Episode 25 Illegitimate Daughter
The next morning.
Xu Yiwei looked at the gorgeous ceiling and for a moment wondered if he had died last night and gone to heaven.
As a result, when I turned over, I was sobered up in an instant by the mixed smell of cigarettes and alcohol on my body!
Although she was dazed last night, she knew that it was Jiang Shu who finally rescued her and brought her home. According to this routine, sleeping with her "benefactor" was a must, but he not only refused, but also yelled at her.
As for what she yelled about, she no longer remembered it. She just remembered taking off her makeup casually, taking a shower, and as soon as her head touched the pillow, she ascended directly to "heaven".
She got up, packed up, and made herself look presentable before leaving the room. She looked around curiously at the villa she couldn't afford, full of envy.
As soon as he reached the first floor, he happened to run into Jiang Shu, who had just finished his morning run and rushed in. He was wearing quick-drying clothes, and the texture of his muscles was faintly visible. A thin layer of sweat ran down his ears, soaking the towel around his neck...
A 34-year-old middle-aged man, full of vigor and vitality, looks much more alive than a 21-year-old college student like her - and he still needs money to support himself.
"Morning?"
Xu Yiwei grinned at the rich man. Her unmade-up face, without the deliberate flattery she had done in the KTV last night, looked elegant and refined.
But Jiang Shu didn't even look at her. He walked straight to the kitchen and took a large bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator and started drinking it.
"I want some water, too."
Xu Yiwei was not timid at all and asked for it as soon as he opened his mouth.
Jiang Shu took out another bottle and was about to hand it to her, but she added, "I want some hot water."
He pointed to the water dispenser and said, "Pour it yourself."
Xu Yiwei then walked over to him, looked at the transparent drawer under the island, which was filled with almost identical glass cups, and asked, "Which cup should I use?"
"Whatever, just wash it and put it back where it belongs after use."
After receiving the order, she immediately pulled out the most eye-catching crystal cup with the most exquisite pattern. It was obviously the cup Jiang Shu often used. As if doing it on purpose, she picked it up and was about to collect hot water...
“Oh, it’s so hot!”
With a click, the crystal cup died heroically.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I... I don't know how to operate this machine. I'll help you clean it up right away..."
As she spoke, the girl squatted down first, not giving him any excuse to stop her...
She did it on purpose.
Judging from her actions from last night till now, she just wants to rely on him.
Seeing this, Jiang Shu also took advantage of the situation:
"Then take your time packing. The medicine box is in the fourth compartment of the cupboard, and the mop is in the storage room at the stairwell."
“…?”
The girl's body suddenly stiffened.
"Also, this cup was made by an old craftsman in Japan. It's a one-of-a-kind piece. I've only used it three times. I'll give it to you at a discount of 5,000 RMB."
After saying that, Jiang Shu put the mineral water back into the refrigerator and turned to go upstairs.
Seeing that he was so rude, Xu Yiwei stopped pretending and directly provoked him——
"I don't have any money, but I need a person. Do you want one?"
It's the same thing again.
Jiang Shu rolled his eyes silently in his heart, not realizing that he had seen a lot of this kind of talk when he was young. If he said this to a younger man, he might buy it, but now, he just thought it was ridiculous and childish.
"I've seen many women like you. Do you really think I couldn't see what you were thinking last night?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Yiwei's expression froze for a moment, showing a bit of timidity, but on the surface he was still very stubborn.
"So what if he saw it? Isn't it just a matter of mutual benefit? I've seen plenty of men like you. They're married, yet they pretend to be single, living a life of debauchery behind their wives' backs, and even bringing their mistresses back to their private villas..."
"How did you know I was married?"
Xu Yiwei folded his arms, half leaning against the counter, and mocked him with a solemn oath - "Weren't the mother and daughter in the restaurant last time your wife and child? You paid the bill for me without her knowledge, and I still have the signed receipt. Do you think I'm stupid?"
…
When people are extremely helpless, they will really laugh. Jiang Shu couldn't bear to expose her directly, so he learned to persuade her earnestly once.
