Chapter 28

As soon as Ji Feishi asked that question, he realized how inappropriate it was.

He wasn’t the type of person to dig too deep, and besides, this wasn’t the kind of private matter that should be discussed openly.

Furthermore, strictly speaking, given how short their relationship had been, asking such a question could be seen as crossing boundaries.

But even though he knew it was extremely forward, he didn’t follow his usual logic of retracting the question or changing the topic to save face. 

Instead, he kept his gaze on Jiang Muti, waiting for her to answer him directly.

Jiang Muti picked up the small box that had fallen off the sofa and handed it back to him. This time, he accepted it.

However, his gaze still didn’t fall on the gift, while Jiang Muti herself didn’t oppose the idea of an engagement. She had merely seen through the situation at home and chose to maintain a stable outward atmosphere while secretly cutting off the root causes.

As for the engagement, aside from occasionally complying with her family’s requests, she considered it just another long-term social obligation. Besides the trouble it caused, it didn’t resonate with her in any other way.

So, of course, she wouldn’t take it seriously.

Seeing Ji Feishi’s question, she shrugged and said, “Yeah, we’re still getting to know each other, trying to build a connection.”

She couldn’t help but sneer as she said this—Zhou’s family seemed quite complacent after they got Zhou Lu on board.

Did they really expect her to focus on Li Xi? They were so naive, expecting others to solve their problems before the formal process had even started.

No wonder they were a capitalist family, their plans were well thought out.

But Ji Feishi, seeing how casually she said this, felt a heavy weight in his chest.

His rationality reminded him to stop, to leave it at this point. If he asked any further, it would be too much.

This kind of relentless probing felt ugly and didn’t align with his personal standards for how to conduct himself.

Yet, he still found himself asking, “Why would you—”

Realizing what he was about to say, he quickly changed the subject, awkwardly trying to maintain an objective stance. “I mean, I just can’t see how you two could be connected.”

Jiang Muti responded, “Right? Anyone with eyes can tell that our IQs are severely unbalanced. That guy is just the stupid son of a wealthy family. He’s lucky his face looks fierce, or otherwise, you’d see the words ‘stupid and rich’ written on his forehead, and he’d get scammed every time he leaves the house.”

At this, Yun Cheng chimed in, “Hey, that’s a reason! Should we try it too? Just grab his wallet, and it’ll turn into a robbery instead of personal revenge.”

Jiang Muti rolled her eyes. “I’ve told you so many times, what’s the point of snatching his sack? Do you think I’d beat him up and end up being forced to accompany him to the hospital? That’s just creating more trouble for me.”

Seeing Yun Cheng pout in dissatisfaction, Jiang Muti couldn’t explain her true motives and plans. She just vaguely reassured him, “Alright, just leave it. I’ve already told you, for now, getting engaged to this guy is a good thing. There’s no one more convenient than him.”

Yun Cheng was left confused by her words, but Ji Feishi, on the other hand, felt uneasy.

At first, when he heard her express so much disdain for Zhou Lu, he felt reassured, thinking that the situation was just a matter of the parents making arrangements for their children.

But now, hearing her final words, even though Zhou Lu never had a good word from her, she still seemed to accept the engagement with complete approval.

He didn’t understand why her words and actions were so contradictory, and he couldn’t help but voice his doubt.

He frowned and asked, “Why agree so willingly? If you don’t like him, that is. You’re not the type to just follow arrangements, are you? Especially for something as important as this.”

Before Jiang Muti could respond, a friend who had been joking with him earlier overheard the conversation.

The friend laughed and said, “Hey, hey! How can you ask a girl such a thing directly? Are you stupid?”

Then he leaned in and whispered, “If you didn’t have female friends before, I’ll teach you something today. Don’t pay too much attention to what a girl says, focus on what she does and her attitude.”

“She might talk badly, but her actions are sweet and active—obviously, she likes him but tries to act tough. Do you know what ‘^[1]“Tsundere” is a Japanese term used to describe a character, typically in anime or manga, who is initially cold, aloof, or hostile toward someone, but gradually shows a softer, warmer … Continue readingtsundere’ is? Why are you questioning her so seriously? Why poke at a girl’s thoughts? If you’re this clueless, be careful—you might end up alone forever, I’m telling you.”

