Chapter 41
To be fair, Mrs. Jiang couldn't trust this human beautician who was full of suspicious points.
Especially when she saw Xie Xubai turn around and wash off the essential oil from his hands, just as he had initially said, and begin to seriously prepare face masks and hand creams for her, an indescribable sense of absurdity arose in her mind.
"Are you really human?" Madam Jiang blurted out.
Upon hearing this, Xie Xubai subconsciously touched his neck.
The ghost hand was cold, like iron tongs pulled from a refrigerator; he could still feel the goosebumps on his skin.
Unlike when she was facing Dr. Wu, Madam Jiang was now truly determined to kill him.
So no matter how calm he tries to appear, his physiological reactions will truthfully reflect his fear.
However, past experience told Xie Xubai that he could not show weakness in front of monsters, nor could he intensify their negative emotions.
Pretending to be genuine in a life-or-death situation is easier said than done, but when Xie Xubai thought of Jiang Kaile, who was imprisoned, he felt that he had to do it—not that he couldn't, but that he absolutely had to.
Seeing Madam Shangjiang's suspicious gaze, Xie Xubai smiled helplessly and said truthfully, "Madam, please stop teasing me."
"If I hadn't thought that I had to come and visit the students' parents, I probably wouldn't have dared to even step into the hospital."
After saying that, he made an embarrassed expression, as if he had "revealed his true purpose," and scratched his cheek sheepishly: "After all, Jiang's recent exam results have been really terrible... Did you know that he didn't even pass Chinese this semester?"
Fearing that this wouldn't make Madam Jiang realize the seriousness of the matter, Xie Xubai continued, "If he can't understand even the most basic reading comprehension now, it means that he won't be able to understand written contracts when he inherits the family business. Anyone could easily cheat him."
"Don't think I'm exaggerating. These days, there are countless news reports of spoiled brats being swindled and losing the family fortune of three generations. Besides, Jiang is the kind of person who doesn't like to listen to advice."
Madam Jiang remained silent, but her expression began to soften.
Xie Xubai, paying close attention to her reaction, unleashed his final trump card: "You need to think about it. If Jiang really loses the entire Jiang family, will you still have the means to live a normal life? Not only will you be unable to afford designer bags, but also your high-end beauty and skincare products, annual private treatments, and vacation cruises..."
Madam Jiang's face twitched: "Enough!"
Xie Xubai didn't think that was enough; getting Madam Jiang emotionally stirred was a big step toward successfully persuading her.
He seized the opportunity and took out Jiang Kaile's final exam report card, handing it to the other party.
Madam Jiang stared expressionlessly at Xie Xubai, who looked completely innocent.
Even knowing that the other person's words were exaggerated, my eyes still couldn't help but glance at the report card.
With just one glance, the veins on his forehead throbbed wildly, and his voice rose sharply.
"He scored 24 out of 120?"
Xie Xubai coughed lightly: "Madam, Jiang has been promoted to high school student this semester, with a perfect score of 150."
The implication is that it's worse than you imagine.
Madam Jiang: "..."
Her face was ashen and she remained silent, looking around as if searching for a weapon to kill her son.
Xie Xubai hurriedly stepped forward and pulled her back, offering kind words of persuasion for more than ten minutes before finally getting Madam Jiang, who had almost fainted from anger, back to her recliner.
“I’ve heard that Jiang used to have excellent grades, a great personality, and was righteous, cheerful, and generous. Her current state is probably related to the Jiang family’s environment and the education she received from the Jiang family head,” Xie Xubai prompted. “But that’s just speculation. Do you have any leads?”
Madam Jiang clutched her chest, her breath coming in gasps. She stared at the pale white beauty lamp, her eyes unfocused, as if she had already grasped the true meaning of the ephemeral nature of the mortal world.
But in reality, she is constantly trying to recall how this terrible debt actually started.
After a short while, she finally spoke, not focusing on the impact on Jiang Kaile himself, but bringing up some seemingly unrelated past events.
"...Before I married into the Jiang family, all I heard were congratulations and well wishes. Everyone, including my parents, was as happy as if I had gotten a great deal."
However, no one told her what price she would have to pay for taking such an advantage.
Madam Jiang's original surname was Xu, and she also came from a prestigious family, but compared to the large and powerful Jiang Group, she was still slightly inferior.
