Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Since Jiang Yicen married Nan Shuyi and moved in together, he had never returned to the Jiang family home.

When he suggested staying the night, the Jiang family members were momentarily taken aback before remembering that this was also his home, and they quickly masked their expressions.

But their reactions were too obvious, and Jiang Yicen saw it all.

The reason he chose to stay wasn’t to reminisce about the month he had lived there, but to find an opportunity to collect personal items belonging to He Nuanqing and Jiang Gongming. He had done his research—samples needed for a paternity test could be hair with follicles, used toothbrushes, or clipped fingernails. Among these, toothbrushes and hair were the easiest to get.

He needed to find a chance to enter Jiang Gongming and He Nuanqing’s room.

Instead of going to his room as usual, Jiang Yicen sat in the living room with the TV on, watching what the others were doing.

Jiang Gongming and He Nuanqing went out for a walk after dinner. Given their age, they made it a habit to stroll after meals for the sake of their health, showing they knew how to take care of themselves. He Nuanqing owned a dog, which served as an icebreaker for chatting with neighbors when she went out. The two of them left with the dog.

Jiang Yicen saw this as a good opportunity.

Although the Jiang household had many servants, each had their designated areas, and room cleaning was scheduled at specific times. At this hour in the evening, no one would enter the rooms to clean, so as not to disturb the residents’ rest.

Moreover, at night, the butler and servants wouldn’t wander around the main house; they would return to their quarters unless there was something urgent.

Nan Anru and He Nuanqing lived on the first floor of the main house. Generally, when no outsiders were around, the rooms were not locked; only the areas where valuables were kept were secured.

What Jiang Yicen needed wasn’t valuables—he just needed to enter the bathroom and collect their toothbrushes and hair.

Since they were out now, it was the perfect opportunity.

When he had lived there before, he had studied the house’s architecture and layout while the Jiangs were away, even memorizing the positions of the surveillance cameras.

Areas where servants frequented had cameras, but private spaces like bedrooms, bathrooms, and studies were not monitored.

Jiang Yicen asked a servant to brew him some tea, then carried the cup and pretended to be too full, saying he wanted to take a stroll.

As a member of the Jiang family, the servants didn’t find his presence unusual.

Jiang Gongming was very particular about the security of his room and study. Cameras were set up in the hallway outside the rooms after a previous incident where a servant had swapped He Nuanqing’s designer bags with fakes and sold them. Since then, cameras had been placed at the entrances of the rooms.

Jiang Yicen couldn’t simply walk in through the door—the cameras would catch him. He had to enter from outside.

There were many indoor cameras, and even more outdoors. He would need to avoid them carefully.

Jiang Gongming’s room had a large window, which he could use to enter.

Jiang Yicen pretended to take a stroll to aid digestion toward the back path of the house.

Jiang Gongming occupied the room with the best view. The window was designed in the style of Suzhou gardens, but unlike traditional garden windows, the modern version had a mosquito screen.

The second floor housed Jiang Yiting’s room, the third floor was Jiang Yicen’s former room, and the fourth floor was reserved exclusively for Jiang Yifeng.

The first-floor rooms opened onto a large courtyard, and further ahead lay an artificial lake stocked with koi fish.

The room directly above on the second floor had a balcony.

Standing in the shadows, Jiang Yicen observed the upstairs situation. He saw Jiang Yiting standing on the balcony, smoking, with Jiang Yifeng sitting opposite him, slouched in a lounge chair, complaining about Jiang Gongming ordering him to work in the warehouse at dinner.

Jiang Yicen was surprised that Jiang Yiting didn’t side with him: “Dad told you to go, so go. You really need to cultivate some self-discipline.”

Jiang Yifeng grumbled, “Hey, bro, you’re taking Dad’s side too?”

Jiang Yiting tapped his cigarette ash into the ashtray, his voice cold: “Haven’t I always taken your side? Do you have any idea how much Jiangda’s stock market value could have risen if the sponsorship of Twin Stars had been through Jiangda or your personal funds?”

