Chapter 11 Clear Shadow Falls into Half the Pond
The conference room had transparent glass walls, and Jiang Qingying's voice wasn't quiet. The employees in the president's office outside could hear most of it. Everyone who could work in the president's office was an elite among elites, and their ability to extract key points was naturally mature.
The most important words are probably those two.
Arranged marriage...
Sexual activity...
The content was so shocking, it was almost explosive.
The assistant, carrying two cups of coffee, dared not go in, because at this moment, her boss, Jiang Qingying, was furious and could practically breathe fire and burn down the entire Jiang Group building.
The second assistant stood hesitantly at the front desk of the president's office, unsure whether to go forward or retreat.
Fortunately, Lu Jinyuan was kicked out in less than five minutes. But he seemed to be in a good mood, showing no anger whatsoever from being scolded. It was astonishing that the dignified head of the Lu family was publicly insulted like that without getting angry.
Is this a sign of good character or good upbringing?
Neither!
Jiang Qingying scoffed. She knew that Lu Jinyuan's actions were his revenge—revenge for her ignoring him, or revenge for her keeping him hanging on, or something else entirely.
Lu Jinyuan, a cold and heartless man, is a ferocious beast who devours people without spitting out the bones. He treated her with the gentlest of methods.
The only tenderness.
It made her feel utterly ashamed.
Jiang Qingying looked at the paper plan he left behind before leaving, her anger rising. She wanted to tear it to shreds, but after taking a few deep breaths and calming herself down, she held back.
He took the project plan from the table and tossed it at Zhou Yu, saying, "The president's office is closed today. Go home and rest."
Zhou Yu stood there, surprised and delighted. What a wonderful thing!
-
After leaving the Jiang Group, Jiang Qingying didn't let the driver take her home; instead, she drove herself home to sleep.
After a nap, it was nearly midnight. Jiang Qingying leaned against the headboard to come back to her senses and inadvertently glanced at the project plan that she had thrown on the sofa. She stared at it for a few moments, then got up and walked over there.
She sat on the sofa with her legs bent, a few sheets of paper lying lightly on her thighs. Her slender, white fingers flipped through them, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud after a while.
A smile played on his lips as he muttered under his breath, "That dog!"
This so-called plan had no other content after that, and Lu Jinyuan was certain that she would lose her temper at that point.
Jiang Qingying found a pen, thought for a moment, and wrote a line on the last page. After finishing, she admired it for a while with satisfaction before closing the book.
She took a shower to wash away the sleepiness she had just woken up, and feeling refreshed, she sent a message to Qin Qing, telling her that she would be having dinner at the Jiang family home that evening.
Qin Qing was somewhat surprised to receive the message. It hadn't been long since Jiang Qingying had come home for dinner, and Jiang Qingying was usually busy with work. She would usually call and beg her daughter to come home when she missed her.
Hmm... my intuition tells me something's not simple.
Her intuition was confirmed when she saw Jiang Qingying return and immediately run to the study to find Jiang Chen. However, seeing Jiang Qingying's serious expression, she didn't dare to approach her to ask, guessing it was probably about work.
Inside the study.
Jiang Chen was practicing calligraphy when he looked up and saw Jiang Qingying. He smiled and asked, "A rare guest indeed."
Jiang Qingying was used to her father's jokes, so she didn't say anything and stayed quietly by his side, waiting for him to finish practicing the calligraphy.
Jiang Chen's calligraphy is excellent, a skill passed down from generation to generation. The Jiang family was originally a scholarly family with many literary figures. It was Jiang Chen's generation that started doing business, and then Jiang Qingying took over the management of the group. Jiang Xu entered the entertainment industry as an artist, gradually moving away from her grandfather's generation in terms of career. However, the Jiang family has always been open-minded, as long as the things that belong to the family's heritage are passed down.
For example, Jiang Qingying has been practicing calligraphy since she was a child. She and Jiang Xu are two extremes in terms of personality. She is naturally carefree and unrestrained, wild and flamboyant, with a natural rebellious and mischievous nature. She always liked to cause trouble as a child and was punished countless times. Most of the punishments were copying books, various ancient texts, and she had to use a brush to write each stroke neatly.
