Zheng Heng, who usually made a show of disrespect, looked on as Jiang Tan laughed, appearing as if he were suffering from Parkinson's.
Jiang Tan wanted to punch him hard.
Meng Yanxi, biting his cigarette, looked at Jiang Tan, blinked in surprise, then quickly composed himself and looked at Zheng Heng, "Are you going crazy?"
Even young Master Tang Xian from the Tang family chuckled and nodded at Jiang Tan.
Zheng Heng continued to laugh, wiping away tears as he did, exclaiming, "Jiang Tan, what on earth are you wearing? A retro schoolboy outfit?"
"I think it looks quite good." Zhou Yinghuai commented indifferently.
Zheng Heng sensed the warning in Zhou's tone and stopped laughing.
Tang Xian, only a year older than Jiang Tan, just returned from abroad. Passionate about art, he had no interest in business affairs.
He pulled out a chair for Jiang Tan and said softly, "I heard you're studying at the art academy. I bought a painting for you at an auction recently."
Jiang Tan looked at Tang Xian, quite surprised, and after a while, whispered a thank you.
Zhou Yinghuai left his coat on a nearby couch. He wore a white high-collar sweater, a rare casual look. He seemed like the lead in a Korean drama.
With all four seats taken around the mahjong table, Zhou Yinghuai sat next to Jiang Tan, naturally placing his hand on the back of Jiang's chair.
"Where's your kitchen? Tantan hasn't eaten yet."
Zhou Yinghuai always referred to her as Tantan in public. A simple two-word nickname, elevating her status.
Zheng Heng replied, "Upstairs, I'll have the butler show her."
"Good," he paused and added, "Tantan doesn't eat onions, she's allergic to coriander, but she can handle a lot of chili."
Zheng Heng found this irritable.
"Alright, alright! You really worry too much!"
Jiang Tan looked at Zhou Yinghuai, hesitated, then whispered in his ear asking if he was not eating.
"No." Zhou Yinghuai replied softly, mimicking Jiang Tan's tone, "I don't eat breakfast."
Jiang Tan nodded, then followed the butler out of the room.
The four men started the first round of mahjong without discussion.
Zhou Yinghuai usually did not take mahjong seriously, but today he was particularly hard on Meng Yanxi.
Meng Yanxi, challenging to deal with, raised his eyelids, and calmly looked at Zhou Yinghuai, "You seem to have a big problem with me?"
"Don't scare us like that." Zheng Heng tried to defuse the situation.
Zhou Yinghuai reached over to Zheng Heng's side of the table and took a cigarette box, lit a cigarette, and said calmly, "Yes."
Meng Yanxi sneered, his gaze locked onto Zhou Yinghuai, "Zhou Yinghuai, you are rarely this confrontational. Have you developed feelings for her?"
Zheng Heng was silenced.
"Could you two deities not fight while in my presence!" Zheng Heng begged, "Why not just each give me a punch to vent your anger?"
Tang Xian, with his low laugh threshold, was amused by Zheng Heng's words and started laughing and coughing.
Zhou Yinghuai replied, elegantly indignant, "Meng Yanxi, after all these years of knowing each other, I don't want to ruin our relationship."
"So?" Meng Yanxi smiled even more, but his gaze became colder.
"I can handle my own affairs. I don't need you to interfere, especially not on behalf of Jiang Tan." Zhou Yinghuai snapped the cigarette in his hand, frowning in aversion, "This cigarette is terrible."
Zheng Heng felt wronged, "Did I ask you to smoke it?"
The conversation ended abruptly. By the time Jiang Tan returned, the atmosphere had become quite cordial, sending a peaceful vibe.
Jiang Tan sat next to Zhou Yinghuai, sniffed the smell of smoke on him, and inhaled deeply, like a little dog.
Zhou Yinghuai pinched her nose, lazily looking at her, "What's the matter?"
"You smoked?"
"No, that was Zheng Heng."
Jiang Tan softly exclaimed, then looked at Zheng Heng, "Smoking isn't good for your kidneys, take it easy."
A smile emerged at the corners of Zhou Yinghuai's mouth as he watched the sharp-tongued Jiang Tan.
Zheng Heng saw clearly. Zhou was putting his romantic interests ahead of their friendship and had no intention of intervening.
Unable to bear it, Zheng Heng gritted his teeth and endured.
Zhou Yinghuai gave his seat back to Jiang Tan. The little girl didn't know how to play mahjong and was constantly chased by Zheng Heng, it seemed like she was about to lose all her money.
Jiang Tan nervously looked at Zhou Yinghuai and whispered, "Let's stop, I won't play anymore."
"It's okay, keep losing," Zhou Yinghuai replied, "I make the money, and you spend it. It's good this way."
Jiang Tan sincerely asked him, "What's good about it?"
Zhou Yinghuai justified it, "I consulted a fortune-teller, you spending my money is good luck for me."
So Jiang Tan masterfully brought him luck.
The game ended, Tang Xian and Meng Yanxi had neither gains nor losses, whereas Zheng Heng was exultant about winning money from Zhou. 'I've won enough from Zhou today to pay the down payment on a suburban house!'
Zhou Yinghuai smiled slightly, lazily playing with Jiang Tan's hair, "It's okay to lose. Remember to bring Tantan the next time you guys play."
Zheng Heng's smile froze, he understood Zhou Yinghuai's words, but begrudgingly agreed.
It had begun to snow. A few of them walked through the courtyard of the Zheng family's house. Tang Xian had to leave early due to some family matters.
The three remaining men chatted idly, while Jiang Tan ran into the snow, engrossed with her cellphone camera.
She was too far to hear Meng Yanxi's voice.
Meng Yanxi said, "Yinghuai, are you paving the way for Jiang Tan?"
Zhou Yinghuai acknowledged silently, his gaze softly falling on Jiang Tan's back.
Zheng Heng mediated, "Yinghuai! Don't say I didn't warn you! The things you said to Yanxi today crossed the line. It's okay that you brought Jiang Tan into our business. But if any harm comes to her because of Yanxi, I will not allow it."
Zhou Yinghuai diverted his gaze, "I'm not a sentimental man."
Upon hearing this, Meng Yanxi chuckled, "And I'm not a petty person."
Zheng Heng wanted to say, aren't you two very competitive?
But he swallowed his words, simply responded with deep emotion, "Jiang Tan is so fortunate, ending up with someone like you."
The resources and contacts Zhou Yinghuai provided for Jiang Tan were things many people could never have.
There's a saying, right? The highest form of love a man has for a woman includes teaching her survival skills, providing resources and supports. So, even if one day he's not there, that woman can still make a good living.
From this perspective, Zheng Heng felt that Jiang Tan had hit the jackpot.
But Zhou Yinghuai, after a moment of silence, slightly curled his mouth, his eyes profound, "I wouldn't say so."
The epitome of logical reasoning is cold-blooded calculation. Zhou Yinghuai always made a clear distinction between what he could and could not give to Jiang Tan.