Jiang Yifeng replied, “How was I supposed to know? A random unknown brand comes asking for sponsorship—how do I know it’s not a scam? I’m not stupid; I’m not going to throw money away.”

Jiang Yiting said grimly, “If you don’t know, you investigate. If you can’t do it yourself, hire a professional. I’m not expecting you to be ambitious, but you can’t drag the family down. Jiang Yifeng, you’re my only brother. While I support you, you also need to consider my position. You don’t pay attention to the company, so you don’t know—Lu Xiao is now Mom’s right-hand man. If you keep being reckless, do you think she’ll eventually give us her shares? In her heart, Lu Xiao ranks higher than you.”

Jiang Yifeng: “Mom won’t give her shares to us? Then who will she give them to? What makes Lu Xiao so special?”

Jiang Yiting: “Do you think she only represents herself? She represents the Lu family. And why Lu Xiao? He’s Grandpa’s eldest grandson (from his son). We’re just the maternal grandsons—our surname is Jiang, not Lu. Understand? To them, we’re outsiders.”

Because he had an older brother, Jiang Yifeng had always focused only on having fun, never caring about the company. Whenever Jiang Yiting tried to involve him, he was always irresponsible and acted hopeless, could barely pretend to be serious for long. Eventually, Jiang Yiting gave up trying to bring him into the company to share the burden.

But he only had this one younger brother, and he never expected great things from him. However, he couldn't let him keep being a drag.

This time, with the Twin Stars incident, it was actually Lu Xiao who deliberately told him about it. After Lu Xiao left, Jiang Yiting was so furious that he swept everything off his desk onto the floor!

He didn’t lose his temper easily, but this matter was just too infuriating—to see Twin Stars slip through his fingers, and that mistake was caused by his own younger brother.

In the past, he could ignore Jiang Yifeng bullying Jiang Yicen, but now that Jiang Yicen had Nan Shuyi’s support and stood up straight, he could no longer maintain that attitude.

Moreover, Jiang Yifeng couldn’t continue like this. So, he supported their father’s decision and needed to straighten out their status in Jiangda for him.

Jiang Yifeng: “But she’s our biological mother. She can’t treat us like this, can she?”

Jiang Yiting: “She’s our mother, sure. Emotionally, she can support us, but will those from the Lu family in the company support us? You need to stay out of trouble recently and stop causing problems. Think about me and Dad. We can’t let Lu Xiao overpower us. Only when Jiangda falls into my hands can you relax. Don’t take Mom’s words too seriously; she’s a Lu, so she naturally leans toward the Lu family. She’s been divorced from Dad for a long time—they don’t get along, understand? Now Jiangda is divided into several factions. How do you expect me to take control of it?”

Jiang Yifeng was dizzy from this torrent of information: “Bro, are you saying you can’t smoothly inherit Jiangda?”

Jiang Yiting rolled his eyes at him. He shed his usual gentle mask and snapped, his face dark: “Yes. Tomorrow, go to the warehouse for a while and calm down!”

Jiang Yifeng had never seen his brother so fierce at him. He shrank back.

“Alright, alright, I’ll go,” he said. Seeing that Jiang Yiting’s anger had subsided, he quietly asked, “When can I come back?”

Jiang Yiting: “Not long.”

After Jiang Yicen joined the “Jiangnan Series” project, if Jiang Yifeng continued to make a scene, it would only make Jiang Yicen see Jiang Yifeng as an eyesore. Jiang Yiting needed this project, and now Jiang Yicen might have discovered the tricks he had played in the project. Of course, for now, he couldn’t accuse him directly—he had no evidence—but he had to prevent future trouble. He couldn’t let Jiang Yifeng offend Jiang Yicen any further.

The Jiang Yicen of today was not the same as before. After years of silence, he had finally revealed his true face.

It seemed that sending him abroad had instead taught him to lie low and endure, playing the role of a patient strategist. Truly impressive.

