Chapter 110

Chapter 110: Jiang Shixu Is Caught Up in a Scandal with a Female Celebrity That evening, Chu Tang received a phone call from her best friend Chen Yuanyuan. "Babe, New Year's Eve is just a few days away. Do you have any plans?" Hearing this, Chu Tang instinctively glanced at the calendar on her phone—December 28th. "No." Because she had cried for a long time that afternoon, Chu Tang's voice was a bit hoarse. Chen Yuanyuan was startled. "Babe, what's wrong? Why does your voice sound so raspy?" "I'm fine, just a little cold." "Oh, okay." Chen Yuanyuan didn't suspect anything. "So how are you planning to spend New Year's Eve? Are you spending it with your Shixu-gege, or with me and Xueluo?" At the mention of Jiang Shixu, Chu Tang couldn't help but feel like crying again. "Me and him..." "Hmm? What about you two?" The lights in the room were as bright as daylight, and outside the window, snowflakes were drifting down, swirling and fluttering in silent stillness. Chu Tang sat on the bed, holding her phone, looking down at her toes. "I... I had a falling out with him..." She didn't want to say "break up." In her heart, she and Jiang Shixu had only had a falling out. Chen Yuanyuan replied, "Pfft, I thought something serious had happened. Turns out it's just a falling out. That's nothing—what couple doesn't have disagreements? When New Year's Eve comes around, I'll have my brother invite Shixu-ge out, and we'll all get together to create a chance for the two of you to be alone. There's no conflict that a hug and a kiss can't solve." Chen Yuanyuan paused, then said with a mischievous grin, "And if there is, then do it—do it big and proper. That'll solve any problem, hehehe." Chen Yuanyuan had always been this uninhibited, speaking with a very bold and unserious tone. Although Chu Tang knew this was just her unrestrained personality, she still blushed at her shameless words. Chu Tang: "..." "Don't be shy, Tangtang. Let me tell you, men like that kind of thing. You can't reason with them—they prefer things simple and direct." Chu Tang gritted her teeth and listened to over ten minutes of Chen Yuanyuan's romance advice. After hanging up, her mind was filled with unspeakable images. Sure enough, she shouldn't have mentioned her and Jiang Shixu's situation to Chen Yuanyuan. ... That night, Chu Tang couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep no matter what. Chu Tang decided to carefully go through everything that had happened recently in her mind. In the end, she came to a conclusion: Jiang Shixu must have broken up with her because he was afraid Fu Yuanzhou would hurt the Ruan family again. Chu Tang thought that once Jiang Shixu finished dealing with Fu Yuanzhou, they would make up. She could pretend she didn't know about this, act like she wasn't close to Jiang Shixu in public, but still stay in contact with him in private. Chu Tang initially wanted to call Jiang Shixu just to talk. She really missed him. She wanted to hear his voice. But when she checked the time, it was already 2:30 in the morning. She decided against it. Jiang Shixu had been very busy and tired lately; she couldn't disturb his rest. She'd call tomorrow. With that in mind, Chu Tang sent Chen Yuanyuan a WeChat message. [Yuanyuan, don't invite Shixu for New Year's Eve. Things between us are a bit complicated. I'll explain in detail next time we meet. It's not convenient for us to see each other right now.] The next morning, Jiang Shixu told Elder Jiang that he had broken up with her. The elder had people prepare generous gifts and called Jiang Yi, his wife, and Jiang Shixu to go to the hospital together to apologize and make amends to Ruan Shaodong. In Ruan Shaodong's hospital room. After the Jiang family's servants neatly arranged the expensive gifts, nutritional supplements, and fruits they had brought, they quietly exited the room. Ruan Shaodong's hospital bed was surrounded by people. Except for Elder Mrs. Jiang, who couldn't go out due to a cold, everyone in the Jiang family was present. Elder Jiang spoke first: "Shaodong, I heard you were injured, so I specially requested permission from the higher-ups to return to Jiangcheng, precisely to visit you and wish you a speedy recovery." Elder Jiang held a position of great power and influence in the capital. Even the top official of Jiangcheng would have to show him the utmost respect and deference. As an elder and a