Episode 31 Song in the Rain
Jiang Shu was choked by these words for two seconds, so he pretended to be deaf and asked Song Qi:
"I'd like to ask you what you want to do. I told you everything when we broke up. We agreed to go our separate ways from now on. Aren't you going back on your word tonight?"
"You think this was my idea? My dad wants to expand into the mainland market, and we're old partners. You know what your mother's personality is like, right?"
Song Qi shrugged his shoulders, looking indifferent.
In fact, she had already known in her heart that the cruise dinner party that year was arranged by Luo Suqin, specifically to give her and the son of the Jiang family a legitimate reason to meet.
As the only daughter acknowledged by Song Qihui, Song Qi has been spoiled since childhood. She has a wild and willful personality. She has been dating since middle school and has received too much favor at an age when she still doesn't understand love.
Men came at her one after another like a swarm of crucian carp crossing the river. Not only did she not feel that she had reaped a lot of rewards, she even felt annoyed occasionally. She thought that everyone would naturally revolve around her, and she might slip away at any time, so she was afraid of everything and knelt down to beg.
On the day she broke up with Jiang Shu, Hong Kong was shrouded in rain and fog. Song Qi knocked on the door of her mother's villa in Mid-Levels, carrying her suitcase. As soon as the door opened, she threw herself into her mother's arms and burst into tears...
Luo Suqin had never seen his daughter in such a state before, and he kept saying to himself:
"Don't cry, Mommy is here."
Luo Suqin had been separated from her husband for so long that before Song Qi started working, the huge house was occupied by only her, her daughter, and two Filipino maids. After her daughter went out to work, she was left alone.
Song Qihui has a lot of guests coming and going outside, and he even has many illegitimate children raised outside. Some are in Hong Kong, some are in the mainland, and there are even more unknown overseas... Whenever Luo Suqin thinks of this, she becomes even more uneasy. For the future interests of her and her daughter, she has to take this path.
Jianglin Group’s successful entry into the Hong Kong circle was inseparable from Luo Suqin’s behind-the-scenes manipulation.
So as early as a month ago, Jiang Yueling had arranged the schedule for this trip. When he agreed to let Jiang Shu go to Hong Kong to expand his business, in addition to wanting to open up the Southeast Asian market, he also wanted to match Jiang Shu with Song Qi.
For the past six years, Jiang Yueling's secret rivalry with her husband has never ceased, and has even intensified. Lin Jidong has long since transferred a significant amount of assets overseas through connections within the Yan family. As his wife, Jiang Yueling's stake in the company is now under threat of being stripped of its control. A marriage into the Song family would indeed provide a solution to her pressing problem.
"As long as we get married, you and your son will have support in Hong Kong, and the same will be true for us in the mainland. Marriage is like doing business. For both families, it is a sure win."
But Jiang Shu disagreed——
"Song Qi, you and I are the same person. Why would you choose a path that I dislike? Don't you feel unwilling?"
But Song Qi didn't understand his words and suddenly asked:
"You finally admit that you are the same as me?"
After saying that, she gave him a cold sneer, as if she was being sarcastic.
"But when it comes to relationships... I'm sorry, I really can't be as 'loyal' as you. For me, I'm going to get married sooner or later anyway. So there's nothing wrong with me just listening to Mommy and finding the right person to marry, right?"
She pulled a tissue from the countertop and wiped the last of the moisture off the back of her hand. "But you, you don't want to listen to Mommy, and you can't get the person you want... You're really not the best person you can be."
After saying that, Song Qi pressed the door handle and strode out of the bathroom, leaving Jiang Shu alone, staring at the mirror in silence.
Seeing that there was no way to break through and he had suffered another setback, his face was as stiff as stone when he walked back to the front yard.
When Luo Suqin saw the two of them appear, he winked at Jiang Yueling and pretended to complain to his daughter: "I've been waiting for you for so long. So you're sharing a secret with someone?"
Song Qi didn't comment and touched the car lock. The brand new Aston Martin shone like a dark knight holding a torch.
Jiang Yueling said: "Qiqi has good taste, the car is as beautiful as she is."
"Auntie, I just came here and don't know what to buy. This one was recommended to me by Mr. Jiang."
After she finished speaking, she winked at Jiang Shu, and before he could react, she leaned forward and slid into the driver's seat.
The sound of the luxury car's engine pierced the silence. Jiang Shu's face completely drooped, and he spoke to his mother in a yin-yang tone.
"My dad wasn't at the family dinner we agreed on, and he even planned such a big thing without telling me."
Jiang Yueling had long been accustomed to her son's dissatisfaction with her behavior and did not hide it:
"If I had told you in advance that Song Qi was coming, would you still go home tonight?"
Jiang Shu had long been aware of Jiang Yueling's surveillance over the years, but as her son and the person in charge, he could only turn a blind eye to the fact that she had contributed greatly to the group's Tuoye listing, as she had done so openly and covertly. Perhaps from the moment he chose to succeed her, he was destined to become the same person as Jiang Yueling.
