Originally, it was supposed to be a birthday celebration for three people, but it turned into four.
Yin Xuemo even ordered a big cake for Grandpa and put a birthday hat on him.
The doorbell rang, and the housekeeper went to open the door. An uninvited guest arrived—Jiang Yi.
When Jiang Ci saw Jiang Yi, her face turned pale. She knew that last time he failed to extort Lu Yudong, and this time he came right on time.
"What are you doing here?" Jiang Ci asked.
"Look at what my sister is saying. It's Grandpa's birthday, and we're so closely related. How could I not come? Would that be appropriate? Happy birthday, Grandpa." Jiang Yi handed Grandpa a bouquet of flowers.
Jiang Ci knew Jiang Yi wasn't here out of kindness, and she remained vigilant around him.
Lu Yudong also understood Jiang Yi's intentions, but with Grandpa present, he watched coldly.
"Little Ci, is this your...?" Grandpa asked Jiang Ci.
"Oh, I'm Jiang Yi, Jiang Ci's brother. Last time I came, you were asleep," Jiang Yi said, making himself comfortable at the dining table.
"Oh, I see. Yudong, with such close relatives, why didn't you invite him?" Grandpa asked Lu Yudong.
Yin Xuemo sat there, ready to watch the drama unfold. She had planned to sow discord between Jiang Ci and Lu Yudong today.
But seeing Jiang Yi's demeanor, he wasn't here with good intentions.
"Don't blame him. It's a contractual marriage, after all. Technically, we shouldn't even be here," Jiang Yi said. "The matter of the contractual marriage was told to me by my sister, wasn't it, Jiang Ci?"
The table fell into a dead silence.
Jiang Ci lowered her head, picking at her food, her face pale.
She had never mentioned the contractual marriage to Jiang Yi and didn't know how he had guessed it.
"Oh? A contractual marriage? What's that about?" Yin Xuemo asked.
She began to echo Jiang Yi's words.
Yin Xuemo had already noticed Jiang Ci's pale face.
"Jiang Ci, why don't you explain?" Jiang Yi's gaze turned to Jiang Ci.
His meaning was clear: if Jiang Ci was sensible and gave him money, he wouldn't say anything. If she was stubborn, he wouldn't hold back. He thought Jiang Ci had a good relationship with Grandpa and wouldn't disregard Grandpa's feelings.
Jiang Yi was very cunning, choosing the perfect moment. If Jiang Ci hesitated even slightly, Grandpa would find out.
"A contractual marriage? This is the first time I've heard of it," Lu Yudong said, his cold gaze making Jiang Yi shiver.
Jiang Yi quickly shifted his gaze to Jiang Ci.
Seeing Jiang Ci's expression, the contractual marriage seemed to be true.
Jiang Yi felt more confident. If Jiang Ci wanted to keep the secret, she had to give him money.
"Contractual marriage? I'm pregnant. Does that count as a contractual marriage?" Jiang Ci looked up and smiled. "According to my brother, my husband and I have a contractual marriage and a contractual divorce. You probably think we're doing this for Grandpa's sake, but now there's a child involved. If we divorce, who gets the child? Given my husband's personality, you failed to extort him last time, and now you're here again. You should have realized what kind of person he is. If it were a contractual marriage, would he let me keep the child? Would I be so foolish to divorce and take a child with me? Besides, I'm going to be an accountant in the future. I wouldn't be blinded by a small amount of money. The reputation of a divorce isn't good, and I'd have a child to care for. Am I digging my own grave?"
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Her words stirred up a storm, and she also mentioned Jiang Yi's previous extortion attempt.
The implication was that Jiang Yi was trying to extort them again, and his words were not to be trusted.
Jiang Ci confronted Jiang Yi because, firstly, Jiang Yi was her brother, and she wouldn't let this contractual marriage fall apart. Secondly, it was for Grandpa. Jiang Ci hoped Grandpa would live a long life. If he found out that the "Little Ci" he always liked wasn't the "granddaughter-in-law" he had hoped for, how heartbroken would he be?
Yin Xuemo's face turned awkward—was she pregnant?
Lu Yudong initially wanted to ask Jiang Yi, "How much money would it take for you to stop talking nonsense?" But he saw that Jiang Ci's responses hit the nail on the head.
Now, like Yin Xuemo, he was ready to watch the show.
"Pregnant? How come you never mentioned it?" Lu Yudong looked at Jiang Ci gently.
Jiang Ci couldn't tell how much of Lu Yudong's "gentleness" was genuine or fake.
But he was indeed cooperating well.
"Hmph, it's all your fault," Jiang Ci said, feigning annoyance with Lu Yudong, turning her head away.
Lu Yudong thought: So, Jiang Ci is an even better actress than Yin Xuemo.
"How is it my fault?" Lu Yudong wanted to see what Jiang Ci was up to.
"If we're just talking about being pregnant, I can say that too," Jiang Yi said, looking at Jiang Ci. He knew his sister was clever since childhood and wondered what trick she had come up with this time.
Jiang Ci pouted and playfully scolded Lu Yudong, "A few days ago, we had a fight, and I wanted to go back to the dorm to stay. You found out and brought me back from the dorm, even wanting to give my dorm to someone else, insisting I stay at home. My pregnancy test results are in the dorm. If you don't get my dorm back, you won't see my pregnancy test results."
