Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Jiang Yicen received a call from the police station at noon on Friday. They told him that the two men had seen a chance to make some quick cash, wanting to rob him for some spending money, insisting that they had no boss and that it was all just to scare Jiang Yicen. But Jiang Yicen didn’t think so—he believed they definitely had a boss behind them. As for what that boss did and why he was targeting him, he had no idea.

He then relayed the police’s findings to Nan Shuyi, who simply acknowledged it and said that from now on, Jiang Yicen should be driven everywhere by a chauffeur whenever he went out. For the time being, he shouldn't go anywhere alone, because he was concerned.

Jiang Yicen thought it over, then agreed.

He understood Nan Shuyi’s concerns. He was also curious whether anyone would keep following him. He figured the car that had followed him yesterday morning was also suspicious—he had noted its license plate. But that license plate was different from the one on the car from last night.

Two separate groups? That can't be a coincidence.

This "Jiang Yicen" had lived abroad almost his whole life. How could he have made enemies here?

Jiang Yicen started to wonder about this "Jiang Yicen" identity. Of course, it was also possible that he had offended someone recently and was being retaliated against—for example, Jiang Yiting’s friend Cao Ken.

He messaged Nan Shuyi, asking if it could be Cao Ken. Nan Shuyi told him it wasn’t, because Cao Ken had caused trouble repeatedly and had been transferred to a branch in another city, starting from the bottom, to avoid further embarrassment in Lingcheng. Cao Ken had poor character, but his father was level-headed.

The reputation of Jiang Yicen, the Fourth Young Master Jiang, had also spread within the circle because of Cao Ken.

Just as he finished discussing this with Nan Shuyi, he heard Jiajia and Dabing whispering. When they saw him coming, they waved him over.

Jin Huanxin, who was rarely in the office, had surprisingly stayed the whole day. He was amiable to everyone, even calling them in one by one to talk. Everyone who had worked with him for over six months was summoned, except for Jiang Yicen, who had only recently arrived.

Jiajia asked Jiang Yicen, “Hey, Yicen, didn't President Jin call you in for a chat?”

Jiang Yicen shook his head and smiled indifferently. “No. What did he talk to you guys about?”

He had actually noticed that people had been coming in and out of Jin Huanxin’s office all morning.

If it had been the heads of other departments coming to discuss business or hold a brief meeting, Jiang Yicen wouldn’t have paid much attention. But those called in were all colleagues from his own department.

Dabing said, “It was weird—he asked if we were happy with our current pay.”

She and Jiajia had a good rapport with Jiang Yicen and never held back from him. After all, this new colleague often brought them expensive snacks that weren’t available on the market. In return, they were the first to share any company gossip with him. They'd formed a solid trio for work and gossip.

Back when Tan Ping was still there, everyone in the department knew Jiang Yicen had gotten in through connections. But after learning he'd landed the "Smiling Life" collaboration, those rumors died down.

Other colleagues knew, and Jiajia and Dabing, being at the forefront of gossip, certainly did too.

Jiajia speculated, “Is the company gonna give us a raise? Yicen, do you have any insider info? Can you find out for us?”

Jiang Yicen shook his head. “I honestly have no idea. Doesn't the company do annual raises?”

Dabing had been at the company for three years. “But not at this time—it's usually in July, and it's only April now.”

Jiang Yicen nodded. Putting that together with what Nan Shuyi had told him last night about Jin Huanxin reaching out to other companies, he had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

Jin Huanxin was likely planning to take the whole department team with him to another company.

If he left with his team, the new Marketing Director might have no one to work with, and the marketing department’s operations could be thrown into chaos.

Jiang Yicen then relayed the information to Nan Shuyi. He felt like a corporate spy and almost laughed—he was used to this kind of thing.

Nan Shuyi returned to the company at noon and wanted to invite Jiang Yicen to lunch, but Jiang Yicen declined.

Rejected, Nan Shuyi went to Nan Anru’s office.

Nan Anru saw his grim expression. “Don't make that grumpy face in here. If eating with me is that painful, why even come? Go find Yicen.”

Nan Shuyi rarely spoke honestly in front of him. “He’s eating with colleagues.”

Nan Anru teased, “Tsk, tsk, he’s ignoring you, huh? Useless. Can't even manage your own person.”

Nan Shuyi bristled at that. “Old man, what are you on about? Wasn't it you who told me to get married? What do I need to handle?”

Nan Anru said, “Want me to teach you a thing or two?”

Nan Shuyi said, “Not necessary.”

Nan Anru said, “You don’t know what’s good for you.”

Nan Shuyi would never admit in front of Nan Anru that he was very satisfied with the match his father had arranged.

Of course, he wouldn’t tell anyone else that he had kissed someone, and that the person was willing to chat with him on his phone every day but was avoiding him.

Today was the third day Jiang Yicen had been avoiding him!

In the past, he was busy, and not seeing someone hadn’t bothered him; they just got along as usual.

