Chapter 37: Conflict
“What are you doing! Mother’s diary is going to be ruined by you!” Nan Yuanman unhappily reached out and pushed him, took the diary from his hand, and carefully, with extra care, put it into the small shoulder bag.
Jiang Lixuan was stunned by the massive information in the diary for a long time, unable to recover. When Nan Yuanman put away the diary and pouted her little buttocks to crawl to the back seat, he finally came to his senses and hoarsely apologized: “Sorry…”
His mind was now full of shock and confusion. He still remembered that the person who picked him up from the alley and sent him to the hospital was Jiang Yueyao.
When he woke up in the hospital, the tendons in both his hands had been severed, and he had anxiously asked Jiang Yueyao about Bai Wenyin’s safety.
After all, he had seen Bai Wenyin rushing in from the alley shouting loudly while he was in a coma.
Jiang Yueyao had looked bewildered and said to him: “I didn’t see Sister Wenyin. When I arrived at the scene, there was only you, little brother.”
“Maybe Sister Wenyin was too scared and ran away first? I don’t know.”
“Sigh… Sister Wenyin really, she didn’t even call the police before running. If she had, your hands wouldn’t… But it’s okay, the doctor said that if you rehabilitate well, you can still live normally.”
After hearing Jiang Yueyao’s words, Jiang Lixuan couldn’t help but feel disgusted with Bai Wenyin, and his attitude toward her began to turn hostile.
But… what was going on with what was recorded in the diary?
Back then… did Bai Wenyin really abandon him and run away?
If… what was recorded in the diary was true… then back then… was Jiang Yueyao lying to him?
Jiang Lixuan desperately stopped his thoughts, not daring to think further, silently started the car engine, and drove home.
Nan Yuanman had no idea how complicated Jiang Lixuan’s emotions were right now. After eating and drinking her fill, drowsiness gradually came over her. Her little body leaned crookedly on the chair, she closed her eyes and fell deeply asleep.
When they arrived at the villa, Nan Yuanman’s little head was tilted, pillow on the car seat back, sleeping soundly.
Jiang Lixuan’s heart softened, unwilling to wake her. He carefully carried her down from the car and held her back to the room.
It was late, almost all the Jiang family members had gone to sleep, and Jiang Lixuan moved very quietly. Except for Butler Li, no one else knew he and Nan Yuanman had returned.
Jiang Lixuan originally wanted to take Nan Yuanman back to her room. As soon as he slightly opened the door, what came into view was the room that looked like it had been bombed by a bomber.
He stood at the doorway silently for a moment, and finally carefully carried her back to his own room.
He placed the soundly sleeping child in his arms on the bed, sat by the bedside and looked at her for a good while, gently took off her shoes, untied her messy little bib, removed her jacket…
He called a female servant to change Nan Yuanman into pajamas, and Jiang Lixuan had also worked up a sweat.
He didn’t rush to take a shower, but stared at Nan Yuanman’s small shoulder bag on the table.
Bai Wenyin’s diary was inside it.
He wanted to look again, wanted to understand more about what happened back then…
Jiang Lixuan hesitated and reached out toward the small shoulder bag. Before his hand touched it, the small shoulder bag suddenly moved, a few messy straws poked out from inside, and then a little wooden puppet emerged from it.
Xiao Cao: Staring (_)
Zhuang Zhuang raised his little hand, looking ready to knock Jiang Lixuan’s hand off if he reached over again.
Jiang Lixuan: “…”
He raised his hands in surrender, gave an embarrassed smile: “I mean no harm, I just want to take a look…”
Xiao Cao: Staring…
Jiang Lixuan: “…I won’t look.”
Xiao Cao tsundere-ly shook his little hand, and with a swish closed the opening of the small shoulder bag.
Jiang Lixuan could only give up helplessly, got up to take a shower.
On the other side, third floor.
Jiang Yueyao was startled awake from her sleep, her forehead and back covered in cold sweat.
She sat on the bed, breathing particularly rapidly, her brows tightly furrowed. What was going on? Why did she suddenly dream about little brother’s matter from back then? Was something about to happen?
It shouldn’t be. That matter was so many years ago, and these years little brother hadn’t thought to investigate the truth from back then, and probably wouldn’t investigate in the future either.
She didn’t need to scare herself.
What’s more… Bai Wenyin was already dead. Even if the truth from back then was dug up, given how much little brother had doted on her and Xin Xin these years, he wouldn’t do anything to her.
Jiang Yueyao’s mind was restless, constantly comforting herself inwardly, but the mobile phone on the bedside table rang at that moment.
A flash of gloom passed through Jiang Yueyao’s eyes, irritably she picked up the call: “Hello…”
Chen Ma’s wailing came from the other end of the phone: “Miss, you have to help me, Miss.”
Jiang Yueyao frowned slightly: “Chen Ma? What’s wrong with you?”
“My son was set up and owes ten million in gambling debt. All the savings I’ve accumulated over these years have gone into it, but it’s still not enough. There’s still a shortfall of five million. Miss, considering how I’ve taken care of you and little Miss Xin Xin wholeheartedly these years, and for the sake of losing my job to stand up for little Miss Xin Xin, help me out!”
Chen Ma sobbed as she spoke. Previously, she had been fixed in place at the doorway for an entire night by Nan Yuanman, caught a high fever from the shock and cold, and by the time she recovered, Butler Li had sent someone to send her home, and the dismissal letter had already been given to her.
Chen Ma resented Nan Yuanman in her heart, but also feared her mysterious methods, and didn’t dare to cause her trouble for the time being.
