I have ten trillion licking dog gold

The wind was biting cold.

The climate in the East China Sea is still worse than that in the Haojiang area.

Freezing a card after giving it out seems unethical, but the person involved has no qualms about it.

He's not a simp.

He deeply abhorred the so-called custom of bride price!
Besides, even if it is a bride price, it should be given to He Yihui. It's ridiculous to keep it for yourself and spend it recklessly.

Not all mothers-in-law deserve respect.

Mr. Jiang felt he had a clear conscience, but before he could finish his bowl of hot dry noodles, he received a call from Haojiang.

"You froze the card meant for Mommy?"

Tsk.

Kudos to Zhuge Xi for his work efficiency.

Mr. Jiang, being an honest man, readily admitted to the situation, while also complaining, "She even charges a card for a cup of coffee, that's too much."

He Yihui laughed lightly, "Who told you to give it to her?"

"When I gave it to her, I made it clear that it was only for card game bills, and I didn't tell her to misuse it. If I hadn't frozen it, she probably would have had to use a card to pay the maids' wages in the future."

He Yihui's laughter grew louder, "Isn't it unlimited?"

"Wasn't it because there were so many wives there to make things look good?"

Even though they were already on the same wavelength, He Yihui was still overwhelmed by his humor and laughed for a while before she could control herself, saying, "Mommy just called and scolded me."

What did she say to you?

She said I had found such a terrible man.

"Haha."

When it was Jiang Chen's turn to burst into laughter, he wasn't embarrassed at all and didn't care about his image in the eyes of his elders. He even argued, "Didn't she praise me before, saying I was even better than your daddy?"

"That's why she said you can know a person's face but not their heart."

In the entire noodle shop, only Boss Jiang was sitting there grinning like an idiot while holding his phone, attracting a lot of strange looks.

"Tell Fourth Wife that it's too late to regret it."

"Do you know what I said to Mommy?"

"What did you reply?"

She said you can know a person's face but not their heart, and I replied, "If you marry a chicken, you should follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, you should follow the dog."

"Ha ha……"

Mr. Jiang became increasingly gleeful, completely ignoring the stares of those around him.

"I can't wait for spring."

Miss He suddenly said something inexplicably.

"Looking forward to spring?"

"April is the most beautiful month in the world, as we promised."

He visits Haojiang every three months, and according to the plan, they were indeed scheduled for April. Mr. Jiang's smile remained, but his heart was filled with mixed feelings.

What more could I ask for?

Huh?
Why is it this phrase again?

It seems like he's met all the good girls in the world.

"I'll go whenever I have time," Jiang Chen said softly.

"Waiting for you. I'll still be your healer, Ashe."

Jiang Chen chuckled to himself.

After ending the call, the remaining noodles were tasteless, and Jiang Chen didn't care about wasting them. He got up, walked out of the noodle shop, went to the roadside, and waved to flag down a taxi.

"Lushan Villa".

Is it repairable?

Lushan Villa?

Is there a mistake?

Didn't you just come from there?
But the taxi driver didn't care about anything else and just drove wherever he heard it was, so the person ended up going in circles and coming back.

Oh.

I guess I ate a bowl of hot dry noodles.

This time, without disguising himself, Mr. Jiang arrived at the house again, and, being open and aboveboard, rang the doorbell.

Fang Qing, who was taking a nap on the sofa, opened her eyes. Urged by the doorbell, she got up, walked to the door, and opened it.

She thought it was Aunt Liu, but when their eyes met, she almost fainted and blurted out, "Why are you back again?"

The person had already mentally prepared themselves and pretended not to hear, saying, "Would it be convenient for me to come in and sit down?"

Fang Qing stood in the doorway, expressionless. "It's inconvenient."

The person nodded, didn't force their way in, and started shouting into the house, "Aunt Liu! Aunt Liu..."

"Aunt Liu is not here."

Fang Qing remained unmoved. This was no ordinary apartment building; even the slightest footstep could disturb the downstairs neighbors. The building's floor area ratio was outrageous, designed to maximize the privacy of high-end residents.

in other words.

Even if Boss Jiang shouts until he's hoarse, no one will hear him.

"Where have you been?"

Knowing how to assess the situation, the person immediately fell silent.

"What does it have to do with anything?"

Fang Qing's eyes were sharp, and she went straight to the point, "What exactly do you want?"

"Can we come in and have a seat?"

The person avoided answering, continuing their shamelessness to the very end.