Whether before or after marriage, she and the head of the Jiang family did not have a deep relationship. In fact, they had only met a few times at social dances before their marriage.
At that time, the dance partner chosen by the Jiang family head was not her, nor was the marriage partner she preferred the Jiang family head.
For some reason, the Jiang family's invitation still ended up in her hands.
Then she began to meet with the head of the Jiang family frequently and try to get to know him.
"Actually, I vaguely sensed that he didn't like me. What man would subconsciously frown when his girlfriend gets close? But the way he looked at me was so intense, as if I was his hope and everything."
"At that time, his most frequent saying was that my marriage to him was God's arrangement, an inescapable fate."
Madam Jiang gazed into the distance and murmured, "I was also blinded by the comfort before my eyes, and actually took it as ordinary sweet talk."
During that period, despite Madam Jiang's constant intuition warning her, she still found it difficult to determine whether the Jiang family head truly loved her or not.
She was the only daughter of the Xu family, and the head of the Jiang family seemed to know that she would not be moved by ordinary material conditions, so in addition to satisfying her material desires, he also took her every word to heart.
The thing Madam Jiang remembered most clearly was seeing a young couple chasing the aurora borealis in her classmates' group chat, and casually mentioning to her servants that she wanted to go too.
That evening, the head of the Jiang family, who had just finished a business meeting abroad, rushed back without stopping. He looked tired, and his shoulders were covered in snow.
A helicopter was parked on the lawn behind them, and he smiled and reached out his hand to her, saying that everything was arranged and they could leave now.
The aurora borealis was magnificent that night, its colorful light reflecting in Madam Jiang's eyes.
Wrapped in a thick quilt, she looked up at the Jiang family head's chin, which he hadn't had time to shave, and for the first time in her life, she felt an urge to marry him.
Then came marriage and children. During this time, the Jiang family remained as considerate as ever, and he handled everything himself.
She doesn't have to worry about anything or ask anything, and she can enjoy the most comfortable treatment.
Pregnancy was probably particularly exhausting, and she gradually became less inclined to think and started to lose sight of the changes around her until she went into labor.
"Just like I sensed at the beginning, he wasn't very enthusiastic in that area, but it got worse after I got pregnant. Sometimes when I wanted to be intimate with him, his kisses were extremely perfunctory..."
As Madam Jiang was speaking, she suddenly noticed Xie Xubai's slightly evasive gaze and asked in surprise, "You've never had a girlfriend?"
Xie Xubai: "..."
A tiny crack seemed to appear on his calm face.
Madam Jiang found it amusing; she hadn't expected that someone who seemed so calm in the face of death would be so innocent in that aspect.
He jokingly said, "It's okay, we'll meet sooner or later. If all else fails, we can relax the requirements a little and not limit ourselves to gender."
Xie Xubai: "…………"
He never expected that Madam Jiang would suddenly say such shocking things.
"I'm not joking." Madam Jiang's smile faded slightly, and her tone turned much colder. "After all, aren't gentle and considerate men like you good at making women fawn over you?" Their mutual animosity is a good thing for the people.
She admitted that she was taking her anger out on others.
She remembered that after giving birth to Jiang Kaile, she lay in bed in pain, half-asleep, when in a moment of looking up, she saw the same passionate look that had once moved her heart reappear on the Jiang family head's cold face.
Besides, many members of the Jiang family were gathered around the crib in the ward, their focused eyes fixed on Jiang Kaile, including an elder who had only appeared once at her wedding.
The elder, leaning on his cane, wore the same excitement as the Jiang family head and said shakily, "It's him, it's him."
It felt like someone had poured a bucket of ice water over my head.
In that instant, amidst immense horror, Madam Jiang finally understood what the Jiang family head meant by "fate has bound us together."
Madam Jiang looked at Xie Xubai, who was deep in thought with his eyelashes lowered, and said with a smile, "Do you know? There is a rumor in the Jiang family that is not known to outsiders. It is said that a Buddha will be born in a certain generation of the Jiang family, who will have the power to overturn everything and defy fate."
“I used to scoff at these feudal superstitions and planned to escape, but who knew that after Jiang Kaile was born, the Jiang family really did get better. It was then that I realized that the Jiang Group was only superficially successful, but in reality, it had made wrong decisions and was facing huge debts.”
