Chapter 128

Chapter 128: I Hate Green Tea Bitches the Most At the Jiang residence. On the living room sofa, Elder Mrs. Jiang was flipping through a stack of photos one by one, muttering to herself, "Miss Zhao has such elegant bearing, the second daughter of the Wen family looks quite delicate and lovely, and there's the girl from the Wang family—just graduated with her master's from Kyoto University, carrying that scholarly air. I like her too." The old lady looked up and smiled warmly at Jiang Shixu. "Shixu, take a look at these photos. See which one you like?" Jiang Shixu's eyes were dark and distant, his mind elsewhere. He had just locked eyes with Tangtang in the garden a moment ago—she looked terrible, her lips completely devoid of color. Was she sick? "Shixu." Elder Mrs. Jiang raised her voice, the smile fading from her face. "Grandmother is talking to you. What are you spacing out about?" Jiang Shixu pulled his thoughts back and looked up. "What?" Elder Mrs. Jiang set down the photos, somewhat displeased. She gathered her silk shawl and said slowly, "Wang Shu from the Wang family just finished her master's degree. I met her a few days ago—gentle temperament, very pretty too. The day after tomorrow, you and your mother should go to the Wang residence to pay a New Year's visit. Get to know Wang Shu a bit." Jiang Shixu sat on the sofa, his eyes shrouded in gloom. "I don't have time." Elder Mrs. Jiang was unhappy. She frowned and shot him a glare. "No time even during the New Year?" "You've worked hard all year. Give yourself a few days off for the holiday. Be good and go with your mother to the Wang residence." Xu Jingxuan's heart soured the moment she realized this was a matchmaking arrangement. They'd barely managed to get rid of Ruan Chutang, and now Grandmother was already rushing to arrange a blind date for her brother? It had only been a few days since the engagement with the Ruan family was called off! Xu Jingxuan affectionately wrapped her arm around the old lady's, softening her voice. "Grandmother, Brother just broke off his engagement with the Ruan family, and you're already making him get in touch with Sister Wang. If word gets out, people will gossip behind his back." Li Lanxi chimed in from the side, "That's right, that's right, Grandma Jiang. It's not like Cousin has no one lining up for him. Which socialite in Jiangcheng wouldn't want to marry him? You don't need to worry about that." Elder Mrs. Jiang shot Jiang Shixu a displeased look. "I'm not worried about him having no one. I'm worried he's still thinking about someone he shouldn't be thinking about." Li Lanxi pursed her lips, darting her gaze between Elder Mrs. Jiang and Jiang Shixu. Well, well—so the old matriarch of the Jiang family didn't approve of Cousin being with Sister-in-law? That didn't make sense. Sister-in-law had such a good family background, she was gorgeous, and her personality was beyond reproach. What more could the old lady possibly want? Jiang Shixu's lips were pressed into a tight line. "Grandmother, I'm going to the study to see Grandfather." With that, Jiang Shixu rose to his feet. "Wait. I want you to actually take what I said to heart. Stop trying to run away from this. You've already called off the engagement with the Ruan family—stop thinking about that girl from the Ruan family. Is there a single one of the Wang or Zhao girls who isn't better than her?" Jiang Shixu stopped and turned around, darkness spreading across his eyes, a rogue smirk curling at his lips. "If you like them so much, marry them all yourself. I'm not taking any of them." Li Lanxi secretly gave a thumbs up, her eyes full of approval. That's my cousin. What guts. Elder Mrs. Jiang was furious, her face stiff. "Listen to yourself! You've never spoken to your elders like this before. When did you become so rebellious?" Jiang Shixu's tone carried a lazy nonchalance that could drive a person to death by irritation. "Grandmother, I'd advise you to worry less about my affairs. You have a bad heart—better to worry about yourself." Elder Mrs. Jiang's chest heaved with anger, her breathing turning uneven. "Shixu, you've never talked back to me like this before. Did that Ruan Chutang say something to sow discord between us again? I've noticed that whenever Ruan Chutang is involved, you become a completely different person." Jiang Shixu let out a derisive laugh, a flicker of loneliness passing through his eyes. "Sowing discord? You're overthinking it. She and I haven't spoken in a long time." Elder Mrs. Jiang said in a tone that brooked no argument, "Then go to the blind date, obediently." Jiang Shixu turned and headed up the stairs, drawling two words lazily: "Not going." "You're getting more and more out of line!" Elder Mrs. Jiang snapped at his retreating back. Xu Jingxuan patted the old lady's back soothingly, stroke after stroke. "Grandmother, please don't be angry." The old lady steadied her breathing and said crossly, "Xuanxuan, look at your brother now. He can't even talk to me properly. He never used to be like this." Xu Jingxuan said in her sweet, scheming way, "That's right. Ever since he got together with Ruan Chutang, Brother has become like a different person. He never used to talk to Grandmother like this before. It must be Ruan Chutang sowing discord." Elder Mrs. Jiang said, "You think it's because of Ruan Chutang too?" "Yes, Grandmother. Every time Ruan Chutang comes up, Brother's temperament completely changes. I can't think of any other reason besides Ruan Chutang driving a wedge between you and Brother." "You can't say that, Jingxuan." Li Lanxi said unhurriedly while cracking melon seeds, "When my cousin and his wife were together, did you hide under their bed and hear her trying to drive a wedge between them?" Xu Jingxuan turned to look at Li Lanxi, her expression sour. "No, but..." Li Lanxi didn't let her finish, continuing, "Then did my cousin's wife whisper something in your ear about driving a wedge?" Xu Jingxuan's face darkened, and she gritted her teeth. "No." "Oh?" Li Lanxi said with a smile. "Well, that's strange. You didn't hear it with your own ears, yet you say she's trying to drive a wedge. If you ask me, you're the one stirring up trouble." Li Lanxi was the daughter of the Li family, a true heiress of a wealthy clan, and a top-tier A-list actress. Outsiders feared the Jiang family's power and treated the Jiangs' adopted daughter with deference, but she wasn't afraid. Who did Xu Jingxuan think she was? Li Lanxi had never taken her seriously. Li Lanxi had never liked Xu Jingxuan since they were young. She always felt she was sly and scheming. Back in their teenage years, around seventeen or eighteen, Xu Jingxuan would pull little tricks to try to get Jiang Shixu's attention. Boys were oblivious, and at the time Jiang Shixu didn't see anything wrong with it, but Li Lanxi could always see through Xu Jingxuan's little games. Early on, Li Lanxi had already slapped the label of "Green Tea Bitch" on Xu Jingxuan. And now, it turned out that label was spot on. Xu Jingxuan truly was a Master of Tea Arts. The hostility in Li Lanxi's words was undisguised. Xu Jingxuan couldn't keep up the act anymore, glaring at Li Lanxi and demanding, "What do you mean by that?" Li Lanxi replied with a sweet smile, "Exactly what I said, dear." Xu Jingxuan was about to lash out when she suddenly remembered the old lady was still sitting right beside her. She immediately changed her demeanor, putting on a pitiful look and softening her voice as she asked plaintively, "Cousin, do you have a problem with me?" "Yeah, are you blind or something that you can't see it?" Li Lanxi rolled her eyes. "I hate Green Tea Bitches the most." "Cousin, have I done something to offend you? Why are you so hostile toward me?" Li Lanxi smiled. "Not only blind, but deaf too." Li Lanxi raised her voice and enunciated each word slowly: "I said, I, hate, Green, Tea, Bitches, the, most!" With that, Li Lanxi beamed brightly and deliberately spoke in a sugary tone: "Did you hear that clearly, dear?"