Chapter 256 - Fang JunRong and Jiang WenYu were just trying to irk the other party; they didn't think the fool would actually expose themselves. (2)
Zhang Kaiyu chatting on and off with Jiang WenYu for another half an hour or so and felt more and more regretful about his talent – had they brought him back to the Zhang's sooner and not let him waste so many years out there, Fang JunRong would not have been able to get ahold of him and gained so much through him. Now it would cost them a lot to mend that fence with Jiang WenYu.
He consulted with Jiang WenYu about returning to the family officially and Jiang WenYu expressed that he owed a lot to Fang JunRong and wanted to invite her to the ceremony as well. As much as Zhang Kaiyu was upset at Fang JunRong for ruining their family's foundation, he was still putting up a good front with her. In addition, he did not want to drive a wedge between Jiang WenYu and the Zhang family over such a minor issue so he agreed.
Jiang WenYu was never one who enjoyed wasting time on something like that. He only chatted with Zhang Kaiyu for so long for the sake of his equipment on his two sheets of papers. Noticing that, Zhang Kaiyu wrapped up the conversation and took off.
When he took off, he reflexively retrieved the two sheets of papers and look over them once again. The list of equipment on the papers seemed to have a mind of their own. They found their way into his head and turned into a string of numbers.
Standing in the wind, he looked at a loss.
Jiang WenYu had agreed to return to the Zhang family and expressed his anticipation and enthusiasm toward the Zhang family's knowledge base. He was so readily accepting gifts from the Zhang family as well. Anyway one looked at it, Zhang Kaiyu's joy should be doubled right now. So why was it that he wasn't feeling it? Why was it that something just seemed a little off...
***
When Jiang WenYu brought up that he would be returning to the Zhang family officially, Fang JunRong was a little surprised. "Are you sure about this?"
Jiang WenYu nodded, "Yes, this is the only way to allow me to study the Zhang family's knowledge base." Pausing a little, he carried on. "Besides, I am certain that Zhang Bi is not happy about this." His existence alone threatened Zhang Bi's interests.
Fang JunRong got it now: Jiang WenYu wanted to irk Zhang Bi with this.
She nodded, "Alright. I'll go with you. I would like to check out the renowned Zhang family as well."
The way she said "renowned" was very sarcastic. The Zhang family prided themselves as a renowned family day in and day out but they did not back that up with the style that should have come with it. Nor did they have the kindness belonging to doctors. They put their gains above everything else. They merely used the term "renowned" as a propaganda for further gains.
In addition, Zhang ZhiYang, whom Zhang Bi had befriended in the past, had been locked up already. It was obvious that Zhang ZhiSu was not a big fan of them. That was the only reason why Zhang Kaiyu had accepted Jiang WenYu's outrageous demand. The Zhang family was in need of a lot of help right now. Jiang WenYu was, after all, a young talent that had been praised publicly.
Just as Fang JunRong had expected, the Zhang family wanted Jiang WenYu to rejoin them as early as possible. Yet, the ball was in Jiang WenYu's court. He was firm on only setting up a time for that after the first batch of the equipment had arrived.
The Zhang family tried to stall. The equipment, after all, was not cheap. However, once Jiang WenYu made his intention clear, the first batch of the equipment arrived shortly. There were a few that were harder to get on the second batch, but the Zhang family had already started working on them.
With that, Jiang WenYu finally moved forward with setting the date on May 8.
Fang JunRong accompanied Jiang WenYu on the day of and this was officially her first time to the Zhang's residence.
As the Zhang family had a lot of members, they did not reside in the city but half way up the mountain. Looking around, there were a series of retro-style structures over the entire area. In the back were mountains and rivers. The scenery was priceless. It was good enough to be used as backdrop for historical shows. That being said, this was the pride of the Zhang's family. Naturally, not just anyone could visit there.
The only reason that Fang JunRong was about to be there was because of Jiang WenYu.
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Chapter 257 - Fang JunRong and Jiang WenYu were just trying to irk the other party; they didn't think the fool would actually expose themselves. (3)
Nevermind about anything else. Those from the Zhang family were certainly good at putting up a front. Albeit wanting to tear Fang JunRong up from end to end, they would give her a bright smile whenever they met and were particularly attentive to her. Fang JunRong was also able to meet Su QinYing, Jiang WenYu's legendary mother.
Su QinYing was petite and delicate. She was well maintained but has a hint of melancholy between her eyes. That may be on a 20-30 woman, but on her, it just appeared out of place.
