Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Shang Zenian had just returned home from university for summer break.

He hadn’t planned on visiting the Chen family, but his mother kept saying that when he was little, Chen Yin’s mother had taken good care of him. Now that she was gone and her daughter had been found, it was only right for him to come along and see her.

As for the so-called childhood engagement, if he didn’t want to acknowledge it, that was fine. It had originally been a casual promise made between close friends, and this wasn’t the era of arranged marriages anymore. No one could force them together.

Shang Zenian had no clear memories of his childhood, but since his mother put it that way, he figured coming over wouldn’t hurt.

He had planned to just meet her and leave, but then Mrs. Chen suddenly brought up the matter of a fiancé. Shang Zenian frowned. His mother, probably afraid he’d walk out, patted his leg to signal him not to get angry.

Shang Zenian wasn’t angry. He wouldn’t acknowledge anything he didn’t want to, and no one could force him.

He just didn’t like the pushy, high-handed attitude of the Chens.

Mrs. Shang held her son back, then turned to look toward the stairs. She patted Shang Zenian’s leg. “Xiao Ze, look quickly. She really is Aunt Rou’s daughter. She looks almost exactly like her when she was young.”

Shang Zenian didn’t remember what Aunt Rou looked like at all. He looked up out of politeness and saw Jiang Cheng standing there in a daze. His gaze paused, and then he couldn’t help raising an eyebrow.

Jiang Cheng was completely stunned. Chen Pingzhou hadn’t told him that this Chen Yin even had a fiancé!

Actually, it wasn’t Chen Pingzhou’s fault for overlooking it. The thing was, the Shang family was the top family in Nancheng. Shang Zenian and his father both were only children, meaning if someone married into the family, they’d become the future head of the household without any family competition.

Putting aside the fact that the engagement was just a verbal agreement between Mrs. Shang and Chen Rou when they were best friends, even if it had been formally agreed upon, Chen Pingzhou wouldn’t have expected a girl suffering from mutism to be accepted by the Shang family.

Besides, Shang Zenian wasn’t the type to follow orders. If he decided to act up, even the local thugs would give him a wide berth. The Chen family, no matter how eager they were to curry favor, wouldn’t dare bring up the engagement.

Now Mrs. Chen’s sudden outburst was clearly ill-intentioned.

Her intention was obvious: she wanted the Shang family to think that the Chens were desperate for Shang Zenian to fulfill the engagement, by foisting a mute, uneducated, and countrified girl on him. This would make the Shang family resentful or even disgusted.

Chen Yin was Chen Pingzhou’s responsibility, so any resentment from the Shang family would naturally fall on him.

If this young Master Shang made a move, even a small one, it would be enough to make things very difficult for Chen Pingzhou.

So, Mrs. Chen, who hadn’t shown much enthusiasm during the afternoon’s reunion, now saw Jiang Cheng standing there dumbfounded. She walked up warmly and reached for his hand, but Jiang Cheng instinctively dodged.

Unfazed, she said with a smile, “What are you standing there for? Come meet your fiancé! He’s the dream man of so many girls in Nancheng. You’ll definitely like him. Come on.”

Chen Pingzhou and his wife were nowhere to be seen. Jiang Cheng, not knowing the situation, had no choice but to brace himself and go downstairs.

An elegant woman who looked a bit like the tall handsome man—presumably Shang Zenian’s mother—came up to him, her eyes red and full of pity.

She dabbed the corner of her eye, then forced a smile and said, “Good child, you’ve suffered all these years. It’s good that you’re back. From now on, everything will be better.”

Jiang Cheng was at a loss. The guy standing next to her was the fiancé, so this woman was… his future mother-in-law?

A chill ran down Jiang Cheng’s spine.

Help!

Seeing how flustered he was, Mrs. Shang immediately felt affection for him. She said softly, “You might not know me, but I was your mother’s close friend. You can call me Aunt Fang.”

Jiang Cheng couldn’t speak, so he fell back on his old trick and forced a smile at her.

Mrs. Shang simply thought he was shy and was unbothered by his silence. But Mrs. Chen chimed in from the side, “This child has had a hard life. After getting lost, she was taken by human traffickers. She was bullied a lot when she was young, which caused psychological problems. She can’t talk anymore.”

“That’s mutism. It can be cured,” the old man said, addressing Mrs. Chen. “Go to the kitchen and tell them to prepare dinner early.”

Mrs. Chen had done what she needed. Before leaving, she smiled and delivered one last jab: “Alright. Will the future in-laws be staying for dinner too?”

“No need to trouble you. We have plans tonight,” Mrs. Shang said.

Mrs. Chen left satisfied. Mrs. Shang said to Shang Zenian, “Come say hello to your little sister.”

