Bo Jingshen felt... this half hour was not enough to discuss the project.
They had to talk about Jing Su’s situation first.
The office of Song Boyuan did not share his cold minimalist style; instead, it seemed quite retro with many vintage decorations, including an old phonograph in the corner.
From the look of the needle, it seemed to still be in working order.
"Sit," Song Boyuan gestured towards the retro sofa. "What would you like to drink?"
"Tea," Bo Jingshen said.
Song Boyuan reached for the vintage rotary dial phone, spoke into the receiver, "Please bring in a glass of juice made from any fruits except for mango. And bring my tea set, too."
Listening to the arrangement, it seemed he planned to brew the tea himself.
Shortly after, his secretary came in with a rosewood tray.
On the tray was a complete set of high-quality purple clay teaware and a glass containing an avocado coconut milkshake.
A small plate held a few snacks, which upon closer inspection were low-sugar children’s freeze-dried cheese.
The secretary, a young man with a demeanor as cool as Song Boyuan’s, was detached but very meticulous in his work.
Zhao Xiaole happily took some snacks and sat aside to take out his little sketchbook and start painting, paying no mind to the adults’ conversation.
Song Boyuan’s fingers were slender as he handled the purple clay teaware with a practiced and swift motion, warming the cups and heating the pot before brewing a pot of aromatic tea, pouring it into a cup, and pushing it across to Bo Jingshen.
"You are well-informed in Beijing," Bo Jingshen asked, "what was the situation with Jing Su that you mentioned earlier?"
"You know Xiao Caizi, don’t you?" Song Boyuan said.
"I do," Bo Jingshen nodded—not only did he know her, but they were also engaged for a while.
"My brother Ji Ning is engaged to her; actually, they’ve already registered their marriage. The wedding hasn’t taken place yet, but both sets of parents are quite satisfied," Song Boyuan explained.
Bo Jingshen was startled, "Already registered?"
"Yes, it just hasn’t been announced publicly yet. There were some issues with the agreement that hadn’t been settled before, so it was delayed. But those have been resolved recently," Song Boyuan said calmly.
The agreement doubtless referred to the prenuptial agreement.
In their circle, many marriages are unions of convenience, making prenuptial agreements quite necessary and even quite normal.
Song Boyuan and Jing Qiao’s marriage had been arranged, and they had a prenuptial agreement too. However, once he fell in love, Song Boyuan would never agree to a divorce, let alone discuss matters of property. Whatever Jing Qiao wanted, she could have, as long as he possessed it.
Bo Jingshen, after all, was not from their circle. Raised by a long-haul truck driver, he could never be so detached about arranged marriages.
He even harbored a complex about it, as Su Lu had spent five years in an arranged relationship with Gu Xin.
So Bo Jingshen found it... quite unbelievable.
He asked with some difficulty, "Even you know that Xiao Caizi had something with Jing Su in the past. Does Song Jining not know about it? Just like that... He has no objections?"
"What objections could he have?" Song Boyuan countered Bo Jingshen’s question.
Bo Jingshen found the whole situation bizarre.
Seeing Bo Jingshen’s speechless expression, Song Boyuan said, "You might think it’s abnormal, but that’s how things are, they don’t really care about these matters."
Saying ’they’ because it did not include Song Boyuan.
Song Boyuan took it quite seriously, but he was well aware that among the people in this circle, especially those with marriages , truly didn’t care much about each other’s affairs.
Sometimes even after marriage, they lived their own lives, indifferent to each other’s extramarital affairs—let alone premarital relationships. Those who weren’t busy enough even bothered with such matters...
"Ji Ning is actually a pretty decent person, with a gentle disposition. Having returned from studying abroad, his mindset is more open, so he doesn’t care about Xiao Cai Zi’s past relationships," Song Boyuan said, glancing at Bo Jingshen, "Second Uncle, not everyone is like me, Song Boyuan."
Yeah, not everyone was as faithful as Song Boyuan.
On the contrary, in this group of people, it was Song Boyuan’s faithfulness that was abnormal.
"If it were someone else, I definitely couldn’t just let it go," Song Boyuan spoke candidly, "After all, Ji Ning is my brother, a Song. Although the Song Family may not have achieved much, I can’t just watch someone ride roughshod over us. But since the other party is Big Uncle, it’s difficult for me to handle."
Bo Jingshen also felt somewhat helpless, "I understand, I will go and talk to Jing Su about this."
Only then did Song Boyuan and Bo Jingshen start discussing business matters.
Seeing that it was about time, Song Boyuan glanced at his watch and said, "It’s getting late, I should head back."
"Don’t you want to go out for a bite to eat?" Bo Jingshen had planned to take Xiao Le out for fast food today.
Song Boyuan shook his head, "No thanks, Qiaoqiao is at home."
Bo Jingshen thought of what Song Boyuan had said earlier—not everyone was like him, Song Boyuan.
And that was indeed true.
After leaving Song Boyuan’s company, Bo Jingshen took Zhao Xiaole out for fast food, sneaking around like thieves. When Su Lu called and asked what they had for lunch, Bo Jingshen deadpanned his way through the conversation.
Just after they had finished their fast food, they immediately received another call from Su Lu.
Making the just-dodged Bo Jingshen inexplicably guilty, he answered, "Hello...? Baby, what’s up?"
There was a somber tone to Su Lu’s voice, "Where are you now?"
"Out and about, just finished eating with my son."
"You’re done eating?" Su Lu asked.
Bo Jingshen guiltily said, "Just finished. Cantonese, Cantonese food."
"I’ve asked Old Chen to pick you up. He’s right outside the Cantonese restaurant you mentioned," Su Lu said.
Bo Jingshen: "..." Crap, busted.
"Uh, we’re not at that Cantonese restaurant anymore," Bo Jingshen weakly said.
Su Lu frowned, "So where are you now? Where should I tell Old Chen to pick you up?"
Bo Jingshen was silent for a few seconds, then sheepishly said, "Two kilometers away at the fried chicken joint."
Bo Jingshen: "I’m sorry my dear wife, I was wrong. Don’t be mad."
Su Lu’s voice squeezed out from between clenched teeth, "I’ll deal with you later." She took a deep breath, "For now, I will have Old Chen go pick you up. Just wait there."
When Bo Jingshen hung up the phone, Zhao Xiaole had already guessed the content of the conversation.
So father and son despondently squatted by the roadside waiting for Old Chen to come pick them up.
Even when Old Chen arrived, he saw the both of them vengefully starting on ice cream, squatting by the roadside, each holding a cone, ferociously indulging.
As they headed towards Su Lu’s gallery in the car, the once fiercely eating ice cream Zhao Xiaole turned timid and softly asked Old Chen, "Uncle Chen, what does my mom want us for?"