Chapter 103

Chapter 103

When Jiang Yicen and Jiang Yiting arrived at Meng Zhangling's party, their reasons for being there were completely different.

Meng Zhangling had invited Jiang Yicen as a friend to enjoy himself, while Jiang Yiting had been invited as one of the promising young talents to be sized up as a prospect.

At the party, every sharp-dressed guy went out of his way to get in good with Miss Meng, trying to exchange as many words with her as possible to boost their chances.

Jiang Yicen was seeing for the first time men showing off like peacocks. He even noticed some wearing light makeup, and others who reeked of strong cologne as they passed him—a smell you couldn't forget.

He had to hand it to Meng Zhangling for digging up so many promising young men from across the entire city. They were all pretty good-looking, and all cleaned up, they looked sharp—either rich kids or up-and-comers in their fields. Jiang Yicen even spotted a male celebrity they'd once talked about in a meeting about whether he'd be suitable as their product spokesperson.

In modern terms, nobody wanted to work hard; everyone wanted a shortcut. Being a rich man's son-in-law was a super competitive gig, and the bar to get in was surprisingly high.

Jiang Yicen naturally didn't mingle with the young talents Meng Zhangling had invited. He was taken straight upstairs, where Meng Zhangling had someone walk him up to appreciate a calligraphy scroll that had just been auctioned off—supposedly a genuine piece by a famous Qing Dynasty master.

However, Meng Zhangling hadn't appeared yet. He was busy schmoozing with the young talents, since the whole point of the party was to let his daughter check out potential suitors.

Jiang Yicen sat alone in the reception room, savoring fine tea, and it was pretty nice, actually.

In truth, when he'd taken over the Jiang family, he'd been thrown into the deep end. If his family hadn't left, he'd still be the rich young master of the Jiang family, living the good life without a care, spending his days in the study reading and writing, which he loved.

He wasn't great at socializing, and he didn't really like it either.

Maybe this was what people nowadays called being socially anxious. If only his older brother were still here—then he wouldn't have to carry the Jiang family on his own.

The Yongjiang Restaurant still wasn't bought back yet, so he could totally live a life of lazy luxury, but that weight on his heart just wouldn't lift.

When would he finally get what he'd always wanted and just be himself, like he was right now?

Just as he was figuring out how to ask Meng Zhangling about the Yongjiang Restaurant's owner, he heard arguing from just outside the half-closed door.

A woman was snapping at a man: "Lin Jue, what do you mean by this? Don't you know Meng Shasha is my bestie?"

The man called Lin Jue said in a voice full of fake affection: "Lingling, do you know I'm short on money right now? As long as I'm with Meng Yuan, we can both live large from now on. Isn't that good?"

The woman: "Are you out of your mind? She's my friend, and you and I are—"

Lin Jue chuckled lightly: "But you and I are just hooking up. We're not even boyfriend and girlfriend. You know my mom would never let me marry you."

If they were actually dating, Jiang Ling would've told Meng Shasha.

Jiang Ling shot back: "Your mom, your mom, it's always your mom. So is it because your mom likes Meng Shasha that you wanna marry her?"

Lin Jue actually nodded: "That's right. After all, the Meng family and mine are well-matched in status."

Jiang Ling: "Fine, you piece of garbage. Get out of here!"

Jiang Yicen listened as the woman angrily cursed the man, her words pretty harsh, but then he hugged her and sweet-talked her a bit, and soon she went all soft and gentle.

He heard the man say: "Baby, I need you to help me. Set me up with Meng Shasha. Once I get what I want, you'll get yours too, right? Didn't you have your eye on that villa? I'll get it for you later. To me, she's just a cash cow. You're the one I truly love."

The woman: "Really?"

Jiang Yicen never thought that just sitting there thinking about his future would lead to him overhearing Miss Meng's best friend conspiring with her lover to deceive her.

Now he was curious what this guy with the sweet voice actually looked like—"handsome" enough that the woman would stick around without any real commitment, unable to let go, and even willing to help him pull it off.

Since coming to the modern era, Jiang Yicen had encountered female coworkers and female execs from partner companies who were all independent and had solid values. He'd thought this woman was gonna stand up for her friend, but instead the two of them were about to team up and do something shady. It reminded him of He Nuanqing and a phrase he had recently come across.

Human beings really are a diverse bunch.

People from different circles just seemed to see things very differently. Some had lower bottom lines and worse moral standards.

This was why Jiang Yicen didn't enjoy interacting with strangers—every time, he had to get to know someone anew and understand them, which was simply too difficult.

Since he had witnessed this, he naturally felt obliged to warn Meng Zhangling. Currently, Meng Zhangling's commercial enterprise had entered a new partnership with Shiyi, and they would certainly continue to do business in the future. He couldn't just pretend he hadn't seen or heard anything.

He wasn't in a position to judge whether Meng Zhangling's party was good or bad, but Miss Meng was ultimately an innocent party. If he could offer a warning, he should.

Meng Zhangling wasn't the center of attention today anyway. He quickly handed the party downstairs over to his daughter and came up to the second floor.

