Jiang Heng, Jiang Ruirui’s uncle and the current head of the Jiang family, is thirty-four years old and unmarried.
Seeing a character who was merely background decoration in the novel suddenly appear right in front of her, Jiang Qiqi’s heart skipped a beat. Although the plot had already gone completely off the rails and shattered into pieces, she could still vaguely recognize the original framework—but now, she wasn’t so sure anymore.
In the original book, Jiang Heng was portrayed as a brainless uncle who spent his life cleaning up his nephew’s messes. How had he turned into this? He looked like a smiling tiger, and even Jiang Ruirui seemed a little afraid of him.
Jiang Qiqi collected her thoughts and reached out to shake his hand.
“Jiang Yan.”
Jiang Heng’s smile deepened. The moment he let go, his finger secretly grazed her palm. Jiang Qiqi was so shocked she yanked her hand away violently.
Oh my god! She’d run into a pervert! It really was true, the same blood runs in the family. One is crazy, the other is a pervert. Dear god, she did not want to know this man!
Jiang Qiqi held her breath and retreated step by step.
Jiang Heng’s expression remained unchanged as he asked, “Miss Jiang, are you married?”
What kind of question is that?!
Jiang Qiqi cautiously shook her head. She braced herself to deal with this weirdo’s questions, but his next words still made her blow a fuse instantly.
Jiang Heng took a step forward and asked, “Miss Jiang, are you interested in getting married?”
Jiang Qiqi: ???
Song Qinglan & Jiang Ruirui: ???
Guests: ???
System: «Σ( ° △ °|||)︴»
“I…” Jiang Qiqi opened and closed her mouth, pacing back and forth on the spot. She was so flabbergasted she couldn’t form a single coherent sentence.
She really wanted to curse.
“Are you joking?” she asked.
Or maybe he has a screw loose.
Jiang Heng remained completely calm. “I am serious.” He pulled a small box from his suit pocket and opened it. “I even brought the ring.”
Guests on either side: “Wow——!”
The situation had developed beyond everyone’s expectations except Jiang Heng’s. The onlookers were craning their necks like giraffes, dying to see the drama unfold. Standing right in the center of the gossip, Jiang Qiqi was simply silent.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t refuse; she was just too speechless to speak.
Jiang Ruirui had thought his uncle came today specifically to support Song Qinglan. Instead, he was here proposing to Jiang Yan! He clearly knew Jiang Yan had a history with him—wasn’t this basically stealing his woman?
—And if Jiang Yan married him, she would become his aunt! How could that possibly make sense?!
Jiang Ruirui stepped forward to stop him. “Uncle, aren’t you misunderstanding something?”
Jiang Heng looked at him indifferently. “Misunderstanding what?”
Obviously misunderstanding who to propose to! Anyone else here, man or woman, young or old, would be fine, but it absolutely could not be Jiang Yan!
Jiang Heng looked at Jiang Ruirui with eyes so cold they might as well have been looking at an ant. He asked, “Is there any reason why not?”
“You know perfectly well that she and I—” That she and I what? Dated? Not really. Loved each other? Seemingly not. He had no standing to stop this. Wait, no! He suddenly declared, “Jiang Yan likes me!”
Guests: !!! Major gossip!!!
As if triggered by a keyword, Jiang Qiqi jumped three feet in the air. “Get lost! Do I look blind to you?! Good god, can you please stop being so narcissistic?!”
Jiang Heng looked at Jiang Qiqi with gentle eyes, as if truly looking at his beloved, and echoed her words. “That’s right, Ruirui. Don’t be so conceited. You aren’t even as good-looking as I am.”
You aren’t… even as good-looking… as I am…
Jiang Qiqi was struck by those words. She looked back and forth between the two men and after a while came to a conclusion: Actually… that seems to be true!
They did look similar, but Jiang Heng possessed a charisma and presence that Jiang Ruirui could never match. Especially with those gold-rimmed glasses on, he looked elegant and approachable.
But—this didn’t change the fact that both of them were clearly insane.
«Seems like I gotta run, run, run away from this absurd world~»
«If I could, could, could leave all the chaos behind, I wanna be a lonely island~»
…
Music started playing in her head, and the System was happily tapping out a beat. Jiang Qiqi finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Turn that music off!”
The System shut up aggrievedly, and finally, things went quiet.
No one expected that amidst the standoff, Song Qinglan would suddenly let out a scream. She cried out loudly, “My baby!”
“Qinglan!” Jiang Ruirui roared and rushed over to catch her as she fell to the ground, which was quickly stained red. His eyes were bloodshot as he shouted at Jiang Qiqi, “Are you happy now that things have turned out like this?!”
Me again? Jiang Qiqi pointed at herself, feeling wronged than Dou E. She rolled her eyes. “None of my business.”
Song Qinglan clung to Jiang Ruirui, crying her eyes out, acting as if it were all real. Everyone panicked and prepared to carry her to the car to rush to the hospital. As they passed Jiang Heng, he took a step back, hands in his pockets, and said casually, “Since the baby is gone, the engagement is off.”
Song Qinglan’s hand trembled violently. She looked at Jiang Heng in disbelief, but his eyes seemed to see right through her. He looked at her with a mocking smile that made her burn with shame and humiliation.
How could he say that? What did all her efforts count for then? She had only done this to stop Jiang Heng’s proposal! Why cancel the engagement? Wasn’t he worried about the Jiang family losing face?!
To be honest, Jiang Ruirui hadn’t really wanted to get married anyway. Ever since Song Qinglan came back, the old feelings were gone. He couldn’t help but miss Jiang Yan, yet his reason told him he loved Qinglan.
He was torn and didn’t know how to sort out his feelings. But when he heard Jiang Heng call off the engagement, he felt rebellious. Why?
Why did Jiang Heng get to decide everything? Why did he always have to listen to him?
He couldn’t help but blame his father, who had died years ago. If his father hadn’t left the inheritance to Jiang Heng, the Song family wouldn’t have been helpless back then, Qinglan wouldn’t have had to break up with him and go abroad, he wouldn’t be caught in this emotional mess, and he wouldn’t have to live under someone else’s thumb!
“The engagement is not canceled! I refuse!”
Jiang Heng didn’t even lift an eyelid. “In the Jiang family, your words… don’t count.”
Song Qinglan gripped Jiang Ruirui’s hand tightly, begging him to fight for it, but Jiang Ruirui clenched his fists and eventually loosened them, saying nothing more.
“Jiang Ruirui…” Tears filled her eyes, but she dared not say what was on her mind. She could only curse his weakness inwardly.
Wasn’t it said that Jiang Heng had no interest in women? Wasn’t the Jiang family eventually going to fall into Jiang Ruirui’s hands? Then what was this? Where did it all go wrong? Why did she, Song Qinglan, have to scheme and struggle for everything, while Jiang Yan could get it all so easily?!
It wasn’t fair!
Song Qinglan was taken to the hospital, and Jiang Ruirui followed. Jiang Heng had the guests escorted out. Song Qinglan’s meticulously prepared 27th birthday party was over just like that. Jiang Qiqi couldn’t help but sigh.
“Feeling sorry for that woman?”
“Of course not!” Jiang Qiqi pushed his face away. But in that moment of distraction, she felt something lighten in her pocket.
Jiang Heng twirled the voice recorder between his fingers. He leaned casually against a pillar, smiling cunningly. Bodyguards surrounded her on all sides.
“Miss Jiang… shall we talk?”