Chapter 2: Jiang Muwan, the Most Heartless
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When she left this city, she was about to turn eight years old; now, sixteen years have gone by.
Upon her return, the city had long since changed from what it once was.
Everyone knew of the Jiang Family's Si Nan, yet few knew of Jiang Muwan.
If one speaks of the eldest grandchild, who could surpass her, Jiang Muwan?
The journey home follows the storm.
Even if the path home is beset with thorns, what of it?
She extended her hand, tightened her coat around her, and listened to the steady drip of raindrops on the branches, slowly making her way forward.
She quite embodied the air of one who would not haste her step for the sounds of leaves stirring in the wind.
Monday morning proved to be another earth-shattering day for Huazhong.
The group's stock price started high and plummeted; members of the Jiang family had been sleep-deprived for days on end, now truly frantic.
Roars of anger filled the spacious office.
At this moment, Jiang Lin was brimming with rage, struggling to maintain control.
An outburst sounded: "Didn't Director Gu agree? Why then flatly refuse again?"
The secretary, perspiring profusely, trembled as he spoke: "Director Gu hasn't refused. It's just that Assistant Xu rushed to Barcelona overnight yesterday, and now he can't be reached."
A stack of A4-paper-sized reports flew toward him, smacking him in the face.
Blinding him momentarily.
A blunt knife torments the most when it's drawn out slowly.
Neither agreeing nor refusing.
This was undoubtedly a tactic to drag them out until their demise, waiting to reap the benefits like a fisherman.
"Go seek more investment, we can't count on Junhua now."
After all, being in a high position for a long time allows one to see through the essence of things, knowing that any further delay would mean certain death.
This Monday, for Huazhong, was utter chaos.
Elsewhere, the atmosphere was starkly different.
Above the high skies, a private plane cruised steadily; Xu Fang glanced at a message on his phone, then slightly turned to look at the man beside him, who was resting with his eyes closed.
He was about to speak but stopped upon seeing his companion's cold countenance.
"Speak," the man had not been asleep, aware of the secretary's repeated hesitance to talk.
Xu Fang collected his thoughts, chose his words carefully, and cautiously began: "Huazhong has deep roots, and faces difficulties now. With proper investment, it can surely recover. This is a good opportunity for Junhua."
Not to mention the reputation of the Jiang family's old master is in place, missing this chance could mean missing it forever.
As a secretary, there are many things one should not say.
Nor should one get ahead of the boss in decision-making and thought.
But Xu Fang, deeply concerned for the company and aware that Gu Jiangnian, despite being ruthless, would listen to subordinates' advice as long as it wasn't too much, believed it should be brought up.
Gu Jiangnian still had his eyes closed, leaning back in his seat, with a slight curl of his lips. His handsome face now bore a mischievous smile: "You don't understand."
Xu Fang was puzzled, unclear about where exactly he didn't understand.
"I… don't understand," he admitted.
The man slightly opened his eyes, turned his gaze towards Xu Fang; a single look was enough to make him hold his breath.
"Besides Jiang Sinan, the Jiang family has Jiang Muwan, Jiang Muwan!" he remarked, as if with a sigh, then added: "Utterly heartless."
In the past years, the affairs of the Jiang family had stirred up a storm in the city, and now nobody spoke of it, merely washed away by time from its disgrace.
Those who knew, still knew.
Jiang Muwan had returned, and things were likely to get tough for the Jiang family.
"Is Jiang Muwan the daughter of the Vice President of the Jiang Family and his former wife?" Xu Fang inquired in a low voice.
Without getting a response, he saw the man continue to rest with eyes closed, the corners of his lips curled in amusement.
In C City, the rich and powerful are never in short supply, with some people getting rich and others going bankrupt every year, the turnover rate is incredibly fast.
Without standing firm, how would one ever know the matters of the Jiang family?
In March this year, rain continued to fall in C City, rising and falling, with no more than two days of sunshine before a downpour ensued.
That noon, the old master of the Jiang family was discharged from the hospital, by which time Huazhong had already weathered the storm.
The stock market had stabilized, the conflict had momentarily ceased.
In his youth, the old master taught finance at C University and later left the public sector to start a business. In the world of commerce and academia, he was a top-notch figure.
To say he had taught students all over the country would not be an exaggeration.
On the day of his discharge, many friends from the business and educational sectors came to visit.
The old master lay in bed and shared genial smiles with everyone; a close friend joked: "You're old now, you need to accept it. It's time to hand over your position to the kids."
At that, the old master nodded, smiled, and said: "It's time to retire."
On the day he went from the hospital to home, the old master craned his neck, looking out, but the expected person never came.
Once home, as he entered his room, the butler helped him onto the bed. After the Jiang family members left, the butler softly asked: "Were you waiting for the young miss?"
The latter smiled, as if to confirm.
"She hasn't come now, it's unlikely she will," the butler said as evening approached and nightfall was near, signaling the end of the day.
"She will come, let's wait a little longer."
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Jiang Muwan was the first of the younger generation in the Jiang Family, the beloved descendant upon whom the older generation had lavished all their affection, and her departure from the Jiang family could not change that fact.
Upon hearing this, the butler sighed softly and said only, "If only the child had been kept back then———."
The rest of his words went unspoken, for how could one not know, having reached the halfway point of life, that there are no "what-ifs" in life?
