Old Master Jiang’s face didn’t look well. He looked at her calmly and spoke slowly. “You said that Nian Nian is here in Beijing alone. Wasn’t Jiang Li accompanying her?”
Jiang Xianrou didn’t care for Qiao Nian and answered truthfully, “I only saw her alone in the Beijing snack street, carrying a bag as though she was shopping. My friend invited her to come along with us, but she refused and said that she had friends waiting for her outside. But I didn’t see them. I don’t know if her friends were boys or girls.”
Silence filled the living room.
Tang Wanru bowed her head, hiding her contemptuous expression. She raised the corners of her mouth.
Both Old Master Jiang and Jiang Zongnan did not look well.
Jiang Zongnan asked his daughter again, “Did you see clearly? Are you sure she was alone and there was no one accompanying her?”
After being suspected by her own dad, Jiang Xianrou shouted at him unhappily, “Dad! I was with so many friends. It’s not possible we all saw wrong, right? She was there alone.”
Jiang Zongnan didn’t know what to say. In front of Old Master Jiang, he couldn’t blame Qiao Nian for running around alone. He could only blame his own son. He frowned angrily, rolled up his sleeves, and looked for his cell phone. “I cannot understand what Jiang Li is doing. I told him to stay in Rao City and take good care of his younger sister. Is this what he considers taking good care of? I’m going to call him and ask him what is going on!”
Tang Wanru didn’t usually care about her youngest son. She cared more for her eldest son and daughter. She was neither overly concerned nor cold towards her second son. When she overheard Jiang Zongnan pushing all the blame onto Jiang Li, she unwillingly put down her chopsticks and said, “You cannot push all the blame onto Jiang Li…”
Even if she didn’t finish the rest of her sentence, the meaning behind her words was clear.
“It’s alright.” Old Master Jiang had been in charge for a long time. He had brought the Jiang Family from Rao City all the way to Beijing. How could he not understand what his daughter-in-law meant? Her words were aimed at him, saying that Qiao Nian was in the wrong this time. He sighed in his heart and faintly called out to Jiang Zongnan. “This matter has not yet been clarified. We shouldn’t hurry to pin blame on people.”
Jiang Zongnan glanced at his wife with a hint of reluctance in his eyes. He walked back slowly, sandwiched between Old Master Jiang and his wife.
Jiang Xianrou was used to her dad and her grandfather being biased. She refused to comment any more on this matter and poured herself a glass of water. In any case, Qiao Nian’s standard was too low. Even with their support, she wouldn’t amount to much.
After much mental reassurance, Old Master Jiang accepted the matter for what it was. He then turned around and asked, “By the way, Xianrou, you said that Nian Nian is in Beijing for an examination. Did she tell you what examination she’s going to sit for?”
Qiao Nian came to Beijing without even informing them. He was a little angry, but he was more worried about Qiao Nian.
However, he wasn’t worried about things like Jiang Xianrou and her friends’ opinions regarding how Qiao Nian was with three or four of her friends.
Jiang Li was his grandson, and he had watched him grow up. Jiang Li wasn’t like Jiang Zongnan and instead had a character similar to Jiang Zongjin.
Since he was young, he valued his freedom. As long as he took interest in something, he would pursue it. Although his character looked carefree, he was actually very considerate and had a kind heart.
Qiao Nian was his younger sister.
It wasn’t possible for him to not worry about Qiao Nian coming to Beijing alone. If he didn’t come along, that meant someone else was accompanying Qiao Nian.
Besides Ye Wangchuan, no one else could reassure him.
It seemed that the friend Qiao Nian was referring to outside the Beijing snack street was most likely Ye Wangchuan!
With Ye Wangchuan around, he didn’t need to worry about Qiao Nian’s safety. He was more worried about other things, such as the examination that Jiang Xianrou had mentioned.
