Ye Wangchuan watched them hurry away and ordered a glass of lemonade for the girl. He replaced the half-empty glass in front of her and asked her softly, “Are you angry?”
“I don’t think so.” Qiao Nian silently picked up her cup and took a sip of water. Then, she slowly put it down. Her jawline was smooth and valiant, and her tone was quite soothing. “I’m used to it.”
Ye Wangchuan paused and turned to look at her. His heart suddenly ached.
The girl’s cell phone rang before he could speak.
Qiao Nian picked it up and saw that it was a call from Jiang Zongnan. She didn’t answer the call immediately. She looked at it for a few seconds before answering.
But her voice was not affectionate or intimate. “Hey.”
It was unknown what the person on the other end of the line said, but Qiao Nian glanced at the road and the parasol trees planted on both sides of the road.
She said after a minute of silence, “I have to go back to school later. The school gate, I guess. We’ll keep in touch by phone later.”
…
On the other side, Jiang Zongnan hung up.
There was silence in the living room.
Tang Wanru watched as he hung up the call. She took a deep breath and asked, “What did she say? Does she want to see you?”
“Nian Nian asked to see me at the school gate in 30 minutes.” Jiang Zongnan seemed to have aged a lot in a while, and a few more strands of white hair had grown out.
He was still dressed in a formal suit and his hair was combed neatly. His stiff face was serious. Even though his head hurt, he did not show much emotion on his face. He was much more restrained than his wife.
Tang Wanru immediately picked up her bag from the sofa and said when she heard that Qiao Nian was willing to see him, “I’ll go with you.”
Jiang Zongnan put down his phone and did not agree to her request. His attitude was firm. “What are you going for? Are you going to accuse Nian Nian again?”
Tang Wanru did not speak, but she showed resentment and dissatisfaction.
Everyone was family. Qiao Nian had caused Xianrou to lose her right to enter Master Cheng’s laboratory. Couldn’t she say something?
Jiang Zongnan knew that he had guessed correctly when he saw her changing expression. He said angrily, “Alright, you stay at home. I can go alone. Nian Nian only said that she wanted to see me alone. It’s not good for you to follow. I’ll go and ask Nian Nian if she knows anything and tell you if there’s any news. I don’t think Nian Nian did it. She hasn’t done this before. There’s no need to do this this time.”
Tang Wanru sneered, clearly not appreciating her kindness. “What can’t she do? Didn’t she snatch the lead role of the MV from Xianrou? Didn’t she agree to Wen Ruxia’s side because Xianrou wanted to film that MV?”
Tang Wanru grew angrier after saying that. Her expression was solemn as she said, “Also, how is she not the one behind the Ninth Branch matter? Xianrou’s relationship with Young Master Qin and the others is obvious. It can’t be that they are targeting Xianrou.”
“Enough!” Jiang Zongnan was a little angry. He glared at her and said, “Nian Nian was the one who wrote that theme song. Wen Ruxia must have invited her to film the MV. She agreed to Wen Ruxia’s invitation. What has it got to do with Xianrou? It’s impossible for Nian Nian to give it to Xianrou! She doesn’t even have the bearing of an elder sister, yet she still has the cheek to ask Nian Nian to give in to her!
“I can’t be bothered to talk to either of you. Think about it.”
Jiang Zongnan ignored her reaction after he finished speaking. He picked up his briefcase and walked out.