"Oh, Yicen, I'm really sorry for leaving you alone up here today."

"No worries."

Meng Zhangling genuinely treated Jiang Yicen as a friend and started chatting about everyday matters: "How's your father doing?"

He meant Nan Anru.

Jiang Yicen answered truthfully: "Nothing serious. He should be discharged soon. But please keep it confidential for now."

Meng Zhangling smiled, knowing something about the internal situation at Nanyuan: "Don't worry, I won't say a word."

He remembered why he had invited Jiang Yicen over: "Come, come, you have a good eye. Help me take a look at that calligraphy scroll I bought—what do you think?"

Jiang Yicen: "Sure."

What Meng Zhangling had purchased was a calligraphy work by Zheng Banqiao.

Meng Zhangling happened to mention how valuable this master's works were nowadays.

He sighed: "It's not easy to get an authentic piece these days. His paintings go for millions—there's supply but no market."

Jiang Yicen marveled: "So precious?"

His family used to own works by this master. Those paintings and calligraphy had been hidden away by them. He wondered if Uncle Yuan had later sent people to dig them up.

Meng Zhangling: "Right? Take a look—is this one authentic?"

Jiang Yicen picked up the magnifying glass on the table and examined it carefully.

The authentic pieces in his family had been gifts from his maternal grandfather, who had been an official in the late Qing Dynasty. Back then, these paintings and calligraphy weren't worth much at all. Who would have thought that in modern times, if an ordinary person sold them, they could become rich overnight?

Mr. Zheng Banqiao's calligraphy was easy to recognize—his style was famously "eccentric."

However, Jiang Yicen didn't comment on whether it was authentic or not. He simply said the piece was excellent and offered a few words of praise. After all, Meng Zhangling had spent a fortune on it, and whether it was real or fake, in his eyes, it was genuine.

The two were deep in conversation when suddenly the phone on the table in front of Jiang Yicen lit up with a message from Nan Shuyi asking if he had eaten dinner yet. Meng Zhangling happened to catch a glimpse of it.

Meng Zhangling felt a bit embarrassed: "Ah, look at me. I was so focused on having you look at the painting that I forgot you came straight from the office without having dinner."

Jiang Yicen smiled: "It's fine. We occasionally eat a bit later than usual."

Meng Zhangling: "Is Nan Shuyi coming to pick you up? Why don't you both eat here before heading back? I'll have the chef prepare something for you."

Jiang Yicen couldn't refuse: "Sure."

Meng Zhangling added: "I recently acquired two bottles of excellent wine. I'll send one back with you when you leave."

Jiang Yicen: "Thank you, Uncle Meng. I came for a visit and I'm leaving with food and drink in hand."

Meng Zhangling: "Don't be so formal. Wine's meant to be drunk, that's the whole point of it. If you take it home and don't drink it, what's the point of it even existing?"

Jiang Yicen: "You're right."

He texted Nan Shuyi about dinner.

Meng Zhangling, as the host, shot the breeze with him for a bit before heading back down. Jiang Yicen followed him down as well, not wanting to hang around the study with all that expensive stuff lying around.

The two of them walking side by side turned a lot of heads. After all, tonight's shindig was a big deal—everyone was there gunning for the spot of Meng's son-in-law. Seeing this polished young guy next to him, laughing it up with Meng Zhangling, folks immediately started whispering about who Jiang Yicen was.

Jiang Yicen didn't exactly make the rounds at these events, so not many people knew who he was. Right then, someone happened to ask Jiang Yiting about him.

"President Jiang, do you know that person?"

Jiang Yiting, projecting his own scheming nature, knew exactly what these people were up to.

They were all here fighting for that son-in-law slot. Jiang Yicen had only managed to schmooze his way into Meng Zhangling's orbit at Jiang Yifeng's birthday bash. Jiang Yiting knew Jiang Yicen wasn't here to compete for the son-in-law position, but if he could throw a wrench in his plans, he'd happily do it.

Jiang Yiting smiled and dripped poison in the ear of the rich kid beside him: "Oh, I know him real well. He's the deputy general manager of Nanyuan's marketing center. He's done a ton for Nanyuan this year—he's a real golden boy over there."

This young heir was tight with Jiang Yiting and ran his company out of town, so he wasn't really part of Lingcheng's rich-kid scene. He also felt bad about the rough patch Jiang Yiting had been going through.

The heir had a thing for Miss Meng—they'd been classmates back in high school. He said, with a sour note, "Chairman Meng seems to really like him."

Jiang Yiting: "Opportunities go to those who are ready. What good does it do if Chairman Meng likes him? It's Shasha's call that counts."

The heir: "Still, he's stealing the show."

Jiang Yiting smiled, all fake and sly: "Then don't let him steal yours. I heard he only got where he is by riding the Nan family's coattails..."

He let the sentence hang there, letting the heir's imagination do the rest.

The heir didn't know Jiang Yicen, but he knew Nan Anru and Nan Shuyi. He knew Nan Shuyi had married Jiang Yiting's former younger brother, so his mind went straight to the gutter—being with Nan Shuyi was one thing, but if a young guy was hooking up with some old man to climb the ladder, now that was some real gossip.

