After waiting a full six or seven minutes, Song Qichen finally felt that the three souls and seven spirits he had lost along the way had all returned to their proper places. The feeling of being so tense that his muscles ached also eased quite a bit.
He turned his head with steady breathing. When he saw clearly what Jiang Mian was doing, Song Qichen only felt his blood pressure whoosh upward, shooting straight to the highest value.
“What are you doing?!”
Song Qichen nearly tore his throat shouting.
He knew it. During the time he had been calming his breathing just now, how could that woman surnamed Jiang possibly be this quiet? How could she be so quiet?
Sure enough, she was stirring up trouble again.
There she was, casually tossing aside a pair of gloves worth tens of thousands, throwing them onto the grass. She squatted on the ground, both hands smeared with black grease, and was dismantling Assistant Xiao Yan’s expensive motorcycle.
“Oh, when I was riding just now, I heard some strange noise from the engine. Since you were spacing out, I took the opportunity to take it apart and have a look…”
Jiang Mian grinned.
Song Qichen: “…” ‘Damn it to hell!’
Right now, he regretted it. Deeply regretted it.
If he had known this person was like this, then that morning, after waking up at the hotel, no matter what money or not, he should have immediately taken a taxi and left that den of sin. After that, whenever he saw the four words Jiahua Hotel, he would detour without hesitation, asking only to avoid this weirdo.
Unfortunately, you cannot buy hindsight with a fortune.
Song Qichen clenched his fists hard.
Eight minutes later, after washing the grease off Jiang Mian’s hands like she was his own daughter, touching up her makeup, the two of them finally started walking toward the Banshan Club straight ahead.
Along the way, Song Qichen was like someone who had been force-fed a mute drug, not saying a single word.
Jiang Mian poked him. No reaction.
She poked him again. Still no reaction.
“Are you unhappy again?”
Jiang Mian asked in a tiny, tentative voice.
Listen to that. Listen to that sweet, soft tone. Anyone who did not know better would think she felt terribly guilty inside.
But others might not know. How could Song Qichen, who had spent a full two hours with this person, not know?
Quick to admit fault, and bold enough to do it again next time.
That was her, exactly.
A scoffing sound had already reached his lips, the sound not even out yet, when Song Qichen suddenly remembered how he had nearly been sent flying earlier by this so-called female warrior. He forcibly swallowed that scoff back down. “No, I’m not unhappy.”
“Really? You’re not even smiling…”
Jiang Mian pointed at the corner of his mouth.
Hearing that, Song Qichen immediately lifted the corner of his lips into a fake curve. He turned his head to look at her, smiling without any warmth in his eyes. “How about this? Is this acceptable?”
Jiang Mian: “…” ‘Pfft.’
If Jiang Mian’s self-control had not been top-notch, she probably would have burst out laughing right in front of him at the sight of Song Qichen like this.
“Mm, mm.”
Pinching her thigh, Jiang Mian lowered her head and responded vaguely.
‘Don’t stoop to her level. Don’t stoop to her level…’
Furiously persuading himself in his heart, Song Qichen let out a deep breath and began explaining his arrangements to Jiang Mian beside him.
“After we go in, don’t socialize. Head straight for the dining tables, understood?”
“Mm.”
“…When the time comes, I’ll tell you which dishes are expensive. Make sure you eat more of those, got it?”
“Mm, mm.”
“And also, even if someone takes the initiative to provoke you, don’t resort to violence.”
“Mm… mm?”
Jiang Mian scrunched her nose.
“Don’t scrunch your nose. Did you hear me?”
“Mm…”
Jiang Mian answered reluctantly.
“Answer properly. What kind of atti… cough, what I mean is, spend more of your time eating. Don’t get into pointless disputes with pointless people. It’s not worth it.”
The instant he met Jiang Mian’s threatening gaze, Song Qichen hurriedly changed his tone.
After all, if anything really got smashed, the only one paying out of pocket would be him.
Seeing that, after some gentle persuasion, Jiang Mian seemed to have taken his words to heart.
Only then did Song Qichen finally feel a bit more at ease.
But immediately afterward, an inexplicable sourness welled up in his chest.
What exactly was he doing right now?
