Chapter 162: Chapter 162: They Will Love Each Other Intensely
Thinking of Cheng An, it seemed like he was still in a coma.
Jiang Yun Chuan mentioned that although he was conscious, his mouth kept spewing nonsense that no one could understand; only the Cheng family knew what nonsense Cheng An was babbling in his sleep. And now, they had declined any visits from relatives and friends.
Jiang Nanshu bought a notebook with a hint of citrus scent, and waited for Ji Ze to get her a jianbing guozi to eat.
The jianbing guozi was piping hot, and Jiang Nanshu relished it.
Jiang Leyi had never tried such street food; having lived with the Jiang family since childhood, she was completely unfamiliar with the taste of such road-side eats.
But seeing Jiang Nanshu enjoying it so much, her appetite was piqued – she hadn’t eaten all day.
When she took the first bite, the delicious fragrance swept through her whole mouth, lighting up her eyes and quickening her pace of eating.
The rain stopped at this moment, with droplets falling rhythmically from the eaves.
Ji Ze, his clothes slightly damp, moved closer, appearing somewhat shy. He looked at Jiang Nanshu with timid, puppy-dog eyes: “Sister…”
It was then that Jiang Nanshu gave him her attention, intuitively feeling that this little brat surely was up to no good.
With slightly parted red lips, she simply said, “Spit it out.”
Ji Ze: “…”
“It’s like this… After National Day, my school is going to have a parents’ meeting,” he said, his fingers curled at his side then relaxing as if to psych himself up. Taking a deep breath he continued, “Since dad has to look after the pigs at the farm and has no time to come to Beijing, and mom… mom isn’t well, I don’t want her to take the trouble of traveling by car, so sister… could you go to the parents’ meeting for me?”
Jiang Nanshu instantly felt the jianbing in her mouth lose its appeal.
She just knew it – this little brat had something big up his sleeve.
“No way,” she flatly refused.
Sure enough, the little brat’s eyes brimmed with tears the next second, looking pitifully at her.
Jiang Nanshu felt a headache brewing.
Ji Ze hung his head, silent.
Jiang Nanshu glanced at Jiang Leyi, who was on the side enjoying the drama. She suggested, “Ask Jiang Leyi to help you.”
Jiang Leyi stepped to the side, distancing herself, powerless to help: “I can’t, I’m not free. After the National Day holiday, my agent has lined up some minor commercial performances for me to sing at.”
Jiang Nanshu: “…”
She walked away: “That’s not my problem. The whole of Beijing knows I’m no longer on speaking terms with my former family; how could I possibly attend a parents’ meeting for them? Impossible!”
Ji Ze watched her receding figure, feeling a sense of loss. He turned to Jiang Leyi, “Sister Yiyi, I knew it. Sister still doesn’t like me. When I was in grade school and mom and dad were too busy with the pig farm to attend, she would always be the one to go to my parents’ meetings, and she’d even buy me snacks afterward.”
Jiang Leyi narrowed her eyes, smiling. “Pester her about it, and maybe she’ll soften up and agree.”
“Ah?” Ji Ze was doubtful: “She’ll hate me for it, I can’t.”
“Tsk,” Jiang Leyi reached out and ruffled his hair, applying Jiang Nanshu’s words to him: “Why are you so honest? Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Your sister is swayed by persistence, not pressure. Work on her for a few days, and she’ll agree. If you really want to mend ties with her, now’s your chance. And if she still refuses…”
Jiang Leyi clenched her teeth: “I’ll cancel my commercial performances and go to the parents’ meeting for you, okay?”
Ji Ze didn’t want to trouble Jiang Leyi, but still nodded: “Mhm, I’ll try.”
Jiang Nanshu continued eating all the way to the school gates before tossing the wrapper in the trash can.
She was thinking about the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration the day after tomorrow. Director Wen would surely be invited to watch the performance, and that was her chance.
Time slowly ticked by over three days. Lu Qingyan wasn’t around, and Su Ran lost interest in continuing to pretend at school. She had accepted a small endorsement which somewhat boosted her fame.
But all this notoriety came from the top-tier Movie Emperor, Song Shizhao.
Just the official announcement of the two starring in the same drama was enough to garner such a massive response.
And what was even more astonishing was that Song Shizhao had actually taken Su Ran, a newcomer, under his wing.
