Chapter 40 The Blue Lagoon "How did Mr. Lu know who arrived first..."
Just as he was reminiscing, Chen Cen's phone suddenly rang.
"Xiao Cen, I'm back in Jingjia. Shall we have lunch together?" It was Lu Baichuan, his voice tinged with obvious weariness.
"Brother, you just got back to China. Do you want to rest for a few days to adjust to the time difference? I'm worried you're too tired. There's no rush to eat."
Lu Baichuan chuckled: "What, you're worried about your brother now? It's okay, I rested for a long time on the plane. Just send me the name of the restaurant you want to eat at, and I'll have someone order it."
"Oh well."
Shen Cen thought of the restaurant Jiang Shiyu had taken her to a few times before; it was by the lake with beautiful scenery and the food was quite good. She sent the restaurant's location to Lu Baichuan.
It was almost one o'clock when they arrived at the restaurant. As soon as she entered, Shen Cen saw Lu Baichuan wearing a white shirt. The two hadn't seen each other for a long time, and Lu Baichuan looked much more mature than she remembered.
Lu Baichuan hadn't booked a private room, but rather a two-seater outside. Upon seeing Shen Cen arrive, he immediately stood up and pulled out a table for her, displaying the same considerate and gentlemanly manner as always.
"Thank you, brother." Shen Cen sat down and took the menu from the waiter. "Brother, is there anything you like to eat? These dishes are pretty good. It's on me today."
As she spoke, she flipped to a few pages of the menu and pointed them out to Lu Baichuan.
Lu Baichuan didn't look at the menu. Instead, a subtle change flashed in his eyes as he stared straight at Shen Cen and suddenly asked, "Xiao Cen, do you come to this restaurant often?"
This restaurant is the most upscale in Jingjia, and it's usually where business tycoons choose to hold business meetings. Judging from the way Shen Cen ordered, Lu Baichuan knew she had been here more than once or twice.
Shen Cen then smiled and said, "Jiang Shiyu has brought me here several times."
Sure enough. Lu Baichuan frowned slightly, but quickly returned to normal, so quickly that Shen Cen even thought that Lu Baichuan's frown was just her hallucination.
"It seems he treats you quite well?"
"You've been incredibly good to me." Shen Cen counted on her fingers as she told Lu Baichuan a few things, her expression growing increasingly happy, but Lu Baichuan's smile gradually faded.
As she spoke, Shen Cen's voice gradually lowered. She looked at the serious-looking Lu Baichuan with some confusion: "Brother? What's wrong?"
For some reason, she felt that Lu Baichuan was acting strangely after returning this time, especially when Jiang Shiyu was mentioned, his expression was clearly displeased.
Lu Baichuan tapped his index finger lightly on the table, making a crisp "tap" sound, which drew Shen Cen's attention back: "Xiao Cen, do you know Jiang Shiyu?"
"Huh?" This question left Shen Cen somewhat bewildered. "I understand."
"But you've only known each other for six months. Do you know anything about his family, friends, or his past experiences?"
Shen Cen fell silent after Lu Baichuan's question. Indeed, she knew nothing about Jiang Shiyu's past. But she had also witnessed Jiang Shiyu's kindness towards her, to the point that she felt it didn't matter whether she knew about his past or not.
Lu Baichuan continued, "Xiao Cen, I know you might blame me for being nosy, but now that you're saying you want to have a wedding with this man you've known for only six months, I'm really worried about you actually getting married."
"But brother..."
"Alright, let's eat." Lu Baichuan interrupted Shen Cen, picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and put it in her bowl, his expression as gentle and proper as before.
The atmosphere during the meal was rather somber. Lu Baichuan tried to cheer Shen Cen up by sharing his experiences in Germany, but Shen Cen only smiled faintly.
Halfway through the meal, several men in suits came out of the innermost private room.
"President Jiang, it is truly an honor for me to meet you in person this time."
"President Jiang, it's a pleasure to cooperate with you."
...
The group was quite far apart, and Shen Cen couldn't hear what they were saying, but one of the voices sounded very familiar.
It seems to be... Jiang Shiyu's?
She looked up and, sure enough, saw the most outstanding and conspicuous man in the crowd. He was wearing a well-tailored suit, his sharp features revealing a sense of aloofness and indifference. People around him bowed and nodded, but he merely extended his well-defined hand and gave a perfunctory handshake, his face showing little other expression.
Seemingly noticing that gaze, Jiang Shiyu also looked in Chen Cen's direction as if by telepathy, and immediately saw the woman. He said a few words to the people beside him, and they immediately nodded and made way for Jiang Shiyu to pass first.
