Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Nan Shuyi deliberately withheld his return date from Jiang Yicen, intending to surprise him.

But upon arriving home, he searched the entire house—only to find no trace of him.

After a moment’s reflection, he noticed one of Jiang Yicen’s usual cars was missing from the garage. Instead of calling Jiang Yicen directly, he dialed Uncle Chen.

Nan Shuyi: “Where is Yicen, Uncle Chen?”

Uncle Chen: “You’re back? Young Master.”

Nan Shuyi: “Mm. Did Yicen go out?”

Uncle Chen sounded urgent: “Young Master, come to the Jiang residence immediately. Young Master Jiang was picked up by his father after work—and hasn’t been seen since. I’ve sent him messages, but received no reply.”

Nan Shuyi’s expression hardened. “Jiang Gongming personally picked him up?”

Uncle Chen: “Yes. Shall I go in and check?”

Nan Shuyi: “No need. Wait there—I’m on my way.”

He knew exactly what Jiang Gongming was up to—he’d grown anxious after Jiang Yicen brought Lu Xiao onto the project team. Clearly, Jiang Yiting wouldn’t have dared tamper with the project’s investment funds without Jiang Gongming’s explicit approval.

Nan Shuyi sped straight from his residence to the Jiang estate.

He arrived just as Jiang Yiting pulled up. Nan Shuyi’s car was unmistakable—and followed Jiang Yiting into the compound.

Jiang Yiting knew Nan Shuyi had been thriving lately—but hadn’t he just returned from the U.S.? Why was he showing up at their home?

They both stepped out of their cars simultaneously.

Nan Shuyi slammed his door shut and strode straight toward Jiang Yiting—without a word, he landed a hard punch square on his face.

Jiang Yiting staggered back two steps. “Are you insane, Nan Shuyi?!”

Nan Shuyi’s face was icy. “Where is Yicen?”

Jiang Yiting shouted, furious: “I don’t know! You owe me an explanation—what the hell was that for?!”

Nan Shuyi replied coldly: “You’d better not know.”

He didn’t care how hard the blow had been. Turning sharply, he marched straight toward the main house.

Jiang Yiting, stunned by Nan Shuyi’s ferocity, nearly recoiled. He touched his nose—it was bleeding.

“Nan Shuyi, you son of a bitch!”

Nan Shuyi didn’t even glance back—just gave him his back and kept walking.

He burst into the living room and found only Jiang Gongming and He Nuanqing seated there, eating fruit. Both jumped at his sudden entrance.

Nan Shuyi repeated, voice low and sharp: “Where is Yicen?”

A flicker of panic crossed Jiang Gongming’s eyes. “Shuyi—what are you doing here? When did you get back?”

Nan Shuyi said flatly: “Why won’t any of you answer me? I asked—where is Yicen?”

His gaze shifted to He Nuanqing—who lowered her head and remained silent.

Jiang Gongming forced a smile. “He’s at home. I’ll have someone fetch him.”

Nan Shuyi: “Why do you need to fetch him? Where’s his phone?”

His eyes fell on a phone resting on the table. They used identical phone cases—bought together while shopping. Though the colors differed, when placed side by side, the cases spelled out the pinyin for “Yì” (Yi). Nan Shuyi’s read “YI,” Jiang Yicen’s “YI”—his bore the “Y,” Jiang Yicen’s the “I,” together forming “YI.”

Nan Shuyi stepped forward and picked up Jiang Yicen’s phone. It was fully charged—yet its owner was nowhere to be found.

His eyes turned glacial. “I’ll ask one last time. Where is he?”

Jiang Gongming flinched under his stare. “In—in the ancestral hall.”

Nan Shuyi caught on instantly. “You locked him up?”

Jiang Gongming: “No—I simply made him reflect. As a member of the Jiang family, he refuses to support his own kin and constantly opposes me.”

Nan Shuyi kicked the fruit platter off the table. “What right do you have to lock him up and force him to ‘reflect’? What does he even need to reflect on? You outdated feudal relic—do you think you’re some omnipotent landlord from ancient times? ‘Supporting the Jiang family’? Is he your puppet? What a joke!”

His gaze swept to He Nuanqing—whose eyes brimmed with fear. “Where is the ancestral hall?”

She pointed shakily toward the rear. “It’s… it’s out back.”

Nan Shuyi snapped: “Lead the way. So this is how you treat him—not your biological son—no concern whatsoever. What utter trash!”

He Nuanqing, already terrified, felt as though she’d plunged into an ice-cold abyss—her limbs turning numb.

