Chapter 2: I'm Not Interested Either

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“Mr. Wen, I heard from Xiaoyan that you have some knowledge of antiques and calligraphy. Coincidentally, I acquired a piece last month. If you don’t mind, please, come have a look.”

Seeing Wen Jinhai remain noncommittal, Jiangzhou Yi quickly changed the subject with a smile and gently invited Wen Jinhai into the study.

After all, this was a business alliance marriage; some things were better left unsaid in the presence of an ‘outsider,’ and Jiang Mian was precisely that outsider.

For Wen Jinhai, today was undoubtedly about discussing marriage with Wen Yan, so he did not hesitate. Following the host’s lead, he strode toward the study with long legs.

Jiang Mian glanced at their retreating figures.

The current situation of the Jiang family was far from ideal. If Wen Jinhai wished, with his capabilities, it might even be possible for him to take over the Jiang family entirely.

At that moment, her phone rang. She glanced at it and turned it off without a word.

“I have other matters to attend to; I’m leaving now.”

She had no desire to cast so much as a glance at Jiang Zhixuan and Wen Yan.

But Jiang Zhixuan did not feel the same way.

“Sister, with such a big family matter today, what else could be more important? Just stay home, won’t you?”

Her hand was still linked around Wen Yan’s arm, her chin raised slightly in a victorious pose.

Jiang Mian frowned, merely shooting a sharp look before heading toward the door.

The other person seemed anxious, quickly releasing Wen Yan’s arm and running after her.

Blocking the entrance, Jiang Mian’s expression darkened further.

“Sister, are you still angry with me?”

“If you’re unhappy, you can hit me or scold me—I won’t complain!”

As she spoke, Jiang Zhixuan even raised her hand as if to swear an oath.

Jiang Mian opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by Wen Yan’s voice approaching from afar.

“Xuanxuan!”

“My engagement to you was voluntary. You don’t need to blame yourself over this!”

Wen Yan pulled Jiang Zhixuan’s hand down, his eyes full of affection.

She raised her gaze to see them looking at each other tenderly, clearly not treating her as an outsider.

“Could you please step aside?”

There was never much romantic feeling between Wen Yan and Jiang Mian. Though she was angry about the engagement being transferred to someone else, she felt no real regret.

Moreover, she had her own matters to handle and no time to play their love games.

Wen Yan turned his head and finally seemed to remember she was there.

“Jiang Mian, I liked Xuanxuan first.”

“If you have grievances, I can compensate you, but don’t take it out on Xuanxuan.”

Though his words sounded righteous, they only deepened the frown on Jiang Mian’s brow.

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When had she ever taken it out on Jiang Zhixuan? Wasn’t it Jiang Zhixuan who kept prancing in front of her, deliberately saying hurtful things?

“Sorry, I’m very busy. Can you please move?”

It had been a call from her studio assistant; the order they had agreed upon earlier had hit a snag that morning, and she had promised to go resolve it.

Yet Wen Yan frowned. “What could you possibly be busy with? That studio only takes a few orders. I came to the Jiang family to discuss the engagement today, and you insist on sulking like this?”

She furrowed her brow and looked up at Wen Yan.

She used to think that even if she had no feelings for Wen Yan, having known him since childhood meant they understood each other somewhat.

But now, looking at the man before her, she only felt a profound unfamiliarity.

The studio was founded by Jiang Mian after graduation, and all the effort invested was not worth recounting.

Now that it was finally stabilizing, the turmoil within the Jiang family was affecting the studio. How could she explain this to her employees?

Wen Yan said the studio had few orders, which was true.

After all, from the beginning, her clientele was the upper echelons of the capital; ordinary people wouldn’t come to her for custom work.

Suppressing her frustration, she spoke slowly, “Wen Yan, I’m not the one engaged to you, nor am I interested in getting involved.”

“Please, let me through. I need to leave.”

Her thumb unconsciously pressed against her finger joint, palm slick with sweat.

“Sister, what A-Yan said isn’t wrong. Am I really no better than your work?”

Jiang Zhixuan stammered, her eyes gradually drooping, misting with tears.

Her almost-crying expression was pitiful indeed.

Wen Yan couldn’t bear to see her cry and immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

“Xuanxuan, don’t cry. This isn’t your fault.”

If it wasn’t Jiang Zhixuan’s fault, then whose was it?

Jiang Mian had utterly lost patience. She pushed the two aside and strode forward.

Just as she pulled the door open, Jiang Zhixuan’s voice came again.

“Sister, if you leave, Father will be angry again. Please don’t go.”

The girl’s voice quivered with a hint of tears, soft and weak.

If Jiang Mian didn’t know her nature, she might have been deceived by this facade.

She curled her lips in a cold sneer and resolutely stepped out.

“Tell Second Uncle that I have absolutely no interest in your engagement.”

Only after walking far away, when no sound came from behind, did Jiang Mian slow her pace.

When she returned yesterday, she realized her car couldn’t enter the community because Jiangzhou Yi had deleted her license plate from the system to prevent her from coming and going at will.

She had no choice but to park outside the community.

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But this area was a villa district with a large expanse of land.

Wearing high heels, her calves now ached with tightness.

Thinking of the problem with the studio’s order, she had no mood to dwell on this, so she quickened her pace.

“A parking ticket?”

She rubbed her brow. How had she never known this was considered illegal parking?

Peeling off the ticket, Jiang Mian opened the backseat, took off her heels, and changed into a pair of flats she had brought along.

As she changed shoes, her phone vibrated again.

She looked down and quickly typed a reply.

“Half an hour. Wait for me.”

Not long after Jiang Mian drove away, a black car exited the villa district. Inside sat Wen Jinhai, the same man who had just appeared at the Jiang residence.

Wen Yan spoke cautiously now, “Big brother, can we really not reconsider?”

He studied Wen Jinhai beside him. Since getting in the car, Wen Jinhai had closed his eyes to rest, and it was unclear if he had even heard the words.

He bit his lip and took a deep breath, but when he looked up, he met Wen Jinhai’s calm, unreadable eyes.

His breath caught, and Wen Yan took a step back.

“Big brother.”

“I heard that the previous head of the Jiang family wasn’t Jiangzhou Yi.”

His words fell lightly, his gaze slowly drifting away, fingers tapping gently on his knee.

Though the temperature in the car was not high, Wen Yan felt a sweat break out on his forehead.

“Mm, the former head passed away, and his younger brother took over.”

After speaking, he felt the statement was somewhat imprecise, but hearing Wen Jinhai’s approving ‘Mm,’ Wen Yan understood the topic was closed.

He exhaled in relief, but his mind suddenly returned to the image of Jiang Mian.

If she weren’t so reserved and could be as lively as Jiang Zhixuan, perhaps he would have liked her instead from the start.

Meanwhile, Jiang Mian had just arrived at a café and saw her assistant facing a middle-aged man with a bitter expression.

She sighed, composed herself slightly, and approached with a faint smile.

“Mr. Zhou, sorry I’m a bit late.”

The man, who was about to stand, saw her and smiled, sitting back down.

“Miss Jiang, I have already shown you a lot of courtesy.”