But the rest of the words felt distant to Ji Feishi, his mind solely focused on one thing—obviously likes him but tries to act tough.

So that was it? He recalled the many times Jiang Muti and Zhou Lu had clashed sharply. Could it be that this sharpness was actually the unusual part hidden beneath her attitude?

Suddenly, Ji Feishi felt embarrassed by his own dullness. Maybe it was the indoor atmosphere, but it felt as if the air around him had become heavy and thick.

He stood up abruptly, his thoughts still in a whirl, but instinctively he felt he should do something.

“Sorry, excuse me,” he said to those startled by his sudden movement.

He quickly exited the private room, but strangely, the sense of suffocation didn’t ease even with the fresh air outside.

Instead, the sound from inside the room was shut out when the door closed, and the feeling of pressure on his chest only intensified.

He irritably left the hallway and walked to the quiet lounge, taking out his phone.

After dialing a number, he spoke in a low voice, “Find out if the Zhou family and Jiang family have any long-term plans they’re about to initiate. Get me the details immediately.”

A marriage alliance between wealthy families wasn’t just about uniting two families. It often meant expanding their influence or launching major projects that would determine the structure of industries together.

When the marriage contract was carried out, it was simply an addition of personal connections to a legally binding agreement.

Originally, this was just a matter between two families, but now Ji Feishi found himself deeply interested.

Jiang Muti was enjoying herself with Yun Cheng and several other newly acquainted guys. From the first impression, Ji Feishi’s taste in friends was quite good.

Although their personalities were all quite distinct, they were well-mannered, principled young men. With Yun Cheng acting as a buffer, even though it was their first meeting, it wasn’t awkward at all.

They were playing games, and as a result of losing a few rounds, they ended up drinking more than expected. Soon enough, they all needed to use the restroom.

However, when Jiang Muti went to use the bathroom in the private room, she found it occupied. Impatient, she decided to go outside instead.

The club was quiet and had a lot of character. As she exited the restroom, Jiang Muti couldn’t help but be drawn to the elegant decor outside.

In fact, her current room, aside from some soft furnishings, mostly retained the original layout of the previous owner.

But she wasn’t one to stay long in a space that felt unchanged. In her past life, she often moved around to maintain a sense of freshness, even remodeling spaces.

Fortunately, her family left her with many properties, none of which were rented out for income. Instead, she would use them for herself, enjoying a little luxury in different locations.

So recently, she’d been planning to renovate her bedroom and a few other personal rooms.

That’s why she paid extra attention to well-decorated places she came across.

As she walked around the hallway, observing the layout and color scheme of the lobby, she saw Ji Feishi sitting with his back to her in the lounge, looking lost in thought.

Seeing him act strangely, Jiang Muti wondered if it had something to do with the subtle affection he had always unconsciously denied. She suspected that he might be upset over it.

But then she thought, Could it really be that serious? She knew him well enough—someone like him, not to mention a fleeting hint of affection, would never focus on such a thing because of his pride.

Jiang Muti wasn’t sure why, but she felt somewhat awkward. Still, she decided to go over and invite him to return to the room with her.

What kind of birthday celebration would it be if the guest of honor wasn’t even there?

However, when she entered, she overheard him on the phone. Jiang Muti was about to leave, but she suddenly heard him say:

“Okay, if necessary. If the Zhou family really intends to go with this plan, the risk is too high. I need to know how they plan to convince the Jiang family to share the risk.”

Jiang Muti suddenly recalled a plot from the original story, one where, a few years later, the Zhou family arranged an engagement for Zhou Lu. At that time, the Zhou family was facing a significant crisis.

The purpose of the marriage alliance was not only to separate the male and female leads but, more importantly, to gain the support of the female lead’s family.

Although the crisis was ultimately resolved by the male lead finding other resources, it was a fact that the previous generation of the Zhou family had made poor decisions.

Setting aside the plot twists for dramatic effect, it was clear that this crisis didn’t come out of nowhere. Was it possible that it had already started brewing?

Given the few words she overheard from Ji Feishi’s phone call, her conclusion seemed entirely reasonable.

