After all the conclusions Su Zhenyue had imagined on her own, only a faint sense of guilt remained in her eyes as she looked at Jiang Chen.
“Let’s pretend nothing happened tonight.”
“Since you like this nightclub, I’ll give it to you. Xiaosu, take the manager and handle the ownership transfer later.”
Su Zhenyue casually waved her hand as she spoke, treating it as a small amount of compensation for him.
Jiang Chen’s eyes instantly lit up.
‘Damn, my gamble paid off!’
“Then… Zhenyue, since you’re not going to kill me, I’ll be leaving?”
Jiang Chen cautiously tried to slip away.
‘Her true love is already back. Why the hell would I stay here and be the third wheel?’
‘It makes perfect sense for me to leave now, right?’
However, Su Zhenyue looked at him as though she were disappointed by his lack of courage. “Did I say you could leave?”
“Jiang Chen, don’t overthink it. Jiang Haotian may be back, but I never said I wanted you to leave.”
“Stop imagining things.”
With a mixture of impatience and complicated emotions, she continued, “If you disappear for no reason again, I won’t forgive you as easily as I did this time.”
“?”
Jiang Chen was completely dumbfounded.
‘She won’t let me leave?’
‘Wait, how is that right?’
Growing anxious, he blurted out, “Wait, isn’t Jiang Haotian back? He’s your first love, isn’t he? Haven’t you always liked him?”
‘This isn’t how the plotline is supposed to go!’
“Or, Zhenyue, are you planning to hit me a few times to vent your anger before letting me leave?”
Jiang Chen cautiously tested the waters, but the guilt in Su Zhenyue’s eyes only deepened.
“Jiang Chen, I know you’re saying the opposite of what you really mean.”
“You want me to be with Jiang Haotian without feeling burdened by your presence, so I’m not going to drive you away.”
“Jiang Haotian may have returned to the Nation, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven him for what he did.”
“Of course, that also doesn’t mean I’m going to be with you…”
“For now… I don’t have romantic feelings for you.”
“But I’m not an ungrateful person either.”
“Come with me to Jiang Haotian’s welcome banquet.”
“I want to hear his explanation personally… If he doesn’t have a good reason, I won’t forgive him.”
As if trying to make amends, Su Zhenyue added, “Afterward, if you still want to leave, I’ll give you 100 million as compensation.”
Although she knew Jiang Chen did not care about money at all…
Jiang Chen was utterly bewildered by what he had just heard.
‘Wait, lady. What do you mean you want to hear his explanation personally?’
‘With the protagonist being practically the Chosen One, combined with the original plotline, Jiang Haotian once saved Su Zhenyue’s life.’
‘And then there’s the melodramatic destiny that says the protagonist and female lead are supposed to end up together.’
‘So by “hearing his explanation,” you mean you’re going to listen to him cry remorsefully for a while and then happily forgive him, right?’
‘Then what am I supposed to do in the middle of all this? Maintain peace in Gotham City?’
“Hehe, fine!”
It was just a trip to a banquet.
As long as he remembered the three rules, stay away from the protagonist and female lead, stay away from stairs, and stay away from swimming pools, what was there to fear?
‘Trust me. I can keep a low profile!’
“Payment first, work afterward. I don’t accept deposits or final payments. Is that okay?”
Jiang Chen pulled out his bank card.
Su Zhenyue merely assumed he was throwing a tantrum.
Without hesitation, she transferred 100 million to him, took him into the Maybach, and headed straight for Jiang Haotian’s welcome banquet.
There was not even any need to change his suit or hairstyle because Jiang Chen had already dressed himself up.
Meanwhile, the banquet at the Jiang Family’s venue had already begun.
The Jiang Family had organized an extravagant event this time, and many prominent figures were in attendance.
The venue was the most luxurious international hotel in the heart of the city.
The venue alone was enough to show just how much importance the Jiang Family placed on their biological son.
Surrounded by Father Jiang and Mother Jiang as he entered, Jiang Haotian looked excitedly toward Jiang Qingli.
“Sister! Did you prepare all of this for me? Thank you, Sister!”
His eyes reddened.
However, Jiang Qingli frowned. “Mom? What’s going on?”
This was not the venue she had booked at all.
“Oh, Qingli, your brother finally came back to us after all these years. We just wanted to make it up to him a little more… There’s nothing wrong with spending some extra money,” Mother Jiang explained.
However, Jiang Qingli’s cold and breathtakingly beautiful expression gradually darkened.
For some inexplicable reason, she suddenly remembered the past.
