Chapter 37 Deviating from the Orthodox
◎【The Jiang siblings' shocking scandal exposed!】◎
Lin Yujing hung up the phone and immediately opened her WeChat chat with Qi Woxue. The headline that immediately caught her eye was a shocking entertainment gossip headline: "[Jiang Family Siblings: Shocking Scandal Exposed!]"
After editing, the ten-minute video, if you don't know the male and female protagonists in the video, you might even think it's behind-the-scenes footage from an erotic film.
In the dim light, Jiang Yingli looked youthful, with fair skin that seemed to glow, except for his bright red lips.
The entire atmosphere made her seem like a fairy from the Valley of Despair, falling to earth.
Jiang Yingzhi's overall healthy oat-colored skin, coupled with his well-proportioned and muscular physique maintained through years of fitness training, created a striking contrast in skin tone and body shape when he hugged the girl hanging around his waist.
With just a gentle pinch of his fingertips, the girl's skin flushed crimson, leaving a deep indentation.
The video angle was also exceptionally clever; they spent most of the time kissing, with only their soft breathing and the rise and fall of their shoulders indicating that they were engaged in a passionate lovemaking session.
But it is precisely the fairy who orchestrates this unconventional love affair, a taboo and restricted subject matter, enough to ignite everyone's long-dormant curiosity.
In addition, the timing of the exposure was unique, arguably the best in recent years – 8 p.m. in the US and 7 a.m. on the first day of the Lunar New Year in Beijing.
Everyone is either enjoying their leisurely private life after get off work or immersed in family reunions during the Spring Festival.
This undoubtedly gave the bullets a little more time to fly.
The entire process of building up and exploding took only a dozen minutes, and it quickly made headlines on major portal websites both at home and abroad.
Therefore, when Lin Yujing woke up at around 10 o'clock, much of the video information had already been processed urgently.
Despite the rapid spread and wide reach of the internet in a short period of time, it still became the most exciting program of this Spring Festival.
The comments section was filled with a wide variety of opinions.
[My goodness! Who can tell this from being about Miss Jiang, or from a restricted-content film directed by Jiang Yingli?!]
[My...wow! I've only ever seen Jiang Yingzhi in financial weekly publications and biomedical news before. I never imagined I'd see him in an ethics news article in my lifetime.]
[I don't understand, so I'm asking! Are they really siblings? Are you sure they're not a couple? My boyfriend and I weren't as affectionate as them; they were kissing from beginning to end. I'm sure it's love.]
The upper class is indeed a circle I, a lowly person, can't fit into. Even their sexual activities are things I've never imagined.
No wonder so many American girls often run into the brother and sister shopping together, and say that Jiang Yingzhi is the ideal brother—he truly is!
【Then I'll speak boldly! There have always been rumors in Yijing that the heir of the Chen family and the eldest daughter of the Jiang family are engaged, and now...】
[Wuhu - Isn't the young master of the Chen family being cheated on by his fiancée and brother-in-law?]
When Chen Jingshu's name appeared in the comments section, it instantly became the top comment.
Lin Yujing lost interest in continuing to watch the drama unfold; she was only eager to find out the truth, or to see Chen Jingshu's reaction at that moment.
Firstly, she was afraid he would be harmed by public opinion; secondly, she worried whether this was also a tactic he used behind her back to break off the engagement.
Thinking of this, Lin Yujing's mind went blank. She quickly got out of bed and casually slipped on a pair of completely mismatched shoes.
The moment I pushed open the bedroom door, I forgot that I was still wearing a thin nightgown, my hair was messy, and my face was swollen and pale from a hangover.
However, things were not quite as she had imagined. Chen Jingshu was standing in the courtyard, leisurely practicing Tai Chi.
"What are you doing?" Lin Yujing asked, puzzled.
Chen Jingshu seemed to have been waiting for her for a long time. As soon as she came out, he immediately stopped breathing.
His tone when answering her still carried the rhythm and energy of Tai Chi: "Upon learning that my fiancée cheated on me, I'll celebrate with a Tai Chi gesture."
Lin Yujing leaned against the door frame, staring intently at the expression on his face, seemingly trying to discern something.
