Jin Ran was extremely frustrated.
Did he think she couldn’t tell he was laughing just because he pretended to cough?
Embarrassed, annoyed, and finally, powerless in her fury, she couldn’t help but grumble inwardly. No wonder his ex-wife divorced him. With such a rotten personality, who could stand him?!
Alright, Jin Ran admitted she was being petty. Since transmigrating into the book, she had never heard any mention of that ex-wife in the villa. She had been curious and probed a few times, but the servants would fluster and change the subject, leaving her full of questions with no outlet.
But what did it matter? He started it first. Wasn’t she allowed to fabricate rumors in her own mind?
An angry woman was unreasonable. East was east, west was west. If she said a ripe apple flew upwards, even Newton would have to nod in agreement.
She was like a judge in the underworld, mentally sentencing Jiang Mingzuo to one “fair and just” charge after another. So much so that she didn’t even realize her own attitude towards the man had long lost its initial wariness, instead becoming as casual as between friends…
Later, seeing the atmosphere turn sour, Wei Mo realized he had messed up big time and hurriedly tried to make amends: “It might be a bit ugly, but the technique is passable.”
“Passable how? Did it cover all the necessary parts?” Jin Ran retorted with sarcasm.
Wei Mo: “…”
He hadn’t known his sister-in-law was like this.
He shot Jiang Mingzuo a somewhat admiring look, which the latter ignored. “No need to re-bandage. I think it’s fine as is.”
Hearing this, Jin Ran’s anger subsided a little, but she also knew her skill level couldn’t compare to a professional doctor’s. “We should still redo it,” she coughed and admitted frankly. “Earlier, I was afraid the bandage would come loose, so I used a bit too much force. It might be wrapped too tightly.”
Jiang Mingzuo: “.”
So that was why his arm felt a bit numb.
Of course, he very wisely kept this thought to himself.
…
Due to the wound reopening, his workplace temporarily moved from the company to home.
For Jiang Mingzuo, it didn’t make much difference.
In fact, with the commute time saved, he could squeeze in a couple more online meetings.
The reality of a tycoon differed from those in novels. He couldn’t simply do as he pleased. Things like casually abandoning a meeting for a phone call from the female lead absolutely would not happen. Jiang Mingzuo had to deal with the board of directors, review countless documents and contracts, constantly monitor competitors and new government regulations. The time he spent on work each day was longer than the time he spent sleeping.
He had just finished discussing the company’s main development plans for the upcoming period with the head of the overseas branch when Assistant Wang arrived with some items.
“All taken care of?”
When there were no others around, the fatigue between the man’s brows became visible. He closed his eyes for a moment, leaning his neck back against the genuine leather chair back. His slightly prominent Adam’s apple moved with his breathing.
Assistant Wang nodded. “Today, while Wang Qiang and the others were on watch near the Jin family’s old residence, they saw a stranger enter. The person stayed inside for two and a half hours before leaving.”
As he spoke, he took out several photos and handed them over.
The person in the photos was short in stature, wrapped up tightly from head to toe. Only a pair of narrow, snake-like eyes could be seen beneath the brim of the hat, exuding a cold, venomous aura.
Jiang Mingzuo was certain he had never seen this person before—but the murkier the water, the more people wanted to fish in it.
It seemed the risky plan of feigning serious injury had indeed worked. The last few individuals couldn’t resist showing themselves.
He casually tossed the photos onto the desk, his attitude indifferent. “Hand it over to the police.”
Assistant Wang let out a sigh of relief.
For a moment there, he had almost thought the CEO was going to take matters into his own hands.
Assistant Wang didn’t know why he had such a dangerous thought. Perhaps it was the ruthless aura that occasionally emanated from the CEO. When he first joined the company, he even heard rumors that the CEO had been involved in that famous arson case in W City many years ago.
When he first heard such talk, Assistant Wang scoffed. After all, the W City arson case happened over twenty years ago. At that time, their CEO would have been just a teenager in his teens.
It was utterly baseless.
Moreover, in all the years he had followed Jiang Mingzuo, the man had always abided by the law, never even running a red light. He could be considered a model citizen in the business world.
“Tell the people to stop watching the Jin family side,” Jiang Mingzuo said after a moment of thought.
Privately contacting people behind the scenes—even if the faction at the Jin family old residence wasn’t directly involved, they couldn’t possibly be completely unaware. Choosing to remain silent under such circumstances clearly indicated they intended to watch from the sidelines, waiting to reap the benefits after the tigers fought.
Thinking of this, the light in Jiang Mingzuo’s eyes gradually turned cold. Previously, out of consideration for their cooperation, he hadn’t pursued it deeply. It was a pity the other side didn’t understand the meaning of knowing when to stop.
As for now, the other party should be more anxious than he was.
Assistant Wang didn’t know why his boss was so confident, but as an assistant, he only needed to follow orders. “There’s one more thing.”
He paused for a second. “The school called today to relay some matters concerning the young master.”
“What matters?”
Jiang Mingzuo pinched the bridge of his nose, asking casually.
“… The homeroom teacher said the young master beat up three classmates at school, causing nosebleeds.”
Assistant Wang didn’t dare look at the CEO’s expression now. After all, the school had his number on file. He quickly sped up his speech. “But later, Madam spoke up for him. The school checked the surveillance and found the young master was acting righteously to help others. In the end, he was only punished with writing a self-criticism.”
“Alright, I know.”
Unexpectedly, Jiang Mingzuo didn’t get angry.
By the time Assistant Wang left the villa area with the signed contracts, he still hadn’t quite recovered.
Why did it feel like the CEO had suddenly become more easy-going?