Fang Qing took a deep breath. "Didn't you say you respected my choice?"

Jiang Chen remained calm and composed, instead offering a gentle smile. "Then tell me, what is your choice? To never see me again for the rest of your life? Or to never see each other again until death? If so, tell me now, and I'll leave immediately."

Putting aside whether his credit is worth a penny, could Princess Qing really say such heartless things?

How long have Li Shurui and He Yihui known him respectively?
And what about the two of them?
So Fang Qing didn't speak. After a silent gaze, she turned away without uttering a word.

The person who had anticipated this didn't reveal anything, nodded calmly, and stepped into the house.

"boom."

Fang Qing closed the door.

"Is Aunt Liu really not here?"

After entering, Jiang Chen looked around.

“If you’re looking for Aunt Liu, I can get her back.”

Aunt Liu is a nanny, and she has a lot of work to do. In addition to cooking and doing housework, she also has to buy groceries and daily necessities, and so on.

Jiang Chen understood, after all, he had worked in the service industry when he was in college.

"Why not hire more people?"

"Labor is very expensive."

Jiang Chen couldn't help but chuckle. This was the Qing Gege he knew. "Anyway, it's not like you're the one paying for it."

"But I owe someone a favor."

Why can't we even see regular maids in Pei Yunxi's house?

Because home is a private place, the presence of outsiders will expose privacy, and the more people there are, the greater the risk of exposure.

Jiang Chen certainly wouldn't think of that right now, but he could understand another layer of meaning in Qing Gege's words. "We're family, why talk about personal feelings?"

Truly shameless.

Fang Qing was clearly unprepared for such a morally reprehensible statement. She was speechless for a moment before coldly asking, "Who's related to her?"

Jiang Chen looked sincerely at the well-educated and sensible Qing Gege, "What she has done for you... many of your own sisters probably wouldn't have done this much."

Fang Qing pursed her lips, unconsciously clenched her fingers, and fell silent.

"Shurui is just sometimes unwilling to admit defeat. She might even deliberately provoke you to avoid making you feel indebted."

Fang Qing's tone was no longer tinged with subjective emotion, as if she were an detached third party, "Then what about your sense of indebtedness?"

Jiang Chen spoke frankly and calmly: "Besides being devoted to her, I will give her everything I can."

Fang Qing's pupils trembled, then contracted, and she finally lost her temper, "When did you become so shameless!"

???

What does "when did it become" mean?
Hasn't it always been like this?

If you've known someone your whole life, how could you not understand them at all?
"Do you really think it's shameless?"

Since he dared to say it so bluntly, it meant he was definitely not ashamed. He looked at his childhood sweetheart and calmly said, "Wealth, honor, social status, personal value... when you put them all together, is being devoted more important?"

Fang Qing fell silent, not because she didn't want to refute, but because, given her personality, she couldn't bring herself to refute it against her conscience.

Wealth, glory, social status, life's value...

Let alone putting them all together, any one of them, for most people, even 99% of people, carries more weight than the so-called "wanting only one person's heart".

The other party's words were blunt and realistic.

To some extent, Li Shurui only made limited sacrifices in exchange for huge benefits.

"Would you dare say that to her face?"

"Why should I say it? Do you think she doesn't understand?"

Jiang Chen spoke with an unprecedented tone and gaze, unhurriedly: "Princess Qing, Shu Rui is different from you. She loves me. If I were bankrupt and had nothing, I believe she would stay by my side. But if I had nothing, she could never fall in love with me. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Don't misunderstand, I didn't say I had a grudge against her. I'm not a saint either. If she were an ugly duckling, a hypocrite, or a green tea b*tch, I wouldn't be with her. When men and women get together, they always have something in mind for each other; it's human nature."

"So you mean she should just have to suffer?"

Jiang Chen smiled, a smile that Fang Qing found unfamiliar.

He shook his head. "No, you've misunderstood."

Fang Qing stared at him.

"Haven't you ever wondered how I got to where I am today?"

Jiang Chen chuckled and said, "Qing Gege, you are so outstanding and excellent. You have been a role model for your peers since you were a child. You are the kind of child that elders always talk about. You were even admitted to the University of Political Science and Law, becoming the pride of the entire compound. How amazing is that? But what was the result?"
"Heroes are as numerous as fish crossing a river, yet a vulgar and lowly woman, simply because she bears the surname Fang and is born into a certain family, can brazenly bully you, insult your character, and trample on your dignity."

