and bright. However, that quiet, tender atmosphere lasted for less than two seconds... The moment Xu Mingjuan pulled the door open, she let out a sharp scream that made the hair on Lin Jiang’s neck stand up. "Dad! What are you two doing?! Eavesdropping at your age! Are you trying to scare me to death?" Ms. Xu Mingjuan was furious. The two old men turned bright red, immediately pointing fingers at each other. "I told you, Old Lin, don't listen, don't listen, but you just wouldn't hear it..." "What do you mean, Xu Dazhuang? You were clearly the one who wanted to listen!" Xu Mingjuan clenched her fists tightly and stomped her foot, her voice rising again. "Enough! Both of you, go to the living room and behave yourselves!" The two old men had more to say, but they opened their mouths only to close them again with aggrieved expressions. Finally, they followed Xu Mingjuan to the living room, looking thoroughly defeated. Watching this scene, Lin Jiang felt a warmth behind her eyes. How did Lin Wei put it? "As the saying goes, everything has its match, but your mother matches everything!" Thinking of this, Lin Jiang burst into laughter. Truly, only her father understood her mother. *** In mid-June, Qingcheng entered typhoon season. When she was a child, Lin Jiang thought Qingcheng never had typhoons. It wasn't until she grew up that she realized that in the northern inland, typhoons didn't bring wind, but rain. The heavy rain had been stopping and starting for the past few days. It had just ceased, but a low rumble of thunder echoed in the distance. She sat by her computer, working diligently. The draft her editor had reviewed two days ago had been sent back for a second round of revisions, so she had been sitting there all afternoon. In the evening, Wang Jiaqian called to say that Zhou Wan was back from a business trip and asked if she wanted to meet up. The three of them met at the pedestrian street to eat at a roadside stall. Summer was incomplete without barbecue and crawfish. Zhou Wan took the initiative to open three bottles of chilled Snow Beer. The spicy, bustling atmosphere and the sound of clinking beer bottles were the ultimate comfort for the soul. Because there were schools nearby, many students had skipped class to gather there. Lin Jiang pointed out a table diagonally in front of them to Wang Jiaqian. Wang Jiaqian looked twice and asked, "What? I don't see any particularly handsome younger brothers." Lin Jiang tapped Wang Jiaqian’s head in mock frustration. "Look at the boy sitting on the far right." Wang Jiaqian squinted but couldn't see clearly. She put down her skewer and took out her phone, using the camera to zoom in. However, Zhou Wan beat her to the punch. "That’s sweet. He’s wearing a strawberry hair tie on his wrist. It must be for the girl next to him, right?" Lin Jiang was excited. "Exactly! You’re the one who gets me!" At this, the "Vinegar Queen" Wang Jiaqian became disgruntled. "What’s so special about that? Who hasn't had a sweet romance like that when they were young? Aren't you two aunties ashamed, staring at those fresh-faced boys?" Lin Jiang immediately raised her hands in surrender. "Wait, I actually haven't." Zhou Wan laughed and gave Wang Jiaqian a devious smirk. "Heh, well I’d certainly like to hear about your sweet past romances..." Wang Jiaqian rolled her eyes, stuck out her tongue, and pretended to faint. Lin Jiang’s stomach ached from laughing at these two characters. Just as she was about to join Zhou Wan in teasing Wang Jiaqian, her phone rang. She hurried to answer. "Where are you?" Jiang Weifeng’s voice was full of smiles. Lin Jiang gave him the general location and searched around until she saw the sign. "Grey Wolf BBQ." The name amused Jiang Weifeng even more. "Then don't I need to hurry over and rescue my little lamb?" Lin Jiang laughed. "Then I'll be waiting for you." After hanging up, she was inevitably subjected to the sharp scrutiny of the two women in front of her. "Lin Jiang, you still haven't given me an explanation for that secret crush story in your radio script," Wang Jiaqian began to settle the score. Lin Jiang immediately surrendered. "You'll know in a bit!" Because of that sentence, the skewers in Wang Jiaqian and Zhou Wan’s hands lost their flavor. Finally, Lin Jiang’s phone rang again. They excitedly dragged Lin Jiang to the entrance of the BBQ stall, standing like greeters with fake, formal smiles. When they saw who arrived, their smiles froze. Lin Jiang felt incredibly shy as she stood beside Jiang Weifeng. Like a primary school student reciting a text, she introduced everyone. Zhou Wan went into "fangirl mode," giving Jiang Weifeng a robotic "Hi." Wang Jiaqian, however, stood frozen on the spot, unable to move. She wasn't the only one. The person who had just stepped out of the car with Jiang Weifeng also seemed nailed to the ground. Lin Jiang cleared her throat and said to Zhou Wan, "Um, I forgot to introduce him. This is Gu Xiang." Zhou Wan gasped and turned around to pretend to fix her hair. But in the direction only Lin Jiang and Wang Jiaqian could see, she made an excited face, looking like she was ready to dive into some gossip. In the end, it was Wang Jiaqian who greeted Gu Xiang first, engaging in some incredibly awkward small talk. Once they were in the car, Lin Jiang asked Jiang Weifeng what was going on. Jiang Weifeng smiled. "He insisted on meeting his sister-in-law. I just helped him out." Lin Jiang silently grumbled that Jiang Weifeng was being mischievous, but he overheard her and teased her relentlessly. Finally, Lin Jiang got out of the car with a flushed face. The days were lingering and tender. *** Jiang Weifeng left for Beijing at 5:00 AM on June 22nd. Because it was so early, Jiang Weifeng had told Lin Jiang the night before not to see him off. Lin Jiang had agreed, but when Jiang Weifeng stepped out the door the next morning, he found her waiting for him with breakfast in hand. He broke into