Three years ago, Jiang Jinyue was photographed by reporters in a private club suite looking disheveled, and almost overnight, all sorts of negative news about the Su family and Su Jing began pouring in.
Some people claimed that the Su family had taken Jiang Jinyue in precisely because Su Jing had taken a fancy to her, so they brought her straight into their home to make it convenient for him to dally with her. There were even rumors that Su Pei'an had originally set his sights on Jiang Jinyue, only to have her snatched away by his son.
Regardless of which version people believed, Jiang Jinyue was painted as a woman who traded on her looks to please others.
Su Yan, while pretending to defend Jiang Jinyue, actually dropped hints that Jiang Jinyue's personal conduct was improper and that she had seduced Su Jing first, pushing Jiang Jinyue right into the eye of the storm.
The Su family spent a fortune to suppress the news and then hastily sent Jiang Jinyue abroad.
Over the past few years, no one in the Su family had brought the matter up again.
Yet now, the audio recording of Ye Zhilan on the phone was like a single drop of water splashing into a pan of hot oil, shattering three years of feigned peace.
Immediately following it came the voice of Su Yan.
"What is it you want to get from me?"
She absolutely could not let her play the rest of it.
Su Yan lunged forward, snatched Jiang Jinyue's phone away, and hurled it straight into the boiling kettle.
"So three years ago, it was you who drugged your brother?" Madam Su stared at Su Yan with absolute disbelief. "How could you do such a thing? How dare you!"
"Have you all forgotten what kind of person Jiang Jinyue is? This recording was fabricated by her simply to sow discord in our family. She's just taking revenge on us."
"Get out!"
"Brother, you have to believe me, I'm your own sister!"
"Get the hell out!"
Su Jing had always been a refined and gentle person; in the ten years Jiang Jinyue had lived with the Su family, she had never heard him use such a harsh tone.
Startled by Su Jing, Su Yan did not dare to say anything further. She glared at Jiang Jinyue and stormed out.
"Yueyue, come with me to the study."
Jiang Jinyue nodded.
Their figures vanished together around the bend of the staircase. Four or five minutes later, Madam Su said to Su Pei'an, "You knew it was Yanyan's doing all along, didn't you?"
Su Pei'an let out a long sigh. "Both palms and the backs of our hands are made of flesh. I was afraid of seeing brother and sister turn against each other, which is why I shielded Yanyan. I never expected that the moment Jinyue came back, she would investigate the whole affair thoroughly. It seems this child truly bears a grudge against us."
"And you brought this entirely upon yourself!"
Madam Su's anger flared. Her husband was a good man in every respect, yet when it came to their children, he invariably indulged Su Yan without any principles.
She wanted to say more, but a sudden needle-like pain pierced her brain, and an inexplicable agitation surged in her chest.
"You're getting that headache again? Let me help you upstairs to rest."
Su Jing had his own study in the house. In the past, whenever she had free time, she would curl up in here and read the books on his shelves.
She had pretty much read through that entire bookcase.
"Don't worry about the funding. Your brother will help you."
Jiang Jinyue pulled her gaze away from that row of bookshelves, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "Thank you, Brother."
Su Jing placed a cup of warm water in front of Jiang Jinyue before taking a seat opposite her.
He looked at her, his gaze returning to its usual gentleness. "How have things been in New York over the past three years? Why didn't you call your brother beforehand when you came back?"
"I've been doing well." Jiang Jinyue picked up the water glass, took a sip, and smiled at Su Jing. "If I had told you in advance, would you have let me come back?"
In the past, Su Jing had loved watching Jiang Jinyue act spoiled and playful with him. He loved her smiling face and loved it even when she puffed out her cheeks in mock anger.
Yet now, her smile didn't reach her eyes.
When all was said and done, she had grown distant from him.
"I'm sorry, Yueyue. It was your brother who implicated you."
Su Jing's remorse and self-reproach were genuine, and Jiang Jinyue could hear it in his voice.