Did this even count as keeping a gilded canary? Or was he clearly supporting a living ancestor?
He could not think about it. The moment he did, his head started to ache.
*
Pushing the door open and just stepping into the so-called Banshan Club, the moment everyone inside saw Song Qichen and Jiang Mian linking arms with him, the crowd that had been chatting animatedly fell silent in an instant. A few of them even exchanged subtle looks before breaking into knowing smiles.
“Oh my, President Song, what a rare guest…”
“President Song, we have long admired you!”
“President Song, hello, hello. Long time no see…”
Immediately afterward, the frozen scene seemed as if someone had pressed the play button. Men and women from all directions surged over, all eager to exchange pleasantries with Song Qichen.
How Song Qichen dealt with this group in empty politeness need not be mentioned for now. Catching the scent of food lingering in the air, Jiang Mian’s gaze never once landed on any of the people gathering around them.
Her whole demeanor was like that of a child dragged by her father to a busy market. Watching the adults chatter endlessly, she felt nothing but boredom and impatience.
Having given Song Qichen enough face by waiting at least ten minutes, Jiang Mian’s patience was about to run out.
“Oh, well if it isn’t our thrifty and household-minded Song…”
The moment a few men with deliberately mocking tones joined in, Jiang Mian, who had completely lost her patience, reached out and cupped Song Qichen’s face, forcibly turning it toward her.
“Are you done chatting? Why is there so much pointless small talk? Could those insignificant people possibly be more important than me?”
Jiang Mian spoke with utter confidence, even though she was clearly in the wrong.
The men who had just been labeled “insignificant” and were about to pick a fight with Song Qichen: “…” ‘Could you at least let us finish what we were going to say? Holding it in like this is really uncomfortable, you know?’
“What? You’re in a hurry? I was just saying hello to them…”
Song Qichen smiled gently.
Had there not been rumors in the industry saying that Song Qichen was so stingy that he would not even get close to women?
Who the hell spread such groundless gossip?
Wasn’t he quite good at coaxing someone?
“Sorry.”
Just as the group of men who had come looking for trouble, only to end up being force-fed a mouthful of public affection instead, were letting their minds run wild, Song Qichen gave them an apologetic smile.
“The girl is still quite young and does not know any better. We will stop chatting here. I will take her over there to sit for a while. Please excuse us.”
With that, Song Qichen smiled, took the hand of the visibly unhappy Jiang Mian, and headed toward the dining tables.
“Ah, oh, oh.”
The few men who had been stunned by the sudden display of affection failed to process it in time. They nodded foolishly and just let Song Qichen lead Jiang Mian away.
Only after the two had gone some distance did the men finally react.
Wait, what were they here to do in the first place?
They had come to pick a fight!
Then what were they doing just now?
Damn it. All because Song Qichen had nothing better to do than show off his affection, completely disrupting the train of thought of them single dogs.
Damn it!
The few of them exchanged glances and cursed their bad luck inwardly.
The crucial thing was that once the initial burst of momentum passed, it was all downhill. That harsh line they had meant to throw out earlier never made it out. Chasing after them now to say it would just feel awkward. Forget it. Why look for trouble? They would not bother anymore.
Their retreat without a fight caused another group on the other side, who had been waiting eagerly to enjoy the show, to miss it entirely.
“Damn it, what are those idiots from the Xu family even good for? They cannot even manage to pick a fight properly! No wonder they have been completely suppressed by a woman all this time and cannot even step into the company!”
A man with a buzz cut, a shaved slit through one eyebrow, and a thin scar running to the end of that eyebrow could not hold it in and cursed out loud.
“That’s enough, Yao Qi.”
At that moment, the man sitting beside the scarred-brow man, dressed in a white suit, gently interrupted him.
The man had fair skin. Although his looks were not as refined and eye-catching as Song Qichen’s, his temperament stood apart, exceptionally gentle, gentle to the point of even seeming somewhat effeminate.
“Why do you keep deliberately looking for trouble with Ah Chen? I have said it so many times already. The reason I left the Song Group back then was entirely my own choice. It had nothing at all to do with Ah Chen. Besides, what is my status? I am just an adopted son of the Song family. And what is Ah Chen’s status? The only bloodline Father has left in this world. Even if he really wanted to drive me away, what reason would I have to insist on staying?”
