Chapter 34 Chapter 34 Jiang, Chong, Yan
That evening, when Xin Tong came out of the Jiang family house, the first thing she did was to look for Song Qingyun.
"Come out. I want to eat a lot of street food."
The other party didn't even ask why and just replied "1".
Two friends quickly hooked up over a phone call and drove straight to the barbecue market. In the thick, smoky fog, the aromas of cumin and five-spice blended together, the grease and salty, spicy flavors creating the ultimate brain-stimulating junk food. Crowds of people thronged the surrounding area, the roadside stalls buzzing with activity, the intense aroma of the smoky atmosphere gradually bringing them back to reality.
"How did you lose so much weight?"
Song Qingyun looked at the faint fine lines and dark circles under his best friend's eyes and said in surprise.
"What have you been doing these past few weeks?"
Xin Tong lowered her head and cried while eating.
She had never experienced such hardship in her beautiful, free and precious life.
——But hard work will always be rewarded.
Xin Tong finally understood this sentence deeply in her life where she had no worries, no sorrows, and never had to work hard.
At this moment, she suddenly felt an inexplicable excitement, which was more exciting, more intense, and more eager to try than when she was soaking in the swimming pool and kissing a handsome guy.
She suddenly realized that human beings are a very despicable social being. Eternal aimlessness will give rise to nihilistic depression, and mild setbacks that can be overcome with one's own efforts are the best life guides set by the collective society for individuals.
"I'm reborn."
"Rise from the ashes."
When people are full, they tend to sink into emptiness. Xin Tong put down the last wooden stick, raised his head slightly, and stared blankly at the white light bulb above with lifeless eyes.
"I can see. This fire has burned away all your exquisiteness." Song Qingyun stared at her shoes. "You're actually wearing sneakers. I've never seen that before."
Xin Tong snorted, a sound that was rather proud.
After working as a sewing machine girl for three weeks and going to the fabric market all day, she is now almost in love with sneakers.
"But...I don't think I've ever seen you buy this brand before."
"You never buy sportswear from this brand, do you? The styles are simple, too. I don't think you'd like them."
When Xin Tong heard this, she looked down at her feet.
Sneakers. White.
Nothing special, no pattern, no design.
Extremely simple and boring.
The only thing that wasn't special was the person who sent the shoes.
Xin Tong retracted his gaze and replied lightly:
"oh."
"Because these shoes were given to me by Jiang Chongyan."
Song Qingyun lowered his head and ate, as if he didn't hear it and didn't react much.
After two seconds, he suddenly stopped chewing.
He raised his head and looked at her, "Who?"
Xin Tong: "Jiang Chongyan."
Song Qingyun: "Who?"
Xin Tong: "Jiang Chongyan."
"Which club did you meet the male model with the same name?"
Xin Tong spoke in a very standard Mandarin in a slow and drawn-out tone.
"Jiang, Chong, Yan."
The next second, she finally managed to see a rather rare expression on her bestie's face.
His mouth was open, his eyes were confused, and his whole face could be described as dull, but his brows were furrowed, showing great doubt and disbelief.
It's like seeing Zhao Benshan and Kim Kardashian getting married.
…
"That's how it is."
"I really didn't hide it on purpose. There were too many unexpected things along the way. And when I didn't make any progress and didn't get any results, I was too embarrassed to tell anyone."
"Now that the main quest is finally on track, I can finally stop and take a breath."
After telling everything, Song Qingyun still maintained this dull expression.
She no longer knew what to digest first: "Jiang Chongyan, the heir of the aristocratic Jiang family who no one had ever seen, was actually the very popular, handsome and famous street dancer."
Or "Xin Tong and this young master have completed all the processes of grabbing breasts, touching buttocks, princess hugging, biting N heads, and rubbing to induce physiological reactions within a week."
Song Qingyun opened the WeChat group with trembling hands, asking "Did Jiang Chongyan show up today?"
As soon as I put my index finger on the dialog box, the next second my left hand quickly and tightly grasped the fingers of my right hand that were about to type, as if I was quitting drugs.
Her expression, as if saying, "I'm the only one in the world who knows a shocking piece of gossip, and I even have a gossip group, but I have to keep it secret. Do you know how painful this is?", was so painful to watch.
