Old Liu found Jiang Jiang faster than Ji Xu'an did. When he saw Jiang Jiang, she was just walking out of the cafeteria, water droplets still clinging to her hands.
As he walked, Old Liu carefully observed the area around Jiang Jiang. He did not spot any suspicious individuals.
He jogged a few steps to her. "Miss Xie, are you alright?"
"Did sister Xu'an ask you to come?" Jiang Jiang slowly took tissues out of her bag and wiped all ten fingers clean.
Old Liu noticed her movement, and a trace of doubt flashed through his heart. "Yes. President Ji was worried someone might harm you, so she told me to come in and check."
Jiang Jiang pressed her lips together and smiled at him. "There was someone who tried to stop me just now. But there were other classmates around, so she didn't succeed."
Hearing that, Old Liu no longer cared about that slight doubt. A nervous expression appeared on his face. "Did you see clearly what that person looked like? If President Ji finds out, she definitely won't ignore it."
"She was a tall woman." Jiang Jiang thought for a moment, then added, "The way she spoke was quite interesting."
"You even chatted with her for a few sentences?" Old Liu was almost impressed.
From a certain perspective, Miss Xie's luck was really good. That person had already started talking to her, yet Miss Xie was still standing here safely and had not been taken away.
Jiang Jiang gave a soft "mm." "We didn't chat much. She didn't seem to want to talk to me. She just kept using meaningless words to brush me off."
But in the end, under her "kind persuasion," Jiang Jiang had still roughly obtained the answers she wanted.
Although Old Liu felt that sounded a bit strange, he did not think too much about it.
He accompanied Jiang Jiang to sit on a bench by the roadside for a while. About ten minutes later, a familiar car drove toward them and then stopped in front of Jiang Jiang.
Jiang Jiang had just stood up when she saw Ji Xu'an also get out of the car and walk around the front toward her.
"Sister." Jiang Jiang watched Ji Xu'an's figure gradually approach.
Ji Xu'an's steps were clearly much faster than usual. From the moment she got out of the car, her gaze had remained fixed on Jiang Jiang, carefully looking her over from head to toe.
When she stopped two steps away from Jiang Jiang, Ji Xu'an asked in a low voice, "You're alright?"
Jiang Jiang looked up at Ji Xu'an. Her long black hair falling behind her back made her figure appear even more slender and delicate, like a graceful white magnolia standing upright.
"I'm completely fine."
Ji Xu'an let out a breath of relief. She glanced at Old Liu and gave him a look. Then she turned and opened the front passenger door, letting Jiang Jiang get in first.
Only after Ji Xu'an moved aside did Jiang Jiang see that on the front passenger seat there was a large bouquet of bright red roses, and beside it a small bag.
"Is this for me?" Jiang Jiang looked surprised.
"Yes." Ji Xu'an pressed her lips together. Her expression was slightly unnatural. A blush spread unconsciously to her ears, and her voice was much lower than usual.
Seeing that Jiang Jiang did not speak, Ji Xu'an explained softly, "Sorry, I prepared it in a bit of a rush."
As she said this, she silently added in her heart: she would make up for everything she lacked later.
Jiang Jiang came back to her senses. "I'm not blaming you. I just didn't expect you to prepare these things."
But this also fit Ji Xu'an's personality very well. After all, she had even prepared a diamond ring before. Although both times were sudden, Ji Xu'an had still considered certain formalities.
Jiang Jiang recalled what Grandma Ji had said and could not help taking another look at Ji Xu'an.
Ji Xu'an had only just barely calmed herself down, but that one look from Jiang Jiang made her nervous again.
What did that mean?
Did she not like it?
Ji Xu'an thought anxiously. Jiang Jiang did not explain. Instead, she bent down and got into the car, trying to place the bouquet on her lap. But it was truly cumbersome. In the end, Ji Xu'an could not stand it anymore and took the initiative to put the flowers in the back seat.
During this entire time, Old Liu silently watched the two of them. After Ji Xu'an and Jiang Jiang both got into the car and the vehicle gradually drove out of S University under his gaze, Old Liu scratched the back of his head in confusion.