Jiang Shiyu strode towards Shen Cen's side.
"Did you eat the fried noodles I left for you this morning? It's so late for lunch, aren't you afraid of going hungry?" He bent down and smiled at Shen Cen with affection, completely unlike the aloof and arrogant Jiang Shiyu from before.
A smile appeared in Shen Cen's eyes: "I've finished all the fried noodles. By the way, this is my brother, the one I mentioned to you before."
Jiang Shiyu's gaze shifted from Shen Cen to the man opposite him. He straightened up and extended a hand: "Hello."
Lu Baichuan politely extended a hand in response: "Hello, I'm Xiao Cen's older brother."
Lu Baichuan tightened his grip on Jiang Shiyu's hand, but Jiang Shiyu's strength was even greater, squeezing him until it hurt a little. However, he remained unfazed.
Seeing that the atmosphere was strangely awkward, Shen Cen coughed lightly and then asked Jiang Shiyu, "What are you doing here? Who were those people just now?"
“A few clients, we were discussing business with them,” Jiang Shiyu explained. Shen Cen immediately knew it was about the bar, so he didn’t ask any more questions and nodded.
Lu Baichuan asked politely, "The dishes were just served not long ago. If Mr. Jiang didn't eat enough, you can join us."
Unexpectedly, Jiang Shiyu actually pulled up a chair from the side and sat down to Shen Cen's right: "It is my great honor."
Lu Baichuan was somewhat embarrassed; he hadn't expected Jiang Shiyu to actually agree. But since he had already said it, he couldn't take it back, so he could only ask the waiter to bring another set of chopsticks and a bowl.
Silence fell over the dinner table again.
Jiang Shiyu broke the silence by speaking: "By the way, just call me by my name from now on. After all, we're all family. Calling me 'Boss Jiang' is too formal. Right, brother?"
Jiang Shiyu emphasized the word "brother" very much.
It was a seemingly respectful form of address, but Lu Baichuan immediately understood the meaning behind it.
In the second half, Lu Baichuan became much quieter, his eyes constantly shifting between the two people in front of him.
Although Jiang Shiyu had agreed to eat together, he barely ate anything, as he was busy serving food and peeling shrimp for Shen Cen. Lu Baichuan tried to serve food to Shen Cen a few times, but he couldn't get a word in edgewise.
With Jiang Shiyu there to lighten the mood, Shen Cen's mood improved considerably, and she was no longer as gloomy as before.
"Waiter." After finishing the meal, Lu Baichuan called to the waiter to pay the bill, but Shen Cen spoke up first, "Brother, we agreed that it would be my treat."
As the two were arguing over who would pay the bill, a waiter came over, looked at the tablet in his hand, and gestured in Jiang Shiyu's direction: "Mr. Jiang has already paid the bill."
"It's my first time meeting you, so this meal should be on me." Jiang Shiyu picked up his suit jacket from the chair and said to Shen Cen with a smile, "I'll head back to Siji now."
-
On the other side, Jiang Shiyu returned to Siji and saw Cheng Jingyan in the private room.
"You, the second boss, are far more competent than I, the first boss." He walked over and sat down, saying casually, "So, what is it?"
"Brother Yu, don't laugh at me. I only came to the bar today because I had something to do. Do you remember that friend I mentioned before? He went back to China, and I'm throwing a party at the bar tonight. Why don't you come too?"
Cheng Jingyan also invited a few other friends, but he didn't have high hopes for Jiang Shiyu. Firstly, he didn't like showing up in crowded places; Jiang Shiyu had almost always declined parties hosted by the other young masters. Secondly, since getting married, Jiang Shiyu had basically gone home early every day, except for unavoidable overtime work.
However, Jiang Shiyu surprisingly agreed today: "Okay."
Cheng Jingyan clicked his tongue twice, incredulous: "The sun must have risen in the west today."
Jiang Shiyu raised an eyebrow: "Or should I leave?"
"No, no, no, Brother Yu, please give me face. You have no idea how much face I have to save by being able to get you to come."
In the evening, the people Cheng Jingyan invited arrived one after another, but the host was the last to arrive.
"Sorry, I spent some time shopping with my sister this afternoon and then had dinner, so I arrived late."
Lu Baichuan pushed open the door and immediately saw Jiang Shiyu sitting at the far end of the sofa. The man had his legs crossed, a wine glass in one hand, and a relaxed expression. Lu Baichuan's expression visibly stiffened.
Others, unaware of the situation, chimed in, "Bai Chuan, years have passed, and you're still the same. You keep talking about your precious little sister. We asked you to bring her to meet us, but you refused!"
