Jiang Haoran was so depressed that he nearly wanted to spit blood.
He had brought the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to the dinner gathering because he wanted to suppress Qin Yang and show off a little himself.
Who could have expected Qin Yang to throw a trump card straight at them?
What were they supposed to do now?
Admitting defeat outright would be too humiliating.
But if they went up and wrote something, they would only end up serving as green leaves to set off Qin Yang’s brilliance.
“Haoran, you go first.”
Jiang Haolong looked toward Jiang Haoran.
Among them, Jiang Haoran’s calligraphy was at least somewhat better.
The gap between his calligraphy and Qin Yang’s was slightly smaller.
“Okay.”
Jiang Haoran nodded.
He could only bite the bullet and go forward.
Qin Yang smiled and handed the brush to Jiang Haoran.
“Third Cousin, you brought all these things here, so I assume your skills must be excellent. I’ll definitely study from you seriously.”
Jiang Haoran: “…”
Qin Yang’s words sounded rather piercing.
But he really couldn’t refute them.
Anyone with eyes could see that he had brought these things specifically because he wanted to show off.
Combined with how they had been deliberately provoking Qin Yang earlier, it was obvious that they had wanted to suppress him.
So Qin Yang’s sarcastic remarks toward Jiang Haoran were completely understandable.
“Phew!”
Jiang Haoran let out a breath and began writing.
His calligraphy was actually quite good.
However, with Qin Yang’s calligraphy having been displayed first, everyone around them could easily see that Jiang Haoran was far behind Qin Yang in skill.
Soon, Jiang Haoran finished writing.
Normally, he would choose a relatively long poem.
That way, he could extend the amount of time he spent showing off in front of everyone.
This time, however, he chose a short poem.
“Haoran’s calligraphy is pretty good too.”
“It really is excellent. It’s far better than mine.”
Some of the people around them still praised him.
In the past, Jiang Haoran had enjoyed hearing such praise.
But now, those same words sounded extremely unpleasant to his ears.
“Big Cousin, you guys go next.”
Jiang Haoran looked toward Jiang Haolong and the others.
They could only grit their teeth and start writing.
Their brush calligraphy was considerably better than that of ordinary people, but they couldn’t compare with Jiang Haoran, let alone Qin Yang.
Especially Jiang Haolong.
His hand was still aching from competing against Qin Yang in that earlier handshake.
“I lost.”
Jiang Haolong took a deep breath and admitted defeat.
“Qin Yang, I didn’t expect your calligraphy to be this good. You’ve really kept your abilities hidden. No wonder you were able to win our cousin Muxue’s heart.”
Jiang Haolong looked at Qin Yang as he spoke.
The way some of the people around them looked at Qin Yang changed.
They could tell what Jiang Haolong was implying.
He was suggesting that Qin Yang had ulterior motives.
Jiang Haohu pretended to be puzzled.
“Brother-in-law, your calligraphy is so good. Why haven’t you used it to make money? You only earn a few thousand yuan a month at my sister’s company.”
Qin Yang smiled.
“Second Cousin, you certainly have a head for business. But if I used this to make money, I might never have reached this level.”
Everyone fell into thought.
Someone said, “Little Qin is right. Only by being free from distractions can someone reach a high level. Once calligraphy becomes tainted by money, it loses that pure artistic spirit.”
Jiang Haohu looked toward the person who had spoken.
He didn’t dare argue.
Although this person wasn’t as wealthy as Jiang Wancheng, his assets were still worth tens of billions of yuan, and he had deep connections in official circles.
Someone like that was simply not someone Jiang Haohu could afford to offend.
“Little Qin, let me introduce you to some of the guests who just arrived.”
Jiang Wancheng smiled and changed the subject.
Quite a few of the later-arriving guests carried even greater influence.
Some came from powerful business families, some were major figures in official circles, while others came from formidable martial arts families.
Qin Yang discovered four martial artists among them.
Two of them were extremely ordinary in strength, not even as strong as Tang Yin.
One was somewhat stronger than Tang Yin.
The strongest was a middle-aged man in his fifties.
From such a close distance, Qin Yang could sense an extremely powerful threat emanating from him.
If they were fighting at close range and Qin Yang was caught unprepared, if the other party tried to kill him, Qin Yang felt that he would definitely die.
