spring bite mark

Chapter 58 Betrayal
As Jiang Manman gazed at the shimmering red jade coral, her thoughts were fragmented into pieces of time, which she began to piece together bit by bit.

At the age of nine, she was personally sent to the Jiang family by Yan Changye. Although the handsome young man would occasionally come to see her, they would only meet once or twice a year. They were neither strangers nor close friends.

More often than not, he exists only in other people's gossip.

The young master of Beijing's elite circles, with his devastatingly handsome appearance, always tops the list of topics of conversation among the capital's socialites.

Rumor has it that he suddenly appeared on a street in the capital, causing a phenomenal traffic jam, and from then on, wherever he was to appear, traffic control measures would be implemented in advance.
Rumors also say that he is more handsome than ever, and a socialite in the capital is so infatuated with him that she has planned to meet him more than a hundred times in a year. He was so annoyed that he removed her family from the ranks of the wealthy.

Rumors also say that he personally admitted to liking delicate girls, so for a long time, the trend in the socialite circle changed, and everyone adopted a delicate style. Socialites almost disappeared from places like horse farms and ski resorts.

He grew up amidst the rumors, and the descriptions of him became increasingly risqué.

When Jiang Manman turned eighteen, the Jiang family invited him to personally perform the hair-pinning ceremony for her.

This was just a test; I never expected him to agree. After all, at that time, this Crown Prince was becoming increasingly distant from the major aristocratic families, and he was truly unapproachable. It was difficult to even meet him, let alone ask him for a favor.

But surprisingly, he agreed.

At Jiang Manman's eighteenth birthday celebration, Yan Changye's stunning face, captivating eyes, and dashing demeanor stunned everyone present. Even Jiang Manman was so overwhelmed by his beauty that it took her several seconds to recover.

He slowly and deliberately styled her hair, his long, slender fingers running through her strands, his tone tinged with teasing:

"She was so delicate when she was little, why is she still so soft and cuddly now that she's grown up?"

She looked up at him with her almond-shaped eyes filled with confusion. He lowered his head slightly, and in his exquisite eyes, there was a faint reflection of her.

After her coming-of-age ceremony, the two became close, and their meetings went from once or twice a year to several times a month. In fact, in the month before her college entrance examination, he reluctantly took on the task of tutoring her in math.

That month was the most agonizing time for Jiang Manman.

It's not that the question is too difficult, but that even if that person does nothing, just having their face appear in front of you at close range can make you lose your mind.

Moreover, he wasn't 'doing nothing'; he subtly seduced her.

In just one month, her hair repeatedly tangled in his buttons, forcing him to irritably unbutton the top two buttons of his shirt; he would drink juice when his throat was dry from explaining problems, but the juice would inappropriately stain his lips with a seductive and alluring color; when she couldn't figure out a problem, he would disdainfully grab her hand and work with her, and gradually their fingers would unconsciously intertwine...

After a month of agonizing ordeal, when she finally dazedly packed her schoolbag and fled his study in a disheveled state, behind her, the young master uttered a sarcastic remark:
"Tsk, I've never seen anyone so clueless!"

She didn't think much of it, assuming he was commenting on her mathematical thinking.

But after helping each other with homework, their relationship grew even closer. He would casually give her anything fun he had, and even when he wanted to go shopping for clothes and accessories, knowing she had good taste, he would ask her to help him choose. And that ruby ​​coral appeared in this context.

At that time, Jiang Manman had just started college. On the weekend, Yan Changye called her out shopping. On the most bustling high-end shopping street in the capital, Yan Changye cleared the area and tried on clothes for her. The store mainly sold low-cut V-neck clothes. Yan Changye tried on several pieces, and Jiang Manman's heart raced because of his dazzling appearance and sexy clothes. She grabbed a magazine to block her view.

He strolled over slowly, his peach blossom eyes glancing at her lightly: "I asked you to help me look at clothes, and you're looking at magazines?"

"No, I just think this magazine is quite nice." Jiang Manman casually pointed to something bright red in the magazine. She herself couldn't see what it was, but Yan Changye stared at the spot she was pointing to for a moment and took it to heart.

Two months later, while on a business trip abroad, he took a picture of the red coral and appeared on campus with a languid expression. Unexpectedly, he saw her and Xie Yuheng, who had just started dating, enjoying a romantic moment under the moon and flowers.

Since then, it's as if a sense of boundary has suddenly reappeared between the two of them. He changed his charming and seductive demeanor in front of her, and his expression became indifferent and distant. The number of times they met returned to once or twice a year. Apart from exchanging pleasantries, he no longer talked about intimate topics.

This lukewarm relationship lasted for two years. From her encounter with Xie Yuheng in the third month after she turned eighteen, to her marriage with Xie Yuheng in Hong Kong when she was nineteen, which ended in a breakup; and then, a year after breaking up with Xie Yuheng, an unexpected romantic incident occurred in suite 1001 of the Imperial Capital Hotel.

At that time, Jiang Manman thought that Yan Changye was just used to being arrogant, and that once the novelty wore off, he would return to his aloof persona.

Some time ago, when Jiang Manman heard Chen Jinzhou talk about Yan Changye's white moonlight, she pondered the details of her past relationship with Yan Changye and suddenly realized that she had unintentionally let down another person because of a ridiculous relationship that ended without a trace.

Before boarding the Night Chaser, Jiang Manman overheard Shen Zongqian asking Yan Changye, "Has the BOSS prepared the items for the charity auction on the cruise ship?"

At that moment, Yan Changye was playing mobile games on the sofa with one arm around Jiang Manman, without even looking up: "In the warehouse, the one with the most dust, the ruby ​​thing."

Shen Zongqian accepted the order and left. Jiang Manman asked curiously, "What is it?"

Yan Changye gave a faint "oh": "An old item that once annoyed me."

Only when Shen Zongqian placed the red jade coral on the auction stage did Jiang Manman realize that the old item he was referring to was it.

In the few minutes that Jiang Manman was distracted, Coral had already been auctioned off for a high price of 230 million by several major families, and was finally successfully acquired by the head of the Zhu family.

The atmosphere at the scene was brought to its peak by this coral, and the subsequent auction items were not as exciting.

The Xie family's items were the last to be auctioned.

It is a Ming Dynasty agate plum blossom cup.

"Chairman Xie, what a coincidence, I know about this cup of yours." The head of the Li family laughed. "I heard that back then, Xie Yunxi of your Xie family had a sudden whim and spent 300 million to bid for a set of agate plum blossom cups, a total of 12, which were given to the old master of the Xie family and several elders. As his uncle, you also received one. It's a complete set, so it would be a bit of a waste to put just one of them up for auction."

Xie Yuheng's face was hidden in the backlight and could not be seen, but his voice was very calm: "It's nothing important."

(End of this chapter)