However, Ji Feishi hung up the phone and Jiang Muti immediately concealed her speculation, acting as though she had just approached.

When Ji Feishi turned around, he saw her standing behind him, a flash of awkwardness in his eyes.

But seeing that she didn’t seem to have overheard his conversation, he felt a bit relieved.

He awkwardly asked, “You came out to look for me?”

“Mm, I was looking for the restroom and then got distracted by the décor, so I wandered around.”

Ji Feishi nodded. “I heard from Yun Cheng that you’re thinking of redecorating your room. I know a good designer. If you need one, I can introduce you.”

Jiang Muti scowled. “That big mouth, he tells everyone everything.”

Ji Feishi grew more uncomfortable. “You… don’t like people snooping into your business?”

He immediately regretted it, wanting to slap himself. Not only was it a pointless question, but it also made him seem guilty of something.

Who would like having their affairs pried into?

But he couldn’t allow himself to do nothing, to let things unfold without intervention. He even convinced himself that his actions were justified by business reasons.

In reality, Ji’s business had little overlap with either the Jiang or Zhou families’ industries.

Jiang Muti didn’t answer directly and simply said, “Let’s go inside. If the others realize you’ve been hanging out here for so long, they’ll team up to prank you.”

She then returned to the room with him, but her mind was already buzzing with other thoughts about Ji Feishi investigating the matter.

She wasn’t particularly skilled in these areas, and wasn’t sure if it would be effective. She would need to discuss it with her brother first.

When the group saw Ji Feishi return, they eagerly pulled him into the game.

He sat down, picked up the cup in front of him, and drank all the water in it.

After finishing, he saw Jiang Muti beside him, looking at him, seemingly hesitant to say something.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Jiang Muti struggled to find the words: “You, leaving your seat for so long and still daring to drink the water like that… Tsk! Fortunately, it’s these people.”

Ji Feishi inexplicably said, “Of course I’m cautious in unfamiliar places, but here, this is my space, so—”

He only got halfway through the sentence before he realized.

Who would go into such detail about something so minor? Especially someone like Jiang Muti, who usually couldn’t be bothered with the outside world.

There could only be one explanation—he had grabbed the wrong cup.

Ji Feishi’s face instantly turned red, and he quietly set the cup down. “Sorry.”

But for some reason, the water suddenly tasted extra sweet.

If it weren’t for the crowd around them, he really wanted to reflect on his actions today.

Not only had he been rude and careless, but he also acted like a weirdo.

It wasn’t until much later, when they were leaving the club, that the group finally dispersed. By the time they left, it was almost midnight.

What couldn’t be said inside the room, they could now talk about in the car, with just the three of them.

Yun Cheng finally learned that they had been late because Jiang Muti’s mother had stopped them at school.

His smile immediately faded. “Why didn’t she come looking for me? Why go find Duo’er first? Is she bullying the girl because she has a soft spot or something?”

“She’s like that, but I’m guessing she won’t let it go easily,” Jiang Muti said. “After all, that man is now in debt and had to return to the country. He’s been gone for so many years, and all his connections have been cut off. Moreover, the help they need isn’t something anyone would just give without a second thought.”

“You’re her only lifeline. Even if she doesn’t think of herself, she has to think about her son. She can’t afford to lose face now.”

Yun Cheng was furious. “Who does that bastard think he is, trying to take advantage of everything? I still can’t get over the losses my dad suffered back then.”

“That kid grew up on my dad’s blood. He better not show up in front of me, or I won’t be able to stop myself from skinning him alive to pay off the debt.”

Jiang Muti and Yun Duo both grimaced. “Ugh~ Why would you skin a toad? That’s disgusting, aren’t you afraid of ruining your hands?”

Yun Cheng was taken aback. “So, what do you suggest? Since she’s shameless, isn’t it most effective to strike at her son?”

“You’re right,” Jiang Muti said. “But why dirty your hands? You should learn to make use of your resources.”

“Getting rid of them isn’t hard, but let’s wait a few days.”

Her words made Yun Cheng worry. “No, wait a minute. Are you planning something without telling us?”

“You better not go overboard. This isn’t appropriate for a young lady.”