Seeing the heir's face change, Jiang Yiting knew his little seed of poison had taken root. He quietly slipped off and went to mingle with other people he knew.

Meng Zhangling had already told the kitchen to whip up something special for Jiang Yicen, so he headed to the dining area downstairs to wait.

The Meng residence had both a large and small dining room. All the guests were in the front hall, the guys all decked out in their best suits. The AC in the front hall was cranked way up, so none of these young bucks would break a sweat and embarrass themselves.

The small dining room opened onto the Meng family's garden, where the flowers were laid out in neat tiers with lights that made the whole place feel cozy. He'd snagged a drink from the reception and was waiting for the Meng staff to bring out his dinner.

The quiet, with no outsiders around, was a breath of fresh air.

But his peace and quiet didn't last five minutes before it got shattered.

Three guys showed up, and they were clearly there for him.

This spot wasn't exactly easy to find—Meng Zhangling had to have a servant walk him over.

Jiang Yicen arched an eyebrow.

Two of them plopped down next to him, while the third took the couch across from him.

This area was mostly dining room and living room, comfy and roomy, but with these three here, the space felt like it shrank by half.

Jiang Yicen wasn't nervous, just curious what they wanted: "Gentlemen, what's this about?"

The guy sitting across from him was the same heir who'd been grilling Jiang Yiting about Jiang Yicen.

The heir gave a cold, fake smile: "I'm Shasha's classmate. Heard you work at Nanyuan?"

Jiang Yicen got straight to the point: "You've got a thing for Miss Meng?"

These guys were treating him like competition?

The heir hadn't expected him to call out his little crush so bluntly.

He said, "I'm her good friend, here to vet people's character on her behalf. A queer like you who's been with some old man dares to show up here, trying to fool Shasha? Not happening."

Jiang Yicen, suddenly getting verbally insulted by some stranger, couldn't be bothered to argue. He happened to be holding a glass of juice.

"What a waste of good juice."

The second he said it, the orange juice went flying all over the heir's face.

The heir, stunned by the sudden dousing: "..."

The two next to Jiang Yicen took a beat to react before trying to grab him, but Jiang Yicen deftly delivered an elbow to each of them. The two rich boys, who'd indulged plenty in booze and babes, crumpled to the floor.

Jiang Yicen got up nice and slow: "I don't know any of you, yet you come at me insulting my character right off the bat. Hope you three get this—not everyone's gonna sit there and take your trash talk."

The heir had wanted to throw a punch, but Jiang Yicen had struck first. He wiped the juice from his face and raised his fist, ready to charge at Jiang Yicen, only to see his friends already on the ground.

Seeing the heir's cowardice, Jiang Yicen asked him, "Do you know who I am?"

The heir, convinced Jiang Yiting wouldn't deceive him, said, "So what if I don't? All I know is you have ill intentions toward Shasha! A gay man trying to trap someone into marriage!"

No sooner had he spoken than a figure rushed over like a gust of wind and kicked him square in the waist.

The heir flew gracefully into the garden, his face landing squarely in freshly mixed fertilizer soil.

The one who delivered the kick was none other than Nan Shuyi, who'd arrived late.

Nan Shuyi: "You're saying my partner is gay and deceiving me? Idiot!"

The heir, spitting out black soil, cried pitifully: "Pfft pfft pfft..."

Even slow as he was, he now realized who Jiang Yicen was—and that he'd been played by Jiang Yiting!

Seeing the man's foolish and pathetic state, Jiang Yicen's lips curved slightly. He stepped forward to stop Nan Shuyi from landing another kick.

He said, "I suspect they were instigated by him too."

Nan Shuyi took Jiang Yicen's hand and began checking him: "Are you hurt?"

Jiang Yicen shook his head and glanced at his sleeve: "Not hurt. Just got some juice on the cuff—it's dirty."

Nan Shuyi scanned the three men, memorizing their faces: "Then let's go home and change."

Jiang Yicen didn't want to stay either—these people had started it.

But he could guess who'd instigated them.

His eyes turned cold: "However, I need to have a word with Jiang Yiting first."

With that, he turned and headed to the front hall. After a quick sweep, he found Jiang Yiting showcasing his social skills, chatting with two young ladies.

"Jiang Yiting, can we talk privately?"

Without waiting for Jiang Yiting's response, Jiang Yicen grabbed his arm and pulled him toward one of the lounges.

Jiang Yiting felt a sudden, inexplicable tension, struggling to stay composed as he tried to pull his arm free, but found his grip clamped on like a vise, impossible to break.

Flustered and furious, Jiang Yiting snapped, "Jiang Yicen, what are you doing? Let go!"

Jiang Yicen replied smoothly, "Since you've sent me such a grand gift, it's only right to reciprocate—that's a classic Confucian saying."

Five minutes later, he clapped his hands, strolled out of the lounge with ease, and walked over to Nan Shuyi, who was waiting for him not far away.

Nan Shuyi asked him, "Are you alright?"

Jiang Yicen nodded calmly, "I'm fine. The gift's been delivered. Let's head back."