Chapter 63: Keplerians Enjoying Skewers

Back in his office, Jiang Yang decided to bury himself in work for the time being. Work, at the very least, could temporarily distract him from such vexing matters.

After bustling about for a little while, a knock sounded on his office door. "It's me, Chen Hao."

Jiang Yang's eyes lit up. "Come in."

Chen Hao had come to submit some client documents and, incidentally, to discuss the design concept for one of those clients with Jiang Yang.

After the two of them briefly discussed work matters, Jiang Yang asked, "Chen Hao, are you free tonight? Let's go out for some barbecue together."

"Sure! It's been ages since the two of us had a meal together. How about we go to that 'Lunar Barbecue' place on Dongfeng Road?"

"'Lunar Barbecue?'" Jiang Yang found the name quite familiar.

"Yeah, you were the one who introduced me to it. I went back a couple of times afterwards. That themed restaurant is really interesting."

"I introduced it?" Jiang Yang felt as though he might have been there before, but he couldn't recall who he had gone with. "Alright then, let's go there."

With the dinner date settled, the two of them headed toward the barbecue restaurant together after getting off work.

This was a moderately famous themed barbecue joint. The decor at the entrance styled a white space station airlock, with transparent glass doors opening from top to bottom. The combination of science fiction and machinery genuinely gave off a space station vibe.

The two entered the restaurant and sat down at a table. A waiter dressed in an astronaut suit brought over a tablet for them to order. "Hello, citizens of Kepler-22b. Please place your order."

The corner of Jiang Yang's twitchy mouth curled downward, but his gaze quickly fell upon the "22B" sign at the corner of the table. It seemed the restaurant's gimmick was to name their tables after planetary designations.

Chen Hao laughed out loud. "When I came last time, I was a Neptunian. This time, I've actually been expelled from the Solar System and become a Keplerian."

Jiang Yang asked with a hint of curiosity, "Besides these, what other kinds of citizens are there?"

The young waiter retracted the tablet. "There's also Cybertron, the Three-Body world, Pandora... Anyway, anyone who comes to our place for skewers is an interstellar traveler residing within the Milky Way."

Jiang Yang glanced at the guests at the other tables. "True. Those living outside the Milky Way are too far away, and coming over here just for a round of skewers wouldn't be very convenient—the travel expenses would cost more than the meal."

"The Milky Way Culinary Center is currently in production and will soon deliver delicious grilled skewers to both of our interstellar travelers. Please wait a moment." The young waiter offered a smile before leaving to attend to his duties.

Jiang Yang watched the departing waiter with curiosity and asked Chen Hao, "Since I introduced you here, do you know who I used to come here with?"

Chen Hao replied, "You didn't say, and I didn't ask. Whoever you came here with was definitely a girl, though. But Jiang Yang, don't blame me for being blunt—you already have a wife as gorgeous and wealthy as President Wang, so you shouldn't be thinking about other girls."

Jiang Yang let out a bitter laugh and could only explain, "Because of certain things that happened previously, we aren't together anymore."

Chen Hao wore an expression of utter shock. "What do you mean? You divorced? I thought you two were just pretending not to know each other at the company!"

Jiang Yang hesitated for a moment before saying, "We... actually weren't married to begin with."

"No way? Didn't she always call you hubby? How could you not be married?"

"Uh... We were living together back then, so we addressed each other as hubby and wifey. Anyway, we aren't together right now because of some things. You just need to know that."

"Brother, Wang Ruolan is such a fine woman. If you two had a falling out, couldn't you just give in to her a little, say some nice things, and win her back? If I were you, she could do whatever she wanted."

Jiang Yang thought of the twenty-three cameras in his room and that fake identity card. "I have my difficulties. Just stop trying to persuade me."

Chen Hao put on a stern face. "You insist on staying entangled with that younger aunt of yours. You've known each other for twenty years and still couldn't end up together. There has to be a reason, and I wouldn't believe otherwise."

"Didn't she go to America before? Now she's back and ready to be wholly devoted to me. Shouldn't I accept her?"

Chen Hao poured a glass of beer and clinked glasses with Jiang Yang. "I don't know the specifics of your situation, but Liang Xiaoying hasn't put you through a small amount of torment. From time to time, you always get depressed for a while because of her affairs. Especially that time before..."

"What about that time?" Jiang Yang asked with a frown.

"Probably about a month ago. You were in a terrible mood that day and said you had a remote video argument with Liang Xiaoying, though you didn't mention the exact reason. I kept you company and we drank quite a bit. You got dead drunk that night, and I was the one who sent you back."

"A month ago?" That period coincided with when he had paid off his family's debts. Could that have been when they quarreled?

A sharp pain stabbed through his mind, as if some unpleasant memories deep within his memory had been churned up.

Ever since he stopped taking his medication, he had remembered many things—such as quite a few matters involving Su Muyun and Ouyang Qian—but why was it that he simply couldn't recall anything concerning Sister Xiaoying?

Previously, she had claimed to resent Jiang Yang for not telling her about the debts his family was carrying, but Jiang Yang always felt that besides that, there must have been something else entirely.

"The interstellar cuisine you ordered is ready. Please enjoy your meal, interstellar travelers." The waiter's voice interrupted his train of thought.

True to the announcement, the waiter had already brought over several plates of grilled skewers, which looked remarkably appetizing.

"Come, come, Keplerian, let's dig in." Chen Hao started eating without any ceremony.

Seeing that Jiang Yang was still spaced out, he urged, "Eat up. Stop dwelling on this Liang Xiaoying business. How about this—let me think of a way for you to win President Wang back."

"What way?" Jiang Yang asked instinctively.

"Look at you. With your mouth, you claim you don't want to be with her, but the moment you hear there's a method, don't you still want to know?" Chen Hao narrowed his small eyes.

Jiang Yang's old face flushed red as he defended himself, "Consider me as having said nothing."

"You rascal!" Chen Hao poured Jiang Yang a glass of beer. "I don't know what happened between you two, but if she didn't have feelings for you, would she buy out the company and spend every day playing house with you here?"

Jiang Yang recalled the scene from earlier today in her office, where she pressed her high heel against his chest while her face flushed with a passionate red. What on earth was this woman trying to do to him? He had no idea now either; he might as well find a way to test her.

"Let's hear it then." He asked with considerable interest.

"Look, if a woman cares about you, and something happens to you, she will definitely panic," Chen Hao said, his small eyes narrowing.

"Panic? You mean... I could fake an illness?"

"Right, faking an illness is a great method! She was so nervous before when you just went to a bar. If you fall sick, I refuse to believe she'll remain indifferent. They say adversity reveals true feelings, after all."

Jiang Yang took a deep breath. He hadn't yet thought about getting back together with Wang Ruolan, but faking an illness was indeed a way to test what she was really up to.

Chen Hao clinked glasses with him again. "Brother, if the two of you manage to reconcile, you'll have to thank me properly, won't you?"