ORCBRB – Chapter 73
Chapter 73
At twelve o’clock, when Wen Yansheng’s call came, Sang Shi’an kicked Jian Cenyu out of her room. “Senior Wen is waiting for you to check the documents, and I have to study for Monday’s exam. Hurry up and go.”
Shanghai didn’t have central heating, but the hotel had temperature-controlled central air conditioning. With a jacket draped over her arm, Jian Cenyu looked a bit like she was sneaking out after a secret midnight rendezvous.
Sang Shi’an stepped forward to straighten her shirt collar, making sure there wasn’t a single wrinkle left. Satisfied, she opened the door for Jian Cenyu. “Go on, see you tomorrow.”
Jian Cenyu’s laptop was still in her own room, and editing the documents would surely disturb Sang Shi’an, so she went along with her wishes.
But as she reached the door, she deliberately reminded Sang Shi’an, “If you want to wear a tie tomorrow, remember to wash and dry it tonight.”
The thought of how the tie had gotten dirty made Sang Shi’an’s recently cooled body temperature rise again. She huffily gave Jian Cenyu a push. “Just hurry up and go!”
Jian Cenyu stumbled two steps from the push and was about to say goodnight to Sang Shi’an when an uncertain voice came from behind her. “Sang Shi’an?”
Before Sang Shi’an could get a clear look at the person, the smile on Jian Cenyu’s face vanished.
Turning her head, she saw Jian Zhenyang looking Sang Shi’an up and down. Jian Cenyu spoke first. “An’an, close the door.”
Sang Shi’an was only in her pajamas, and at Jian Cenyu’s reminder, she moved to close the door.
“Miss Sang, why do you hide the moment you see me?” Jian Zhenyang slung the suit jacket in his hand over his shoulder and walked up. “Our relationship is so deep. Aren’t you going to say hello?”
His “relationship” with Sang Shi’an was limited to the time she had smashed him over the head at the club.
If one were to speak of depth, the wound was indeed quite deep. He had been bandaged for a whole month, causing Jian Zhenyang to lose a great deal of face.
Sang Shi’an watched Jian Zhenyang warily. “I have nothing to say to you.”
Jian Zhenyang’s lips curved into an ambiguous smile. “True, Miss Sang has always looked down on me. But to fly all the way from Yancheng for this cousin of mine... did you come on your own, or on behalf of someone else? During dinner just now, we were wondering why Jian Cenyu got to have President Ye all to herself. So it was you who pulled the strings.”
Sang Shi’an spoke bluntly. “What do you mean, on my own or on behalf of someone else? Why beat around the bush when you’re just not skilled enough? Is there a problem with President Ye admiring Cenyu Jiejie and inviting her to dinner? Should President Ye have invited a parasite like you who only knows how to suck up to your elders?”
Jian Zhenyang: “You—”
Jian Zhenyang was enraged by Sang Shi’an. He glanced at the security camera in the hotel corridor, pointed at Sang Shi’an, and fixed his dark eyes on Jian Cenyu. “Ha! Jian Cenyu, do you think the Sang family is helping you out of the goodness of their hearts? You might be grateful to them, but they don’t consider their former daughter-in-law-to-be as one of their own. When they barge in and take over, you’ll have plenty to regret.”
“Jian Zhenyang, what do you mean by that?” Sang Shi’an called out to him. “Stop trying to sow discord.”
“Sow discord? Your brother dared to acquire shares of Jian Corporation, so why would he be afraid of people knowing?”
Jian Zhenyang looked at Jian Cenyu, not missing the flicker of surprise on her face. He sneered. “Jian Cenyu, we are the real family here. Don’t just cooperate with anyone for the sake of snatching the CEO position. When you truly let the wolf into the house, you’ll regret it more than you can imagine.”
Jian Cenyu frowned. “You were the one who wanted to sell shares to raise money. He was just being helpful.”
“Helpful?” Jian Zhenyang said loudly. “Sang Shiyue didn’t buy the shares I was selling. He acquired them from someone else. It was a deliberate acquisition aimed straight at our Jian Corporation, understand?”
After he finished speaking, he ignored Jian Cenyu and Sang Shi’an’s reactions and went to find his room with his key card.
The atmosphere suddenly froze. Since Jian Zhenyang had said it, it surely wasn’t baseless. The Sang and Jian families had been on good terms for years, each holding three percent of the other’s shares, a situation that had never changed over the years.
However, Old Master Jian had many children, and when the family assets were divided, each received some shares. Even Jian Cenyu’s branch of the family held just over ten percent, which was the largest stake among the Jians.
Old Master Jian was still alive, but if he were to pass away, it was unknown how chaotic the power struggle at Jian Corporation would become. Therefore, Sang Shiyue’s act of acquiring Jian Corporation shares, knowing full well the internal situation, might indeed, as Jian Zhenyang suggested, have ulterior motives.
