Stop joking with me.

His candid words actually left Jiang Mian slightly stunned, and she shook her head.

Wen Jinhuai liked her? How could that possibly be? The two of them hadn't even met that many times, and besides, what was there about her worth liking?

Shaking off the idle thoughts in her mind, Jiang Mian raised her eyes to see him looking at her with a half-smile.

Subconsciously, she frowned as fragments of memory regarding Wen Jinhuai flashed through her mind.

Whenever he faced her, he always seemed gentle, completely lacking the natural oppressiveness that came with being in a position of authority.

The last time she drove him back to the Qingjiang Rose Garden, he had slumped on the sofa, his long legs stretched out in front of him, giving him the inexplicable aura of a male protagonist stepping right out of a manga.

"President Wen, please don't make jokes at my expense." She laughed ruefully, feeling that her imagination really knew no bounds.

He did not answer her remark, instead asking once more, "Miss Jiang can give this matter some serious thought. I'll wait for your reply, there's no rush."

"You have three days. Once you've made up your mind, you can come to the Wen Corporation headquarters to find me."

Lowering his head, he raised a hand to adjust his cuff, then smiled gently at her and began to walk toward the exit.

"The banquet is about to begin. Miss Jiang, let's go down together."

"Alright." Jiang Mian acknowledged, and seeing that he had slowed his pace, she immediately followed.

This man Wen Jinhuai was truly different from the wealthy young heirs Jiang Mian had known in the past; he would never implicitly look down on you just because your status was lower than his.

On the contrary, he would base his actions on the other person's current situation, words, and behavior, never giving offense.

This was probably why Jiang Mian felt so little pressure when staying with Wen Jinhuai.

In fact, being with him was far more comfortable than facing Jiang Zhixuan and Jiang Zhouyi.

Emerging from the room, the two of them had initially been walking one behind the other. When they reached the stairs, however, Wen Jinhuai paused slightly, stepped down one stair, turned sideways, and extended a hand toward her.

Jiang Mian was slightly startled: "President Wen?"

"These high heels aren't very convenient. Let me help you," he said, lowering his gaze to indicate his hand.

The high heels she wore today were indeed quite tall; having stood in them for so long, the calves of her legs were aching all over.

Since he had spoken up, it wouldn't do for her to refuse, especially since turning the corner here would lead straight to a banquet hall full of people.

"Thank you." She whispered her gratitude before resting her right hand upon his palm, holding up the hem of her dress slightly with her left, and stepping down the carpeted stairs one step at a time.

Rounding the corner, Jiang Zhimu was still leaning against the railing and looking down.

Shen Xietiao was accompanying Elder Wen as he moved around the room, handling things with complete ease.

Clearly, the number of times Shen Xietiao had seen Elder Wen over the years could be counted on one hand, yet among all the close family friends, Elder Wen simply favored her the most.

Sighing, he turned around just in time to see Wen Jinhuai supporting Jiang Mian as they walked down.

His eyes widened, and he blinked hard several times, thinking his vision must be playing tricks on him. Since when had Wen Jinhuai so proactively helped someone else down the stairs?

At banquets in earlier years, didn't this guy even refuse to bring a female companion?

Besides, looking at the scene, Jiang Mian seemed to belong to the category of someone who had been forced to accept?

He might not understand Jiang Mian's character, but he certainly understood Wen Jinhuai's! On the surface, he looked cultivated and refined, but deep down, he actively avoided women with lower intelligence than his own.

To put it nicely, the man had an absolute sense of boundaries when it came to women; to put it bluntly, he simply despised stupidity.

In fact, this applied to more than just women.

Otherwise, Wen Yan wouldn't have been half-abandoned at school to fend for himself after entering junior high—wasn't it all because he disliked that less-than-bright younger brother of his?

If anyone else overheard this thought, they would probably assume it was a joke. No matter how you looked at it, Wen Yan, who had been admitted to Jingjiang University, didn't look like someone with low intelligence.

"Brother Huai, has Miss Jiang become your companion?" Jiang Zhimu reached up to scratch his head, a teasing tone in his voice.

Jiang Mian subconsciously wanted to withdraw her hand, but Wen Jinhuai's grip tightened slightly instead.

Failing to pull it back in time, she glanced sideways at him to see his expression entirely unchanged, his lowered gaze fixed on Jiang Zhimu: "Instead of wasting energy making jokes, you'd better think about the arranged marriage partner Elder Jiang is trying to set you up with."

"Uh, Brother Huai, you don't have to be so ruthless."

At the mention of this, Jiang Zhimu genuinely felt a headache coming on—and more than just a slight one at that.

His father felt that he was getting on in years and still not dating, so he had started bustling around trying to introduce him to a girlfriend. He had initially refused, only for the old patriarch to find out about it.

Elder Jiang was a man of his word and immediately found him a young woman from a family of equal social standing.

The girl had been studying abroad quite happily when a single word from her family hauled her right back, demanding that she spend time getting to know Jiang Zhimu.

After putting their heads together, the two of them realized neither had any intention of dating or marrying, so they decided to each deal with their respective families in their own way.

Thus, the moment the girl returned home, she seized a free moment, bought a plane ticket, and fled abroad.

Her family couldn't find her anywhere near her school, so with no other choice, they had to drop the matter for the time being.

However, Jiang Zhimu couldn't just brush it off so easily; the old man was dead set on having the two of them get along properly, even ordering Jiang Zhimu to contact the young lady himself.

With all his career commitments based domestically, he couldn't just up and leave, so he could only avoid going home every single day.

Word had it that after the girl escaped, she simply used the situation to take a long leave of absence from her advisor and immediately began traveling everywhere.

Her social media moments were set to public, and she had already visited four or five different places.

Every update was only posted with a location tag right as she was about to leave that spot, so by the time anyone inquired about it, she was long gone.

Seeing this bitter expression on his face for the very first time, Jiang Mian found it quite novel and amusing.

Downstairs, everyone had been focusing their attention on Elder Wen until the old man suddenly looked up to see the three people standing halfway down the staircase, drawing every gaze toward them.

By the time Jiang Mian realized it, it was already too late.

Consequently, the sight of Wen Jinhuai holding her hand was laid bare for everyone to see.

Jiang Zhouyi's brow knitted tightly in a deep frown.

No wonder he hadn't seen Jiang Mian earlier when Elder Wen came down; it turned out she had been coming down with Wen Jinhuai all along. But what on earth was the relationship between these two?

It seemed that Wen Jinhuai treated Jiang Mian rather specially.

Taking the opportunity, Jiang Zhixuan tugged at Wen Yan's sleeve, feeling a mild unease in her heart: "A-Yan, does Sister have such a good relationship with your eldest brother?"

It would have been fine if she hadn't asked, but the question stirred a strange, unsettling feeling deep within Wen Yan's chest.

Why did these two people—who clearly didn't know each other and had no major connection—look exceptionally familiar with one another now, and on surprisingly good terms at that?

From childhood to the present, he had never seen Wen Jinhuai treat any young woman with such preferential courtesy.

He still remembered how an aristocratic young lady who had studied abroad for several years had once assumed she was good enough for Wen Jinhuai, only to be tossed out by security guards for trying to grab at his clothes.

Ever since then, that woman's name had never surfaced in the capital again, and her family had strictly forbidden her from ever returning.