Jiang Qingying was happy to be punished, and she always had a smile on her face when she was being punished to copy texts, as if she was boldly announcing to the world - I know I was wrong, but I will not change.
Jiang Chen finished writing a piece of calligraphy with fluid strokes, then handed the brush to Jiang Qingying, saying, "Write a few more."
Jiang Qingying suddenly felt a prickling sensation on her back, a surge of pressure. Knowing she wouldn't be punished when she grew up, she stopped writing. Holding the brush, she lightly touched the inkstone a few times, waiting for it to be fully dipped in ink. Then she carefully removed the ink, refined the shape, and adjusted the brush tip—each movement gentle, slow, and methodical. After a moment's thought, she steeled herself and wrote a few characters.
The rules of brushwork in calligraphy are meticulous. Each stroke consists of three steps: the beginning of the stroke, the middle of the stroke, and the ending of the stroke. These steps include starting the stroke against the wind, moving the stroke with the center of the brush, and ending the stroke with a return stroke.
Jiang Qingying was secretly relieved that she hadn't forgotten Guang.
Jiang Chen looked at the characters she had written. She was clearly better at running script, but she was writing regular script instead. He couldn't help but tease her, "Are you deliberately using a script you're not good at so that I can't find fault with you?"
Jiang Qingying playfully stuck out her tongue at him.
"A long wind blows, the moon shines, and a clear shadow falls on half the pond." Jiang Chen smiled. "Why did you decide to write Fan Chengda's poem?"
Jiang Qingying placed the pen on the pen rest and replied, "It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered."
“I remember telling you that your name comes from Su Shi’s poem, ‘Dancing with my shadow, how can it compare to being in the human world?’ It was a wish for you to live a leisurely and carefree life.”
Jiang Qingying nodded, "I know, my teacher mentioned it in class when I was in school, and even praised my name for being nice."
Jiang Chen sat down and asked her, "What do you need me for?"
Jiang Qingying pursed her lips, placed her hands behind her back, walked around to sit opposite him, and said with a serious expression, "Dad, I want to have a marriage alliance with Lu Jinyuan."
Even though Jiang Chen had been a prominent figure in the business world for many years, he was still taken aback by his daughter, and asked in a daze, "So sudden?"
Jiang Qingying was silent for a while, then said, "It is a bit sudden, but I am serious."
"Reason?" Jiang Chen asked.
"What reason do we need for this marriage alliance? It's obviously for the Jiang family."
Jiang Chen's brows furrowed instantly. "Our family doesn't need to use marriage alliances to solidify our position." He paused, thought carefully, and then said, "On the contrary, Lu Jinyuan is the one who has this need."
Jiang Qingying felt there was no need to hide it from her father, so she frankly told Jiang Chen what Lu Jinyuan had told her, and finally softened her tone: "I have made it clear before that my marriage must either give me love or give me benefits. As it stands, Lu Jinyuan is a pretty good candidate."
Jiang Chen's eyes were deep as he gazed into hers. "The Lu family is a very complicated place. I hope you can be happy."
“I know that happiness comes in many forms…” Jiang Qingying seemed to feel unconvincing halfway through her sentence. She looked at Jiang Chen, then glanced down at the poem she had just written. Her voice was soft and devoid of emotion. “Dad, I like him.”
Jiang Chen wasn't startled this time; instead, he scoffed, "You don't need to try to convince me with such words."
Seeing his obvious disbelief, Jiang Qingying smiled helplessly: "Is it really that hard to believe?"
Jiang Chen naturally couldn't believe it. He sighed and said, "You're all grown up now. You can make your own decisions about many things. Rather than asking for my opinion today, you're more like informing me. In any case, I just hope you won't regret it." He then placed a clean sheet of Xuan paper on top of Jiang Qingying's calligraphy and wrote four characters with a brush.
Jiang Qingying glanced at it before leaving.
—Empty room gives rise to white
Only when the mind is free of distractions can one comprehend the truth.
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