The newspaper people still relied on these wealthy wives and mistresses for firsthand gossip, so naturally they wouldn't offend them.
But once something was captured on camera, deleting it was out of the question. It would only be buried deep in the memory card, waiting for a moment when it could be published without blame or pain.
"That's a relief." Jiang Chuling let out a sigh, but she quickly grew tense again. "Sister Xiaoqiu, none of what you said in front of the cameras was actually done by me! What if it comes back to bite us later?"
Qiuyun reassured her: "Because the charity work is being done in your name, miss. If I handled everything entirely on my own, people would say you're just pretending to be kind—that it's all for show. Better to say it was you all along. That way there's a layer of distance, and as long as no one digs too deep, they won't know the real story."
"No, no, no!"
The thought of making such a big splash today only for people to later dig up that it was all staged made Jiang Chuling cringe so hard she could curl her toes!
"Sister Xiaoqiu, how did you manage all that? Is it hard?"
Qiuyun hid a smile in her eyes. "Of course it's not hard. I'll teach you next time, miss, and you can try it yourself the time after that, alright?"
Jiang Chuling silently resolved: "Alright! I'll definitely learn well!"
It was Saturday.
In the morning, Jiang Yihua accompanied his wife and daughter to the orphanage to show their love, and in the afternoon, he brought his eldest son to the main building to offer a humble apology.
In the elegant and secluded tea room, the old master was reclining on a rattan chair. Two massage therapists—one working on his head, one on his legs—and a tea master brewing tea nearby attended to him. When Butler Lin came in to report, the old master waved his hand and sent everyone else out.
"Grandfather, I was wrong." Jiang Lin'an knelt properly on the ground. "I resented Dad for being too strict and clashed with him on impulse. Before we knew it, tempers flared, and things spiraled out of control."
The old master sat up, rolling a pair of oil-slick walnuts in his hand, and asked only: "Did you break up with that girl?"
"We did." Jiang Lin'an lowered his eyes.
To be honest, the feelings hadn't been all that deep to begin with. At first, his ex-girlfriend had been thrilled when she found out he was the eldest grandson of the Jiang family.
Later, when she learned he'd been kicked out of the house, she didn't believe a real wealthy family would actually throw out their own son, let alone offer a check to make her leave him. Not retaliating was already generous in her eyes.
To avoid trouble from the rich family, the ex-girlfriend was the first to propose breaking up. Jiang Lin'an then gave her the hundred thousand his sister had given him as severance pay, promising she could come to him if she ever needed anything.
The old master nodded. "Don't kneel. Get up. Your time living alone outside was a sort of experience. You must understand that out there is never as good as home. From now on, don't act on impulse with your father. Our family values filial piety above all."
Jiang Lin'an accepted: "I understand, Grandfather."
"Leave now. I have more to say to your father."
"Yes."
Once he was gone, the tea room was left with just the two of them—father and son.
The old master rolled his walnuts, and Jiang Yihua remained silent as well.
"Ah."
Finally, the old father spoke first. "What's going on with you lately? I heard from Director Wang that you clock out on time every day and forbid anyone from calling you for meetings on weekends. Do you think you're a regular office clerk working nine to five? The group company has so many matters to handle. One by one, I've had to sign off on no fewer than a dozen documents for you!"
Jiang Yihua sighed: "Dad, in the first month or two, I was at the company day and night nonstop pushing project deadlines, and you never once praised me. I was just tired and thought I'd give myself a break."
"A break? A break at Mingyue Tower?"
"..."
The old master scoffed: "Don't think I don't know. You were lovesick and stubborn in your youth, and you're still the same now! You married a wife and had three children, and you still spoil her like this! Look at the Jiang family—me, your second, third, and fourth uncles—who else has spent his whole life with one woman like you have? Whose blood is this, anyway!"
Jiang Yihua muttered: "Mom's, obviously."
"You!"
The old master grabbed the teacup off the table and raised it to throw, but Jiang Yihua quickly stopped him. "Dad, Dad! The two of us together are over a hundred years old! You're still pulling the old tricks on me!"
"I just haven't thrown enough at you!" The old master calmed his rage. "Move back home today. This living in your daughter's building is ridiculous!"
"No." Jiang Yihua refused. "I can't stand another two months of an empty bed."
"..." Useless wretch.
Having learned his lesson from two generations of sons and grandsons, the old master simply gave up: "Fine, fine, then keep staying there if you like. But don't slack off on the company's business!"
Jiang Yihua said he understood, and the old master waved him off.
Afterward, Butler Lin came in to clean up the spilled tea from the table, and the old master couldn't help but vent sarcastically, adding: "And he even says he inherited it from his mother!"
Butler Lin smiled: "Back then, you and Madam were indeed deeply devoted. The eldest young master grew up seeing that, so naturally he follows suit."
Speaking of old times, the old family retainer couldn't help but use the old titles.
Remembering his late wife, the old master's expression softened. "That's true. If Xide hadn't passed too early, she and I would have been the envy of everyone as a perfect couple."
But later, driven by the expansion of the business empire, he married a second wife. After that wife also unfortunately passed away, he wed Ge Qingyang, the current one.
"Enough." The old master had Butler Lin call the massage therapists back. "Let him be. At least he's not like the fourth son, swapping out girl after girl, still not done sowing his wild oats at nearly thirty."
Butler Lin said nothing more.
One was the eldest son born from the wife he treasured. The other was a late-born son who arrived when he was nearly fifty.
Even a man who had served the old master his entire life dared not offer an opinion.
That evening, at the family dinner.
The other three branches saw Jiang Lin'an back in his seat as the eldest grandson, and reactions varied across the tables.
Mrs. Ge had been through that whole ordeal in the morning, so what was there she couldn't tolerate now? Surprise flickered in her eyes for only a moment before she adjusted.
Her son, Jiang Yifeng, likewise didn't care. He even went over to ask Jiang Lin'an whether he'd broken up with his girlfriend and what her WeChat number was.
The notorious playboy just wanted to see what kind of she-demon could have hooked his all-around excellent eldest nephew and got him kicked out of the house.
Jiang Lin'an flatly refused.
The third branch kept to itself, quiet and low-key as always. Only the second branch—the husband and wife, true to having slept in the same blanket—had faces they could barely contain, twisted with barely concealed spite!
From what they knew, after Jiang Lin'an moved out, Jiang Yihua had frozen all his cards and forbidden his younger siblings from giving him money—acting as if they were done with each other for good, a cold war destined to last at least two or three years. So how was he back after just over two months?
Who the hell had smooth-talked his way into fixing this?!
"Stop staring." The old master said slowly. "Lin'an came to me this afternoon to own up to his mistake. His return is my permission."
Jiang Lin'an put down his chopsticks immediately. "That was inconsiderate of me, giving Grandfather extra worry."
