Chapter 86: Marriage Alliance, Class Difference
In the afternoon, the professor finished his lecture and announced a self-study session.
Qian Cheng had just finished a round of his game. He stretched contentedly, then casually pulled over his desk mate’s open textbook and began copying the notes word for word.
With his hands now empty, Jiang Yunian looked at Qian Cheng’s sprawling handwriting and sighed helplessly. There were still a few minutes until the end of class, and having nothing else to do, he took out his phone and aimlessly scrolled through Weibo.
Suddenly, a trending search term caught his eye.
#Qi Sheng Group Heir’s FiancĂ©e Revealed To Be Her#
His fingertips paused abruptly. His heart felt as if it had been snagged by something, and, driven by some inexplicable impulse, he clicked on it.
The accompanying image was a candid photo. The girl in the frame was young and beautiful, with a bright smile, dressed impeccablyâclearly a socialite raised in an affluent family. The post read: According to insiders, Elder Qi, who has been recuperating from illness, has seen an improvement in his health and will host a banquet next Friday evening, gathering family, friends, and business partners. The girl photographed is the biological granddaughter of Elder Qi’s longtime friend, the Chairman of the Chen Group. Having just returned from abroad, she is on the guest list. Rumor has it that this move is intended to publicly confirm her as the fiancĂ©e of Qi Sheng’s heir, Qi Yan.
The comments below were a mixed bag.
[These evenly matched looks, and they’re of equal social standing! Was NĂŒwa out of ink when she molded me?]
[With these looks, she should just debut!]
[Can the paparazzi have some morals? This is an invasion of privacy, right?]
[Wait, isn’t Qi Yan gay? I’ve seen him at Jingda, and I’ve never seen him get close to any girls?]
[Upstairs +1, I’ve heard this rumor too…]
[No way, no way? A wealthy heir can be gay?]
[Hehe, so what if he’s gay? With that kind of family background, he’ll still end up finding a marriage alliance of equal standing in the end, and they’ll each play their own games. Those who know, know.]
…
Reading down comment after comment, those words of varying praise and criticism pierced his heart. Truths and falsehoods mixed together, flooding his mind.
FiancĂ©e…
Marriage alliance…
He stared at the phone screen until it automatically dimmed, reflecting a handsome, somewhat distracted face.
When the bell rang, the students filed out.
Jiang Yunian was preoccupied, following the crowd out somewhat absently. Just as he stepped out of the classroom, he didn’t pay attention to what was in front of him and almost crashed headlong into a solid chest.
A strong arm supported his elbow right in time. A familiar voice sounded from above his head, carrying a trace of teasing: “Is Ge throwing himself into my arms again?”
Jiang Yunian looked up, crashing into Jiang Yan’s deep, ink-black eyes. His hand was still resting on the other’s sturdy arm, his fingertips even able to feel the warm body temperature beneath the fabric. Looking at this handsome face that he increasingly couldn’t understand, he thought of the bright girl on Weibo and the words “marriage alliance.” His heart felt like an overturned five-flavor bottleâa sour, indescribable ache.
How long would it take, how many things would he have to go through, to truly see through this person?
It was clearly just a few late nights ago that he had climbed into his bed, toyed with his body, and been intimately close to him. Yet in the blink of an eye, he was about to enter into a marriage contract with someone else, standing under the spotlight to receive everyone’s blessings.
How ironic…
Jiang Yunian really wanted to grab him by the collar and interrogate him, to tear off that mask of ease. But what was his standing? They had already broken up; it was a “clean slate” that he had tacitly agreed to.
He took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the complex emotions in his heart. His fingers slowly loosened and slid off Jiang Yan’s arm. He lowered his eyelashes. His fair, clean face showed no emotion, but a closer look would reveal that his lips were pressed together tightly, turning slightly pale. His complexion wasn’t exactly looking good.
“What are you here for again?” He built up a wall of brass and iron around himself. “I don’t have time.”
“…” Jiang Yan looked at his obvious alienated and resistant appearance, his brows knitting together.