She hadn’t thought of contacting Jiang Yueyao, planning to wait a couple more days and then call Jiang Yueyao to cry about it, at which point Jiang Yueyao would surely help her teach Nan Yuanman a lesson for the sake of their relationship.
But just earlier, she had received terrible news.
Her son owed ten million to the underground casino in S City, and now he had been detained by the casino. To get him back safely, the debt had to be fully repaid, otherwise…
His life would belong to the casino.
Chen Ma had only this one son in all these years; how could she bear to let him be ruined by the casino? She hurriedly went to the bank to withdraw money to pay it back, but her savings weren’t much, and even using all of them only covered half.
She really couldn’t come up with the remaining five million, so she thought of Jiang Yueyao.
Jiang Yueyao had spent tens of millions just on eating in the Jiang family these years; a little leak from between her fingers would be enough to help her pay off the debt and get through this crisis.
Chen Ma pleaded: “Miss Jiang, for the sake of all the things I’ve done for you these years, even if no merit, there was hard work, please help me.”
Jiang Yueyao tsked softly, and said apologetically: “Chen Ma, I really can’t help right now. Xin Xin’s medical expenses are huge, five million isn’t a small amount, I can’t help you.”
If Chen Ma were still in the Jiang family, helping her would be beneficial.
But now Chen Ma was no longer a servant of the Jiang family, she no longer needed to maintain their relationship.
Not to mention, this time when she returned, she had almost been scolded by little brother because of Chen Ma’s recklessness; she might even hold a grudge against Chen Ma.
“It’s very late now, Chen Ma, I need to rest, you should sleep early too, think of something tomorrow.” Jiang Yueyao had no interest in talking with Chen Ma and directly hung up the phone.
“Miss Jiang, Miss Jiang? Miss Jiang!” Chen Ma never expected Jiang Yueyao, who had always respected her so much in the Jiang family, to be so cold. Hearing the beeping tone, despair filled her heart, and in that despair, some resentment arose.
In her room, a few big men wearing vests and tattoos asked: “How about it, couldn’t borrow the money? Didn’t you say you were the nanny of the Jiang family miss? That she couldn’t do without you and would happily lend you the money? You lied to me?”
Chen Ma looked panicked: “No no, I didn’t lie to you! It’s just that I…”
The big man sneered, picked up the phone and said to the other end: “Chop off one hand of Chen Yaozu.”
The next second, screams came from the other end of the phone: “Mom—save me—Mom!!”
“Yaozu!” Chen Ma’s heart was like a knife twisting, tears surged out, she cried: “Please let him go, I-I know some scandals of the S City Jiang family miss! And evidence of some bad things she’s done!”
She turned around, trembling hands took her bag from the sofa, and pulled out a USB drive: “The evidence is all in this USB drive. The Jiang family members like Jiang Yueyao very much; if you show it to any Jiang family member, they will pay you a reward to suppress this scandal!”
“I only beg you to let my Yaozu go!”
The big man raised an eyebrow, took the USB from Chen Ma’s hand, tossed it into the arms of his subordinate behind him: “Check it, see if she’s lying.”
The subordinate immediately used Chen Yaozu’s computer, inserted the USB, and opened an audio file.
A sweet yet malicious female voice came from the audio: “I’ll give you 100,000, help me put on a play…”
The subordinate paused the audio and nodded to the big man: “It’s Jiang Yueyao’s voice.”
The big man haha laughed, patted Chen Ma’s shoulder: “This is indeed a valuable treasure. Alright, this USB offsets the remaining five million; tomorrow we’ll send your son back.”
“Let’s go!”
With that, the big man led his subordinates away one after another.
Chen Ma collapsed to the ground, tears kept falling, and suddenly Nan Yuanman’s previous words flashed through her mind—”Now your palace of children is dim and sunken, a sign of losing a son. What man does, heaven watches; the karma you created is now all falling on your son.”
For the first time, Chen Ma felt a twinge of regret: “If only, if only Mom hadn’t helped her…”
“Mom was wrong, Mom was wrong, she’s not worth it…”
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Yueyao suddenly felt a bit uneasy. Chen Ma had lived by her side for nearly ten years and seen the evil things she had done, but… she probably didn’t have the courage to keep any evidence, right?
After all, how dare an ordinary person clash head-on with the richest person in S City?
Thinking this way, the unease in Jiang Yueyao’s heart dissipated somewhat, and she put down the phone and went back to sleep.
The next day.
Nan Yuanman was still pouting her little buttocks and sleeping soundly, with continuous thumping knocks on the door by her ear.
She groggily opened her eyes, rubbed her chubby little hands over her eyes, stretched her short legs and crawled down from the bed, slowly went to open the door: “Who is it, so early—”
Jiang Xinxin held a rabbit-shaped apple, smiling as she said: “Little uncle, look what I brought you—”
When she saw Nan Yuanman, her face suddenly changed, her sweet voice turning sharp: “Why are you in little uncle’s room! Get out!”
She stepped forward and grabbed Nan Yuanman’s hand tightly, dragging her outward.
Nan Yuanman was unprepared, and without shoes on, she was dragged a few steps, stumbled, and fell toward Jiang Xinxin.
Just then, Jiang Lixuan heard the commotion at the door, got up to look, and saw Jiang Xinxin forcefully dragging Nan Yuanman, the two falling together.
Jiang Xinxin was stunned for a moment when pinned down, and seeing Jiang Lixuan hurrying out, she wailed: “Little uncle, sister is bullying me!”