person of high standing, Elder Jiang was nevertheless so humble and courteous toward Ruan Shaodong, showing no airs of superiority whatsoever. Ruan Shaodong felt both flattered and overwhelmed. He propped himself up on the edge of the bed, leaning back against the headboard, a somewhat apprehensive look on his face. "Elder Jiang, you're too kind. I'm not seriously injured. I'm sorry to have troubled you to make the trip." Jiang Yi spoke up: "In-law, this is a small token of our appreciation. Please accept it." With that, Jiang Yi handed over a bank card. With Elder Jiang leading the way, Ruan Shaodong, no matter how much resentment he might have toward the Jiang family, couldn't very well vent it now. He smiled and took the card. "Then I'll accept it. Thank you." Jiang Yi said, "You're welcome." "Shaodong." Elder Jiang, seeing that Ruan Shaodong had accepted the money, spoke again, "Actually, there's another reason I returned to Jiangcheng this time." Ruan Shaodong could roughly guess what Elder Jiang wanted to say. He composed himself and listened quietly. "This time, your injury was no accident. I believe you're already aware of that. Shixu mentioned to you about Ayi's..." Elder Jiang paused, having initially wanted to say "illegitimate son," but stopped himself just as the words reached his lips. "Illegitimate son" was too harsh to say. After a brief pause, the elder continued, "Have I ever mentioned that Yi has another son, Fu Yuanzhou?" Ruan Shaodong's expression darkened slightly as he nodded. "Fu Yuanzhou is targeting our Jiang Family. You were only dragged into this because of the engagement between Tangtang and our Shixu. So after much deliberation, our family has decided to call off the engagement." Yang Xuelian, standing nearby, looked over with slight surprise upon hearing this. Ruan Shaodong had mentioned to her last night that he wanted to break off the engagement with the Jiang Family, but he hadn't dared to bring it up himself out of respect for Elder Jiang's authority. She never expected that today Elder Jiang would lead the entire family to their doorstep to call off the engagement. This wasn't something their family could easily initiate, so it was naturally better for the Jiang Family to propose it first. The moment Elder Jiang led the Jiang Family through the door, Ruan Shaodong had already prepared himself mentally. Hearing Elder Jiang say this now, Ruan Shaodong wasn't particularly surprised. He nodded slightly. "Alright, since Elder Jiang has spoken, I'll be frank as well. Truth be told, I've been thinking about this matter too. Please don't blame me, but up to this point, our Ruan Family has paid too great a price because of this marriage." The elder's expression turned apologetic. "I understand." Jiang Yi chimed in, "In-laws, our Jiang Family has wronged your Ruan Family. This time, your Ruan Family will make the public announcement of the engagement's dissolution. We'll handle the PR statement, and our Jiang Family will bear all responsibility." Mrs. Jiang, Lin Yueying, took out a document and handed it to Ruan Shaodong. "In-laws, this is the engagement termination statement we've prepared. Take a look and let us know if there's anything you'd like to add." "Mm." Ruan Shaodong took the document and flipped through it. After a moment, he closed the file. "Nothing to add. This will do." Lin Yueying said, "Then please release it as soon as possible. Every day we delay puts your Ruan Family in greater danger." Ruan Shaodong nodded, then turned to Jiang Shixu with a meaningful look. "Shixu, have you mentioned this to Tangtang?" "I have." Jiang Shixu's Adam's apple bobbed. "Uncle, to make Tangtang give up, I told her I'd fallen for someone else. Please cooperate with me and don't tell her the truth." Ruan Shaodong acknowledged with a deep, low voice. "Shaodong, you rest well. We won't disturb you any longer," Elder Jiang said. "Alright, take care." Ruan Shaodong looked at Yang Xuelian. "Xuelian, see them out." Yang Xuelian: "Alright." ...... Chu Tang hadn't slept well the night before, so she took an afternoon nap. She hadn't been asleep long when her phone rang repeatedly. Chu Tang opened her eyes wearily, picked up her phone, and answered, "Hello?" Chen Yuanyuan's voice was full of shock. "Holy crap! Tangtang, have you checked Weibo? Jiang Shixu is caught up in a scandal with a female celebrity! It's all over the trending searches!"