Chapter 61: The Fiancée Appears
There seemed to be a disagreement between Han Cheng and Han Li. Han Cheng said he wouldn’t get engaged to anyone else, but the very next day Han Li brought Han Cheng’s so-called fiancée right in front of Jiang Yu.
The young woman’s face was so tender it looked like you could pinch water out of it. Jiang Yu thought Miss Wang must be quite young, but only after Wang Wan’er introduced herself did he learn that she was just one year younger than Han Cheng—and three years older than Jiang Yu.
A rich young lady really does know how to take care of herself.
“Han Cheng and I grew up together. I don’t care how many little lovers he has. In the end, I’ll be the one registering that marriage certificate with him.
Before we’re officially married, I won’t interfere in his messy affairs. But once we’re married, I don’t want to catch any inexplicable diseases—so he must cut off all of you.”
Wang Wan’er carried herself with even more presence than Han Li. Chin raised, she looked Jiang Yu up and down as if he were something filthy, her delicate brows tightly knit in undisguised disgust.
“Oh.” Jiang Yu replied lazily from the sofa.
Looking at the two women glaring angrily at him from across the room, Jiang Yu suddenly thought of that saying: Why must women make things hard for other women?
Even though he wasn’t a woman, the saying still applied. Instead of going after Han Cheng, they came to make things difficult for a small-time celebrity like him—it was completely putting the cart before the horse. Whether he stayed or left was entirely up to Han Cheng.
“So confident—do you really think Han Cheng truly loves you?” Jiang Yu’s perfunctory response made Wang Wan’er’s brows knit even tighter.
It was obvious she was furious at his dismissive attitude. If not for her upbringing preventing her from behaving like a shrew, Jiang Yu’s face would probably have been scratched to ribbons by now.
She had seen her own mother turn from a well-bred lady into a shrew over a mistress. From that moment on, she warned herself she would never degrade herself like her mother for the sake of love.
But matters of the heart are beyond anyone’s control. Since first meeting Han Cheng at eight years old, she had secretly loved him for twenty-one years, rejecting all the marriage alliances arranged by her family, waiting for the day the Han family would choose a partner for Han Cheng—so she could finally marry him.
Watching person after person cycle through Han Cheng’s side, Wang Wan’er never felt a sense of crisis. None of them ever stayed longer than three months—they were just playthings.
She didn’t care who Han Cheng toyed with, as long as the “spouse” line eventually bore her name.
Only this Jiang Yu—who had stayed by Han Cheng’s side for six years—became a thorn in Wang Wan’er’s heart. She would never allow a wildflower beside Han Cheng to grow into a towering tree that overshadowed her, the legitimate wife.
Han Cheng had already refused to enter a marriage alliance with her because of him. With the wish she had waited twenty-one years for finally about to come true, she would not allow anyone to ruin it.
“Whether President Han loves me or not is something Miss Wang should ask President Han. Asking me won’t help—I don’t know either.” Jiang Yu sighed. He really didn’t know whether Han Cheng loved him or not, and that question genuinely troubled him.
“Boys and girls chasing my younger brother could line up around the equator. What do you think you have that could make my brother fall in love with you?
People should have some self-awareness. Otherwise, what’s the point of being human with such a thick skin? Pigskin is the thickest—only a pig can have skin that thick.” Han Li spoke sarcastically, implying that Jiang Yu’s skin was as thick as a pig’s.
Jiang Yu thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Pigskin isn’t the thickest. Crocodile skin is thicker and tougher. And they’ve got a mouthful of fangs—one bite can kill.” Jiang Yu bared his teeth, but unfortunately he didn’t have fangs, which made him a bit less crocodile-like.
“Heh. A pig with a scallion up its nose pretending to be an elephant—why don’t you tell me how much meat you’d have to bite off to disguise a pig as a crocodile? Would five million be enough? If not, fill in the number yourself.” Han Li took out a checkbook and a pen from her bag and pushed them toward Jiang Yu.
