“After today’s announcement, we’ll really have to keep up the act.”
The banquet hall on the first floor of the Xuan family villa was brilliantly lit, and guests had been streaming in until it was full. The elite of Haicheng had all gathered here. They had no interest in and had never even heard of, the younger generation of the Xuan and Shen families. The only reason they stood here celebrating the soon-to-be-engaged pair was that the names Xuan Lingyi and Shen Xiaqing carried such weight. From the moment they received their invitations, they had eagerly prepared engagement gifts for the Xuan family matriarch and for Xuan Zhi and Shen Qing.
Xuan Zhi and Shen Qing were forced to move through the crowded hall, ready at any moment to clink glasses with guests who came up to socialize.
Shen Qing kept an eye on the surrounding guests and murmured in Xuan Zhi’s ear: “My bad. I’ve already gotten a script, it’ll be delivered to your room later. And if there’s anything else you want, just say the word. I’ve gotten the hang of the business Shen Xiaqing gave me, and I can make quite a bit of money now.”
“You just have to play along for a while longer. I’m not asking you to cooperate with me too much.” Shen Qing paused, finding it a little hard to bring up. “But could you tone it down a bit? Don’t let people find out. I saw you with President Qin of ALMUS…”
After seeing Xuan Zhi entangled with that woman that day, Shen Qing couldn’t stop thinking about it once she got home. She felt the woman’s figure looked awfully familiar, and then it suddenly hit her, the designated driver who had come to pick Xuan Zhi up. Right after that, she’d been struck by the idea of poaching this woman, so she had her assistant look into it.
The result was unexpected.
That woman turned out to be President Qin of ALMUS.
Knowing Shen Qing’s drive when it came to scouting models, Xuan Zhi wasn’t at all surprised that she’d investigated Qin Shuang. Xuan Zhi knew every secret of Qin Shuang’s body and knew perfectly well that Qin Shuang’s looks and figure made her even better suited for modeling than herself. Unfortunately, this time Shen Qing’s wish wouldn’t come true, Qin Shuang was rigid and boring, and there was no way she would ever step into the modeling world.
Xuan Zhi gave a scoffing laugh. “Just a mad dog that won’t let go of me. If I’d known she was the president of ALMUS, I never would have sought her out for collaboration.”
“Don’t worry, I have no desire to get in touch with her. She’s a pain in the neck.”
They retreated to a corner, and Shen Qing took a sip of her wine. “So you actually have a past like that?”
“Everyone has a young and foolish phase, don’t they?”
“Oh, a first love.” Shen Qing’s expression turned teasing, and her gaze fell on Xuan Zhi’s neck, her smile growing wider.
“Hide the marks on your neck.”
Xuan Zhi: “…”
Disgusted, she pulled out her phone and opened the front camera, looking left and right. “Tch. I deliberately wore a turtleneck and covered it with concealer. It’s that obvious?” The front camera’s poor image quality made it hard for her to spot any exposed marks.
Shen Qing nodded and pointed. “Up close, you can tell.”
No wonder the people who’d come up to offer congratulations earlier had been looking at them with such knowing expressions. Xuan Zhi set down her wine glass with a clatter, suddenly losing all desire to drink.
“Finding out I’m getting engaged and going crazy over it makes no sense.” She uncomfortably pulled up her collar.
“I’m sorry…”
The moment Xuan Zhi heard Shen Qing start to apologize, she wanted to cut her off. She shot her a glance. “Enough, stop apologizing. You’ve said that plenty these past few days. Keep it up and it’s like you don’t think of me as a good friend. We’ve been through life and death together, you’re like my own little sister. Helping you with this small favor is nothing to me. If anyone has a problem with it, they can get lost.”
“So we’re not collaborating anymore?”
“But this is a job you worked so hard to land. It’s just an engagement, not a marriage nothing’s actually wrong. You didn’t explain?”
Xuan Zhi retorted, as if trying to cover something up: “I have nothing to do with her, why would I explain?” In truth, she had no confidence at all.
“Fine. Nothing to do with her.”
“Mutual convenience, that’s all. Getting tangled up with her would be bad luck for eight lifetimes.”
Seeing her fuming, Shen Qing stopped joking. She set down her wine glass and rubbed her aching temple.
“Boring socializing. My head hurts. I’m going to rest in the guest room for a while.”
“You didn’t sleep at all last night?” Xuan Zhi looked at her with concern.
“Pretty much.”
“Are you sure you won’t go back to Emil for treatment? She called me a few days ago, she said you decided to stop the sessions.” As Xuan Zhi spoke, she was about to pull up her chat history with Emil, but Shen Qing stopped her.
“Work’s too busy. It’s just a little insomnia, nothing serious. I have sleeping pills.”
With that, Shen Qing quietly headed upstairs. The Xuan family had specially arranged a guest room for the Shen family to rest in, at the end of the second-floor corridor, next to the one arranged for the Jiang family perhaps out of regard for the close ties between the Jiangs and the Shens.
Fortunately, the guests who had come to offer congratulations really didn’t pay much attention to Shen Qing. No one tried to strike up a conversation along the way, and she reached the room without incident.
“Look at what you’ve accomplished. You couldn’t even win over Shen Qing’s heart, and now all these benefits have gone to the Xuan family. If it were you marrying into the Shen family today, our Jiang family could be enjoying this kind of grandeur too.”
The way the guests downstairs treated people differently depending on their status had infuriated Jiang Shan greatly. Then, catching sight of Jiang Wangshu gazing toward Shen Qing and Xuan Zhi as they talked closely, looking forlorn, her rage flared instantly. She grabbed Jiang Wangshu’s wrist and dragged her toward the guest room door.
Guests generally didn’t go up to the second floor, and the surroundings were eerily quiet, so the commotion Jiang Shan made was especially distinct.
