Chapter 48 The Second Brother Who Was Courting Death
He Peixue refused to believe it!
Jiang Zhengye favored sons over daughters, and Jiang Bainian was his eldest son, whose temperament was most like his own. How could he possibly give up on him so easily?
So she waited patiently, but the next message she received was that Dajiang Group had sent a lawyer's letter to the self-media outlets she had bribed.
These self-media outlets, driven by money and traffic, are adept at distorting the truth and are frequently warned by lawyers. Initially, they ignore it, but the next day they're splashed with red paint and have their belongings vandalized…
...That's too arrogant!
...Even more lawless than them!
But even though they knew the Jiang family was behind it, they had no evidence. Unable to withstand the pressure, most of them quickly deleted the sob story written by He Peixue. A few even tried to rise to the challenge and gain more attention, but little did they know that the next step would cause even their relatives and friends to be in turmoil.
Even the most stubborn holdouts couldn't withstand this kind of pressure and all retreated in fear.
At this point, He Peixue, who was outnumbered and outmatched, had no choice but to wait for the Jiang family to negotiate.
But the Jiang family, including Jiang Zhengye, now all listen to Jiang Miaomiao's plans. She, however, has absolutely no interest in discussing them!
...
Jiang Si asked, "What exactly are you thinking?"
Jiang Miaomiao was busy browsing nearby restaurants on her phone when she replied, "I'll talk about it after I finish the paternity test, but the result is pretty much certain."
“That’s true.” Jiang Si nodded. “After all, this is fake. You can’t prevent it for long, and living in fear doesn’t fit the wishful thinking of these women who want to live a life of wealth and ease. Even though the money isn’t coming from our pockets, it still feels disgusting.”
Jiang Miaomiao agreed: "It would be disgusting to let that kind of woman get her way."
But Jiang Si still had a problem: "What do we plan to do with this child? If we keep it in the Jiang family as my brother said, it's like leaving a time bomb, and He Peixue will use her status as the birth mother to harass us later. But if we don't keep it in the Jiang family, she'll have no benefit and will have an abortion. A six-month-old child is a living being, and how to handle it is a big problem."
“This kind of child…” Jiang Miaomiao pondered repeatedly, carefully choosing her words: “…is it really necessary to keep him?”
Jiang Si was stunned: "Shouldn't you be saying 'This is also a life' with righteous indignation?"
Pfft.
Jiang Miaomiao laughed with sarcasm: "To be honest, I have no feelings for this life. I feel disgusted with her and the child because of He Peixue's statement that 'children born out of wedlock have the same inheritance rights as children born in wedlock'! Because a woman like this should not have illegitimate children. It is a great disgrace to the legitimate children of the wife."
"Never mind," she changed the subject, "Jiang Zhongming hasn't been home for two days."
Jiang Si didn't even bother to mention this person. "The silly kid went to negotiate with Cheng Yu, hoping that he would soften his heart for the sake of their cousin relationship. As a result, he was ridiculed and, in a fit of anger, hid in the house of his group of cronies."
"Let him do whatever he wants. I'll take the next few days off to keep an eye on them at home, so you'd better hurry up and do what you need to do."
Jiang Sisha looked at her in surprise, "You really don't want the Da Jiang Group?"
“What would I be here for? I can secretly help you rise to power now, making it two against one, but if you haven’t completely suppressed your second uncle before I leave, and Old Jiang takes over again, it will be back to them vying for power. If you want to compete again, it will be one against two! At that time, I will be too far away to help you…”
Jiang Si fell silent.
After a long silence, she finally sighed, "I understand. But don't underestimate your men. The world isn't black and white. They may be a bit shady, but they have their own methods. You're too bookish and overly meticulous. Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake, and you'll easily suffer losses developing in the inland! So you'd better learn their methods of navigating both the legal and illegal worlds. The inland area now is like Hong Kong in the past, and the Da Jiang Group rose to prominence precisely because of your father's methods."
Jiang Miaomiao suddenly looked up: "You saw my flaws a long time ago, why did you only remind me now?"
Jiang Si was startled by this sudden question, and her expression changed drastically.
She hesitated to speak, revealing her hidden ulterior motives.