Tears rolled down Su QinYing's face when she saw Jiang WenYu. Choking back her tears, she said, "I am so happy that I can see you again."
"I knew that Dad had found you but I was too scared to meet up with you. I worry that this is all but a dream."
What she was saying, along with her tears, could probably bring tears to some sensitive individuals. From where Fang JunRong was, she only felt that Su QinYing couldn't have been more fake. What kind of a mother who loved their children would not want to see their child immediately when they were found?
When she was rebirthed, what she wanted to see most was that her daughter XinYun was okay.
She turned to look at Zhang Bi. He was leaning support to his mother and also looking very emotional.
When Su QinYing got close to Jiang WenYu, he took a step back and sneezed. "I apologize. I am allergic to perfume."
Su QinYing's look froze on her face. The very touching reunion scene had turned into a delectable dish with a bug in it.
Jiang WenYu was certainly a master at ruining the mood.
Su QinYing, learning her lesson, did not try the touching mother-and-son route again.
Nobody tried anything to prevent the ceremony from proceeding smoothly. Everything went surprisingly well. Fang JunRong thought about it for a little and had it figured out. After all, the clean leader of the Zhang family was very determined on Jiang WenYu returning to the family. Anyone who dared to say or do otherwise would face dire consequences.
After the ceremony was completed successfully, Jiang WenYu's name was recorded on the Zhang family's genealogy as Zhang WenYu. Fang JunRong felt that Jiang WenYu still had a better ring to it than Zhang WenYu and she trusted that Jiang WenYu felt the same way.
As a guest, she looked around and studied everyone leisurely. The other branches of the family watched on with a smile. It was obvious that they were enjoying the drama. As for Su QinYing, she could hardly maintain her smile when she saw Jiang WenYu's name on the top.
After lighting the incense, Jiang WenYu suddenly said, "There is someone that I need to thank for my achievement today. Sadly, I have yet to find out who this person is."
The others had assumed that he was referring to Fang JunRong, all the way until his abrupt change in direction and now everyone was baffled.
"I was but an ordinary teacher at a university but, somehow, I had offended this individual. They were determined to take my life and I was saved by Boss Fang at the most critical moment.
If it wasn't for this person, I would still be an ordinary teacher and would never have my accomplishments today."
Fang JunRong almost busted out laughing. Holding back her laugh, she added, "Hmm, in that case. I should be thankful for this individual as well. If it wasn't for them, my products would not have such a successful launch."
She looked over at Su QinYing and, seemingly surprised, asked, "Eh? What's the matter, Madam Su? You don't look well."
She and Jiang WenYu had only done that for the sake of irking the individual. Neither one of them had expected that it would actually smoke up the fool of a culprit.
Su QinYing had no idea how she made through the remaining time. She felt that she had turned into a log and her mind was far, far away. Her years of etiquette training and upbringing were the only things that propped her up. When she had finally recollected herself, she was already back into her own room. She reflexively looked into the mirror and saw her own pale face. There were worries between her eyes. As she stared into the mirror, she couldn't help but remembered another face. That face was quiet and calm, with unwavering determination between the eyes. It was a complete opposite of her.
She shook her head to get rid of the image. "You are dead. Leave me alone already."
The face turned into fragments and disappeared slowly. Even so, Fang JunRong and Jiang WenYu's words had taken roots in her mind. They had turned into poisonous wine inside of her and making her suffer.
~~~~~~
Chapter 258 - She saw Fang JueMing walking toward her as she said that. (1)
When she inadvertently ran into Jiang WenYu on campus, his look made her felt very alarmed. His eyes overlapped with those of the person in her memory. They had turned into nights of nightmares that would not leave her alone.
She could never allow that child to return and threaten Bi's standing with the family.
For her child, she had decided to be a vicious person just this one time. She dared not look at that face so she chose to ruin his look. Low and behold, not only did the child survive, he even ran into Fang JunRong and, with her help, became renowned nationwide and a leader of his generation. Her beloved son, on the other hand, looked like a mediocre person when compared to him.
Now not only would he be returning, but he would be returning as the eldest son.
Everything that she had feared the most was coming true and there was nothing that Su QinYing could do to stop it. She could only watch as things unfold under her nose.
She regretted deeply. If it wasn't the moment of weakness on her part, Jiang WenYu would just be an ordinary college professor and his outstanding talent would be drowned out by all the menial tasks at the university eventually nor would he ran into Fang JunRong who barged into his business.
