ORCBRB – Chapter 24
Chapter 24
After half a minute, Jian Cenyu continued, “As for the collaboration between Jian Corporation and your family's company, just let it take its course. You'll have a lot to learn when you go to the company. The work your brother has arranged for you must be the result of his careful consideration. It would be more suitable for you to start with the projects he has planned for you.”
Sang Shi'an slowly chewed on the sturgeon roe custard, feeling a bit unaccustomed to Jian Cenyu answering her previous words so seriously.
Sang Shi'an said jokingly, “...Maybe my brother is deliberately taking advantage of my ignorance to bully me?”
Jian Cenyu: “Then you can come find me.”
Sang Shi'an couldn't help but find it amusing. “Find you? To help me deal with my brother?”
She reminded Jian Cenyu, “Don't forget, you're the number one candidate for a daughter-in-law my parents are looking for.”
“I know.” Jian Cenyu suddenly let out a laugh. “But I'm more familiar with you. Wouldn't it be good to help you?”
Sang Shi'an was even more at a loss for words. Leaving aside the fact that she and her brother didn't have that kind of messy competition common in wealthy families, even if they did, what was this about Jian Cenyu helping her?
She felt a little uncomfortable. The restaurant's music stopped at that moment, and the intro to the new piece started slowly, making the atmosphere subtly quiet.
Sang Shi'an was silent for a moment, then a possibility suddenly occurred to her. “You don't actually look down on my brother at all, do you? Are you planning to marry him just to take his money and team up with me to usurp his power?”
Jian Cenyu said slowly, “Is that what you think?”
Sang Shi'an moved her foot over and kicked lightly. “Jian Cenyu, hurry up and say you have no such intention.”
“Mm, I don't.” Jian Cenyu seemed quite serious, yet also seemed to be joking.
Sang Shi'an couldn't be sure. Only then did she belatedly realize that Jian Cenyu didn't need her worry at all. Under the guise of a student, she was clearly a cunning old fox.
Perhaps Sang Shi'an's suspicious gaze was too obvious, as Jian Cenyu asked, “Do I have to write a guarantee in black and white so that your head won't be filled with wild thoughts all day?”
Sang Shi'an didn't believe Jian Cenyu would be so bored, so she deliberately provoked her, “Then write it!”
So the next morning, when Sang Shi'an got up, she saw a guarantee letter posted on her bedroom door. The content was roughly about not maliciously harming Sang Shi'an's interests during their time together.
The signature was Jian Cenyu's own.
Sang Shi'an: ......
Sang Shi'an stared at the guarantee letter, reading it over and over from beginning to end, and finally realized where that strange feeling was coming from—
Last night, she had questioned Jian Cenyu about harming her brother's interests, her family's interests. But today, the beneficiary of Jian Cenyu's guarantee letter was her, Sang Shi'an.
So, was there a one percent chance that Jian Cenyu was truly coveting her family's fortune?
Because of this, Sang Shi'an was so frustrated that when she saw Jian Cenyu at school the next day, she turned and walked away from a distance. She even deliberately pretended not to hear when Su Ningyue mentioned a new boy had appeared around Jian Cenyu.
When she logged into her Kitty account that evening, she was surprised to find a message from Jian Cenyu sent a little after three in the afternoon: 【What are you doing?】
Sang Shi'an had just plugged her phone in to charge. She took two deep breaths and, with a blank expression, began to act like a well-behaved Kitty.
She took a screenshot of her low battery and sent it: 【I forgot to bring my power bank today and just plugged it in. I can't believe I missed my sister's message. Is it still not too late?】
Jian Cenyu replied five minutes later: 【Mm, helping my professor translate a paper. It's due tomorrow morning.】
She sent a picture of a manuscript. The English version had just been started, and it was clearly the one she needed to translate. The handwriting was neat, the logic clear, and not a single word was superfluous.