Jiang Gongming, startled by Nan Shuyi’s fury, only grasped the meaning of his words seconds later.

He sprinted after him.

Jiang Yiting, seeing them head toward the ancestral hall, grabbed a tissue to staunch his nosebleed—and followed.

They reached the ancestral hall just as a deafening crash echoed—the door toppled inward, and a strange man tumbled to the ground beneath it. Beside him clattered a dagger, gleaming silver in the light.

The man in tight-fitting clothes clutched his right leg and scrambled backward.

At that instant, a long leg slowly crossed the threshold. Jiang Yicen brushed dust off his pant leg—though there wasn’t any—and walked calmly out of the ancestral hall.

He lifted his leg again and delivered another brutal kick to the man’s leg—eliciting a sharp yelp.

The man begged, voice trembling: “P-please spare me!”

Jiang Yicen didn’t relent—instead, he pressed down harder. “Who sent you to kill me?”

The man blurted: “I don’t know! I just follow orders! Someone paid me a hundred thousand to kill you!”

“Yicen!”

Nan Shuyi hadn’t expected such a shocking scene the moment he arrived. He rushed forward and snatched up the fallen dagger.

What he’d just witnessed made his pulse race—this was no ordinary blade; it was sharpened. And judging by the stranger’s confession, someone had sent a hitman to kill Jiang Yicen.

Who?

Without hesitation, Nan Shuyi stepped hard on the man’s neck. “Dislocate his arms first!”

Daring to attempt Jiang Yicen’s murder—they must have balls of steel, utterly indifferent to modern law.

Jiang Yicen glanced at Nan Shuyi, wondering if Shuyi thought he was some kind of expert at dislocating people's arms.

Even so, he went ahead and popped both of the man's arms out of their sockets.

The man howled twice: "Let me go, let me go! I don't want to be crippled! Call 120 for me, you can't do this to me!"

Jiang Yicen said calmly: "You're not gonna die. I just kicked your right leg, popped both your arms out, and maybe cracked a couple of ribs."

Nan Shuyi called 120 for him—and the cops too.

Once they'd handled the guy, Jiang Yicen finally turned to Nan Shuyi, whose handsome face was still set in a scowl, and let the excitement show.

He was genuinely thrilled to see Nan Shuyi right then: "Brother Shuyi, you're back."

Nan Shuyi looked him over: "You hurt anywhere?"

Jiang Yicen wasn't hurt at all, but seeing how worried Nan Shuyi was, he got a little whiny: "When I kicked his leg, my foot kinda hurts now."

Nan Shuyi started to crouch down: "Where at?"

Jiang Yicen quickly stopped him: "Probably didn't stretch first—pulled a muscle when I kicked."

Nan Shuyi frowned and looked at his right leg: "Once we're done here, we'll head home and rub some liniment on it."

Only then did Jiang Yicen turn to look at Jiang Gongming, who was completely lost, and He Nuanqing, who'd gone pale.

Jiang Yiting caught up at this moment as well.

He was completely calm as he looked at the three of them: "Before the cops get here, let's handle the Jiang family business first. Who sent this guy? He was trying to kill me."

Jiang Yiting was still clutching his nose: "Who is he? How did he get into our house?"

Nan Shuyi couldn't hide the fury in his eyes as he looked at them: "You know exactly who did it. You Jiangs are seriously disgusting—hiring a hitman over a little bit of money."

The more he thought about it, the more it freaked him out. If he hadn't barged in today, would the Jiangs have just swept this under the rug? Would Jiang Yicen have just "disappeared"?

Jiang Gongming: "Who did it? I just told Yicen to go to the ancestral hall and think things over. Why would I hire someone to kill my own son? What would I gain from that?"

He Nuanqing suddenly rushed over: "Yicen, are—are you okay?"

But before she could even reach him, Nan Shuyi shoved her back with one hand.

Nan Shuyi: "Don't touch him! It was you, right?"

He Nuanqing stumbled and almost hit the floor—Jiang Gongming caught her.

Jiang Yicen squeezed Nan Shuyi's hand to settle him down, then stepped in front of Jiang Gongming and He Nuanqing.

His plan had been to hang out in the ancestral hall, then sneak out and confront Jiang Gongming all pissed off. To him, the Jiang family just didn't fit him at all. Everyone in that family only cared about themselves—zero human decency. He didn't want anything more to do with them, and coincidentally, he wasn't related to them by blood anyway.

He didn't owe He Nuanqing anything, so he couldn't care less if she and Jiang Gongming stayed married.