Jiang Yunian didn’t even want to hear him speak anymore. He turned his face away, his voice low, carrying a bit of exhaustion: “Stop…”
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by an excited voice.
“Cousin, you came this fast?” Qian Cheng bounded out of the classroom like a reckless bull. “Look at me, studying so hard I forgot to eat and sleep. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s head out quickly.”
It seemed he had made an appointment with Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yunian’s remaining words got stuck in his throat. Looking at the situation in front of him, he belatedly felt a trace of embarrassment. Those words he just said made him look a bit overly presumptuous.
“…Where are you going? Are you coming back?” he asked Qian Cheng.
Qian Cheng was empty-handed, clearly having no intention of taking his backpack. If he wasn’t coming back, Jiang Yunian would have to help him bring it.
Qian Cheng patted his shoulder with a boastful tone: “Going to visit my cousin’s Qi Tian Technology Building. How about it, isn’t your bro awesome?”
Jiang Yunian’s heart was like still water. He didn’t know exactly what Qi Tian Technology did; he only knew it was a property under Qi Sheng. Seeing Qian Cheng so excited, he guessed it was related to games. He nodded, saying without much envy: “Oh, then I’ll head back first.”
Saying that, he turned around to go back into the classroom to grab his and Qian Cheng’s bags.
“Since we bumped into each other, let’s go together,” Jiang Yan suddenly spoke up, as if it were truly just a casual invitation.
Qian Cheng froze for a moment, instinctively wanting to refuse: “Him? He’s a bookworm, he doesn’t understand these things…”
Jiang Yan didn’t even lift his eyelids: “It doesn’t matter.”
Qian Cheng had a quick mind. Seeing that Jiang Yan seemed to have a good impression of his roommate, and not wanting to appear petty in front of his cousin, he immediately changed his tune. He threw an arm around Jiang Yunian’s neck like good brothers: “Since my cousin has spoken, you should come along. I’ll take you to see the world.”
Jiang Yunian frowned, trying to break free: “I’ll pass.”
He still had chores to do when he got back, and he had to review his coursework.
What a stubborn, unaccommodating blockhead.
Qian Cheng pulled him aside and lowered his voice: “Are you stupid? Is Qi Tian Building a place just anyone can enter? So many people squeeze their heads trying to get in and fail. Your bro taking you to open your eyes is a good thing!”
Jiang Yunian still hesitated: “But I…”
“This is what happens when you read too many books, your brain breaks!” Qian Cheng interrupted him. He glanced at Jiang Yan, who was waiting patiently behind them, rolled his eyes, and came up with an idea. “How about this, I’ll hire you. I’ll give you a job as my bag-carrying lackey, just follow behind me and prop up the scene for me. It’s just a quick trip.”
“…”
He held up one finger. “100.”
Jiang Yunian showed a conflicted expression.
Qian Cheng gritted his teeth: “200.”
“Deal.”
Jiang Yunian agreed with almost no hesitation, treating it as a social practice study.
Qian Cheng laughed and scolded: “You money-grubber, so useless!”
“Go on, pack up both our bags and hold them. I need to go to the bathroom,” he commanded Jiang Yunian, then put on a smiling face for Jiang Yan. “Cousin, please wait a moment, I’ll be right back.”
Jiang Yan gave a slight nod.
Qian Cheng dashed off to the restroom. Jiang Yan, however, took a step and followed the head-lowered Jiang Yunian into the empty classroom.
Jiang Yunian acted as if he hadn’t seen him at all, busy organizing the textbooks and notes spread out on their desk. His movements were a bit slow, carrying the suspicion of deliberate avoidance. He packed both backpacks properly, putting one on his own back and holding the other against his chest. Then, keeping his head down, he silently bypassed a certain someone, stood back at the classroom door, and quietly waited for Qian Cheng.
He completely treated a certain someone as thin air.
Watching him wrap himself back in a hard shell, Jiang Yan felt a bit uncomfortable in his heart. He assumed his Ge was just feeling shy, or still throwing a tantrum over his presumptuousness last time, and didn’t take it to heart.