The moment their eyes met, Jiang Miaomiao calmly said, "You didn't believe I would give up on Dajiang Group just because I didn't say those words? You weren't planning to enlighten me? To let me continue to run into obstacles in Hong Kong with my bookish idealism and meticulous approach to things?"
Jiang Si frankly admitted, "After all, you really have the ability to compete with me for the Da Jiang Group." So we have to be wary!
"It seems you're more afraid of me than Old Jiang? But Jiang Si..." Jiang Miaomiao laughed, "I really have no interest in getting involved with the Da Jiang Group, because I know the market here is oversaturated. Everyone's clinging to their territory, fighting amongst themselves. If I wanted to join, I'd first have to beat you Jiang people who're all fighting amongst yourselves, and then fight even harder against external forces. At most, I could only manage a 5% increase in profits. Is it worth it? I think it's not worth it at all! So I want to use the Da Jiang Group to transition to the mainland, and then use the preferential policies for attracting talent from the mainland to take root and grow."
She glanced at Jiang Si sideways, a cruel glint in her eyes. "I sent the lawyer's letter through normal procedures, but it was thugs causing trouble... You all think it was Old Jiang who did it?"
Jiang Si listened intently to these words, then suddenly paused, realizing: No, it was Jiang Miaomiao who did it too.
She smiled helplessly, "I underestimated you."
"Just look carefully later. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. The milk tea I ordered for Yan San Sui has arrived." She got up and left, taking the insulated bag of milk tea from the delivery guy at the entrance of Jiang Si's residential area, and then hailed a taxi to the hospital.
She didn't bring a driver because she didn't want people to know she was looking for Jiang Si, and even more so, she didn't want people to know she was getting a paternity test.
...
Many private institutions in Hong Kong offer paternity testing, but the more private they are, the less secretive they seem, like they're trying to hide something.
Unaware of the connections behind these institutions, she simply chose the public hospital where Yan Yousui worked. Since paternity tests are rife with irregularities and must be done personally, even if someone saw her entering or leaving the hospital, they would only assume she was there to meet her boyfriend!
As soon as she got the test report, she couldn't wait to open it before even leaving the report room: "...99.99% confirms a father-son relationship." She sighed and casually tossed it into the shredder thoughtfully provided in the report room.
The paper bins that come with the shredder are already overflowing with shredded paper.
Why.
In the orthopedics department, Dr. Yan was wearing gloves and examining someone's cervical vertebrae.
She waited quietly outside with the milk tea until Yan Yousui had a break and was about to stretch and rest when she was discovered. A smile played on his lips as he strode over, then suddenly frowned: "Still standing there waiting for me to notice? What if I hadn't noticed or had pretended not to notice?"
“You can interfere with anyone but the doctor’s time, after all, it’s about saving lives!” Jiang Miaomiao replied lazily, resting her forehead on his shoulder.
Surprisingly, there was a hint of coquetry in her voice.
He blushed with embarrassment just from her leaning on him.
Yan San Sui murmured softly, "In public, we should be more reserved." But despite saying that, his right little finger was still happily raised.
He opened his mouth and said "ah".
Jiang Miaomiao understood and inserted the straw, then held the milk tea high in the air.
As usual, Yan Yousui asked first, "Have you drunk it? You drink it first."
Jiang Miaomiao said disdainfully, "This drink has double the sugar, it's sickeningly sweet, only you could drink it!"
"So you like spicy food, and I didn't mind." Yan Yousui smiled and tilted her head, taking a big gulp, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster.
She couldn't help but poke him with her finger, "You're such a chatterbox!"
He quickly swallowed his drink, muttering, "No fussing while drinking milk tea."
"Waiting for you to get off work and have dinner?"
"Okay, I want to drink more."
"Hold it yourself, my hands are tired."
"Let me rub it for you."
"Yan San Sui, do you want to take advantage of me?"
"That's called being aboveboard. Humph!" The hum at the end carried a hint of coquetry and willfulness.
Jiang Miaomiao waited another half hour, pressing her phone alone, until Yan Yousui got off work without realizing it.
He took off his white coat, stubbornly pulled her into the examination room to wash and disinfect her hands, and then wiped her fingers clean one by one with a wet wipe.
Jiang Miaomiao said, "Really meticulous."
