Chapter 39: Heading To The Student Ghost’s Lair
The sudden appearance of Meng Qinian startled the Jiang family members present.
Jiang Yueyao looked surprised: “Young Master Meng? You… know Perfection?”
The Meng family’s reputation was extremely prominent in S City. After all, Chairman Meng Lei had started from nothing, and was known in the business world as the ruthless white shark. Madam Meng had even married down from one of the eight great families in Shangjing, the Meng family.
Even if Madam Meng was only a collateral branch of the Shangjing Meng family, the connections and resources she possessed were something the Jiang family could not compare to.
Therefore, over these years, the Jiang family had always wanted to befriend the Meng family to take their business to the next level.
Unfortunately, Madam Meng had a short life despite her beauty and passed away from illness early, leaving behind only one son. Jiang Yueyao had never found an opportunity.
She had originally wanted to have her little brother use a game as an excuse to approach that only son of the Meng family, but later Xin Xin…
But what was going on now? How could Nan Yuanman know Meng Qinian? Hadn’t she just come to S City from the countryside?
After asking this, Jiang Yueyao felt it was inappropriate and quickly put on a smiling face. She turned her head and greeted Nan Yuanman warmly, as if they had a very good relationship: “Perfection, Young Master Meng is here for you. Come down quickly, don’t keep him waiting.”
“Someone, quickly serve tea to Young Master Meng.”
Nan Yuanman lay on the railing of the corridor and looked down. She gave Jiang Yueyao a strange look and couldn’t help muttering softly: “These adults are really interesting. They change faces so quickly.”
She turned around, went back to the bedroom to carry out her shoes. Hearing her mutter, Jiang Lixuan’s mouth twitched: “…”
He pretended not to hear anything and picked her up to put on her shoes.
Nan Yuanman accepted his help matter-of-factly and shouted to Meng Qinian downstairs in her childish voice: “Wait for me to finish washing up!”
Jiang Yueyao frowned and said reproachfully: “This child, how can she keep a customer waiting…”
Before she finished speaking, Meng Qinian shouted back just as loudly: “Got it! I’ll wait for you in the living room then!”
This attitude, this manner, completely disregarded Jiang Yueyao.
Jiang Yueyao choked and felt a bit displeased in her heart.
Meng Qinian glanced at her lightly and snorted coldly in his heart. Giving Perfection eye drops in front of him—she really thought he was a fool who couldn’t see through it?
He directly ignored Jiang Yueyao and Jiang Xinxin, gave a perfunctory greeting to Jiang Hengzhi, and then sat on the single-person sofa.
Jiang Hengzhi’s mood was exceptionally complex. He looked at Meng Qinian several times and finally couldn’t hold back and asked: “Young Master Meng, if it’s convenient, may I ask how you came to know Perfection?”
“Speaking of this, my acquaintance with Perfection even owes a favor to your Jiang family!” At this topic, Meng Qinian was no longer sleepy and spoke in a sarcastic tone: “That day I was out for a stroll and saw a little bean standing at the Jiang family main gate.”
“Oh wow, such a tiny little thing, squatting there all pitiful, making one’s heart ache.”
“I’m a kind-hearted person and was afraid the child might be abducted, so I took her to eat. That’s how we got to know each other. At first I thought she was a lost child from the residential complex, but unexpectedly she was from your Jiang family.”
“Second Young Master Jiang, your Jiang family is really not straightforward. Leaving such a tiny child all alone outside—have all your butler and servants died? Or has your company’s performance recently declined so much that you can’t even afford to raise a five-year-old kid? If you can’t afford it, give her to me. Raising a five-year-old child is no pressure for me.”
Meng Qinian spoke rapidly like a machine gun, making Jiang Hengzhi’s face flush red, somewhat unable to get off the stage.
He knew that Meng Qinian was talking about what happened on the day Nan Yuanman was first brought back from the countryside by Jiang Lixuan.
Jiang Hengzhi opened his mouth, just about to explain for himself, but Jiang Yueyao spoke up at this moment, her face full of apology: “It was our negligence. It was just that Xin Xin suddenly had heart pain that day, and in the urgency, we didn’t attend to Perfection.”
She sighed, full of guilt: “It was also my fault. If only I hadn’t panicked so much that day.”
If it were an ordinary person hearing Jiang Yueyao say this, they would surely feel embarrassed and might even comfort her a few words. After all, between a sick child and a healthy child, adults would naturally tend to care for the sick one.
But Meng Qinian was different. He sneered: “It really is your fault. You Jiang family members see that Perfection has no mother to protect her and bully her as much as you want.”
Jiang Yueyao choked, feeling a mix of embarrassment and anger rise in her heart.
Jiang Hengzhi had already felt heartbroken when Jiang Yueyao took all the blame upon herself. Now hearing Meng Qinian say this, his displeasure toward him intensified. He said coldly: “Young Master Meng, this is our family’s private matter and has nothing to do with you.”
Meng Qinian sneered, wanting to continue retorting, when the sound of da-da-da footsteps came from beside his ear.
Meng Qinian pursed his lips, ignored Jiang Hengzhi, and turned his head to see Nan Yuanman, who had finished washing up, running down energetically with her short legs.