While Jiang Yiting was busy speculating about Jiang Yicen’s every move, he didn’t realize that Jiang Yicen, downstairs, had overheard his entire conversation with Jiang Yifeng.

Jiang Yicen remained in the shadows.

After a few more words, the two Jiang brothers went inside. The weather was getting warmer, and the garden villa was full of flowers and plants, which bred mosquitoes.

Jiang Yicen felt his exposed arms starting to itch—likely from mosquito bites.

He scratched his arm and paid it no more mind. After confirming that the open window on the right had no camera, he took two disposable shoe covers from his pocket, quietly pushed open the mosquito screen, and with both hands on the sill, vaulted over the windowsill. The layout upstairs and downstairs was the same. He quickly entered the bathroom and used plastic bags to individually package the two toothbrushes. Neither of them used electric toothbrushes, so everything went smoothly.

The toothbrushes were easy to identify: one pink, one red.

To ensure the samples were correct, he used the faint light from his phone screen to check the pillows Jiang Gongming and He Nuanqing used. He successfully collected hairs from them, though he wasn’t sure if they would be usable.

Just as Jiang Yicen finished packing, he heard noises outside. He immediately jumped back out through the same window. But in his haste, as he leaped down, he barely managed to hide in the shadows. He had only half-closed the window and hadn’t had time to shut the mosquito screen.

He Nuanqing: “This weather is so hot. Already sweating after a short walk. Honey, do you want to shower first, or should I?”

Jiang Gongming: "You go ahead and shower. I'll check an email."

He Nuanqing quietly moved toward the living room, slipping away along the wall. Jiang Yicen also overheard He Nuanqing complaining to Jiang Gongming.

"This new maid is too young, really not good. She's careless—threw away the old toothbrush but didn't put a new one back."

Jiang Gongming replied to her, "Just grab one yourself, it's no big deal."

Jiang Yicen left the first floor area and returned to the living room, still holding his teacup. He set the cup down in the kitchen and went back to his room, as if nothing had happened.

He put the items away and went to take a shower.

Having been outside, his clothes were dusty. Doing that kind of thing always made him nervous, and he had sweated.

After coming out of the bathroom, Jiang Yicen found his arm a little itchy. He rolled up his pajama sleeve and scratched it.

"So itchy."

Just then, his phone rang.

He saw it was Nan Shuyi calling via video.

"Where are you? Why aren't you home yet?"

There was both concern and dissatisfaction in his voice.

Jiang Yicen only then remembered he hadn't told Nan Shuyi. "I'm at the Jiang residence. I'm staying here tonight."

Nan Shuyi guessed, "You didn't actually..."

Jiang Yicen nodded. "Mm, I already got them."

"That fast." Nan Shuyi noticed Jiang Yicen kept scratching his neck. "Why are you scratching your neck like that? What's wrong?"

Jiang Yicen then told him about the process of collecting the samples from Jiang and He.

Nan Shuyi: "Did a bug bite you?"

Jiang Yicen looked down and rubbed his collarbone. "Probably a mosquito bite. There's a big lump, and my arm has several bites too."

He'd always been like this—when bitten by bugs, his skin would swell into a big lump. In the past, he'd find a doctor he knew to prescribe some ointment, but there was no suitable medicine here. He hadn't learned everything, and he didn't remember the formula for the old ointment.

Nan Shuyi: "Stop scratching. If you break the skin, it'll get infected. Hurry and find some anti-itch medicine."

"Okay."

Jiang Yicen got up to look for it, but he wasn't familiar with the Jiang house. He searched all over the first floor for a long time without finding any.

He still had the video call with Nan Shuyi open and said pitifully, "I can't find any."

Nan Shuyi was also rummaging through cabinets on his end. "Don't bother looking. I'll go buy some and bring it to you now. I have ointment at home."

He always carried various sprays for outdoor hiking, and he brought along everything he could use.

Jiang Yicen said, "How about I just order a delivery from a pharmacy? It'll be very late by the time you get here, and you have work tomorrow."

"Delivery would take about the same time as me driving over. Just wait for me."

