Chapter 657 - 437: Shock

After the family dinner ended.

The driver first took Teacher Qiu, Ji Hai, and the others home.

Lawyer Gu and the others had originally planned to just grab a cab back to their hotel. But after they declined Jiangg Ning’s invitation to stay the night, she insisted they wait. She was too worried to let them go on their own and wanted the family driver to take them once he returned.

She wouldn’t be able to rest easy until everyone had been dropped off at their destination.

They couldn’t win against her persistence, so they had no choice but to agree.

In the time they spent waiting,

Jiangg Yao went upstairs and carefully selected a few gifts she had brought back from Tokyo for everyone. This, of course, included the skincare products they had discussed at the dinner table.

When the driver returned and it was time to say goodbye, Jiangg Ning personally walked them to the car.

"It’s windy out here, Ningning. You should go back inside. I’ll be stopping by the company around noon tomorrow, so I’ll see you then."

"Okay." Jiangg Ning then knocked on the driver’s window and reminded him, "Please drive safely."

"Don’t worry, Miss."

She stood at the entrance of the villa, waving as she watched them drive away.

However, Jiangg Ning had no idea.

The moment the car pulled away from the intersection, the women inside couldn’t hold back any longer, and the car erupted.

"This is outrageous! How could your chairman tacitly approve of a relationship like this? Doesn’t he know what’s most important to a woman? Forget everything else, can’t he even take the bare minimum of responsibility?" Lawyer Gu’s pretty face was flushed with anger as she vented to Mo Nana.

She must have been holding it in for the entire dinner and could finally bear it no longer.

Lawyer Gu was a woman of firm principles. She had met her current husband right after finishing school, and after a few stable years of marriage, they had a baby.

She was, without a doubt, a woman with very conservative views on love.

From her perspective, Jiangg Ning was currently jumping into a pit of fire, yet she seemed completely unaware, acting as if she were enjoying every moment of it.

As a friend of many years, she couldn’t stomach it.

"Don’t worry about it. It’s a complicated situation to begin with. Both sisters are willing, so what else is there to say?" Mo Nana added a moment later, "And I’m not defending our chairman, so don’t get the wrong idea."

"No, I just don’t get it. Isn’t this relationship twisted? Isn’t it suffocating? Aren’t all three of them miserable?"

"What makes you think they aren’t miserable?"

"If they’re miserable, why do they keep things so awkward and uncomfortable?" Lawyer Gu, emboldened by the alcohol, spoke up for her friend.

"You can’t think of it that way, Lawyer Gu," Mo Nana said, adjusting her seat and leaning back comfortably. "The key is that neither of them is willing to let go. They both want to fight for it, and there’s nothing wrong with that."

"I can understand fighting for it, but what’s your chairman thinking? Is he just planning to flit from flower to flower without getting attached?"

"Of course not."

"Then he should give a clear answer! What kind of man strings along two women at the same time?"

"Sigh... Everyone makes their own choices in life. You should just let it go, Lawyer Gu... What business is it of ours?"

...

The lights were warm in the villa’s main hall.

The housekeepers were busy clearing the dinner table.

After seeing her friends off, Jiangg Ning went upstairs without saying a word.

Chen Yuan, finally getting a moment to breathe, was lounging on the sofa, half-lying down as he sobered up.

Jiangg Yao was by his side.

"What was that thing my sister was talking about at the table? Why does she know about it, but I don’t? What are you hiding from me?" Jiangg Yao asked suspiciously, draping herself over Chen Yuan’s shoulder and staring at him.

"What thing?"

"Don’t play dumb."

"I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about."

"My sister said you arranged something behind the scenes, hiding it from both of us, and that she found out. I wanted to ask right then, but it wasn’t appropriate with so many people around."

"Oh, that... It’s nothing. Why don’t you just ask your sister about it later?" Chen Yuan said dismissively. "Ah, I’m tired. Let me rest for a bit."