a wide grin, though his words were still reproachful. "Go back to sleep. I have a car; you don't need to see me off." Perhaps because he had been too busy lately and hadn't slept enough, Jiang Weifeng’s face was slightly puffy from waking up early. Yet, because of this, he looked less cynical and more adorable when he smiled. Faced with such beauty, Lin Jiang’s heart melted. She stepped forward and took his arm. "Come on, or you'll miss your flight." All the way there, Jiang Weifeng held Lin Jiang’s hand tightly. Lin Jiang said, "How are you going to eat if you’re holding onto me?" He asked back nonchalantly, "What do you think?" Lin Jiang had no choice but to use her free hand to feed him breakfast. He enjoyed the service, intentionally eating slowly. Lin Jiang wasn't in a hurry at all; she only wished he could eat even slower. After Jiang Weifeng checked in, Lin Jiang stood quietly for a long while before heading out to catch a taxi. Just as she reached the waiting area, a familiar license plate caught her eye. Lin Jiang paused, then got into Shen Yan’s car. "I'm dropping my boss off for a business trip," Shen Yan explained. Lin Jiang gave an "Mhm," and then neither of them spoke for a long time. "Grandpa has been calling me constantly these past few days," Shen Yan finally spoke after a long silence. Lin Jiang was puzzled. "What for?" "The old man asked if I’d gone to see you." Shen Yan smiled. "It seems he doesn't know yet that you're already spoken for." "You know?" Lin Jiang asked. Shen Yan pursed his lips and smiled. "Well, your mom told my mom. My mom was even sighing when she told me; she was still thinking about our childhood betrothal." Lin Jiang gave a faint, expressionless smile at his words. The car drove on, passing high-rises and pedestrians. As they neared the subway station close to Shen Yan’s law firm, Lin Jiang asked him to pull over. As he was turning, Lin Jiang paused for two seconds, then turned her head to ask him, "Shen Yan, I remembered who Zhang Jiaojiao is." "She’s my girlfriend." Shen Yan stared at Lin Jiang’s wrist. His voice was a bit hoarse when he spoke again. Lin Jiang was wearing the green watch he had given her today. Back then, he had said it symbolized time. Sure enough, some things had changed imperceptibly with time. "Do you love her?" Lin Jiang asked. "Lin Jiang, that’s my business," Shen Yan emphasized. "Can you please stop asking?" Lin Jiang gave a bitter smile. "Shen Yan, she isn't like her father. Dragging her into this might not lead to the result you want." Shen Yan’s mouth thinned into a straight line. After a long while, he said, "Don't worry." The conversation ended there. After dropping Lin Jiang off, Shen Yan sat in his car alone for a good while. Then, he reached into his bag for his phone and dialed a number with practiced ease. On the screen, the name "Jiaojiao" flashed. *** The show Jiang Weifeng was participating in was a challenge-based program with a "CP" (couple) setup. The "CP" here didn't refer to actual romantic couples; the premise was that celebrities would be paired with opposite-sex fans "selected" by the production team to complete challenges. Through this, they would earn elimination or dating privileges each episode. They were called "fans," but in reality, they included trainees pushed in by various companies and wealthy socialites who had blatantly spent money to chase their idols. As soon as Jiang Weifeng’s team arrived in Beijing, they went straight to the station for a meeting. The production crew had already held three major meetings before this. After the meeting, the director called Jiang Weifeng over, telling him to take some promotional photos once the guests arrived in the afternoon. During this time, Gu Xiang had been busy networking. Once the director finished talking to Jiang Weifeng, he walked over and handed him a cigarette. "Do you know the background of our director?" "Tell me." Jiang Weifeng declined the cigarette and stepped into the elevator with his things. "Sun Ping. Male, 45 years old, started in news programs." Gu Xiang’s eyes were shining. "Later he switched to entertainment, starting from scratch. He struggled for over a decade, and last year he produced a talent show that became a massive hit." Jiang Weifeng pulled out his phone to send a WeChat message, giving a distracted "Mhm." "We chatted for a bit just now. He seems very professional and rigorous. He’ll probably be there for the shoot this afternoon." Gu Xiang clicked his tongue. "Then you'd better perform well this afternoon." Jiang Weifeng scoffed. "When have I ever been anything less than great?" Without waiting for Gu Xiang to reply, he tapped his screen a few times and started a call. It rang for a while before Lin Jiang picked up. He stepped out of the elevator while Gu Xiang went to call for a car. Leaning against a stone pillar by the entrance, he heard her pleasant voice: "I'm taking a shower. I'll call you back in a bit." "A shower in the middle of the day?" He looked up at the sky, the sun making him squint. Lin Jiang nodded. "Qianqian and the others insisted on celebrating... my 'exit from singleness.' I'm just getting cleaned up." *** **Glossary** Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation ---|---|--- 徐大壮 | Xu Dazhuang | Lin Jiang's maternal grandfather's nickname. 灰太狼烧烤 | Grey Wolf BBQ | A restaurant name, likely a reference to the popular Chinese cartoon "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf." 娃娃亲 | Childhood betrothal | A traditional concept of families arranging a marriage between children. 名花有主 | Already spoken for | Literally "the famous flower has a master," an idiom meaning a woman is already in a relationship. CP | CP | Short for "Couple," a common term in Asian entertainment for on-screen pairings. 孙平 | Sun Ping | The director of the variety show Jiang Weifeng is participating in. 脱单 | Exit from singleness | Slang for starting a relationship/no longer being single.|