Chapter 27

Xiang Family Villa.

It was the weekend, so after finishing dealing with the company's documents, Xiang Wan stayed in the lobby watching Wang Yidong make dumplings.

Although she doesn't particularly enjoy cooking for anyone, she really enjoys watching others cook.

She finds the process of cooking very therapeutic, and in her previous life, she even signed several food vloggers because of it.

Making dumplings is a lot of work; you have to knead the dough, roll out the wrappers, and then wrap each one individually before steaming and boiling. Xiang Wan sat at the dining table, watching Wang Yidong work all afternoon, and he had just finished preparing the filling and was about to wrap them up.

Although she found it troublesome, Xiang Wan still watched with great interest. However, Wang Yidong, who was opposite her, saw his young lady staring at him rolling out the dough and assumed that she also wanted to knead the dough.

"Here, pinch it." Wang Yidong pinched off a piece of dough, rolled it into a ball, and handed it to her.

"..." Xiang Wan was speechless. She wasn't a child, why was she kneading dough?

Even so, she still took the small lump of dough and shaped it into a little white rabbit.

After a while, he felt that the shape didn't look right, so he rolled it into a ball again and made another one in the shape of the orange ball in the hall.

She was still working on the details when a maid entering from the courtyard interrupted her thoughts: "Miss, we have a guest."

Who is it?

"He said he went to the same school as you, and his name is Zhao Luyu."

Xiang Wan went to the kitchen to wash the flour off her hands and then walked towards the living room.

On the way there, she felt something was off. Although she and Zhao Luyu had a decent relationship, it didn't seem to have reached the point where she would have to visit him. Could something have happened to the Zhao family?

I haven't heard any rumors lately, and besides, Secretary Huang handles all the business matters. Apart from her family, almost no one knows that she is the mastermind behind it all.

When they arrived at the reception room, seeing Zhao Luyu looking completely lost, Xiang Wan didn't feel comfortable asking him directly, and simply gave him a brief greeting.

However, without her needing to probe, Zhao Luyu cut to the chase and asked, "Xiang Wan, where is your sister?"

"What?" Xiang Wan was stunned for a few seconds when she heard that Zhao Luyu had come to see Chen Yan.

After confirming she hadn't misheard, she carefully considered her words: "You and Xiaoyan are friends?"

"No." As if he had made up his mind, Zhao Luyu's tone was very serious. "I have a crush on her."

Is Zhao Luyu secretly in love with Chen Yan?

Is Zhao Luyu secretly in love with Chen Yan?

Is Zhao Luyu secretly in love with Chen Yan?

"You..." Xiang Wan was stunned into silence, looking at Zhao Luyu who was blushing and shy, unable to say anything for a long time.

She could already imagine the headlines that the media would publish in a few years: "The only son of the Zhao family is hopelessly in love with a man. Is it true love or bisexuality?"

Later, when Zhao Luyu explained how he fell in love with Chen Yan, Xiang Wan didn't hear a word he said. All she could think about was whether Zhao's parents would take their anger out on the Xiang family if they knew their son had been turned gay.

She reached up and rubbed her temples, realizing things were starting to get a little tricky.

She finally understood what the parents in those romance novels, who were so easily angered that they developed high blood pressure, were thinking. When she learned that Zhao Luyu liked Xiao Yan, Xiang Wan's first reaction was: she had to break them up no matter what!

Even if such a scandal doesn't fundamentally change the stock price once it's exposed to the media, it will still cause fluctuations.

The Chiang family in the previous life served as a cautionary tale. Chiang Juncang, the eldest son of the Chiang family, was still a virgin at the age of 31 and had no woman by his side. The media speculated that he was gay, which caused the Chiang family's stock price to be significantly affected during that period.

Although Jiang Juncang later recovered the losses during that period through commercial means, why wait until after the fact to remedy the situation if the tragedy could be nipped in the bud?

Xiang Wan's mind raced, and she even glanced at the embarrassed Zhao Luyu in between. Her face remained normal, but in her heart she felt more and more that letting Chen Yan transfer to Nanyang Affiliated High School was definitely the right decision.

