Qi Shen stepped into the study. The setting sun outside the window had gradually faded, and the study was dimly lit. He casually turned on the chandelier, and his long legs, encased in perfectly pressed suit trousers, strode towards the reception area.
With the man in front of him no longer blocking his view, the cold light from the dazzling chandelier shone directly into Jiang Yuzhe's eyes.
He squinted uncomfortably, and when he recovered, the refined and handsome man was already sitting on the sofa in the reception area.
Qi Shen leaned back lazily on the sofa, his legs casually crossed. His gaze swept over the boy standing at the door of the study, and he casually smiled, "Come and sit down."
Jiang Yu looked at him but didn't move.
From the moment he returned until now, when he brought him to the study, the man has remained calm and composed, appearing completely confident of victory.
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he immediately asked, "You knew all along that I would come looking for you?"
"Does it matter whether I know it or not?" Qi Shen smiled politely, but his eyes behind his glasses were dark. "What we're about to discuss is the most important thing."
Seeing the man like this, Jiang Yuzhe understood everything. Qi Shen had known all along that he would come looking for him.
Whether he knew or not was of little significance to Qi Shen, because it wasn't Qi Shen who needed a favor today.
It was Jiang Yuzhe.
I've heard elders in the industry occasionally mention that Qi Shen is outwardly refined and cultured, but in reality, he's meticulous and shrewd, and one should only befriend him, not make him an enemy.
He didn't think much of it at the time.
Only now, when he truly faced him, did he realize how terrifying this man was—a master of scheming and manipulating people's hearts.
Like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, once it strikes, it grabs a person's weak point, leaving the besieged with no choice but to accept their fate.
Jiang Yu's fingers, which were hanging by his side, curled up slightly. He took a step forward, closed the door, and walked towards the reception area.
He sat opposite the man, staring intently at him. "What conditions would it take for you to spare my family?"
Qi Shen's voice was calm and unhurried, "I made it very clear to your father before, but I didn't remind you when Young Master Jiang's card was suspended."
A hint of mockery flashed in Jiang Yu's dark eyes.
Ha, the way Young Master Jiang said it was so malicious. What kind of young master is he in front of Qi Shen? He's just an incompetent person who can be manipulated at will.
He said coldly, "What if I don't agree?"
"I'm sorry." The man's handsome face showed no emotion, and his tone remained gentle and calm. He politely raised his hand and said, "Then I can only tell Young Master Jiang that there is still time to change schools and repeat a year, since Shangde is out of the question."
Jiang Yu, his mind unsettled, forced out a single word through gritted teeth, "You..."
Shangde only accepts two types of students: those with outstanding family background and financial resources, or those with absolutely outstanding academic performance.
Jiang Yu is clearly the former.
If he disagrees, not only will his parents not be able to return to their original jobs, but their assets will also be targeted.
He wasn't an ignorant fool, especially considering his father's position made it nearly impossible for him to remain untainted.
As long as Qi Shen persists, his father will definitely get into trouble.
The boy's expression shifted unpredictably, showing both pain and suppressed emotions. Qi Shen took it all in, his dark eyes filled with indifference. "Have you thought it through?"
When people face unfairness, it's because of their own lack of ability.
Qi Shen's methods were despicable, but in the end, Jiang Yu was someone who had no ability to fight back and still dared to covet him.
Jiang Yu gradually composed himself and stared at Qi Shen.
"You schemed against my family, trying to keep me away from Fang Zhi, and the fact that you keep an eye on me all the time shows that you have some reservations about me. You know that Fang Zhi doesn't love you, so you want to eliminate any possibility around her, but please don't forget, Mr. Qi, she is a person, a living, breathing person, and she has her own feelings."
"Fang Zhichun is so innocent and beautiful. Even without me, other suitors would have appeared in her life. Mr. Qi, are you going to completely prevent any possibility of the opposite sex contacting her?"
A shadow crossed Qi Shen's handsome face when he heard "I just realized I don't love you," but he quickly returned to normal.
"I think you've misunderstood." Only now did Qi Shen look at the boy properly, his thin lips slightly upturned. "It's because I care about Zhizhi that I want to understand you, but you mean nothing to me."
What gave Jiang Yuzhe confidence, making him feel that he was wary of him? Just as he said, everything he did was simply to prevent any woman, whether threatening or not, from being around the young girl.
As for love, give him time, and he will transform the girl's respect for him into love.
“Since Young Master Jiang is asking me this, it means you’ve made your choice.” Under the light, Qi Shen’s sharply defined features revealed a hint of disdain. “Now that you’ve made your choice, whether Zhizhi has other suitors in the future is none of your business.”
Jiang Yu's pupils constricted.
From that moment on, he realized that the mature and handsome man in front of him didn't take him seriously at all.
They didn't even consider him a rival.
Without family background or good looks, even if he were the most ordinary student, as long as he appeared by Fang Zhi's side and clung to her, Qi Shen would treat him the same and drive him away.
He chuckled self-deprecatingly; in the end, he was just too weak.
He was so weak that others could easily plunge his family into dire straits, so weak that he dared not gamble with his parents' future.
Jiang Yu closed his eyes and asked weakly, "When will things be alright with my parents?"
"Three days later." A fleeting glint of light flashed in Qi Shen's eyes. The investigation into Director Jiang was almost over, and the result was that he would be reinstated. That little mistake had brought someone down; he wouldn't be able to explain it to the old man.
He merely slowed down the investigation and played a psychological game with Jiang Yu, and the outcome was as he wished.
Qi Shen's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. "Everything in the Jiang family will be the same as before."
Having received the answer, Jiang Yu silently stood up to leave, a gloomy atmosphere hanging over his lean and powerful body.
"Oh, right, wait a moment." Qi Shen raised his eyelids, watching the boy's retreating figure, "There's something else."
Jiang Yu stopped in his tracks without turning around.
"What's up?"
Qi Shen chuckled softly, and to Jiang Yuze, the sound was like a victor's mockery of the loser.
Looking at the boy's straight back, Qi Shen tapped his neat fingertips on his knee and said casually:
“You have a friend who was arrested and taken to the security department. When Young Master Jiang leaves, remember to take him with you.”
After he finished speaking, Jiang Yu said "I know" and forced himself to leave the man's study.
......
No one knew what Qi Shen and Jiang Yuzhe discussed in the study that evening, except for the two of them.
Even Fang Zhi didn't ask her brother again, because she could vaguely guess what was going on.
That day, all the servants in the palace saw the young man walk away with his head down, seemingly lost and bewildered, as if he had lost his soul. Unseen by them, Jiang Yu's eyes were slightly red.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
