“I walked all the way over here and didn’t even notice. What are you looking at so intently?”
Jiang Linzhi leaned against the railing beside him and followed his gaze.
He saw Assistant Qiu teaching his younger sister how to ride.
“Hey, you bastard! Why are you staring at my sister with that lovestruck look?” Jiang Linzhi suddenly grabbed him by the collar.
Pei Cizhou was speechless. “Do I look like I’m interested in that little booger?”
“……”
Well, that was true.
Jiang Linzhi let go of him, then belatedly realized something. “You’re looking at Qiuyun!?”
“Mm.” Pei Cizhou tugged at his hem and straightened his tie. He was in a good mood today, so he didn’t hold it against his best friend for manhandling him and ruining his outfit.
Jiang Linzhi felt a strange tightness in his chest. “You like her?”
“Obviously.”
“When did you start liking her?”
“Don’t know.”
Jiang Linzhi raised his voice. “You don’t know?”
Pei Cizhou saw that the two women seemed to be finishing up and getting ready to dismount. “Love begins without one knowing how, and then runs deep.”
Jiang Linzhi stood rooted to the spot, staring at his friend’s retreating back.
Meanwhile.
Qiuyun helped Miss Jiang dismount. “Horseback riding is all about coordinating your waist and your legs. If you really want to get better, we can practice the horse stance every day while we memorize vocabulary. You’ll see results in less than a month.”
“Really?”
“I read it in an ancient book.”
Jiang Chuling trusted Sister Xiaoqiu without question. “Okay, I’ll give it a try!”
“Miss Qiu.”
A familiar voice rang out, carrying that faintly roguish note.
The corners of Qiuyun’s mouth twitched. She turned around. “Young Master Pei.”
Jiang Chuling greeted him politely. “Brother Pei.”
“Mm.”
Pei Cizhou acknowledged her, then looked at Qiuyun with curved brows and a smile. “I’ve collected another new fragment of Miss Qiu’s life. I’m looking forward to the next surprise.”
Jiang Chuling’s eyes widened. Before she could even lift her head, Sister Xiaoqiu covered her ears.
!!
She didn’t know what Sister Xiaoqiu whispered, but Young Master Pei’s expression stiffened. He rubbed his nose sheepishly, then turned and left.
“Sister Xiaoqiu!” Jiang Chuling tugged at her sleeve, her expression full of certainty. “Brother Pei definitely likes you!”
“……”
She already knew that.
Jiang Chuling was displeased. “Why couldn’t you let me hear it too?”
“……”
Qiuyun simply didn’t want Pei Cizhou corrupting a child.
She soothed Miss Jiang. “I told him that if anyone else found out about this, I would stop participating in any of the company’s affairs.”
That was harsh.
She was drawing a clean line between them right away!
Jiang Chuling’s eyes darted around. But now that she knew, she certainly wasn’t “anyone else”!
She said happily, “Sister Xiaoqiu, you don’t want my dad and Grandpa to find out?”
“It would be troublesome.”
After all, the group’s projects were tied to the government. She was only a small-time assistant and didn’t want to attract so much attention in that area.
Mixing business with personal matters was practically the biggest taboo in the workplace.
After hearing her explanation, Jiang Chuling patted her chest and promised, “Don’t worry, Sister Xiaoqiu. I’ll keep this absolutely confidential!”
Qiuyun smiled warmly. “Then thank you for being so understanding, Miss.”
Back at the wooden railing, Jiang Linzhi asked, “Why did you come back so quickly?”
Pei Cizhou shrugged stubbornly. “Wasn’t I just going over to say hello? What did you expect me to do, cling to her?”
Something was off.
Jiang Linzhi narrowed his eyes. Old Pei had always been the sort of person who got whatever he wanted.
How could he like a girl and not make a move?
“Hey, don’t tell me you’re secretly in love with her?”
Pei Cizhou glanced at his best friend. His best friend was still someone else, so he shrugged. “I’ve already got a whole pile of problems at home. It wouldn’t be right to drag her into this and make her face the storm with me, would it? But you have to keep this to yourself. I’m only telling you because I trust you.”