As regretful as she felt, she would not be able to turn back time. She dared not try any other stunts now. Otherwise, her father-in-law, who cared about nothing but personal gains, would take care of her.
"What's going on with you today, Mom?"
Her son Zhang Bi's voice brought her back to reality.
Looking at Zhang Bi, she tightened her lips some and said, "Oh, nothing much. I just feel that you are being treated unfairly."
Zhang Bi recalled how Jiang WenYu, no, the now Zhang WenYu, was being surrounded and praised by the others today and felt equally irritable. Looking at how his grandfather and the others had put Jiang WenYu on a pedestal, he worried that he would one day be replaced. Nevertheless, he couldn't be too obvious if he wanted to do something against Jiang WenYu. He didn't want to look even worse in front of his grandfather. He was stuck between a rock and hard place right now.
As disgruntled as he was, he did not let that show. He said to her, "There's nothing unfair about it. We are siblings and we should be helping each other out."
He suddenly had an idea.
Zhang WenYu didn't look like the type who like to fight over power. He seemed to only want to focus on researching. He could wait until the research results are out then just take it from him. With that thought, he almost welcomed Zhang WenYu's arrival.
***
After her trip with Jiang WenYu to the Zhang's, Fang JunRong had a lot more clarity. The so-called mother of Jiang WenYu very well might be the person who tried to have Jiang WenYu killed. What kind of a mother would want their own child dead for no reason? Comparing to how much she doted on Zhang Bi, it was even more ridiculous. So the only explanation was that Jiang WenYu was not her real son.
As a woman, it was very easy for Fang JunRong to get close to Su QinYing and get her hair. She would be sending it along with Jiang WenYu's hair for a DNA test. Jiang WenYu, too, had obtained Zhang Bi's hair to send together.
Jiang WenYu didn't just stay over at the Zhang family on his own. He had three others with him. One of them was a nutritionist who was responsible for all of his meals and the other two were bodyguards arranged for him from above. They were experts in investigation. On the front, they were his assistants. Neither one of them knew anything about formulas but they would still be able to help wash out test tubes or similar tasks.
With that arrangement, Fang JunRong was quite confident of his safety. If anyone really tried to do anything against him, they would just be exposing themselves instead.
~~~~~~
Chapter 259 - She saw Fang JueMing walking toward her as she said that. (2)
The DNA test would take a little while but Fang JunRong was in no rush.
The Zhang family was, obviously, very enthusiastic about getting the words out there that Jiang WenYu was a part of the Zhang family. They announced it grandly in their circle and many interviewed Fang JunRong about Jiang WenYu but she would keep her answers simple.
Instead of all those, she was more concerned about the changes she had been noticing with her emerald dimension.
She had noticed daily changes with her emerald dimension ever since she had launched White Jade Cream and Detoxification Pills. By now, the changes should be drastic after the last few days.
She returned to her room, locked the door, and entered into her dimension.
When she went inside, she could feel immediately that the mystical air was much richer than it was before. Just breathing in the air was enough to rid her of her tiredness.
Her first reaction was to look over at the stone tablet; unfortunately, no new formulas had appeared on it.
No, she shouldn't be too greedy. She had already been very lucky having all the formulas that she had. She shouldn't be hoping for more.
As she pondered, she quickly went from the peak to the foothill. She looked around and it was a large field of herbs! As there were no descriptions on the stone tablet, she had no idea what their effects were. The glowing from the herbs made them appeared magnificent. The creek not too far away was so clear that one could see its bottom. It was not as rich as mystical qi as the spring water up on the peak but the quantity was impressive.
She stood next to it and watched it quietly. Every once so often, the creek, as though it possessed a mind of its own, would turn into mist and float over to the herb field.
The creek seemed to be there just to irrigate the herb field.
Fang JunRong looked over each and every single kind of herb and pondered. She didn't recognize most of it. The only one that she recognized was a type of wild ginseng. Wild ginsengs usually grow in the deepest part of forests and harsh environments. They absorb the essence in nature and the older they are, the more valuable they are. It was not easy to find real wild ginsengs normally. Looking at these wild ginsengs that were growing like cabbages, Fang JunRong began to question what she was seeing.
Then again, she thought, this was the dimension that was filled with mystical qi. Even common herbs like yunying and qingxia were extraordinary. The rare wild ginsengs in the real world became very insignificant when compared to these mystical herbs.
Seeing how there were plenty of them and that it was the only kind that she could recognize, she pulled out a couple of them.