Back when Jiang Chen had been an orphan and was adopted by their family, they had not even prepared a proper table full of food to welcome him…
As she watched Father Jiang, Mother Jiang, and Jiang Haotian standing together like a reunited family of three, with Jiang Haotian affectionately calling her “Sister,” another image appeared in her mind.
She remembered Jiang Chen acting spoiled around her and calling her “Sister”…
“Sister~ I made this goji berry tea for you. I added sugar, so it isn’t bitter! Try some!”
“Sister~ You need to take better care of yourself. Don’t work too hard. I’ll always stay by your side…”
“Sister, what made you unhappy this time? Even when you’re angry, you’re still so beautiful…”
“Sister, I think I’m the happiest person in the world because I have you by my side.”
“I want to stay beside you for the rest of my life and never leave. Is that okay…?”
Images of Jiang Chen surfaced one after another, from his young and innocent face when he was six or seven years old to his handsome appearance at the age of 20.
A belated ache gradually spread through Jiang Qingli’s chest.
It felt as though something had lodged inside her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe.
Only Mother Jiang’s voice finally pulled Jiang Qingli out of her daze. “Qingli, what are you thinking about? Your brother is thanking you!”
“Oh, I’m feeling a little unwell. I’ll go rest in the back for a while.”
Jiang Qingli’s expression was complicated.
After casually giving Mother Jiang and Jiang Haotian a few perfunctory replies, she turned around and entered one of the hotel rooms backstage.
At the same time, she could not resist checking her phone again.
‘Still no message from Jiang Chen?’
‘He still hasn’t sent me anything?’
Jiang Qingli finally sensed that something was wrong.
‘No. This doesn’t make sense.’
Based on Jiang Chen’s usual personality, the moment he heard that she intended to cut ties with him, he should have immediately rushed over to find her.
Yet this time, he had not sent her even a single message.
He had not even appeared at the banquet.
“Butler Li, after you told Jiang Chen about the island, did he really say nothing?” Jiang Qingli finally asked.
Butler Li sighed. “Nothing.”
“Young Miss, please allow me to say something more.”
“Young Master Jiang has always regarded you as more important than his own life.”
“Even if he committed an unforgivable mistake, you really shouldn’t have told him that you were cutting all ties with him, much less humiliated him with money.”
“We’re only saying this because we feel sorry for Young Master Jiang. You know that he lost his parents when he was very young.”
“After saying something like that to him, how do you expect him to keep living…?”
As Butler Li spoke, several maids nearby could not help secretly wiping away their tears.
After all, they had watched Jiang Chen grow up.
They had seen with their own eyes just how kind, sensible, and obedient Jiang Chen was, and how little he cared about money.
For all these years, Jiang Chen had lived cautiously within the Jiang Family, constantly trying to please his parents. He had never even spoken a harsh word to them.
So how could he…
How could he suddenly push Jiang Haotian down the stairs?
“I…”
Jiang Qingli’s expression grew complicated.
‘Did I really go too far?’
But regardless of what had happened, Jiang Chen not coming to find her simply did not make sense.
“Qingli, what are you doing? Your brother said he invited someone important. Come back to the banquet and help keep an eye on things!”
Before Jiang Qingli could say anything else, Mother Jiang pulled her back toward the banquet.
Meanwhile, Jiang Haotian was staring at the time on his phone.
He seemed to be anxiously waiting for someone.
“They should be here soon…” he murmured.
Jiang Qingli was not particularly interested. She sat coldly to one side.
Then a black Maybach stopped outside the banquet hall.
Jiang Chen was the first to step out.
He wore a black suit, and his face was so extraordinarily handsome that several female guests at the venue could not suppress their startled exclamations.
Jiang Qingli’s eyes instantly brightened.
The corners of her lips curved upward slightly.
‘Sure enough. I knew Jiang Chen would come.’
‘And here I thought he had really grown a backbone this time.’
‘So his resolve couldn’t even last three seconds?’
Still, what kind of hairstyle had he gotten today?
A slicked-back side part?
Combined with his 1.88-meter height and ridiculously handsome face, it certainly gave him a commanding appearance, but it looked a little too sharp and masculine.
She still preferred his fluffy hairstyle.
It was soft and pleasant to touch.
Jiang Qingli’s mood improved considerably. Just as she was about to pick something up and put it into her mouth, she caught sight of Jiang Chen suddenly raising his hand.
Then, with that hand, he helped Su Zhenyue out of the car.
She was dressed in a red gown, with crimson lips and flowing black hair…