Chapter 19

Wen Ling picked up her phone and glanced; it was Zhao Xingtang, the first time Zhao Xingtang had messaged her since they added each other as friends.

Wen Ling lounged on the sofa, and after reading Zhao Xingtang's message she lightly raised her eyebrows.

【I guess you'll go to the Flowing Light Banquet.】

Zhao Xingtang guessed that Wen Ling wouldn't be surprised; she tapped a few times on the screen and replied: 【How did you guess?】

Zhao Xingtang instantly replied: 【Because Ruan MiaoMiao will go, I think you won't pass up such a good opportunity.】

【Most of the attendees at this banquet are people from the entertainment industry; those young masters and misses look down on it, so only fringe figures can attend, which is perfect for you to settle a small score.】

Wen Ling covered her mouth and chuckled for a while before replying: 【I think so too.】

Zhao Xingtang replied: 【See you at the banquet.】

Wen Ling swung her legs, smiling with curved brows and eyes, her mood shifting as quickly as flipping pages.

The Wu Family's spoiled young master was beaten on Jiang Jibai's turf until he was almost crippled, and the incident spread throughout Sijiucheng in an uproar; Madame Wu stayed by her son's side in the hospital, crying for three days until her eyes were swollen, and only then did the young master wake up.

He forgot about being hit again by Zhou Yinhe later, only remembering the woman in front and her bodyguard.

Wu Xuan struggled to move his hand tightly wrapped in bandages, grabbed his mother's hand, and gritted his teeth: 'Mom, I will definitely make that cheap woman pay the price.'

Madame Wu wiped her tears, looked at her husband standing aside with a grim face, silent—the head of the Wu Family, Wu Feng—and choked: 'Husband, our son was beaten like this on the Jiang Family's turf; the bar won't give us the surveillance, and now we can't find that cheap woman who hit him. Do we really have to endure this and not seek justice from the Jiang Family?'

Wu Feng clenched his fists, glanced at his immobile son, stormed out of the ward, and headed straight for the Jiang Family.

Coincidentally, Zhou Yinhe was at the Jiang Family's place then, trying to avoid his older brother who grew more nagging with age.

The spring temperature was just right, the Jiang Family manor's garden was kept immaculately by the gardener, and the three sat in the pavilion drinking tea, which was rather enjoyable.

"Xiao Wu, your eldest brother just came back—why aren't you at home keeping him company instead of coming out?" Madame Jiang sat opposite Zhou Yinhe, smiling.

Zhou Yinhe feigned a troubled sigh and complained: 'My brother came back half a day ago and has been scolding me for half a day; I can't stand it. Auntie, you won't find me annoying, will you?'

Madame Jiang laughed at his teasing: 'Of course not, Auntie likes you the most.' After saying that, she switched tone, scolding Jiang Jibai: 'What are you standing there for? Go pour tea for me and Xiao Wu.'

Jiang Jibai rolled his eyes, got up to pour tea for the two, and said sarcastically: 'Enjoy your drink.'

Zhou Yinhe actually picked up his tea, took a sip, and said solemnly: 'Thank you, Brother Jiang; the tea you poured tastes better than anyone else's.'

Jiang Jibai laughed outright at being angered by him, while his own mother covered her mouth and laughed, as if her son being retorted was some huge joke.

When the steward approached, Madame Jiang's cheeks were sore from laughing at the banter between Zhou Yinhe and Jiang Jibai; she was gently rubbing her cheeks when he first glanced at her, then respectfully told Jiang Jibai: 'Young Master, the head of the Wu Family has come to visit.'

Jiang Jibai curled his lips, glanced at Zhou Yinhe who seemed oblivious, and told the steward: 'Leave him be; let someone attend to him properly.'