She was wearing a milky yellow T-shirt and denim overalls today, her hair tied into two little pigtails. The little baby fat on her cheeks jiggled up and down with her running, her eyes bright and spirited, looking extremely cute.
Meng Qinian’s heart softened. He stood up and reached out his hand to her. Nan Yuanman ignored the Jiang family members and stuffed her little short hand into his: “Let’s go!”
Jiang Hengzhi frowned in displeasure, just about to speak, when Jiang Lixuan spoke first: “Call me when you arrive. Perfection, don’t do dangerous things. Prioritize your own safety.”
Among the entire Jiang family, only Jiang Lixuan knew that Nan Yuanman truly had real abilities.
He really wanted to stay by Nan Yuanman’s side to protect her, but today… he had more important things to do.
Nan Yuanman waved her little hand lazily: “Got it.”
Meng Qinian nodded slightly to Jiang Hengzhi and left swaggeringly with Nan Yuanman.
After he left, Jiang Yueyao spoke somewhat helplessly: “Perfection really is something. She doesn’t give any face to the family in front of outsiders. With such a strong personality, she’ll probably suffer big losses in the future.”
Jiang Hengzhi sneered: “Just like her mother.”
Jiang Lixuan frowned, gave Jiang Yueyao a complicated look, and said: “Perfection is still young. I’ll teach her slowly in the future. As for you…”
“Yao Yao, there’s something I want to ask you.”
Jiang Yueyao was particularly dissatisfied with Jiang Lixuan’s recent behavior. Hearing this, she asked indifferently: “Little brother, Xin Xin’s mood isn’t good. Whatever it is, wait until I coax Xin Xin before asking.”
As she spoke, she held Jiang Xinxin and was about to leave, but Jiang Lixuan’s voice came from behind: “The year my hand was ruined, did Bai Wenyin really abandon me and run away?”
Jiang Yueyao’s heart skipped a beat, and she abruptly turned back to look at Jiang Lixuan.
Jiang Lixuan’s gaze was deep, with a trace of scrutiny appearing in his eyes for the first time. He asked her again: “When you arrived by my side back then, had Bai Wenyin really run away? Was my hand really ruined at that time?”
This question had tormented Jiang Lixuan for an entire night.
Plus, this morning, Jiang Xinxin and Jiang Yueyao’s attitudes toward Nan Yuanman made Jiang Lixuan vaguely realize that this younger sister Jiang Yueyao and this niece Jiang Xinxin might not be as kind, innocent, and wonderful as he had previously thought.
Moreover, the aggrieved look of Nan Yuanman when she was wronged kept flashing before his eyes from time to time, exactly the same as his expression when he questioned Bai Wenyin back then about why she abandoned him and ran away.
Under multiple stimulations, Jiang Lixuan directly asked it out.
Jiang Hengzhi frowned and also looked toward Jiang Yueyao.
A layer of cold sweat suddenly rose on Jiang Yueyao’s back. Her hands holding Jiang Xinxin couldn’t help but tighten a bit, and her facial expression almost couldn’t hold: “Little brother, did someone say something to you?”
“Little brother, don’t listen to outsiders. They’re deliberately saying this to sow discord between us siblings…”
Jiang Lixuan interrupted her, his gaze deep: “Tell me the answer.”
Jiang Yueyao opened her mouth, holding Jiang Xinxin and not daring to meet Jiang Lixuan’s eyes: “When I arrived back then, Bai Wenyin was indeed gone. But it’s been so long, I can’t quite remember if she really ran away.”
“Okay, I understand.” Jiang Lixuan nodded and looked at Jiang Xinxin, who didn’t look spirited in her arms: “Take Xin Xin upstairs to rest. She really didn’t behave well today. You need to talk to her properly.”
Jiang Yueyao forced a smile. As she turned and went upstairs holding her, her gaze darkened.
It had been nearly eight years since the incident with Jiang Lixuan’s hand being ruined. Why would he suddenly bring it up? Had he found something out?
No… impossible. So much time had passed, and she had already dealt with all the evidence back then. Jiang Lixuan absolutely couldn’t have found anything.
She thought this in her heart, yet an inexplicable sense of unease surged up.
–
After Meng Qinian took Nan Yuanman away from the Jiang family, he first took her out to eat breakfast.
Nan Yuanman bit into a steamed bun contentedly and asked Meng Qinian, who was preparing soy milk for her: “Did that student ghost come find you again last night?”
“Yes, last night he crawled onto my mobile phone and even tried to tempt me into suicide. Luckily I had the safety talisman you gave me and beat him back forcefully.”
Meng Qinian inserted the straw for her and placed the soy milk in front of her: “Drink slowly, it’s a bit hot.”
Nan Yuanman tilted her head, a sly glint flashing in her eyes: “Didn’t you say before that dying is just dying? Why now that the student ghost is after you, you’re not giving up anymore?”
Meng Qinian smiled embarrassedly: “Well… if I can live, I still want to live well.”
His usual self: Dead people face the sky, mortals must die, sooner or later it’s death anyway.
The real him encountering a ghost: Save me save me save me!
Nan Yuanman chuckled, quickly finished breakfast, held the soy milk and sipped it, mumbling unclearly: “Let’s go. While he’s weak, let’s settle him completely today.”
She already knew where the student ghost’s lair was.