Fang Qing pursed her lips.

"So, if you're like this, what about me? Have you really never thought about how a poor, destitute boy like me could create a miracle?"

Fang Qing remained silent, but her pupils twitched violently.

"Don't think I'm being hypocritical. At first, I really did dream of a house, two people, three meals a day, and four seasons. But he broke up with me because he thought I was poor. Later, I realized that without a solid material foundation, how can you talk about romance? Even if someone is just in love for a while, it's like a castle in the air without a foundation; it will collapse sooner or later. So I have to work hard to earn money, build my career, and use all the connections and resources I can to make friends with people who can help me, including both men and women."

Jiang Chen twitched the corner of his mouth. "The specific story is a bit cliché. It's said that behind every successful woman are countless successful men, but the reverse is also true. For example, the Great Wall Group. Uncle Fang and Aunt Pan have visited it. It helped me gain a foothold in Kyoto. Qing Gege, you should understand the significance of that. But could I have done it on my own?"

"You mean Cao Jinse?"

"Correct."

Jiang Chen smiled faintly, "Everyone outside calls her Princess Cao. She and I are partners and comrades-in-arms, our interests are highly intertwined. Don't laugh at me, but without her protection, someone could probably buy out my entire business for a single dollar. How could I have the opportunity to grow? Qing Gege, tell me, in this situation, can I be faithful? Do I even have the right to be faithful?"

Actually, laughing or scolding him a bit at this moment would have helped to lighten the mood, but Fang Qing couldn't laugh or say anything at all.

She is a legal professional, and she understands the cruelty and truth of this society better than anyone else.

But if the other party hadn't said anything today, she wouldn't have thought about it.

No one's success is smooth sailing.

For those from poor families to set their sights on something great, the path is fraught with peril, with only the faint of heart facing

"That Princess Cao sounds like a mountain bandit."

"You can't say that."

Jiang Chen laughed and said, "People like them are too superficial when it comes to talking about love and romance."

Are you indirectly implying that I and Li Shurui are superficial?

"you?"

Jiang Chen feigned confusion, "You don't talk about love and romance either."

Fang Qing wanted to curse, but she was restrained by her excellent manners and finally uttered, "I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Jiang Chen accepted the challenge, waving his hand dismissively, "It's what a man should do."

Get out of here!
Fang Qing was ultimately too gentle; she couldn't bring herself to ask him to leave, or rather, she wasn't qualified.

Not just Li Shurui.

She, her parents, Fu Zili, Tong Dan... the entire Third Construction Company compound, and even Shacheng, were all beneficiaries.

"Is it not enough to be content with a modest life?"

She spoke with rare sentimentality.

Jiang Chen chuckled, "I'd love to be content with a modest life. But once the gears of fate begin to turn, they won't stop because of any individual's will. I've also thought about it; if I don't want to become such a scumbag, there's only one solution."

What's the solution?

"If you had confessed your feelings to me earlier, before we went to college, we could have lived a peaceful and ordinary life together."

Jiang Chen's gaze was indescribable at this moment, making it even harder for Fang Qing to face him, causing her to involuntarily look away.

"Should I confess my feelings to you?"

"Yeah, you're so domineering. Once you've made up your mind, how could I possibly refuse?"

Fang Qing opened her mouth, speechless, and finally, unable to bear it any longer, said, "You really have no shame at all."

"I already lost face at the door before I even came in. Otherwise, why would I be telling you all this?"

"Have you finished speaking?"

Jiang Chen nodded. "It's over."

"go out."

"okay."

The man didn't pester her and obediently turned around. Fang Qing watched his retreating figure and clenched her teeth.

"stop."

I couldn't resist.

The person immediately stopped and turned around, seemingly puzzled but actually expectant.

Fang Qing called the person to a stop, but didn't know what to say.

Standing here at this moment, looking back on the past.

Only then did I understand that sentence in "Notes on Fictionality".

You only know what fate is when you don't know what fate is.

"You don't deserve to be called a scumbag."

Fang Qing said.

Someone smiled and said, "Shurui is sending you on a business trip to your province. Take good care of yourself."

After saying that, he turned around, walked out of the house, and closed the door. It's unclear whether he even bothered to pick up the face he had left at the door.

After the person left, Fang Qing stood there lost in thought for a long time. Then, clutching her stomach, she slowly walked back to the sofa, lay down again, and stared blankly at the ceiling. (End of Chapter)