However, as long as they increased the distance between them even slightly, Qin Yang was confident that if they fought to the death, the one who would die would definitely be the other man.
Overall, Qin Yang was still considerably stronger.
It was just that his close-combat ability was far inferior to the man’s.
The other man was a warrior.
Qin Yang was currently a mage.
At that moment, the private room door was pushed open again.
Liang Lan entered from outside, supporting an old man.
Qin Yang had seen the old man’s photograph before.
He was Jiang Muxue’s grandfather.
“Hm?”
Qin Yang was stunned for a moment.
He sensed a relatively powerful mental fluctuation.
And this mental fluctuation was actually coming from Jiang Muxue’s grandfather.
“Grandpa Muxue’s mental strength is much weaker than mine, but this level of mental strength should have reached Grade B, right?”
Qin Yang thought to himself.
He hadn’t expected Muxue’s grandfather to actually be an esper.
He just didn’t know what kind of ability he possessed.
“Old Master Jiang, greetings.”
“Divine Doctor Jiang, greetings.”
Everyone stepped forward to pay their respects.
“Divine Doctor Jiang?”
“Could Muxue’s grandfather’s ability be related to healing?”
Qin Yang wondered inwardly.
“Dad, let me introduce you. This is Qin Yang. Little Qin is extremely skilled at calligraphy. Even Haoran can’t beat him.”
Qin Yang naturally followed him forward.
“Old Master Jiang, greetings.”
Qin Yang bowed respectfully.
Jiang Wancheng’s father was named Jiang Xingguo.
He said in a deep voice, “Third Son, I don’t agree to Qin Yang and Muxue’s marriage. If Muxue wakes up, I have another arrangement for her marriage.”
“Arrange for them to get divorced.”
Jiang Haolong and the others were secretly delighted.
“Dad, Little Qin and Muxue’s marriage was something your son and I opposed in the past too. But this was Muxue’s own decision, and she’s already been lying there for almost half a year.”
“My husband and I intend to respect Muxue’s wishes! We absolutely will not arrange for her to divorce Little Qin.”
Jiang Xingguo shook off Liang Lan’s hand.
“Cough, cough!”
Jiang Xingguo began coughing violently.
Qin Yang noticed that there was something abnormal about his mental strength.
Jiang Xingguo’s mental strength might have been damaged because he had used his ability improperly.
The problem with his mental strength had affected his physical body as well.
Jiang Xingguo wasn’t even eighty years old yet.
At that age, many elderly people still had relatively healthy bodies.
But Jiang Xingguo’s condition was clearly not very good.
“Qin Yang, what do you have to say?”
“Father is the head of the Jiang family. Since Father doesn’t approve of you two being together, you cannot be together.”
A middle-aged man standing behind Jiang Xingguo spoke in a deep voice.
Qin Yang knew this man.
He was Jiang Muxue’s second uncle, Jiang Wanchuan.
Among Jiang Wancheng’s three brothers, the eldest was Jiang Wanyue, the second was Jiang Wanchuan, and the third was Jiang Wancheng.
Qin Yang said calmly, “According to the Marriage Law, as long as I don’t agree, even if Uncle Jiang and Auntie Liang are Muxue’s parents, they cannot force me to divorce Muxue.”
“Are the Jiang family’s rules above the laws of the country?”
Jiang Wanchuan: “…”
Jiang Xingguo suddenly laughed.
“Not bad. You didn’t give up on Muxue easily under pressure. Consider this test passed.”
“But this is only the first test.”
“Little Qin, marrying Muxue won’t be that easy.”
Quite a few people present breathed a sigh of relief.
“Old Master Jiang, your acting is too good. You fooled all of us. We really thought you were serious.”
“That’s right, Old Master Jiang. Your acting is truly something else.”
Everyone began speaking one after another.
The tense atmosphere from moments ago immediately became relaxed.
“Old Master Jiang, I’ll do my best.”
Qin Yang said seriously.
He secretly shook his head.
Old Master Jiang had only deliberately acted that way.
His mental strength was extremely powerful, so he could sense it clearly.
Old Master Jiang genuinely wanted to forcibly separate the two of them.
It was just that Qin Yang had held his ground.
At this point, Old Master Jiang couldn’t continue forcing the issue.
He still had to preserve the Jiang family’s dignity.
(End of Chapter)