As he said this, a trace of loneliness flickered quickly across the man’s eyes.
It made the scarred-brow man beside him feel a surge of anger rising in his chest.
“Xiguang, I know you have a good temper, but you cannot be this good-natured! Are you trying to piss me off to death? Song Qichen was already twenty years old when he was finally acknowledged by the Song family. At that time, Uncle Song was recuperating from illness and had already completely stopped managing company affairs. For Song Group to be what it is today, for it to have the chance to be expanded into what Song Qichen has made it now, who was it relying on? It was relying on you!”
“Oh, back when they needed you to work like an ox and a horse, you were the eldest young master of the Song family. Now that they do not need you anymore, they kick you aside with one foot. There is no such logic in this world! No, the more I talk, the angrier I get. Today I absolutely have to make that stingy Song Qichen embarrass himself!”
As he spoke, the scarred-brow man named Yao Qi turned and strode straight toward Song Qichen not far away, without looking back.
“Ah Qi!”
Song Xiguang reached out to grab him, but could not stop him at all.
The man in white showed nothing but dejection and helplessness on his face. Yet the moment his eyes lowered, a trace of amusement flashed swiftly through them.
At the same time, on the other side, Jiang Mian and Song Qichen had completely turned this so-called tea tasting gathering into a buffet.
One person drank tea, the other ate pastries.
It was truly comfortable beyond measure.
Sipping his tea and watching Jiang Mian pop one small pastry after another into her mouth, eating without the slightest sign of stopping, Song Qichen felt a sense of ease in his heart that he had never felt before.
‘Ah, the way she ate was really adorable!’
Sure enough, as long as it was not food he had paid for, Jiang Mian’s eating manners looked pleasing no matter how you looked at them.
Song Qichen sighed from the bottom of his heart.
“Well, if it isn’t our hardworking and frugal President Song. What, here again to freeload food and drinks?”
“Ah Qi…”
Hearing that, Song Xiguang immediately frowned and tugged at his arm, signaling that he had gone too far with his words.
Yao Qi ignored him completely and continued to look at Song Qichen, who was drinking tea, with a mocking gaze.
Unfortunately for him, not to mention Song Qichen, even Jiang Mian, who was eating with great enthusiasm, had no intention of paying him any attention.
Not only that, she even picked up a plum blossom-shaped pastry and pushed it right up to Song Qichen’s mouth.
“Mmm, this pastry tastes really special. Try it…”
When Jiang Mian did not speak, this group of people had not noticed her at all.
The moment she spoke, everyone’s gaze shifted onto her, and a flash of amazement immediately swept through their eyes.
Yao Qi stared straight at Jiang Mian. “Fairy…”
The instant his voice rang out, Jiang Mian, who had just heard that praise, shuddered all over. Then she suddenly turned her head. Like a startled fawn, her eyes damp and flustered, she glanced at him in panic and then awkwardly put down the plum blossom pastry in her hand.
The above was all from Yao Qi’s imagination.
Only when he actually saw Jiang Mian’s face straight on did Yao Qi realize just how outstandingly beautiful she was. He felt his heart practically melt.
From childhood to now, he had never seen a girl who grew so perfectly to his exact taste. Look at her, look at her. That delicate pointed chin, that little look in her eyes, that whole appearance…
‘Oh my god.’ He thought he had fallen in love.
“Bea… beautiful lady, what’s your name?”
“Jiang Mian.”
“Jiang Mian, Jiang Mian, Jiang—” Caught up in the moment, Yao Qi managed to call her name twice before trailing off.
Jiang Mian finally couldn’t take it anymore. She dug a finger into her ear. “What are you yelling for—calling your dad or what? And what’s with shouting my name over and over like you’re summoning a ghost? I’m not deaf!”
“I used to think my name sounded pretty nice, but the way this guy calls it is seriously disgusting! Song Qichen, I feel like I’m about to throw up—can I beat him up?”
Jiang Mian asked with complete sincerity.
Yao Qi: “……”
Song Xiguang: “……”
The onlookers: “……”
Song Qichen: “……” ‘Pfft.’