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Psst! We're moving!
Shen Tang didn’t plan to stay long. She came to the clubhouse just to see him, to let him know that she was back.
“You’re busy,” she said, waving to Jiang Chengyu.
“Not busy,” Jiang Chengyu said, trying to keep her, asking her to come to the private room with him.
“I can introduce you to some people,” he added.
Shen Tang still politely declined. “I have a lot of things to sort out at home.”
Knowing she was making an excuse, Jiang Chengyu didn’t force her. “I’ll take you back.” He once again left the room full of people waiting for him, sending a message to those who were smoking in the courtyard: [No need to wait for me, you guys have fun.]
Jiang Chengyu opened the rear car door, his gesture implying no refusal, yet filled with unspoken expectation.
Shen Tang looked at him, then bent down and got in.
His jacket was draped over the rear armrest. She accidentally sat on the sleeve of the jacket.
Shen Tang slightly lifted herself to pull out the sleeve.
The jacket looked familiar. She remembered it. In the Shanghai apartment, she had used this jacket to cover her legs, and even stomped on it with her feet.
Suddenly, a cool breeze carrying the scent of alcohol permeated the car. The car door closed, and Jiang Chengyu got in from the other side.
He stared at her. “What’s wrong?”
Shen Tang’s attention had been distracted by the jacket. She collected herself. “Nothing.”
The jacket separated them.
Jiang Chengyu picked up the jacket and placed it on his left, near the car door.
He and Shen Tang were still separated by the armrest, but without the black jacket in between, the distance seemed a little closer.
“What do you want to drink?” he asked.
Shen Tang shook her head without thinking. This car held too many memories of him and her; small matters like thirst and drinking water were not on her mind.
Jiang Chengyu took a bottle of room-temperature water, unscrewed it, and offered it to her. Shen Tang didn’t take it, busy searching for something in her bag.
He drank the opened water himself.
“Returning it to its rightful owner,” Shen Tang said, holding the diamond ring between two fingers.
Jiang Chengyu met her gaze. The dappled shadows of trees along the roadside reflected on the car window, falling on her profile. As the car passed beneath the trees, the light on her face also flickered.
“Does the size fit?”
After a few seconds, he still took it.
It fit perfectly.
But out of a bit of self-esteem, Shen Tang didn’t respond.
“As long as it fits,” Jiang Chengyu put the diamond ring into his jacket pocket.
The original ring box was still in London.
“Where do you live?”
Shen Tang: “...”
She just realized she hadn’t mentioned this since getting in the car. The driver was calm enough not to ask for a destination and just drove in a random direction.
“Still the same apartment I rented.”
“Didn’t you give it away?” Jiang Chengyu looked at her, turning his head.
“Yuanyuan insisted I stay there. Just for a few months, I’ll make do.”
Jiang Chengyu maintained a comfortable distance from her, not mentioning his own empty apartment, nor suggesting she move there.
“I called Brother Shen before returning to China,” Shen Tang said, resting her arm casually on the armrest. “Brother Shen mentioned that you went to Haitang Village before the Spring Festival.”
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, asking, “Was it for a business trip to Shenzhen?”
It wasn’t a business trip; he specifically went to Haitang Village.
Jiang Chengyu went along with her words. “Yes, I went to Shenzhen for a matter. I had plenty of time, and it was nearby, so I went to see Grandpa.”
When Grandpa passed away, he was abroad and didn’t make it back in time for the last farewell. That day, he bought a bouquet of flowers specifically to visit the elderly man.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Mentioning Grandpa always made the atmosphere heavy. Shen Tang didn’t know how to respond to Jiang Chengyu, and there was a minute of silence in the car.
Jiang Chengyu distracted her. “What are you responsible for in the project team?”
Shen Tang recovered. “Just general tasks, I guess. I’m not clear yet; it depends on how Xie Yucheng arranges it.”
“You won’t learn much in the project team. Everyone has their own work, and no one has the time or patience to teach an apprentice while working on a project,” Jiang Chengyu advised her. “From now on, you can come to me every day and get a comprehensive understanding of the entire project’s progress.”
