Gaoli was accompanying Chu Zhou, so it was out of the question for him to decide on his own to have Gaoliang pick her up unless Chu Zhou had ordered it.
In an instant, her mood brightened considerably.
She really liked this early-morning surprise.
It was just that someone could be a bit proud and aloof.
Jiang Tang got into the car, and after Gaoliang asked for her workplace address, the vehicle drove steadily ahead.
Binjiang Villa was not very far from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute; it was a half-hour drive.
When they were still about ten meters away from the main entrance, she spotted three old men standing by the door holding fresh flowers and balloons.
They were craning their necks to look down the direction of the traffic on the main road, their faces full of eager anticipation.
"Where is she? Why isn't she here yet? Old Mu, are you pulling our leg and messing with us?"
"That's right. Knowing Tangtang's temperament, she doesn't look like the type who would obediently come to work."
"She promised me in person, so there's no way it's fake."
......
The three of them bantered back and forth noisily.
These three old men were none other than Mu Fu, the president of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute, and two vice presidents, Hong Lu and Zhong Shou. Any single one of them, taken by themselves, was a booming, heavyweight figure.
Gazing at this scene through the car's windshield, the corners of Jiang Tang's mouth twitched, giving her the distinct feeling that she had boarded a pirate ship.
She wanted to leave!
Unfortunately, it was too late. The three of them had already spotted her sitting in the car and were running straight toward her, clutching their fresh flowers and balloons.
Jiang Tang rolled down the car window and called out patiently to the three of them, "You're all old enough now, stop running. I'm getting out right now."
When Gaoliang first asked for the address, he thought he had misheard, wondering if it might be some company near the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute.
He never expected it to actually be the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute, nor that he would see the renowned "Fu, Lu, Shou" trio of the Hua Nation Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute running out to welcome her.
Just how massive must someone's status be to receive this kind of treatment?
He stopped the car, and before Jiang Tang stepped out, he asked tentatively, "Miss Jiang, what position are you taking on as?"
Jiang Tang unbuckled her seatbelt. "I don't know yet. We'll see how they arrange it later. Thanks for driving me here. Please also remember to say thank you to Chu Zhou for me."
"Okay, okay." Gaoliang nodded. "Have a safe walk, Miss Jiang. Shall we exchange WeChat? If you need me to pick you up after work, you can reach out."
Gaoliang was just being kind with no ulterior motives.
Jiang Tang hadn't expected that before even adding Chu Zhou on WeChat, she would add his assistant. That was pretty great.
It was equivalent to infiltrating Chu Zhou's inner circle.
"Alright, I've added your WeChat, but you don't need to trouble yourself with picking me up after work. Thank you!"
She had an appointment with Jiang Yuan this evening to discuss the engagement matter, and she could just head over from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute.
Gaoliang said, "Alright."
As soon as he drove off, Jiang Tang turned around to face the three "Fu, Lu, Shou" figures behind her.
And the fresh flowers and balloons in their hands. The moment she opened her mouth, she was already scolding them, "Why make it so grand? Didn't I tell you just to wait quietly inside? The three of you average eighty years old, and with cars zooming back and forth out here, are you tired of living so comfortably?"
In Hua Nation, Jiang Tang was probably the only person who dared to confront the three of them so directly. In an instant, they looked like three children who had done something wrong and were being lectured by a parent, lowering their heads slightly.
If one were to ask why they acted this way, it went back to four years ago when they went to Jiangcheng to visit the former president of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute.
After retiring, the former president had returned to his hometown.
His hometown was nestled deep within the mountains and forests, and visiting him required navigating a winding mountain road.
On the way, they unfortunately ran into a heavy rainstorm, which triggered a landslide.
Their car overturned just as it was about to reach a safe section of the road.
One had to remember that four years ago, these three men were already at the advanced age of over seventy. In that kind of situation, if they hadn't been rescued in time, they definitely wouldn't have survived.
Fortunately, Jiang Tang was also taking shelter from the rain in a safe area, and it was she who pulled all three of them along with their driver out of danger, while instantly using superlative acupuncture techniques to treat the driver who had suffered massive blood loss.
At that moment, the Fu, Lu, Shou trio seemed to see in Jiang Tang the future hope of passing down traditional Chinese medicine in Hua Nation.
And so, they abandoned the idea of visiting the former president, and instead spent day after day brainwashing Jiang Tang, all to rope this brilliant young sapling into the Jingcheng Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute.
After all, with the rise of Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine's international standing was somewhat unstable; too many people looked down on traditional Chinese medicine, and no young people wanted to walk the path of traditional Chinese medicine.
It was rare to see someone so miraculously gifted, so they were willing to talk their mouths dry to win her over.
At last, heaven does not disappoint those who try, and she had finally arrived.
So how could they not make it grand, buying fresh flowers, balloons, and cakes that young girls liked to welcome her?
