Chapter 99 Jasmine

Chapter 99 Jasmine

"What the hell do you mean 'kinda'? It either is or it isn't."

The woman on the phone was clearly the bold and straightforward type, and she couldn't stand Zhan Jiayu's ambiguous answer.

"Not yet, but it will be."

Zhan Jiayu had no choice but to clarify.

"Oh, I see. So you haven't sealed the deal—he hasn’t agreed."

The girl’s voice showed no mercy, bluntly pointing out the truth.

"Jasmine, just say what you need to say."

Zhan Jiayu was worried that if Jasmine continued being so loud and excitable, she might wake Yan Zhoubai.

"I’m planning to visit China for a while, so I’m giving you a heads-up. Be ready to host me when I get there."

Jasmine’s voice was full of excitement, as if she were delivering a pleasant surprise.

"You’re coming to China? Alone?" Zhan Jiayu felt no surprise at all—in fact, he was already starting to get a headache.

"Yeah, just me."

"How are you going to manage alone when you don’t even speak the language?"

Zhan Jiayu knew Jasmine all too well. She was as noisy as a crowd all by herself, and the language barrier wouldn’t hold her back in the slightest.

"Who’s going to handle your work while you’re away?" Zhan Jiayu sighed.

"Eden’s handling it. What’s to worry about? Anyway, I can’t be bothered with the family’s damn business, and I don’t even care for it. If the old man hadn’t been so obsessed back then, forcing everyone to fight for his shitty position, I would’ve left long ago. Being born into the Zhan family, a local mafia powerhouse, isn’t exactly a blessing. You know, back in school, I hardly dated at all. The boys were all scared of me once they found out my last name—no one dared to date me."

Jasmine’s tone sounded seriously frustrated as she spoke about this.

"Eden has his own responsibilities, and you have yours. If you’d really been capable of leaving the Zhan family when you were younger, you wouldn’t be talking to me right now. As things stand, the Zhan family doesn’t carry dead weight."

Zhan Jiayu’s friendly tone suddenly turned stern, carrying an air of authority even without anger.

The Zhan family didn’t tolerate dead weight. Everyone who stayed had their role; those who didn’t were exiled long ago, just like the siblings who weren't loyal to him when he first took over.

"Alright, alright, I get it! Is that any way to talk to your sister? You’re the worst brother. Eden is much nicer."

After a brief silence on the other end, Jasmine clearly wasn’t intimidated by Zhan Jiayu’s tone and continued speaking as usual, though she added defensively:

"I talked to Eden about handing off my work to him, and he agreed. It’s not like I’m dumping everything on him without notice. Besides, even regular employees get vacation time—why shouldn’t I take a break when I’m working for myself?"

Zhan Jiayu didn’t say anything more. He reacted that way because he knew Jasmine too well. She had always been restless and disliked the rigid rules of the Zhan family, wanting to leave since she was young. But back then, the old man held absolute power, and she never had the chance.

Zhan Jiayu had many siblings. The Zhan patriarch’s ruthless upbringing style was designed to select the most suitable heir—the one most capable of expanding the family’s influence. This pitted siblings against each other, and even after he became the successor, many still opposed him and tried to cause trouble.

He dealt with those people, kicking them out of the family’s inner circle. They were free to do as they pleased outside, but they would never have a say in family affairs again, lest they cause more trouble.

The only two he kept close were Jasmine and Eden—a sister and a brother who had no interest in inheriting the family and had always been on good terms with him.

Although Jasmine was scatterbrained, she had grown up in the Zhan family and possessed all the necessary skills—she just had little interest in using them.

Eden was a seriously capable right-hand man. Zhan Jiayu could confidently manage the Zhan family’s affairs in Country A remotely from China without worrying about chaos or rivals causing trouble, all because Eden could firmly hold down the fort.

Zhan Jiayu’s reprimand of Jasmine was because she had her unreliable moments. She had no interest in the family’s power struggles—as long as she had money, she was content. There had been instances before where she pushed all her work onto Eden.

Eden already had plenty on his plate, especially with Zhan Jiayu in China, making Eden’s role in Country A even more critical. If Jasmine added to his burden, problems could arise.

"What's the real reason you're coming to China? You’ve traveled abroad plenty over the years, but you’ve never shown interest in China before."