“You must be very fierce at work. If I come to you every day, you might even give me attitude.”
Jiang Chengyu smiled faintly. “I won’t be fierce with you.”
“It’s not like you haven’t been fierce before,” Shen Tang brought up old grievances. “Your eyes alone could kill me.” She was referring to their breakup.
Jiang Chengyu said in a low voice, “That’s because you wanted to leave me.”
Shen Tang remained silent.
Jiang Chengyu adjusted his posture, leaning towards the armrest, resting his chin on his hand.
Both of their arms rested on the armrest, separated by no more than an inch.
“Do you want to listen to music or watch TV?”
Shen Tang: “Whatever.”
“Tune to a TV show, turn the TV on for Shen Tang’s side,” Jiang Chengyu instructed the driver.
The driver complied, simultaneously raising the soundproof glass partition between the front and back seats.
The in-car television rose from the back of Shen Tang’s front seat. Soon, the screen lit up, automatically searching for and matching a signal.
“Are you coming back?” Her voice came from the TV.
After a few seconds, a male voice replied, “Probably.” So uncertain.
This was a youthful urban drama that aired on satellite TV during the Spring Festival before she and Jiang Chengyu broke up. In the drama, she and the male lead had a tragic ending.
The male lead later didn’t return to China and got married abroad.
The screen was currently showing the twenty-eighth episode.
Shen Tang turned her head to glance at Jiang Chengyu. “Didn’t you follow this drama?”
Jiang Chengyu: “Rewatched it three times.”
“...” Shen Tang said no more.
She rarely watched dramas she acted in; she couldn’t stand it, always finding it awkward.
An episode hadn’t even finished when the car stopped at the entrance of the residential complex.
Jiang Chengyu was not a resident, so his car couldn’t enter.
Shen Tang didn’t let Jiang Chengyu escort her. After getting out of the car, she directly swiped her access card and entered the complex.
“Mr. Jiang, Mr. Yan’s car is behind us,” the driver reminded him.
Jiang Chengyu also saw Yan Heyu’s car and opened the door to get out.
Yan Heyu rolled down his window. He was mentally prepared for Jiang Chengyu’s inevitable mockery.
“Who knows which of us is more pathetic,” Yan Heyu’s car had been parked there for a while, waiting for someone who never showed up. He had seen Wen Di eating at a restaurant with a man and was waiting for her there.
From ten o’clock until almost midnight, Wen Di hadn’t returned.
Jiang Chengyu tapped the rearview mirror a few times with his finger. “Don’t compare yourself to me.”
Yan Heyu didn’t argue with him. “You’ve been so busy accompanying Shen Tang, you probably haven’t seen the news from New York, have you?” He had just seen it ten minutes ago.
Jiang Chengyu had a bad feeling. “What news?”
“New York time, yesterday at 5 PM, Chairman Xiao was invited to a financial summit. During the meeting, a reporter asked about the possibility of Xiao Ning Group engaging in deeper cooperation with M.K in the future. That old fox, Chairman Xiao, evaded the main point, saying he had an appointment to play golf with Chairman Mu at the Mu family estate this afternoon.”
Chairman Mu was Xie Yucheng’s maternal grandfather, the founder of the M.K Group.
Chairman Xiao’s statement signaled to the outside world that Shen Tang and Xie Yucheng’s relationship was stable, and in the future, the two families might cooperate.
Just this morning, a reporter interviewed Xie Yucheng’s mother. Xie Yucheng’s mother stated that the two children’s relationship was excellent, and the wedding should not be far off.
This was considered a semi-official announcement of their engagement, good news. By market close this morning, both Xiao Ning and M.K’s stock prices had soared.
Yan Heyu found the news article and handed his phone to Jiang Chengyu. “You tell me how passive you are now. I don’t even know how to break this deadlock.”
Jiang Chengyu didn’t take the phone. Instead, he took out his own phone and messaged Xie Yucheng: [What do you mean by this?]
He sent the message and turned to walk towards his car.
Xie Yucheng had just had an argument with his mother. Previously, no matter how much his relationship with Shen Tang was exposed, it was always online news; he himself had never confirmed it to the media.
