In the study, on one side of the wall were bookshelves while the other was pinned with sketches. The workbench was neatly arranged with tools such as hole-punching tongs, hand drills, carving knives, etc... On the table, there was also a half-finished product with jade and peonies on it.
Tang Wan was making tea. As the pot was filled with boiling water, the study was filled with the faint fragrance of black tea.
She was about to serve the tea to Jiang Jinshang when she realized that he had already circled behind her.
She was caught off guard, causing her hand that was holding the cup to tremble. The tea almost spilled, but..
In the next second, he had already reached out and held her hand to steady the cup.
"Are you afraid of me?"
The cup was too small. Tang Wan held it with both hands. At this moment, it was wrapped in his hands. His fingertips were warm, and his body temperature was on the high side. It was as if there were sparks tickling the back of her hands..
It was a little hot.
"No." Tang Wan looked calm on the surface and tried to pull her fingers out, but she was restrained and couldn't do anything. "Fifth Master?"
"We're more familiar with each other now. I'm still living in your courtyard temporarily. And I see you everywhere."
"You keep calling me Master. It always makes me feel like we're a few generations apart. In fact, I'm merely three years older than you."
"What Grandpa Tang said this morning was actually quite right..."
His tone was calm and gentle. He lowered his eyebrows and looked at her. There was no desire in his eyes, as if he was casually talking about the weather.
Tang Wan guessed what he was going to say next, but when he really opened his mouth and said,
"Should we change the way we address each other?"
His voice was extremely warm. He pressed down the last word and slid the entire sentence to a low and ambiguous place.
Tang Wan's heart pounded wildly and pressed against her chest.
It dyed her ears red.
"Change the way we address each other?"
"Yes."
When Old Master Tang spoke about this, he was only half-joking. The joke passed in a moment, but when Jiang Jinshang spoke, his tone completely changed. Moreover, his tone was gentle and modest, making it impossible for people to refuse him.
Actually, the way he addressed Tang Wan was just a few words, but it constantly reminded Tang Wan that the person in front of her was the master of Sijiu City. She had to respect him. Once this boundary was broken..
More things that would be broken later on.
They were not the same type of people. Even if she was tempted, Tang Wan didn't really want to get too involved with him.
Sijiu City and Pingjiang was different and things were much more complicated at the Jiangs.
***
At this moment, the bodyguards were squatting in the courtyard, fiddling with the flowers and plants.
Most of them were born into the martial arts world. They usually held guns and clubs, but now, a few grown men were holding a small pink watering can while watering the flowers and plants. A rather amusing scene indeed.
"We can't live like this anymore. We ruined the shower and took the blame. Now, we have to water the flowers? How did we become like this?"
"Ask Fifth Master."
"He must have taken a liking to that girl. He even lied through his teeth, saying that he knocked down her flowerpot yesterday and dirtied her yard. In the end..."
"We had to pay for the entire yard's greens."
"We agreed to break off the engagement. Why did he start flirting with her? Shouldn't we tell the madam about this?"
"What are you talking about? Unless it's about his body. If you dare to say anything else, you'll have to plant trees in the desert tomorrow."
They had followed Jiang Jinshang for a long time. Previously, they had also felt that their master treated Tang Wan a little differently, but they did not dare to think in that direction. After what happened last night and this morning, even a fool could tell that something was off.
They watered the flowers and squatted in the corner basking in the sun. On second thought, it was not a bad life.
***
On the other side, Tang Wan held back her trembling heart and slowly withdrew her finger from his palm, slightly increasing the distance between the two of them.
"Fifth Master, I don't think there's a need to change the way I address you. You are indeed the master in Sijiu City. It's not too much to call you Fifth Master, just like what you said before..."
"We need to know our place."
This was what Jiang Jinshang had said to Tang Mo earlier.
He held the Teacup in his hand. The water was very hot. He placed it by his lips and blew it. Looking at Tang Wan with gentle eyes, he said, "But in my heart..."
"You are different people."
Tang Wan felt that she was about to die. This man was too good-looking to begin with. He was very restrained when he spoke. She was indeed different from Tang Mo, but from what he said..
There was an additional hint of ambiguity.
And it was enough to make one's heart flutter.
"There are some things that she can't do, but you can."Jiang Jinshang's voice was clear and slow, but it was like a thin arrow.
Hitting the bullseye.
What he said was a disguised form of favoritism and indulgence.
Tang Wan was not a cold-blooded person. If a good-looking man told her that she was special, it would be a lie to say that she was not moved.
"I'm the youngest among my family and friends. They all call me Lil' Five. You can call me by my name, or..."
"Fifth Brother."
Tang Wan pursed her lips tightly. Call him by his name? Jinshang? How could she say that out loud?
But Fifth Brother was even more ambiguous.
He stood in front of her, sipping the tea and waiting patiently for her. But Tang Wan felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. It was not a big deal to change the way she addressed him, but now she could not say it out loud no matter how hard she tried.
***
Just as the atmosphere was getting tense, someone's phone vibrated. Tang Wan felt as if she had been pardoned. She immediately took out her phone, but it was not hers.
"Fifth Master, it's yours."
"Okay." The phone Jiang Jinshang previously placed on the chair he had previously sat on was buzzing.
He picked up his phone and squinted at the caller ID. He frowned slightly and hung up impatiently.
"You're not picking up?" Tang Wan heaved a sigh of relief. She had dodged a bullet and was grateful for this call.
"It's an unknown number. It's a nuisance call."
"Okay." Tang Wan didn't think too much about it.
Jiang Jinshang's phone vibrated again. He casually pressed the end call button and blocked the number.
Tang Wan let out a long sigh of relief and drank a mouthful of tea. Her palms were sweating nervously.
Fifth Master Jiang was truly a monster. He was not just a small demon, but a great demon that had cultivated for a thousand years!
Only later did she learn that this great demon --
Could eat people!
***
At this moment, in Beijing, the person on the other end of the line frowned. He made two calls but could not get through. "What's going on? The signal is not good?"
However, when he dialed again, it showed:
[ the number you have dialed is not in the service area. ]
"Could it be that the signal is bad because the Tang family's old residence is in the suburbs? The suburbs are not the countryside, so why is the signal so bad?" He muttered in a low voice.
A few days later, he still could not get through to the phone. Only then did he realize how naive he was at that time. Because at that time, he realized that...
He might have been blocked by Jiang Jinshang!