That was a pain in the hearts of the Jiang Family members that could not be mentioned.
That night, the lights in the Jiang Family home were bright since the patriarch had been discharged from the hospital, and everyone who should have been there was there.
In the evening, a heavy rain poured down, thrashing the flowers in the courtyard to and fro.
Inside the lit courtyard of the Jiang Family, everyone gathered around the patriarch, chit-chatting and presenting a picture of harmonious joy.
The flickering drizzle outside seemed to have no effect on their mood.
On the side, servants bustled back and forth with platters, quickly filling up the empty dining table, and Uncle Zhang, the butler, called out softly to indicate that dinner could begin.
The old patriarch, upon hearing this, remained unmoved and instead turned his gaze towards the outside, looking at the pouring rain with a tightened brow.
On the side, Jiang Wei, the eldest daughter of the Jiang Family, saw the old patriarch's gaze drift outside and asked with a smile, "Is there a guest?"
The hand that the patriarch had on his cane tightened as he glanced at his daughter and said flatly, "Family."
Jiang Wei swept her gaze over those present, as if looking for someone who was absent, but after checking, she saw that all the Jiang family members were there, and couldn't help but cast a puzzled look at her big brother, who shook his head to indicate he didn't know.
At six, as dusk darkened, the rain outside lightened.
At six-thirty, night fell, and the rain picked up again, making the umbrellas in the yard snap and pop.
"I'm afraid they won't come; if we wait any longer, the dishes will be cold," the butler interjected cautiously from the side.
Half an hour passed, and the old patriarch who had sat unmoving sighed softly, then got up with the help of his cane, his aged face full of disappointment.
"Perhaps the rain was too heavy and hindered the pace. Grandpa, why don't you tell me where they are, and I'll go fetch them?" said Jiang Sinan, who, in the eyes of outsiders, was the eldest grandchild of the Jiang Family.
Jiang Sinan, at the age of twenty-two, had just graduated from university and was now a graduate student in the Finance Department at C University.
To outsiders, he was a second-generation wealthy student, diligent in his studies even though he had been born into wealth.
The old patriarch looked at Jiang Sinan upon hearing this and sighed softly, saying only that it is hard to choose between the palm and the back of the hand.
"Well, let's eat!"
He shook his head slowly and made his way towards the dining table, with Jiang Wei assisting him on the side.
The family was there today to accompany the old patriarch, and seeing his unhappy mood, they thought about asking once more—who was it, where did they live—to have someone fetch them and put the old patriarch's mind at ease.
Just as they were about to speak, a sudden silence in the room caused her to retract her words, and the hand supporting the old man briefly turned back to look towards the door.
In the midst of the scattered rain, a woman stood at the door dressed in a black coat, holding a red umbrella, with rain pattering on it, tapping out a rhythm.
The slanted umbrella hid half of her face.
With a whoosh———the woman closed the umbrella, spilling its accumulated droplets onto the ground, raised her eyes, and looked at everyone inside. Merely with that glance, the atmosphere in the room quieted even further.
For a moment, all that could be heard was the drip-drip-drip of rain outside.
Eyes met with silence.
Outside, Jiang Muwan's expression was impassive, her handsome features adorned with a touch of indifference, her tall figure exuding an air of aloof pride.
Red droplets from the umbrella tip continued to fall, disappearing upon the concrete ground.
After a short while, as everyone watched, she lifted her hand to casually hang the red umbrella on the doorknob, and as the butler prepared to come forward to take it from her, he was ultimately a step too late.
"It's been a long time," the woman spoke coldly, uttering a phrase of extreme courtesy.
Like a stone thrown into a pond, the words set off ripples, and Yang Shan turned her gaze toward Jiang Lin next to her, disbelief in her eyes.
She seemed to have never thought that Jiang Muwan would visit the Jiang Family on this rainy night.
And Jiang Lin, it was clear, had yet to recover from the shock.
His gaze shifted to the old patriarch, and seeing the previously helpless man now beaming with joy, he understood in an instant—the old patriarch knew all about this.
Jiang Muwan was the "family" he had been waiting for today.
"When did you get back?" Jiang Lin asked, his tone unclear as to his emotions.
"I've been back for some time," the conversation was terse with no excess of words, as Jiang Muwan did not like Jiang Lin—
Indeed, she disliked him from the bottom of her heart.
Even though they were blood-related.
"Why not contact us in advance when you came back?"
This might have sounded like a caring enquiry between normal father and daughter, but between Jiang Lin and Jiang Muwan, it was not.
It was not just that, but there was also an unwelcoming undertone.
Jiang Muwan, bag in hand, stood at the door, in no rush to enter. Instead, as if in response to Jiang Lin's words, the foot she had extended towards the threshold began to slowly retract.
She carried an air of someone who, unbidden, could leave at any moment.
She was capable of holding her own ground and was in no hurry to advance. She also knew that haste does not bring success.
Behind her, a torrential downpour raged outside, while inside, the atmosphere remained tense.
Jiang Muwan held a faint, distant smile as she looked at Jiang Lin, choosing not to respond to his words.
The awkward silence hung in the air.
It was the old patriarch who after a long pause, looked coldly at Jiang Lin and said, "Our own girl, if she wants to come back, she will. What's the need to contact in advance? Do you have too much time on your hands?"