“What an old and absurd story,” said Madam Jiang, “but it happened.”
If the story were to unfold as it usually would, the Jiang family would enjoy a period of glory, but would suffer a backlash for abusing evil magic, ultimately meeting a tragic end.
But who could have imagined that before the backlash began, a small, unexpected event would occur first?
—At the first birthday celebration, Jiang Kaile smashed the Buddhist beads prepared by the Jiang family in front of everyone and bit the head of the Jiang family viciously.
"At that time, the Jiang family was at the height of its power, and no one dared to go against his wishes. As a result, he was bitten on the hand by a baby who couldn't walk properly and ended up with a bloody hand. You have no idea how funny his expression was at that time."
Thinking of how Jiang's face contorted in pain and how he couldn't help but scream, Madam Jiang couldn't help but smile.
She laughed for a moment, then her expression darkened, taking on a chilling tone: "What Buddha's disciple? That's clearly a monster."
No one-year-old child can grow a mouthful of sharp teeth, and no child would open their blood-stained mouth and clap and laugh while their father is wailing in pain and the scene is chaotic.
If such a thing exists, it must be a demon.
Madam Jiang said, "The clan elders attributed Jiang Kaile's abnormality to the fact that he was born a Buddha, so his behavior was different from ordinary people. But even if he talks until his skin is sore, a biting monster can't be associated with the word 'Buddha' at all."
"From that day on, Jiang Shirong's affection for Jiang Kaile completely changed, and he loathed him to the extreme. He casually tossed him to the servants to take care of, too lazy to even hold him again. However, because Jiang Kaile was still able to protect the Jiang family and ensure their smooth sailing, even though Jiang Shirong disliked him, he did not actually harm him."
Madam Jiang hesitated for a moment, touching the armrest of the recliner, and said, "It's strange, but after Jiang Kaile was away from the Jiang family head, his sharp teeth started to fall out one after another, and baby teeth grew back."
"The servants at that time really liked him and would try all sorts of ways to tease him. I never saw him bite anyone again."
She smiled nonchalantly, "I've heard that Buddhist disciples can sense the evil in people's hearts. Perhaps it was because Jiang Shirong was so wicked that Jiang Kaile was provoked to bite him."
After listening attentively and pondering for a long time, Xie Xubai finally spoke up and asked a crucial question: "Is the Jiang family's first birthday ceremony really just a normal ceremony, without the use of any evil magic?"
Madam Jiang was taken aback when she heard this, and then Xie Xubai reasoned logically, "You just said that they specially obtained a string of Buddhist beads for Jiang Kaile."
At first glance, there seems to be nothing wrong with the Buddhist beads and the Buddha's child.
But the word "specialized," when applied to the profit-driven Jiang family, clearly indicates impure motives. If even Jiang Kaile's birth could be a conspiracy, how could his important first birthday be anything but peaceful?
Madam Jiang frowned and pondered. The baby's first birthday celebration was fifteen years ago, and she could no longer remember most of the details.
But there were several people who said something similar in different places and at different times, and it stuck with her in her memory.
"Buddha's disciples...are born in response to the suffering of all beings..."
Madam Jiang's brows furrowed more and more, but she was repeatedly troubled by her chaotic thoughts, which gave her a headache.
Xie Xubai pressed down on her shoulders, which were spasming uncontrollably, and emphasized, "You must remember, you know what's going on with the Jiang family, and now you're the only one who can save that child!"
Madam Jiang shuddered, biting her lip until it ached.
She initially disliked Jiang Kaile intensely; she was terrified of the monster she had given birth to. But the first word the child uttered was…
"Mom, are you unhappy living here?"
"Mom, don't worry, wait for me to grow up and take you away from here!"
The child in my memory was innocent and naive, cleverly hiding the picked flowers behind his back. His big, bright black eyes darted around, and he sneakily approached her, suddenly holding up the flowers with a bright, sunny smile: "I love Mommy the most!"
Mrs. Jiang pressed hard on her temples, her fingernails almost digging blood into her scalp, desperately trying to recall.
She was about to think of those key words.
Those words are—
"It also fulfills the wishes of all living beings."
Author's Note:
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