Shoutout to Alinaza for the commission!
The black sedan had its two bright headlights on, slowly driving into Beiyu Residence.
About this villa district in Beicheng where every inch of land was worth gold and yet unavailable for sale, Cen Yu had long heard of it.
When the car stopped at the villa gate, her gaze was still lingering on that large stretch of pines and shogetsu sakura hung with crystal lamps, reluctant to move away.
Two energetic elderly people were waiting at the door.
After Jiang Se got out of the car, she called out “Uncle Tong” and “Aunt Zhang” with a smile, then turned her head to introduce them to Cen Yu.
“Aunt Zhang is the housekeeper of the residence, Uncle Tong is the imperial chef and also a gardening artist. That sakura forest in the yard is taken care of by Uncle Tong. From now on Uncle Tong and Aunt Zhang will take care of your daily living and meals, whatever you need just tell them.”
Cen Yu smiled and greeted them.
She was good-looking, her voice also sweet, and she didn’t put on any airs; calm and natural, very easy to make people feel fond of her.
After a few polite exchanges, Cen Yu subconsciously looked several times behind the two elders. Unfortunately, aside from a few servants, there was no one else.
Her mood couldn’t help being somewhat complicated.
Returning officially to the Cen family today, her biological dad, biological mom, and biological brother hadn’t come to pick her up at the airport, nor were they here at home to welcome her.
Wasn’t this a bit too unreasonable?
Back when they acknowledged her in Tongcheng, her dad didn’t even show his face, it was only her mom who came. Clearly it was them who had lost her, shouldn’t they at least show some sincerity?
Silent for a moment, Cen Yu finally couldn’t hold back: “Senior sister, where are they?”
It took Jiang Se two seconds to understand who the “they” in Cen Yu’s mouth referred to.
“Basically only I live here at the residence. The chairman usually lives at the old house, Mrs. Ji travels abroad year-round. Today neither of them are in the country. If nothing unexpected happens, you’ll see them in two days. As for your older brother,” Jiang Se smiled, “trust me, the fact that he’s not showing up right now is a good thing.”
Cen Yu subconsciously looked at Jiang Se.
Chairman, Mrs. Ji.
Senior sister was addressing her foster parents pretty politely…
Suppressing her curiosity, Cen Yu asked with a smile: “Why is it a good thing that our brother isn’t here?”
That “our” was used wonderfully—Jiang Se’s smile deepened a bit, and she explained: “He’s too stingy. If he doesn’t show up now, the gift he prepares for you will actually be valuable.”
Cen Yu: “……” Strangely enough, she really accepted this reasoning. Tsk, brothers flow like water, but money is iron.
Off to the side, Aunt Zhang shook her head and laughed: “You’re teasing the young master again.”
She looked toward Cen Yu and said: “The young master’s project in Australia is at a critical point. It really can’t be without him, so he couldn’t rush back. A few days ago he already instructed us to make sure we take good care of you.”
If Cen Li really cared, how could he not even squeeze out a single day.
Cen Yu smiled, though she felt somewhat unconvinced by Aunt Zhang’s words.
Uncle Tong had long prepared dinner. After dinner, Jiang Se took Cen Yu upstairs to the second floor.
The room on the south end of the second floor was Jiang Se’s bedroom. Nearly two hundred square meters of space, yet not much furniture, everywhere was the wabi-sabi palette of earth tones, warm undertones flowing with cold, muted heaviness and quiet loneliness.
Very much the kind of feeling Jiang Se gave people.
Looks warm, but actually cold.
The only thing not matching the room was the huge block-castle in the corner, as tall as a person.
Bright yellow, intense blue, and lush green; colors unique to fairy tales appeared here, quite out of place.
Cen Yu’s gaze swept over the giant castle, then quickly settled on the suitcase by the bed. The case was open, with a few sets of clothes, two books, and three wooden boxes resting on top.
These belongings were pitifully few.
