Chapter 21 If you don't love someone anymore, you don't love them anymore, who cares...
"Zhiyan, I heard that you have taken over Huawan's business in the Asia-Pacific region recently. How is it going? Is the work very tiring?"
She spoke to him in a young, soft female voice.
Jiang Zhiyan turned around and saw Liu Miaoqi, dressed in a haute couture gown, looking at him with a somewhat helpless smile. She shrugged and lowered her voice.
"I didn't want to come either, but my dad insisted that I come and say hello to you. Just bear with it, say a few words and I'll leave."
Both Jiang Zhiyan herself and the Jiang family are among the most powerful and wealthy in the country, and Liu Miaoqi's family does indeed have the intention of arranging a marriage between them.
But Liu Miaoqi wouldn't be interested in other people's boyfriends.
Please, there are plenty of rich and powerful people who are still single. It's not like she can't find someone better.
It's enough to fool my parents; I can't really be expected to steal someone else's mantle.
Liu Miaoqi smiled and handed Jiang Zhiyan a glass of wine.
One shouldn't hit a smiling face, so Jiang Zhiyan accepted the champagne from her hand, nodded politely, and the two exchanged a few pleasantries.
Jiang Jing, who was not far away, smiled and said to his assistant beside him:
"Look, aren't they a perfect match? They're well-matched in terms of social standing and good looks. They look so good together. Miaoqi is much better than that wild girl."
As Jiang Jing spoke, a twisted smile crept across her face. "Love is nothing more than a product of hormone secretion. I've suffered from it myself, and I won't let my son suffer from it too."
“We are mother and son. He doesn’t need anything that his mother doesn’t have.”
"Aren't you right, Xiao Wang?"
Assistant Wang responded a few times, his forehead covered in a dense layer of cold sweat.
Who would dare to mess with a madman like Jiang Jing? It's not the mentally ill that are scary, but the mentally ill who are rich and powerful.
Normally, no one would be jealous of their child's successful romantic life.
Assistant Wang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and sincerely wished that Xia Zhiyu would stay far away from this family.
If it weren't for the difficulty of finding a job these days, and the high salary of being an assistant to a mental patient, he wouldn't have taken this job.
-
"Come on, say hello to your eldest brother."
Beside Zhao Qian were a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. The girl, Zhao Zhenyuan, had a bright smile and greeted Jiang Zhiyan very cheerfully.
Zhao Fangji's eyes darted away, glancing only at Jiang Zhiyan before looking down at his toes.
Jiang Zhiyan glanced at the two of them coldly, not even bothering to lift an eyelid. He stared at Zhao Qian with a chilling tone.
"Who told you to bring them here? Are you trying to drive my mom crazy again?"
Zhao Qian chuckled and scolded, "How can you talk like that? The main thing is that your younger brother and sister are getting older and it's time for them to meet people. We can't let them stay locked up in the house because of your mother's illness."
“You are close relatives who share the same bloodline.”
"Closest relatives?"
Jiang Zhiyan laughed, "Then why don't they have the surname Jiang?"
Jiang Zhiyan's maternal grandfather had three children. When he was young, he offended someone because of business. His eldest son died of a heart attack, and his youngest son died in a car accident while traveling in Australia. In the end, only his second son, Jiang Jing, survived to adulthood.
Grandpa Jiang protected Jiang Jing like the apple of his eye, which led to Jiang Jing having a smooth life from childhood to adulthood, until finally he suffered a major setback in love.
Zhao Qian was a golden phoenix that flew out of the remote mountain village of Fujian Province. His mother died early and his father raised him alone. He lived up to expectations, not only being good-looking but also becoming the only student in the entire village to be admitted to a top university. Later, he even received a full scholarship to study abroad.
He met Jiang Jing in England.
By the time Grandpa Jiang discovered this, Jiang Jing had been living with Zhao Qian for half a year and was pregnant with Jiang Zhiyan.