Madame Jiang was not merely a noble lady; she naturally knew that the Wu Family's young master, Wu Xuan, had been beaten into the hospital by a bar's bodyguard on Jiang Jibai's turf after trying to force a pretty female customer. She snorted coldly: 'That Wu Family brat is nothing but a beast; not killing him counts as his luck. If it were me, I'd make him lie in a hospital bed for life, never to leave.'

Jiang Jibai helplessly said: 'Mom, you're too gangster.'

Upon hearing this, Madame Jiang placed her well-maintained hand lightly by her mouth; the diamond ring, the size of a pigeon's egg, glittered in the sunlight streaming into the pavilion, and she widened her eyes in astonishment: 'Really? Really?'

'Yes.' Jiang Jibai drew out the word.

Zhou Yinhe interjected, coaxing: 'No way, Auntie is just as genuine as my mother.'

Zhou Yinhe and Jiang Jibai get along well—not only did they grow up together in the same courtyard as children, but also because their mothers' personalities clicked, they spend every day together gossiping and shopping.

Madame Jiang was coaxed into a beaming smile by his words, praising: 'Still, Xiao Wu knows how to speak.' She gave Jiang Jibai a sideways glance, increasingly disdainful: 'Unlike Jiang Jibai, who's had a sharp tongue since childhood.'

"???" Jiang Jibai looked utterly confused, really wanting to ask his mother if she had mistaken the person—clearly it's Zhou Yinhe who's sharp-tongued!

Watching his mother being coaxed into a beaming auntie-like smile by Zhou Yinhe, Jiang Jibai truly wanted to sew Zhou Yinhe's mouth shut.

Time was about up; Jiang Jibai stood and said: 'Mom, let me and Xiao Wu go together; you'd better stay, lest you get even angrier.'

Madame Jiang also couldn't be bothered to look at Wu Feng's ugly face, and waved her hand gracefully.

As the two walked out of the pavilion and along the garden path, Jiang Jibai said: 'Don't keep coming to my place from now on.'

Zhou Yinhe lazily lifted his eyelids, glanced at Jiang Jibai, and drawled: 'What for?'

'Look at what you've done to coax my mom—if you keep this up, she might not even want to acknowledge me as her son.'

Upon hearing that, Zhou Yinhe recalled something and said calmly: 'There's something you probably don't know.'

Jiang Jibai frowned, tried to recall, but really couldn't think of what it was.

'Auntie once wanted to adopt me as her godson; if my mother hadn't objected, she might truly not have wanted you as her son.'

Upon hearing that, Jiang Jibai felt like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his fur bristling, and he directly jabbed Zhou Yinhe's sore spot: 'How? Have you settled the matter with Wen Ling?'

Zhou Yinhe's mood, which had been uplifted from provoking Jiang Jibai, instantly plummeted; he pursed his lips, unwilling to engage with Jiang Jibai.

Wu Feng had sat in the living room for a long while, going through several rounds of tea before finally seeing the two; he rose, and though displeased, could only force a smile: 'Young Master Jiang, Young Master Zhou.'

Zhou Yinhe didn't want to stand on ceremony with him, simply sat on the sofa with legs crossed, head down looking at his phone, while Jiang Jibai laughed: 'Uncle Wu, why so formal? Please, have a seat.'

Wu Feng wouldn't dare be impolite; speaking of the Zhou Family is one thing, but mentioning the Jiang Family is beyond what he can provoke.

'Young Master Jiang, I'm here this time for my family's good-for-nothing; could you trouble Young Master Jiang to have the bar provide the surveillance so we can investigate the cheap woman who got my son hospitalized?'

Zhou Yinhe lifted his gaze at him; his eyes, deep as a dark pool, were unusually cold and grim, making Wu Feng feel as if the surrounding air had turned icy.

Jiang Jibai merely pretended not to notice the change in those nearby, still smiling: 'Uncle Wu, you should also know that this matter started because of Wu Xuan; you say if I give you the surveillance, you'll go settle scores with them, but then how will my bar's business survive once word gets out?'