“When President Han and I broke up before, he gave me ten million. If Miss Han is willing to give me twenty million, I’ll leave President Han.” Jiang Yu said it casually.
Han Li frowned and let out a cold laugh. “You really are a sharp-tongued crocodile—quite the appetite you’ve got. But twenty million is nothing to me, a drop in the ocean. Still, you must guarantee that once you take the money, you’ll get as far away as possible and never appear around Han Cheng again.”
“Fine. I promise.” Jiang Yu nodded.
Han Li scrutinized Jiang Yu for quite a while, as if judging whether he was trustworthy. This was almost too easy—disposing of him like this.
But with no other way to persuade her brother to abandon Jiang Yu, she finally wrote out a check for twenty million, viciously ordering Jiang Yu to get lost by the next day.
The two women left arrogantly. Jiang Yu held the check, took a photo of it, and sent it to Han Cheng, adding a message:
“Big sister is really generous—twenty million for me to leave you forever. I’m a bit tempted, President Han. Want to talk it over—how about we break up?”
Jiang Yu didn’t like playing out melodramatic love-tragedy plots. He had no interest in acting out a “take the money and run, then get hunted down by the domineering CEO” storyline. When Han Cheng went crazy, the one who suffered was always him.
Besides, whether he left or not wasn’t up to him anyway. Those two women had picked the wrong person.
“As it’s New Year’s money from my sister to you, just take it. Stay put at the villa and don’t think about running around.” Han Cheng’s reply came quickly. As expected, he still refused to let Jiang Yu go.
Jiang Yu looked at the message and smacked his lips.
He used to think that Han Cheng’s sudden confession and unwavering affection were just to make him a shield for Ji Xu.
But now there was Wang Wan’er, eager to marry Han Cheng. The Wang family could help Han Cheng too—being with Wang Wan’er would be killing two birds with one stone, far better than keeping him as a shield.
Yet Han Cheng refused to be with Wang Wan’er. Lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling, Jiang Yu wondered what Han Cheng really meant by this. Had he truly fallen in love with him?
The thought had barely crossed his mind when Jiang Yu shook his head.
That bastard was best at manipulating people’s hearts. He couldn’t afford to sink in again.
That evening, Han Cheng called to say he wouldn’t be back for dinner and would be working late, telling Jiang Yu to go to sleep first.
Jiang Yu didn’t think much of it. Han Cheng not coming home wasn’t unusual—sometimes he wouldn’t come back for a whole month without even calling to report in.
This devoted act he was putting on now looked pretty convincing, though.
After dinner, gossip about Han Cheng having dinner with Wang Wan’er shot straight to the trending searches.
In the video, the two of them sat facing each other, smiling brightly—there was no sign at all that Han Cheng was supposedly being pressured into marriage by Wang Wan’er.
Jiang Yu was drinking water when he saw it and suddenly choked, coughing violently for quite a while before finally settling down.
Lying in bed, Jiang Yu sneered. That bastard—sure enough, he couldn’t change his ways. Luckily, Jiang Yu had woken up in time and hadn’t been fooled again.
Every time he started to feel a bit moved, that bastard would pull something like this, slapping him in the face for his own self-delusion.
If he kept deluding himself again, he’d really be a dog.
Jiang Yu viciously swore at the ceiling light—just as Han Cheng’s message suddenly came through.
[Have you seen the trending topic? Don’t misunderstand. The Wei family and the Zhuang family have joined forces to go after me, and the Ji family is standing aside.
I only had a meal with Wang Wan’er and deliberately let the media photograph it, to make the Wei and Zhuang families think I’ve allied with the Wang family, so they won’t act rashly and will give me time to counterattack.
From now on, if you see any news, come ask me. I’ll explain everything. Don’t overthink it by yourself. Don’t misunderstand me.]
[Then will you get engaged to Wang Wan’er?] Jiang Yu sent back. As a qualified kept lover, he still had to show some concern for his patron.
[No. Those two defeated opponents aren’t enough to push me that far.]
Jiang Yu looked at Han Cheng’s confident reply and curled his lip slightly. If he was really that capable, why was he still forced to put on a show with Wang Wan’er?
