Kiss Rose

Chapter 27: Old Times
The Lin Group has been developing very well in recent years, mainly due to the fact that Lin Wangshu's brother is in charge.

Therefore, Lin Wangshu had time to play with them since he was a child. Like ordinary children, he was strictly required by his family since childhood and was trained as an heir.

Among the dozen or so people who were having fun at that time, Jiang Qian and Xiao Shu were the only exceptions. The others all had many children in their families and did not have to share too much family pressure.

Lin Wangshu has been spoiled by the entire Lin family since she was a child because she has an older brother who is very capable and much older than her.

When he was a child, Jiang Qian envied Lin Wangshu. She had a happy family and her brother treated her very well. He bought her food, brought her many small things, and picked her up from school in person.

Therefore, when she was young, she turned her attention to the Zhou family, which had a good relationship with the Jiang family, especially Zhou Shiyan. When he came over occasionally, Jiang Qian'an was full of expectations for him.

Unfortunately, when he was older and needed tutoring, Jiang Qian'an became bored and no longer had any expectations of having a brother like Lin Wangshu.

As the memories came to an end, Jiang Qian'an finally realized that Zhou Shiyan was indeed a competent brother, and always had been.

The awkwardness dissipated a lot, Jiang Qi'an generously accepted Zhou Shiyan's kindness to her, with a sincere smile,

"Brother Shi Yan, you are so nice."

The living room on the fourth floor is spacious, with a full wall of floor-to-ceiling glass windows. When the bay window is opened, you can take in the entire view of the river.

As summer progresses, the weather gets better and the clouds in the evening become more colorful.

Jiang Qian'an remembered that it was still early when he arrived, and now he could even see the sun setting.

This villa is truly a great spot to enjoy the view.

The room was filled with the refreshing and pleasant scent of gardenias. Jiang Qian'an then noticed that there were several potted gardenias planted on the balcony.

The flowers are pure white, and their fragrance sneaks in through the open window, refreshing the heart.

The entire fourth floor has a modern design. Jiang Qian'an could tell that it had been renovated before, but a lot of new things had only been added in the past two days.

"Brother Shi Yan, is this your property?" Jiang Qian'an was puzzled. Many things here were decorated in imitation of the apartment she had in Linjiangting.

Zhou Shiyan lowered his eyes and sighed imperceptibly, as if he was helpless.

"You haven't opened your eighteenth birthday present yet."

Eighteen years old.

Jiang Qian'an raised his eyebrows slightly, his thoughts wandering far away.

The coming-of-age ceremony at the age of eighteen was the most glorious day of her life in Lingchuan.

Her grandfather organized the largest coming-of-age ceremony for her and invited celebrities from all walks of life.

At that time, she was truly a little princess who was the center of attention. The Jiang family was powerful and its industry was at its peak.

Many people came to curry favor with him, and the gifts and their packaging almost piled up into a small mountain.

Jiang Qian'an accepted gifts from a few of her close friends and Ji Linche, and gave all other gifts to her grandfather to pack.

As for what those things were, she really didn't know.

I can't even remember whether Zhou Shiyan came to the coming-of-age ceremony.

It seemed like he did come. Jiang Qian'an remembered that Zhou Shiyan came over and said happy birthday to her, and then Jiang Qian'an refused and ran away out of fear.

She has never been close to her elders and only plays happily with people of her own age.

Hearing what Zhou Shiyan meant, Jiang Qi'an's heart skipped a beat. He pursed his lips and looked up at him carefully.
"Brother Shi Yan, this couldn't be... the birthday present you gave me that year, right?"

Zhou Shiyan's beautiful eyes fell on her calmly, and his eyes clearly said:

What do you think?

Jiang Qian swallowed slowly and lowered his head. He rubbed the tip of his nose with his index finger and smiled awkwardly, "Well, Brother Shi Yan, you know, there were too many people coming that time, and I was so tired afterwards that I forgot everything."

Zhou Shiyan did not seem angry. He raised his hand and stroked his glasses. A smile appeared in his eyes because of Jiang Qian's guilty look. He hummed softly. If Lu Jin was there, he would definitely be able to hear the doting in his tone.
"I know."

These words took on a different meaning when they fell into Jiang Qian'an's ears. She cast a filter over Zhou Shiyan and felt an unspeakable sense of grievance in his voice.

Jiang Qian'an's back stiffened slightly. At this moment, she actually had the illusion that she was a scumbag.

Facing Zhou Shiyan's gaze, Jiang Qian took two quick steps forward, looking around exaggeratedly at the apartment that suddenly appeared to him, planning to refuse.

"Wow, Brother Shi Yan, this is a bit expensive for you. It's not appropriate for me to accept such an expensive gift."

With this location and this decoration, Jiang Qian'an is not a fool. Now she has to take up the responsibility of supporting the Jiang family, and she knows how expensive food and daily necessities are.

"Grandpa knew about it back then." Zhou Shiyan calmly recounted the past events, "When you were eighteen, this place was built and had not been renovated. It was not too expensive to buy this property at that time."

Zhou Shiyan actually knew early on that Jiang Qian'an did not open his gift.

Because later it was Grandpa Jiang who called him and returned the house to him, and also hired someone to roughly renovate it for him.

Some of the words were rather obscure, but Grandpa Jiang was a smart man and he understood his thoughts without exposing them.

At that time, Jiang Qian'an was chasing after Ji Linche, with whom he had just broken up. His heart was hanging on that man. Grandpa Jiang respected Jiang Qian'an's wishes, so there was no need to give away the house.

Grandpa Jiang asked Zhou Shiyan to keep it for himself, and if there was another chance in the future, it would not be too late to give it to him.

In the past few years, Zhou Shiyan would occasionally come here to take a look and ask people to clean up.

Every time I see Jiang Qian and Ji Linche together, his appearance is all I can think of.

Zhou Shiyan would stay here alone, fantasizing obsessively about what Jiang Qian would look like by his side.

And the way he looks here.

The lively girl in the eyes contrasts with the twilight of Lingjiang River. The evening breeze lifts her hair, which is as unreal as an unreachable old dream.

Zhou Shiyan's breathing became much lighter, and his heart was filled with an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

This is not a dream.

He now had a chance to touch.

Zhou Shiyan took out a keychain from his pocket. On it hung a yellow and white ceramic fried egg pendant. What was shaking against it was the key to the villa.
"Take it. This is your coming-of-age gift from Grandpa and I. Grandpa paid for half of the renovation costs. Don't let it continue to wait for you alone by the river."

Don't keep him waiting any longer.

Jiang Qian'an couldn't take it.

It was too valuable. She was afraid that she would not be able to pay Zhou Shiyan back in the future because she would owe him too much.

If she were really allowed to go back to the age of eighteen and open Zhou Shiyan's gift, she might still accept it happily.

With her grandfather around at that time, she could do whatever she wanted without restraint.

It’s different now. She has lost a lot of confidence and is no longer the willful Jiang Qian’an of the past.

She stepped back in resistance, but Zhou Shiyan grabbed her wrist.

He pried open her fingers and pressed the key into her palm. His movements were calm and dignified, and he spoke word by word with an irresistible momentum.

"Don't overthink it. It's something you bought a few years ago. It's a token of your love. It's not worth much. You don't need to feel guilty about it. Just don't sell it because you're short of money."

　This room is important and needs to be tested!
　　Votes, comments, highlights!!
　　Oh right! Today the editor notified me that the book will be put on the shelves. Probably tomorrow will be the paid chapter, and it will be free for members. (The author cautiously pokes his head in) I think everyone will support it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)