“My brother might have other plans. I’ll call him right now and ask. He might be—”
Sang Shi’an felt her pockets and realized her phone was in the room. She wanted to say that Sang Shiyue might have done it because of the business association, thinking that Jian Corporation’s stock price would soar, so he was positioning himself in advance.
But when the Sang family was doing well, the Jian family had never done something that was almost a betrayal of trust. This small profit was insignificant compared to the long-term cooperation between the two families.
“I know.” Jian Cenyu turned and took Sang Shi’an’s hand. “You don’t need to ask your brother. I’ve known about this for a while, I just couldn’t tell Jian Zhenyang.”
She raised a hand in a hushing gesture. “Otherwise, it would look like I was colluding with an outsider.”
Sang Shi’an let out a surprised “Ah?” “You two secretly joined forces?”
“Mhm, so don’t overthink it.” Jian Cenyu glanced at the time and pushed Sang Shi’an back into the room. “Senior Wen is still waiting for me to finalize the documents. You go back and rest. If there’s anywhere you want to go, pick a place tonight, and I’ll see if I can make time to go with you tomorrow.”
Sang Shi’an said very understandingly, “You don’t have to go with me. Aren’t the attractions in Shanghai just those few? I came here on business trips with my mom when I was little, so I’ve long since gotten tired of them. You focus on the proposal. I won’t disturb you. Goodnight.”
The door closed. Sang Shi’an glanced at the changed bedsheets, and everything that had just happened in the room seemed to replay in her mind. She sighed deeply and, as if resigning herself to her fate, went to the bathroom, planning to wash her face with cold water.
The mirror reflected her delicate, flawless face. Sang Shi’an narcissistically admired it for a moment. Just as she was about to turn on the faucet, her gaze fixed on a faint love bite on her collarbone.
She frowned, thinking she would have to apply some concealer tomorrow.
Meanwhile, after carefully checking the proposal Wen Yansheng had sent over and confirming there were no errors, Jian Cenyu dialed Sang Shiyue’s number.
When Sang Shiyue received her call, he immediately guessed her purpose and got straight to the point. “This is a little sooner than I expected. I thought you’d wait until you were back in Yancheng to contact me.”
Jian Cenyu stood by the window, looking down at the bustling night view of Shanghai. She closed her eyes. “You guessed.”
Jian Zhenyang was actually half right.
Sang Shiyue had indeed deliberately broken the balance the two families had maintained for years, and he had done so with a purpose.
But it wasn’t for the benefit of Jian Corporation; it was to give Jian Cenyu a warning.
“Sang Shi’an hasn’t been in a relationship for all these years. A while ago, she suddenly told me she had an unrequited crush on someone, though she never mentioned who. But whenever she didn’t come home on the weekends, she was almost always with you when I looked for her. Is she the type to have a quiet, unrequited crush? Obviously not.”
“She even went and got into a fight for you. That was the first time in my life I had to bail someone out of a police station. After bailing her out, I even threw her back at the hospital, wanting you to lecture her. Thinking back on it now, I must have been crazy.”
The sound of a flint lighter striking came from Sang Shiyue’s end. He was silent for a moment before continuing, “What really made me suspicious was her birthday. Jian Cenyu, are you some kind of philanthropist? Spending nearly ten million to book out Universal Studios on Christmas Eve? Even if it was to impress the Sang family, giving tangible collectibles would have been the most appropriate way.”
“And it was also that night that you brought up the marriage alliance with me. Although it was always fake, I don’t need to tell you how much it would benefit you within the Jian family, do I?”
“Then there’s this business association meeting. It’s something that could have been handled with a phone call, yet she, a student in the top three of her freshman class GPA-wise, flew to Shanghai during finals week to help you pull strings.”
Sang Shiyue let out a short laugh. It was his usual nonchalant laugh, making it impossible to discern the emotion behind it.
“But what confirmed it for me completely was this phone call from you.”
Jian Cenyu was silent for a moment, then said, “I’m sorry.”
“If that girl didn’t have those kinds of feelings for you, I would have worked with Jian Zhenyang to make sure you couldn’t stay in the country.” Sang Shiyue’s tone shifted, and he gave a light, casual laugh. “You don’t have to apologize to me. Am I going to accuse you of seducing my sister? If she found out, she’d definitely throw a fit at me, and I don’t want any trouble.”
“However—I can see that even if you two aren’t officially dating, you’re together all the time. Sooner or later, other people will figure it out. I don’t need to spell it out, do I? I’ll help you hide it from Mom and Dad for now. Come see me when you get back to Yancheng.”
Before Jian Cenyu could offer any explanation, Sang Shiyue hung up.