Why did it always feel like the atmosphere between President Ji and Miss Xie was strange?
It was like intimacy, yet also like distance. In short, it was difficult to describe in words.
—
In the car, Jiang Jiang unwrapped the gift. Ji Xu'an had given her a watch.
At the first glance, Jiang Jiang felt it looked very familiar. She lifted her eyes toward Ji Xu'an's wrist and realized that the watch on her own hand was extremely similar to the one Ji Xu'an was wearing.
No, it should be said it was exactly the same model.
Ji Xu'an's little intention was obvious.
Jiang Jiang rubbed the watch face with her fingertip. A few seconds later, she turned to look at Ji Xu'an, her gaze landing precisely on Ji Xu'an's wrist. "Sister, what does this mean?"
Jiang Jiang shook the item in her hand.
Ji Xu'an never turned to look at Jiang Jiang directly. She only dared to secretly observe Jiang Jiang's expression from the corner of her eye.
"I think this model looks very nice. You should like it." Ji Xu'an paused. Seeing that Jiang Jiang did not refute her, she continued, "And we count as being in a relationship now, right?"
Under Jiang Jiang's unblinking gaze, Ji Xu'an's heartbeat was nearly in complete chaos. "Since we're in a relationship, it definitely has to be different from before."
A lover and a sister were different. Ji Xu'an hoped Jiang Jiang would be mentally prepared for that.
Although this relationship had been obtained half by coaxing and half by trickery, since it had already gone as she wished, even if Jiang Jiang resisted, Ji Xu'an still had to try.
Jiang Jiang let out a breath. "So that's how it is. Sister, don't worry. I'll definitely cooperate well with you."
After saying that, without waiting for Ji Xu'an to respond, she put the watch on her wrist.
Ji Xu'an vaguely realized that Jiang Jiang seemed to have misunderstood something, but Jiang Jiang did not give her the chance to clarify. And soon, Ji Xu'an's gaze was once again drawn to Jiang Jiang's wrist.
That slender wrist wearing the same watch as hers made it seem as though Jiang Jiang herself had been marked with her imprint. A tremendous sense of satisfaction rose in Ji Xu'an's heart.
She restrained herself again and again, but in the end she still could not help it. When she turned her head to look at the rearview mirror, she curved her lips into a very faint smile.
—
While the two of them were testing each other back and forth, on the other side, Arkle had waited until the flowers were almost withering.
When Secretary Zhao had someone come in to refill the tea for the third time, Arkle finally could not hold back. He stared at Secretary Zhao with a dark expression.
"Where is Ji Xu'an?!"
Secretary Zhao smiled. "Mr. Zhou, please be patient a little longer. President Ji still has some matters to handle. Once she finishes dealing with them, she'll be able to make time to meet you."
Arkle let out a cold laugh. "President Ji sure has a lot of face. What matter is so urgent that it has to be handled at this time?"
He thought to himself, could it be that his people had already captured Ji Xu'an's fiancée?
"President Ji didn't tell me. But it must be something extremely important. You know President Ji isn't the kind of person who would stand someone up for no reason."
Secretary Zhao verbally soothed Arkle, but in his heart he knew clearly that Ji Xu'an was not coming.
Just twenty minutes ago, Ji Xu'an had sent him a message saying she had something very important to do and told him to find any excuse to dismiss Arkle and Zheng Zhouzhou.
Ji Xu'an had said it lightly, but Secretary Zhao did not dare be careless.
If it were only Zheng Zhouzhou alone, it would be one thing. Arkle was not someone easy to deal with.
Just as he was thinking this, a bodyguard in uniform walked in and whispered something in Arkle's ear.
Arkle's originally expressionless face suddenly darkened. He closed his eyes briefly, then cast Secretary Zhao a meaningful look and laughed in anger. "Fine."
Before Secretary Zhao could figure out what was going on, Arkle abruptly stood up. "Ji Xu'an and her fiancée joined forces to toy with me. I'll remember this debt."