Sang Shi'an: 【Wow, sister, you're so amazing, you know so much. I don't understand a lot of the technical terms. It makes me wonder if I took my CET-6 for nothing.】
Jian Cenyu: 【You haven't studied this, don't worry about it.】
Jian Cenyu seemed exceptionally patient tonight, and she was much more talkative on WeChat, almost to the point of answering every question. This made Sang Shi'an unable to resist having some sly thoughts, wanting to fish for information.
【Sister, can I ask you another personal question?】
Jian Cenyu: 【Ask.】
【Actually, when I first added you on WeChat, it was partly because I like you, and partly because I was worried you really had a girlfriend... I've been holding this in for a long time. I want to ask, is it true about you and the sophomore Sang Shi'an?】
The other person is typing...
Sang Shi'an stared at that line of text for a full seven minutes. Just when she thought Jian Cenyu would send a long message, only one sentence appeared on the screen: 【Is it convenient to talk on the phone?】
Jian Cenyu was at home. Sang Shi'an first went to close her bedroom door tightly before replying: 【If sister is looking for me, of course I'm free.】
After the call connected, Jian Cenyu's first sentence was straight to the point: “No, she's a younger sister I've known since childhood.”
Sang Shi'an quickly drank a lot of water and altered her voice. “I knew what they were saying was fake. Even if sister hasn't said yes to me yet, you're definitely not the type to two-time someone.”
Jian Cenyu's reaction was mild. “Since you've asked, you must have learned about my family background from the forums.”
Sang Shi'an continued to play along with her altered voice, “I found out later. Your family is amazing too, sister. But I started liking you a long time ago. It's definitely not because of your money, sister. You have to believe me.”
Jian Cenyu said directly, “I'm not doubting you. I just want to tell you something else.”
“What is it?”
“Your impression of me just now might have been mistaken. Sang Shi'an and I are not in a relationship, but I might marry her older brother in the future.”
“Cough—” Sang Shi'an almost choked on her own saliva. Although she was intentionally altering her voice, she deliberately suppressed the cough after the first sound.
The voice on the other end of the call spoke again, “I think, perhaps you need to know about this.”
Sang Shi'an really hadn't expected Jian Cenyu to voluntarily tell this to an online acquaintance she'd known for less than a month. This was something that even their parents, who were delighted by the prospect, wouldn't easily leak, for fear that if it didn't work out, it would affect Sang Shiyue's and Jian Cenyu's reputations.
And Jian Cenyu herself just came out and said it?
According to the wishes of both sets of parents, this marriage arrangement wasn't meant to be taken too seriously; they were even allowed to date other people.
Could it be that in Jian Cenyu's mind, the probability of this happening was very high, which was why she could tell Kitty so calmly?
Sang Shi'an probed, unwilling to give up, “Sister, you really respect me. You're telling me the truth about something that has a very small chance of happening in the future. You're completely different from those scumbags out there who play with people's feelings. It makes me feel so secure. I really, really like you, sister.”
Jian Cenyu said slowly, “It's not a very small chance.”
Sang Shi'an was speechless, and for a moment, it was as if she understood something.
This was different from Sang Shi'an's one-sided wild speculations every day; it was practically a tacit admission from Jian Cenyu.
So Jian Cenyu really intended to go through with the arranged marriage? Even when she doesn't like men?
Doesn't that mean she's coveting her family's wealth?
Sang Shi'an was a little reluctant to face this outcome. “I, I have something to do right now, sister. Let's stop talking for now. I'll get back to you later!”
But Jian Cenyu didn't give her that chance. Her voice, mixed with the night breeze, was relaxed, “Perhaps, I really will marry into the Sang family.”
The second her voice faded, Sang Shi'an hung up the call. She regretted trying to probe Jian Cenyu's thoughts.
Now, she had even less of an idea how to face Jian Cenyu.
She pulled open her door, planning to pour a glass of cold water to cool her anger.
She downed more than half the glass. As she walked out of the pantry area, Jian Cenyu's voice came from the direction of the balcony, “When did you get here? Come over.”
Sang Shi'an: ......
Sang Shi'an put down the remaining half glass of water and only then realized that Jian Cenyu had been doing her translation work in the open study in the living room.