Nan Shuyi showing up was a total surprise—a good one. The last thing he wanted was to drag Nan Shuyi into the Jiangs' mess, so he figured he'd just rip the bandage off fast.

But who the hell would've thought someone would actually hire a hitman?

Jiang Gongming was the first one he could cross off. He'd called him home today—why would he pull something like that? If Yicen died, the cops would look at him first.

Jiang Yiting was out too—he still looked totally shocked, and you can't fake that.

That only left He Nuanqing, who was clearly on edge.

"Since you're all here at the ancestral hall, I think it's time the Jiang ancestors heard the truth. Mr. Jiang Gongming, I'm not your son. And Ms. He Nuanqing, I'm not related to either of you by blood. As for why I'm not related to the Jiangs, you'll have to ask Ms. He Nuanqing. I'll leave it at that."

Jiang Gongming just figured Yicen had made up some ridiculous excuse on the spot because he didn't want to help the family.

Jiang Gongming brushed it off: "Yicen, if you don't wanna help, fine. But don't joke about blood relations."

Jiang Yicen stayed calm: "You shipped me off abroad for six years. As parents, you never once checked on me. Where was all this 'blood relation' talk back then?"

Nan Shuyi pulled out his phone and held up the paternity test report from the lab.

"You two really aren't father and son. Ms. He Nuanqing, you wanna explain that to your husband?"

Jiang Gongming looked at He Nuanqing and realized she hadn't said a single word—and she'd been acting weird the whole time.

His face went dark: "What are they talking about? He Nuanqing, you better start talking! Don't make me divorce you!"

Jiang Gongming was all about saving face. If Yicen wasn't his son, what the hell else was being hidden?

Jiang Gongming's outburst scared He Nuanqing so bad her legs gave out, and she sank to the floor.

She tried to keep it together: "I don't know—I don't know anything..."

By the time He Nuanqing realized she couldn't shut Jiang Yicen and Nan Shuyi up, she was already ice cold all over. When Yicen had confronted her, she'd thought of every way to shut him up. She'd even considered handing over every cent she had. And if he still wouldn't listen, then she'd—she'd have someone take him out.

Yeah, she'd do anything to keep her cushy life.

Because of the "Jiangnan Series" project, Jiang Gongming had called Yicen home today to lock him in the ancestral hall. He wanted to teach Yicen a lesson while Nan Shuyi was still away and no one had his back.

Meanwhile, she'd already gotten in touch with a hitman and had him hide in the ancestral hall, waiting for Jiang Gongming to lock Yicen in so he could kill him. In her head, it'd look like a locked-room murder. Even if the cops dug into it, they'd only go after Jiang Gongming, and she'd walk away clean—no one would ever point a finger at her.

She couldn't confess. She'd put in years at the Jiang family—she couldn't lose her spot as Mrs. Jiang!

Jiang Gongming grabbed Nan Shuyi's phone, saw the paternity report, and roared: "He Nuanqing, what the hell have you been hiding from me? Why isn't Yicen related to us by blood!"

Her heart was pounding, and she started rambling: "It wasn't my fault! My family made me do it! I don't know anything! I don't know anything! How could Yicen not be my kid? He's my son! He just doesn't wanna live here, so he made all this up! Baby, this has nothing to do with me! That test has to be fake!"

Jiang Yicen looked at He Nuanqing, completely numb: "You still won't admit it? You're the one who hired the hitman, aren't you? You figured if I died, the secret would die with me, right? But here's the thing—you can't hide it. Brother Shuyi knows too. You're beyond saving."

Nan Shuyi's brows knit tight. He didn't even wanna think about what would've happened to Yicen if he didn't know how to fight.

Jiang Yiting saw his dad about to keel over from rage and said, "Aunt He, were you trying to mess with the Jiang bloodline?"

He Nuanqing's head was spinning: "If your dad hadn't been so hung up on having a son, I never would've done this! It's all your fault! All of it—you old bastard! What did I do wrong? I lost my baby—you think I wasn't heartbroken? Look at how he treated Yiqi! If my daughter were still alive, he'd probably marry her off to some old geezer just to profit off her!"

Jiang Gongming was so pissed he slapped her hard across the face: "You venomous bitch!"

But He Nuanqing shot up, eyes blazing, and slapped Jiang Gongming right back—twice!

"I'm done! You old dinosaur, how dare you hit me! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this mess!"

Jiang Yicen and Nan Shuyi couldn't be bothered to watch them go at each other. Just then, sirens blared outside, and the Jiangs' butler walked in with the cops.

Jiang Yicen had no clue how police work went, but luckily Nan Shuyi handled the cops for him.

