Seeing Qiu Yihe step out of the car, Jiang Cheng pulled out his phone and said casually,
"Here, you scan me."
Qiu Yihe didn't refuse; her brows curved in a smile and a faint grin played on her lips.
She lifted her phone and deftly opened the scan function.
After scanning, she glanced at Jiang Cheng's profile picture and playfully blinked.
She teased, "Never imagined your WeChat avatar would be so low-key—no luxury car?"
At that, Jiang Cheng's face instantly wore a puzzled look.
A trio of giant question marks seemed to float above his head.
"Luxury-car avatar? Girl, do I look like I run a WeChat business?"
Qiu Yihe giggled behind her hand at his expression, her shoulders shaking lightly.
Her bright laughter rang out: "If you did, I bet plenty of Girls would take the bait."
Hearing that, Jiang Cheng's brows shot up.
Was she implying he was good at charming women?
He admitted it inwardly, but outwardly he'd die before confessing.
Jiang Cheng clutched his chest theatrically. "Girl, your words are toxic."
Qiu Yihe smiled again, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. "Tell me, what does your family do in Beijing?"
Jiang Cheng gave an easy shrug. "We're based in Chengdu; we run a construction company."
At that, her willowy brows drew together slightly.
Obvious disbelief showed on her face.
She pouted a little, gave a dismissive twitch of her lips, and cooed,
"Construction company—those words sound even more toxic."
"My dad really does that now; if you don't believe me, ask your father," Jiang Cheng said, walking into the house beside her.
Seeing the two of them stroll in laughing,
Qiu Zheng shot a surprised glance at Jiang Jianmin and Li Yan.
Noticing their calm, unsurprised expressions,
he relaxed, as if exhaling a breath he'd held since lunch at the Qiu house.
Warm sunlight slanted through the windows onto the living-room sofa where Jiang Jianmin and Qiu Zheng sat chatting with gusto.
Time slipped by unnoticed until, near five in the evening,
the sunset washed the courtyard in orange, and the Jiang family of three left the small villa.
They climbed back into the black Hongqi sedan with Jiang Jianmin and Li Yan.
Ever since Jiang Cheng had posted that morning about the loving breakfast his dad prepared,
his phone had been buzzing non-stop all day.
He'd been busy fielding a flood of messages.
Yu Xiaoxiao: "Honey, I'm getting off work soon—are you still out socializing tonight?"
Reading her inviting text, Jiang Cheng's lips curved.
After replying, he suddenly realized he hadn't visited Xiao Xia in ages.
That gentle, uncomplaining Girl never vied for attention; apart from punctual good-morning and good-night texts, she never teased him like Yu Xiaoxiao and the others.
With that in mind, he quickly typed and sent her a message.
Jiang Cheng: "Still on business tonight—turn in early. I'll finish work on time tomorrow and come to you."
Yu Xiaoxiao replied moments later: "Sure, hubby, working hard. Tomorrow I'll brew you some hearty tonic soup."
As he sent the message, the car cruised along; Li Yan spotted Chengdu North Road flashing past a sign.
Her eyes lit up. "This road's called Chengdu North Road—already missing Chengdu hotpot!"
Jiang Cheng answered, "Then let's do hotpot for lunch—there are a couple of Chengdu places by the Bund I haven't tried."
All three agreed at once, and the car soon stopped at a hotpot restaurant by the Bund.
Inside, steam billowed and the aroma of broth filled every corner.
With the Oriental Pearl Tower outside the window, Li Yan tapped into her feminine side,
asking her dad to snap several glam shots of her.
Jiang Jianmin complied, taking photo after photo as instructed.
But when Li Yan reviewed them, her brows shot up in fury.
Quick as lightning, Jiang Cheng grabbed the phone and worked his photographic magic,
producing, within seconds, photos Li Yan proudly called the shots of her life.
Watching his mom beam as she posted the pictures to her girlfriends' group, Jiang Cheng mused: a man really should master a few extra skills.
Li Yan beamed at her phone, unable to stop smiling like a spring sun.
Jiang Jianmin gave his son a slightly disgruntled glance,
yet still lifted his chopsticks, carefully placed freshly cooked slices into Jiang Cheng's bowl,
cleared his throat, and said slowly,
"In a few days we'll head to Beijing, and I may stay there for a while. Oh, and part of the charity primary school our Jiangtai Construction is building is finished; for the rest, not handled by us, have you been following up?"
Jiang Cheng nodded. "I've had the relevant people keep tabs on it."
Jiang Jianmin paused,
as if weighing his words, then continued, voice grave.
"Son, once I'm in Beijing I may not return to Chengdu soon—maybe never. Jiangtai Construction can't compare with your Xingchen Investment, but the old hands built it with me from nothing. The Jiangtai Group will have to be yours."
At those words, Jiang Cheng's fingers, mid-text to Qiu Yihe, froze.
Meeting Jiang Jianmin's gaze full of trust and expectation,
Jiang Cheng's eyes widened in shock.
What did that mean?
Was his father finally laying all cards on the table?
Was he about to morph from Second-generation rich to second-generation official?
For a moment Jiang Cheng couldn't decide whether to rejoice or despair—
rejoice that the family enterprise had climbed another rung without his toil,
or despair that, once again, he had to take over a company.