It was clear that Mrs. Shang knew her son well. Calling her “little sister” was also a way to clarify their stance in front of the old man.

She could tell that the old man also wanted Shang Zenian to fulfill the oral engagement. After all, her son was truly outstanding. If they ended up together, as the mother-in-law, she would definitely treat her best friend’s orphan like her own daughter.

But marriage wasn’t something that could be decided by the parents alone.

She knew her son’s personality best. How could he ever accept this kind of arranged marriage?

Shang Zenian stood up and walked over to Jiang Cheng. “Hello, we meet again.”

Mrs. Shang was surprised. “You know each other?”

“We met at the service area today. He even left a mark on my shoe.” Shang Zenian lifted his foot; there was indeed a faint shoe print on it.

Jiang Cheng’s face turned a little red. He really hadn’t meant to!

Old Mr. Chen chuckled. “Well, it seems you have some fate between you.”

Stepping on someone’s foot counts as fate? Fate my foot!

Even Mrs. Shang, who was usually composed, felt like rolling her eyes.

But she didn’t show it. She smiled and introduced her son to Jiang Cheng, “This is my son, Shang Zenian.”

Jiang Cheng had understood what Mrs. Shang meant earlier. It seemed she didn’t want to push the engagement either, just treating him as a little sister.

Good. Otherwise, a guy dating another guy—that would be ridiculous.

Since he wasn’t considered a fiancé, Jiang Cheng’s expression relaxed a lot. Afraid of being misunderstood as interested, he just gave Shang Zenian a faint nod as a greeting.

Mrs. Shang pulled Jiang Cheng to sit down and said to Shang Zenian, “Didn’t you say you had plans with friends? Go ahead. I’ll stay and chat with Yin Yin a bit longer.”

She knew he wouldn’t stay long, so this was an excuse for him to leave.

“I canceled,” Shang Zenian’s reply surprised Mrs. Shang. He took out his phone and said to Jiang Cheng, “Let me recommend a good app for you to communicate with others. Add me on WeChat and I’ll send you the installation package.”

Mrs. Shang: “…”

She immediately retracted her earlier confidence that she knew her son best.

She had never seen him voluntarily add a girl’s WeChat before. Could it be that he really had taken a liking to her?

Jiang Cheng didn’t know Shang Zenian at all and was completely unsuspecting. He took out his phone and added him on WeChat.

Shang Zenian considerately sent his name and, after Jiang Cheng saved it, sent an installation package. Then he asked, “Do you know how to install it?”

Before Jiang Cheng could answer, Shang Zenian moved and naturally sat down next to him. “I’ll teach you.”

Mrs. Shang almost wanted to pinch her thigh. Was this still her aloof, unapproachable, cold-faced son?

Let’s see.

With Shang Zenian’s help, the app was quickly installed. Shang Zenian said, “You type in the input box, then press this little speaker icon.”

Jiang Cheng brought up his phone's keyboard, hesitated for a moment, typed two words, then tapped the speaker icon.

The phone immediately played a sweet female voice: "Grandpa."

The old man was weak and couldn't say much. Hearing the word "Grandpa," even though it was just from the phone, he was still very happy and responded with an "Ah," saying, "Good child."

This software really solved Jiang Cheng's current predicament of being unable to speak and only able to smile like an idiot. Jiang Cheng then typed another line in the input box: "Thank you, it's very convenient and easy to use."

"No problem. If there's anything that doesn't work well, just text me on WeChat, and I'll have them fix it."

Jiang Cheng was surprised and typed: "This is your software?"

Shang's mother chimed in from the side, "He has a little cousin who also has trouble speaking, so he paid to have it made."

So that's how it was.

Jiang Cheng thought that Shang Zenian, who looked intimidating and hard to get along with, was actually pretty nice.

Shang's mother and the others stayed for a while longer, not leaving until almost dinner time.

Since Shang's mother and the others didn't seem like they wanted to follow through with the marriage arrangement, and Jiang Cheng couldn't easily speak, he didn't bring it up with Chen Pingzhou.

That evening, lying in bed, Jiang Cheng switched his WeChat to his own account and immediately saw that his childhood friend He Jun had sent him many messages.

He Jun: Little Cheng, have you arrived?

He Jun: Hehe, how's the big city? Can you even find north?

He Jun: By the way, is this job reliable? You're not being tricked into a pyramid scheme, are you?

He Jun: Hey hey hey, are you there? Heck, don't scare me.

He Jun: If you don't reply, I'm calling the police.

The last message was sent ten minutes ago. Jiang Cheng quickly replied.

Evil Big Orange: I wasn't tricked. I just arrived today and was too busy, so I forgot to check WeChat.

He Jun replied almost instantly.

He Jun: Geez, Little Cheng, you didn't reply for so long, you really freaked me out. I almost called the police.