Zhao Qian was expelled from school on the spot. If Jiang Jing hadn't threatened to starve himself to death, Old Master Jiang would have definitely sent Zhao Qian to prison.
Unfortunately, parents who love their children can never outdo their children.
Old Master Jiang gave in.
To appease Jiang Jing, Zhao Qian started his career at Jiang's company as a manager and rose rapidly through the ranks. He was also adept at disguising himself and had excellent public image, so everyone at Jiang's company spoke highly of him.
Ironically, it was Zhao Qian who suggested that Jiang Zhiyan take his mother's surname, just to put Old Master Jiang at ease and leave the business to Jiang Jing without worry. After Jiang Zhiyan was born, Zhao Qian even had a tubal ligation.
However, when Jiang Zhiyan was five years old, Grandpa Jiang was diagnosed with cancer and had to take a break, so most of the management of the company was handed over to Jiang Jing. Giving power to Jiang Jing was no different from giving it to Zhao Qian. Without Grandpa Jiang to keep him in check, Zhao Qian quickly found a mistress and got IVF.
He had frozen his sperm before getting a vasectomy, and shortly after, he secretly had it reversed. His sole purpose was to get the Jiang family's assets into the hands of the Zhao family, regardless of whether it was actually him or not.
These two children are only five years younger than Jiang Zhiyan.
The devil is always one step ahead of the saint. No one expected that Old Master Jiang would bypass Jiang Jing and hand over the family business and trust to Jiang Zhiyan, who would be controlled by the board of directors until he came of age, even though Jiang Zhiyan was only twelve years old at the time.
The old man only left Jiang Jing some real estate and shares, which Jiang Jing could not even receive until Jiang Zhiyan turned twenty, a blatant betrayal of Zhao Qian.
Jiang Zhiyan still clearly remembers when he was twelve years old, standing in front of Grandpa Jiang's sickbed, Grandpa Jiang's thin, bony fingers pressing hard against his forehead.
He warned Jiang Zhiyan that the people he could never trust in the world were his parents. His mother was stupid and his father was evil. If he wanted to live, he had to be extremely careful, or he would be eaten alive, leaving not even bones behind.
He still vividly remembers the despair, pain, and raging fury in the old man's eyes.
Things turned out exactly as Grandpa Jiang had predicted. Poisoning, brake tampering... Jiang Zhiyan had experienced it all. He survived to this day by sheer luck, to the point that Zhao Qian had to act subservient and beg Jiang Zhiyan for the sake of his two children's future.
They are truly flexible and adaptable.
As expected of someone who cherishes their surname above all else, the first thing they did after making money was to repair the Zhao family ancestral hall. In order for their son to share the same surname, they were willing to try to kill another son.
Blood relatives? Clan? Surname?
That's ridiculous.
Jiang Zhiyan's eyes revealed a mocking expression.
Zhao Qian's smile was disgusting, as if he were wearing a mask.
"Let bygones be bygones. I was young and impetuous before, so don't take my mistakes to heart. As for your mother, I'll apologize to her, and she will definitely forgive me."
“The child is innocent. Considering that you all share the same blood, as long as Zhenyuan and Fangji can have jobs, that’s fine.”
"This is better for all of us, and you don't want to upset your mother, do you?"
"After all, she is still the largest shareholder of Huawan and holds 20% of Jiang's shares. What will happen to the stock price if some scandal breaks out?"
The fox's tail was clearly exposed to Jiang Zhiyan.
The banquet was drawing to a close, and major media outlets had already swarmed into the exhibition hall, trying to seize any information they could get their hands on and report it immediately. If they could also get some sex scandals or gossip about certain top-tier families, it would be a sure thing on the front page.
If Zhao Qian were to provoke Jiang Jing in this situation, given Jiang Jing's current fragile nerves and illness, who knows what he might do.
Jiang Zhiyan's years of painstaking efforts to salvage the Jiang family's reputation will be severely damaged, especially since Huawan is currently facing a crucial stage of international financing.