Zhao Luyu continued rambling on: "Xiang Wan, I fell in love with your sister the moment I saw her..."

"..."

Thinking of the most pleasing outcome, Xiang Wan tentatively asked, "What do you think is Xiao Yan's feminine charm?"

"I think she has a lot of feminine charm just by standing there."

"..." Zhao Luyu kept chuckling to himself, but Xiang Wan secretly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

It seems he doesn't know anything and just mistook Chen Yan for a girl, so it probably isn't a big deal.

As long as she intervenes well.

Xiang Wan pretended to take a sip of tea, but actually secretly glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. After a while, she put down her teacup and said, "It's a pity that Chen Yan went abroad."

Zhao Luyu asked anxiously, "When will she be back?"

"..." For some reason, I feel a strange sense of guilt, like a wicked mother-in-law trying to break up a young couple.

Xiang Wan cleared her throat: "I probably won't be returning to China anytime soon."

"How long is 'short-term'?"

"Within ten years."

"Why?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Luyu was completely distraught. When he returned, he seemed to have lost his soul, completely absent-minded.

Fortunately, the Zhao family's driver was waiting at the door, so Xiang Wan wasn't too worried and instead breathed a sigh of relief.

When she returned to the dining table, Wang Yidong had already finished making dumplings. Seeing her return, Wang Yidong asked, "What's wrong?"

"nothing."

"..."

After finishing her dumplings, Xiang Wan went upstairs and told Wang Yidong to have Chen Yan come to her study when he returned.

Several hours later, when there was a knock on the study door, she knew that Chen Yan had returned from the hospital.

"Come in."

The door was gently pushed open, revealing a refined and handsome face.

Although she was only a teenager, her outstanding appearance was already beginning to show: "Sister, you called me."

Xiang Wan lowered her eyes and, without beating around the bush, went straight to the point: "Zhao Luyu said he likes you, did you know that?"

"..." Upon hearing this, Chen Yan's face darkened.

Seeing his unpleasant expression, Xiang Wan breathed a sigh of relief again, thankfully it wasn't mutual affection.

Judging from his behavior, he probably knows that Zhao Luyu likes him.

Xiang Wan felt she was really worried sick: "When you went to the hospital this morning, Zhao Luyu came to the door and said he liked you."

“I didn’t tell him about your transfer to Nanyang High School. I told him you went abroad.”

"Okay, thank you, sister."

Xiang Wan felt a little tired: "In Nanyang, it's a boarding school, and summer vacation is in a few days. You can start junior high school directly when the next semester starts."

"good."

She gave him a few more instructions and then sent him back.

*

A few days later, Xiang Wan took the bus to school as usual, and on the bus, she watched the morning news on her tablet as usual.

When they arrived at the school, the Shen family's car arrived at the same time, and she and Shen Feiyang entered the school gate together.

When they arrived at Class A, they heard Che Nanbei and Jiang Zhuochun greeting them as soon as they entered.

"Wanwan! Feifei! Good morning."

"Good morning."

Xiang Wan had just sat down in her seat when the class bell rang.

The final exams are over, and summer vacation will start in a few days, so the homeroom teacher is just talking about things to be aware of during the vacation.

Although they will be entering their first year of high school next semester, they are all directly admitted to the affiliated high school of Beiyi, and their classmates are basically the same as before, so the students don't feel sad.

Moreover, unlike other schools, the homeroom teachers at Beiyi High School do not teach classes; only a small number of homeroom teachers are required to take on some psychological counseling courses.

The homeroom teacher accompanied the class all the way to high school, so apart from the subject teachers, everyone was an old acquaintance, and therefore no one wrote in the yearbook.

After all, these are the same classmates again after a summer vacation. For them, it's just another holiday, and everyone is very excited.

Che Nanbei turned his head from the desk in front of him and deliberately lowered his voice: "Wanwan, we'll have a holiday in a few days. Let's all go to Xinbei Town together."

"I heard that the ski resort over there is really fun; it's been popular for three years now."

