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“Ziyang returned to his parents, but they passed away when he was very young. So, I’ve been raising him ever since.”
“Because of certain reasons, the Wang family members were not very happy with him. That’s why I kept him away from the family. After he grew up, I sent him to Jiangdu to study.”
“He has always thought that I was his only family member, unaware of the Wang family’s existence.”
Wang Xuelin took a drag of his cigarette and told Su Jiang about Ziyang’s story.
Su Jiang listened, frowning. He knew about Ziyang’s parents, Ziyang had told him before.
The key was… why was this old man just sitting there smoking and telling stories?
Where was my cigarette?
Didn’t he know to offer me one?
Su Jiang felt a little resentful, but then he thought, forget it.
If An Rou caught us, found out I was smoking in this corner with an old man, she’d probably get angry.
“So, Ziyang is completely unaware of the family’s situation?”
“That’s right.” Wang Xuelin nodded. “So I hope you and the An family won’t involve him.”
“It’s fine if you two have a normal relationship, but I don’t want him to be in danger. Do you understand?”
Su Jiang blinked. Why are you telling me this?
I’m not from the An family.
You should tell An Mingjie!
Tsk, I forgot, An Mingjie is probably stuck on some deserted island munching on compressed biscuits right now.
“Don’t worry, Uncle, with my relationship with Ziyang, I guarantee he’ll live a normal, ordinary life!”
Su Jiang patted his chest in assurance and gave Wang Xuelin a dazzling smile.
Wang Xuelin was about to nod, but Su Jiang changed his tune.
“But!”
Su Jiang flashed his pearly whites. “After all, Ziyang is my good brother. Keeping this from him all this time, I feel guilty.”
Wang Xuelin’s brow furrowed. “So?”
“So, can we get free barbecue when we come here next time?”
“Just that?”
Wang Xuelin was momentarily speechless.
I thought you were going to use this to blackmail me, asking for this and that.
It turns out you just wanted free barbecue?
Can’t you be a little more ambitious?
Wang Xuelin was starting to regret it now. He felt like Ziyang… and even himself, getting involved with this guy named Su Jiang, wasn’t a good thing.
“Alright, from now on, anyone you bring here gets free barbecue!”
“You’re so generous, Uncle!”
Su Jiang clapped his hands, calling him “Uncle” more affectionately than Ziyang did.
“Old Su, what are you two doing here?”
Ziyang poked his head in. He’d been looking for Su Jiang for a while.
He found Su Jiang and his uncle in this little corner, whispering and doing something mysterious.
He looked at them suspiciously, feeling something was off.
Wang Xuelin frowned. Could Ziyang already be suspicious?
What to do?
Su Jiang gave Wang Xuelin a reassuring glance, leaned forward slightly, and whispered in Ziyang’s ear:
“I’m here trying to put in a good word for you with Ji Meng, why are you interrupting?”
“I’m praising you to high heaven right now. Your uncle is really impressed with Ji Meng now. Don’t forget to treat me to dinner later!”
After saying that, Su Jiang patted Ziyang on the shoulder and gave him a look.
Good brothers forever!
Ziyang, understanding he’d misjudged Su Jiang, felt a pang of guilt.
He never thought Su Jiang, who didn’t seem like much of a person, would actually be looking out for his brother at a crucial moment.
He nodded slightly, whispering back, “Don’t worry, Old Su, I won’t forget this.”
“When I marry Mengmeng, you have to sit at the head table!”
“Yeah, when you find out the truth later, don’t kick me out of your wedding hall, okay?” Su Jiang thought to himself.
The two said goodbye to Wang Xuelin and returned to their seats.
Su Jiang leaned in close to An Rou’s ear and whispered about his conversation with Wang Xuelin.
“…So, we can eat here for free from now on.”
An Rou rolled her eyes at Su Jiang when she heard the last part.
Is this a good thing?
“Also, remember, Ziyang owes me a meal, and we’re sitting at the head table at the wedding.”
“Why don’t you remember it yourself?”
“Judging by your ability to hold grudges, your memory must be better than mine.”
“Ouch!”
Su Jiang got stepped on.
Thanks to Ziyang’s relationship, everyone had a great time at the barbecue.
Wang Xuelin brought out the best cuts of meat from his barbecue shop for them.
He also expressed his sincere joy and blessings for the love between Ziyang and Ji Meng.
This, of course, made Ziyang and Ji Meng incredibly happy.
To give the four of them some space, Wang Xuelin left after joining them for a bit, finding an excuse to leave.
As he left, he couldn’t help but glance at Su Jiang, who was stuffing his face, and his eye twitched.
If Su Jiang ate like this every day, would his barbecue shop even stay open?
Forget it, if it really gets out of hand, he’ll just put up a sign at the door.
No Su Jiang or dogs allowed.
“Old Su, are you going to Old Zhang’s class tomorrow?” Ziyang asked.
“What do you think? You’re not going to review the key points?”
“I heard the school doesn’t allow teachers to review key points anymore.”
“Really? Then how are we going to take the exam?”
“What are you scared of? We’re the ones who should be scared, not you, right?”
Ziyang gave Su Jiang a disdainful look. You need to review key points?
Your brain is full of key points!
Ziyang suddenly thought of something, quickly got up, and enthusiastically helped Su Jiang with a piece of beef, his face full of flattery.
“Brother Su, can you help me with the exam later?”
“I don’t have high expectations, just passing is fine.”
He wanted Su Jiang to help him cheat.
Su Jiang lowered his gaze, slowly and deliberately eating the beef Ziyang had given him, and said calmly:
“Old Wang, you know, I’m not the kind of person who…”
“I’ll buy you a new Yasuo skin.”
“But then again, that kind of thing isn’t impossible.”
Su Jiang changed his tune and exchanged a smile with Ziyang.
Although he didn’t need the money for skins, the meaning was different.
This skin was a gift from Ziyang.
This kind of inner joy couldn’t be bought with money.
“Since you’ve asked so nicely, as your good brother, it wouldn’t be right of me not to help you.”
An Rou and Ji Meng, biting their lower lips, looked at the two of them with disdain as they struck this deal.
Such a sickening brotherhood.
And later, because of this deal, Ziyang would want to chop Su Jiang into pieces.
Everyone continued eating, and suddenly, Su Jiang noticed that An Rou was a little distracted.
“What’s wrong?” he asked in a low voice.
“I wonder how your brother and the others are doing?” An Rou was still a little worried.
“Don’t worry, they’ve already landed on the island. Everything’s going smoothly.”
“How do you know?” An Rou was puzzled.
Su Jiang smiled confidently, took out his phone, opened his chat messages, and handed it to An Rou.
It was a chat log between him and Yang Ming. The latest message, sent not long ago, had only eight words.
“An family landed on the island, everything’s smooth.”
The previous message was: “The Feng family has already departed.”
An Rou’s mouth opened slightly, and she looked at Su Jiang with some surprise.
Su Jiang looked smug. Didn’t expect that, buddy, I have connections in the Inspectorate!
I’m their psychologist!
However, before Su Jiang could revel in his triumph for two seconds, his face turned pale, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
He saw An Rou giving him a gentle smile, then quickly swiping through her phone screen.
Her slender fingers gently tapped open the photo album.