In the international market, investors value not only a company's financial statements and market share, but also the stability of the Jiang family and the reputation of its shareholders. If Jiang Jing is involved in a scandal, whether it is a mental illness or something else, even if the Jiang family's fundamentals are not immediately damaged, investors will doubt the stability of the management and thus tighten their funding.
Jiang Zhiyan had already learned her lesson once in this matter.
Zhao Qian really had a brilliant plan.
As the Veuve Clicquot champagne slid down his throat, its cool and spicy sensation reminded Jiang Zhiyan of a viewpoint he had seen before: why do rich people like champagne?
Because champagne foam is light, even if it is shaken and sprayed out, it will only turn into white mist in the air. Even if it gets on your hair or clothes, it will not leave a pungent smell after it dries, unlike red wine and beer, which leave color and smell.
That's very respectable.
A laughable, pale, and desolate dignity.
Before meeting Xia Zhiyu, his life was so disgusting that it was nothing but filth.
Love doesn't care about appearances, but no one loves Jiang Zhiyan.
It wasn't until Xia Zhiyu repeatedly and steadfastly chose him that Jiang Zhiyan experienced the feeling of being loved for the first time in his life.
It was very windy that day. Xia Zhiyu was wearing a pink hooded sweatshirt and had her hair tied in a high ponytail. She started to stutter nervously as soon as she greeted him.
Jiang Zhiyan was also nervous, afraid that Xia Zhiyu would ask him again when the next legal aid session would be.
This has been happening every time lately; he feels like Xia Zhiyu is about to confess her feelings to him any second. She's wearing sparkly lipstick, is she planning to kiss him after confessing? But what happens?
Every time it's either work or asking questions.
His Apple Watch alerted him twice because of his fluctuating heart rate.
Jiang Zhiyan looked at Xia Zhiyu quietly and asked her in a seemingly gentle tone what was wrong.
Xia Zhiyu's face was flushed, and she hesitated to speak.
This must be a confession, right? Jiang Zhiyan's heart was pounding, his heart rate was approaching 200, and his feet felt like they were floating in the air.
He watched as Xia Zhiyu's fingers twisted nervously into a knot, so cute that he wanted to hold them in his hand and kiss and rub them gently.
Please confess your feelings! I'm begging you! Even a god's heart can't handle this kind of intense work; he can hardly breathe.
Jiang Zhiyan almost painfully pried open Xia Zhiyu's tightly pursed lips and asked, "Is it so hard to say 'I like you' and 'I want to date you'?"
Wouldn't it be better to free both of us?
Jiang Zhiyan's heart pounded violently in his chest, the echo vibrating his eardrums. His palms were covered in cold sweat. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He felt like a condemned prisoner about to be sent to the gallows, so tormented that he wished he could kill himself.
He watched as Xia Zhiyu nervously licked her lips, making her already rosy lips appear even more glossy, like thin-skinned cherries hanging on the branches of a tree in the height of summer, which would break open with a slight rub of the fingertip and then drip sweet juice.
The girl's voice was tense, her toes were raised and touching the ground, and her hands were behind her back.
"My parents would like to invite you to dinner."
Jiang Zhiyan: Meeting the parents so soon?
...
Xia Zhiyu's parents came specifically to thank Jiang Zhiyan for rescuing their only child from the mud. The two of them spent a lot of money, booking a restaurant that cost 1,000 yuan per person. This meal cost Xia Zhiyu's father a month's salary.
Their family isn't wealthy; you can tell at a glance.
Whether it was Xia's mother's rough, cracked hands or Xia's father's noticeably awkward smile after entering the restaurant, they clearly told Jiang Zhiyan that he and his family were not from the same world.
If you could choose between being poor but happy and being rich but having an unhappy family, which would you choose?
Jiang Zhiyan watched as Xia Zhiyu's father carefully removed the soft spines from the white fish's belly, and then placed the plate piled high with soft, white fish meat in front of Xia Zhiyu's mother.