For some reason, when he learned that Assistant Qiu didn’t know about it, Jiang Linzhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He threw an arm around his friend’s shoulders and grinned mischievously. “Relax. I’m the tightest-lipped person around. I’ll protect my brother’s secret crush!”
Pei Cizhou jabbed him with an elbow. “Get lost.”
The two of them didn’t stay at the equestrian club for long. Jiang Linzhi changed out of his riding clothes and planned to go to the company with Pei Cizhou to take a look.
Without his involvement in decision-making and programming, the company’s progress had fallen at least a month behind.
The two got into the car.
“Damn, you got your license pretty quickly.” Jiang Linzhi looked around. “Is this car yours or your brother’s?”
“Of course it’s my brother’s. Where would I get the money to buy a car like this?”
He stepped on the gas and drove out of the estate.
“Your birthday is only a month later than mine, isn’t it? If you’re planning to get your license, you should be getting it soon too, right?”
“Don’t mention birthdays.” Jiang Linzhi rolled his eyes. “Didn’t you hear what happened? Things were such a mess at home around then that just making it through alive counted as a success. I still had to celebrate my birthday on top of that?”
Since it was his eighteenth birthday, though, his mother had said they would hold a belated celebration after the Lantern Festival.
Pei Cizhou was speechless. “I only got my phone back last night. When I searched the news, all I saw was that the old chairman had been critically ill and hospitalized, followed by a clarification.”
Jiang Linzhi clicked his tongue. “You’ve really been living in isolation, huh, bro.”
The news that his father and several uncles had been hospitalized wasn’t known to the general public, but everyone in their circle was aware of it. Jiang Linzhi didn’t hide anything and told him what had happened at home.
“Second Uncle lost the old man’s favor, Third Uncle was banished to the frontier, and Fourth Uncle is bedridden and confined to a wheelchair. That leaves only my dad, who still counts as a main force.” He sighed. “Now my dad has finally achieved his dream. I just hope he doesn’t dump the burden on me.”
Pei Cizhou listened with a frown as Jiang Linzhi recounted all of Miss Qiu’s heroic efforts to turn the tide.
She had even risked poisoning herself?
He didn’t press his friend for further details. Instead, he asked, “What’s the problem? The Jiang Group is one of the biggest companies in the country. It’s even ranked on the Forbes list. You don’t want it?”
Jiang Linzhi let out a dry laugh. “If someone handed it to me for free, only an idiot would refuse! But before you get it, you have to be the crown prince under my dad’s thumb for thirty or forty years! Haven’t you heard the saying? The most dangerous place is the Eastern Palace, and the hardest position to hold is that of the crown prince. Just thinking about having to scrape by under my dad’s thumb and endure his torment for decades is exhausting. Even if you offered me that kind of fortune, I wouldn’t want it.”
All right.
Pei Cizhou understood completely.
If he followed his family’s wishes and applied to Beizheng University, he would also have to obey the arrangements of two leaders.
From then on, every major event in his life—his college entrance exams, career, friendships, marriage, children, promotions, and transfers—would be planned entirely by them. He wouldn’t have the slightest say in any of it. His whole life would be nothing more than a puppet show controlled by others, without even a shred of agency.
That was why he wanted to borrow money from his brother to start a business.
Raising a child was a legal obligation until the child turned eighteen. After eighteen, he would support himself. Only then would he have the confidence to tell his parents no.
Pei Cizhou sighed. “No wonder we get along. We’re both in the same miserable boat.”
Jiang Linzhi asked, “By the way, you’ve been locked up at home for five months. Your parents are actually letting you run a company?”
“Of course not.”
Pei Cizhou turned the car around a bend. “There are people stationed downstairs at the company just to keep me from going over.”
“And you still dare to go?”
“Ahem.” Pei Cizhou gave a light cough. “There’s always a way around every obstacle.”