He still remembered the last time the young master skipped class and got caught. CEO Jiang directly sent him to a training camp abroad for two months.
If he had to pinpoint a difference this time, it was probably because he mentioned Madam?
Assistant Wang suddenly felt he had stumbled upon a big secret.
Men fear the pursuit of a fiery woman. Especially a beautiful woman like Madam. Even a hardened, aloof man like CEO Jiang couldn’t escape that common fate.
It seemed he would have to re-evaluate Madam’s standing from now on. Even if he didn’t need to curry favor, he absolutely must not offend her.
In a daze, Assistant Wang seemed to already see a bright path ahead paved with promotions and salary increases. The smile on his lips grew increasingly radiant.
…
After dinner was Jin Ran’s leisure and skincare time.
The original owner might not have had many virtues, but she truly had an abundance of skincare products and cosmetics, all of them high-end brands Jin Ran couldn’t afford in her previous life.
Adopting a “use it or waste it” mentality, she felt compelled to stick to the skincare routine. After several sessions, she wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but her skin genuinely seemed much smoother.
Thus, she became even more enthusiastic. Tonight, after her shower, she applied a four-hundred-yuan functional mask and went downstairs for a glass of water. She happened to see Assistant Wang leaving the villa with a beaming smile.
She glanced at her wristwatch. Ten-thirty. A time when most people had finished their nightly routines and were happily tucked into bed. Yet Assistant Wang still had to come to the boss’s house to work overtime. It was rather pitiful.
But judging by his delighted expression, she assumed there must be overtime pay involved.
While speculating about the amount of overtime pay, Jin Ran groped her way to the kitchen in the dark.
And there she bumped into Jiang Xuli, who had also come down looking for a snack.
“…”
Four eyes met. The same look of surprise flashed across both faces, only to be averted the very next second with a tacit understanding.
Jin Ran opened the refrigerator and took out a glass of iced mineral water. Jiang Xuli deliberately hung back a step, waiting for her to finish before stepping forward to rummage out an unopened bag of bread.
Ever since the incident of mistakenly eating expired bread and getting food poisoning, the Jiang family kitchen always kept fresh bread on hand. After getting it, Jiang Xuli felt too lazy to go back upstairs and simply started eating in the kitchen.
After a few bites, a curious voice suddenly came from beside him. “Do you know how much your dad pays the company employees?”
Jiang Xuli: “?”
He was stunned. If it weren’t for the fact that there were only two of them in the kitchen, he’d think she was talking to someone else.
She was so aloof during the day…
Jin Ran blinked expectantly. She had a petite face; even the smallest size mask seemed a bit too large for her. She had to hold it in place while talking to prevent it from sliding, but that didn’t hinder her gossip session. “I saw Assistant Wang come over just now, looking absolutely thrilled. If the pay wasn’t high, nobody in this world should like to work!”
Jiang Xuli grew even more bewildered, not understanding why she was discussing this with him.
And she seemed very interested. He felt he should leave immediately, but by the time he reacted, his mouth had already rebelled and retorted, “Assistant Wang likes to work.”
“Huh?”
Jin Ran’s eyes lit up. She knew he must know something! She couldn’t help but lean in a little closer. “How so?”
Her movements were fluid and natural. By the time anyone noticed, the distance between them had already shortened.
The faint scent of pomegranate blossom from her post-shower drifted over. Jiang Xuli’s body stiffened—he had never been this close to a female elder before, and it felt awkward all over.
But he couldn’t just step back; that would seem immature. He could only pretend nonchalance. “At every parent-teacher meeting, Assistant Wang is very active. He knows every parent in our class.”
Ah, so he’s a social butterfly. In her previous life, Jin Ran also knew a hyper-energetic type. She knew such people were full of vigor. Not only did they complete tasks assigned to them, they often over-delivered.
“Also, he’s my dad’s direct special assistant, a top-tier one. I don’t know his salary, but last holiday, my dad gave him a hundred-thousand-yuan red envelope…”
In the dimly lit little kitchen, the teenager’s voice held a clear, youthful quality. Unconsciously, he ended up saying a lot. And Jin Ran, as she wished, was fully satisfied with the gossip feast, even walking away with half of Jiang Xuli’s bread.
It wasn’t until that slender back disappeared from sight that Jiang Xuli realized—how had he ended up saying so much?
…
Jin Ran had no idea that her moment of curiosity had left the young man tangled in the requirement of being “strangers.”
Back in her room, she washed off the mask and was about to sleep when she suddenly received a call from the Jin family.
She knew it was the Jin family because the other person started with a self-identification: “Can you hear me? You must bring your husband back this time! Our whole family should have a proper meal together!”
Jin Ran refused. “I’m busy this week, and Jiang Mingzuo definitely doesn’t have time.”
Father Jin immediately got angry. “What’s wrong with you? Jingjing came back and said you’ve changed. I didn’t believe it, but it turns out it’s true!”
A grown man, chattering like a frog, and without even discerning right from wrong, blaming his daughter based solely on an outsider’s words—Jin Ran instantly lost all interest in dealing with him. She feigned a poor signal with a few “hello? hello?”s and simply hung up.
A minor interlude that didn’t affect her mood at all. She slept soundly through the night.
The next day, Jin Ran’s first order of business after getting up was to go find Jiang Mingzuo and claim her “reward.”
If it hadn’t been so late, she would have even moved into the study last night!
“After all, it’s your space. I still want to ask for your opinion,” she said with a gentle smile, putting on a considerate, ‘I’ll listen to you in everything’ lovestruck facade. “What do you think about me placing the desk by the window?”
With that opening, she directly claimed the spot with the best view in the entire study.