"Xie Ming knows Jiang Yan?" Jiang Nanyu stared at Jiang Yan with a questioning look in his eyes.

“Jiang Yan and Xie Ming’s grandparents are from the same village. Every summer, Xie Ming would go back to the village to visit the two elderly people. That’s when they met.”

"Really? What a coincidence." Hearing Qin Wan's explanation, Jiang Nanyu remained skeptical.

What kind of feelings would make Xie Ming stand on Jiang Yan's side and choose to oppose him, Jiang Nanyu?

The current situation of the Jiang family is still uncertain.

Anyone with a brain wouldn't choose to take sides at this time; instead, they would choose to protect themselves and not offend anyone.

Even if someone is eager to take sides, they'll side with him, not with Jiang Yan who has nothing.

"I didn't expect you and Xie Ming to have such a good relationship." Jiang Nanyu looked at Jiang Yan with a gratified expression.

"The Xie family holds a high position in Kyoto, and being on good terms with Xie Ming will be quite beneficial to you."

"They were just childhood playmates," Jiang Yan said calmly.

"If they really have a very good relationship, wouldn't the landowner in the east of the city choose me as their partner?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Nanyu was taken aback at first, but after regaining his senses, he gave Jiang Yan an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, I misspoke."

However, Jiang Yan's words did indeed enlighten Jiang Nanyu.

If Xie Ming really sided with Jiang Yan, he could have said some good things to the landowner and gotten them to discuss cooperation with Jiang Yan instead of Jiang Nanyu.

After all, Xie Ming was the one who resold that piece of land to the other party...

If Xie Ming really wanted to help, how could Jiang Yan have ended up in such an awkward situation?

"By the way, Wanwan, there's a charity auction tonight. Why don't you come with me?" Jiang Nanyu suddenly extended an invitation.

"Do you need a female companion?" Qin Wan asked subconsciously.

Jiang Nanyu nodded. "Yes."

"What about Jiang Yan?" Qin Wan asked again.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Nanyu's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked with feigned distress, "Wanwan, are you going to abandon me and choose Jiang Yan instead?"

"So, Jiang Yan is going to participate too, right?" Qin Wan asked instead of answering.

"Hmm." Jiang Nanyu's expression changed slightly, but he still nodded in response to Qin Wan.

"Then I'll be Jiang Yan's date."

As soon as Qin Wan said this, the eyes of the two men present fell on her at the same time.

"Wanwan?" Jiang Nanyu frowned as he looked at her, a hint of hurt appearing in his eyes.

“Brother Nanyu, you certainly don’t lack female companions. It’s different for Brother Jiangyan. He just returned to Kyoto and doesn’t know many people, so it’s more difficult for him to find female companions.”

"And I promised Aunt Jiang that I would take good care of Brother Jiang Yan."

Jiang Nanyu's thin lips were tightly pressed together, and his expression was slightly cold.

Qin Wan's protection of Jiang Yan was all too obvious.

It's clear that Jiangnan Island can no longer deceive itself.

"I have a meeting, let's talk about my female companion tonight."

After saying that, Jiang Nanyu turned and left without looking back.

He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would lose control and say or do something inappropriate.

Watching Jiang Nanyu stride away, Jiang Yan frowned and looked at Qin Wan, "He's angry."

"It seems so." Qin Wan nodded in agreement.

Seeing Qin Wan's detached, spectator-like attitude, Jiang Yan frowned. "Aren't you going to go after her and comfort her or explain?"

"Why should I comfort or explain?" Qin Wan looked at him with a puzzled expression.

The moment their eyes met, a familiar voice echoed in Jiang Yan's mind.

Whether he's angry or not is none of my business. I don't even like him.

Moreover, I don't think I did anything wrong. I was just making things clear and explicitly rejecting Jiang Nanyu.

Instead of keeping him hanging on.

Jiang Yan: "..." That makes so much sense, he couldn't refute it.

"He...likes you." After a long while, Jiang Yan finally managed to find a reason.

“But I don’t like him,” Qin Wan said.

Jiang Yan pursed his thin lips slightly, "If I remember correctly, you two are engaged."

Upon hearing this, Qin Wan pursed her red lips and fell silent with a complicated expression.

Seeing this, Jiang Yan felt a strange sensation.

"The marriage arrangement is merely a matter of mutual consent between the two families; it is not a necessity."

At this point, Qin Wan looked up at him intently and explained, "You may not know this, but before you appeared, I had already intended to break off my engagement with Jiang Nanyu."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan looked at her with surprise in his eyes.

"Cancel the engagement?"

"Let's not talk about this anymore. In short, you don't need to feel guilty or think that your appearance ruined my relationship with Jiang Nanyu."

"Of course, if you don't want to get involved, I can keep my distance from you to prevent Jiang Nanyu from shifting the blame onto you and thus creating resentment towards you," Qin Wan said understandingly.

"Why do you want to break off the engagement?" Jiang Yan pressed.

Upon hearing this, Qin Wan paused for a moment, then smiled indifferently, "Don't worry, it has nothing to do with you."

"Is it inconvenient to say?" Jiang Yan pressed persistently.

Upon hearing this, Qin Wan remained silent for a moment, her eyes filled with complex emotions as she looked at Jiang Yan and met his gaze.

"It's not that it's inconvenient to talk about it..."

However, this matter concerns the Jiang family's reputation.

If word gets out, it will inevitably affect the Jiang family.

Hearing Qin Wan's thoughts, Jiang Yan frowned slightly, his curiosity growing.

"If you don't mind, you can tell me," Jiang Yan said.

"Actually, it's nothing. It's just that Jiang Nanyu and I only have a marriage contract, not feelings for each other."

"I don't like him, and he doesn't like me either."

"We've only maintained this engagement for the sake of both our families' development."

"Before, neither of us met anyone we liked, so whether or not this engagement should be dissolved is not important."

“But things are different now. Jiang Nanyu and I both have people we want to be with, so this engagement can no longer continue.”

The person I want to go to...

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan paused in surprise.

Does Jiangnan Yu have someone he likes?

And Qin Wan...

Could the person she longs to go to be... him?

Thinking of this, Jiang Yan's pupils trembled slightly.

"Do you know something?"

"Did Jiang Nanyu say something to you?" Jiang Yan tried to change the subject and stop himself from thinking about it any further.

“He didn’t tell me,” Qin Wan said.

She stumbled upon it herself.

If it weren't for that chance encounter, she wouldn't know how long she would have been kept in the dark.

He clearly has someone he likes, and he's been keeping her hidden away for a long time, so why hasn't he made things clear to her yet?

Could it be that he's thinking of keeping the wife at home while having affairs on the side?

Thinking of this, Qin Wan's expression turned slightly unpleasant.

Upon hearing Qin Wan's thoughts, Jiang Yan's expression changed.

Jiangnan Island... This practice is truly despicable.

"If you want to cancel it, then cancel it."

"A marriage alliance is just icing on the cake. If you don't like it, there's no need to force it," Jiang Yan comforted him.

Upon hearing this, Qin Wan's eyes suddenly lit up. She looked intently at Jiang Yan and tentatively asked, "Then... then are you willing to help me?"

"Help you?" Jiang Yan was taken aback.

He helped her?

How can I help?

Meeting Jiang Yan's questioning gaze, Qin Wan smiled mysteriously and whispered something in his ear...