The hitman, whose arms and legs were basically all popped out of joint, burst into tears the second he saw the cops and paramedics. He was convinced he was the one who'd almost died, while the guy he was supposed to kill was way calmer than him.

He frantically waved at the doctor: "Doc, hurry, get me outta here! I almost got killed—he was defending himself!"

The police still had investigations to conduct, so they took the three Jiang family members in, and Jiang Yicen, as the victim, also went to the police station to give his statement.

Once the police got involved, it was no longer something that could be resolved with money.

Based on the hitman's testimony, the police investigated He Nuanqing's recent expenditures, and an hour later brought in He Nuanqing's brother, He Xinzu.

It turned out that He Nuanqing had transferred two million yuan to He Xinzu to hire a professional killer to eliminate Jiang Yicen, but He Xinzu couldn't bear to part with the money. He skimmed 1.5 million yuan and spent 500,000 yuan to hire a recently released convict—not a professional killer at all, just a gambler short on cash. When he heard he could make 100,000 yuan for a kill, he jumped at it.

When He Nuanqing heard that He Xinzu had only spent 100,000 yuan on the killing, she was so furious she passed out on the spot.

She'd figured he might skim off a million, but she never expected his appetite to be so large. He was a total screw-up—more of a hindrance than a help.

At this point, there was no chance of any further communication between Jiang Yicen and the Jiang family.

Although Jiang Yicen's attempted murder had nothing to do with Jiang Gongming, Nan Shuyi still filed a police report against Jiang Gongming for illegally restricting personal freedom, which nearly got the victim hurt. If the victim hadn't had martial arts training, the consequences would've been unthinkable.

Nan Anru didn't find out about any of this until he was about to turn in for the night. He immediately rushed to the police station with a lawyer and only relaxed when he saw the two walk out.

When he saw Jiang Gongming and Jiang Yiting, he was so furious he charged over and threw a punch at Jiang Gongming: "What a piece of garbage! Picking on a kid! Shameless bastard!"

Jiang Gongming was startled: "I'm gonna sue him for assault! Officer, he hit me!"

The lawyer said: "My boss is just old and slipped—he lost his balance and fell, and his hand happened to make contact with Mr. Jiang's face. I do apologize. If you're hurt, we'd be open to discussing compensation."

Jiang Gongming was livid and started cursing: "You're the shameless ones! Son, hire me a lawyer!"

Jiang Yiting had been in a daze all night. Wincing from the pain in his nose, he nodded: "Dad, I'll handle it. Don't worry for now."

The whole night was like a circus.

His stepmom wanted to kill a kid who wasn't even hers; his dad had locked up his "son" over a business deal, thinking it was a family matter, only for it to blow up into a criminal case. His thoughts were in chaos. There was no way to resolve this, and he couldn't think of a solution. The police had already gotten surveillance footage from the Jiang house showing Jiang Gongming ordering people to drag Jiang Yicen into the ancestral hall, so his dad might very well end up in criminal detention.

Most importantly, the Nan family and Jiang Yicen would never reconcile with the Jiang family.

·

Nan Shuyi and Jiang Yicen didn't leave the police station until the early hours of the morning. Nan Shuyi had pulled an all-nighter to get back, going over ten hours without sleep, and stubble had sprouted on his chin.

He realized for the first time that Nan Anru was actually quite reliable. He used to think that a stepmother meant a neglectful father, but every time he got into trouble at school, his father would drop everything and rush to school to take the teacher's scolding on his behalf. He decided he'd stop arguing with him so much from now on.

Nan Shuyi took Jiang Yicen's hand and led him into the car. They were going back to the Nan residence tonight.

Jiang Yicen was very calm. Nan Shuyi wrapped an arm around his shoulder: "You don't have to deal with the Jiang family anymore."

Jiang Yicen nodded and said, "Brother Shuyi, let's pull our investment out of Jiangda."

Nan Shuyi hadn't expected him to be so focused on business: "Don't think about work at a time like this."

Jiang Yicen smiled.

Nan Shuyi scolded him softly: "You have the nerve to smile. You knew Jiang Gongming and He Nuanqing weren't good people, and you still walked right into the tiger's den. You really don't value your life!"

Jiang Yicen knew he had been frightened. He had only done it because he knew he could get out safely.

Jiang Yicen coaxed him: "I didn't expect they'd be that bold. Don't be angry."

Nan Shuyi was indeed shaken: "Don't let it happen again."

Nan Anru saw that his son, though appearing angry, was actually full of tenderness in his eyes, and he couldn't help but look away. He seemed a bit superfluous.