31. Past and Present

Walking up the stairs and back to the corridor where Chen Yunsheng's room was, the surroundings finally quieted down. Jiang Nan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if he had escaped from a steaming hot steamer.

"That Miss Liang..." Jiang Nan hesitated for a moment, then spoke. She felt she needed to be sure of Chen Yunsheng's attitude before she could manage her own.

Chen Yunsheng pushed the door open and let her in first. After Jiang Nan entered, he followed her in, then closed and locked the door. Then, while turning on the light, he slowly spoke: "Liang Yue, my second uncle... the niece of a business partner."

There was a hint of hidden annoyance in his tone: "Before marrying you, my second uncle tried his best to bring us together and arranged for us to meet."

"A blind date?" Jiang Nan was a little surprised. At the same time, she suddenly remembered the hint from her distant cousin and vaguely connected the two things.

"Well," Chen Yunsheng walked to the window, leaned on the windowsill, looked at her and said, "I met her once. Later, she came to visit our house several times for various reasons. Grandpa and my parents didn't like her very much."

"Why?" Jiang Nan was a little curious. Although she could sense Liang Yue's deliberateness and boasting during their brief interaction, it didn't seem to be enough to disgust the Chen family.

"She's arrogant, very... pretentious, and overly motivated," Chen Yunsheng concluded succinctly. "Furthermore, her family's relationship with Second Uncle is rather complicated." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Some of Second Uncle's business and personal interactions aren't entirely appropriate. For example, Liang Yue's family hopes that through a marriage, Second Uncle will be able to more easily mobilize Chen family resources to support the development of their own company."

He spoke subtly, but Jiang Nan understood.

Second Uncle Chen Minghui likely had some less-than-publicized business dealings and personal connections, and Liang Yue's family was a part of them. In other words, Second Uncle and Second Aunt, childless, were desperate to find an ally, even going so far as to target Chen Yunsheng, hoping to consolidate their position and interests within the Chen family through marriage.

This evening's incident was a deliberate attempt by the Second Uncle and Second Aunt to disrupt the situation. Firstly, they were angry that she had received the bracelet, which represented her approval, and wanted to make her unhappy. Secondly, they were testing Chen Yunsheng's reaction, perhaps also hoping to let Liang Yue take advantage of the opportunity to show off and squeeze her out.

After guessing the key, Jiang Nan thought, no wonder Chen Yunsheng would find an agreement wife to take his place.

Judging from the attitude of the second uncle and the second aunt, if Chen Yunsheng still doesn't agree, I'm afraid they will find another way and use some extraordinary means to assist their people in occupying the position of Chen's granddaughter-in-law.

"So, this is why grandpa and the others don't like her?" Jiang Nan asked.

"That's the main reason, but it also has something to do with her family," Chen Yunsheng stated calmly. "Grandpa values ​​the family's reputation, and my parents don't like people who think too much. And I," he looked at Jiang Nan intently, his eyes calm and firm, "I really hate being calculated and manipulated."

Jiang Nan nodded in understanding, suddenly feeling that Second Aunt Li Li's mention of changing her words today was also intentional. Li Li wanted her to appear even more ignorant of the rules and unpresentable in comparison with Liang Yue, thus causing the Chen family to resent her.

It seems to be a small fight, but in fact it is a chain of events.

"Then your uncle and aunt are..." Jiang Nan's voice gradually faded, she found it a little unbelievable. Fortunately, she and Chen Yunsheng were fake. If a girl who truly loved Chen Yunsheng married into the family and saw such a scene, even if she didn't care, it would become a thorn in her heart.

"They have their own anxieties and plans," Chen Yunsheng said, unwilling to dwell on Chen Minghui's troubles. He simply concluded, "You don't have to pay attention to them, and don't take Liang Yue to heart. She has nothing to do with us."

"I understand." Jiang Nan nodded, but she couldn't help but think that this arranged marriage wasn't as peaceful as she'd imagined. She might be involved in more family turmoil in the next two years. Chen Yunsheng's position, while prestigious, also required constant vigilance.

Chen Yunsheng checked the time and said softly, "It's getting late. You've been tired all day. Go wash up first. It's still the same old routine. You sleep on the bed and I'll sleep on the couch."

Jiang Nan recalled the awkwardness of being in the same room with him last time, and her cheeks heated up slightly before she nodded quickly, "Okay."

After saying that, she picked up her pajamas and toiletry bag and walked quickly into the bathroom.

——

After washing up, Jiang Nan came out in long-sleeved pajamas and long pants, her hair wet and draped over her shoulders. At that time, Chen Yunsheng was sitting at the desk, looking serious at his laptop.

Hearing the noise of Jiang Nan coming out, he turned around and looked: "Are you done washing?"

"Yeah." Jiang Nan agreed, wiping his hair with a towel and standing in the middle of the room a little awkwardly.

"The hair dryer should be in the second drawer under the bathroom cabinet." Chen Yunsheng reminded, and his eyes returned to the screen. His fingers tapped on the keyboard, as if he was still working.

"Okay, thank you." Jiang Nan went back and found the hair dryer in the cabinet.

After a while, a buzzing sound was heard in the bathroom.

Jiang Nan looked at his slightly pale face in the mirror, his mind still recalling the scenes of the day - Li Li's difficulties, Liang Yue's hostility, Chen Minghui's indulgence under the seemingly smooth appearance, the changing expressions of the Chen family, and Chen Yunsheng's words that she has nothing to do with us.

Compared to now, she actually misses the time when she just got married. Every day was ordinary and she didn't have to think about these things at all.