"Why would I ask her? You’re right here with me. Why should I take the long way around?" Jiangg Yao furrowed her pretty brow and shook his shoulder forcefully. "Come on, tell me~ Tell me~ Tell me!"

"Good heavens, I’m begging you. I’m already dizzy from the drinks. You’re going to scramble my brains."

"I drank too, and I’m not dizzy. Stop making excuses."

"What excuse? You call that little bit you had drinking? I’ve spit up more than that in one go."

"Ew, you’re so gross..." Jiangg Yao’s whole face scrunched up in disgust.

Clearly, her curiosity was off the charts, and she wasn’t going to let Chen Yuan off with a few dismissive remarks.

Jiangg Yao kicked off her slippers and straddled him. After all, they were in her own home, and with Jiangg Ruxue nowhere in sight, Jiangg Yao completely let her inhibitions go, pinning down the half-reclined Chen Yuan.

Oblivious to Chen Yuan’s pained yelp as she landed on his stomach, she pinched his cheeks.

"Still not talking? Let’s see how I torment you then!"

"Mmmphh—" With his cheeks pinched, Chen Yuan squeezed a sentence from his throat: "I think you’ve got a death wish... Jiangg Yao, let go. Now."

"Young Master, you wouldn’t want your ticklish spot to meet a cruel fate, would you?!"

"Hey— HAHAHA... I’m out of strength... Stop messing around, hahaha."

A burst of laughter echoed from the sofa in the living room.

This caught the attention of the housekeepers who were cleaning up.

The housekeepers stopped what they were doing, staring wide-eyed at the couple’s intimate horseplay. They were completely dumbfounded.

One of the younger housekeepers swallowed hard and quickly tugged on Ms. Liu’s sleeve.

Just a few days ago, they had found out that the eldest miss and Mr. Chen were sleeping in the same room. They had gossiped about it with great relish for a long time, thinking a wedding must be just around the corner.

But now, this scene was unfolding before their eyes.

Although Jiangg Ning and Jiangg Yao looked identical and others couldn’t tell them apart, the housekeepers who worked in the home certainly could.

"I’m not seeing things, am I...? What are the second miss and Mr. Chen doing?"

"It looks like they’re just playing around."

"But this is way too intimate. The second miss is usually a bit more lively and free-spirited, but she should still understand propriety. Mr. Chen is her brother-in-law."

"And this is in their own home! The eldest miss is right upstairs. If she saw this..."

The housekeepers didn’t dare imagine the scene.

"What are you all looking at? Stop staring! Is the cleaning finished? Is the table cleared?"

Suddenly, Ms. Liu walked out of the kitchen and reprimanded them with a stern expression.

"Liu..."

"Get back to it!"

The housekeepers instantly scattered, each returning to their own tasks.

However, on the sofa, Jiangg Yao and Chen Yuan were still playing around, oblivious to the strange looks. Chen Yuan’s hand rested casually on her waist, holding Yaoyao to keep her from getting too wild and falling off.

"Alright, fine. I’ll tell you, okay?" Chen Yuan said helplessly.

"Then hurry up and say it."

She stopped moving, her cheeks flushed and her breath coming in pants. She shot him a fierce look that promised more torment if he didn’t start talking quickly.

Her beautiful eyes narrowed.

"Your family’s building is actually worth a lot; it’s the most valuable asset left after liquidating the company. The problem is, because it’s so expensive, finding a suitable buyer is a challenge. We need the cash urgently. Every day the debt isn’t paid off, the more effort it will take down the line. In any sale, there’s always haggling. Others colluded with real estate companies to make malicious lowball offers, and your sister had no choice but to sell it for half its market price... I couldn’t just watch that happen, so I asked for a favor to help. Luckily, it worked out..."

"Young Master..."

"It’s in the past now. Aren’t things getting better? The matter is about to be resolved."

Seeing Jiangg Yao’s expression turn pained as she gazed at him earnestly,

Chen Yuan quickly comforted her, stroking her cheek.

"You two are both working so hard for this, and then there’s me... I feel so useless."