Zhan Jiayu’s mother was Chinese, and he was born in China. The Zhan patriarch valued family roots and nostalgia for the homeland, so even though Zhan Jiayu grew up in Country A, he received dedicated instruction in Chinese language and culture, missing nothing.

But Jasmine and Eden, whose mothers were not Chinese and who didn’t grow up in China, were unfamiliar with the country. The patriarch didn’t arrange for them to learn about it.

"Hehe, I just broke up again recently."

Jasmine pretended to be sad, but Zhan Jiayu could tell she wasn’t upset at all. In recent years, Jasmine had changed boyfriends as often as she changed clothes, as if making up for all the dating she missed out on in her youth due to her status as a mafia heiress.

"I think men in Country A are boring—I’ve dated too many of them. Lately, I’ve seen a Chinese celebrity on social media who’s totally my type. I want to get to know him, hehe."

For the past couple of years, Jasmine had been doing just enough in the family to get by—competent enough to represent the Zhan family when needed, but with no drive to do more than that. She claimed that the patriarch’s harsh upbringing had left her traumatized, and now she just wanted to take it easy.

"You don’t even speak the language, and you want to come to China to chase after some young celebrity?"

Zhan Jiayu felt that his sister could only be reliable for so long before she’d inevitably do something impulsive.

"That’s exactly why I’m coming to you! Otherwise, I’d just go on my own. Why else would I notify you?" Jasmine said, as if it were obvious. "I heard the old man had some business holdings in China before. Aren’t you there to take over control of them? If I go to China, can I still play the role of the fearsome mafia heiress?"

"Before you come, you should read up on Chinese law. There’s no such thing as a 'mafia heiress' here. You’re coming to ask me for a cover story? What, planning to throw your weight around to date a celebrity?"

"Of course not! But you know how it is—I don't know my way around. Without some status, I won’t even get to meet the guy. Besides, I’m generous. All my breakups are friendly, and my exes only have good things to say about me. Which of them hasn’t benefited from being with me?"

When it came to dating, Jasmine spoke with effortless confidence, as if she were in her element. She floated through relationships without ever getting attached.

"Fine, I get it. Text me your flight info when you have them. I’ll have Chen Chu pick you up."

Zhan Jiayu didn't want to hear about his sister’s love life and promptly ended the call.

...

Yan Zhoubai had an uncomfortable nap. Although he had been treated poorly growing up in the Yan family, he was still a young master and had never slept on a sofa before. Even though the sofa in Zhan Jiayu’s office was large and soft, almost like a bed, he still couldn’t get used to it.

He also felt like his sleep environment wasn’t entirely quiet, as if someone had been talking nearby, though he couldn’t tell if it was real or part of a dream.

"You’re awake. How was your nap?"

Seeing Yan Zhoubai sit up on the sofa, still looking dazed, Zhan Jiayu naturally walked over, sat down beside him, and pulled him into his arms.

Yan Zhoubai had just woken up, a tuft of hair sticking up on his head. Combined with his bleary-eyed expression, it was adorable. Zhan Jiayu’s phone was within reach, and he quickly snapped a photo.

Yan Zhoubai reached out to grab Zhan Jiayu’s hand but missed, still half-asleep, and ended up leaning against Zhan Jiayu’s lap.

"It’s not a bad photo. Look—it’s really cute."

Zhan Jiayu showed Yan Zhoubai the picture he had just taken.

Yan Zhoubai shook his head to clear the sleepiness and focused his gaze on the phone screen.

In the photo, he clearly looked like he had just woken up, his eyes barely open, but the tuft of hair sticking up was particularly noticeable.

Cute? Not bad—the bedhead definitely helped.

"It's okay, you can keep this photo. Remember, no ugly pictures of me."

Yan Zhoubai handed the phone back to Zhan Jiayu, then scooched his legs out from under the blanket and began putting on his shoes. As he did so, he asked in a soft, sleepy voice:

"Were you working while I was sleeping? I thought I heard you on a call."

"Did I still wake you? Sorry about that."

"It's fine, it didn't really affect my sleep. But you're really busy, huh? Even during your lunch break, you're still dealing with work?"

Yan Zhoubai finished putting on his shoes and finally felt fully awake.

"It wasn't work—my sister called to say she's planning to visit China."

"Your sister?"

Yan Zhoubai bolted upright, as if he'd just heard some kind of trigger word.

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Author's note: She's coming [melting emoji]