Chapter 21: Looks Great, Love It, Want to Lock Him Up.
6:25 AM.
Jiang Qing sadly got out of bed, sadly put on his clothes, sadly finished washing up, sadly pushed open the front door, sadly walked into the courtyard, and sadly…
Pulled out his suona.
“BEEEP——”
A shrill, sorrowful, weeping and complaining suona blast successfully echoed from the Jiang residence once again.
He was playing the tune of Lifting the Bridal Sedan Chair, but the cheerful, bouncing rhythm was forcibly dragged out by eight beats.
This commotion didn’t sound like welcoming a bride; it sounded more like a funeral procession.
From the second floor, a “Thud!” sounded once again.
———————————————
Jiang Linmu angrily got out of bed, angrily put on his clothes, angrily finished washing up, angrily pushed open the front door, angrily walked into the courtyard, angrily rushed in front of Jiang Qing, and then…
Dropped to his knees with a thud.
“Brother… I’m begging you…” He hugged Jiang Qing’s thigh tightly. “Change the tune!”
He grew more agitated as he spoke: “If I keep listening to this, I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop myself from marrying myself off, and the ghost marriage kind at that!”
Jiang Qing’s suona playing came to a screeching halt. He looked down at the “human pendant” hanging off his leg.
“What do you know? This is artistic re-creation, injecting a soul, do you understand? Am I playing a tune? I am playing my nowhere-to-be-placed sorrow!”
“Brother, it’s fine. It’s just being grounded for five days, we can tough it out.”
“Five days?!” Jiang Qing’s voice spiked.
“Is this a problem of five days? This is the agony of my inspiration being imprisoned, my soul being caged!” He raised the suona again, posturing to play.
“Don’t! I was wrong, Brother!” Jiang Linmu desperately clamped down on the suona, having a flash of quick-wittedness, “I mean… your sorrow is too high-level!”
“But I feel your art still needs some nourishment so you can have even better inspiration.”
“What?” Jiang Qing gave him a strange look.
“Can we eat breakfast first?”
“……..”
Jiang Qing fell silent for three seconds.
“You’re right.”
“Sorrow needs to precipitate, art needs nourishment. Let’s go, let’s replenish some protein first.”
Seeing his brother finally persuaded, Jiang Linmu let out a long sigh of relief.
He felt he had sacrificed far, far too much for this world.
—————————
At the exact same time Jiang Qing was using the suona to interpret “sorrow,” and Jiang Linmu was “enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens” for family harmony.
Top floor of the Jiang Group Headquarters.
Outside the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, the city was just waking up.
Jiang Yu sat behind his desk, his aura completely different from when he was at home.
“President Jiang, regarding the development plan for the XX plot, the board of directors has preliminarily approved Plan B, but Director Chen has some objections regarding the additional budget.” The female secretary stood before the desk, reporting at a steady pace, gently placing a document on the corner of the desk.
“Mm.” Jiang Yu’s eyes never left the contract clauses on his screen.
“Send him the cash flow analysis report of the funds saved from the last merger. Tell him he either agrees to the addition, or he bears the losses of the project delay. Let him choose for himself.”
“Yes.”
“Also,” Jiang Yu finally stopped his hands, picked up his coffee, and took a sip, “The person in charge of the worst-performing fund from the last quarter must submit a debriefing report and a rectification plan by today. If I don’t see any improvement by the next regular meeting, replace the entire team.”
“Understood.”
“Additionally, notify the project department to execute Plan B. The budget will follow the final version I annotated. If they have any problems, tell them to come directly to me.”
“Let’s just do it like this,” he finally said, his tone flat.
“Understood, President Jiang.” The secretary crisply acknowledged, picked up the annotated documents, and quickly turned to leave the office.
After the person left, the office door clicked shut softly. Once confirming no one would disturb him, Jiang Yu suddenly and carefully pulled a tablet out from under his desk.
The screen lit up, displaying real-time surveillance footage of various corners of the Jiang residence.
Different angles, different areas, split into several small windows.
His fingertips expertly swiped across the screen, swiftly switching and zooming in, his gaze accurately locking onto one of the screens—the camera in the dining room.
In the footage, Jiang Qing and Jiang Linmu were sitting at the dining table eating breakfast.
Jiang Qing didn’t seem to have much of an appetite, poking at the fried egg on his plate listlessly with his fork. His expression was languid, clearly still immersed in the agony of “sorrow” and “imprisoned inspiration.”
Beside him, Jiang Linmu was munching on bread while cautiously observing his brother’s expression, terrified that the suona would sound again.
Jiang Yu’s gaze closely followed Jiang Qing, watching him frown slightly because he tasted a dish he didn’t like, watching him barely curve the corner of his mouth because Jiang Linmu said something to amuse him…
This President of the Jiang Group, who was decisive and ruthless in the business world, whose few words could determine the flow of hundreds of millions in funds and the careers of countless people, was currently staring at the surveillance footage with utmost focus, even… a bit of obsession.
He reached out his index finger to gently touch Jiang Qing’s face full of “unhappiness” on the screen. The cold glass screen could not isolate the almost paranoid concern and possessiveness in his eyes.
“Only ate this much…” he muttered to himself.
When he saw Jiang Qing finally put down his fork, seemingly preparing to get up and leave the dining room, Jiang Yu immediately switched the screen, pulling up the corridor surveillance. His gaze followed his younger brother’s figure, watching him slowly trudge back to his own room.
It wasn’t until Jiang Qing’s figure disappeared behind the bedroom door that Jiang Yu sighed, his body relaxing slightly.
But he didn’t immediately turn off the tablet. Instead, with a flick of his finger, he expertly brought up the historical recording playback function and dragged the timeline to 6:25 AM today.
In the footage, Jiang Qing “sadly” pulled out his suona, and the next second, the Lifting the Bridal Sedan Chair that sounded like a “funeral procession” shrieked mournfully…
“He looks so good even when playing the suona…”
He unconsciously zoomed in on the footage, freezing on the moment Jiang Qing closed his eyes and poured himself into the playing, his fingertips gently tracing the contour of the face on the screen.
He didn’t just replay the part where Jiang Linmu lunged over to hug Jiang Qing’s thigh and beg; he also specifically found the clips of Jiang Qing trying to fish with goji berries earlier, sneaking into the kitchen in the middle of the night and getting caught by the camera, and even earlier chaotic moments.
Watching his younger brother’s endlessly inventive reactions under various “sanctions,” the corners of Jiang Yu’s mouth slowly curled up.
Perhaps even he himself had never deeply probed into whether this near-total surveillance and control hid something deeper beneath a brother’s responsibility and discipline—a paranoia of not wanting anyone to take away a share of his younger brother’s attention, a desire to firmly confine him within his own field of vision.
It wasn’t until the phone rang again, signaling the imminent start of his next meeting, that Jiang Yu withdrew all superfluous expressions from his face, carefully hid the tablet back in its original place, and closed the cabinet door.
Two seconds later, he took it out again.
Translator’s Note:
- Lifting the Bridal Sedan Chair (擡花轎): A famously festive, upbeat, and celebratory traditional suona piece played at weddings. The fact that Jiang Qing played it like a funeral dirge to reflect his “sorrow” is hilarious.
- Ghost marriage (冥婚): A traditional Chinese custom where two deceased people (or one living and one deceased) are married. Jiang Linmu is joking that the music is so morbid he feels like he’s being married off to a ghost!
- Ahoge (呆毛): A Japanese anime/manga term for a foolish-looking tuft of hair sticking up from the head, often used to show a character is cute, energetic, or airheaded.
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