Jiang Han came out of the house angrily, got into the car, and slammed the door shut. He held the steering wheel with both hands, stared at the windshield, but did not start the car.

Thinking back to what he had said to Xu Yan in the room, he realized that he seemed to have overreacted. What right did he have to be angry?

Publicly, they are competitors; privately, they are neither lovers nor friends now.

But why couldn’t he control his temper? When he heard that she was going out with Cheng Ji, he felt as if something of his was taken away by someone else.

He was reluctant to leave now, so he drove the car to a farther place where he could see the gate of Xu Yan’s courtyard and observe anyone entering or leaving.

After waiting in the car for more than an hour, with neither Cheng Ji coming nor Xu Yan leaving, his pent-up anger finally subsided, he turned the key, started the car, and stepped on the accelerator briskly to go home.

The next morning, after feeding the cat and having breakfast, Xu Yan waited for Cheng Ji at home.

Around ten o’clock, the doorbell rang. She thought it was Cheng Ji, so she went to open the door without asking.

Unexpectedly, the person standing outside was Jiang Qinghua . Xu Yan was stunned for a moment, then timidly greeted him, “Mr. Jiang, why are you here?”

Jiang Qinghua smiled, “Can I come in and sit down?”

“Of course.” Xu Yan stepped aside and let him in.

Jiang Qinghua walked and looked at the layout of the courtyard. When he reached the eaves, he turned around and said, “I remember this seems to be the house of the kid from the Cheng family?”

Xu Yan smiled at him, “Since Mr. Jiang knows I live here, he must have found out everything else. I think you should just say it directly. There’s no need to beat around the bush.”

“You have really improved. I remember when you were in Xinlan Group, you didn’t even dare to raise your head when you saw me.” Jiang Qinghua still smiled.

Xu Yan didn’t respond, but walked into the house first, picked up the small teapot to boil water, and found tea leaves from the cabinet to prepare tea.

Jiang Qinghua followed in and sat on the sofa. Wuyou and Wulv came out of the cat room, saw the stranger, and immediately ran back the way they came.

It takes a while for the water to boil. Xu Yan brought a plate of washed grapes and placed it on the coffee table. “Mr. Jiang, the tea will take a while to brew. Eat some fruit first.”

“I have high blood sugar and basically don’t eat sweets in recent years,” said Jiang Qinghua .

Xu Yan pursed her lips, “Sorry, I don’t know. I can only drink tea then.”

“ Meisi Group’s sales have been increasing recently. I heard that it’s all thanks to you?” Jiang Qinghua stopped smiling and asked seriously.

“Not entirely.” Xu Yan saw his expression change and suppressed his emotions, as awkward as a student seeing the dean.

“ You haven’t worked in this industry since you left Xinlan Group. Why did you suddenly come to Meisi Group?” Jiang Qinghua interrogated.

The water in the kitchen boiled, and the steam rose, making the lid bang. Xu Yan apologized to him, “The water is boiling, I’ll go turn off the fire.”

Take out the kettle and pour it into the teapot with tea leaves. Wash the tea leaves first, then pour water and move the brewed tea in front of Jiang Qinghua .

Xu Yan also picked up a cup and tasted it slowly. After putting down the cup, she looked at Jiang Qinghua and smiled faintly, “Mr. Jiang came to see me today just to care about why I work at Meisi Group?”

Jiang Qinghua also put down the teacup, put one hand on the back of the other hand, tapped his index finger and said, “Of course not. Meisi Group uses whomever it wants. It is Cheng Ji’s freedom. I am here for Jiang Han.”

Xu Yan smiled gently, “My relationship with Mr. Jiang is very simple. He is the boss of a rival company, and I am a hot marketing talent in our industry. If Mr. Jiang wants to recruit me to Xinlan Group, he should offer a salary. If the conditions are good, I will consider it.”

Jiang Qinghua pursed his lips and sneered, “Is your relationship really that simple? I didn’t say anything about what you were like before. Do you really think I don’t know?”

“Mr. Jiang, I have been away from Canghai City for three years. It is a bit far-fetched to talk about the past. Even if I committed a crime in the past and was in prison, I should have my own life after being released.” Xu Yan refuted him.

“Don’t provoke Jiang Han.” Jiang Qinghua said sternly.

“I didn’t provoke him. I left Canghai City three years ago because Jiang Han looked down on me.” Xu Yan said gritting his teeth.

“Since you’ve already left, you shouldn’t have come back. If you come back, isn’t it because you’re still thinking about him?”

Xu Yan laughed, “Mr. Jiang, are you here today to give me a large sum of money and let me leave Canghai City? If the money you give is enough, I will consider it. After all, the main reason I returned to Canghai City is that Meisi Group offered a high salary, and I just happened to be short of money.”

Hearing her mention money in every sentence, Jiang Qinghua ‘s face was full of disgust, “I knew you were such a superficial and snobbish person. The reason you came back is not to see that Jiang Han still has some feelings for you and want to keep him hanging? He may be fascinated by you and lost his mind, but his mother and I are here, we will definitely not agree.”

Xu Yan was really amused at this moment, “Mr. Jiang, you say you don’t agree now, but when Jiang Han asked me to pay off my father’s debt, why didn’t you have such a strong sense of right and wrong?”

Jiang Qinghua was choked and speechless.

the improper relationship between Jiang Han and I , so how could you turn a blind eye to it at the time?” Xu Yan asked.