"You're not happy that I'm washing your hands?" Yan Yousui said softly, her fingers naturally intertwining with his. He smiled through gritted teeth, obedient yet smug.
Yan Yousui took her hand and walked out, asking, "There's a new trendy restaurant that just opened nearby, shall we go try it?"
Along the way, they deliberately swayed their hands back and forth, like presenting a treasure, making other eager female nurses and female patients who had been plotting for a long time stare in disbelief and worry.
***
After dinner, Yan Yousui, as usual, took Jiang Miaomiao home before nine o'clock.
Professional ethics and even more disciplined conduct perfectly capture the heart of every mother-in-law!
Of course, if Jiang Miaomiao's mother were still alive, she would probably like him very much too.
As soon as Jiang Miaomiao entered the room, she saw Jiang Zhengye, Jiang Bainian, and Jiang Jiezhi sitting in a row on the sofa watching TV. The only missing member was Jiang Zhongming.
The polite words before entering: "I'm back."
Now, Jiang Jiezhi is the only one I find somewhat agreeable, so I ask him, "Have you finished your homework?"
"No." Jiang Jiezhi pouted, but wisely withdrew from the drama-watching group, turned around, opened his schoolbag, and took out his exercise book.
After thinking for a moment, he nudged his older brother again: "...I'll do my homework, you can continue facing the wall."
"Noodles my foot!" Jiang Bainian impatiently dodged away. But Jiang Jiezhi insisted again and again, after all, his older brother had indeed made a huge mistake this time.
Jiang Bainian turned his head and glared angrily, but Jiang Jiezhi's eyes widened even more.
Helpless, even to give the youngest son some face, he got up, walked to the corner, squatted down with his head in his hands, and continued to face the wall.
Without his right-hand man to chat with, Jiang Zhengye said listlessly, "Hey, as long as he knows his mistakes and can correct them, that's fine. I've already forgiven him. Jiang Miaomiao, stop being sarcastic. Boss, you continue watching the drama with me. Keep your eyes on this female lead, and stay far away from her in the future. Don't try to steal your old man's woman!"
Jiang Bainian and Jiang Jiezhi were both speechless and choked with emotion.
The latter ignored her, saying, "I'm going upstairs to take a shower." She couldn't be bothered to pay any attention.
Back in her room, she still lives in the poorly soundproofed room at the Jiang family villa.
She habitually locked the door as soon as she entered the room. She took out her pajamas and went into the bathroom, where she spent half an hour washing up. Then she came out again, drying her wet hair, and sat down at the bedside table to pick up her laptop.
A scream suddenly came from the living room downstairs.
Another mischievous act?!
Jiang Miaomiao continued looking at the computer, hoping to avoid being bothered.
Jiang Bainian retorted hastily, "How can you talk when you're asleep? The desk lamp on your desk was still on; I saw it in the next room."
Jiang Miaomiao added, "So what if I saw it? I'm not interested in you."
Jiang Bainian pounded on the door: "You can't just stand by and watch someone die! We're family, after all!"
Jiang Miaomiao scoffed. "When things happen, we're all family; when things don't, we're outsiders."
Jiang Bainian knocked on the door without getting any response, and prepared to kick it open.
Jiang Jiezhi wisely grabbed his leg, "Brother, how can you beg someone like that? Be more sincere!"
"What time is it now? Is she still putting on airs? Piety? How can I be pious? Do you believe that if she's any slower, there won't be a second brother left!"
Jiang Miaomiao carefully closed her laptop, turned around with her chair, and stared at them coldly: "Get lost."
Jiang Bainian braced himself on the ground, glaring at her fiercely: "I won't leave."
"You want to fight?"
"No!" Jiang Bainian shuddered, belatedly recalling those painful memories. He sprang to his feet again, grabbed Jiang Miaomiao's leg, and cried out, "Something happened to the second brother!"
Jiang Miaomiao slowly said, "I don't have a second child."
What does this mean? Is this a dirty joke? Jiang Bainian's lips twitched. "It's your younger brother, Jiang Zhongming, who's in trouble!"
"What could possibly happen to him?"
But she still wanted to drag Jiang Bainian away.
Jiang Bainian's face turned ashen: "He must be feeling terrible about what he did, otherwise he wouldn't have gone racing to clear his head! But they race like their lives depend on it, and now with this messed-up mood, a slight misstep could send them crashing into a ravine..."