He stepped over, stood in front of him, and slowly extended a hand.
Jiang Yunian: “?”
Jiang Yan motioned toward Qian Cheng’s backpack in his arms, “Give it to me.”
Jiang Yunian hugged the bag even tighter and resolutely shook his head to refuse: “No need, I collected the money.”
He defended his job post with a straight face, working diligently and conscientiously, terrified of losing this “bag-carrying lackey” gig.
Jiang Yan: “…”
When Jiang Yunian and Qian Cheng actually stood beneath the Qi Tian Technology Building, they both simultaneously tilted their heads back, then froze and gulped.
The glass curtain wall, towering into the clouds, reflected a cold, hard glint in the sunlight, looking magnificently imposing. And this was just the building for a subsidiary company.
What made their scalps tingle even more was that, at the entrance of the building, there were two neat rows of staff members in uniformâmen and women, full of energy, wearing standard smiles. The formation was so grand it looked like they were welcoming some head of state.
Even Qian Cheng, a second-generation rich kid who prided himself on having seen the world, was a bit nervous right now, his palms sweating and his calves going a little weak. He quietly sidled up to Jiang Yan, a look of flattered trepidation on his face: “Cousin… This, this is too polite, isn’t it? I’m just here to look around and learn, no need for such a huge spectacle… Really…”
Saying that, he wanted to take a step forward, wave at the staff standing by the door in full battle array, and signal them to disperse and go about their business.
However, before he could speak, a woman in a sharply tailored professional suit, exuding an aura of competence, acting as the lead, quickly walked up. She bypassed Qian Cheng, went straight to Jiang Yan, bowed slightly, and struck an extremely respectful posture: “Young Master.”
As soon as these words came out, the two rows of staff behind her shouted out in unison with loud, clear voices: “Hello, Young Master!”
This uniform, imposing greeting shook Jiang Yunian and Qian Cheng so much that they unconsciously straightened their backs, their breathing lightening. They had only seen this kind of scene in TV dramas; they never expected it to happen in real life right before their eyes. The impact was exceptionally huge.
The woman addressed as Manager Fang wore an appropriate smile on her face, but her tone carried a trace of imperceptible nervousness as she asked: “Young Master, why did you take the main entrance today?”
When she asked this, the executive-looking people behind her obviously tensed up for a moment as well, their eyes carrying cautious probing, terrified that this Young Master had come for a surprise inspection.
It was important to know that, aside from the collective meeting they had when Jiang Yan first took over Qi Tian Technology, this elusive Young Master basically only appeared in financial news. When he came to the company, he usually took a private jet directly to the rooftop helipad, or used the exclusive presidential elevator from the underground garage straight to the top floor. This imposing main entrance downstairs was practically non-existent to him.
However, Jiang Yan just calmly waved his hand and said lightly, “Brought friends for a tour.”
His gaze swept over everyone and he singled out Manager Fang. “You stay, the rest of you dismiss.”
“Yes, Young Master,” Manager Fang complied. The others seemed to receive a grand amnesty, bowing respectfully before quickly and orderly dispersing.
This scene once again gave Jiang Yunian and Qian Cheng a direct and profound realization of the so-called class difference between the “upper echelon” and ordinary people like them, a gap like a natural chasm. This wasn’t something that could simply be measured by money; it was a division fused into the flesh and blood of society, a gulf concerning power and status.
“Two gentlemen, please.” Manager Fang kept a professional, friendly smile on her face, stepping aside to make an inviting gesture.
Jiang Yunian and Qian Cheng followed her, stepping onto the red carpet that stretched all the way from the entrance to the lobby. Soft and thick, every step felt like treading on clouds, as if they were at the Cannes Film Festival.
Author’s Note: It’s the weekend again, so happy (??Ï?)? Hey [Lop-eared rabbit head] (Yesterday’s chapter got locked again, fixing it till the early morning made me so sleepy. Found some typos today but I don’t dare fix them, afraid it’ll get locked again…)
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