On this early morning, Gu Jiangnian left Mengxi Garden with Mother Gu after breakfast, his departure noticeably more lighthearted than his usual haste.
Xu Fang, who came to pick someone up in the morning, found it strange and took an extra look or two.
The night before, Xu Fang had asked Gu Jiangnian why he suddenly stayed the night at Mengxi Garden, to which the latter nonchalantly informed him, "I have a big event to handle."
At that time, Xu Fang did not understand.
But this morning, he got it.
This was the "big event" Director Gu had mentioned.
Xu Fang had vaguely thought Gu Jiangnian had become kinder last night, but now he knew it was just wishful thinking.
Xu Fang opened the car door and got in, while Jiang Muwan's gaze fell on the man between the gaps. Sensing her stare, he seemed in a good mood as he lowered the window and looked at her, the corners of his lips hooking up in a provocative smile.
Inside the car, Gu Jiangnian leisurely leaned back on his seat, his face bearing a light and delightful smile.
"What did she say?" the man asked softly.
Xu Fang pursed his lips, afraid to speak.
After all, Jiang Muwan's words were no kindness.
Perhaps seeing his hesitance,
the man generously said, "Speak freely."
Xu Fang pondered for a moment, looking carefully at Gu Jiangnian before cautiously speaking, "Miss Jiang said, she wanted me to pass a message to you."
Upon hearing this, the man grunted an acknowledgment, signaling him to continue.
It was clear he was in a very good mood, or else Xu Fang's hesitation would have likely led him to be sent away by now.
When Gu Jiangnian waited without hearing anything, he finally said, "It's fine, just say it."
Xu Fang lifted his eyes, scrutinizing the man's expression for a few seconds before gritting his teeth and saying, "Miss Jiang said, to pass a message to your Mr. Gu, 'The hell with his ancestors for eighteen generations.'"
After these words fell, what followed was a moment of silence.
Robby, who was driving, nearly lost his grip on the steering wheel.
Just when Xu Fang thought the man was about to get angry, he saw his halted hand resume its motion, and with an unexpected hiss, Gu Jiangnian remarked, "Not old, but quite the appetite."
Xu Fang did not reply, nor dared to.
He did everything he could to make his presence as minimal as possible.
After all, cursing someone's ancestors was certainly no friendly sentiment.
Jiang Muwan, born in the coastal C City and raised in the Capital, thus possessed both the tender features of a southern girl and the bold, fierce temperament of a northern one.
Xu Fang might have been surprised by her earlier words,
but to Jiang Muwan, it was nothing out of the ordinary.
Gu Jiangnian had delivered a gift early in the morning, and Jiang Muwan had accepted it—dramatically so.
When the Jiang Family patriarch hurried out, the first thing he saw was Jiang Muwan standing under the shade of a tree on the side, watching him.
A white S-Class Mercedes with its emergency lights on was abandoned in the middle of the road, its rear end completely detached, looking quite tragic.
The patriarch asked anxiously, "What happened?"
What about Jiang Muwan? She appeared listless and displeased, her voice cold and indifferent as she said, "I don't know."
"Call the police," the patriarch insisted with vigor, clearly shaken by the recent scare.
I don't know? Unacceptable.
His Jiang Family was not yet reduced to being bullied by others.
Upon hearing this, the butler sighed and quickly got to it.
Jiang Muwan stood in the shade, a fleeting glint of cold light in her eyes, her tone chilled and detached but with a hint of warning, "Think it through before you act."
The words, chilling as they came from the person in the shade, caused the butler to hang up the call he was about to make.
He looked gravely at the patriarch.
Her warning to think it through was laden with implication.
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Jiang Muwan's return to C City shook many interests, especially those of the old master's children. If today's incident were the doing of some unfilial offspring, the arrival of the police would reflect poorly on their own family.
As the saying goes, "Family scandal should not be publicized."
If word got out, wouldn't it make others laugh at their expense?
For a moment, the elder who had been so intent on bringing Jiang Muwan back to C City hesitated.
No matter how much he doted on her, what then?
She had known from the start that in the eyes of the Jiang Family, who were businessmen, profit always came first.
Otherwise, how could the Jiang Family have achieved what it had today?
Mengxi Garden was already a place of wealth in C City, frequented by major business figures and well-known names in various industries. The news that old Master Jiang stood with Jiang Muwan at the entrance of the compound that morning would not stay hidden for long.
By noon, in the CEO's office at the top floor of Junhua International, Xu Fang passed a document to Gu Jiangnian. The man acknowledged without lifting his head, merely grunting in acknowledgement.
After two seconds of silence, Xu Fang said, "Miss Jiang has returned to the Capital."
The man's signing paused abruptly as he looked up at Xu Fang, who then added, "On the 11:30 a.m. flight."
As the words settled, Gu Jiangnian glanced at the time on the computer screen, and in just a moment, Xu Fang felt the air pressure in the room drop sharply.
The signature, half complete, came to an abrupt halt.
Gu Jiangnian narrowed his eyes and looked out the window, his gaze revealing emotions Xu Fang could not decipher.
"I thought... well, never mind. Get back to work!" Gu Jiangnian's words trailed off, unfinished.
He had thought Jiang Muwan was a tough character who would exact a bloody revenge upon her return to the Jiang Family, but unexpectedly, she had fled the battle.
All bark and no bite - too weak to be worth mentioning further.
He said to forget it.
But how could it be forgotten?
Jiang Muwan was like a fire that she had lit out of nowhere, and having ignited it, she ran off.
Gu Jiangnian had eagerly anticipated her stirring up trouble, but instead, she had fled the scene.
A coward, a coward indeed.
By afternoon, Xu Fang could clearly sense that his boss was in a foul mood, though the root cause was elusive.
It wasn't until close to the end of the workday, when Gu Jiangnian's friend, the young master of the Xiao family, paid a visit that the atmosphere improved a bit.
Xiao Yanli was unlike the other young masters of Mengxi Garden.
His life experiences bore some resemblance to Gu Jiangnian's, the specifics of which are not to be discussed for now.
When Xiao Yanli arrived and saw Gu Jiangnian gazing out the window, lost in thought, with more than half of his cigarette burned down and gray ash clinging perilously to the edge, he stepped forward and passed the ashtray to him.
Startling the preoccupied man back to reality.
Gu Jiangnian glanced at him before tapping the ash into the tray offered by Xiao Yanli.
"What wind blew you in?" Gu Jiangnian asked, as he reached into his pocket for a pack of cigarettes to offer him.
Xiao Yanli took one, shook the pack and said, "Certainly not a tornado."
"This morning, I went to Mengxi Garden and saw Master Jiang standing by the road talking to a young lady. It looked like there was also a car accident," Mengxi Garden was neither too large nor too small, mention anyone there and, even if not acquainted, people would know of them.
"Guess who the girl was?" Gu Jiangnian asked, half joking.
"Who?" Xiao Yanli didn't know.
"Jiang Muwan," Gu Jiangnian slowly exhaled the three syllables, and with them, the smoke.
It drifted into the air, and perhaps it was the act of smoking that made Xiao Yanli overlook the nuances of longing and subtlety hidden in the words.
Xiao Yanli froze for a moment but didn't think much of it, simply remarking, "Why has she come back? Isn't she afraid of Jiang Lin's wife trying to kill her?"
Jiang Muwan's attempted murder incident was no secret in Mengxi Garden.
It had caused an uproar in the dead of night and even involved the police. Although no one spoke openly about it, they all considered the young woman to be a formidable character.
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