Chapter 20#
Daniel?#
The other party was clearly here for Jiang Yicen.
The manager also chuckled and said, “Fourth Young Master, enjoy yourselves.”
It was evident the manager didn’t know that today’s meeting wasn’t with this group.
Before the manager left, he asked, “Has Nan Shuyi arrived?”
The manager was taken aback. “Are you referring to Young Master Nan?”
The manager, moving in these circles, knew about the alliance between the Jiang and Nan families through marriage, but he had no idea which young master of the Jiang family had married Young Master Nan—they certainly wouldn’t be invited to the wedding.
“Sorry, Fourth Young Master, I haven’t seen Young Master Nan today.” Since the Jiang family and Young Master Nan were now in-laws, he could reveal a bit of information. For anyone else, he would have simply said he didn’t know—he tailored his answers to the person.
Jiang Yicen nodded. “Alright, go ahead and attend to your work.”
The manager instinctively bowed and left. Good heavens, how come this Fourth Young Master Jiang felt different from before? Last time he came, he seemed like a clueless ABC; this time, he carried himself like a true heir of a distinguished family, inspiring an unconscious sense of obedience and a willingness to serve.
Jiang Yicen glanced at his phone. Nan Shuyi hadn’t sent him a message; he was probably still on his way to the club.
He looked up at the white-haired young man approaching him and became even more certain that these people were “Jiang Yicen’s” friends. He had also seen the English name “Daniel” in “Jiang Yicen’s” textbooks, so he could confirm the person was calling him.
But he wasn’t the real Jiang Yicen, so he didn’t react much. He didn’t recognize these faces at all and had no desire to get to know them—he felt utterly disinterested.
Jiang Yicen hadn’t expected that after changing his phone number, “Jiang Yicen’s” former friends would still recognize him; he just hadn’t anticipated it happening so soon.
Before the wedding, Jiang Yiting had asked him for a list of invitees, but he didn’t know any of “Jiang Yicen’s” friends, so he didn’t invite a single one. Now, he supposed they wouldn’t demand an explanation from him, would they? He hoped not.
From the other person’s tone, it was clear that this person was fairly close to “Jiang Yicen”—possibly a good friend from home, or someone he met while studying abroad. Since learning to use his phone, he had gone through the chat records on “Jiang Yicen’s” phone. After returning to China, two people had relatively frequent contact with him: one named Wei Mingzheng and the other named Alan.
Wei Mingzheng had only chatted with him twice since his return, both times when “Jiang Yicen” had initiated invitations to dinner, but Wei Mingzheng had declined. This Wei Mingzheng hadn’t shown up yet.
Alan was easier to identify. His social media feed had his selfies, including his profile picture, which was also him—though in the profile pic he wore sunglasses that obscured his face. Jiang Yicen had seen a photo in his feed that showed his face clearly, with that distinctive white hair being a key characteristic.
From the chat records between Alan and “Jiang Yicen,” Alan mostly invited him to parties—essentially just eating, drinking, and having fun, nothing else.
During Jiang Yicen’s wedding, Alan wasn’t in China; he was abroad taking a group of men and women surfing, diving, and the like. In short, his lifestyle was extremely extravagant. Jiang Yicen felt that “Jiang Yicen” and Alan weren’t true confidants—their “friendship” was purely about pleasure, with no heart-to-heart conversations. The friend who truly connected with “Jiang Yicen” seemed to still be studying abroad, and their chats had only decreased after his return. The original conversations were still there, but many parts were hard for him to understand—filled with specialized terms, a mix of Chinese and English, and some unfamiliar complex English words. It wasn’t the pretentious kind of chat where someone tries to show off; it felt more like a coded language.
“Jiang Yicen’s” years abroad seemed far from simple. Jiang Yicen dared not casually interact with his friends, lest he stir up unnecessary trouble.
Alan had no idea that the Jiang Yicen before him wasn’t the Daniel he knew. He laughed and stepped forward, “Hey, Daniel, why didn’t you come with me to Southeast Asia? The islands there are so much fun, and the seafood is great. You really missed out this time.”
As he spoke, he reached out to put his hand on Jiang Yicen’s shoulder. Jiang Yicen blocked his arm. “Sorry, I’m not comfortable with physical contact.”
Alan: “OK, OK, I know you have a bit of a cleanliness thing. I haven’t been able to reach you lately—why haven’t you replied to my WeChat messages?”
Jiang Yicen knew that Alan was just one of “Jiang Yicen’s” fair-weather friends from abroad. He figured Alan was just asking casually, so he didn’t take it seriously.
