"My brother is someone you can touch? Can't tell the big king from the small king." Jiang Shanhuan mocked mercilessly.
Having said that, she even kicked Tao Zhuolin, "Little noob."
Tao Zhuolin completely exploded, "Jiang Shanhuan, are you crazy!"
"Look clearly at who I am, and you actually laid a hand on me?"
Tao Zhuolin found it unbelievable. Jiang Shanhuan gave him too unfamiliar a feeling, completely like a different person from before.
Could it be she didn't like him anymore?
No, impossible. She was such a simp, willing to be his dog, how could she possibly not like him.
This must be a trick to get his attention, it must be.
"Jiang Shanhuan, are you doing this to get my attention, just because I didn't visit you when you were in a coma?"
"So you teamed up with your brother to sabotage my cooperation with the Gordon Group?"
"Clap, clap, clap—" As Tao Zhuolin's words fell, Jiang Shanhuan applauded for him.
She bent down, looking down at Tao Zhuolin, "Tao Zhuolin, did you drink too much fake alcohol? Me team up with my brother?"
"I'm begging you, use your pig brain, my brother and I are family."
"As for sabotaging your cooperation, heh heh." Jiang Shanhuan curved her lips in a wicked smile, "So what if I snatched it?"
Having said that, Jiang Shanhuan straightened up and crooked her finger at Ethan.
Her action made everyone around gasp.
Ethan was the head of the Gordon Group's Asia-Pacific region, and also held a pivotal position in the mysterious Mercenary Group. Jiang Shanhuan actually dared to crook her finger at him.
"Really thinks she's something. Did the car accident knock her brain silly?" Voices of discussion came again from the surroundings.
"Just now President Ethan didn't bother with her, and she's so ungrateful."
"As expected, just an adopted daughter, no manners at all."
"How could the Jiang family raise such an ill-mannered girl."
These old lunatics, gossiping women, chattering away all day long.
Jiang Shanhuan wished she could go up and slap each of them.
But before she could make a move, someone spoke up a second before her.
"How the Jiang family conducts itself is none of your concern." It was Jiang Zhaoting.
Jiang Zhaoting swept his cold eyes over the crowd, a chill spreading through the entire venue.
No matter what Jiang Shanhuan was like, it was still an internal matter of the Jiang family. What right did these people have to gossip about the Jiang family.
Jiang Zhaoting protected his own, this was the second time Jiang Shanhuan felt it today.
"Wow~, big brother is awesome."
The faces of the people around turned blue and white. What shocked them even more was that Ethan actually walked up to Jiang Shanhuan.
Ethan had figured out who was friend and who was foe, so he walked directly to Jiang Zhaoting, then took a contract from the bodyguard's hand.
"President Jiang, this is the cooperation letter of intent redrafted by the Gordon Group. We can concede another five percentage points to express our sincerity in cooperating with Jiangshi Group."
In front of everyone, Ethan swiftly signed his name.
After signing, he didn't forget to wink at Jiang Shanhuan, that look seemingly saying, see how sensible I am.
Jiang Shanhuan returned him a satisfied look.
But Jiang Zhaoting hesitated to take the cooperation letter in front of him, his attention entirely on the eye exchange between Jiang Shanhuan and Ethan.
If he couldn't even see there was something fishy between Jiang Shanhuan and Ethan, then his twenty-eight years would have been lived in vain.
Jiang Shanhuan also noticed Jiang Zhaoting's gaze, and suddenly felt extremely guilty.
Uh oh, seems she got carried away.
This isn't going to expose her, is it?
She poked Jiang Zhaoting in the waist, awkwardly trying to divert his attention. "Uh… well, big brother, little—"
Ugh, scratch that.
"President Ethan is still waiting for you to sign."
Jiang Zhaoting snapped back to attention. Looking at the cooperation agreement before him, he didn't rush to sign. Instead, he narrowed his eyes slightly at Ethan.
"Does President Ethan know my little sister?"
Ethan's face lit up with delight. "Know her? Of course—"
"Cough, cough, cough…" The moment Jiang Shanhuan saw his expression, she knew something was about to go wrong, so she quickly faked a coughing fit.
Ethan caught the signal and slammed on the brakes. "Of—of course not. But I do admire Miss Jiang greatly. I felt an instant kinship with her."