And smiling so flirtatiously, too—it didn’t look like reluctance at all.
Tsk. Bastard.
Han Cheng and Wang Wan’er showed off their affection for three days. On the fourth day, a new trending headline took over the top spot:
[Ji Cheng and Han Mei engaged; Ji Xu and Han Cheng send their congratulations together.]
Jiang Yu looked up Ji Cheng and Han Mei. Ji Cheng was Ji Xu’s cousin, and Han Mei was Han Cheng’s cousin. With the two of them together, the Ji and Han families were once again on the same side.
With the Ji family’s help, Han Cheng hadn’t shown affection with Wang Wan’er for several days. Jiang Yu caught a whiff of “burning the bridge after crossing it.”
Then Jiang Yu started paying attention to news about the Zhuang and Wei families. Sure enough, scandal after scandal about them was exposed, and many people were arrested.
At last, there was no more news online about those four families—but Han Cheng still hadn’t come back.
Jiang Yu would occasionally show concern for his patron. Sending a message wasn’t tiring, after all: “Are you coming back for dinner tonight?”
Han Cheng called back almost immediately. He sounded busy, with a lot of noise on the other end. “Not coming back. We’re checking accounts today. I’ll probably be working late for the next few days—I’ll have to sleep at the office.”
“I absolutely wasn’t fooling around with anyone else. If you don’t believe me, I can video call you.”
“No need. Go ahead and get busy.”
After hanging up, Han Cheng sent over a video of the company. The footage showed utter chaos inside the office, and he reiterated in the video: “I really am busy with work—I’m not lying to you. I haven’t been home for half a month. Once I get through this stretch, I’ll go back and spend some quality time with you.”
The entire company in the video truly was a mess, and Jiang Yu even spotted several familiar faces.
This was the first time Han Cheng had ever sent such a serious video. In the past, he wouldn’t have bothered explaining his messy affairs to Jiang Yu at all. That bastard could really put on a convincing act when he wanted to.
Not long after he put the phone down, an unfamiliar number called. Jiang Yu hesitated for a moment before answering.
He had barely said “Hello” when Han Li’s furious curses slammed straight into his ears: “You bastard, you took my twenty million and you’re still clinging to Han Cheng? You slut—if anything happens to Han Cheng because of you, I’ll drag you down with me! You son of a bitch, you—”
Jiang Yu hadn’t put the phone on speaker, but even resting on his thigh, Han Li’s curses were crystal clear. Maybe she really had been driven mad by him—she cursed nonstop for a full five minutes before finally stopping.
When Jiang Yu sensed the silence, he lifted the phone back to his ear and immediately heard Han Li panting heavily, clearly out of breath.
“Sister, are you done venting?” Jiang Yu asked politely.
Han Li’s booming voice nearly pierced his eardrum. “You slut, you’re about to get Han Cheng killed—do you know that?”
“What happened to Han Cheng? Is he hurt?” Jiang Yu frowned slightly, instantly tense. He had just seen Han Cheng busy at the company.
“You bitch, you wish he were hurt, don’t you? Let me tell you—even if Han Cheng drops dead, you won’t get a single cent of his inheritance! Damn it, I knew you never had good intentions sticking by his side. You—”
Han Li was about to start cursing again when Jiang Yu roared impatiently, “Shut up! Just tell me—what happened to Han Cheng?”
He didn’t even realize the urgency in his own tone.
The line went silent at once. Han Li clearly hadn’t expected Jiang Yu to yell at her. After a long pause, and only after Jiang Yu asked again, she finally said, “The Wang family reported Han Cheng’s company for tax evasion. The tax authorities are investigating his company now.
Han Cheng finally managed to ease relations with the Ji family and defeat the Zhuang and Wei families. And now, because of you, the Wang family is taking revenge. You jinx—can’t you stay the hell away from my brother?”
“…”
Jiang Yu fell silent. There was nothing he could do about this. Han Cheng wouldn’t let him go—what choice did he have?