"You're so eager to get into my bed, yet you haven't even figured out my marital status. Just based on a few casual glances, you're imagining things. Don't you think that's ridiculous? I advise you to stop being so self-righteous. To be respected by others, you don't have to be honest, but you don't have to be self-deprecating either. You're not qualified to talk to me about mutually beneficial relationships."
The noise was so overwhelming that Xu Yiwei was speechless.
"Clean up the ground before you leave."
Jiang Shu threw away the towel and went upstairs without looking back.
Xu Yiwei stared blankly at the broken pieces of crystal glass on the marble floor, pondering the meaning of his last words - so he meant that she didn't have to pay 5,000 RMB?
Jiang Shu stayed in his study the entire morning, occasionally checking in with partners in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia on the latest operational progress to see if anything needed to be improved or promoted so that he could assign tasks to his subordinates.
It was true what he had told Lin Ying last time that he wanted to go home. He had planned to go back this weekend, but was turned away by her. Later, Ruxing invited him to dinner at her house, so he decided to put the plan of going home on hold. He told his mother that his work in Hong Kong had not been settled yet and his return might have to be postponed until next week.
Before the meeting was over, I received a call from my mother Jiang Yueling.
After the call was connected, Jiang Yueling's first words were -
"When did you return to Shanghai? If I hadn't seen Eric's WeChat Moments post yesterday, I would have thought you were still working from home in Hong Kong."
Eric's father used to be in investment and had a lot of dealings with Jianglin Group, so his parents also had contact information. Eric must have been drunk that night and even forgot to block his parents from his circle of friends.
"I just got back a while ago, but I haven't finished my work there yet. I've been working remotely from Shanghai recently."
"You're so busy, yet you still have time to support Eric and no time to go home for dinner? We're going to Sheshan to play golf this weekend, so why don't you come along?"
"I have plans this weekend, maybe next time."
Jiang Shu pinched his nose bridge, squinted his eyes, but his tone of refusal was firm.
"Jiang Shu, do you still think you're a child? You've been in Hong Kong for the past few years, constantly using the pandemic and work as excuses. Now that you're back, you're still using the same tactics. Do you really think I don't understand?"
"It's true that I'm having trouble this weekend, but I'll just be coming home a few days later. I won't be going to Hong Kong anymore, so I can come back whenever I want. What's there to nag about?"
"I just said one thing to you, is it necessary to lose your temper?"
Such a rhetorical question only made people feel choked and suffocated. After two seconds of silence, Jiang Shuping said, "I'm still in a meeting, Mom. I'm hanging up now."
After hanging up the phone, he stared at the partners, developers, and investors on the screen talking back and forth. He hardly needed to say anything as his mind had already wandered because of the call.
He lost his temper, not just for himself.
It’s also for Lin Ying.
He regretted leaving in a hurry after learning that Lin Ying was pregnant. However, because of their secret relationship, he had to pretend to be indifferent and ask his mother about her recent situation from time to time.
Jiang Yueling had been married to Lin Jidong for over a decade, and while she wasn't entirely unsympathetic to her stepdaughter, Lin Ying, Jiang Shu had always noticed her deliberate and unintentional perfunctory attitude towards her. He disliked his mother's hypocritical pretense of being a good person to Lin Ying, and was even more displeased with her alternating attitude of scolding and caring towards him...
He felt like a puppet, sometimes extremely important to her, and sometimes just a tool to save face. Compared with the mother-son relationship, Jiang Yueling cared more about how he could do things more flawlessly and how to prevent the company from falling into the hands of the Lin family - yes, she was afraid of Lin Jidong, and she was even more afraid that Lin Ying, this burden, would take away the Jiang family's property in the future.
Fortunately, his son has done well over the years. During his years in the mainland, he could only follow the old hands to work on small projects. Most of the time, he had no say and could only listen to his mother. Now that he has gone to Hong Kong and has some real achievements, he has more confidence to talk about his likes and dislikes.