She slowly shuffled over and started by accusing her, “What are you doing hiding on the balcony so sneakily? I thought a burglar had broken in and was about to call the police.”
“I was on the phone with a friend,” Jian Cenyu said.
The fully enclosed balcony was heated, so it wasn't cold. Sang Shi'an walked closer and saw a few sparse stars.
This place was indeed very suitable for flirting with Kitty.
Jian Cenyu put her phone in her pocket, rolled up her sleeves, revealing a section of her slender, fair wrist. “How long were you eavesdropping over there?”
Sang Shi'an's gaze lingered on Jian Cenyu's cuffs for two seconds, then she immediately took a wary step back. “You're not going to hit me, are you?”
Jian Cenyu laughed in spite of herself. “What kind of person do you take me for?”
“Fine.” The time Sang Shi'an had spent getting and drinking water was indeed a bit long, making it hard to explain. Anyway, Jian Cenyu didn't know she was Kitty, so she might as well let her think she was eavesdropping on purpose.
But she didn't want to admit to eavesdropping either.
It was clearly Jian Cenyu who had said it to her on the phone herself.
“I... was I eavesdropping just now? This is a common area of the house. I was forced to overhear you whispering with your friend. I haven't even questioned you yet.”
But Jian Cenyu asked, “Why would you question me?”
Sang Shi'an gave a half-smile. “Nothing is set in stone between you and my brother yet, and you're already telling your friend like this. What if other people take it seriously?”
She originally wanted to say this would ruin her brother's reputation, but then she felt that saying that about her twenty-seven-year-old brother was a bit too dramatic.
Jian Cenyu corrected Sang Shi'an, “I was just speaking the truth. The marriage alliance with the Sang family is indeed not a low probability. Our parents are not people who like to joke around. Since they've brought up this marriage, it naturally comes with their expectations.”
The more Sang Shi'an listened, the more feudal it sounded. She grew annoyed by her words. “What about you? Are you just going to listen to them? They want you to do this, so you'll just do it? Jian Cenyu, you studied in liberal Europe for four years, for goodness' sake. Don't you have your own ideas?”
“My idea is,” Jian Cenyu gazed at her calmly in the darkness, “I think a marriage alliance with the Sang family is feasible.”
Jian Cenyu's gaze made Sang Shi'an uncomfortable, and her heart began to race—not the kind of racing from emotional excitement, but an erratic, unsettling flutter. “...My brother has to agree to it, too.”
In the silence, Jian Cenyu chuckled softly. “That's right, it depends on whether your brother agrees. An'an, so what are you so nervous about right now?”
“Me!” Sang Shi'an raised her voice, glaring at her fiercely. “My brother and I are very close. Can't I be concerned about him?”
Jian Cenyu nodded elegantly. “You can. I know you and your brother are close, so you can consider what I just said as me stating my position to you first. When you go to your brother's for your internship this weekend, if he's not busy, could you let me know, okay?”
Let her know, and then have Jian Cenyu run off to go on a date with her brother?
Then what about her Kitty?
Wouldn't all those nights she wore little dresses have been for nothing?
No, not good at all.
“Who's going to secretly tell you? If you want to ask him out, ask him out yourself. And stop telling more people about this nonexistent marriage alliance between you and my brother. What if everyone takes—”
Without any warning, Jian Cenyu moved closer, pressing her thumb against Sang Shi'an's lips and rubbing it gently. “Say a little less. I still have a paper to translate. Any more delays and I won't finish it tonight.”
The moment she drew near, their shadows on the ground embraced intimately, like their mingling breaths. Sang Shi'an froze, then turned her head and bit down on Jian Cenyu's index finger.
She didn't use much force, but the action was fierce.
“Why are you like a kitten?” Jian Cenyu wiggled the finger she was biting, her voice laced with amusement.
Her laugh made Sang Shi'an blush for no reason, and she felt the urge to scratch someone.
Upon hearing Jian Cenyu's description, she forcibly restrained her hand, released her mouth, and pointed towards the study. “Get lost.”
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