Jiang Se stepped forward, closed the suitcase, then sat down on the linen sofa by the window and smiled lightly: “I’ll be leaving tomorrow. I’ve lived in this room, if you don’t like it, you can switch to another room, or redecorate it into any style you prefer.”
“No no,” Cen Yu waved her hands and pointed at the ceiling, “I already talked to Aunt Zhang, I’ll be living on the third floor.”
Though this villa was nominally already her property, Cen Yu never planned to take over Jiang Se’s bedroom.
The Jiang family still kept a room for her, thinking that if someday she wanted to go back there she would still have a place to stay. Emotionally and logically, she should also leave a place for her senior.
Since senior was used to living here, it was perfect to leave this room for her.
Jiang Se didn’t care where she lived, nodded, then took a thick stack of documents from the coffee table beside the sofa and handed it to Cen Yu.
“Find time to read these materials. They are all people you’ll meet in the future.”
Curious, Cen Yu flipped it open, only to see the first page boldly titled “Cen Minghong”.
This was… her biological dad, chairman of the Cen Group.
Below the name was her father’s life background and relationship network, as well as preferences, taboos, etc., written in extremely detailed fashion, several full pages.
Cen Yu flipped further. The next name was “Ji Yunyi”.
Alright, this was her talented painter mom.
After that, Cen Yu didn’t need to look to guess; anyone with status in Beicheng, senior had probably prepared a “character guide” for her.
She had to admit, these materials were exactly what she needed right now.
After being found by the Cen family, she was practically impatient to integrate into this circle, to meet those people whose names had once thundered in her ears.
Holding the materials, Cen Yu looked like she was holding a mountain of gold. She sincerely thanked Jiang Se: “Senior, you really understand me, thanks.”
Then she let out a small laugh: “Feels like I’m one step closer to becoming the richest person in Tongcheng.”
“What’s there to thank?” Jiang Se couldn’t help laughing, “If it weren’t for that accident back then, you would’ve met these people long ago.”
This was the first time the two mentioned the switched-at-birth matter since meeting.
Cen Yu blinked and asked: “Eh, senior, have you watched Autumn in My Heart?”
Why this drama again?
Three hours ago, she had just heard about it from Guo Qian.
Jiang Se laughed and said: “No, but I know the general plot.”
“I also hadn’t watched it before, until that bratty little brother of mine called me ‘Cen Xinai’, then I went to watch it. Heaven!” Cen Yu made a struck-by-lightning expression, “I’m much happier than Choi Shinae, Dad and Mom and big sis treat me super well, except Little Ye has a sharp mouth, I’m over there—”
Cen Yu’s playful voice suddenly paused. She suddenly remembered that along the way she had asked quite a lot about the Cen family, but senior hadn’t mentioned the Jiang family even once.
She scratched her ear, belatedly asking: “Senior, about me… like, over there, is there anything you want to ask?”
“No.”
Jiang Se truly had nothing she wanted to ask.
Between her and that side lay twenty-three years of unfamiliar time, there was really no need to be curious, even less to expect.
Once a person becomes too obsessed or too eager about something, the first thing that defeats them is the pain of wanting and not getting.
She would not allow herself to make such a mistake.
And she went to Tongcheng not to meet the Jiang family, meeting them was only something done along the way.
She had more important things to do in Tongcheng.
Seeing that she really had nothing she wanted to ask, Cen Yu blinked again and said: “Not talking about anything else, but the bar Dad and Mom run, that’s ‘Wangchuan’, the alcohol there is absolutely amazing, you must try it.”
Jiang Se was stunned: “Wangchuan?”
If she remembered correctly, her biological father was called Jiang Chuan…
Cen Yu also realized this, and laughed with a “pfft”: “The bar wasn’t originally named this, Mom specially changed it. As for why she wanted to rename it like this, wait till Mom tells you the story between her and Dad, then you’ll understand.”
From Cen Yu’s smile, it was clear the story inside was probably very amusing.
Jiang Se smiled along, didn’t say yes, didn’t say no.
The two chatted here and there, until Aunt Zhang came knocking. Only then did Cen Yu follow her excitedly to pick a room.