Mu Fu said, "Tangtang, we're just happy, we've finally been looking forward to you coming. The three of us don't have sons or daughters, so you can consider yourself our child. Since we finally have a chance to pull out all the stops, shouldn't we make it lively?"
Hearing this, Jiang Tang didn't want to dampen their high spirits and good intentions. Maintaining a straight face, she said, "Let's not make this a habit. Let's go inside. What position have you arranged for me?"
"You'll know in a moment."
Currently, the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute didn't have many staff members, but all of them were elites, with the average age across the entire research institute hovering around fifty.
With Jiang Tang's arrival, she instantly became the youngest employee here.
Walking all the way inside and observing everyone's expressions, she thought to herself that the working atmosphere here was quite good.
She was very satisfied.
What she didn't know, however, was that the Fu, Lu, Shou trio had been afraid that others might not be convinced by Jiang Tang and that it would affect her mood on her first day, so they had already shown everyone the footage of her rescuing the driver back then.
As a result, everyone was full of anticipation for Jiang Tang's arrival and had zero objections.
A moment later, when the Fu, Lu, Shou trio led Jiang Tang to the office arranged for her, she froze upon seeing the nameplate on the desk and the timid-looking assistant standing next to it wearing black-rimmed glasses.
After a few seconds, she picked up the nameplate and couldn't help but gasp, "Honorary Academician of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute? Don't you think this position, this title, and having an assistant are a bit too exaggerated?"
She had only wanted them to arrange something like odd jobs, a job where she wouldn't have to be too busy on weekdays.
She hadn't expected the title to be absurdly grand.
The Fu, Lu, Shou trio shook their heads in unison. "We don't think so at all."
From the bottom of their hearts, they felt this position matched Jiang Tang's medical skills.
Besides, this position really wasn't busy; on weekdays, she only needed to hold down the fort at their Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute.
The three of them had even discussed that this was just the beginning. They hoped she would be happy during her time at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute and then slowly trick her.
Trick her until she developed an attachment to the place, and when the three of them grew too old to move around, they would hand the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute over to her.
Of course, this little scheme couldn't be told to Jiang Tang just yet for fear of scaring her away.
Jiang Tang raised a hand to support her forehead, feeling entirely tricked into coming here.
After thinking it over, she hoped to reach a compromise with the three of them. "Fine, let's let the position slide, but this assistant—do we really need one? It's a bit too high-profile."
She had to remember that back in the Chu Dynasty, she used to travel alone.
A medicine chest, a flask of wine, strapped to her back and she would set off practicing medicine. Assistants and the like were truly things she had no need for.
Who would have thought that this assistant seemed to have been pre-trained? Upon hearing Jiang Tang's words, she stepped forward and burst into tears, "Academician Jiang, I just graduated and am doing my internship. Do you really not want me? Where am I supposed to go from here? I have an 85-year-old grandmother above me and a 3-year-old second-child younger brother below me. I never expected that graduation would mean unemployment. If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have had a brain fart and majored in traditional Chinese medicine. I'll just resign and leave right now. Since the leadership doesn't want me anyway, I'll just go find some assembly line in a factory to report to..."
This assistant had also been arranged by the Fu, Lu, Shou directors, who had worried that since everyone in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute was getting on in years, Jiang Tang would be bored.
So they had specifically gone to the neighboring Jingda University's Traditional Chinese Medicine Department to recruit a fresh graduate.
Jiang Tang's head pounded. Well, this was certainly unexpected.
Seeing that the person looked round-faced and honest, she relented. "Alright, you can stay. What's your name?"
"My name is Zhu Xiaohua." Upon hearing this, Zhu Xiaohua immediately stopped crying. "I watched the video of you saving people; you're my idol. Let's not worry about age; you can just call me Xiaohua."
Jiang Tang leaned her back against the office desk. "Alright, Xiaohua."
Seeing that the matter was settled, the Fu, Lu, Shou trio exchanged satisfied glances and shared a secret chuckle.
On her first day on the job, Jiang Tang figured that apart from certain aspects being a bit too high-profile, everything else was passable.
Over on the other side, after dropping Jiang Tang off and taking his car for maintenance, Gaoliang returned to the Chu Group.
When he arrived, Gaoli had just finished reporting on work to Chu Zhou.
Chu Zhou was signing his name on a document and was about to tell Gaoli about helping him move when he saw Gaoliang return.
"Boss, I'm back."
As soon as he returned, Gaoli turned his head and, braving death, asked with nosy curiosity, "Did you drop Miss Jiang off at work?"
"Yes, dropped her off."
With that, he looked at Chu Zhou and spoke impatiently, "Boss, Miss Jiang is seriously badass for someone so young. The place she's working at is actually the Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute. I even saw President Mu Fu come out with the two vice presidents Hong Lu and Zhong Shou to warmly welcome her. I can't even imagine what kind of status someone has to have to be worth that kind of treatment from those three."