Today, his mother’s personal statement gave investors a signal.
He couldn’t remember how many times he had argued with his mother. His father told him to calm down.
How could he stay calm about something like this?
Xie Yucheng replied to Jiang Chengyu: [It’s not what I mean, it’s what my mom means. You guys have heard what her personality is like. My dad was someone she snatched by any means necessary back then, and now she’s set her sights on Shen Tang as her daughter-in-law. She’s going to snatch a wife for me.]
His mother truly liked Shen Tang, liked Shen Tang’s appearance, and also liked Shen Tang’s clean and efficient way of doing things. When the media broke the video of him and Shen Tang, his mother was incredibly excited, urging him repeatedly to bring Shen Tang home.
His romantic escapades over the years could fill a helicopter, and his mother couldn’t do anything about him. Now that she had a great opportunity, how could she let it go?
Public opinion was a double-edged sword. As useful as this sword was then, its side effects were equally deadly now.
Xie Yucheng: [I’ll be in Beijing soon. We’ll take it one step at a time.]
He wondered what sins he committed in his previous life that all the women he met in this life were obsessive. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to be indifferent to any of them.
Jiang Chengyu’s phone vibrated again; it was his niece: [Uncle, hug you.]
It seemed his niece had also seen the foreign reports.
Li Zheng sent a second message: [Don’t look at the trending searches. The comments are hurtful; they’re all shipping Shen Tang and Xie Yucheng.]
A wild and unrestrained man like Xie Yucheng, once he settles down, is absolutely a heart-throb.
He had too many qualities that made girls swoon. Besides the M.K太子爺 (Crown Prince) aura, he also owned several companies and was formerly the youngest pilot at M.K Airlines, with first-class piloting skills.
And he was handsome.
Little Uncle was just low-key. If he were to compete with Xie Yucheng, he would definitely win.
Even winning would be meaningless; Shen Tang and Xie Yucheng had been together for so many years.
[Uncle, it’s okay, we all love you.]
Jiang Chengyu grasped the key point in his niece’s message: the news from abroad had already made it onto the domestic trending searches.
________________________________________
Shen Tang also saw the trending search; Yuanyuan had forwarded it to her.
She felt nothing, just read it and closed it.
[Let’s meet tomorrow evening at 7 PM.] She sent this to Chen Nanjin, attaching the address of a coffee shop.
Chen Nanjin was surprised to receive a message from his daughter. [Okay, Dad will be there on time.]
The next day, he arrived at the agreed-upon coffee shop an hour early.
Shen Tang arrived precisely on time, carrying a handbag.
Chen Nanjin didn’t know what coffee she liked. “What flavor do you want?”
Shen Tang turned to the waiter and said, “A cup of milk, please.”
The coffee shop was an investment by Wen Di late last year. The waiter was not surprised to see her, and even this private room had been reserved for her by Wen Di.
“Your father saw the news online,” Chen Nanjin said, trying to make conversation. “If it’s true, congratulations, my daughter. Xie Yucheng is very good. I don’t know much else, but he’s genuinely good to you.”
He had met Xie Yucheng in Haitang Village, and he had left a good impression.
“If you marry Xie Yucheng, you’ll stay there, live your quiet life, and I’ll visit you often.”
“So you’re hoping I settle abroad?” Shen Tang folded the paper bag in her hand, the plastic rustling.
She smiled. “It’s you and Fan Yu who want to live a quiet life, right?”
“Tangtang--” Chen Nanjin sounded helpless.
Shen Tang opened the plastic handbag. Inside were three thick black-covered notebooks. She took them out and placed them on the table. “Grandpa’s belongings. I originally didn’t want to give them to you, but I didn’t want to keep them myself and couldn’t bear to throw them away.”
Of the three notebooks, only the top one was five or six parts new. The bottom one was quite old, with its cover frayed.
Chen Nanjin reached out, and his hand trembled as he picked it up.
He opened the bottommost one. The old, damp scent of paper and ink wafted up.
The dates recorded were fifteen years ago, in not very neat handwriting, densely filled with viewing notes and analyses of every brilliant part of his films, also pointing out deficiencies.