Looking at Alan’s face, it didn’t look good—dark eye circles despite his youth, a sallow complexion, and a thin frame. The oversized sporty jacket and baggy jeans made him look like a kid wearing adult clothes.
Jiang Yicen had seen many playboy heirs who indulged in nightly revelry, only to eventually squander their family fortunes, go bankrupt, and end up on the streets.
He rarely associated with such people. If work required it, their interactions were kept brief and limited.
“You have so many friends; you don’t lack one like me. I lost my old phone and changed my number. I can’t remember the password for my old WeChat account, so I can’t log in.”
Whether Alan was satisfied with that explanation or not, Jiang Yicen didn’t care. He just needed an excuse to avoid further contact and give the other party a graceful way out.
Alan was surprisingly considerate. “Forgetting a WeChat password is really hard to recover. I’ve forgotten mine too. If you can’t get it back, no big deal—we can add each other again later. We were just about to go shooting. Want to join?”
Jiang Yicen shook his head. “I’ll pass. I’m waiting for a friend.”
Alan looked left and right, but didn’t see anyone else. “You have another friend?”
Someone piped up, “Fourth Young Master, come play with us! Didn’t you say you had a gun license in the U.S.? Let us see what you’ve got!”
Jiang Yicen said, “Having a gun license doesn’t mean I’m a good shot. I’ll sit this out. You all go ahead.”
Alan was momentarily puzzled by Jiang Yicen’s sudden modesty. He remembered that this guy loved to show off and never missed a chance to display his talents.
He had met Jiang Yicen at a Chinese party in the U.S. and they had hung out a few times. After returning to China, Alan had invited Jiang Yicen to his friend’s birthday party. Back then, Jiang Yicen had constantly talked about his adventures in America, boastful and eager to impress, acting like an American elite. He would sprinkle his conversations with incomprehensible, lofty English words. Alan knew he did it on purpose—they were all study-abroad students, and Jiang Yicen’s academic credentials were indeed impressive, so Alan somewhat understood that he looked down on them, the sons of wealthy families who were just there to gild their résumés. But today, Jiang Yicen seemed different—it was as if he had changed into a completely different person. His demeanor was restrained and unassuming. If it weren’t for that same striking, handsome face, Alan would have thought this was Jiang Yicen’s twin brother.
Alan’s relationship with “Jiang Yicen” was also superficial. “Why not? We rarely get together like this. We really want to see your shooting skills!”
Others chimed in, “Yeah, yeah! Let us broaden our horizons too. Guns aren’t allowed in China!”
Jiang Yicen hadn’t expected the original “Jiang Yicen” to be so flamboyant and attention-seeking. He certainly didn’t want to hang out with strangers.
Just then, three people walked in from outside. One voice sounded particularly familiar to Jiang Yicen.
“What are you all doing here? What’s going on?”
Someone called out the newcomer’s name: “Oh, Brother Ken!”
Jiang Yicen looked up and saw a face he recognized. Ah, he thought, I should have checked the calendar for an auspicious day before leaving home today. I keep running into people I don’t want to see.
It was Cao Ken, a friend of Jiang Yiting’s. They had met once before at Old Master Chen’s birthday banquet, and the impression had been unforgettable.
At the same time, he wondered in surprise: Don’t the wealthy young masters of Lin City have anywhere else to go? They all crowd into this same club, so the chances of running into them are high.
Cao Ken gritted his teeth the moment he saw Jiang Yicen. He had made a huge fool of himself at the Chen family’s birthday banquet, drinking too much and causing a scene, which led his father to cancel his credit cards. He hadn’t dared to go out and play for a long time. Today, he had finally managed to get out for some air, and of all people, he had to run into this nemesis.
“Well, well, if it isn’t little brother Yicen. What are you doing here?” Cao Ken already had several ideas for teaching Jiang Yicen a lesson. He was determined to get revenge for the humiliation of that drunken incident.
Jiang Yicen really didn’t like this man. “I’m meeting someone.”
Alan clearly knew Cao Ken too. “Brother Ken, what brings you here today?”
Cao Ken had no interest in small-timers like Alan. He gave a sly, sarcastic laugh. “Does Nan Shuyi know you’re out here messing around with them?”
If Jiang Yicen had been the real “Jiang Yicen,” he might have been provoked by that remark—which was indeed true. The Jiang family was strange, including He Nuanqing; none of them had ever asked how he and Nan Shuyi were getting along. They were a cold, indifferent bunch.