Xin Tong stuffed a piece of candy into her mouth, paid the bill, and then took her away in a good mood.
*
After returning home, Xin Tong walked to the door.
Through a door, she suddenly heard her parents talking and laughing inside.
He Chuan and Xin Wenqing are very busy with work on weekdays, and He Tianqi is alone and quiet. It is rare for the villa to be so lively.
She paused.
After a few seconds, he opened the door.
The luxurious villa was no longer as quiet and deserted as before, with the crystal chandelier overhead illuminating it with brilliant light. Xin Tong stood at the doorway and could see from afar that He Chuan, Xin Wenqing, and He Tianqi were sitting at the dining table in the spacious and bright dining room.
The table was filled with a variety of food, and the three of them sat close together, chatting and laughing.
The family of three is happy and harmonious.
"The last dish is here!"
Xin Tong saw a middle-aged woman walk out of the kitchen. It was Aunt Zhao, the He family's nanny for over twenty years, and the one who had raised Xin Tong.
At this moment, she brought out a plate of food with a smile and placed it in front of He Tianqi.
"I wonder if the young master likes it? I just learned how to make it. If you like it, I'll make it every day!"
Xin Tong stood at the door.
The door was open, and in front of her was a warm, bright room, and behind her was the dark, cold night. A few gusts of wind blew from behind, and her hair was blown forward, brushing against her eyelashes.
The night wind was a little chilly, and the people in the restaurant seemed to notice it and looked up at the door.
——The moment they saw Xin Tong, everyone stopped moving.
The lively and harmonious atmosphere suddenly fell into silence. The sounds of eating, conversation, and the clinking of cutlery all died in an instant. Everyone simply turned around and stared at Xin Tong in silence.
During the family's dinner, Xin Tong was the sudden intruder.
…
Xin Tong slowly changed her shoes and planned to go straight upstairs.
She walked the short distance from the entrance to the stairs with a calm expression, staring straight ahead. The next second, she met He Tianqi's eyes.
His hair seemed to have been cut shorter. His features were fully exposed, revealing his handsome features and delicate features, with a touch of docility. He slowly put down his chopsticks, his expression calm, yet he stared directly at Xin Tong.
Xin Tong knew that he had been observing her all this time.
It was a very direct observation. He moved into her home openly, called her parents "Mom and Dad" as a matter of course, took her place, and snatched her favor.
He did not have any of the uneasiness of a latecomer, and even his observation and analysis were filled with a sense of superior pride.
He was handsome, young and promising, accepted into a prestigious university, and had a bright future. Everyone said he would win, everyone said he was better than her, everyone said the losers would be replaced by the elite, and even his parents favored him in every way.
He was too arrogant, too elitist, a perfect, complete person, perfectly crafted and built along established lines. He couldn't help but be obsessed with his status as heir to a multi-billionaire fortune, because the whole world thought it was his due.
Xin Tong could see his strong contempt for her.
"Tongtong is back. Come over and have dinner."
The dead silence was broken. Xin Wenqing called her, stood up, pulled her, and pulled her to sit down.
"Come on, you've been back home for a month now. It's rare for your family to sit down and have a meal together."
Her mother's tone of voice was so clear that it tried to ease the atmosphere. The way she pushed the plate in front of her also had a hint of flattery and comfort. "Aunt Zhao made your favorite lemon tart. Come and try it."
A family. Yeah.
Xin Tong lowered her head and looked at the lemon tart that was pushed in front of her, and suddenly she understood.
This is her home. The home where she has lived for twenty years, growing up.
Her biological father, her biological mother.
Why should she go upstairs? Why should she give up her seat?
If anyone is to give way, it should be He Tianqi.
She suddenly threw the bag in her hand onto the stool next to her.
"A family?"
She looked up and smiled at He Tianqi opposite her.
"There are four people here. I think three of them are family. The other one is an outsider."
"Anyway, that person isn't me."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present suddenly changed their expressions.
Xin Tong admired He Tianqi's instantly changing expression. His usual delicate facade was almost broken. He clenched his fists, and Xin Tong could hear his gentle breathing.
Blood ties are the sharpest thorn.
Best suited to tearing through the false masks of the elites.
A smile slowly formed on the corner of her mouth.
Well, during the month they lived under the same roof, she could not only see He Tianqi's arrogance, but also another side of him that he had hidden very deeply.