Once she left, the previously warm and lively room instantly quieted down.
Jiang Se sat motionless on the sofa for a moment, then finally got up and slowly glanced around the room, her gaze landing at last on the block castle in the corner.
The castle was large, at least three to four square meters.
She had spent several years of spare time building this castle.
Jiang Se walked over, squatted in front of the castle, looked at it for a long while, then reached out and gently pulled out a block from the bottom layer.
After a moment of silence, the entire castle collapsed in chaotic, disorderly crashes.
With her dark eyes lowered, Jiang Se smiled faintly, then stood up, opened the suitcase beside her, and tossed the block she pulled out inside.
She didn’t look back at the mess on the ground.
—
The next morning, Jiang Se said goodbye to Uncle Tong and Aunt Zhang, and for the last time got into Uncle Liu’s car to head to the airport.
Uncle Tong and Aunt Zhang originally wanted to send her off, but she declined politely.
These two elders had come to her side when she was only a little after birth, and seeing her end up like this, their eyes were already wet early in the morning.
Jiang Se never had much empathy for other people’s tears, no matter how miserably someone cried, she could remain unmoved.
But Uncle Tong’s and Aunt Zhang’s tears, she did not want to see.
Uncle Liu was ten or so years younger than Uncle Tong and Aunt Zhang, and had worked fewer years in the Cen family, and his feelings toward Jiang Se weren’t as deep. But when Jiang Se got out of the car, he still couldn’t help reddening his eyes.
Just like always, before getting out, Jiang Se reminded him: “Uncle Liu, be careful going back.”
Uncle Liu answered with an “ey”, watching Jiang Se’s figure grow farther and farther.
By habit, Jiang Se arrived at the airport half an hour earlier than the time on her boarding pass.
After checking her luggage, she had just arrived at the waiting area when her phone rang.
Seeing the name on the screen, Jiang Se smiled a little. She found a quiet corner and unhurriedly answered: “Your timing really is accurate, I just got to the waiting area.”
On the other end, Xu Zhou laughed: “After all, I’ve been your assistant for several years, this much ability I still have.”
She paused, then said: “Director, all the assets under your name have been transferred. I moved them all under Miss Cen Yu’s name just as you instructed.”
The assets under Jiang Se’s name were many, over a dozen luxury homes domestically and abroad, various luxury cars and yachts, plus several boxes of antiques and jewelry, and ten or so valuable paintings.
Being able to transfer so many assets within a month, Xu Zhou’s efficiency could be considered high.
“You worked hard, Zhouzhou,” Jiang Se said, “and also, when will you change how you address me? I’m no longer Hongsheng’s director, you are.”
Xu Zhou was silent for a moment, then said: “You know why I was willing to take your position. It was only because I didn’t want to hand over your hard work to someone else. When you come back, the position will still be yours.”
“I won’t be coming back, Zhouzhou.” Jiang Se looked up at a passenger plane taking off outside the window, her voice light as clouds: “The reason I insisted on pushing you into the director’s seat was because I couldn’t bear to hand Hongsheng to anyone else. So, Sister Xu Zhou, Hongsheng’s future and that place, please take care of them.”
“Director!”
Xu Zhou’s nose stung, her always-serious face rarely moved with emotion. She truly hadn’t expected Jiang Se to give up Hongsheng so easily.
Hongsheng was the tech company Jiang Se took over when she was eighteen and in her third year of college. That year, Hongsheng’s products had a major safety accident, the stocks plunged sharply, and the management resigned one after another.
The wealthy Cen family simply bought Hongsheng outright and handed it to Jiang Se.
Of course, this was only the version on the surface.
The truth was, Hongsheng was the little “sweet benefit” Jiang Se asked for on the day of her coming-of-age ceremony, the price was obediently wearing the bracelet sent by the Fu family.
At that time, no one thought Hongsheng had a future. But what shocked everyone was that Jiang Se took only four years to revive Hongsheng, from nearly bankrupt and in 1.2 billion debt, to earning 160 million.
