Chapter 2 — In the Jiang family, Mr. Jiang Jingchuan still had the final say.
Though Su Yan had a stomach full of doubts, she couldn"t bear the strenuous exercise, and her eyelids become heavy; but before falling asleep, she didn"t forget to lay in his embrace and put one of his hand over her waist. Satisfied, she sunk into the darkness of sleep.
Deciding not to sleep, Auntie w.a.n.g followed the butler and sat inside the courtyard with two plates of peanuts and a little alcohol.
The butler drank a small cup and clicked his tongue: "It seems Madam has finally understood."
Auntie w.a.n.g replied: "That"s right. It"s good that she has figured it out: after marriage, a wife depends on her husband to live well. I say, the Madam doesn"t look dull."
It was very inappropriate for Auntie w.a.n.g to say such things privately; but, because she had a good relationship with the butler, though he frowned when he heard her, he didn"t rebuke her.
Auntie w.a.n.g had her own ideas. Right now, she was considered one of the Madam"s people. If the Madam gained a steady foothold in the Jiang Family, she- as a follower- would also gain glory. Jiang Jingchuan was the sole successor of the Jiang family. If Madam has a good relation with Sir, then her position would rise along with the Madam"s.
Fortunately Madam wasn"t stupid. By building a good relationship with Jiang Jingchuan and, eventually, giving birth to a son or a daughter, wouldn"t the Madam be set for life?
Envisioning the happy days to come, Auntie w.a.n.g gulped down a cup of wine, feeling cheerful as the wine filled her belly.
When he woke up the next day, Jiang Jingchuan was in a daze for a moment. The room was quite bright as his attention went to the ceiling of the room then finally, to his arm, when he became aware of a soft sensation against his body. He looked intently, finally seeing the soundly sleeping Su Yan. Jiang Jingchuan didn"t usually drink casually: his liquor capacity wasn"t that good. Yesterday his brother had a dinner party where he really couldn"t get away, so Jingchuan just drank a few cups.Those few gla.s.ses made him dead drunk; nonetheless, as a man, he still somewhat understood what had happened last night.
Jiang Jingchuan very cautiously extracted his arm. After that, he slowly lifted the sheet and looked inside only to be immediately stupefied. Laying down again, Jiang Jingchuan began ma.s.saging his forehead. He didn"t know if it was a hangover or what, but his head was hurting incessantly.
At this moment, Jiang Jingchuan sensed the person in his embrace stir a little, and his body instinctively stiffened. He knew that Su Yan didn"t want to marry him; but, for some reason, she had no choice but to become Mrs. Jiang. In contrast, Jiang Jingchuan didn"t feel lost; actually, he thought that the arrangement was pretty good. He himself did not look forward to the wedding ceremony; and, as Jiang Jingchuan knew that he wasn"t going to be a good husband, he found Su Yan"s att.i.tude to be quite satisfying.
He didn"t know what had happened last night. For now, it looked like they had, had intercourse while he was under the heavy influence of alcohol. The rest he couldn"t understand; but when Su Yan woke up, she would probably make a lot of fuss.The crux of the matter, though, was that he was in the wrong. Recalling this, Jiang Jingchuan felt his head hurt even more.
He didn"t know Su Yan"s character, but he knew Su Yan didn"t liked him. Originally, he had thought that since she didn"t like him and he didn"t like her, it would be for the best and usually he doesn"t stay here much of the time. Strictly speaking, there were very few interactions between the two people. Initially, Jiang Jingchuan was still very confident in front of Su Yan; but presently he was nervous, and quickly distanced himself from her.
If Su Yan made a fuss then so be it. In any case, it was he who had wronged her.
Su Yan"s eyes opened, her body still in some pain. All those experiences in the Imperial harem had caused acting to become an instinct, so as she caught sight of Jiang Jingchuan she laughed at him softly, "You woke up? Does your head still ache? Do you want me to help you ma.s.sage it?"
Jiang Jingchuan watched Su Yan as if he were watching a ghost: the scene before his eyes had exceeded his imagination. Jiang Jingchuan, who thought he was dreaming, quietly pinched his thigh. He felt the pain, but his face didn"t change at all as he asked: "What"s wrong with you?"
Had she gone mental?
Jiang Jingchuan was already prepared for Su Yan to create a fuss and also expected to be slapped. He thought it"d be fine even if she did hit him; he wouldn"t argue since it was indeed his wrong. But how could he possibly imagine that she would softly whisper to him asking if his head hurt and offer to give him a ma.s.sage?
Jiang Jingchuan"s whole body felt ill.
Though Su Yan didn"t feel well, she still acted strong as she prepared to serve him. She forced herself to smile saying: "Wait for me for a while; I will go downstairs and bring you a cup of warm water."
Jiang Jingchuan thought to stop her but didn"t seem to have any response for a while: he couldn"t help pausing while his outlook on life refreshed. By the time he had recovered, Su Yan had already put on her nightgown and left. When he accidentally glanced at the specks of blood on the sheet, his mood turned somewhat complicated. It didn"t matter why Su Yan was suddenly acting so nice; under their current circ.u.mstances, he had to do something.
Jiang Jingchuan, who was dressed in pajamas, ran his hand through his messy hair.
He took larger steps than Su Yan and quickly overtook her in the corridor. He tugged her to a stop and said in a low voice: "You go and take a rest first. I am already feeling fine; no need to take care of me."