Last week, he had been a little impulsive, and he realized he had a possessive desire for Jiang Yicen, felt worried and scared—just a little bit of liking.

What was this kid thinking? He used to come right up to me, and now, after just one kiss, he’d been hiding for three days.

Today, he finally had a bit of free time. The stuff at Shiyi was mostly taken care of. Next Monday, new products would launch with new promotions.

This week, he had been supervising all branches to conduct sanitation self-inspections and provide corresponding training to employees. On Monday, both online and offline promotions or store check-in activities would take place.

Nan Shuyi took a couple of bites of his bland, tasteless food and put down his chopsticks.

Nan Shuyi said, “Jin Huanxin from the marketing department is leaving, isn’t he?”

Nan Anru replied, “Assistant An said he’s been in contact with HR from other companies recently, but he hasn’t submitted his resignation yet, so it’s hard to say.”

Nan Shuyi said, “He’s already preparing to take his team away.”

Nan Anru was actually a rather sentimental person. Jin Huanxin wasn’t among the first batch of employees who had built the company with him, but he was still a capable person. Now, things had come to this, and it made him sigh.

Nan Anru said with emotion, “I remember he used to be a steady young man. How did he change?”

Nan Shuyi said, “He got dazzled by all the temptations.”

Nan Anru said, “I was thinking he could get promoted in another two years. Seems like he couldn’t withstand the test.”

Nan Shuyi said, “I want to spend some time in the marketing department to learn the ropes. You should also have the audit department look into his issues. We can't just let him walk away like this.”

Nan Anru asked, “Is that really necessary?”

Nan Shuyi said, “He leaked the company’s plans to a competitor. He has zero professional ethics. Are you still going to defend him?”

Nan Anru hadn’t expected that kind of behavior from him. Besides, he knew his son well. Even if Nan Shuyi had conflicts with people, he wouldn’t fabricate charges against them.

Nan Anru said, “Alright, I’ll have the audit department look into it. The marketing department will be temporarily under your charge.”

He knew full well that Nan Shuyi's eagerness to deal with Jin Huanxin was just a pretext to hang around Jiang Yicen.

As a father, he was naturally happy to see this. It was a win-win situation. His son-in-law had truly been a good catch.

In high spirits, Nan Anru transferred a generous allowance to Jiang Yicen.

During the lunch break, Jiang Yicen was about to put down his phone and doze off in his chair when a transfer notification came in.

It turned out to be his regular monthly allowance. Back home, he used to get a monthly allowance too, which gave him a sense of being cared for by his family elders. He felt more and more accustomed to living in this era.

That morning, Jin Huanxin had been having a heart-to-heart chat with a colleague, but just before the end of the workday, three stern-faced men entered his office. Jiang Yicen was packing up to go home, but Jin Huanxin still hadn't come out, and at one point, the sound of his raised voice could be heard, as if he was arguing his case.

These matters had nothing to do with Jiang Yicen. He knew that Jin Huanxin would soon leave Nanyuan, and the entire marketing department would likely undergo a reshuffle. As for the colleagues who were called in for talks today, it was uncertain whether they would follow him out.

Jiang Yicen had been chauffeured all week. Uncle Li was a driver in Nanyuan's fleet, and had a parking spot at the company, so every day Jiang Yicen only had to go to the parking spot to find the car.

As he approached the parking spot, he noticed the car today was a different color—not the two business vans he usually took. Why had Uncle Li suddenly switched cars?

Jiang Yicen tried the rear door, but it wouldn't open. He tapped the window to signal Uncle Li to unlock it, but the window rolled down slightly, revealing Nan Shuyi's handsome face. He looked at Jiang Yicen with a knowing smile.

"Master Jiang, it's really difficult to get a chance to see you."

Jiang Yicen hadn't heard Nan Shuyi's sarcastic tone in a while—it felt both familiar and nostalgic, just like old times, reminding him of the Nan Shuyi from their first meeting.

He smiled. "We saw each other this morning."

Nan Shuyi was both exasperated and amused by his reply.

Yes, they did see each other, but only in passing—every day for three days, totaling less than three minutes.

When Nan Shuyi came downstairs in the morning, Master Jiang was already seated at the table having breakfast. By the time he started eating, Jiang Yicen had finished and was heading out with his bag. Over these three days, they exchanged fewer than five spoken words, and they only messaged on WeChat. Jiang Yicen simply refused to meet him face to face.

Don't think he didn't notice—Jiang Yicen was deliberately avoiding him.

Nan Shuyi didn't argue. "Get in."

Knowing he was at fault, Jiang Yicen got in.

He really had been avoiding Nan Shuyi. It wasn't that he rejected him, but whenever he remembered Nan Shuyi pinching his chin and kissing him forcefully, he'd blush and couldn't face him directly.