"Zhao Zitang, tell Ji Xu'an this is my kind reminder. Does she know what kind of person her fiancée really is in private?"
Secretary Zhao's heart tightened. What did that mean?
Could it be that Arkle had really done something to Miss Xie?
After saying this, Arkle cast Zheng Zhouzhou a cold glance. "Why aren't you leaving? Waiting to continue drinking tea?"
Zheng Zhouzhou did not know whether she should feel worried or relieved. In front of Secretary Zhao, she said nothing. But after walking out of the private restaurant, Zheng Zhouzhou impatiently asked Arkle, "What did you mean by what you just said?"
Arkle's expression was still not very pleasant. He looked at Zheng Zhouzhou impatiently, but saw that her expression was extremely tense, as if the answer to this question was very important to her.
Something quickly flashed through Arkle's green eyes. His expression softened. "Something very interesting happened. I just made a remark."
"What? Are you very familiar with Ji Xu'an's fiancée?"
Hatred appeared in Zheng Zhouzhou's eyes. "In this world, there's probably no one who knows her better than I do."
Arkle: "Oh? Is that so?"
He smiled, naturally wrapping an arm around Zheng Zhouzhou's shoulder and pressing her into the car. "Then tell me properly."
"What kind of girl is she?"
—
Ji Xu'an's decision had indeed been made very suddenly. But as someone who had done business for many years, she was very familiar with contracts. The Linghai Group also had dedicated legal advisors. With a single phone call from Ji Xu'an, they came over and quickly drafted an agreement.
Grandma Ji had not expected her to be so anxious, as if afraid the person would run away. If Jiang Jiang were already of legal marriage age, Ji Xu'an might have taken her straight to the Civil Affairs Bureau right now.
In the final agreement, aside from some basic clauses, the distribution of property was specially specified.
Before registering the marriage, Ji Xu'an would transfer all assets under her name—except for Linghai Group shares—to Jiang Jiang. It would count as a gratuitous gift from her to Jiang Jiang. Even if the two of them ultimately did not register the marriage, these things would not be taken back.
As for the most important shares, after the marriage registration, Ji Xu'an would then decide whether to transfer them to Jiang Jiang.
Regarding this point, Ji Xu'an actually did not care that much. She frowned slightly and looked at Grandma Ji. "Although we can only register the marriage more than a year later, in my heart, regardless of whether there is that marriage certificate, Jiang Jiang is my wife."
So it was not necessarily required to wait until after registering.
Moreover, specifically stating that it had to wait until after registration made Ji Xu'an feel as though she were guarding against Jiang Jiang.
But in her heart, she did not have such thoughts.
Grandma Ji looked at Jiang Jiang. Before she could speak, Jiang Jiang quickly shook her head. "I don't want it."
Her attitude was very firm. She was not pretending to decline.
"Sister, I know you trust me. But I don't understand business matters at all. Besides, you've already given me a lot."
In fact, Jiang Jiang had not expected Ji Xu'an to be so generous.
The land, real estate, funds, stocks, and other assets under her name added up to a value that was probably an unimaginable number.
Ji Xu'an had just lightly handed them over to her.
Jiang Jiang suddenly felt the agreement under her hand grow heavy. Her original intention had only been to secure some protection. But Ji Xu'an seemed to be far more serious than she was.
Jiang Jiang could not help thinking, if Grandma had not stopped Ji Xu'an, would Ji Xu'an really have intended to give her the Linghai Group shares as well?
That was Ji Xu'an's foundation, the most important thing she possessed. Was she truly willing to transfer it so casually to someone else?
Jiang Jiang looked at Ji Xu'an's calm face and felt that she still had not completely seen through her.
How had she never realized before that Ji Xu'an was this crazy?
Was she really not afraid that Jiang Jiang would turn around and stab her in the back?
—
Author's Note:
President Ji with a love-brain: I'm giving it to my wife, not to someone else. And money can be earned again. As long as I'm still alive, am I afraid I won't be able to make money?
Jiang Jiang: Scared to death.
—
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