Jiang Cheng had only told He Jun that someone had introduced him to a job in the city; he hadn't mentioned that he was pretending to be a girl.

To avoid slipping up, he would rarely log into this WeChat account from now on, so he needed to explain clearly to He Jun.

Evil Big Orange: I've settled down now, don't worry about me. But at this job, I can't use my phone during the day. Leave me a message if you have anything, and I'll reply when I check it at night.

He Jun: Are you sure this job is okay? I'm so worried you'll be scammed!

Evil Big Orange: It's fine, it's a legitimate big company with a contract, don't worry.

He Jun: Alright then, don't worry about it. I'll go over regularly and take care of your grandma for you.

Evil Big Orange: Okay, let her know I'm safe for me. I'll find time to call her.

After chatting with He Jun and replying to a few classmates' messages, Jiang Cheng switched back to Chen Yin's WeChat. That account had messages too.

It was from Shang Zenian. Jiang Cheng opened it and found a text document.

Shang Zenian: This is a newly added document of common phrases. Tap the "+" icon in the top right, choose 'Import', and then you can select common phrases directly without typing.

Chen Yin: Okay, thank you so much.

After sending, Jiang Cheng downloaded the document and imported it.

Shang Zenian was probably looking at his phone since he replied quickly.

Shang Zenian: No need to be so polite with me.

Shang Zenian: How are you settling in?

Chen Yin: It's pretty good. The people here are very good to me. It's a thousand times better than my old life.

Shang Zenian: Hmm, the past is behind us. Things will get better from here on out.

Jiang Cheng thought to himself that Shang Zenian, who looked intimidating and hard to get along with, was actually pretty nice.

Chen Yin: Okay *^_^*

Shang Zenian: Do you like Yao Qian?

Who is Yao Qian?

Jiang Cheng opened his browser and searched, finding that she was quite a famous singer. He didn't understand why Shang Zenian would suddenly ask this question.

Could it be that many girls like this singer, so he should like her too?

After thinking it over, Jiang Cheng replied.

Chen Yin: I'm usually busy working and don't have much time to listen to music. I've only heard a few of her songs, and I can't say I like her or dislike her. Why do you ask?

Shang Zenian: She has a concert tomorrow at our city's stadium. If you're interested, we can go together.

In the first 19 years of Jiang Cheng's life, there were only two things: studying and working part-time jobs to earn money. Concerts were something he had only seen in videos, and he was genuinely curious.

But his responsibility was to the old man; he didn't dare to go out and enjoy himself.

Besides, Shang Zenian seemed like a pretty aloof person. Why would he invite him to a concert?

Maybe he was just a nice guy wanting to show this country bumpkin around.

Chen Yin: I can't go. I need to stay home with my grandpa.

Shang Zenian: It was your grandpa who wanted me to take you out often to get familiar with Nancheng.

Of course, this "grandpa's wish" was just what Shang Zenian assumed.

But Jiang Cheng didn't know that. He thought it really was the old man's idea. He had noticed that afternoon that the old man wanted to set them up, and he guessed that because the old man didn't have long to live, and they did have a marriage agreement, Shang Zenian found it hard to refuse.

Judging by Shang Zenian's tone, it was businesslike, with no hint of romance.

Chen Yin: It's okay, actually I don't really like going out.

Shang Zenian: Then what do you like to do in your free time?

Chen Yin: I like reading books.

Shang Zenian: You probably don't have any books at your place. Want to borrow some from Nancheng Library? It's one of the top five libraries in the country, with a huge collection.

Jiang Cheng opened his browser again and searched for the Nancheng Library, instantly amazed by its vastness and high-tech feel. He was instantly hooked.

Since Shang Zenian was just carrying out the task assigned by his grandfather, he could indeed pretend to spend some time with him for a while, and then tell his grandfather that they had spent time together but he didn't like him—that'd be more convincing, so his grandfather wouldn't keep pushing them together.

Chen Yin: Sure, tomorrow?

Shang Zenian: Mm, I'll pick you up at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

Chen Yin: Okay.

Shang Zenian leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window, his long legs crossed. Seeing this reply, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Just then, his phone buzzed with an incoming video call. It was the friend who'd come back with him that afternoon, Lu Xiyuan.

Shang Zenian answered, saying lazily, "What's up?"

Lu Xiyuan's face appeared on the screen, apparently in some lavish nightclub.

"What else? Come out and party."

Shang Zenian flatly refused, "I'm busy."

"Come on, you're finally back on break. Everybody's been waiting to throw you a welcome party. The venue's all ready. Whatever you've got, can't you put it off?"

"Can't. I need to sleep early and wake up early tomorrow," Shang Zenian said casually, but his words dropped like a bombshell. "I'm with my fiancée."

Lu Xiyuan: Huh?!