For one film, he wrote fifteen pages of reflections.
Every page he turned felt like a thin rope tightening around his neck. By the fifteenth page, he could barely breathe.
The sixteenth page was another viewing experience of a film he starred in.
When he used to talk to his father, whenever there was nothing to talk about, his father would mention, I’m watching your movie. He never paid attention, thinking his father was just making conversation.
“These three are all like that. Take your time reading them at home,” Shen Tang’s voice brought him back to reality. “From now on, you can repent to these notebooks. You don’t need to feign interest in me anymore.”
Chen Nanjin looked up. Before he could speak, Shen Tang made a stopping gesture. “Chen Nanjin, you hurt me for twenty-five years, not twenty-five days. Some things just don’t need to be said anymore.”
She drank a few sips of milk. “I begged you once, when my grandmother was sick. You called me then. I was at my wit’s end, unable to pursue the major I loved, and forced to break up with Ning Yinchen. I asked you if I could come home, that I didn’t want to stay in London anymore. I thought you would help me. You said the resources abroad were good and told me to be obedient. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
“Later, I didn’t even get to see my grandmother for the last time. You and the Xiao family were afraid I wouldn’t return if I came back to China, so you took my passport and documents.”
In their eyes, that was an old woman with no blood relation to her; her life and death weren’t that important.
If it weren’t for He Chuyao and Xie Yucheng, she didn’t know where she would be now.
“If I were an ant, you could have crushed me back then.”
“Tangtang, whether you believe it or not, your mother and I both love you.”
Shen Tang smiled, finishing the milk in her cup. “You executioners, when you were killing souls back then, no one thought of me. Now that you’ve received your retribution, you start advising me, telling me to let go.”
She paid the bill, only for her own cup of milk, picked up her bag, and left.
Chen Nanjin didn’t move, staring at the notebook in his hand, the handwriting slowly blurring.
A few days ago, he had dinner with Zhou Mingqian, who ruthlessly said: Don’t say you didn’t acknowledge Tangtang to compensate Xiao Zhen and not disturb her current life, and don’t say Fan Yu forced you. You’re just using them as an excuse because you can’t bear to give up your fame and fortune.
________________________________________
Shen Tang left the coffee shop, walking forward with the crowd. The city at night, hurried people.
Some happy, some sad.
But no one was like her, abandoned, and then despised for still being alive.
Her phone rang; it was Lu Zhifei.
“I heard you’ve come to Beijing. Last time you treated me to ice cream, I should fulfill my duty as a hostess. If you’re free tonight, I’d like to buy you a drink.”
“Then thank you, Ms. Lu.”
Lu Zhifei gave her the address.
Shen Tang remembered the place; it was the clubhouse where she had gone to find Jiang Chengyu last night.
Accompanied by her bodyguard, she headed straight for the clubhouse.
Lu Zhifei had no hidden agenda for inviting her this time; it was simply to return the favor for the ice cream.
She had heard from people in her circle that Shen Tang’s visit to Beijing this time was as a member of the M.K project team, collaborating with Jiang Chengyu’s Jingxu Group on an acquisition. Neither Xie Yucheng nor Jiang Chengyu, especially Jiang Chengyu, ever treated business lightly.
After hearing this news, the weight on her heart lifted.
As long as Shen Tang married steadily and had ties of interest, she wouldn’t act wildly on a whim.
“Zhifei, who did you say is coming?” someone in the private room asked curiously.
In this circle, one couldn’t just bring anyone in.
Lu Zhifei shelled sunflower seeds and ate them. “Shen Tang. She treated me in Manhattan before, and today I’m taking her out to have some fun.”
“...” They were unaware of the past grievances between Lu Zhifei and Shen Tang, and gave her a thumbs-up for her generosity.
Everyone knew that Lu Zhifei had been rejected by Brother Jiang after confessing to him. Now, Lu Zhifei had no ill will towards the woman Brother Jiang liked, which made them look at her in a new light. “Brother Jiang just wasn’t fortunate enough.”
“Get out of here,” Lu Zhifei said with a laugh. “If Jiang Chengyu were here, you definitely wouldn’t dare say that.”