He had mentally prepared himself for an arranged marriage, for having a spouse, but he hadn't prepared for the shyness that came with intimate acts. This was unknown territory—no one had taught him how to deal with it, so, uncharacteristically, he buried his head in the sand, avoiding Nan Shuyi for a couple of days.

After getting in the car, Jiang Yicen fastened his seatbelt, but Nan Shuyi didn't start driving.

He asked, puzzled, "Aren't we going home?"

Nan Shuyi picked up a document folder from the side and handed it to him. "Yours."

Jiang Yicen held the folder. "What is it?"

Nan Shuyi said, "Take a look for yourself."

Intrigued, Jiang Yicen opened the folder and found four red booklets. Flipping them open, he saw addresses that looked very familiar to him. He checked the property owner's name—it was his own.

He read the name on the booklet: "Property Ownership Certificate?"

Nan Shuyi replied, "Yeah, the ones you wanted. I've bought them."

Ever since they gave each other the same gift, Nan Shuyi felt that giving a fountain pen wouldn't be a surprise anymore. So he had someone buy him the two shops first. He got the larger one for a lower price than expected, and the smaller one was at market price. All the paperwork for the transfer was completed in two days.

Jiang Yicen only vaguely remembered one morning when Nan Shuyi asked for his ID card to handle some paperwork. He didn't know what it was for, but he chose to trust him and gave it. That evening, Nan Shuyi had left the ID card on the table, and he took it back to work the next morning. So it was used for the property certificate?

Jiang Yicen hugged the two booklets tightly to his chest. A part of their family property had been bought back—even if it was just a fraction, it was still a part of the Jiang family estate.

His eyes reddened, and his voice got a little choked up, but he was very grateful to Nan Shuyi for buying them on his behalf.

"Thank you, Brother Shuyi... I don't know how to thank you..."

Nan Shuyi saw he was about to cry, as if Nan Shuyi had done him a great injustice. He reached over and pressed his hand on Jiang Yicen's forehead.

"You're so young but have such a bad memory. There's no need for politeness between us. This is marital property—half of it is mine. It's ours."

Jiang Yicen held back the tears that were about to spill out...

Nan Shuyi watched his ever-changing expressions and smiled. "You didn't know about the marriage law in this country? After marriage, property is split fifty-fifty."

Jiang Yicen shook his head. "I didn't know."

But it didn't matter—as long as half was his.

Seeing his mix of gratitude and confusion, Nan Shuyi's two-day gloom lifted. Looking at his reddened eyes, he coaxed, "Master Jiang, shouldn't you treat me to dinner today?"

Jiang Yicen said, "Sure, what do you want to eat?"

Nan Shuyi replied, "You're treating today, so you decide."

Jiang Yicen hugged the two property certificates tightly and thought for thirty seconds. "Hmm, how about Western food? I know a restaurant called the Red House Western Restaurant. It must be over a hundred years old now."

He gave the name, and Nan Shuyi entered it into the navigation. It was quite far, but not too far from the two newly purchased properties.

Nan Shuyi said, "I've probably never been there. Sounds like it has a lot of history."

He noticed that whether it was food or what he chose to see, Jiang Yicen had very refined taste. Everything he did seemed intentional and meaningful, full of stories. He was like a thick book of stories—no matter which page you turned to, the content was fascinating.

Nan Shuyi wasn't particularly fond of Western food. His friends preferred more flavorful dishes, and when they wanted something better, they went to high-end restaurants.

Jiang Yicen had discovered this place last time when he was searching for the Jiang family properties. Back in his time, the restaurant had just opened less than two years ago. People went there for the prestige, the experience, the novelty—it was always reservation-only and you had to queue. He had only been once. What truly made him remember this Western restaurant wasn't how delicious it was or its specialty dishes, but the fact that his respectful but distant parents came here every month for their "dates."

The exterior of the Red House Restaurant, like the Jiang family properties, had aged. The restaurant that used to require long queues now had only a few tables occupied.

As they entered, the same sign, the same doorbell, and the same classic menu greeted them.

After they sat down, Jiang Yicen ordered without looking at the menu. "The fried pork chop and the Russian borscht are their specialties. The fried pork chop is made to order, fried until golden and crispy, not greasy. It comes with a special sweet and sour fruit sauce, or you can dip it in sea salt."

Nan Shuyi noticed how familiar he was. "Have you been here before?"

Jiang Yicen said, "Once."

Nan Shuyi asked, "How do you remember so clearly?"

Jiang Yicen replied, "Because I once saw a couple who came here for their dates every month. Do you want to hear about it?"

Nan Shuyi rested his cheek on his hand, looking relaxed and lazy, but his eyes were fixed on Jiang Yicen. "Yeah, I want to hear."

When Jiang Yicen talked about things he found interesting, his eyes sparkled with liveliness.

Nan Shuyi felt like he was beginning to enjoy this kind of subtlety unique to Jiang Yicen—something that could withstand scrutiny and left a lasting aftertaste, like the slow, lingering base note of a perfume.