The next day, they officially released the final makeup photos, which firmly established that Su Ran was the lead actress of the show, while Song Shi Zhao’s screen time was even less than Su Ran’s—it was plain to see he was lowering himself just to boost her.
The president of Jing University then plastered a massive poster of Su Ran in a prominent spot on campus, cheering her on, making it feel like a festival within the school.
With a glance upward, Jiang Nanshu could see the official photos of the two main characters from “Luanying,” her gaze briefly sweeping past the handsome face of Song Shi Zhao.
She remembered that in the original book, the male lead wasn’t him!
She had no idea why he would downgrade himself to help Su Ran.
The most ridiculous part was that Song Shi Zhao, was their cousin!
Mrs. Jiang was his biological aunt.
This relationship was known only to the two families—none of Song Shi Zhao’s fans knew he came from the wealthy Song Family.
Just like Jiang Zhouye and Jiang Leyi, who, despite being in the entertainment industry, kept their identities under wraps and climbed up the ladder through their own efforts.
Retracting her gaze, Jiang Nanshu could feel the scrutinizing stares around her as she walked on the campus field. The once-quiet atmosphere in the school had been reignited with enthusiasm, all because of the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala happening tonight.
Su Ran was participating, and so was Jiang Nanshu. She guessed everyone was probably waiting to see her embarrass herself.
Hu Ying, knowing better, no longer dared to come and throw sarcastic remarks her way, likely still shaken by their last encounter—she would walk a wide berth around Jiang Nanshu these days and didn’t even ask how her gala performance preparations were going.
Chen Qian, due to the incident where Huang Ruanting fell on her and dislocated her bone again, had to check back into the hospital for treatment.
“Talk about blind luck, how did Song Shi Zhao even end up shepherding Su Ran? This really is the most explosive thing of the year,” Jiang Yunchuan’s muttering reached her ears.
Jiang Nanshu turned to look at him and saw his brows furrowed in confusion as he stared at the huge promotional poster, somewhat speechless, “It’s only the president who treasures Su Ran like some gem. I’ve come to see her true colors now. She’s been sneakily asking around to see if Brother Yan has returned to the country. If she weren’t so busy, she’d probably want to chase after him to ‘accidentally’ run into him.”
Jiang Nanshu: “…”
[Don’t worry, that’s normal. At first the woman chases the man, then the man chases the woman. It’s a classic plot with misunderstandings everywhere, and they’ll end up in a dramatic, passionate love story.]
Jiang Yunchuan: “…”
Do they really have to play it like this?
But considering how Lu Qingyan appeared to feel… he didn’t see Su Ran having the same explosive affect on him, as Jiang Nanshu claimed.
And Jiang Nanshu, gritting her teeth and feigning anger, declared: “Dammit, she’s already given up on clearing the misunderstandings and still wants to fight me for him. I’ll make sure she regrets ever living in this world!”
[Hey, that gives me another excuse to torment her, how fantastic.]
Jiang Yunchuan: “…”
Does she really need to cast herself in such a villainous light?
But he didn’t dare make a peep, afraid she might shift her target…
So he coughed lightly, “Then don’t be too overt in your mistreatment of her…”
Jiang Nanshu: “?”
She widened her eyes in disbelief, “Oh great, having Sister Yueyue isn’t enough for you, now you’re also eyeing Su Ran? How could you do this.”
Jiang Yunchuan’s face flushed red with irritation, “I gave Lin Yueyue three hundred thousand yuan to break up with me so she’d stop bothering me. Besides, I barely know Su Ran, you can’t just pin things on me like this.”
[How could you not be close with Su Ran? Now it’s Song Shi Zhao, and next it will be our eldest brother.]
He looked at Song Shi Zhao’s face with a certain revulsion, “Disgusting, he’ll take any role thrown his way. Isn’t he afraid to tarnish his reputation, huh.”
Jiang Nanshu slightly raised her eyebrows.
Although the Song Family was her maternal family, it was strange that the Jiang Family members were all so indifferent towards the Song Family, visiting only during festivals to see Mrs. Jiang and having little communication otherwise.
Except for her original self—that is, she’d have given anything to establish good relations with all the elites in the Beijing Circle, including her maternal family who similarly despised her.
“Fifth Brother, I won’t allow you to speak ill of Cousin! I’m going to rewatch the drama he acts in a hundred times!”
[Rest assured, once the Jiang Family is gone, the Song Family, who stepped on the Jiang Family to gain status, won’t end up with a good fate either.]