"Sigh, did you hear? In a year that Jiang Ruolan went to H City, she hooked up with a CEO and even married him. That man seems to be the rumored Xian Zihao."
"I really don't know what methods she used. Since she's already married to Xian Zihao, why did she run back to our company to fight over a job with us?"
"I heard Xie Mei say that Jiang Ruolan was very arrogant and mighty during the interview at Aerial Club. She was afraid that no one would not know that she was the CEO's wife. Tsk tsk, I don't know what President Xian is thinking."
The next day, Jiang Ruolan went back to the company to deliver her work and her resignation letter. Since the Spring Festival was nearer, Old Man Xian wanted everyone in the Xian Family to come back, having a good meal together. Old Man Xian wanted Jiang Yijun to go back and join them, but he (Jiang Yijun) would only go back if Jiang Ruolan went back too, otherwise, he wouldn't leave.
It would be better to go with the flow and let Jiang Yijun go with her so that this Spring Festival can be a happy and fulfilling time for the Old Man.
However, as soon as she entered the company, she heard a group of women whispering about her.
"Back then, she had just graduated from university and she was in her early twenties. I thought Wan Shoushan pursued her because he liked a young girl like her, who was still fresh. Now, Jiang Ruolan is already twenty-five, at such an awkward age, it's time to say goodbye to her youth. In a few years, she might become too old."
Jiang Ruolan's footsteps suddenly stopped. She walked straight in and glanced at her female colleague who had just spoken, as well as Sister Pan Yun.
As soon as they saw her enter, their expressions immediately turned solemn. Embarrassed, they didn't dare to say anything else. "Hey, Ruolan~ ~"
"Hur hur, Ruolan. Are you leaving?"
"I heard that you're now the CEO's wife. We used to have eyes but didn't recognize Mt. Tai. I never thought that you would actually marry a big shot like Xian Zihao."
"That's right! Ruolan, I really didn't expect you to be so powerful."
Jiang Ruolan gave them an open-minded smile. She placed the recently arranged documents on Sister Pan Yun's desk, then turned around to look at their different expressions.
After a moment, she took a glance at Sister Pan Yun.
"Sister Pan Yun."
"Sigh." Sister Pan Yun forced out a cautious smile. She obviously dared to speak ill of others behind their backs, but she didn't dare to offend that person from in front.
"Compared to your age, I don't think I will be able to match up with you, Sister Pan Yun. Compared to you, I'm at most the same age as Zhou Zhiruo and Zhao Min¹." Jiang Ruolan suddenly gave her a sweet smile. "If you think I'm more suitable to be a dragon girl like them, then I don't mind."
After saying that, she walked out of the office with a smile.
The Department of Commerce immediately went extremely quiet. As she walked to the door and heard the quiet atmosphere inside, a smile appeared on her face.
Then, before anyone could make a sound, Xian Zihao had come to their company. Just as Jiang Ruolan was about to laugh, someone immediately grabbed her waist. "Little Dragon Girl, let me be your Yang Guo²."
The two of them stood at the Department of Commerce's office door. Jiang Ruolan could see from the corner of her eyes that the women inside had an awkward expression, as if they were choked by Xian Zihao's words.
Jiang Ruolan held back her laughter. "Then why don't you call me aunt first?"
As a result, he took her hand and left the company together but of course… The dignified President Xian refused to call his beloved wife 'aunt'.
Due to Xian Zihao's sudden arrival, the whole department was in chaos. Just as they walked out of the door, the department leaders came rushing to greet them once they received the news.
Xian Zihao politely and cleverly rejected the invitation to a banquet. When they got home, Jiang Yijun wasn't there. He never made it clear whether he wanted to go back or not, but he didn't seem to quit his job here. Working in that company was his life's greatest joy and if he didn't want to have anything to do with the Xian Family, he can still make a living on his own.
And then there was the mother who was still alive, the mother who had lost her mind.
When Jiang Ruolan opened the door of Jiang Yijun's bedroom, she saw an exquisite black velvet box placed beside the bed. She was stunned for a moment, then turned around to look at Xian Zihao. She immediately walked towards the bed and picked up the box.
She remembered that there were a few pictures of this crystal necklace on Xian Zihao's laptop. When Jiang Ruolan opened the box, Xian Zihao's expression immediately changed.
"This crystal necklace?" He glanced at her, then took the necklace and looked at it.
"This is something my mother left behind." Jiang Ruolan put down the box and looked at the white crystal necklace in his hand. "I don't know what exactly it means, and I've also wondered if this necklace had some kind of secret because the people from the Jiang Family have been trying to find it for the past few years. I didn't keep it by my side and let Yijun hold it. I thought it was placed in some secret place, but I never thought it would be kept by his side just like that."
"The people from the Jiang Family have been looking for this the entire time?" Xian Zihao looked at her.
Jiang Ruolan nodded her head. "Yes, they are. In my impression, I seem to have heard that this necklace was given to my mother by Jiang Guanyu when they were still together back then and that was before I was born. I don't know why they were looking for this necklace, and because I do not wish for my mother's remnants to be taken away by them like that, I have always kept it well. That's why until now, they still couldn't find it.
Jiang Ruolan raised her eyes and looked at Xian Zihao's face. His expression was normal, but he was carefully observing the necklace. "Zihao, do you recognize this necklace?" she asked.
Xian Zihao tilted his head to look at her. "Why do you ask?"
Jiang Ruolan pursed her lips, feeling a bit embarrassed to say that she had once looked through his laptop, but the doubt in her heart was too heavy. She really didn't want to hide anything from him and cause any more misunderstandings, so she told him the truth, "In your laptop, I saw a sketch of this necklace. There were from several angles and it looked very similar. At that time, I thought that you might not recognize this necklace, but since the necklace was not in my hands, I didn't mention it."
Xian Zihao smiled with understanding. "You think I peep at your mother's necklace too?"
Jiang Ruolan immediately said, "Then, why are you looking at this thing? How can I not be so suspicious ~"
Xian Zihao smiled and returned the necklace to her hand. He looked at her seriously, "Ruolan, there's an eighty percent chance that this crystal necklace is related to a great army that came from twenty years ago. It was quite impossible for this case to be re-investigated, as it has been going on for too long. I found out that a few pieces of jewelry offered by an influential person from Brazil were related to this corruption. The necklace in your hand should be one of them, but without a professional examination, I am not entirely sure."
"However, you should keep it in mind. The Jiang Family has their own reasons for wanting this necklace." With that, he patted her gently on the shoulder as if he was comforting her, "Since this is your mother's treasure, you should keep it carefully."
Jiang Ruolan lowered her head to look at the top-grade white crystal necklace. Thinking back to the fake crystal necklace that her mother had brought with her when she killed herself, at that time, Jiang Ruolan still couldn't understand why her mother did that. However, Xian Zihao's short sentence finally solved half of her doubts.
.
.
***
Glossary:
¹ Two female lead characters in the wuxia novel 'The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber' by Jin Yong. Jin Yong describes their appearance as "naturally elegant, with a bright countenance."
²A fictional protagonist of the wuxia novel 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' by Jin Yong.
