“What’s going on? You’re so jumpy.”
Chen Lingqian: “I know who that big shot is!”
Jiang Minghua’s fingers, which had been pinching the clothes, paused. Her thoughts tensed up—she thought Jiang Shaoyan had found out who the person from that night was. She couldn’t wait to speak:
“Who?”
Chen Lingqian: “It’s Xie Jinchen! Didn’t he go abroad three years ago? How is he back?”
Jiang Minghua’s eyes widened. Xie Jinchen?
Xie Jinchen wasn’t from their social circle. Although the two families’ elders had close ties, Jiang Minghua had never met the eldest son of the Xie family—the one her grandfather always described as “handsome and talented, modest and courteous.”
Was the person who had been intimate with her that night Xie Jinchen?
She had never met Xie Jinchen, but she probably knew more about him than she knew about herself.
Every time her grandfather saw her, he would almost always praise Xie Jinchen. And it was true—he had the ability to back it up. He had graduated from Harvard with dual degrees in finance and economics at a young age. After joining the Xie Group, he started from the bottom and showed outstanding capability. Now, at twenty-nine, he had already become the Executive President of the Xie Group—iron-fisted and decisive. He had taken the already unrivaled Xie Group to yet another level. Now, half of the nation’s economic lifeline was in the hands of the Xie Group.
Xie Jinchen could be described as uniquely blessed, the center of everyone’s attention—the God of Wealth of the capital.
It was just that he kept a very low profile. The media, chasing shadows and rumors, had never even captured a clear frontal shot of him.
She remembered how once, just a blurry side profile had caused a massive uproar in the capital’s socialite circles. Those noble and refined socialites had dubbed him the man most wanted in bed nationwide.
Jiang Minghua was thrown into complete disarray by this sudden news. She was about to ask more when Chen Lingqian’s voice came from outside the door.
“No wonder he’s from the Xie family—casually donating a research building like it’s nothing. Tsk tsk.”
Jiang Minghua stood frozen in place. Her heart, which had been hanging in mid-air, suddenly plummeted to the ground. She quickly caught on:
“Qianqian, that big shot you were talking about—you meant the person who donated the building to our school?”
She didn’t know why, but her heart, which had held some anticipation, suddenly deflated like a hydrogen-filled balloon popping.
Chen Lingqian: “Yeah, wasn’t that what I was talking about the whole time? What did you think I meant?”
Jiang Minghua suddenly felt deflated. Her fingers unconsciously rubbed the dress with its exquisite texture. Amidst her disappointment, there was also a sense of relief.
Thank goodness it wasn’t Xie Jinchen. Otherwise, she would have packed up and fled overnight.
There was no other reason—it was simply because he was too outstanding. Jiang Minghua’s entire youth had been inseparable from that name. Her family elders constantly held Xie Jinchen up as her role model. Every time, she listened until her ears nearly grew calluses.
She thought: You’re a perfectly good crown prince of a top-tier wealthy family—why are you still working so hard? Are you even going to let people like us, who have no ambition and just leech off our parents, live?
The fact that Jiang Minghua had gotten into Jingda University back then was closely tied to the three characters “Xie Jinchen.” Without him, she probably wouldn’t have held her breath and been determined to prove herself to her family.
So during those three years of high school, his name was like a catalyst—it was her motivation to move forward. She both hated and admired him.
Chen Lingqian had grown tired of waiting. She knocked on the door, urging the dawdling Jiang Minghua inside:
“Miss Jiang, may I ask if you’re done changing yet? I’m so tired of waiting I could fall asleep. Can you hurry up?”
Jiang Minghua’s thoughts were still drifting. Hearing this,
She poked at Xie Jinchen in her mind again—it was all his fault for wasting her brain cells.
Knowing Chen Lingqian couldn’t wait any longer, she quickened her pace:
“Almost there, almost there.”
She reached behind to pull up the zipper, adjusted the hem of her dress in front of the mirror, and after making sure nothing was wrong, pushed the door open and stepped out.
Jiang Minghua spun around once in front of Chen Lingqian and asked her:
“How is it? Is this dress okay?”
Chen Lingqian had her head against the wall, hands folded over her chest, yawning. When she finally saw the other emerge and got a clear look, her eyes lit up instantly. She looked her up and down for a moment, then praised repeatedly:
“Not bad at all, Jiang Huahua. So beautiful—you’re definitely going to stun everyone today.”
The girl was wearing a long satin dress that reached her calves, with a very full skirt.
Two straps hung on her delicate, fair shoulders, and the cinched waist design perfectly outlined the graceful, slender lines of her waist.
Jiang Minghua was very thin—not the dry, bony kind of thin.
Her frame was small, with flesh in all the right places, well-proportioned, the kind of healthy, rosy thinness.
Her long, black curly hair was pinned up with a wooden carved flower hairpin, with a few loose strands left beside each cheek.
Like a fairy who had stepped out of a vase, her beauty was unreal, glowing with a classical elegance.
Jiang Minghua smiled and said, “Thank you for the compliment.”
She had only applied light makeup. With her bright, clever eyes and lovely smile, Chen Lingqian was instantly struck—too beautiful.
Even though she had seen that face countless times, Chen Lingqian was still amazed every time.
It was just that Jiang Minghua was too low-key and disdained comparing herself with those pampered socialites of the capital.
With a face like Jiang Minghua’s, she could crush all of them, easily.
Chen Lingqian felt her taste was truly excellent. Being friends with Jiang Minghua gave her so much face. She linked arms with Jiang Minghua and said with a grin:
“Alright, great beauty, let’s go. It’s almost your turn. I’ll take pretty photos of you from below.”
The auditorium was already packed densely with undergraduates, graduate students, and doctoral students.
The auditorium was huge, enough to seat over ten thousand people. Those in the back rows might not be able to see, but the female students closer to the front rows were all whispering and murmuring among themselves.
“Is that Big Shot Xie? Oh my god! I actually got to see him in person in my lifetime!”
“So handsome. Big Shot Xie actually came today. Even the back of his head is this handsome!”
“I know, right? If the school didn’t prohibit photographing the leaders, I would definitely use my phone to capture this highlight moment.”
“He’s really so handsome. Oh my god, sitting there like a domineering CEO from an anime, such a powerful aura.”
“I actually saw him in person! Mom, I’ve made it. Truly, elite institutions produce outstanding talent. I actually saw the man in charge of the Xie Group.”
“And he’s sitting in the front row, dead center. Oh my god, truly one speaks through power and influence—even the president of Jingda has to step aside.”
…
Xie Jinchen had been invited by Jingda as an outstanding alumnus to attend the centennial celebration. His schedule had already been arranged properly a week in advance.
Today’s occasion was formal. Xie Jinchen was in full formal attire—a crisp, neat white shirt under a black suit,
a beautiful and elegant Windsor knot, with a section of dark gray pocket square peeking from the breast pocket on his left chest.
On his lapel hole was pinned an exquisite yet understated gray brooch, and on his wrist he wore the black coral he never took off year-round. His whole being radiated a powerful aura of authority without anger.
From behind, one could only see the man’s neatly trimmed short hair and his broad, well-tailored back.
Yet it also exuded an awe-inspiring presence.
Seated beside him was the old academician who had once taught him, now the president of Jing University, Old Ren.
“Jingzhi, how have these three years abroad been? I heard you’ve been making quite a name for yourself in artificial intelligence overseas?”