Jiang Muti slapped his face and pushed his head away, which had been getting closer. “I know, I’ll be discreet. I’ll tell you guys in a couple of days.”

When they returned home, Jiang Yunjuan was already asleep.

Jiang Muti quietly opened the door and took a look. When her brother was sleeping, his glasses were taken off and placed on the nearby cabinet. His sharp eyes were closed, and he looked much softer than he did during the day.

Speaking of which, the children of this family were rather pitiable. Jiang Yunjuan had been raised as the heir, but the premise was that all the male heirs of the Jiang family had died, and he was the only one left to carry on the old Jiang family legacy.

Doesn’t that sound terribly outdated and rotten? But this was exactly the deeply ingrained mindset of Father Jiang.

As for his biological daughter, on one hand, the original owner truly lacked talent, and on the other hand, Father Jiang had never considered letting a daughter, who was bound to marry, take charge of the family.

In his eyes, it was all about his own accomplishments, the family legacy, and his ambitions and interests.

For his children, one was a tool for carrying on his legacy, and the other was a bargaining chip for exchanging benefits.

From this perspective, it didn’t matter whether they were biological or not. Even in her memories, Jiang Muti could see Father Jiang’s harsh demands on Jiang Yunjuan.

Jiang Muti suspected that it was his cold attitude that forced her mischievous brother to become the aloof, stoic person he was.

She pulled the blanket up for her brother, feeling reassured by his quality of sleep before leaving his room.

However, as soon as she left, Jiang Yunjuan slowly opened his eyes, touched the blanket that had been pulled up, and smiled before falling back into a deep sleep.

But this time was different. This time, the dream wasn’t the nightmare of losing his parents. It was a good dream.

The next day, Jiang Muti woke up a bit late and almost missed the bus. In a hurry, she drank a glass of milk at the breakfast table and grabbed a sandwich, cursing her brother for not waking her up.

Jiang Yunjuan smiled and said, “I saw you were sleeping soundly, so I let you sleep a little longer. Don’t worry, you won’t be late. If you are, you can have the teacher call me.”

What kind of irresponsible parent is this? Does he think the school is his family business?

Well, maybe not his family business, but the teaching building was definitely donated by him.

Tsk tsk!

Jiang Muti rolled her eyes. “I say, bro, with your personality, I don’t know how you even manage to support someone. Otherwise, with your attitude, if your girlfriend sleeps too soundly, you wouldn’t even wake her up and would shut off her brain instead.”

“That would be the death of the person who has to work hard and earn money.”

Jiang Yunjuan took a sip of coffee and said indifferently, “Who told you that your girlfriend and your sister would be treated the same way with me?”

Jiang Muti laughed and jumped onto her brother’s back. “I realized that although you look like a block of wood, you’re actually quite good at flattering people. Not bad, not bad. Just like this: in front of your sister, the sister comes first, in front of your girlfriend, the wife is the most important.”

“As long as the man is strong, the women will never argue. I used to worry that you’d stay single because you’re so dull. Now, I’m not worried at all, it’s just a matter of whether you want to or not.”

Jiang Yunjuan almost choked and knocked her on the head. “Go to school, stop thinking about all that nonsense.”

Watching her happily run off, Jiang Yunjuan couldn’t help but smile helplessly—

Yeah, whether he wanted to or not.

The past few days had been a time of many troubles, but Jiang Muti felt she could still handle it.

At least her thoughts weren’t focused on childish tantrums. Compared to secretly sharpening knives and plotting to seize power, everything else seemed like small matters.

But other people’s focus was different from hers. Zhou Lu was probably dealing with a head full of problems now, most likely related to the disagreement between his girlfriend and him.

As soon as the break started, Zhou Lu rushed over and pulled her out, saying urgently, “I heard my parents last night—they plan to speed things up.”

“What does that mean? Are they planning to have us engaged by the time we graduate? Hey, do you even take this seriously? If it comes to that, there’s no way we’re actually walking into a church together, right?”

“Don’t, don’t, don’t!” Jiang Muti quickly responded, “I was having a good time today, so why suddenly attack me mentally? Just thinking about that scene is making me want to throw up what I ate this morning.”

