Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen
“What—You?” Jiang Jinchen gaped at Ming Jing, his ice-cold face finally cracking.
This didn’t escape Jiang Chunlan’s notice. She knew her son very well. “You two know each other?” she asked, her eyes sparkling with interest.
Jiang Jinchen seemed to collect himself then. He cleared his throat and calmly averted his eyes. “She is my junior at school. I met her at the yacht party just a while back.”
“Oh, I see.” Jiang Chunlan’s tone was heavy with meaning.
“Senior,” Ming Jing greeted politely.
Jiang Jinchen blinked several times before giving her a short nod. “What are you doing here?”
Jiang Chunlan snorted. ‘Look at him, acting all cool and asking about something he already knows the answer to!’
“I invited Ming Jing here. Come, let’s talk over tea. By the way, I didn’t tell you this before, but—”
Jiang Chunlan caught herself and swallowed her words.
Even she knew that her son possessed a mean streak. If he learned now that Ming Jing used to be a nun, he might make fun of her.
While she herself held the girl in high esteem and looked up to her like she would a god, the youth these days preferred scientific reasoning to religious superstitions.
“What is it?” Jiang Jinchen asked.
The woman smiled and shook her head. “It’s nothing, forget about it. So you are in the same school as Ming Jing. Take care of her in the future. She has just returned to the Zhu family and isn’t very familiar with her new environment yet. I would hate for her to be bullied.”
Jiang Jinchen looked at his mother seriously. He knew her well, too. All these years, no high-society lady had dared to get close to her, even with all the wealth and power they wielded. The only girl she had paid attention to was Li Jiaojiao, and that was only because of their association through the Cheng family. This was the first time he had seen his mother openly get close to a girl his age.
Even so, the girl in question didn’t seem glad about this, or even just a bit flattered. On the contrary, she was acting as if everything was perfectly normal.
Well, this was Ming Jing’s personality, after all.
“I know, Mom,” he sighed.
“Madam,” Zhou Xue piped up again. “You have a phone call.”
“You kids chat and get to know each other,” Jiang Chunlan said pointedly. “I’ll go take that call.” And then she hurried away,
“Mom seems to like you a lot,” Jiang Jinchen started, sounding a little surprised.
Ming Jing turned away and walked to the French windows on the other side of the hallway. Outside in the courtyard, the three girls were talking and laughing among themselves. They looked like the best of friends, spending some time to catch up with each other.
“What does ‘like’ even mean?” Ming Jing murmured. “What difference is there between ‘liking’ and ‘not liking’?’
Jiang Jinchen studied her and pursed his lips. But then he remembered something. “Wait here just a minute. I’m going upstairs to change.”
Just then, Jiang Chunlan wrapped up her phone call and found them standing side by side, silhouetted by the light streaming through the French windows.
She sighed to herself. “That son of mine is good at everything except conversation. What will he do when he decides to woo a girl in the future?”
Zhou Xue covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. “You worry too much, Madam. Do you know that the girls who fancy the Young Master can make a queue that goes around Jiang City three times?”
Jiang Chunlan frowned. “How can those twittering nitwits even hope to match with Chen’er?”
“Of course, they can’t,” Zhou Xue smiled.
Moments later, they were all back in the courtyard. Seeing that it was almost sunset, Ye Lan gathered her purse and made to leave. When she stood up, the other girls followed suit.
“Come and visit me again when you have the time,” Jiang Chunlan said kindly. “Chen’er, send these ladies home on my behalf.”
Gao Jia was delighted. She grinned and glanced shyly at Jiang Jinchen.
Zhu Xiangxiang, on the other hand, was hesitant. She had never found a chance to be alone with Madam Jiang. Shaodan’s matter could not wait any longer. Alas, today was not her day.
Before they left, Jiang Chunlan took Ming Jing’s hand again, urging her to send a WeChat message when she got home. She also asked the girl to come to the Jiang residence whenever she was free.
The three other girls’ faces turned bitter almost instantly.
As the young people stepped through the gates, Zhou Xue sighed. “To think that Young Master Ming Jing is actually the Zhu family’s true daughter. The ways of the world are truly unpredictable.”
“How has she been faring in the Zhu household?”
Zhou Xue was an excellent assistant, and gathering intelligence was one of her strongest suits. She never missed a single piece of data.
“I’m afraid the Young Master Ming Jing is not valued in the Zhu family. Her biological mother does not like her. Instead, she prefers the other daughter. Surely, living in that house is not easy, but the Young Master Ming Jing is no ordinary person. I have faith that she can hold her own against the Zhu family.”
Zhu Xiangxiang and Lin Qing were all too aware of their status in society, but if they thought they could just bully Ming Jing at a whim, then they were sorely mistaken.
“I just can’t understand it,” Zhou Xue mused out loud. “Madam Zhu only likes the fake daughter. Even if we say that she has developed attachment over the sixteen years she has raised the girl, then all the more reason for her to feel indebted to the Young Master Ming Jing. She should be doing her best to make up for her shortcomings. Instead, she treats her real daughter in a manner that leaves much to be desired.”
Jiang Chunlan sneered. “She mistook an eye of a fish for a pearl. Lin Qing’s perception is far too shallow.”
The assistant nodded in agreement. “She will regret it sooner or later. In fact, I feel that the day is coming soon.”
“The plane is scheduled to return to the capital tomorrow morning. There are some matters that I need to take care of personally.”
“I understand, Madam.”
…
Inside the car, Zhu Xiangxiang’s face was ashen.
She had just experienced the greatest humiliation in her young life. How could she have been so impatient?
She had mustered up her courage to ask for Jiang Jinchen’s WeChat contact, but she was immediately rejected.
Of course, Gao Jia had pounced on her misery and took the opportunity to mock her, making her lose what little face she had left.
They all knew that this debacle would spread online in no time. The number one socialite in Jiang City, blown off in less than a minute. Once the story made its rounds on the Internet, it would no doubt be exaggerated. She felt stressed just thinking about how bad it could get.
Zhu Xiangxiang took a deep breath and glanced at Ming Jing beside her. The latter had been silent since they had left. “So, Ming Jing, you and Madam Jiang are friends on WeChat?”
“Hmm.”
“It looked like Madam Jiang likes you very much. You should seize this chance and nurture your relationship with her. It would prove to be to your advantage in the future.”
Silence filled the car.
Zhu Xiangxiang looked over again and found that Ming Jing had closed her eyes. Her breathing was slow and steady. She seemed to have entered some state of cultivation.
Having been treated like air, Zhu Xiangxiang was understandably furious.
…
“I’m sorry, Mom. I don’t think I can be of any help to Shaodan.” Zhu Xangxiang’s eyes were red from weeping.
“What’s wrong? Could it be that Madam Jiang…”
“It’s all my fault. I couldn’t wait to win her favor and sabotaged myself.” Zhu Xiangxiang’s voice was heavy with self-reproach.
Lin Qing ached for her and quickly wrapped her in an embrace. “Silly child, it isn’t your fault. Don’t blame yourself like this. Your father and I will think of another way. Shaodan will be just fine.”
“Listen, Mom. I may be of no use, but Ming Jing is. Did you know? Madam Jiang is very fond of her. She even took Ming Jing’s hand and took her aside for a chat. I really want to know what Ming Jing said to Madam Jiang that made her like that girl so much.”
“What?” Lin Qing’s voice was barely above a whisper, and all the color drained from her face.
Ming Jing hadn’t even called her “mother” once, and always had a cold and quiet demeanor. She had never expected that the girl had it in her to pander to someone like Madam Jiang.
She had truly underestimated her. Ming Jing was very good, indeed..