Chapter Ninety: All right, I’ll tell you!

Sigh, the Jiang family really has always been too impetuous.

Among the crowd, the lead wolf shook his head with emotion.

The man beside him laughed gleefully. “I’ve long been sick of the Jiang family’s smug faces. They’ve made a little money these past few months and now walk around as if they’re too good to look anyone in the eye. A textbook nouveau riche mentality.”

The lead wolf chuckled. “They won’t be able to strut for many more days. Today, in a fit of rage, Master Jiang severed ties with the Jiang family in public. It won’t be long before the news spreads everywhere. By then, I’m afraid many people will immediately cut all contact with the Jiang family. In as little as three days, at most a week, the Jiang family will be knocked right back to where they started.”

He lowered his voice and instructed, “When we go back today, cut off all cooperation with the Jiang family. It looks like we’ll have to help Master Jiang teach them a lesson.”

The man nodded. “I’ll handle it right away.”

On the other side, Yuan Shixiong’s brow was tightly furrowed. Though still young, he was deeply calculating and steady in his dealings. After taking over the Yuan family, all of its businesses had flourished, something even Yuan Tiangang admitted he could not match.

Beside him stood a young woman in an office uniform, tall and graceful.

“Mr. Yuan, are you certain we should terminate every business contract with the Jiang family?”

Yuan Shixiong nodded. “From now on, the Jiang family and Master Jiang have nothing to do with each other. Why should we waste any more time on them?”

The young woman hesitated. “But if we do that, we’ll lose more than twenty million at the outset, not counting what comes after.”

Yuan Shixiong smiled dismissively. “Compared to Master Jiang, what are a few tens of millions?”

A hand of excellent cards, played to utter ruin.

Were all the Jiang family members fools?

Some could see it clearly. It was only because Master Jiang still considered blood ties and family affection. Otherwise, within three hours, the Jiang family would vanish completely from Cloud City.

As for Zheng Xuan, her face was streaked with tears, her emotions running high.

Jiang Shaoqi clenched his fists, forcing back his fury. “Jiang Yu, is that all you’re capable of?”

“So what if you know Xia Ning? I told you before, she may help you once or twice, but she won’t help you for life. Connections among the younger generation don’t amount to much. If you’ve got the nerve, bring out Xia Hou Sheng to speak for you. That would be real ability.”

Zheng Xuan’s parents also came over. Both of them looked grim. Zheng’s mother said coldly, “Is this your revenge against Xuan Xuan? I can only say it’s far too childish. What you’ve done today doesn’t hurt us at all. At most, it just makes us feel that you, as a junior, are truly unreasonable.”

Under ordinary circumstances, Zheng’s father, out of guilt toward Jiang Yu, would even have said a few words in his defense.

But now he simply closed his eyes and stayed silent, pretending nothing had happened.

Xia Ning alone could not represent the Xia family. The guests around them were the true powers of this era.

They were either business owners or company presidents, each worth tens of millions, even hundreds of millions. As for these younger heirs, their achievements came only from their family backgrounds.

In the end, relying on someone else’s power was never something that could be called skill.

That was also why Zheng’s father never took women and young masters like Xia Ning seriously. Strip away their background, and they were just ordinary people.

A little trouble here and there—what storm could it possibly stir up?

Jiang Shaoqi walked up to Jiang Yu and said calmly, “Jiang Yu, aren’t you trying to turn things around? On the wedding day, I’ll give you a chance. Since you said the guests here today are nothing but nobodies, then bring everyone you know over then. I’d very much like to see what, in your eyes, truly counts as connections.”

His words dripped with sarcasm.

He was also surprised by Xia Ning’s behavior today. Why was she acting so out of character?

Still, there were plenty of people in this world more formidable than Xia Ning. In Cloud City, she might still have some standing, and everyone would give her a bit of face because of her family background.

But once she stepped outside Cloud City, she was nothing special. Plenty of people would refuse to play along.

Looks like on the wedding day, he would have to have Han Chen invite Young Master Liu Yiyang over, so Jiang Yu could understand what it meant to be utterly beyond reach.

Zheng Xuan sat listlessly on a stool, saying nothing. For some reason, ever since her relationship with Jiang Yu had completely soured, that feeling of having lost something became more and more intense.

Why did everyone keep saying she would definitely regret this?

“No, I won’t. Once I decide something, I’ll never regret it for the rest of my life.”

She shook her head hard.

“Jiang Yu, I know you still have some cards up your sleeve, but you’re only in your twenties. You don’t have business talent, and you don’t have the humility to move smoothly among the world. What shocking thing could you possibly bring out?”