She released her grip on Jiang Wangshu and shoved her against the door.
Jiang Shan thought for a moment, and mockery gradually spread across her face. “Hmph, I almost forgot, you’re not really a Jiang at all. You should bear your father’s surname, Zhang. It was I who took you in and gave you food to eat, paid for your grandmother’s treatment, that allowed you to get close to the Jiang family and enjoy a life of comfort you could never have touched otherwise.”
Jiang Wangshu was indeed not a Jiang by blood. She was not Jiang Shan’s daughter; back then she was still called Zhang Wangshu. It was only because Jiang Shan had once had a fleeting romance with her biological father, Zhang Chengkang, that this connection existed. When their feelings were at their deepest, Zhang Chengkang died. Jiang Shan cherished the memory of this lost love intensely, and during one visit to pay respects at his grave, she encountered Zhang Wangshu, who had come to mourn as well.
Jiang Wangshu’s face bore an eight-part resemblance to Zhang Chengkang’s, and that alone was enough to unsettle Jiang Shan’s heart. Later, upon learning that Jiang Wangshu’s grandmother was gravely ill with no money for treatment, and after some deliberation, she brought Jiang Wangshu back to the Jiang household, changed her surname, and presented her to the world as her daughter. The only thing was, she didn’t allow Jiang Wangshu to call her “Mom.” She wanted Jiang Wangshu to remember her kindness, so that in the future she could make good use of this chess piece.
“Mrs. Jiang, I’m truly grateful that you took pity on me, alone in the world with only my grandmother, and brought me back to the Jiang family. But I’ve done everything I should. In all the years I’ve been married to Shen Dai, the Jiang family has gained plenty of benefits. As long as I remain in the Shen family, the Shens’ assistance to the Jiangs will not diminish. What more do you want from me?”
Jiang Wangshu had run out of options. All these years she had done more than enough, yet Jiang Shan was still never satisfied.
She could only force down the small movements of her hands and lie to placate Jiang Shan: “If I did as you say and tried to win over Shen Qing’s heart, or even married her, do you think Madam Shen would ever let me or the Jiang family go? You’ve been by Madam Shen’s side for so long, you should know exactly what kind of person she is.”
Her words echoed through the silent corridor. The window at the end of the hallway wasn’t shut tight, and a gust of cold wind suddenly blew in. Jiang Wangshu couldn’t suppress a shiver.
After a long while, Jiang Shan looked at the woman before her as if seeing her for the first time, her surprise impossible to hide: “It seems you’re smarter than I thought. Adopting you was truly the best decision I ever made.”
“Fine, we’ll do it your way. And don’t be too harsh to Shen Qing either once Shen Xiaqing steps down, we’ll still need to rely on her.”
With that, she gave Jiang Wangshu an appreciative glance, her mood brightening instantly, and went downstairs with a light step.
Only after Jiang Shan’s figure disappeared from view did Jiang Wangshu dare to breathe heavily, leaning against the wall to steady her weakened legs. The flush on her face gradually faded, leaving only panic in her eyes; her back was already soaked with cold sweat.
She still couldn’t handle the mercurial Jiang Shan with ease.
It took a long while before Jiang Wangshu finally felt her legs again. She wiped the lingering cold sweat from her temple and straightened up. Just as she was about to return downstairs, a force from behind caught her around the waist, scooped her up, and pulled her into a room.
Startled, she was about to scream when a pair of large hands covered her mouth, dragging her toward the darkness behind.
“Jiang Wangshu…”
At the sudden scent of something familiar, Jiang Wangshu’s tense body relaxed, but she couldn’t move. She could only hear murmurs from the darkness.
It seemed to be her name being called, but it was too muffled to be sure.
“A-Qing, let go of me. Have the things I told you been for nothing?” Jiang Wangshu was somewhat angry. She wished she could, as in the old days, punish Shen Qing for doing wrong.
But their current relationship no longer allowed her to.
“So that’s why I always feel you’re hot and cold with me?” Shen Qing didn’t dare confront Jiang Wangshu directly, she was afraid of severing the bond between them with her own hands. She only vented in a voice barely above a whisper, “Jiang Wangshu, how can you be so cruel to me.”
She was so angry, yet she was worth so little.
“What are you talking about?” She was certain the Xuan family’s guest room had extraordinary soundproofing even speaking at the door, nothing could be heard inside unless the door was wide open.
“Nothing. I didn’t say anything.” Shen Qing answered normally.
Still holding Jiang Wangshu from behind, she leaned close to her ear and asked: “I’m getting engaged. Are you happy?”
Jiang Wangshu pried at the fingers binding her, realizing something was wrong with Shen Qing, and soothed her in a low voice: “Of course I’m happy you can stay in the country. Stop being so cold to Mom. Only by keeping Shen Corporation firmly in your hands can you live well.”
This was what Jiang Wangshu had always hoped for both to fulfill Shen Dai’s entrustment and prove worthy of her kindness, and to let Shen Qing live in peace, never again suffering the hardships she had endured abroad.
Shen Qing laughed, an unprecedented loss of composure. She released Jiang Wangshu and, ignoring her cry of alarm, pushed her onto the bed, her eyes terrifyingly bloodshot.
Only then did Jiang Wangshu realize how wrong Shen Qing was, and her heart burned with anxiety: “What’s wrong with you?”
“Whats wrong? What’s wrong?” The questions swarmed around Shen Qing’s ears. The veins on her forehead throbbed, and it felt like ants were gnawing at her brain, the headache was unbearable.
So she forced a kiss on Jiang Wangshu, paying no mind to whether she was willing or not.
Sticky, wet sounds filled the room. At this moment, only one thought remained in Shen Qing’s mind.
That mouth, always spouting unpleasant words, was finally shut.