Jiang Yicen replied, “That’s none of your concern, Brother Cao. It’s a family matter.” In other words, mind your own business.
Cao Ken: “Ha, as your older brother, I naturally want to help you out. After all, your eldest brother is my friend.”
Jiang Yicen said flatly, “My eldest brother is truly fortunate to have a friend like you.” Jiang Yiting really has terrible taste in friends.
Cao Ken knew he was being mocked. He was already angry, and now his fury doubled.
Alan’s group of friends weren’t very close to Jiang Yiting, and they didn’t know about the feud between Jiang Yicen and Cao Ken.
Someone suddenly spoke up: “Did you guys see the group chat? Young Master He is hosting an event today. Whoever gets the highest total score in ten activities wins a cash prize of one million. Anyone want to play?”
Alan: “Sure, let’s join in the fun.”
Alan’s Chinese name was Lan Yan. He came from a wealthy family in Lin City, but compared to the Jiang and Nan families, Lan Yan’s family was considered “small fry”—not even worth mentioning.
Everyone started signing up in the group chat, getting quite excited.
Jiang Yicen had no interest in joining the fun. He didn’t even know who this “Young Master He” was.
He turned to leave, but Cao Ken grabbed him, refusing to let him go. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Jiang Yicen shook off Cao Ken’s hand. This man was incredibly rude.
“Sorry, I don’t like being touched.”
“Oh, so now that you’re married to Nan Shuyi, you’re putting on airs? You faggot, I don’t want to touch you either.” He shook his hand as if he had touched something dirty, dropping even the pretense of calling him “good little brother.”
Jiang Yicen said firmly, “What do you want?”
From his drinking habits, it was clear that Cao Ken had a terrible temper—alcohol reveals a person’s true character. He used to get into fights often, but in recent years, Jiang Yiting had been telling him to keep a low profile, so he had restrained himself. The Cao family also valued face, so he had been suppressing his temper. Last night, he lost a lot of money playing cards, and he was in a foul mood.
And now, he had run into Jiang Yicen. They were going to have a proper “talk.”
“You think marrying Nan Shuyi means he’ll have your back? Come on, little brother, let’s go to the boxing ring and have a chat there.” Cao Ken, of course, knew the inside story of their marriage alliance.
Jiang Yicen flexed his fingers, dropping his previous refusal. His mild demeanor vanished, and his gaze sharpened.
“Fine. Whatever you want to talk about, I’ll see it through today.”
“Of course, we’ll talk about things only we know.” He said to his friends, “Sign me and little brother Yicen up for the competition today!”
Then he pointed toward the boxing area. “Let’s go there. One round. You scared?”
Jiang Yicen was not one to back down from trouble. People like Cao Ken, once they latched onto you, were hard to shake off—unless you beat them into never daring to bother you again.
He replied, “What’s there to be afraid of?”
The ones who had been buddy-buddy with Jiang Yicen moments ago laughed and said to others, “Can Daniel beat Brother Ken? Brother Ken has trained in boxing and even fought in amateur matches.”
“Let’s go, let’s go see this. Is Daniel going to get crippled?”
“Damn, this is intense.”
“Kind of worried for Daniel. He actually agreed.”
Alan hurried after him and grabbed Jiang Yicen’s arm. “You’ve never learned boxing, have you? Cao Ken is a pro. He’s fought in amateur boxing matches.”
Jiang Yicen thought for a moment. “Hmm, what are the rules for boxing matches here?”
Alan: “…”
Nan Shuyi had specifically gone to the apartment he lived in before marriage, taken a shower, and changed into a fresh set of clothes before coming.
As he entered the club, he ran into Zhou Yi, who was looking down at his phone.
Zhou Yi: “Holy shit!”
Nan Shuyi: “What’s the matter? Yelling like that.”
Zhou Yi: “He Mingshuo is running some game competition here today with a prize. He just pulled me into the group chat. Cao Ken has dragged Jiang Yicen into the boxing ring!”
Nan Shuyi’s face darkened as he strode quickly toward the boxing area. “Tell him to cancel this damn event!”
Zhou Yi ran after him. “Hey, don’t you want to watch the video of them in the ring?”
Nan Shuyi completely ignored him.
Zhou Yi saw his usually lazy and easygoing friend actually break into a run, and muttered under his breath, “Good heavens, it’s a one-sided beating.”
Nan Shuyi overheard Zhou Yi’s words, and his heart burned with anxiety and pain. He wished he could throw that bastard Cao into a deep fryer right now!