Yet she was no longer the girl from three years ago—the one who would wipe the slate clean with a single word from Su Jing or a gentle pat on the head.
She carried the expectations of too many people on her shoulders now.
Above all, she had learned not to depend on anyone.
"I've never blamed you." Jiang Jinyue stood up. "Perhaps coming back to stay here was a wrong decision. Once I pack up my things, I'll move out and rent a place."
"If you prefer."
"Then I'll head back. Goodnight!"
"Yueyue..."
As Jiang Jinyue reached the doorway, Su Jing called out to her.
"If you run into any problems you can't solve in the future, come straight to your brother. I've already asked my assistant to buy a phone for you; you'll just have to go get the SIM card yourself tomorrow."
"Alright, thank you, Brother."
Jiang Jinyue stepped outside and softly pulled the door closed.
With Su Jing's intelligence, how could he possibly fail to see through her little schemes?
Wanting to live at home was merely an excuse; laying out everything Su Yan had done right in front of the Su family was her real objective.
And incidentally, she would use Su Jing's guilt to secure his investment—killing two birds with one stone.
Even so, Jiang Jinyue did not regret doing it.
This was her stance on what happened three years ago, and she intended to demand justice for herself!
Su Jing's gaze lingered on the glass of water in front of where Jiang Jinyue had been sitting, only a single sip taken from it, and he fell into deep thought.
The little girl he had always protected had grown up; she had even learned to play games of pretense with him.
The recording of Ye Zhilan and Su Yan... someone must have helped her get her hands on that!
Jiang Jinyue did not use the phone Su Jing had bought for her.
Early the next morning, she went out, bought a brand-new phone, and registered a new SIM card. As soon as she powered it on, a flood of missed calls and dozens of WeChat messages poured in, all from Meng Zanchen and Yan Bocong.
After reading through the WeChat messages, Jiang Jinyue was just about to call Meng Zanchen back when his call came through.
"Ancestor, you've finally picked up! If I couldn't reach you today, I was planning to march straight to the Su residence to drag you out."
"What's this about Lanchuang Capital contacting us on WeChat saying they want to invest in our company?"
Jiang Jinyue walked toward the roadside while talking on the phone.
She had just returned and hadn't bought a car yet, so she had to rely on taxis to get around.
"Wasn't that investment brought in by you?"
"That's Lanchuang Capital we're talking about, big brother! In their eyes, our company is nothing more than meat on a mosquito's leg. Just how devoid of self-awareness would I have to be to go brandish my broadsword right outside Lanchuang Capital's doors? I'm heading to the office now, let's talk when I get there."
Jiang Jinyue hailed a taxi.
Looking at the buildings flashing past outside the window, she pondered the motives behind Lanchuang Capital taking the initiative to seek them out.
Lanchuang Capital was an investment firm that had risen to prominence a few years ago, and within a short span of time, it had become a force to be reckoned with in the industry, formidable as a young lion.
It was said that the founder was still very young.
Just how young, Jiang Jinyue had no idea, as she had never paid attention to such matters.
Jiang Jinyue did not consider being invested in by Lanchuang Capital to be good news.
If Ye Zhilan tried to buy her out, she could still push back and dare to go toe-to-toe with her head-on. But once she was targeted by Lanchuang, the price of going toe-to-toe was something she simply could not afford.
Jiang Jinyue hurried into the conference room, where a representative from Lanchuang Capital was already talking with Meng Zanchen.
Seeing her walk in, Fang Zhi stood up and greeted her with a smile, "Hello, Miss Jiang, we meet again."
Fang Zhi, Lu Chenhuai's executive assistant.
"You know each other?" Meng Zanchen's gaze darted back and forth between Fang Zhi and Jiang Jinyue.
"We crossed paths once back in New York."
Fang Zhi nodded. "Yes."
It truly had been a single crossing of paths—repeated every few days.
After all, he was the one who had to run all the errands.