Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Shared Past

The two of them followed the sound and looked over; it was indeed coming from the Maybach. A man with a center-parted hairstyle leaned his head out of the car—he was the one who had just spoken.

This man was clearly waiting for Bingbing, while Jiang Yang, riding a shared bicycle, had been mistaken for a food delivery driver. In truth, Jiang Yang didn't mind being mistaken for one; he had worked part-time as a delivery rider for a period in the past. Although he was no longer wearing the iconic "yellow robe" of the delivery uniform, the aura of his former job remained. Even without a plastic bag full of takeout containers in his hand, he looked every bit the part of a delivery guy.

Xia Bingbing rolled her eyes at the man with the center part. "Young Master Cai, who said I wanted to eat takeout? Someone is already treating me to dinner tonight."

The man stepped out of the car, walked over to them, and cast a sidelong glance at Jiang Yang. "You’ve already called for delivery, haven't you? This delivery guy doesn't even ride a proper e-bike. Come on, let me take you to the Cloud Top Restaurant for a French seafood feast, and we can go for a drive afterward."

Xia Bingbing didn't even look at him. She hopped onto the back seat of Jiang Yang’s bicycle and said, "Sorry, but my dinner and my drive tonight are both covered by this delivery guy."

The man was stunned on the spot. He couldn't fathom how any girl would reject a Maybach in favor of the back seat of a shared bicycle.

Jiang Yang turned his head to look at Xia Bingbing. "I don't have the money for the Cloud Top Restaurant. Where are you planning to eat?"

Xia Bingbing wrapped her arms tightly around Jiang Yang’s waist. "I told you, I'm a very materialistic girl. I need to eat somewhere classy—take me to the City Plaza!"

"Oh, what are we eating there?" Jiang Yang figured that a meal for two at the City Plaza usually cost two or three hundred yuan—a price range he could barely accept.

"Hmm, I want to eat the most authentic food!"

"Huh? What kind of authentic food?" Jiang Yang recalled the places Doctor Yang used to take him to—specialized local delicacies that were indeed authentic.

"Let’s go to that place with the most authentic pig's trotter rice!" A pair of shallow dimples appeared on Xia Bingbing’s cheeks as she smiled, as if she were truly looking forward to the pork dish.

Jiang Yang twitched his mouth. "So you're that materialistic—insisting on dragging me all the way here just for pig's trotter rice."

Xia Bingbing leaned her face against his back. "That's right! Hurry up and ride; you've made me hungry just talking about it."

The man with the center part stood to the side, listening in a daze. He felt that his entire understanding of a "materialistic girl" had been redefined today. While he was still stunned, Jiang Yang had already pedaled the shared bike away, weaving unsteadily down the road with Xia Bingbing in tow.

Only then did the man snap out of it and curse, "Damn it! A delivery driver actually dares to steal a woman from me!"

...

The Liang’s Pig Trotter Rice at the City Plaza was indeed authentic. The meat was fatty but not greasy, braised to perfection, melting in the mouth with a rich, gelatinous texture. It was undoubtedly the top choice for any hardworking soul.

Watching Xia Bingbing sitting across from him, devouring her food with as much gusto as he was, Jiang Yang felt a sense of familiarity.

"Junior Sister, have we... been here to eat before?"

Xia Bingbing covered her mouth with a napkin, carefully wiping away a trace of oil from the corner of her lips. "Did you remember? When we were living together, you were the one who brought me here."

Jiang Yang coughed dryly. "Actually, you don't need to emphasize the word 'living together' so much. Didn't you say yourself that you only stayed with me temporarily because you had nowhere else to go?"

Xia Bingbing blinked her cunning, large eyes. "That's true, but there was only one room. I slept in your bed, so where did you sleep?"

In truth, before he arrived that afternoon, Jiang Yang had already begun to recall flashes of memory from that time. He vaguely remembered that he had indeed slept in the living room for quite a while.

"I must have set up a makeshift bed in the living room, right?" Jiang Yang insisted.

Xia Bingbing pouted. "You said you had amnesia, yet you remember that, don't you?" She smiled again quickly. "I know you liked me back then, but you were too embarrassed to take advantage of the situation. Later, when you wanted to confess to me, I hesitated and turned you down. You can confess again now, you know."

Looking at Xia Bingbing, whose face was as picturesque as a painting, Jiang Yang felt relaxed; being with her felt natural and comfortable. How could such a wonderful girl not be adored by everyone? Could she really have been the person he wanted to confess to?

"Did I really confess to you?" Jiang Yang asked. "When was this?"

"Yes," Xia Bingbing said, pulling out her phone to find their conversation history. She turned the screen to show him. The date was two days before his car accident, and the content was simple:

"Bingbing, can you come down?"

"Senior Brother, I really can't today. I don't have time."

"Then when will you have time?"

"Go back for now. I'll call you when I'm free."

"Sigh, alright. I'll head back, but don't put this off for too long."

Xia Bingbing pointed at the screen. "See? That day you wanted to come over and confess, and I made an excuse to turn you down."

Jiang Yang frowned. Looking at the messages, it wasn't impossible to conclude he had intended to confess, but the conversation felt fragmented, as if parts had been deleted—it lacked a clear beginning or end.

"Did I try to contact you again after that?" he pressed.

"No. Two days later, you wanted to try again, but then you had the accident. After that, you went abroad to recuperate for over ten days, and then you ended up here."

Jiang Yang found it strange. If he had been on the verge of confessing to Bingbing just two days before the accident, how could he have ended up in a whirlwind marriage with Ruolan? Was it possible he had treated Ruolan as a backup and married her immediately after being rejected? Logically, it was possible, but it felt far-fetched.

Jiang Yang spoke seriously, "Bingbing, I told you I'm already married. No matter what happened between us before, I am a married man now. We can only be friends."

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Xia Bingbing wore a radiant smile. "Fine, then take me to meet your wife today."

Jiang Yang’s expression stiffened. "She... she went home today. She's not at my place..."

Xia Bingbing grabbed his hands. "Senior Brother, I know it hurt you when I turned you down back then, but you don't need to use excuses like this to brush me off. If you confess just one more time—just once—I promise I'll agree to be your girlfriend immediately... Oh, no, you can even have me as your wife."

Her small hands were warm and delicate. Jiang Yang tried to pull away, but she held on tight. He realized he was in a situation where he couldn't explain himself clearly; without Ruolan present, his Junior Sister would never believe he was actually married.

"How about I just take you home?" he suggested.

"Okay, I want you to drive me home."

Jiang Yang looked at the flow of people outside the window. "But that shared bicycle with the back seat might have been taken by someone else by now."

Xia Bingbing smiled sweetly. "Hee hee, it's fine. We'll look for one together. Or, we could just go back to your place tonight; it’s not like I haven’t stayed there before."