However, these confidences have been out of reach for Lin Ying for more than 20 years.
He had never thought deeply about these things before, until he confessed his love to her, until she told him "I will never marry you", and until he had experienced some things in Hong Kong over the years, and then he gradually calmed down...
A series of knocks on the door brought him back to his senses - the person knocking on the door was Xu Yiwei again.
"Why aren't you leaving yet?"
Jiang Shu frowned and stood up to send her away.
"Listen to me, I'm young and healthy, and I'm very good at doing things..."
"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't need a bed partner?"
However, Xu Yiwei forcefully stopped him from closing the door. "I know you don't need a bedmate, but you do need a housekeeper, right? A house this big needs someone to take care of it. The backyard pool is full of fallen leaves. I heard you and Eric talking about looking for a new nanny last night..."
Before Jiang Shu rolled his eyes and slammed the door shut again, Xu Yiwei used his body to block the last sliver of space and shouted, "Fight for it!"
"You saw what happened to me last night! After breaking up with my ex-boyfriend, I can only hang out in various business circles every day, selling my appearance and getting ripped off. At least I can still get paid. I really have nowhere else to go!"
"It's none of my business."
"If you don't want me to be a cleaner, I can still do odd jobs at your company! I've worked part-time to earn money for my studies, tutored, pruned flowers and plants, made milk tea, served dishes, fried skewers, and grilled cold noodles. I've also participated in school activities, can draw and write copy, and can handle logistics and other things..."
"You can do so many things, why do you still want to be a gold digger?"
…
Hearing these two words, Xu Yiwei's face suddenly fell, and he was obviously a little ashamed and angry. After a long time, he explained in a voice as slow as a mosquito:
"It makes money quickly. For someone like me, no matter how many things I have, without money, power, or education, I can only survive on a drop in the bucket. How can I ever get ahead? It's not like everyone is like you, so lucky to be reborn."
Jiang Shu frowned immediately, obviously dissatisfied with her definition, but she asked nonchalantly -
"Mr. Jiang, you've never worried about making a living, right? Have you ever experienced the feeling of being kicked out by your landlord and having nowhere to go? People around you don't dare to look down on you or belittle you, right?"
Xu Yiwei's eyes turned red as he spoke, and he temporarily suppressed his anger and told her everything about his life:
"I'm different, because I've lived these days since I was a child. I'm an illegitimate child and have never seen what my father looks like. My mother ran off with another man when I was five, leaving me to my grandmother. She would occasionally send me some money, but ever since I went to college, she's been like dead, not giving me money and disappearing. My existence is a burden to my mother and grandmother. My grandmother passed away last year, and I found a rich second-generation rich man. I've always relied on him for my life. Later, when he had enough of me, he kicked me out. It was that time on the Bund... and you paid for my meal."
The words sounded unreliable, but she was very skilled at putting on that pitiful look. Her eyes were completely red and tears could not stop flowing - which made Jiang Shu think of Lin Ying, who also had a pair of pitiful eyes.
In the meeting on the computer in the study, business projects worth tens of millions were discussed back and forth. Xu Yiwei wiped his tears, and awoke from his dream, smiling bitterly.
"You're right, Mr. Jiang. This has nothing to do with you. I won't waste your time."
She was about to turn around and leave when the other party said:
"This villa is huge, so don't feel tired taking care of it. I'll give you two weeks to stay here temporarily. After that, you can take care of yourself."
Before closing the door, Jiang Shu added, "You are not allowed to enter the study without my permission."
Clang——
The door of the study was closed tightly. Xu Yiwei outside was still in a state of confusion, but Jiang Shu inside was not at all.
He spoke clearly, but his heart was in turmoil.
Why keep her?
Perhaps it was out of pity for the beautiful woman, but Jiang Shu knew that this "pity" had the connotation of sympathy. Although it was very self-indulgent and although their situations were very different, when he heard the word "illegitimate daughter", he understood - he could not turn a blind eye.
This identity is the haze hanging over Lin Ying's head and the callus buried deep in his skin.
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