Everything we encounter is measured only by benefits and costs.
More is surplus, less is loss, perfect is the most suitable.
It also seemed that she and Jiang Shu only had a tacit understanding when talking about interests, but when they took off this layer of skin and looked at each other as "mother and son", they felt awkward with each other.
At this moment, he was too lazy to argue and just said:
"I won't marry Song Qi." He was about to walk towards the car.
"stop!"
Jiang Yueling stepped forward and stopped him——
"We know the Song family well, and we're a good match. There's no room for negotiation on this matter. How many years do you plan to stay alone? Let's settle this while they're in Shanghai..."
"What happens after you get married? Like you and Lin Jidong, you've been married for decades, with no feelings, only calculations? You and him have been separated for a long time, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have invited them home so blatantly. Today you're worried Lin Jidong will find out what you're up to, and tomorrow you're making up a pretense of happiness just to keep the company's stock price looking good! Aren't you tired of having a marriage like this?!"
These words made Jiang Yueling suddenly stiffen, but she still did not lose the upper hand.
"What's tiring? Marriage is a bond that maintains interests. Do you think Lin Jidong and I married because we were in love? Do you think your aunt married the Xiang family, and your Aunt Luo married Mr. Song, all because they were in love? Don't be silly, remember what I told you, feelings are the most unimportant thing..."
"If it doesn't matter, then why should I worry about the mother-son relationship and work hard for you and the company?"
"Everything you have now is given by me! Without me, you wouldn't be where you are today!"
Jiang Yueling was so furious that she even slapped her son hard, knocking the car keys out of his hand...
At that moment, Jiang Shu felt a slight chill in his eyes - how could he be so fragile that a light slap would make him burst into tears?
In the humid evening, the rain fell lightly.
He squatted down and picked up the key from the wet grass... The feeling of his fingers was as terrifying as when he was pushed down the stairs that year.
"So you think relationships and marriage are unimportant, then let me ask you, do you think I'm important?"
The moment he raised his eyes, the corridor lights made the outline of his eyebrows and eyes more distinct, and the raindrops wrapped around his eyelashes and black hair, making his eyes moist.
The tears are fake, but the love is real, although this love is full of resentment.
Jiang Yueling seemed to be under a spell from these words, and froze in place.
“…You are my son, of course you are important.”
"But you would have earned all this without me."
Jiang Shu's tone was chilled by the rain. After saying this, he quickly unlocked the car. "You said this yourself back then. You know better than anyone what you were doing this for."
He bowed, took a seat, and left...
The raindrops hardened into drops, just like the fleeting tears in Jiang Yueling's eyes.
The words stuck in her throat were not spoken yet: "You are over 30 years old, why are you still so bad-tempered?"
But when he was a child, he didn't seem to lose his temper much.
When he was young, he could not act coquettishly in his mother's arms, and when he was a teenager, he was not allowed to be willful and unrestrained, so when he grew up, he only saw the exchange of value and interests - and feelings were the most unreliable thing.
This is also what she often preaches to her son.
***
On the way home, a sudden downpour began to pour. Jiang Shu recalled an evening more than twenty years ago when he was misunderstood by his mother and cruelly pushed off the porch. The rain pounded on his forehead, and the wound on his knee was washed away until it was numb...
Before he was nine years old, he lived with his aunt Jiang Huiling.
At that time, he was not called Jiang Shu, he had a completely different name - Xiang Jiashu. It is said that this was because the Xiang family had no boys, and his biological mother did not want him at first, so she simply adopted him.
Later, his uncle Xiang Fan died of illness, and he saw his mother Jiang Yueling for the first time.
She came to attend a funeral, but amidst the miserable sobs in the hall, only her breathing was exceptionally calm, and her eyes were exceptionally murderous, as if she could overturn the entire mourning hall in the next second.
But she did nothing and he said nothing. Young children were not yet sensitive to love and hate.
He only remembered that when his mother was leaving that day, his aunt held his hand and cried, muttering words like regret and forgiveness, but Jiang Yueling just turned back to look at Jiang Shu and said calmly and firmly:
"I'll take you home when I have a chance."
Later, I heard that Jiang Yueling went to Hong Kong to register a company, married her partner, and settled in Shanghai. He was soon taken there, but the relationship between mother and son remained delicate.
Jiang Yueling simply told him to take care of himself and study hard, and promised and intended him to be his heir in the future.
Although Jiang Yueling had never told him about his biological father, he more or less understood that he was Xiang Fan's illegitimate child, and his existence was loathed by his mother.
Otherwise, why did Jiang Yueling leave him at the Xiang family for so many years? Why did she only take him back after Xiang Fan passed away?
He knew better than anyone what kind of woman his mother Jiang Yueling was.
In that era where anything could be done successfully, no one did not want to make a fortune. Jiang Yueling was ambitious and had long disagreed with the ideas of Jiang's grandparents. She was determined to make a name for herself, but because of an unexpected pregnancy, she had to interrupt her studies. It is hard to imagine how much Jiang Yueling suffered from her family for him. Under such pressure, she was unwilling to compromise with her parents and family, nor with the child's biological father.
