Chapter 133: Cutting the Gordian Knot

TL/Note: “快刀斩乱麻” (kuàidāo zhǎn luànmá) is a Chinese idiom that literally means “Cutting the Gordian Knot”. It is used to describe a situation where a problem is solved in a direct and efficient manner, without getting bogged down in unnecessary details or complications. The idiom implies the use of a swift and decisive approach to clear up a confusing or complicated situation.

I’m sorry, due to some misreading, from this chapter onwards, I’m going to use “Wang Jiexi” (previously I used “Wang Xijie”). ಥ_ಥ

Zhou Muxian is a great older brother, he always cares more about Zhou Mushi’s affairs than his own, how can he be so impatient now?

Zhou Mushi put down his phone in confusion, unable to help but pout.

If this were ancient times, he would have reason to suspect that his older brother had been enchanted by a fox spirit.

Zhou Mushi has Chen Sheng’s contact information. According to Chen Sheng’s friend circle, he hasn’t been with his older brother recently. What else could be going on? He’s not working, why is Zhou Muxian so busy?

Could it be that he has found a new love?

Okay, well, with his brother’s taste, it shouldn’t be worse than Chen Sheng.

Once a person falls in love, they really can do unimaginable things.

Zhou Muxian is not like Jin Yuan. He is a person with a serious job and is usually quite busy. He can’t just take a month off at will.

But as the saying goes, “beauty corrupts a nation, and desire blinds one’s judgment.”1 It was originally just a seven or eight-day vacation plan, but Jin Yuan was willing to keep postponing it.

Since his first day of work, he has never been as unproductive as he is now.

Even with everything that happened with Chen Sheng before, he never took time away from work.

When it’s time to work, he doesn’t go back to work, but instead stays in a hotel in Venice and watches love movies with his lover that have no nutritional value. Zhou Muxian never even dared to think about this before.

He even wonders if he had met Jin Yuan earlier, going back to his teenage years, would he have been too busy falling in love to think about inheriting the family business.

. . . . .

“You don’t have to come along.”

Inside a rented room, a man in casual clothes poured a glass of water for his distant guest.

The young man with a childish face smiled and said, “We met each other once, so it’s only right that I come and see you.”

Jin Yang’s smile was a bit forced as he replied, “Thank you for your kind offer.”

Wang Jiexi took out a letter from his pocket and asked, “Are you really going to let me give this to him?”

Jin Yang remained silent, his expression turning sour.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t open it, but I can guess what it says,” Wang Jiexi continued.

“What else can it be?” Jin Yang looked out of the window at the birds happily jumping around outside and said in a soft voice, “This is the best choice for both him and me.”

“That’s not necessarily true…” Wang Jiexi hesitated in the middle of his sentence as the man turned his face toward him, his eyes cold and lifeless.

“I used to think I had been in many situations that were beyond hope, but now I realize how foolish those thoughts were.”

“You…I think we should still go.”

Jin Yang smiled and his tone softened, “I will go, and please help me deliver this letter to him. You actually like him, don’t you? Like me. All the previous things were just testing if I am a trustworthy person.”

Wang Jiexi didn’t know what to say for a moment, how could he admit that he had developed forbidden feelings for his half-brother whom he hadn’t seen for more than twenty years.

The first time he saw Zhou Mushi was in the United States, and Zhou Mushi didn’t remember him, but he felt like he had seen a ray of light. At that time, he didn’t know what kind of relationship he had with Zhou Mushi, but he kept his memory of him in his heart.

However, fate always played tricks on him. Without giving him a fair chance, a DNA test report directly put him out of the game. No matter what, he would never have any connection with Zhou Mushi’s love in this lifetime.

“How did you know?”

“Sometimes liking someone doesn’t need to be said.” Jin Yang calmly looked at him, “In this lifetime, neither you nor I are his beloved.”

Wang Jiexi turned his eyes away. At this moment, no one in this world would understand Jin Yang’s feelings better than him.

“But he loves you.”

“I know.” Jin Yang seemed to be choked up and took a while to say, “It’s precisely because he loves me that I want you to cut the Gordian knot for him and make him love me less. It’s for his own good.”

“…Trust me, I will deliver it.”

After Wang Jiexi left, the weather gradually became overcast. Before the height of summer, there would always be a few heavy rainstorms.

It had been raining for several days in a row, with heavy downpours and accompanied by lightning and thunder. The pitch-black sky looked somewhat terrifying.

Jin Yang held a cup of hot tea and put on a coat. Listening to the rumbling of thunder, he sat at his desk, took out a pen, and opened his notebook.

One by one, the words fell on the yellowing paper, with a deep black color and an indescribable sense of heaviness, just like the sound of thunder and rain, always making people feel breathless.

After listening and watching for a long time, he became accustomed to it.

The color of the desk lamp was very soft, shining on the paper and pen, delicately outlining the contours of the person sitting in front of it, every gentle and shallow breath he took…

. . . . .

“President Zhou, we finally have a chance to get together, why do you keep looking at your phone? Do you have something urgent to attend to?” asked Old Chen, a colleague with whom Zhou Mushi had a good relationship.

Zhou Mushi put down his phone and smiled, “There’s nothing urgent, I was just checking the rain outside.”

“Well, don’t worry. Before we leave, I’ll order a car for you to make sure you don’t get wet,” said Old Chen.

Old Chen was an average worker, but an extremely thoughtful person who considered everything carefully and thoroughly. There was nothing inappropriate about his suggestion.

Zhou Mushi smiled and continued to enjoy dinner with his colleagues.

Little did anyone know, despite being a young and capable President, Zhou Mushi was actually quite dependent and used to being pampered. Usually, someone would take him home at this time.

Zhou Mushi felt that he had been too spoiled and suffered from a severe lack of Jin Yang. Even the dishes on the table that he loved to eat so much didn’t seem as appetizing without Jin Yang around.

A person who used to not be picky about food has now become picky, complaining about the vegetables being too old or the fish having a fishy taste. He even complains that the spicy chicken is not spicy enough. In short, none of the dishes on the table meet his taste.

Longing and waiting, it has been seven days, and the day when Jin Yang comes back is finally closer. Zhou Mushi feels that if Jin Yang doesn’t come back, he might really go crazy and won’t even be able to work properly.

He regretted listening to his brother’s advice and finishing a week’s work in one go. Today is fulfilling, but tomorrow, with no work to do, will be even harder than today.