The words “facing bankruptcy” echoed in Jiang Zhi’s mind.
Although she deeply despised Cheng Shuwen for rummaging through her room without permission, if her uncle’s company was truly in trouble, she couldn’t just sit by and do nothing.
On the way back to the Qin residence, Jiang Zhi roughly pieced together what had happened from the internet.
The Qin Group primarily operated in furniture design. In their latest product line, substandard materials and excessive formaldehyde levels had been detected.
More critically, a pair of parents had come forward, accusing Qin’s furniture of causing their child to develop leukemia.
With an incident like this, countless marketing accounts that hadn’t bothered to verify the facts jumped on the bandwagon to capitalize on the hype.
As a result, a large number of customers who had purchased Qin’s furniture demanded returns and compensation—whether for new or old products.
For the Qin Group, this was undoubtedly a devastating blow.
The trending searches were flooded with this incident, but with her instincts as a talent manager, Jiang Zhi noticed something else.
Not a single trending entry related to Jiang Qinian and Wen Nian appeared on the hot search list.
Logically speaking, paying a paparazzo ten million was worse than just announcing the relationship outright—it would be more beneficial than harmful in every way.
Jiang Zhi didn’t dwell too much on this matter. The priority was resolving her uncle’s company crisis.
The car stopped at the entrance of the Qin villa.
Before Jiang Zhi even stepped through the door, she heard Cheng Shuwen’s pitiful sobbing.
“Zhizhi has been Jiang Qinian’s manager for three years. Throughout those three years, the fans’ criticism never stopped—especially after Jiang Qinian became famous, the backlash only grew.”
“You’re her uncle, and if you don’t feel for her, I, as her aunt, do!”
“Working as Jiang Qinian’s manager is nothing compared to marrying into the Shang family and becoming a wealthy matriarch. Hasn’t Elder Shang always hoped Zhizhi would marry into the family? How could he treat her poorly? Going to the Shang family to enjoy a life of comfort is far better than being out there enduring cold stares and endless running around!”
Jiang Zhi let out a cold snort. When it came to changing faces, Cheng Shuwen truly took the crown.
They really should give her an Oscar for Best Actress—she displayed her two-faced nature before and behind people’s backs with such vivid perfection.
Qin Mingsheng remained unmoved by Cheng Shuwen’s words. He spoke up, “This company’s fate is my lot in life. Zhizhi has the right to choose what she loves to do. I will never force her to marry into the Shang family!”
With that, Qin Mingsheng pointed at the papers on the floor. “Wherever you got this from, put it back where it belongs!”
Seeing Qin Mingsheng’s resolute attitude, Cheng Shuwen picked up the papers from the floor and said with grievance, “Then what about Yuchuan? Is he supposed to drop out of school and come back to bear the burden of your debts?”
If only she had given birth to a son—then a good deal like marrying into the Shang family wouldn’t have been handed to Jiang Zhi on a silver platter.
Hearing this, Qin Mingsheng’s expression shifted slightly, looking as if he wanted to say something but held back.
When Jiang Zhi walked in, she saw Qin Mingsheng looking utterly exhausted, dark circles under his eyes, and a ring of stubble around his mouth.
Jiang Zhi’s heart tightened. She cut straight to the point. “Uncle, what’s the current situation with the company?”
Qin Mingsheng was momentarily taken aback to see Jiang Zhi. He furrowed his brows and said in a low voice, “Zhizhi, your uncle can handle this. Don’t get involved.”
Cheng Shuwen’s eyes lit up at Jiang Zhi’s arrival, though she didn’t dare show it too openly with Qin Mingsheng present.
Jiang Zhi knew Qin Mingsheng didn’t want her caught up in this matter.
He always thought of her in everything, and even when pushed to the brink, he still wanted to bear it all alone.
Jiang Zhi stepped forward and asked, “Uncle, am I still a part of this family?”
Qin Mingsheng answered without hesitation. “Of course.”
Jiang Zhi smiled. “Then I think I have the right to know, don’t I?”
Qin Mingsheng hadn’t expected Jiang Zhi to trap him like that, digging a pit for him to fall into.
After a long silence, he let out a light sigh and told her everything about the company’s current state.
The Qin Group’s after-sales hotline had been blown up. To quell the incident, the company was refunding full prices according to order information for anyone requesting refunds or returns.
A mountain of return orders had piled up, and the company simply didn’t have enough capital to keep things flowing.
Jiang Zhi weighed her options carefully, then extended her hand toward Cheng Shuwen. “Give me the marriage contract.”
The next day, at Shangshi Group.
Jiang Zhi took the elevator straight to the top floor.
“Miss Jiang, this way, please.”
Jiang Zhi nodded and followed the gesture, stepping out of the elevator.
She’d been fairly lucky today, actually. She’d planned to hand the marriage contract to the front desk and try to arrange a meeting with Shang Chi through that.
But as luck would have it, Shang Chi’s assistant, Zhou Xu, happened to pass by and overheard their conversation. After checking with Shang Chi, he brought her straight up.
There weren’t many employees on the top floor—all elites serving the Shang family.
When they saw Zhou Xu leading Jiang Zhi to the door of Shang Chi’s office, everyone wore expressions of shock and disbelief.
The CEO’s office—aside from a few close friends from wealthy families—had never been entered by a woman before.
Even major clients were received in the conference room next door.
The key point was that everyone knew Shang Chi had no interest in women.
Now, letting a woman into his private space—it was hard not to let the imagination run wild.
The moment Jiang Zhi stepped into the office, the door closed behind her.
Before her was a vast, minimalist office in gray and black. Directly across was a floor-to-ceiling window offering a panoramic view of the entire city.
A tall, impeccably built man stood with his back to the light before the floor-to-ceiling windows, a cigarette pinched between two fingers hanging at his side, its ember flickering faintly.
The moment he saw her enter, he raised the cigarette to his lips and took a deep drag.
Smoke spilled from his mouth, blurring a face already half-lost in shadow, leaving his thoughts utterly inscrutable.
Jiang Zhi met the man’s gaze, and her heart tightened involuntarily.
Whether it was her imagination or not, those deep-set eyes beneath the gold-rimmed glasses resembled a wolf lurking in the dark, its gleam faint and predatory.
At this very moment, it was waiting for its prey to step into its territory, then it would pounce, tear it apart, and devour it clean.
The few seconds of their silent exchange across the room stretched on like an entire century.
Finally, the man spoke first, his voice low and indifferent. “Miss Jiang, didn’t you say you had something to discuss with me?”
The familiar voice reached her ears, and Jiang Zhi froze.
She thought she must be going mad—why else would she superimpose this man before her onto the owner of that voice in her dreams?
Jiang Zhi took a deep breath, cast aside the stray thoughts, and laid the marriage contract flat on the man’s desk.
“President Shang, this is the engagement my grandfather and your grandfather arranged for us. Please take a look.”
The man strode over on his long legs, circled around to the desk, and with the hand holding the cigarette, picked up the paper and gave it a brief scan.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone flat. “You want me to marry you?”
With the light now on his face, Jiang Zhi finally got a clear look at him—even more striking than in the video.
A face both refined and restrained, yet fiercely aggressive; in bone structure and in skin, it surpassed any top male celebrity she’d ever seen.
Unfortunately, her heart was already sealed in concrete.
No matter how breathtakingly handsome he was, in her eyes, he was just another man.
Jiang Zhi shook her head. “No. I know I’m not worthy of you. I’m here to break off the engagement and return your freedom.”