She sighed, turned off the hairdryer, and put it back in its place.

Jiang Nan took a few deep breaths before leaving the bathroom again. By this time, Chen Yunsheng had already closed his computer and was standing by the window, making a phone call. His voice was low, his tone a gentle yet assertive one often found at work.

Jiang Nan walked to the bed as quietly as possible and sat down, then picked up her cell phone and pretended to look through it, but her ears couldn't help but catch his words.

"Also, keep a close eye on Second Uncle. Yes, he brought someone from the Liang family back again today. Yeah, I know. There's no need to alert them, just keep an eye on them."

When Jiang Nan heard the name "Second Uncle", his eyes blinked quickly.

It seemed that he had actually been aware of his uncle's actions all along, and might even have been secretly on guard against them. Or perhaps, she, the wife of the agreement, was also part of his defense.

Chen Yunsheng quickly ended the call. Turning around, he saw Jiang Nan sitting beside the bed. He was stunned for a moment, then his expression immediately returned to normal: "Are you done?"

"Well," Jiang Nan put down the phone, "Are you...still busy?"

"Almost done," he put his phone on the table, rubbed his brow, a trace of fatigue appeared on his face, "I mentioned Liang Yue before-"

"It's okay, no need to say more," Jiang Nan said quickly, "I think I understand."

She didn't want to pry too much into the disputes in their family. She instinctively felt that the more she knew, the harder it would be to escape from this vortex.

Chen Yunsheng was silent for a second or two before responding, "Okay."

His eyes lingered on her downcast brows several times, trying to find some other emotion on her face.

But no.

She just sat there quietly, fiddling with her hair silently, as if all the troubles she had experienced in the afternoon were just an insignificant episode that would pass and had no special meaning to her.

Chen Yunsheng looked away uncomfortably.

He had originally thought that she would at least be a little curious, or even a little concerned. Even from the perspective of a partner in the agreement, asking about Liang Yue, the former blind date who suddenly appeared, was a normal reaction.

But she just acted as if it had nothing to do with her.

Polite, respectful, and maintaining distance, he perfectly fulfilled his role in the agreement. This businesslike indifference sometimes made him feel even more distant than obvious distance. And the faint glimmer of anticipation he'd harbored, one he hadn't even noticed, was quietly replaced by a feeling resembling loss.

Chen Yunsheng looked at Wuthering Heights on the bookshelf next to him and suddenly asked, "When Second Aunt asked you to change your words today, were you a little... embarrassed?"

Jiang Nan didn't expect him to ask this out of the blue. After hesitating for a moment, she gave an honest answer: "A little bit. After all, we—" She paused, not saying the word "contractual relationship" aloud, "After all, the situation is special."

"This won't happen again," Chen Yunsheng said seriously, "I'll take care of it."

His eyes fell on her face again, with an indescribable concentration, which made Jiang Nan's heart beat faster involuntarily. She looked away and said softly, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He was silent for a few seconds, wanting to say something, but in the end he just said, "It's late, go get some rest."

"Okay." Jiang Nan was as if she had been pardoned. She quickly threw back the quilt and lay down. Then, she turned her back to him and wrapped herself tightly.

Chen Yunsheng looked at the back of her round head, turned around, picked up his clothes, and walked into the bathroom.

Jiang Nan breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the bathroom door close.

After a while, the sound of water was heard in the bathroom.

Jiang Nan felt her face getting slightly hot as she listened to the sound. Last time, he showered in another bathroom, and she hadn't noticed anything. But this time, as she lay in bed, the sound of him washing echoed in her ears, she suddenly felt a little embarrassed and ashamed.

After struggling for a few minutes, she reached for her phone, hoping to distract herself with entertainment.

But the screen was empty, with only a message from Wenwen asking her for project information.

She replied to Wenwen and then began to browse the blog posts on the social platform.

In fact, Jiang Nan was not uncurious about what Chen Yunsheng wanted to say just now, but there were undercurrents beneath the calmness of the Chen family. If she wanted to get out of this unscathed, it would be best for her to stay away from those confrontations.

At this moment, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped, and then the hum of a hair dryer sounded. After about a few minutes, the sound of the hair dryer also stopped, and then Chen Yunsheng came out wearing gray home clothes, with half-dried hair, which weakened his usual coldness and made him look a little softer.

He glanced at Jiang Nan, who was still looking at her phone, and asked casually, "Still working?"

Jiang Nan put down his phone and replied vaguely, "It's over."

For a moment, the only sound in the room was the shallow breathing of the two people. Jiang Nan lay down on her side and closed her eyes. But she could still clearly feel Chen Yunsheng moving around the room—he turned off the ceiling light, leaving only a dim table lamp, and then walked over to the couch and lay down.

Once immersed in darkness, your senses become extraordinarily sharp.

She could smell the faint scent of cedar in the air and hear the subtle rustle of his clothes as he turned over.

"Jiang Nan." He suddenly called her name softly.

Jiang Nan nervously clutched the quilt and replied, "Hmm?"

"Grandpa actually likes you very much," his voice fell into her ears through the night, "He defended you today with all his heart."

Jiang Nan didn't expect him to say this, and her heart warmed slightly: "Yeah, I know. Grandpa is very good."

"So no matter what my parents, or my uncle and aunt say or do, you don't have to take it too seriously," he continued. "In this family, Grandpa's attitude is the most important. And my attitude," he paused, weighing his words, "is also very clear."

Jiang Nan pursed her lips, not knowing how to respond, nor wanting to guess what he meant, so she just hummed vaguely.

He fell silent again, and then Jiang Nan also fell silent.

Then silence fell again.