“If he wanted to marry you at that time, I would definitely not agree!” Jiang Qinghua said angrily.

Xu Yan said contemptuously, “Because he can’t possibly marry me, I’m just playing around. Your family’s values are really touching, and you’re not afraid of being laughed at if you tell others about it. Mr. Jiang, don’t worry, I know what I’m like, and I don’t dare to dream of marrying into the Jiang family. Mr. Jiang and I are just ordinary business contacts.”

“Ordinary business relationship?” Jiang Qinghua repeated this sentence and sneered again, “On the night when you got into trouble in Hengshan City, Jiang Han called Liao Changming in the middle of the night. I’m sure you know who Liao Changming is? If it was just an ordinary relationship, would it be worth him making this call in the middle of the night?”

Although he heard that Jiang Han had some connections, Xu Yan never expected that Secretary Liao would be disturbed. Liao Changming was previously the head of a department, and later promoted to deputy position, and then to full position, and now he is preparing to go to Capital.

He should never be disturbed.

Xu Yan stuttered, “I...I don’t know the Secretary Liao he was looking for.”

Jiang Qinghua said, “It shouldn’t have happened, but he did it anyway. He’s usually sober, how come he can’t tell the difference between the serious and the urgent when something goes wrong with you?”

Xu Yan couldn’t answer why this happened. She rubbed her face with both hands and said softly, “I really didn’t know that Secretary Liao would be implicated.”

“Xu Yan, you know what your family is like. It is very different from our Jiang family. I will tell you clearly now that the wife we want to find for Jiang Han must be from a family of equal status, and we already have a suitable candidate. Jiang Han sometimes gets confused, and I hope you keep your distance from him.” Jiang Qinghua said.

Xu Yan drank another cup of tea and smiled, “Mr. Jiang’s words are too overbearing. If the cows in the countryside accidentally eat other people’s crops, the cow owner should apologize and then pen his own cows well. There is no reason to blame others for planting crops outside without proper protection.”

“I will also urge Jiang Han. I am reminding you not to harbor any illusions. Otherwise, when things get out of hand, neither side will be able to save face. By then, I’m afraid your Xu family will become a laughing stock in the entire Canghai City.” Jiang Qinghua said arrogantly.

Xu Yan retorted, “No matter how humble our Xu family is, we still have some sense of propriety and honor. I hope Mr. Jiang will discipline your son when he returns, and that he and your chosen daughter-in-law will grow old together and have a son soon. I am a child of the Xu family, and it is not your turn to be taught a lesson by someone from your Jiang family.”

After saying that, Xu Yan stood up and stretched out his hand toward the door, “I have to meet a friend later, so I won’t keep Mr. Jiang for tea.”

Jiang Qinghua stood up, ready to go out, and said earnestly, “Xu Yan, self-knowledge is a good quality. It will help you avoid detours.”

Xu Yan blinked and said, “I know. I hope Mr. Jiang and the entire Jiang family also have this noble and rare quality.”

...

When Cheng Ji came, he saw that Xu Yan looked very bad, and asked quickly, “What’s wrong with you? Are you sick?”

Xu Yan shook his head, “I’m not sick, I’m just angry.”

“Who made you so angry? I’m going to settle the score with him!” he said angrily.

Xu Yan lied to him, “I watched some videos of cat abuse.”

Cheng Ji gritted his teeth and said, “Those people are perverts, they will definitely get their comeuppance.”

Then the two of them put Wuyou and Wulv in cat bags and went to a nearby park to walk the cats. At noon, Cheng Ji took her out to eat.

Worried that the hotel did not allow pets, they first sent Wuyou and Wulv home and fed them before driving into the city.

The place we went to eat was a high-end club, which required a membership card to enter. The club was exquisitely decorated, the dishes tasted good and had style, and it was well-known among the wealthy people in Canghai City.

They arrived late, the private rooms were fully booked, and even the good seats in the hall were scarce, so they could only sit on the first floor near the stairs.

After ordering the dishes, Cheng Ji saw that Xu Yan still looked unhappy, so he comforted him, “There are still many kind people in the world, don’t get angry over those few people with bad character.”

Xu Yan forced a smile, “I’m fine. I’ve seen even the most vicious people.”

“Where do you want to go later? If you don’t want to go to the movies, you can go to see a play or a musical,” said Cheng Ji.

Xu Yan said, “Let’s talk about it after dinner.”

A tall receptionist came out from the door, gestured respectfully, and said to the person behind her, “Mr. Jiang, your box is on the third floor. Please take the elevator from here.”

The elevator was next to the stairs. When they heard her call out “Mr. Jiang”, Xu Yan and Cheng Ji looked over at the same time.

Who else could that “Mr. Jiang” be but Jiang Han? He was not alone, but accompanied by a capable woman with short hair.

Xu Yan remembered that Jiang Han told his father on the phone yesterday that he would make an appointment with Shiyi another time when he was free . Unexpectedly, the appointment took place today, and she saw him.

Cheng Ji greeted him, “Jiang Han, what a coincidence? You are eating here too?”

Jiang Han was surprised when he saw Cheng Ji and Xu Yan, and then his face turned a little angry. He looked at Xu Yan and said, “What a coincidence, you are here too.”

Cheng Ji looked past him and said to the woman following him, “Would you like to introduce yourself to her?”