Chapter 74#
Trap or Sincerity#
“Why!”
The door to the president’s office was violently pushed open.
Jian Yunchen tore away the secretary’s obstructing hand and walked straight to Jiang Sheng. He leaned his hands on the desk, looking directly at him, with an uncontrollable rage in his eyes.
The secretary followed him with difficulty, about to speak and explain, but was interrupted by Jiang Sheng.
He raised his head and slightly lifted his chin.
The secretary nodded, turned, closed the door, and exited.
As soon as Jian Yunchen started work today, he was informed that his proposal had been finally approved for the project, but the person in charge had been replaced with Jiang Yunhan’s name.
He looked at it several times in disbelief, then immediately turned and went to Jiang Sheng’s office.
“Give me an explanation.”
Jian Yunchen coldly suppressed his voice, the anger in his eyes growing more intense.
“Explanation?” Jiang Sheng asked, “What explanation do you want?”
Jian Yunchen tightened his hands, knuckles turning white. He gritted his teeth and said, “By what right? My proposal was clearly approved this time, so why is it Jiang Yunhan—”
“By what right do you think?”
Jiang Sheng interrupted coldly.
“All the sources of goods needed for this time are in Germany.”
“Do you speak German? If I give it to you, can you get involved? Do you have the ability to negotiate it?”
Jian Yunchen’s fingertips dug tightly into his palms. He gritted his molars desperately, his eyes instantly turning red.
“I can learn—”
“Learn?” Jiang Sheng sneered.
“What do you think is the difference between you and Jiang Yunhan?”
Jian Yunchen’s face was gloomy. He looked at him coldly, without answering.
“The difference between you is definitely not the result of one or two competitions.”
“But a full nineteen years.”
“While you were busy with college entrance exams and working part-time, Xiao Han had already traveled to several countries. He personally visited factories, understood all the processes, knew how to solve problems when they arose, he sat at negotiation tables, knew how to bargain, how to set prices, and what about you?”
“You ask me by what right?”
“Do you really think that just because you are also my son, you can justifiably erase all this?”
“You ask me for fairness. If you were both on the same starting line now, that would be truly unfair to Xiao Han.”
“He’s had a nineteen-year head start on you.”
Jiang Sheng’s calm voice gently echoed in the empty office.
He unhurriedly analyzed the difference between the two, making it crystal clear.
Jian Yunchen’s fists clenched tighter and tighter, his fingertips digging deeply into his palms. He stared intently at Jiang Sheng’s face, trying to find a trace of other emotion on that indifferent face.
His eyes grew redder and redder, intense unwillingness and powerlessness tightly enveloping him. He realized he couldn’t influence any of Jiang Sheng’s decisions; there was no other way but to accept.
And amidst that overwhelming rage, there was also a hint of subtle grievance.
A belly full of questions was heavily swallowed back. His throat felt dry and unbearable. Jian Yunchen took two deep breaths, suppressing the overwhelming anger.
It was meaningless; confronting him now wouldn’t yield any benefit.
He no longer had any leverage to influence Jiang Sheng’s decisions.
It was simply starting over.
What Jian Yunchen least lacked was the courage to try again.
He straightened his body, looking down at Jiang Sheng. The anger in his eyes slowly faded, transforming into another emotion of absolute determination.
If he was destined not to win, then he would find a way to make Jiang Yunhan lose.
“I will prove it to you.”
Jiang Sheng couldn’t help but sneer. What he most disliked was Jian Yunchen’s stubbornness, like thorns that couldn’t be pulled clean.
“Prove to you that you are wrong.”
As the words fell, the sneer on Jiang Sheng’s lips completely froze. Listening to Jian Yunchen’s childish and naive declaration, he found it simply ridiculous.
He raised his chin and looked at Jian Yunchen. The light in the young man’s eyes was ardent and bright. Jiang Sheng’s eyes held a heavy solemnity; he would make Jian Yunchen understand what price he would pay for trying to challenge him.
“Then I’ll be waiting.”
Jiang Sheng lowered his gaze, his tone fading.
“For this period, don’t go to Jian Xin’s side for now.”
Jian Yunchen frowned, questioning, “Why?”
“Your actions are too blatant; you’ve already attracted Qin Zheng’s suspicion.” He said with dissatisfaction, “Qin Zheng is investigating you privately now, didn’t you know?”
Jian Yunchen paused.
It seemed the incident of switching identities on the cruise ship had caused Qin Zheng to suffer a significant, unacknowledged loss, leading to dissatisfaction and thus resuming his private investigation.
He sneered repeatedly, his eyes devoid of warmth. Information about him had been completely concealed since the day Jiang Sheng first knew about him. Now, whatever could be found out would only be what Jiang Sheng was willing to let Qin Zheng know.
“Isn’t this something I should be concerned about? We agreed that I would report to you, and I’d see Jian Xin for half an hour each week. Now that Qin Zheng suspects me, shouldn’t you be the more anxious one?”
Jiang Sheng frowned deeply, his gaze falling heavily upon him.
Jian Yunchen stepped forward, placing his hands on Jiang Sheng’s desk, a provocative smile on his lips.
“You’d better hide Jian Xin well, then.”
Jiang Sheng didn’t reply. He knew Jian Yunchen wasn’t someone who compromised easily.
Without sufficient exchange of benefits, a person like Jian Yunchen would stubbornly hold onto what he had, refusing to let go.
His manner of eating was quite unsightly.
Jian Yunchen looked at the clear contempt in Jiang Sheng’s eyes, and the pleasure in his heart slowly magnified instead.
“Each time before you go, I will tell you the new address.”
This counted as a step back for each of them.
Jian Yunchen could still go, but each time he would need a new address.
His eyes turned cold; his silence implied acceptance.
After a few seconds of silence, Jian Yunchen lowered his eyes and suddenly spoke:
“Let the punishment for Jian Xin end here. From today onwards, treat her when she has an episode.”
Jiang Sheng heard this and couldn’t help but laugh.
“What are you using to bargain with me?”
Jian Yunchen pursed his lips tightly, his jawline taut.
He didn’t know if this decision was right or wrong. Words spoken were like water spilled. This was equivalent to handing his weakness to Jiang Sheng.
Telling him, ‘I still care about her, so you can use her as much as you like.’
Such a deal was indeed not cost-effective.
“Aren’t you tormenting her, retaliating against her, all because of me?”
“My existence makes you uncomfortable.”
“Then take your revenge on me.”
Such a deal was indeed not cost-effective.
But in one’s life, one always has to do some “foolish things” to get through.
Would he regret it?
He wasn’t sure.
Jiang Sheng looked at him and suddenly sneered, “What are you pretending now? Wasn’t it you who personally agreed when I took Jian Xin away?”
“Seeing her suffer a bit, you can’t bear it anymore?”
“Jian Yunchen, stop pretending to be kind.”
“I know exactly what kind of person you are.”
Compared to Jiang Yunhan, some of Jian Yunchen’s traits were actually more similar to Jiang Sheng’s, which is why Jiang Sheng was so certain that Jian Yunchen was his kind of person.
Jian Yunchen didn’t refute Jiang Sheng’s words. He lowered his eyelids, concealing the expression in his eyes.
“You can vent all your dissatisfaction on me. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted to see?”
Jiang Sheng watched him for a while, as if confirming the truthfulness of his words.
Was it a daring test, a trap disguised as a retreat?
Or a moment of sincerity.