"Really?" Gaoli cast a sidelong glance at Chu Zhou, a gossipy smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Unfortunately, Chu Zhou didn't look particularly interested.
Gaoliang added, "Oh right, Boss, Miss Jiang asked me to say thank you to you, thanks for having me drive her to work. I even added her WeChat; do you want to personally tell her 'you're welcome'?"
Upon hearing this, the movement of Chu Zhou's hand paused. He didn't raise his head, and with a voice completely devoid of emotional coloring, he said, "Get out."
Gaoli and Gaoliang exchanged a glance. Seeing Chu Zhou like this, they wisely stopped pushing their luck and announced they were leaving the office.
As soon as they left, Chu Zhou closed the documents in front of him, opened a drawer, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
He clamped a cigarette between his lips, expertly ignited it with the lighter, took a drag, and exhaled a plume of blue smoke.
The whole person looked lazy and roguish.
A few seconds later, he opened the drawer on the other side of his desk. Inside lay the dossier on Jiang Tang that he had told Gaoli to investigate.
Dropping his gaze to the files, he picked them up, placed them on the desk, and opened them.
His eyes landed on the line stating that she had dropped out of school at the age of fifteen. A few seconds later, he let out a pampering, cold chuckle that he hadn't even realized he was making. "Someone who cares so little about keeping up appearances actually has quite a bit of skill."
Whether it was her martial prowess or her background, everything about her caught him completely off guard.
...
Jiang Tang's first day on the job came to an end, and Zhu Xiaohua walked her out to the main gate. "President Jiang, should I drive you home? I just passed my driving test; would you mind being my very first passenger?"
Jiang Tang rather liked Zhu Xiaohua, except that her enthusiasm was a bit hard to handle—over the course of the single day, she had practically tried to give her all the snacks from her bag to eat.
"No need, thank you. Someone is coming to pick me up."
"Is it a boyfriend?"
Jiang Tang was honest. "No, my cousin."
As for a boyfriend—thinking of Chu Zhou's upright and stern, unsmiling face—she added, "As for a boyfriend, I'm still chasing him."
Upon hearing "wow," Zhu Xiaohua became rather curious about what kind of man could make their President Jiang chase after him.
"Oh right," Jiang Tang remembered something. "Xiaohua, if possible, don't call me President Jiang. It sounds weirdly high-profile and distant. You're older than me, just call me by my name or something else."
Just as her voice trailed off, Shen Congzhi's car pulled up right in front of Jiang Tang and Zhu Xiaohua. "Tang, let's go."
"Okay."
Watching the car that was picking Jiang Tang up drive away, Zhu Xiaohua wore a starry-eyed expression. "They really are family; even the cousin is this good-looking."
Tonight was the exact night Jiang Tang and Jiang Yuan had agreed to meet and discuss the "engagement" matter. The location was set at Jingcheng's top-tier star-rated hotel, which was also the flagship chain hotel under the Chu family, the Imperial Court Hotel.
It was rush hour, and Shen Congzhi's car drove in a stop-and-go fashion.
Jiang Tang touched up her makeup and applied lipstick. "I passed my driving test a year ago; can I buy a car? It would make going anywhere much more convenient."
Although Shen Congzhi was willing to drive her, and she could shamelessly bum rides in Chu Zhou's car, she couldn't rely on others for everything; doing so would make her look completely useless.
Shen Congzhi let out a light, mocking laugh at her. "Heh, Tang, I really don't want to crush your spirits. Leaving aside the fact that you haven't touched a car in a whole year, just look at how you learned to drive—you had to retake the reverse-parking test ten times. Do you really think you'll be able to handle it once you buy a car?"
An awkward expression rarely seen on Jiang Tang's face surfaced. Everything Shen Congzhi said was the truth.
As someone from the Chu Dynasty who had come to the modern era, what was wrong with failing the reverse-parking test ten times?
Stubborn in both of her lives, she insisted, "I'm buying one anyway."
Shen Congzhi sighed. Knowing her temperament, he decided to humor her. "Fine, whenever you have free time someday, I'll take you to buy one."
"Okay."
As the two of them chatted, the car slowly came to a halt in front of the Imperial Court Hotel's entrance.
The private dining room number Jiang Yuan had given Jiang Tang was VIP 666.
She stepped out of the car, her usual aloof and cold aura returning, and walked gracefully into the Imperial Court entirely on her own.Li Sheng, the steward of the Jiang family, had also come and was sent out by Jiang Yuan to welcome her.
Even though it was only his second time seeing Jiang Tang, he was still markedly struck dumb with admiration. "Eldest Miss, we meet again.Jiang Tang nodded and followed behind Li Sheng. "Mhm.What she didn't know was that aside from Jiang Yuan who had invited her, the people waiting inside today included Wen Yalan, the mastermind behind the murder of Shen Yi, Gu Tianlin, and his mother Chu Yun.