Zhou Lu was probably so exasperated that he didn’t know what to do anymore. He had become indifferent to her usual sarcastic remarks.

“So what do you suggest? I tried explaining it to Li Xi like you said, but she wouldn’t listen at all. She just covered her ears and refused to listen to me.”

“Pfft!” Jiang Muti bit her lip to stifle her laughter, suddenly remembering the various famous quotes that had circulated online in her previous life.

One of them was about the main characters having a melodramatic misunderstanding. The female lead runs out in the rain, and the male lead chases after her—

“Let me explain!”

“I’m not listening, I’m not listening, I’m not listening!”

“Fine, don’t listen, just leave!”

Of course, thinking this way while someone else is in a difficult position might be a bit like kicking someone when they’re down, but she really couldn’t help it.

Sure enough, Zhou Lu, seeing her like this, scowled and said, “Are you enjoying this? What’s so funny about it? If I’m finished, will you benefit from it?”

Jiang Muti shrugged. “No, out of humanitarianism, I really don’t want to laugh. But you brought it up, what am I supposed to do?”

“Is it a human right to have such a low sense of humor?”

“And don’t you think you’re mistaken? This engagement business is something that involves both of us, but you’re asking about how you and Li Xi should negotiate? Am I supposed to be the middleman and mediate?”

Zhou Lu felt a bit embarrassed when he thought about it. He knew that Jiang Muti didn’t like talking about his relationship with Li Xi, so why did he bring it up?

He quickly said, “Alright, let’s not talk about that. Let’s focus on the engagement. Think about how we should handle it.”

“You might think it’s far away, but it’s only about half a year from now. With us just going along with it, there’s no way it’ll backfire, right?”

Jiang Muti rolled her eyes. “It’s just an engagement, not a wedding. Use your brain for a second. We’re still young, and they won’t rush us into marriage right away. Once we reach the right age, they’ll just want us to get married.”

“So, at least four to five years before that happens. If you can’t come up with a solution in that time, you’re useless.”

Of course, she was just trying to fool Zhou Lu. She couldn’t possibly wait that long, but by then, who would be in charge of her family would likely have already been decided.

Zhou Lu hadn’t expected her to be so calm about it, but after thinking it over, he too calmed down.

Although in a wealthy family, once an engagement was made, it was almost set in stone, but to be honest, the two of them were rebels, and it wasn’t funny if they just followed the established rules.

He couldn’t help but silently curse himself for lacking the resolve of a girl.

He then said loudly, “Alright, an engagement it is! Let’s just wait for the engagement then.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened. Coincidentally, it was Li Xi again.

At this moment, they were in the chemistry classroom on this floor. Since there was no class going on, the room was empty.

It was just the right time for Zhou Lu to pull her here to talk. As the classroom door opened, several people stared at each other in surprise.

When Zhou Lu saw Li Xi, he was quite happy, thinking that she had finally agreed to listen to him, without realizing what he had just said.

He was about to greet her when he saw Li Xi looking at Jiang Muti and loudly saying, “Why are you everywhere?”

“What have I done to deserve this? Why do you have to take everything from me?”

After saying that, she turned and ran off, and Zhou Lu instinctively chased after her.

Jiang Muti was completely bewildered. Although she had somehow ended up with the female antagonist’s role, could the three of them—Qiao Yuqi, Zhou Lu, and Li Xi—just keep their entanglements to themselves and get along?

The way they were acting, as if Zhou Lu had been forced into an engagement and she was overjoyed by it, was just infuriating.

Jiang Muti stood up from her chair, ready to leave, when she was stopped by a short-haired girl.

The girl raised an eyebrow. “Got a problem?”

Jiang Muti recognized her. She was a good friend of Li Xi’s, and they were always seen together at events for girls.

On the first day Jiang Muti came here, when she met Li Xi for the first time, this girl had also said, “Aren’t you going to thank me?”

That’s when Jiang Muti had sarcastically commented on Li Xi.

The girl, seeing the unkind expression on Jiang Muti’s face, sneered. “It’s nothing. I just wanted to ask—how does it feel to steal someone’s childhood friend and boyfriend? Do you have any shame?”

Jiang Muti was intrigued by her words and asked with interest:

“Hmm?”