"Don't make wild guesses. I'm not so despicable as to use a girl's reputation as a pretext for breaking off an engagement." Chen Jingshu wiped his sweat with a towel as he walked towards her. Meeting her gaze, he raised his hand and tapped her forehead.
Lin Yujing pouted, "I didn't say it was you."
"I really should get a mirror so you can see the expression on your face just now," Chen Jingshu said, raising an eyebrow.
"Where did that video come from?"
"Jiang Yingli's Instagram account; she uploaded it herself."
Upon learning of this incident, Chen Jingshu and Chu Yan immediately contacted relevant foreign technical departments to investigate.
However, multiple sources confirm that all points to Jiang Yingli alone.
Lin Yujing was shocked upon hearing this, as it involved the ethical principles that Chinese people have always cared about, and the reputation that girls have always cherished the most.
At the same time, an old story suddenly flashed through her mind.
"I think I've met this Miss Jiang before," Lin Yujing said slowly, belatedly realizing.
Upon hearing this, Chen Jingshu became nervous. "She came to see you. What did she want?"
Lin Yujing told him to calm down before recalling, "It happened outside Yonghe Temple earlier."
She learned that Chen Jingshu had gone to the United States for heart surgery before her birthday, so she wanted to get him a good luck charm.
After hearing Qi Woxue describe the efficacy of the incense ash glass bracelet from Yonghe Temple, she immediately went to ask for one. She went for two consecutive days, and then met Jiang Yingli in the early hours of the second day.
At the time, she thought the girl was very outgoing and didn't treat her like an outsider at all.
What she was told shocked her so much that she couldn't react for a long time.
"She told you herself that she likes her brother?"
"I was shocked at the time. But I just thought it was a chance encounter, and that the world is full of wonders. Looking back now, I realize that all stories have clues."
Chen Jingshu leaned against the door frame and looked at her first, "Come inside, you're dressed so lightly."
Only later did Lin Yujing realize that the cold wind was stinging her calves.
"A-Shu, will this matter affect you?" Lin Yujing stepped into the house first, watching Chen Jingshu follow behind and close the bedroom door.
"I don't know. The Chen family hasn't reacted yet." In fact, the old man called him early this morning, forbidding him from returning to Beijing at this time.
Perhaps to avoid the media spotlight, and also because he was young and impetuous, he might say something that would be difficult to take back in front of the media.
"My phone has been ordered to be turned off."
Lin Yujing sat on the bed, hugging her knees. "Are you sad or angry?"
Chen Jingshu moved a low stool and sat on the carpet in front of her. Looking into her eyes, he said, "I'm not angry, and I'm even less sad. To be selfish, I even hope that this wave of public opinion can get out of control. It would be best to take this opportunity to dissolve the engagement."
Lin Yujing missed his gaze; her heart was in turmoil. "I just think, isn't Miss Jiang a bit extreme?"
Chen Jingshu gasped and said, "I suspect that her actions might not be solely to resist the marriage agreement."
After all, if one really wants to dissolve this marriage, there are more reliable ways.
It's just a matter of spending a little time and losing a little something.
"What does she want?" Lin Yujing thought for a long time. "Does she want Jiang Yingzhi?"
"Old Jiang is a person who has been perfectly disciplined by his family. He has always only shouldered the responsibility of inheriting the family rules and the future. Jiang Yingli's actions may dissolve the engagement, but they will only push Old Jiang further away."
Jiang Yingzhi, whom Chen Jingshu knew, was the perfect model of a scion of a prominent family in the eyes of parents. He was introverted and steady, and always followed the rules without the slightest blemish or deviation.
Jiang Yingli, on the other hand, is a spoiled, rebellious, and unconventional mad beauty.
Chen Jingshu: "Her purpose today should be simply to reveal her background to the public."
Lin Yujing: "Her background?"
"It's something even my grandfather didn't know. I guess only the Jiang family and I, who accidentally overheard the Jiang siblings talking, know about it in the entire capital. Or perhaps, letting me hear it was part of Miss Jiang's plan."
That was eight years ago, in the summer, when Chen Jingshu had just been brought back to the Chen family.
News media were flooded with reports that Huaren Group had finally found its young master who had been abducted for many years.
The Chen family hosted a grand banquet, inviting almost all the prominent and powerful families in Beijing to celebrate.