Su Yan"s heart skipped a beat: she had an obsession with cleanliness. Previously in the Imperial Palace, if other people b.u.mped into her bed- even if it was His Majesty or the Empress Dowager- she would replace it for a clean one at once. Yesterday she also wanted to change the sheets. Ultimately she decided not to, not only because Jiang Jingchuan was sleeping but also for the sake of her scheme.
It was to let him see his "immoral" behavior from last night, so he"d be more likely to take pity on her. Anyways, weren"t all men like this? Treating the taking a woman"s chast.i.ty as some glorious thing?
Fine. Even if he was secretly glad, let him be.
Su Yan was walking quite slow a moment ago precisely to make Jiang Jingchuan chase her. Even if he didn"t chase her, it didn"t matter as she would pretend to be even more fragile when bringing him the gla.s.s of water.
At present, the goal was already achieved. Su Yan didn"t refuse and softly nodded her head, "Alright, I will go bathe…"
Jiang Jingchuan watched Su Yan as she returned to the bedroom until she was out of sight. He ruffled his hair: he felt that he couldn"t see through Su Yan.
Jiang Jingchuan took a cold shower in the guest room then changed into a western style suit and walked to the dinner table. Su Yan was dressed in a deep green, chiffon, body hugging Cheongsam dress, her long hair draped casually on her shoulders. With her hand on the handrails, she climbed down the stairs.
Jiang Jingchuan had always known that Su Yan was gorgeous. Even though he had seen her walking towards him in her wedding dress before, she hadn"t made him absent-minded like she did now.
Her fair skin was beautiful, her two eyes were as clear as autumn water, even her posture and bearing at this moment seemed to be more delicate and lovely than before.
Su Yan saw the familiar expression in Jiang Jingchuan"s eyes and her mental equilibrium immediately became much better. She knew it, this body possessed flower like features and a moon like figure. This Jiang Jingchuan, how could he not see it? Su Yan didn"t really like serving others; but, at the same time, she was also clear in her heart. There wasn"t anyone who didn"t like beauty, and men were always much more patient towards beautiful women.
Auntie w.a.n.g was an experienced person: with just one look she could tell that the air between the two was somewhat ambiguous. Her eyes shifted as she wondered what had happened yesterday evening. Auntie w.a.n.g pulled back their chairs, served Su Yan a delicious bowl of congee, and while she smiled attentively she said: "h.e.l.lo madam, sir. It has been a while."
When Su Yan lowered her mouth to drink the congee, Auntie w.a.n.g pretended to accidentally say to Jiang Jingchuan: "Sir, yesterday evening Madam was very anxious about you. The whole night she was busily rushing about."
Auntie w.a.n.g was considered an experienced person in the Jiang family, so although she told such personal matter to Jiang Jingchuan, she also hadn"t said too much.
Su Yan gave an appreciative glance towards Auntie w.a.n.g. Yes, that"s the rhythm, continue just like that. There were some things that if they came from her own mouth would sound very suspicious but not if they came from the mouths of others.
If that was the usual, Jiang Jingchuan would"ve never believed it; but after that morning, he half believed her.
His heart was filled with worry as he ate his breakfast, completely occupied with guessing at Su Yan"s goal. Could it be that she wanted money? Definitely not. It was fine to ask that of him, so all this wasn"t worthwhile for money. What exactly was her goal?!
After that pause in an otherwise silent breakfast, Jiang Jingchuan got ready to go to the company. Su Yan personally walked him to the gate and even stood on her tiptoes to affectionately tidy up his collar. Meanwhile, Jiang Jingchuan was dumbfounded. She pursed her lips in a smile and asked: "Will you come back today?"
Jiang Jingchuan unconsciously nodded his head.
When he saw the joyful expression on Su Yan"s face after she saw him nod, he was momentarily unable to come up with any words.
Su Yan, who had received such a reply, also felt satisfied. As long as he came back it showed she had left a favorable impression on him.
Auntie w.a.n.g always reminded her that a good relationship with Jiang Jingchuan was the key to living a comfortable and unrestrained life.
Auntie w.a.n.g"s words also held some fact; in the Jiang family Mr.Jiang still had the final say.
She was indeed quite tactful.
Sitting in the back seat of the car, Jiang Jingchuan was still at a loss. Were the past six months all just an illusion? Didn"t Su Yan dislike him and hope he wouldn"t appear before her? Didn"t they have a mutual agreement to disregard each other? And their agreement to each have their own fun separately?
Was that all going to be changed now?
The driver perceived that today was unlike any other day. He gave quite a meaningful glance at the person and happily latched onto the golden thigh, "Chief Jiang, it"s good that you married Mrs. Jiang. You and Mrs. Jiang have a good relationship, quite deep in love."
Is it really okay to be blind at an early age? Who didn"t know that Mr. Jiang and Mrs. Jiang were better off as strangers?
These words of the driver broke Jiang Jingchuan out of his stupor. He suddenly became aware that he simply could not understand Su Yan. From her actions today it seemed that Su Yan was pretending before. What was she trying to do?
Before getting married, no, he ought to say before today, Jiang Jingchuan didn"t expect anything from this marriage. As long as it would make his parents happy, the marriage was worth it. Jiang Jingchuan had long decided that he wouldn"t give Su Yan any less than she deserved, so he would not give her any less than he received. Like this, two people were unlikely to not get along.
Today, Su Yan"s actions made Jiang Jingchuan dumbfounded; but, at the same time, he found himself unable to reject her.
Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Jiang Jingchuan"s head: he had found the answer.
Su Yan had deliberately pretended to be cold and indifferent before in order to attract his attention.
Hmm…