All the observations, analyses, irritations, and tests are ultimately just because of caring.
If a person is really powerful enough to be omnipotent and other people are nothing but ants to him, how could he pay so much attention to a worthless person who poses no threat day and night?
The flip side of arrogance is inferiority.
He had everything, but he lacked the most important thing.
And she just happened to have that thing.
Only she has it.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was tense and awkward to the extreme.
At the main seat, He Chuan suddenly spoke.
His voice carried the calmness of someone who had been in a superior position for many years.
"Many of Kelly's offline stores in various cities have closed one after another in the past two weeks. Was this your idea?"
Forced change of subject. Boring.
Xin Tong crossed his arms and sneered.
This statement was a rebuke. He Chuan, as chairman of the parent company, had the authority to monitor all developments across all of its brands. Based on any experience in life and business, the mass closure of offline clothing stores is not a good sign; it's a classic precursor to company bankruptcy.
Xin Tong hated having people around her implicated. If He Chuan wanted to criticize her now, if he wanted to settle scores later, then it would be her. Ji Ning was her subordinate, and she had signed the agreement herself; if anything went wrong, she would be the one to take the blame.
Xin Tong raised her face with a stubborn expression, "Why, it was my idea."
After a while, He Chuan suddenly said:
"Looking at Kelly's month-end financial report, I see a significant reduction in expenses. Whether this approach will be viable in the long term, or whether it will impact brand image and overall sales, remains to be seen. But as a temporary measure, if it can improve the financial situation, it will significantly reduce cash flow pressure."
When these words came out, the other three people present were stunned.
He Chuan was actually praising her.
Xin Tong was stunned herself.
Growing up, He Chuan rarely praised her. He used to pamper her, calling her a "daughter slave," helping her clean up messes and indulging her in all her mischief. Even so, she rarely received praise or compliments from her father—even though she had never done anything worthy of praise.
Xin Tong couldn't help but feel funny from the bottom of her heart.
"Thank you for the compliment, Dad." She blinked mischievously, "How dare I disappoint my brother? After all, he was the one who suggested giving Kelly to me."
"Right?"
The next second, she met He Tianqi's gaze.
The boy's face remained calm, his expression flawless and his movements normal.
But the look they exchanged betrayed his heart with the ripples in his eyes.
That is a strong sense of crisis.
And just the right amount of jealousy.
A little more and it would have exploded completely, a little less and the hatred wouldn't have been enough. Now it's neither too much nor too little, just right, enough for us to keep fighting like this. Xin Tong stared at his face and thought.
"Okay, Tongtong."
He Chuan suddenly changed the subject again, "Your brother's 18th birthday is coming soon. We plan to go to Hokkaido next week. The snow scenery there is beautiful, and there are hot springs in the mountains. It's perfect for a vacation. If you have nothing to do, you can come with us."
Xin Wenqing then said, "Yes, Tongtong, this year is the first year our family is reunited, and we are celebrating my brother's birthday together. The whole family is going, and we are very happy."
The smile on Xin Tong's lips froze.
My heart suddenly plummeted.
She looked at He Chuan and suddenly understood her father's true thoughts.
It turned out that he praised himself not because he really thought this move was right, but just to ease the family atmosphere. In the end, he suggested that he also go to Hokkaido and join this so-called "family trip."
I see.
How afraid was he that she wouldn't be able to attend and join them in acting out a scene of family harmony?
"Sister. I know you don't like me very much."
He Tianqi suddenly spoke. This was the first sentence he said tonight.
"Actually, it was supposed to be just me, Mom and Dad going there."
"But we are a family after all."
"So even though I know you've been busy lately, I still want you to come with me."
Xin Tong clenched her nails into her palms.
I thought I was immune to this kind of talk, but I still get hurt so easily. My heart still hurts like it's leaking air.
She felt her eyes warm for no apparent reason, and after a few seconds, she suddenly laughed out loud.
"Birthday?"
She raised her head and spoke slowly with an extremely surprised expression.
"How do you know when your birthday is?"
"Did your biological parents tell you?"
"Aren't you an orphan?"
The surroundings suddenly became quiet.
She looked at the other person's ugly face that could no longer be concealed and his chest that kept rising and falling uncontrollably, picked up her bag, and walked out the door.
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