He listened as Xia Zhiyu grumbled to her parents about how outrageous the school's fall recruitment season was, which company boss was particularly heartless, only wanting to spend 2,800 yuan to hire a nuclear-powered donkey that pulls the millstone 24 hours a day, and constantly saying that in the current market environment, it's good enough to find a job, so don't be picky.
Xia Zhiyu's mother joined in her daughter's rant, saying, "Oh, this kind of heartless boss! We're not going to work for that kind of hard-earned money, my dear. You can find a job slowly, there's no rush. You can always continue your studies. You're still so young, your parents will support you."
Xia's father interjected, "Is your living allowance enough? I've transferred another two thousand to your bank card. Writing your graduation thesis is hard work, so make sure you eat well."
As she spoke, she added another spoonful of soup to Xia Zhiyu's bowl, saying, "Eat more, eat more. Look how thin you are. Have you not been eating properly at school lately?"
Jiang Zhiyan noticed that Xia Zhiyu was different in front of his parents than she was in front of him.
Xia Zhiyu, who was in front of him, always tried to quickly become an adult like him. When she spoke, she would slow down her speech and flatten her tone, trying to appear mature.
In front of her parents, Xia Zhiyu was like a high school student, pouring out her grievances like beans, with a touch of spoiled charm in her eyes and brows, a natural result of being pitied.
Is this what a normal family is like?
Jiang Zhiyan smiled and continued the conversation.
...
Love doesn't care about appearances, but those who have love are themselves quite dignified, so they naturally don't need champagne to embellish their lives.
What about Xia Zhiyu? Was her determination to break up with him also because she realized she didn't want this superficial respectability?
Does she no longer love him?
Jiang Zhiyan put down the champagne, overwhelmed by a wave of exhaustion, his heart aching as if it were being torn apart.
Seven or eight policemen suddenly rushed into the banquet hall, the media were cleared out of the venue, and two of the policemen swiftly handcuffed Zhao Qian.
What are you doing!
Zhao Qian's expression was replaced by terror. He struggled twice and said in a panicked voice, "What right do you have to arrest me!"
"Based on your suspected acceptance of bribes and job-related crimes."
Jiang Zhiyan raised her eyelids and gave him a cold look. "Do you really think I didn't notice all those little tricks you used?"
Zhao Qian roared like a madman, "You're a lunatic, Jiang Zhiyan! I'm your father, and you actually called the police to arrest me! All of you Jiangs are ungrateful beasts, ingrates!"
"Your mother is the same, and so are you; you're both cold-blooded animals without feelings."
Jiang Zhiyan laughed, "My surname is Jiang, not Zhao, so of course it has nothing to do with you."
"You said it yourself, have you forgotten?"
The next day, when Ren Yu and Xia Zhiyu were packing their things to send a package, only the aunt was there; Jiang Zhiyan was not.
When Xia Zhiyu didn't see Jiang Zhiyan in the house, she felt a strange sense of relief.
She didn't want to get entangled with Jiang Zhiyan anymore. Whether it was arguing or whatever, she had already been drained once and couldn't afford to go through that again.
The aunt had finished packing most of the things, leaving only some odds and ends that Xia Zhiyu was unsure whether she wanted.
After Xia Zhiyu took out some more things that didn't belong to her, there were even fewer suitcases left. Including the inflatable strips for protection, there were only seven suitcases. The shipping cost was even cheaper than Xia Zhiyu had expected.
The house suddenly felt much emptier, giving it a strangely familiar feel.
Opposite the brown leather sofa was a projection screen, where she and Jiang Zhiyan watched all of Stephen Chow's comedy movies. The shelves held board games, puzzles, and Lego toys; the completed ones were displayed in the showcase, while the unfinished ones were on the bottom two shelves.
Jiang Zhiyan especially loves buying Lego and puzzles, but both of them are busy and don't have much time to put them together.