No one believed this miracle was created by Jiang Se, they all thought the Cen family found a team of strategists for her and spent large sums to open up connections, and only then did Hongsheng turn losses into profit.
Only Xu Zhou, who fought side by side with her, knew that the miracle of Hongsheng was something Jiang Se traded for with countless sleepless nights, one contract after another.
She was better than anyone, and worked harder than anyone, so why should someone like her end up with nothing in the end?
Xu Zhou felt it was unjust for Jiang Se.
“Without you there wouldn’t be today’s Hongsheng. Even if your surname wasn’t Cen, they still shouldn’t have stripped you of your position.”
“No one stripped me of my position, Zhouzhou. I resigned myself.”
Jiang Se’s gaze slowly moved along with that plane rushing up into the clouds.
This was the condition she agreed to with the Cen family; if she wanted to leave the Cen family, she had to return everything she received from them.
Xu Zhou’s voice suddenly went hoarse: “Why?”
“If back then I didn’t have the surname Cen, how could Hongsheng have been mine? I’m returning the surname, so naturally I also have to return the things attached to this surname.” Jiang Se’s voice was very calm, without a trace of grievance or attachment. “Sister Zhouzhou, this is something that is both rightful and very fair.”
—
Flying from Beicheng to Tongcheng takes about three hours. Jiang Se walked into the VIP passage right on time.
The flight attendant standing at the cabin entrance didn’t notice the arrival of the last passenger yet, her pair of beautiful cat-like eyes were still glancing toward first class, like her soul had been hooked.
It wasn’t until Jiang Se passed in front of her that she hurriedly came back to herself and hastily added, “Welcome aboard.”
Jiang Se slightly tilted her head and nodded to her.
The flight attendant clearly saw her face, and froze again, just feeling that this girl was even prettier than the big-name celebrities she’d served, and also a bit familiar, but couldn’t remember where she’d seen her.
In those few seconds the flight attendant was digging through her memory, Jiang Se had already walked into first class carrying a black bag.
A familiar figure suddenly broke into her sight.
The man was still in a perfectly tailored black handmade suit, and the gray-blue tie rose and fell with his slowly moving Adam’s apple.
He was lowering his eyes, taking a call.
From Jiang Se’s angle, she could see his high, straight nose bridge and crow-black eyelashes. The gold-rimmed glasses on his nose made his skin look cold and pale, like winter frost on the eaves, no need to touch to sense the chill.
Jiang Se didn’t pause. After one glance she was ready to move her eyes away, but the man lifted his head at that moment, and their gazes met.
Seeing Jiang Se suddenly appear here, his face still showed no emotion.
This call was clearly at its end. Unhurried, the man spoke in French: “À plus tard.”
From the moment their gazes met to when he hung up, his eyes stayed on Jiang Se.
In such a small space, running into each other face-to-face like this. With Jiang Se’s usual upbringing, she would definitely curve her lips into a just-right smile and exchange a few meaningless pleasantries with him.
Wearing a gentle, cultivated mask while making polite small talk, this had always been what she was best at.
But now.
Now, when she was about to leave Beicheng, flying toward Tongcheng—
Now, when she no longer needed to be a member of the Cen family—
She didn’t want this mask anymore.
So she calmly withdrew her gaze, walked past Lu Huaiyan’s seat, and sat in the row behind him, without giving him even one extra look the entire time.
As if he were merely a stranger passing by.
The air suddenly felt a little quiet.
Li Rui, sitting beside Lu Huaiyan, didn’t even dare breathe too loudly. If he saw correctly just now, young Master Lu had been prepared to greet Miss Jiang after hanging up.
But Miss Jiang ignored him completely.
Must be the first time young Master Lu was treated like that, huh.
Tsk tsk, see? Retribution comes fast.
Yesterday you were indifferent to her, today she directly treats you like air.
Li Rui sneakily glanced sideways.
The man’s outstanding face carried the same plain indifference as Jiang Se. After hanging up, he picked up the documents next to him and casually flipped through them.
As if the person who just walked by was also merely a stranger.