Jiang Shaoqi came over and comforted her in a low voice. “Xuan Xuan, don’t think too much. Anyone can see that Xia Ning is only deliberately helping Jiang Yu. Even that proposal was just an act. They did it to make you furious.”

Zheng Xuan calmed down a little. Yes, she really should have seen it long ago.

She forced a smile. “Shaoqi, have you noticed? Xia Ning and Xia Qinghan both seem very afraid of Jiang Yu.”

Jiang Shaoqi froze. “You must be mistaken, right? Xia Ning and Xia Qinghan represent the entire Xia family. How could they be afraid of that useless Jiang Yu?”

Zheng Xuan smiled without speaking.

She was a woman; how could she fail to see the expressions on Xia Qinghan’s face? As a woman, she understood women best. That feeling could not be described in words, as though the fear had reached the depths of her soul.

Add to that Xia Ning’s desperate, all-out effort to help Jiang Yu today.

Were these signs not enough for Zheng Xuan to sense something?

As the engagement ceremony continued, she, who should have been the heroine of the day, no longer felt any enthusiasm. Even when facing other people’s smiles, she gave only the barest courtesy. Her mind was full of worries, and she could not make sense of it all.

At some point, as though she had finally made up her mind, she went alone to Jiang Yu and said, “Jiang Yu, come out here.”

Jiang Yu followed her out of the hall, and the two of them stood in the corridor.

“What is it?”

His tone was cold, devoid of all feeling.

Zheng Xuan looked straight into Jiang Yu’s eyes and asked, “Who exactly are you?”

Jiang Yu answered calmly, “As you can see, whoever you think I am, that’s who I am.”

Zheng Xuan’s unease grew even stronger.

There was no trace on Jiang Yu’s face of the panic or dejection one would expect after being expelled from the family. If this had been his old temperament, he would already have been at a loss.

Yet come to think of it, how could the old Jiang Yu have dared to speak so boldly in a setting like that?

Jiang Yu suddenly laughed, tilting his head as he looked at Zheng Xuan. “Do you feel like you’ve sensed something? Actually, after everything you’ve gone through and everything you’ve witnessed, you should already have realized something.”

Zheng Xuan felt even less certain now. The current Jiang Yu had become unfathomable, giving off the impression of a blade with its edge concealed. His ordinary appearance seemed merely a scabbard, beneath which lay an incomparably sharp divine sword.

Once unsheathed, even heaven and earth would pale before it.

She lifted her chin and said, “Precisely because I’ve realized something is why I called you out. I just want to get these things clear. No matter what kind of identity you have, no matter why Xia Qinghan is so afraid of you, and no matter what cards you still hold, I only want to say this: I will never regret it for the rest of my life.”

“Jiang Yu, I admit you’ve changed. Compared with before, you really do make people look at you differently. But only a little differently. No matter how I look at you, I can’t see a single trait that belongs to some great figure.”

A trace of weariness showed on Zheng Xuan’s delicate face.

No matter what, her reason would not allow her to believe that Jiang Yu possessed some extraordinary identity hidden from the world.

Jiang Yu gave a soft laugh, completely unconcerned. “Whatever you think is your own business. I never forced you to regret anything. How you choose to think about it has nothing to do with me.”

He clasped his hands behind his back and raised his head. “Do you know why I broke with the Jiang family?”

Zheng Xuan asked, “Because even if you didn’t, it wouldn’t change the fact that you were expelled by the Jiang family. With your personality, since things were already beyond saving, you might as well act tough so others would look at you differently, right?”

The smile at the corner of Jiang Yu’s mouth deepened. “You’re wrong. If I didn’t want to sever ties with the Jiang family, then a small thing like Jiang Yun would never have had the qualifications to drive me out. In fact, with just one word from me, countless great figures would rush to trample the Jiang family into the ground.”

“What truly chills the heart is never understanding from strangers, but lack of understanding from one’s own kin. I never blamed you for choosing to break off the engagement with me. What you should not have done was break off the engagement with me and then, in front of my face, become engaged to Jiang Shaoqi.”

Jiang Yu continued, “And you will never know what kind of being you are speaking to.”

Zheng Xuan gave a faint smile and said nothing more, only asking, “Will you still come on the day I get married?”

Jiang Yu’s expression was unreadable as he smiled. “Then do you think I should come?”

Zheng Xuan nodded. “Jiang Yu, didn’t you say you wanted to give me a grand gift? Now I’m even more curious. What exactly is this gift of yours?”

Jiang Yu said, “This gift is something you definitely won’t like.”

He drew a deep breath and said with a smile, “Didn’t you want to know why Xia Qinghan is afraid of me, and why Xia Ning is helping me no matter the cost?”

“Fine. Then I’ll tell you now.”