The first time Chen Jingshu was dressed in a suit, the young man still exuded the wild and unrestrained spirit of a primitive small town.
It doesn't fit the image of being refined and noble at all; instead, it gives off a sense of desolation, wildness, and unapproachability.
Jiang Yingli was only 15 years old that year. She made a grand entrance as the last girl to appear, wearing a golden imperial dress. Among girls her age, she had a more mature charm because her features were too delicate and beautiful.
The two of them standing together looked completely out of place, no matter how you looked at it.
Fueled by alcohol, the elders of the Chen and Jiang families formalized the marriage in front of everyone.
Upon hearing the news of the engagement, Jiang Yingli even tightened his grip on Jiang Yingzhi's arm.
It's easy to see that the spoiled and hot-tempered young lady immediately wanted to cause trouble, but Jiang Yingzhi stopped her in time and forcibly dragged her out of the banquet hall.
The following day, Chen Jingshu received news that Miss Jiang had been sent abroad to study.
He was suffering from his own heartbreak at the time, so he didn't care what had happened to Jiang Yingli or whether the marriage would go through.
The verbal engagement was dragged on from when he was 18 until he was 26.
At one point, he thought it was just a joke made by his elders after drinking, and that he didn't need to take it seriously.
However, after Jiang Yingli graduated from university and was brought back to China by Jiang Yingzhi this winter, the old story was brought up again.
The fight with Jiang Yingzhi was because the Jiang family was holding a banquet to celebrate the eldest daughter's birthday, and the two families sat down together for the first time in a very formal manner to discuss marriage.
Jiang Yingli remained expressionless throughout the conversation. Halfway through, he suddenly turned to Chen Jingshu and said, "I will not marry you."
These words were exactly what Chen Jingshu wanted to hear, so he replied casually, "Coincidentally, I won't marry you either."
Then, Jiang Yingli gave him an unusually wicked smile, slowly stood up, and overturned the dining table in front of all the elders.
"Madman" became Chen Jingshu's entire impression of Jiang Yingli.
Just as he was being urged by Chen Zhenfeng to go and coax Jiang Yingli, he overheard the two siblings arguing in the study.
“Brother, I don’t want to marry Chen Jingshu. You know I have someone I like.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Jingshu was already preparing to leave, as he had already decided that he and Jiang Yingli could become allies in jointly rejecting the marriage agreement.
All the two of them need to do is sit down together and discuss and plan the opportunity to annul the engagement.
But what the siblings said next shocked him even more.
"Jiang Yingli, I'm warning you, don't mention it again." Jiang Yingzhi lowered his voice and warned her fiercely.
But this also enraged Jiang Yingli, who was already teetering on the brink of collapse. She screamed hysterically, "Why can't I mention it? I just like my brother! It's a woman's liking for a man, the liking of love."
Jiang Yingzhi's eyes immediately turned red, and he covered her lips with his own, saying, "Are you crazy!"
Jiang Yingli opened her mouth and bit his tiger's mouth, forcing the man to let go. Then her sobs became louder, as if she had lost all reason and was recklessly accusing him, "I went crazy when I found out that we are Mom and Dad's children, but not siblings by blood!"
"Brother, don't you think even our names are a kind of curse?"
Chen Jingshu explained it once, only to find that Lin Yujing had fallen into a daze.
He reached out and ruffled her hair, as if afraid that telling her about this distorted ethical issue all at once would frighten her, so he changed the subject and asked, "Are you listening to me?"
Lin Yujing then came to her senses, dazedly pulling a soft pillow from the bed into her arms. When she looked at Chen Jingshu again, her eyes were still filled with disbelief and confusion.
Perhaps it was because there was too much information, or perhaps it was because they felt that the price this engagement would bring to everyone was too high.
Another factor is the butterfly effect caused by Jiang Yingli's self-destruction.
Could it really be as they think?
They broke off their engagement and went their separate ways to pursue the happiness they desired.
Or does this mean that even without Jiang Yingli, Chen Jingshu will still have to face Zhao Yingli and Gao Yingli in the future...?
A note from the author:
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, my darlings!
There are Mid-Autumn Festival red envelopes in the comments section of this chapter!
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Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-09-28 23:54:34 and 2023-09-29 23:49:58!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: 细嗅蔷薇 (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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