Nan Shuyi didn't let him refuse and hung up the video directly, grabbed his car keys, and left.

Jiang Yicen stared at the black screen for a moment, then a slight smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

But it was really itchy. He hoped Nan Shuyi would drive safely, yet he also wanted him to come quickly.

Nan Shuyi arrived much faster than a delivery driver. Normally, the drive from his home to the Jiang residence took forty minutes, but he made it in thirty.

Jiang Yicen had informed the security about Nan Shuyi's license plate in advance, so he wouldn't be stopped. After all, they didn't usually come this way, and the security here didn't recognize Nan Shuyi's car.

Nan Shuyi entered the Jiang residence smoothly. When a car pulled into the property, Jiang Gongming and He Nuanqing assumed it was one of the Jiang brothers, and the Jiang brothers thought the other had gone out or something—no one suspected a new arrival.

Jiang Yicen led Nan Shuyi up to the second floor and into his bedroom.

As they walked along the empty hallway, they deliberately lightened their footsteps. Nan Shuyi whispered to him, "Don't we look like we're sneaking around for a secret affair?"

Jiang Yicen: "..." There he goes again, not being serious.

When Nan Shuyi saw the lumps on Jiang Yicen's neck and arm, each the size of a fingertip, he stopped teasing him.

As soon as they entered the room, he took out the ointment he'd brought. He picked a mild, fast-acting anti-itch one for Jiang Yicen.

Nan Shuyi felt sorry for him having to run this errand. "Let me apply it. I wish I had come with you."

Jiang Yicen let him apply it. "If you had come, it would have drawn more attention, and getting the samples would have been harder."

After applying the medicine to the three bites on his arm, Nan Shuyi looked at his collarbone. He placed his fingertip under Jiang Yicen's chin.

"Lift your chin a little."

Jiang Yicen obediently tilted his chin up, exposing his fair neck and looking up at him without any defense. Nan Shuyi swallowed hard, his gaze turning heated.

Instead of the ointment, Jiang Yicen received a heavy kiss from Nan Shuyi.

Helplessly, he said, skipping the honorific, "Brother, it itches."

Nan Shuyi really couldn't stand being called that by him. He applied the medicine first.

The ointment was cool, with a refreshing mint feel, and the stinging, itching pain eased significantly—it worked fast.

Nan Shuyi asked him, "Any other bites?"

Jiang Yicen: "No. This ointment is really good."

Nan Shuyi: "The mosquitoes here are vicious. Your family has so many plants and trees but doesn't spray insecticide. Really, our Master Jiang is suffering."

"It is quite miserable," Jiang Yicen smiled. "But luckily, Mr. Jiang sacrificed his sleep to bring me medicine."

Nan Shuyi bit him gently on the chin. "Still laughing."

Jiang Yicen pushed him away. "Don't bite. I have to see people tomorrow."

Nan Shuyi wasn't annoyed. He pulled Jiang Yicen onto the bed. "I'm not going back tonight either."

He was a little excited. They usually slept in separate rooms and had never shared a bed. The last time they slept in the same bed was when they visited his father's house. He had been thinking about when to go to the Nan residence again, but now he didn't have to.

Jiang Yicen turned his head to ask him, "Have you showered?"

Nan Shuyi: "I showered as soon as I got home."

He sniffed near Jiang Yicen's neck. "Young master, you smell nice."

"It clearly smells like medicine, not fragrance," Jiang Yicen said, shifting back and pressing his hands against Nan Shuyi's chin. "No, you can't."

Nan Shuyi grabbed his wrists and pinned them to either side, then swung a leg over Jiang Yicen's waist and straddled him, looking down.

"Given that I brought you that patch in the middle of the night, shouldn't I get some kind of reward?"

Jiang Yicen couldn't move his hands at all. He tilted his head back slightly and gave in, "Alright."

What Nan Shuyi could never resist was this—the way Jiang Yicen looked at him with those pure eyes, enchanting. He lowered his head and kissed those rosy lips.

Master Jiang really knew how to seduce a guy.