Lu Baichuan smiled and said, "Okay, I'll bring her next time..."
Before Lu Baichuan could finish speaking, a loud "bang" rang out as Jiang Shiyu slammed the glass down on the table. The private room fell silent instantly; everyone's eyes turned to him, intimidated by the man's imposing presence and speechless.
Seeing this, Cheng Jingyan sensed Jiang Shiyu's displeasure. Although he didn't know why, he immediately tried to ease the tension with a laugh.
As the scene became lively again, Cheng Jingyan took the opportunity to pull Lu Baichuan in front of Jiang Shiyu and introduced him: "This is our Jiang family's eldest son, Brother Shiyu."
He then said to Jiang Shiyu, "This is the Lu Baichuan I told you about."
Jiang Shiyu raised his hand casually: "Nice to meet you."
Cheng Jingyan keenly sensed that the atmosphere between the two was somewhat strange, assuming that they were not familiar with each other and were not open with each other. He tried to find ways to help them break the ice, but of course, the results were minimal.
"Excuse me for a moment." Midway through the conversation, Lu Baichuan walked out of the private room with a cup in his hand.
Jiang Shiyu stepped out and saw the man standing at the door.
Lu Baichuan clinked his glass against Jiang Shiyu's: "Want to chat?"
Jiang Shiyu: "Okay."
The two went to the next private room. As soon as Lu Baichuan entered, he immediately asked, "What is your purpose in approaching Xiao Cen?"
He tore off his gentle facade.
Jiang Shiyu sneered: "Purpose? Mr. Lu is a bit confused."
"To put it simply, for people of our family background and status, marriage is the most advantageous and convenient way to maximize benefits. There are quite a few people who want to marry into the Jiang family, and Mr. Jiang has turned them down almost all of them, but then he turned around and married Xiao Cen."
"Furthermore, as far as I know, Mr. Jiang and Xiao Cen didn't know each other before. Can you say there's no other purpose behind their hasty marriage?"
Jiang Shiyu listened to Lu Baichuan's words indifferently, not even giving him a glance. After Lu Baichuan finished speaking, he slowly said, "I am different from Mr. Lu. In my opinion, marriage should be pure and should not be tainted by interests."
"So, you like Xiao Cen?" Lu Baichuan gripped his cup tightly.
“Yes.” Jiang Shiyu answered without hesitation.
Lu Baichuan's expression froze. After a long while, he finally asked, "Then do you dare to compete with me fairly for Xiao Cen?"
"Fair competition?" Jiang Shiyu scoffed. He hated the word "competition." Shen Cen wasn't an object; why should people fight over him?
"I think Mr. Lu needs to understand first whether you truly like Xiao Cen or if it's just your inner desire for control at play."
Lu Baichuan was suddenly choked and couldn't say a word.
"If Mr. Lu really likes Xiao Cen, then why hasn't he taken any action all these years? Why did he panic when he saw us getting married? Hmm? Did something provoke you, arousing your competitive and controlling desires? Is this what liking someone is? Mr. Lu might as well think about it carefully."
Jiang Shiyu never bothered to talk to people who disagreed with him, but this time, when it came to Shen Cen, he had to say a few more words.
Lu Baichuan stood there, stunned. Jiang Shiyu was right; even when Chen Zhao and Shen Cen were together, he had never been this flustered.
Whenever Shen Cen and Chen Zhao had relationship problems, he would gently comfort and console them, trying to make Chen Zhao seem even more unreasonable and domineering.
After the two broke up, he had considered it, but he was afraid of gossip and felt that after returning to China to inherit the family business, he would be more secure in his position by marrying into a suitable family, so he hesitated to take action.
He knew that Shen Cen wouldn't be looking for a partner for a while after her breakup, and that Fu Meihua's repeated blind dates would only intensify her rebellious tendencies, so he continued to act with impunity.
Until Jiang Shiyu appeared, and seeing Shen Cen slowly fall in love with this man, he began to panic. He wanted to change everything and turn Shen Cen back into the Shen Cen who only trusted him, her brother.
"I'm leaving. Xiao Cen is still waiting for me at home." Jiang Shiyu waved casually.
Lu Baichuan suddenly came to his senses: "Jiang Shiyu, please understand what the concept of first come, first served means."
"First come, first served?" Jiang Shiyu seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He turned to look at Lu Baichuan, his eyes dimming.
"How does Mr. Lu know who arrived first?"
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Author's Note: President Jiang: I'm going to unleash the aura of the empress [Let me see!]
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