Often, on a sunny afternoon after a case had ended, the scattered puzzle pieces were strewn all over the floor, the assembled music box was wound up, and the wedding in the dream flowed slowly in the golden sunlight. Xia Zhiyu took the last little figure that Jiang Zhiyan had assembled and placed it into the three-story house with tweezers.
After finishing her work, Jiang Zhiyan went to fry steaks and make juice. Xia Zhiyu, wary of Xia Xiaojiang who was eager to push the assembled house off the table, carefully placed it into the glass display case.
Jiang Zhiyan's voice, asking her how well-done her steak would be tonight, still seemed to echo in her ears.
She walked through the living room, bedroom, study, and dressing room, each room filled with memories of her and Jiang Zhiyan.
"Ms. Xia, please sign here and check the items before I take them away."
The deliveryman's voice rang in my ears.
Xia Zhiyu abruptly snapped out of her reverie, habitually flashing a professional smile, as if that could conceal the sense of loss in her heart.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work."
The SF Express deliveryman printed out a row of slips of paper from the machine, and the aunt helped him stick them on the box.
The room was empty, but the luggage was full.
As Xia Zhiyu stepped out of the room and looked back, her vision still blurred.
Ren Yu put his arm around her shoulder and patted her, whispering, "Don't cry, it's okay, Yu Yu. It's just a relationship. It's over, and the next one will be better."
Xia Zhiyu gave a soft "hmm," her fingers gripping the bag so tightly they turned white, her eyes were terribly red, and her voice was thick with a nasal tone.
Xia Zhiyu didn't need to swipe her elevator card to go downstairs. She took the access card off her keychain and put it in the drawer of the cabinet by the door.
The metal magnetic card fell into the wooden cabinet with a click.
The sound of suitcase wheels faded away, and the elevator doors closed.
The stairwell was dimly lit, and the smoke blurred his features. Jiang Zhiyan leaned against the stair railing with his head down, his blood seemingly frozen into ice crystals, tearing at his flesh inch by inch, causing him excruciating pain.
After a long while, he suddenly bent over, gasping for breath. The intense pain of suffocation coursed through his nerves, and cold sweat soaked through his shirt, sliding down his jawline and splashing onto the translucent white tiles, leaving a winding trail of water.
She actually left, and Ren Yu was with her.
The salty, astringent taste of blood filled his mouth, but Jiang Zhiyan seemed oblivious to the pain, biting the inside of his lip in a self-destructive manner.
Why did you contact Ren Yu again? Didn't you have a complete falling out?
When did you two get back together, before or after our breakup?
Ren Yu said such hurtful things to you, why did you forgive him?
If you can forgive him, why can't you forgive me?
If you can give him another chance, why can't you give me one?
Don't you love me anymore?
Fish.
I changed my shoes and went inside. The house was as cold as if it had snowed all night. It was icy and bone-chilling. Every breath I took was filled with the smell of blood. My once warm home was now like a living hell.
If you don't love someone anymore, you just don't love them anymore.
Who cares about her love?
He wasn't a dog she could summon and dismiss at will.
Jiang Zhiyan's brows and eyes were cold and stern, but his eyes were filled with an icy desolation.
"Sir? Mr. Jiang?"
The nanny was startled by his disheveled appearance. "Should I call a doctor for you?"
"..."
"Need not."
Jiang Zhiyan's voice was terribly hoarse, "She didn't take anything from the display cases and the dressing room?"
"Yes, Miss Xia only packed her own things. The jewelry I had packed was taken out and put back by her."
Put it back?
Did the gifts he gave get thrown away like he did?
Jiang Zhiyan's heart pounded, and he pressed his chest, trying to suppress the urge to rush downstairs and forcibly bring Xia Zhiyu back.
"Please contact Dr. Song. The medication he prescribed for my mother to relieve anxiety worked very well. Please ask him to prescribe some more and send it here."
The living room is empty, the bedroom is empty, and the study is empty.
Loneliness opened its abyssal maw and swiftly swallowed Jiang Zhiyan.
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