"Since you're so worried, why don't you hurry up and save them?"
"I advised him to stop racing, just like my youngest brother advised me to stop messing around with women. It's a man's nature, how can you persuade him?!"
Jiang Miaomiao was speechless, but said, "You're becoming more and more self-aware."
This is ironic! But Jiang Bainian didn't care, and curled his lip: "Anyway, we can't persuade him, but you should be able to. Didn't you keep him from leaving the house for two weeks last time by stabbing him with nails?"
Jiang Miaomiao covered her ears: "It's alright. There are only three possible outcomes for Jiang Zhongming in this race: one is that he's completely unharmed; two is that he crashes and gets injured; three is that he falls into a ravine and dies. The former suits you, and the latter suits Lao Jiang. After all, Lao Jiang just bought everyone a huge insurance policy recently, which is exactly what this situation is about, right? The critical illness insurance and accidental death insurance for the latter two are both substantial compensation payments!"
Jiang Zhengye, who had just come upstairs, roared upon hearing this, "Bullshit! Do I look like the kind of person who needs money to sell his son for insurance payouts?"
Jiang Miaomiao nodded and replied, "It does look quite similar, after all, you once sold me out."
This is such a persistent joke!
Jiang Zhengye was so choked up that he stood there with his hands on his hips, cursing loudly.
The Jiang family villa is in complete chaos again.
Steward Xun could only go to the kitchen and instruct the cook to brew a pot of cooling herbal tea.
Although the Jiang family is predominantly Yin and deficient in Yang, their fiery energy is strong every day.
***
Night.
Outside the port city.
The mountain road winds and twists.
Suddenly someone shouted into the walkie-talkie: "Everyone's here. We're closing the mountain road. The race can start in ten minutes."
The reply came back: "OK, the road up the mountain is now closed."
Seven minutes later, someone suddenly shouted, "Wait! A nanny van is coming up the mountain!"
The black van they were referring to belonged to Jiang Miaomiao, who had been forced to leave home. She was still driving Jiang Zhengye, cautiously navigating the dark mountain road.
At a fork in the road near the mountainside, she chose to face the brightly lit foot of the mountain.
A drone hovered in mid-air above the van. After confirming its trajectory, the monitor immediately shouted, "It's alright, it should be one of our own. Everyone, continue preparing, restart the ten-minute countdown!"
While driving, Jiang Miaomiao casually asked, "Make things clear. The workers are demanding their wages, so how does Jiang Zhongming have the audacity to call the police and have them arrested?"
Jiang Bainian straightened his arms, trying his best to stabilize his swaying body.
He was both apprehensive about the twists and turns of the mountain road and suspicious of Jiang Miaomiao's driving skills.
He feels insecure.
When asked this question, Jiang Bainian's voice became shrill with fright. "He had been thoroughly humiliated by Jiang Chengyu and had never been treated like this before! Then, he overheard from Jiang Chengyu's secretary that the construction site had deliberately hired a lot of undocumented workers to save money. These undocumented workers had all expired their residency permits and, according to government regulations, should have returned to the mainland. But they wanted to make money in Hong Kong, so they secretly did all sorts of odd jobs. With so many people, the pay was low, and they earned 40% less than regular workers! The second son was driven crazy by those workers demanding their wages every day. In a moment of impulse, he called and reported these undocumented workers, thinking that if they were arrested, he wouldn't have to pay any compensation and could save a lot of money."
"Are you out of your minds or were you born brainless?" Jiang Miaomiao spat, wanting to kick them to death.
"Jiang Chengyu clearly had his secretary leak these things to him on purpose, and he really dared to do such a despicable thing? Being an illegal worker is one thing, but Jiang Chengyu was luring them online, then he owed them wages, and finally Jiang Zhongming called the police to arrest them. It's obvious that these people work illegally just to earn money to support their families. Now they have no money and are in jail. What will happen to the elderly, women, and children who depend on them? Their families will be ruined!"
Jiang Bainian's self-deceptive struggle: "...But working illegally is indeed illegal."
Jiang Miaomiao sneered: "They broke the law because they were forced to by life, but what about you and Jiang Bainian? Prostitution is illegal. Modifying cars is also illegal."
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