She was surprised. They looked bigger than the alleged wild ginsengs that were over 100 years old that she had seen in the past. The older a wild ginseng, the stronger their medicinal properties.
She brought those two wild ginsengs with her back to the real world and placed them carefully in a box. She planned to have them appraised by experts.
Hmmm. She seemed to have forgotten something else.
***
Two days later, Jiang DeXian's clear voice jotted her memory.
"Stars of the Future competition is in two days. You promised Miss XinYun that you will attend as a guest."
Fang JunRong remembered that too. Stars of the Future was the show that XinYun and Zhong Yi had put together. The two of them had invested a lot of money at the early stage. When it started to gain traction, they even had a few television stations reaching out to them and wanting to air their competition live. A few other companies reached out to them and wanted to buy advertisement time during the show. XinYun picked a few with good reputations to work with. Granted, nothing beverage-related. They were, after all, competitors.
They had already made back the money that they had invested and also made the brand Shengxing known to the public. They did very well for their age. Even though Fang JunRong had helped them a little along the way, but mostly it was attributed to their own hardwork.
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Chapter 260 - She saw Fang JueMing walking toward her as she said that. (3)
Fang JunRong thought about it a little and decided to be lowkey on the day of. Being lowkey was, of course, relatively speaking compared to her normal self. As the weather was getting warmer, she picked an off-white silk pleated top along with a embroidered skirt with a split on the side. It made her looked tender and peaceful. Her hair was done up simply with a jade hairpin through it. The hint of emerald green made her appear lively.
XinYun had been waiting outside of the front early that day. It was a Sunday. She had on a crimson dress. Such was a color that could easily appear uncouth. Nevertheless, with XinYun's red lips and white teeth, it made her look youthful.
"Thanks to Aunty He and Aunty Zhou's help, my guest lineup for the final was not half bad. But all of them together would not rival my mother. Mom is the one with the most draw." XinYun's mouth was sweet like honey, not forgetting to compliment her mother. It brought a smile onto Fang JunRong's face.
Holding Fang JunRong's hand, Li XinYun introduced to her, "This is Li Xuan, the captain of the once extremely famed group Free."
Fang JunRong noticed that Jiang DeXian, who had a hint of a smile the entire time, changed colors. A severe look crossed his face for a brief second. It was obvious that he knew the person and that there was some sort of a history between the two of them. There was no other reason why Jiang DeXian, who was usually calm like a relaxed crane would have such a look on him. She made a mental note of the name.
Naturally, Li XinYun did not notice any of those. She went on with her introduction. "Oh, we also have Fang JueMing. Truth was, I didn't invite him but he reached out to us and expressed that he would like to be on the show. He even said that we are the rare purity among this circle and was truly public-facing." After all, most competition nowadays were created by agencies for the purpose of publicity of their actors. None of the competitors were truly common people; all of them were trained interns. Many of them had been to quite a few competitions no less.
That was not the case of XinYun's competition. They were not very well known at the beginning and none of the agencies nor their interns cared about them. As such, they drew real everyday people to sign up. From Li XinYun's perspective, these everyday people were raw gems that had yet to be refined. And the joy of a talent show was to watch them start shining bit by bit and grow with them.
Fang JunRong frowned a little when she heard the name Fang JueMing but that was short lived. Nevertheless, the ludicrous feeling remained. Fang JunRong had drew public opinions against Li XinYun for Jiang YaGe in the previous life which led to internet violence against XinYun. This time around he was praising her and offered to be a guest on her show?
She did feel happy about the change, just felt that it was ironic.
Noticing the change in her attitude, XinYun asked, "Mom, do you not like him?" Her eyes were very clearly defined and had a sense of naïve stubbornness when she looked at someone.
Fang JunRong felt less disturbed when she saw XinYun's look and the smile on her become more genuine.
"That's right. I am not a fan of him."
As she was talking, she happened to see Fang JueMing walking over to her.
With Fang JunRong's current status, she could easily destroy Fang JueMing's career with just a word. Since her rebirth, as much as she disliked Fang JueMing, the most she had done was to not have her company and any of its subsidiaries work with him. She had never actively made a move against him. As far as Fang JueMing went, with the exception of losing his mind over Jiang YaGe and let that cloud his judgement, he wasn't a bad person. He had good reputation among his circle as well. He would speak up when he saw newbies being bullied. And his hand was injured a while back because he stood up for someone against the unspoken rule.
She wanted her revenge, sure, but she also has her bottom line. One way or another, she did not want to end up someone like Li WangJin and his likes.