Jiang Chuling quietly followed them in.
Since she had successfully eavesdropped here before, she closed the door behind her as soon as she entered.
Jiang Yihua paid no attention to his daughter. He went behind the desk and sat down, rubbing his temples restlessly. “I know. Fourth Brother has gone straight to the source—he’s going to train under Old Master and get involved with the group’s core projects.”
“That’s not all.”
Qiuyun spoke solemnly. “Have you seen a news story about a woman who gave birth to a son and a daughter? Because of family and work, she only had the energy to raise one child, so she took care of the son while the grandmother raised the granddaughter. Each of them handled their own child’s life and education.
“It should have been a good arrangement, but in the end, the two sides became competitors. Each wanted to prove that they were better at raising children than the other. Eventually, the mother stopped liking her daughter, and the grandmother stopped liking her grandson.”
Jiang Yihua had never seen that news, but he understood what Qiuyun was getting at.
“You’re saying that with Old Master raising Fourth Brother and me raising Jiang Lin’an, Old Master and I might gradually end up competing with each other?”
“Exactly.”
Qiuyun continued, “Even if Old Master himself doesn’t see it that way, if Mr. Jiang has ulterior motives, he can deliberately steer things in that direction.”
She offered a hypothetical. “If I were Mr. Jiang, I would start by appearing inferior in every way. Then I’d have someone else make comments like, ‘The Chairman is still much better at teaching children.’ After that, I’d put on a show of feeling wronged and give up on myself. That would surely stir some subtle emotion in Old Master’s heart.
“Then Mr. Jiang could pull himself together and catch up. That feeling of making a dramatic comeback is deeply satisfying to us Chinese. Once Old Master saw that his efforts had brought him greater-than-expected returns, he’d be delighted. He might even keep supplying Mr. Jiang with resources and raising the stakes.”
There was no denying it.
That was very possible.
Jiang Yihua bared his teeth. “Then what do we do? Have Jiang Lin’an pretend to be weak too?”
Qiuyun thought it over, then shook her head. “It would be better to undermine the plan at its foundation. We need to keep the Eldest Young Master from entering this game in the first place and prevent this situation from arising.”
Jiang Chuling cut in, “I can’t guarantee anything about other people, but Big Brother definitely doesn’t want to go to work.”
“No.” Jiang Yihua rejected the idea outright. “Last time was one thing, but this time Old Master personally told him to join the group. If he refuses, then for the rest of his life—or at least while Old Master is alive—he can forget about touching even a finger of the group.”
Tsk.
They really were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Going in was bad, but backing out was no better. If they wanted a compromise…
Qiuyun suddenly thought of an idea.
Jiang Chuling’s eyes lit up, and she spoke first. “We can have Big Brother go undercover! That’s how it always works on TV, right? The chairman’s son changes his name and joins the company at the lowest level to experience life. Then, after his supervisor makes things difficult for him, he reveals his identity and humiliates everyone!”
Qiuyun had happened to think of the same solution. “That’s a good idea. If the Eldest Young Master starts at the grassroots level, he won’t end up becoming one of two students being separately trained by Old Master and the Chairman, which will eliminate the risk of a secret rivalry.”
Jiang Yihua also thought the plan was feasible. “That boy is always shouting about freedom and independence. Sending him out to experience real life would do him some good. It’s settled!”
They had only thwarted the other side’s attempt to drag someone else into the competition. Mr. Jiang was still staying by Old Master Jiang’s side.
Qiuyun had no solution for that.
“All we can do is stay put for now. You have one advantage over him: you’re free to move around outside. Leaving Old Master Jiang out of the equation, everyone in the group, from the various departments to the rank and file, will certainly be more inclined to support you.”
Jiang Yihua sighed. “I suppose that’s all we can do for now. We’ll take things one step at a time and deal with whatever comes.”
Qiuyun and Miss Jiang left the auxiliary first floor together.
They slowly made their way back.
Jiang Chuling sighed. “With Fourth Uncle and Granny Ge both at Grandpa’s side now, who knows how much whispering they can do in his ear?”
At present, only the fourth branch had the complete setup: a wife and a son.
Qiuyun’s mind was occupied with the matter, so she didn’t respond right away.
“Sister Qiuyun? What are you thinking about?”
Qiuyun came back to herself. “I was thinking about why Old Master Jiang had your father come to the main house. He wanted to retaliate against the Ning family and Huayao, so he must have had something for your father to do. But judging from the fact that Mr. Jiang didn’t say a word about this just now, Old Master Jiang probably didn’t specifically summon him. So how did he happen to arrive at exactly the right time?”
Jiang Chuling lowered her voice. “Do you mean there’s a mole?”
“It’s possible.”
Qiuyun analyzed the situation bit by bit. “Let’s work backward from the result. He wants to join the group, but he’s always acted frivolous and unreliable. If he suddenly made the request himself, it would be hard to reconcile with his established image. But if he brought up the Eldest Young Master first and then acted despondent, there would be a good chance of making Old Master soften toward him. After all, of his four sons, only the eldest and youngest still have anything resembling a father-son relationship with him.
“And bringing up the Eldest Young Master privately would seem too deliberate. But if your father were there, it wouldn’t seem so conspicuous. It would also make Old Master think that, because of his disability, Mr. Jiang was deliberately trying to curry favor with your father in the hope of securing a proper arrangement for himself later. He would be presenting himself as weak—and he succeeded. That’s the only way to explain why he appeared just as your father was coming to the main house.”
Jiang Chuling shuddered.
The adult world was so complicated!
Qiuyun’s thoughts shifted. “Miss, would you like to help me find this mole?”
Jiang Chuling was absolutely thrilled by the idea. She nodded like a pecking chick, her face alight with excitement.
“Actually, it should be easy to find,” Qiuyun said, turning to look back at the main house. “We just need to know who was in Old Master Jiang’s room before we arrived.”
Dusk settled over the estate.
The streetlamps in the back garden glowed in lonely isolation.
The meal delivery cart arrived from the kitchen.
The person delivering it today was a new face, but personnel were frequently reassigned around the estate, so the bodyguards didn’t find it strange. After a brief security check, they let her in.
Once inside, she reached up to adjust her hair and pushed the cart toward the door. “Mr. Yicheng, it’s time to eat.”
“Oh.”
Jiang Yicheng was sprawled on the sofa watching a movie—an old film from more than a decade ago. He slowly got to his feet. The delivery worker lifted the lids and handed him the utensils.
So respectful?
Since he had come here, meals had always been delivered by a long-faced man. The food itself wasn’t particularly bad, but the man’s attitude certainly wasn’t this courteous.
Suddenly, something cool touched his palm. He lowered his eyes and saw a small Bluetooth earpiece beneath the utensils.
Jiang Yicheng looked at the delivery worker. Her expression was calm and unruffled. “I’ll wait outside until you’ve finished eating.”
With that, she turned and left.
Jiang Yicheng glanced at the surveillance camera by the entrance, then went into the bathroom.
He sat down on the closed toilet lid, put in the Bluetooth earpiece, and tested it. “Hello?”
A voice came through. “Third Brother.”
Jiang Yicheng had the feeling that this was exactly what he’d expected. “What do you want?”
Mr. Jiang was brief and to the point. “Old Master has asked me to take part in the group’s business. I need you to help me by transferring your contacts and resources to me. Once it’s done, I’ll let you out.”