Only Yan Heyu glanced at Lu Zhifei without comment.
An hour later, Shen Tang appeared in the clubhouse private room.
Not everyone inside had met Shen Tang before. One person had only seen her on TV, and now, seeing her in person, their mouth was wide open.
“I’m going out for a bit.”
Yan Heyu was dealing cards. “Where are you going?”
The person whispered, “I’m going to leave my worldview at the door. With Shen Tang’s looks, I wouldn’t mind if there were a few more ‘fish’ in the Shen Pond. It’s a great honor for Brother Jiang to be with her.”
“...”
Lu Zhifei was warm and generous in front of her childhood friends. She ordered fruit and snacks for Shen Tang and asked the waiter to open a bottle of her treasured red wine kept there.
“I only heard tonight that you’re back in China.” She handed Shen Tang a glass of red wine, toasting her. “In China, my network is at your disposal.”
The unspoken meaning was: My overseas business, don’t even think about it anymore.
Shen Tang only smiled, taking a slight sip of wine.
Lu Zhifei’s overseas business had been exceptionally difficult before, facing external competition and internal shortcomings within her company. Every step was arduous.
Now with the Xiao family, the deadlock was broken.
She would absolutely not allow Shen Tang to interfere with such valuable resources.
Lu Zhifei handed Shen Tang a small packet of sunflower seeds. “Caramel flavored.”
“Thank you,” Shen Tang took it.
The two ate sunflower seeds, chatting on and off.
To outsiders, they seemed to be getting along harmoniously.
Shen Tang’s phone vibrated, receiving a message: [Lu Zhifei is currently looking for more powerful partners and hasn’t put all her hopes on Director Xiao alone. With Ning Yinchen’s company investing, many enterprises are optimistic about her company’s prospects.]
“Brother Jiang, why are you here?”
With a slightly excited “Brother Jiang,” Shen Tang looked up.
Jiang Chengyu held his suit jacket in his hand, two buttons of his white shirt undone. His neck was slightly flushed, indicating he had drunk a lot and had just finished entertaining clients.
He was originally going home, but halfway, he received a message from Yan Heyu and changed course to come here.
The atmosphere was strange, everyone waiting to see the drama unfold.
“Do you think they’ll sit together?”
“Brother Jiang should avoid suspicion.”
“Avoid suspicion my a**!” exclaimed the person who had witnessed Jiang Chengyu publicly embracing Shen Tang last night.
Sure enough, Jiang Chengyu draped his suit jacket over the back of the sofa and sat down right next to Shen Tang.
They loved drama. “Miss Shen, I heard you sing beautifully live. Please grace us with your voice. How about a duet with our Brother Jiang?”
Jiang Chengyu rarely sang, but he had no objection to singing a duet with Shen Tang.
He turned and asked Shen Tang, “Will you sing?”
Shen Tang nodded. “Sure.” She put down her sunflower seeds and drank a few sips of warm water to moisten her throat.
Lu Zhifei sat nearby, quietly watching them.
The person who had earlier egged them on came over and personally picked a song for them. “Let’s do ‘Because of Love.’ This song tests skill, and it’s my favorite.”
Shen Tang was indifferent. Jiang Chengyu didn’t express any opinion, which meant he consented.
The prelude began. Shen Tang glanced at Jiang Chengyu. For some reason, now that they were actually starting to sing, she felt a little nervous. His voice was deep and pleasant, and singing such a song should sound very rich.
When he opened his mouth, the entire room fell silent.
“...Listen to our love back then, sometimes suddenly forgetting that I still love you.”
Shen Tang’s heart thumped wildly. Thankfully, the lighting was dim, so others couldn’t see her flushed face.
But before she could sing the female part, the private room door suddenly burst open. The person at the doorway was breathless. “Mr. Xie is here.”
Everyone: “...”
The official boyfriend had arrived, yet Jiang Chengyu was singing such a love song in a duet with his girlfriend.
By the time Xie Yucheng stepped into the private room, the song “Because of Love” had already been changed by the person who requested it to “Coolness.”
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