Jiang Yueling's ruthlessness aroused the passion between her and the Jianglin Group, but also created an iron wall between her and her son.
After returning to the Jiang family, his mother was lukewarm towards him, and his stepfather was very cunning. Both sides were calm and no one dared to offend them.
He gasped for breath, trying to survive in the cracks. He thought about giving up several times and wanted to escape back to his aunt's house. At least there, he could still feel a little bit of his family's tolerance - even though it was as fragile as a gauze curtain, it was still better than here. Everyone was acting, even he had to act...
However, his first attempt to run away from home failed.
He was eleven years old that year. Taking advantage of his free time during the summer vacation, he stuffed some change into his schoolbag and left. At that time, there were no smart phones or electronic payments. He was drenched by the heavy rain that day and was rejected when he arrived at his aunt's house... It was Xiang Jianan who took him back.
However, as soon as Xiang Jianan left, his mother pushed him directly from the entrance to the corridor. The heavy rain poured down on his head, and his hands and feet were stuck in the wet mud, making him look disheveled.
That was the first time he saw his mother so angry—
"You ungrateful bastard! You don't know what's good for you! Since you hate me so much, then just go back to the Xiang family. I didn't do all this for you anyway!"
After she finished speaking, she threw the "farewell letter" that Jiang Shu had left behind before he left into the rain... The handwriting quickly blurred, and the paper became soaked, and finally, it was smashed heavily into the mud at her feet by raindrops as big as beans.
Never see it again.
Jiang Shu had long forgotten what he had written that year. He only remembered that he was soaked until he was unconscious. A short figure holding a bright red umbrella stumbled across the steps, pushed aside the rain and mist in front of him, and walked in front of him... For a moment, he seemed to be covered in a glass container, and there were only the two of them in it.
Her voice was so close, even when it fell into his eardrum, it was still weak.
"Brother, your knee is injured. It will get inflamed if you get caught in the rain."
That was the injury he got when he was pushed down. No one cared about his wound, not even he himself.
She was the only one who noticed.
Lin Ying helped him back to his room, brought a medicine box, and applied iodine disinfectant and a bandage to his wound...
When the pain came from the wound, the numbness and trance that had just been washed away by the rain was now returned to him double at the cost of pain.
He couldn't help crying.
The girl's palm trembled and she asked him, "Does it hurt?"
He nodded.
He was in pain, his legs hurt, his head hurt.
I really want to have an embrace where I can cry my heart out without thinking about anything or being afraid of anything.
At that time, Lin Ying seemed to be able to sense his thoughts. She actually leaned over and hugged him, leaning on his shoulders and patting his back...
"Will this make it less painful?"
Perhaps she was still young at the time and didn't take it seriously. If she were my age, she wouldn't be so direct.
The smell that made the little body faint was that of spring rain.
Humid but warm.
Even though many years later, he briefly had the privilege of hugging her again, he no longer had any reason to cry.
Summer thunder rumbled, and raindrops hit the front window mercilessly. The wipers scraped layer after layer, but the vision was still blurry.
Driving into the villa's courtyard, the lights on the porch were brightly lit, and the gate was ajar. Through the pouring rain, the courtyard seemed to be in a mess...
Jiang Shu looked at his watch - nine o'clock in the evening.
It’s raining so hard, why doesn’t Xu Yiwei close the door?
He simply parked the car in the yard and walked to the porch in the heavy rain. Only then did he see that the camera above his head was actually damaged!
Having a bad feeling, Jiang Shu rushed into the villa. The scene before him was exactly what he had expected.
The living room and dining room decorations were completely destroyed, and the house was full of broken walls and rubble. The originally gorgeous and orderly interior was smashed into a mess, and not a single piece of furniture or fabric was intact. Even the walls were splattered with red and black spray paint. The scene was truly horrifying...
Was your house robbed?
Jiang Shu yelled, "Xu Yiwei!"
His heart instantly rose to his throat. Although he had just met this girl by chance, if she met with misfortune because of this, it would be the karma of Jiang Shu for the rest of his life!
The corridor on the second floor was deserted, and the decorative calligraphy and paintings on the walls on both sides had been looted. However, what really scared Jiang Shu was the door of the study that was deliberately destroyed by external forces!
When he rushed in, the previously neat and spotless layout and furnishings had been completely destroyed, and the only locked bookcase had been pried open. He panicked and wanted to go forward to check the contents.
At this moment, there was a rustling noise under the desk. Xu Yiwei was curled up there, trembling. When she realized it was Jiang Shu, she felt as if she was overjoyed and then sad...
"I didn't expect this to happen... They came to deliver the dry-cleaned coats, I opened the door... and suddenly they rushed in..."
At this moment, her clothes were disheveled and there were marks of pinching on her body - it was shocking to see.
"They threatened me for money... I didn't have any... they smashed things, stole things, and... raped me!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