"..."

Whether in the previous life or this life, I was forced to spend two days and one night in Lijia Village as a bonus on my way to Xinbei Town.

She would never go a third time.

"You guys go, I won't go."

Hearing this, Jiang Zhuochun leaned closer and said, "I can't go either. My brother finally came back to China, and I want to play basketball with him."

Mentioning Jiang Juncang, Che Nanbei's eyes lit up instantly, and he whispered to the two people beside him, "His brother is very handsome."

Shen Feiyang had only been back in Beiyi for less than two years and had never met Jiang Juncang. Hearing this, he asked with some curiosity, "Then who is more handsome, his brother or Jiang Zhuochun?"

“It must be Jiang Juncang.” Che Nanbei said without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhuochun was the first to object. He hated it when people said his brother was more handsome than him, especially in front of his sweetheart.

He looked at Xiang Wan with a hint of eagerness in his eyes: "Wanwan, tell me, who's more handsome, me or my brother?"

Upon hearing this, Che Nanbei and Shen Feiyang both turned their heads towards her, and the three of them waited for her answer.

Although Xiang Wan and Jiang Juncang hadn't met often and were several years apart in age, she had met the eldest son of the Jiang family.

Seeing the topic turn to her, Xiang Wan raised an eyebrow and recalled the appearances of the Jiang brothers, Jiang Juncang and Jiang Zhuochun.

She thought for a moment and said, "I think Jiang Zhuochun is more handsome."

Jiang Juncang's aura was too unapproachable; Xiang Wan preferred the appearance of Chen Ruilin, the president of Si Rong in her previous life.

Although he was aloof, his eyes inexplicably carried a flirtatious quality, making her feel as if he was subtly seducing her.

When Xiang Wan said he was more handsome, Jiang Zhuochun was as if he had won a battle. He completely forgot that he was still in class and jumped up: "I knew Wanwan had good taste."

The group of four: "..."

The whole class was silent for a few seconds, and then burst into laughter.

Tomorrow is summer vacation, and his homeroom teacher didn't scold him, but just teased him, "Our young master Jiang, he can't wait to start vacation even before it begins?"

Jiang Zhuochun: "..."

Another burst of laughter erupted.

The man in the car in front covered his face with his hands and complained to the two of them, "This is so embarrassing."

Xiang Wan & Shen Feiyang: We feel the same way.

After school, Jiang Zhuochun and Xiang Wan parted ways and went home in a private car.

As soon as he got into the car, he saw Jiang Juncang in the back seat: "Brother, what brings you here?"

Jiang Juncang put down his tablet and relaxed his brow: "I just finished a business meeting and came back, so I picked you up to go home."

Jiang Zhuochun didn't even bring his schoolbag. Upon seeing Jiang Juncang, he couldn't help but smugly ask, "Brother, who do you think is more handsome, you or me?"

Looking at his younger brother, who was five years younger than him, 19-year-old Jiang Juncang felt a headache coming on. Without thinking, he replied, "You're handsome."

"Brother, have I told you that I have a girl I like?"

He had absolutely no interest in puppy love between little kids: "Does she like you too?"

"She doesn't like me." Jiang Zhuochun instantly deflated like a frostbitten eggplant.

"..." Jiang Jun was speechless. It turned out to be another case of unrequited love.

"But Wanwan said I'm more handsome than you."

The two brothers are five years apart, but they are always compared to each other by those around them, and they have gotten used to it.

Jiang Juncang raised an eyebrow, his attention elsewhere: "Wanwan? Xiang Wan?"

"yes."

The name Xiang Wan is frequently mentioned among the younger generation of prominent families, so even Jiang Juncang had heard of it and had seen it from afar.

She's definitely a beauty, but she's not a good match for her dim-witted younger brother. She's not as good as Che Nanbei, who's also dim-witted; the two of them would be a better match.

But it's rare for someone to say that the younger brother is more handsome. When Jiang Juncang heard that Xiang Wan said the younger brother was more handsome, he actually became somewhat interested in her.

'Xiang Wan just doesn't have very good taste.'