The next day, the business association’s bidding officially began. No matter how many mainland entrepreneurs the association members had sounded out the previous night, all bidders had to submit their proposals and go through the process today.
Joining the association was easy, but there was only one spot for a leading enterprise from the mainland. Jian Cenyu, having been invited to dinner by Ye Jinsui the night before, naturally became the center of attention at the venue.
Compared to the other entrepreneurs present, Jian Cenyu was extremely young. She was modest and polite, yet handled herself with ease, navigating the probing inquiries of others.
When the bidding ended, Jian Cenyu left the venue with Sang Shi’an. Sang Shi’an kept looking back uneasily, but Jian Cenyu pressed the back of her head to turn her forward. “The final results won’t be out until tomorrow. Don’t look so anxious.”
For once, Sang Shi’an had listened seriously to all the proposals. Although she felt their chances were high, she always became more concerned when it came to Jian Cenyu’s affairs. “I’m just worried, okay? Jian Zhenyang’s proposal sounded so professional just now, even I was moved by it.”
Jian Cenyu gave a fair assessment: “It was indeed quite good.”
Hearing Jian Cenyu affirm Jian Zhenyang like that, Sang Shi’an shot her an annoyed glare. “Whose side are you on?”
Jian Cenyu immediately changed her tune. “Your side.”
Sang Shi’an was still not satisfied. In her mind, Jian Cenyu should have immediately pointed out a whole host of problems with Jian Zhenyang’s proposal.
Jian Cenyu caught up from behind. “An’an?”
Sang Shi’an ignored her and started looking for their rental car in the parking lot.
Jian Cenyu pointed in a direction. “The car is over there.”
Sang Shi’an didn’t turn back. She glanced around in one direction and happened to spot an exquisitely dressed woman in a car up ahead, with another person helping her with her makeup.
Jian Cenyu followed her gaze. “Do you know that person?”
“I don’t.” Sang Shi’an adopted the tone of a rich playboy, speaking quite frivolously. “That lady is so beautiful, my heart is fluttering. I’m considering whether I should go over and ask for her contact information.”
After saying this, Sang Shi’an slowly glanced at Jian Cenyu, observing her reaction.
Jian Cenyu looked at the car Sang Shi’an had mentioned. “She’s probably a celebrity. You can go ask for an autograph.”
Sang Shi’an: ?
Why this attitude?
Why isn’t she jealous?
Why isn’t she angry?
This shouldn’t be happening. Isn’t Jian Cenyu very possessive of her? She was looking at another woman like that, so how could there be no reaction?
Sang Shi’an couldn’t figure it out and sullenly got into their car.
Jian Cenyu handed her an opened bottle of mineral water from the side. “Have some water first. I’ll buy you milk tea later.”
Sang Shi’an turned her head away. “I don’t want it.”
Jian Cenyu coaxed her in a gentle voice, “Didn’t I just analyze Jian Zhenyang’s proposal with you? It seems perfect, but many companies can offer similar terms. He doesn’t have an advantage.”
Sang Shi’an’s feigned indifference crumbled halfway. She turned to look at Jian Cenyu. “Then why did you praise him just now? No one was eavesdropping.”
Jian Cenyu said, “I wanted to see you being anxious for me a little longer. Can’t I seek a little benefit for myself?”
The tips of Sang Shi’an’s ears turned red, and she turned her head away. “I don’t believe you. You weren’t jealous at all just now.”
“If you’re talking about that female celebrity…”
Jian Cenyu’s tone was light, but her voice was deep. She leaned over, close to Sang Shi’an’s ear. “If we weren’t outside, I’d be so jealous I’d want to undress you right here in the car.”
After speaking, she let go of Sang Shi’an and fastened her seatbelt for her.
Sang Shi’an was left dizzy by Jian Cenyu’s words. It took her a long moment to process what Jian Cenyu had said, and her face instantly flushed crimson.
She composed herself and said with feigned calmness, “Fine. When we get back to Yancheng. It’s not my car anyway, so we’ll see who’s embarrassed then.”
Jian Cenyu started the car, her long fingers stroking the steering wheel. “Just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean I don’t think about it.”
Sang Shi’an: …
Ahhhhh.
She couldn’t compete, she just couldn’t. In this regard, her shamelessness was no match for Jian Cenyu’s.
After dinner, Jian Cenyu took Sang Shi’an to the airport. Jian Cenyu had to stay in Shanghai to wait for the results, so Sang Shi’an was flying back first.
Before she boarded, Jian Cenyu instructed her, “Don’t stay up all night studying when you get back. Wake up early tomorrow morning instead, okay?”
Sang Shi’an nodded and urged Jian Cenyu to head back to the hotel. “You get some rest too. I’ll be waiting for your good news.”
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