Chapter 57 Use All Your Methods

Xiao Li drove the car back to the studio last night, so Jiang Mian decided to stop by the studio first after getting in touch with her.

It was the weekend, and the studio was empty. She picked up a few things, and the car keys had been left by Xiao Li right on her desk.

After pondering for a moment, she took all the hand-drawn sketches from yesterday and placed them in the car, tossing them casually onto the passenger seat. She planned to redraw them once she got back to see if she could come up with something usable.

Xiao Li had also been quite exhausted these past few days, running around busily to establish contact with new corporate clients.

Jiang Mian parked her car in a space near the residential complex, got out, and walked towards the neighborhood carrying her bag.

The security guard knew her situation; although vehicles weren't allowed inside, Jiang Mian could still get in by scanning her face.

She didn't use an umbrella, letting the sunlight beat straight down onto her, making her squint her eyes against the glare.

Standing before the gates of the villa, she felt a myriad of mixed emotions looking at the place where she had grown up.

Pressing the doorbell, she stood quietly outside and waited.

The person who opened the door was Jiang Zhixuan, wearing a pair of white slippers. When she saw Jiang Mian, her expression subconsciously darkened before she finally lifted her gaze.

"Oh, it's elder sister. Come on in."

She spoke very casually, turned around with a twist of her body, and let out a faint, disdainful scoff as she walked straight towards the sofa, where a television series seemed to be playing.

Come to think of it, those two father and daughter truly had no shame. Everything here was once used by her and her parents.

If they had any real ability, they would have completely renovated this villa; otherwise, they shouldn't put on such a pretentious act in front of her.

How they managed to reach their current status was something every single one of them knew all too well.

They shouldn't act so intensely that they actually started believing they had been wealthy aristocrats all along.

Jiang Mian rolled her eyes inwardly, ignoring Jiang Zhixuan's behavior, and stepped inside. Glancing around, she didn't see Jiang Zhouyi.

"Where is Second Uncle?" she asked, turning her head toward Jiang Zhixuan, who was sitting on the sofa.

Jiang Zhixuan didn't answer, casually changing TV channels with a slight arch of her brow.

Before Jiang Mian could ask a second time, a voice came from the second floor: "Jiang Mian."

Jiang Zhouyi was standing by the top of the stairs, looking down at her from above with a scrutinizing gaze in his eyes.

Perhaps he was also wondering why a fallen Jiang Mian could possibly win the favor of Wen Jinhuai.

He had even gone to great lengths to discover recently that Jiang Mian had actually sold several design drafts to Jiang Zhimu for a quite substantial price.

His hands rested on the staircase railing before he turned and walked toward the hallway: "Come up to the study."

It was still that arrogant, condescending posture, but Jiang Mian didn't take it to heart as she simply lifted her foot and headed upstairs.

As she climbed the stairs, Jiang Zhixuan turned her head to glance at her. That look was hard to describe, but overall it carried a distinct sense of reluctance and resentment.

Entering the study, Jiang Mian shut the door behind her and saw that Jiang Zhouyi was already seated behind the computer desk.

"Second Uncle, where is the thing you promised me?"

"Whatever was promised to you will naturally be given to you. I have no interest in the belongings of a deceased person." He raised a finger to point at a stack of boxes piled in the corner of the desk.

Judging by the look of them, they contained the very same items left behind by Jiang Mian's mother that Jiang Zhixuan had discovered last time.

Her gaze shifted away from the boxes and landed on Jiang Zhouyi: "Since you have no interest, you shouldn't be interested in the Jiang Corporation either."

After all, the Jiang Corporation was also her parents' inheritance, wasn't it?

Jiang Zhouyi was choked by those words for a moment, unable to speak.

However, he quickly patted his chest to smooth his breath and calm himself down: "Jiang Mian, there's no need to use such words to try and anger me. You won't succeed; the one who refuses to reconcile is you, not me."

That's right, what he said was true—the one who couldn't let go was indeed her.

"State your conditions. Let's hear them."

How could an old fox like Jiang Zhouyi willingly return those things to her out of the goodness of his heart?

The moment she stepped inside, she had guessed that this fellow must be plotting some malicious scheme again.

Sure enough, as soon as Jiang Mian's voice faded, Jiang Zhouyi wore a slightly smug smile: "I can certainly return the items to you, but you can't just take them for nothing. You need to show some sincerity, don't you?"

"How about this? Exchange them for half of the shares currently in your hands, and I'll give the things back to you."

As expected.

Jiang Mian curled her lips into a cold smile. Sometimes she genuinely couldn't fathom how a person could be so utterly shameless.

"My home, my possessions—you occupied them, and you ought to return them unconditionally. Yet you're trying to bargain with me? Jiang Zhouyi, what gives you the right?"

"On the grounds that I am currently sitting in this position, that people call me President Jiang, and that I am Wen Yan's father-in-law!"

He furrowed his brows, smiling with immense satisfaction and delight like a petty villain, slamming his palm onto the desk to make a sharp sound.

Yet Jiang Mian merely watched him coldly, completely unfazed.

"President Jiang? You think you're worthy?"

"And what on earth is Wen Yan? Just a fool who can't even step foot into the Wen Group headquarters."

Every single word she uttered was slow, yet they fell heavily to the ground.

A young master from a branch family, managing a few subsidiary companies spun off from the Wen Group and unable to even enter the headquarters—what kind of supreme glory could he possibly boast of?

Yes, she admitted that to ordinary people Wen Yan seemed formidable, but in this circle, who didn't possess genuine talent and capability?

"Jiang Zhouyi, don't place yourself on too high a pedestal, or you'll fall to your death." She grinned broadly, feeling for the first time that she could make such a malicious remark with ease.

Their eyes locked, neither willing to yield, each desperately trying to crush the other through sheer presence.

After a long while, Jiang Zhouyi relented, leaning back against his chair and trying his best to calm himself down.

"Jiang Mian, you might look down on Wen Yan right now, but can you even reach his level? Huh?"

Indeed, she currently lacked a powerful backer. Even though she had become the head of the XG domestic headquarters, Xu Mu was far away overseas, and if anything truly happened, she would still have to handle it all by herself.

However, it didn't matter. She knew all too well how she needed to make her choices now.

"Isn't Second Uncle just trying to use my belongings to pave the way for a marriage alliance and get connected with the Wen family?"

"Be my guest. Let's see if you actually have what it takes."

With that, she stepped forward, directly opened the box at the corner of the table, confirmed that her belongings were inside, scooped them up in her arms, and turned to leave.

Jiang Zhouyi didn't stoop so low as to physically wrestle the things away from her. Instead, he just watched coldly: "Jiang Mian, walking away like this without giving me what you promised doesn't sound like your usual style."

"What style? I'm just learning my style from Second Uncle now."

"If you want my shares, use whatever despicable tactics you have, but you better pray I don't rise up to strike back."

Otherwise, I will show no mercy whatsoever.

Her gaze was razor-sharp, though unfortunately Jiang Zhouyi couldn't see it. She pushed open the study door and hurried downstairs.

Jiang Zhixuan turned her head, silently watching her leave with the boxes, without uttering a single word.

"Dad, it's completely useless talking so much with her," she said, turning her gaze back to the man standing on the second floor.