Lu Yudong finally understood that Jiang Ci wanted to take advantage of this situation to get her dorm back.
She had already brought her things back, and there was nothing left in the dorm.
But given the current situation, it was clear that Lu Yudong couldn't expose her.
Jiang Ci would definitely take advantage of the situation.
Even in such a critical moment, she didn't forget about this matter.
"Determined to live separately from me, huh?" Lu Yudong said, pretending to be resentful.
"If you upset me in the future, I'll go stay in the dorm and not share a bed with you," Jiang Ci said, acting like a spoiled child. "Hurry up and call, don't let the HR director give my dorm to someone else."
Lu Yudong had no choice but to dial the HR director's number.
But in the eyes of Jiang Yi and Yin Xuemo, it seemed like Jiang Ci and Lu Yudong were taking the opportunity to show off their affection.
After finalizing the deal, Jiang Ci was very happy and excited. It was her first time handling a transaction over a hundred thousand yuan, and she felt a bit anxious. Worried about encountering scammers or criminals, she asked Han Lan to accompany her.
Han Lan, no longer needing to keep a low profile, was quite pleased and readily agreed to Jiang Ci's request.
"For something like this, it's best to have a guy with us. If Mr. Lu goes with you, who would dare to cheat him? They wouldn't dare even with ten times the courage," Han Lan said while munching on snacks.
"It's not that easy. We're having a bit of a spat. Besides, this matter involves my ex-boyfriend. Would I be out of my mind to ask him to come along?" Jiang Ci replied.
"Why are you making such a fuss? You can see how just a casual nod from him changes everything for us. People can't wait to flatter him, and here you are, picking a fight," Han Lan said, a bit exasperated.
"Don't mention it. I've been flattering him all along." To this day, Jiang Ci still didn't understand why Lu Yudong suddenly asked her to move out.
How could she cater to his whims without knowing the reason?
"Why not try to appease him? Mr. Lu is into that," Han Lan suggested.
"How do you know? Have you tried it before?" Jiang Ci asked, her tone slightly jealous.
"No, no, I haven't even met Mr. Lu," Han Lan said, trying to act coy. "But seriously, my sister is bringing me some food this afternoon."
"Your sister? Isn't she about to give birth? How can you let her bring you food with that big belly?"
"She's not coming herself; she's sending her brother-in-law. I heard he's quite a catch," Han Lan said dreamily.
"You haven't met him?"
Han Lan rolled her eyes at Jiang Ci. "No, he didn't attend my sister's wedding; he was out of town."
"I'll check him out for you this afternoon."
At six in the evening, the dormitory doorbell rang, and Jiang Ci went to answer it. As soon as she opened the door, she widened her eyes in surprise and said, "Deng Yue?"
"Jiang Ci?"
"Who are you looking for? Me?"
Deng Yue raised the food container in his hand. "I'm delivering food for my sister-in-law to her sister. I didn't expect you two to be roommates. What a small world."
When Han Lan came out and saw that Deng Yue was quite handsome, her eyes sparkled.
"How about I treat you two lovely ladies to dinner tonight?" Deng Yue offered.
"What about the food my sister sent?" Jiang Ci asked with a slight frown.
But Han Lan was already tempted. After all, who wouldn't want to dine with a handsome guy?
"We can put it in the fridge and eat it later. It won't spoil. Let's go, I'll treat you to hot pot," Deng Yue said enthusiastically.
Recently, Jiang Ci and Han Lan had been under a lot of pressure, so they were eager for some relaxation and quickly agreed. Besides, Jiang Ci loved spicy food—the spicier, the better.
During dinner, Deng Yue asked Jiang Ci, "Since we added each other on WeChat, we haven't chatted. I didn't know you worked at New East Group. That's promising."
"I'm just a low-level employee; there's no future in that. Han Lan has more potential; she's the New East Star, a future executive," Jiang Ci said, not forgetting to praise Han Lan.
Jiang Ci could tell that Han Lan had a good impression of Deng Yue. Han Lan and Deng Yue also exchanged WeChat contacts.
"Oh, by the way, Jiang Ci is going to the suburbs on Sunday to inspect a computer factory. We've never been there and are afraid of encountering scammers, so we want a guy to come with us. Why don't you join us?" Han Lan invited Deng Yue. "My sister told me her brother-in-law runs a gaming company, so you're perfect for evaluating computers."
"Visiting a computer factory? No problem. I'll drive you two ladies there. Planning to buy computers? Why not just go to the electronics market instead of the source?"
"Two hundred units. We're donating them to children in the mountains. It's the same school we visited together," Jiang Ci explained easily, as she and Deng Yue had visited the charity school together before.
"Two hundred units, impressive. You must have some money."
"Not really. I sold my dad's house in the countryside," Jiang Ci deflected, fearing Deng Yue would ask about the money's origin, putting her in an awkward position.
She hadn't even mentioned her contractual marriage with Lu Yudong to Han Lan, nor did Han Lan know the source of the money.
Her father's old house was in the countryside, and Jiang Ci had never been there. Besides, you can't sell a homestead.
Fortunately, Deng Yue didn't press further.
What could Jiang Ci say? That she sold herself for it?
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