Jiang Zhaoting raised an eyebrow. "Even after she hit you last time?"
Ethan: "…Heh heh, no cross, no crown, right? Enemies become friends through conflict."
"I deeply admire Miss Jiang's fearless spirit—someone who dares to think and dares to act."
What a smooth talker.
Jiang Shanhuan winked at Ethan, then turned and poked Jiang Zhaoting again. "Brother, sign it."
Jiang Zhaoting paused for a moment, then signed his name across the cooperation agreement with bold, vigorous strokes.
The partnership went into effect immediately.
Ethan extended his hand to Jiang Zhaoting. "President Jiang, pleasure doing business with you."
"Pleasure doing business with you."
The moment their hands shook, a spotlight beam fell on the two of them.
Oho, the control booth knew how to set the mood. They deserved a bonus.
"Who would've thought—such a fat piece of meat would come full circle and land right back in the Jiang family's hands."
"Tao Zhuolin jumped around like a circus act for a whole month, and in the end, he came up empty-handed."
"That's what they say—if something isn't yours, no amount of effort will make it so."
Jiang Shanhuan agreed with that statement.
Besides, Tao Zhuolin wasn't even relying on himself. He was relying on the original body, and on the Jiang family's tolerance for her.
The moment Jiang Zhaoting signed, Tao Zhuolin lost every ounce of his power and leverage.
But he wasn't willing to accept it. He clenched his fists, daggers flying from his eyes.
Jiang Shanhuan, however, couldn't care less about him. In fact, she even wanted to mock him.
"So, how's it feel, Young Master Tao? You just dying to strangle me right now?"
"Jiang Shanhuan, you'll regret this. Don't expect me to ever talk to you again."
Now that was a fresh one—threatening someone with that.
"Oh dear, oh dear, I'm so scared." Jiang Shanhuan was a master of sarcasm, and she knew just how to ride on others' power. "Big brother, he's threatening me."
Jiang Zhaoting knew how to play along too. He waved over the security guards, signaling them to escort Tao Zhuolin out.
In the end, Tao Zhuolin, like a drowned dog, was shooed out of the Jiang family villa in disgrace.
Watching his retreating figure, the foul air in Jiang Shanhuan's chest finally cleared.
She had taken over the original body, and she was duty-bound to teach that scumbag a lesson on the original's behalf.
"Big brother, wasn't I just so impressive just now? So full of aura?"
Jiang Zhaoting didn't answer her. Instead, he looked at her with a probing gaze. "When did you learn taekwondo?"
"Uh…" Jiang Shanhuan froze, blinking rapidly. "Uh, well, my brain's not exactly the sharpest, you know? So I figured if the brains don't cut it, the brawn can pick up the slack."
Her answer didn't quite address his question, and she silently prayed he wouldn't push further.
This time, luck was on her side. Jiang Zhaoting really didn't press the matter.
Not long after Tao Zhuolin left, Jiang Enhua and Tong Wanqiu finally arrived. The timing was perfect—the banquet officially began.
Jiang Shanhuan was the guest of honor, but she stuck by Jiang Zhaoting's side the entire time.
Jiang Zhaoting told her to do whatever, and she did it. After a whole banquet, by the time they were seeing the guests off, she had actually received a few compliments.
"I'm really moving up in the world—someone actually praised me just now." On the way back, Jiang Shanhuan was beaming with joy, tugging at Jiang Zhaoting and chattering away.
Jiang Shanhuan was a little chatterbox, and her thought process was quite peculiar.
Jiang Zhaoting had been tormented by her all night and no longer had any desire to speak.
As soon as they got home, she hid in the bedroom, leaving Jiang Shanhuan, who was only halfway through her sentence, stifled and restless on the side.
"Forget it, forget it. Wash up and sleep."
Today had been quite fruitful—she had taught the scumbag a lesson on behalf of the original host, made up for Jiangshi Group's losses, and scored a wave of goodwill in front of Jiang Zhaoting. Simply perfect.
After soaking in the bath, Jiang Shanhuan lay on the bed, drowsy, murmuring her plans for tomorrow. "I hope I can turn my negative points into positive ones soon, so that—"
Mid-murmur, her hazy eyes suddenly became incomparably clear. She sat up without a sound, her eyes fixed dead on the window.