Chapter 113: The Arrival of Su Rulong

Did Ning Zheng know that Jiang Tianji had come today with hostile intent?

Of course he did.

Back then, Ning Zheng had vetoed Jiang Tianji’s proposal with a single vote, derailing his academic path and sending him through who knew how many detours.

As the saying goes, if wealth and honor are not carried back to one’s hometown, it is like wearing splendid robes in the dead of night.

So this year, for the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jiang Tianji came back.

And he did not return alone. He brought with him more than a dozen graduate students and four doctoral candidates in literature.

Most of the graduate students and doctoral candidates studying classical literature overseas were wealthy second-generation heirs from families with deep pockets; some of their clans even ran businesses so formidable that, in small Southeast Asian countries, they could stand as industry giants.

In matters of investment promotion and attracting capital, they were not people one could afford to offend.

That was why Ning Zheng was deeply troubled.

In truth, Ning Zheng had long regretted vetoing Jiang Tianji’s proposal, but from the standpoint he occupied at the time, he had no choice but to do it.

Back then, the nation was at a moment when its economy urgently needed rapid development, and all focus was on how to stimulate growth as quickly as possible.

Heavy industry, technology, and tourism were all to be vigorously developed.

As for culture, it would have to wait.

But now, the great nation had become the world’s largest economy, with GDP reaching a historic high, and so classical culture had also been placed on the agenda.

Cities everywhere were scrambling for culture and tourism, each showing its own talents and methods.

At four in the afternoon, Ning Zheng had already gone home early and called Ning Cai. “Come back early and help your mother with the preparations.”

Ning Cai answered softly.

She was also deeply grateful to her stepmother.

When her mother passed away, she was only in middle school, just fourteen years old.

It was her stepmother who gave her mother’s love once more, caring for her with tireless attention and tenderness.

There had never been a maid in the house; all the household chores were done by the stepmother alone.

Shen Xian was driving, with Ning Cai and Ye Yu Ning sitting in the back seat.

Ye Yu Ning was very lively, chattering nonstop, talking about everything under the sun, from east to west, north to south, able to touch on anything and everything.

Ning Cai simply listened quietly.

Compared with Ye Yu Ning, Ning Cai seemed more like the older one, calm and steady, while Ye Yu Ning was the child.

“Actually, your stepmother really does treat you as her own daughter. She’s even planning to transfer both courtyards into your name,” Ye Yu Ning said. “If my dad could find a wife like that, I’d wake up smiling.”

Compared with Ning Cai’s family, Ye Yu Ning’s family was not nearly as wealthy.

Her father served in the military, her mother worked in the cultural troupe, and they were both native to the capital.

Their social standing was not bad, but their wealth was another matter, at least on the surface.

As for whether they had money in private, who knew? She dared not guess, and I dare not say recklessly.

“My stepmother... she’s very good,” Ning Cai said. “When everyone else only cared about whether I was doing well in school, she was the only one who cared about my mental state.”

“At first, when she came into the family, I was actually quite resistant. But later, I really felt she was like a mother to me, gentle and thoughtful.”

“After she came into the house, in order to care for my feelings, she never asked my father for another child.”

“She carried on the love my mother had for me.”

For more than a decade, I have also come to think of her as my own mother.

When it came to her stepmother, Ning Cai spoke a little more.

Shen Xian merely listened in silence, and for the first time, he truly felt how great the woman was.

To be consistent for more than ten years took a strength ordinary people could never maintain.

She was not short of money.

Two courtyard residences, if sold at market value, might well be worth more than a billion; let alone the countless antiques still in her family’s possession.

You can say an imperial clan is wicked, but you cannot say it is incapable.

In terms of original capital accumulation and deep-rooted foundation, very few could truly compare with an imperial clan.

“Your stepmother is remarkable,” Shen Xian said.

Ning Cai gave a soft hum. “Like an angel.”

“When are you all going back to Nanzhou? Let’s make plans then. I haven’t seen Wan Wan in ages,” Ye Yu Ning said.

“I’ll probably have to stay a few more days. Shen Xian will go back first,” Ning Cai said, lifting her head to look at Shen Xian, who was driving.

Even the way he drove was beautiful.

His hands were long and slender, the joints distinct, every finger elegant and refined, the fingertips neither thick nor clumsy, but delicate and handsome.

Why could he not be more decisive?

Why did he have to weigh advantages and disadvantages?

Shen Xian sensed Ning Cai staring at him. He glanced at the rearview mirror, and their eyes met.

Ning Cai met his gaze bravely and did not look away.

But Shen Xian withdrew his eyes first.

Setting aside the fact that he felt nothing for Ning Cai, even if he did, he would not consider it.

The wheels of reality rolled forward with unstoppable force, and Shen Xian felt he could not block them; they would crush him into dust.

If he could not stop them, then he would step aside.

Within powerful families, there is no true and sincere love.

Just as there had not been between him and Lin Zhi Xia back then.

Ye Yu Ning sensed that the atmosphere in the car had grown somewhat heavy, and vaguely guessed why.

So she was the first to break the silence. “Shen Xian, you said you’d help me think of a way. Any ideas yet?”

Shen Xian gave a hum. “A little. As for the specifics, I’m still considering them. Once I’ve figured it out, I’ll tell you.”

“How much confidence do you have?” Ning Cai asked.

Shen Xian said, “About thirty percent.”

In truth, he did not even have thirty percent.

But if someone were willing to jump into the trap, then the odds of success would rise to more than eighty percent.

The most crucial step, however, might require him to use himself as bait, to step into the game with his own body.

Whether the advantages outweighed the disadvantages, Shen Xian was still weighing it.

Before four o’clock, the three of them had returned to the Ning residence.

Ning Zheng was already back, seated on the sofa reading his notes, while the stepmother was busy in the kitchen.

At the sound of the door opening, the stepmother came out of the kitchen, her face bright with a gentle smile. “You’re back. Yu Ning is here too?”

“Auntie!” Ye Yu Ning called sweetly, then walked up to Ning Zheng. “Hello, Secretary Ning!”

“Mhm. Sit anywhere you like,” Ning Zheng said, not even lifting his head.

The stepmother pulled Shen Xian aside and asked softly, “How did it go?”

Shen Xian gave a wry smile. “Not very promising.”

The stepmother nodded. “It’s fine. Do what you want to do. I support you!”

Shen Xian smiled, then looked toward the kitchen. “You didn’t hire a private chef today?”

“No,” the stepmother said. “I can handle it by myself.”

“I’ll help,” Shen Xian said.

“You’re a grown man. What are you doing in the kitchen? Go rest,” the stepmother said with a smile.

Shen Xian also smiled. “It’s fine. I do my own cooking at home. My skills are decent enough to show off.”

As he spoke, he was already preparing to head into the kitchen.

Ning Zheng lifted his eyes and glanced at Shen Xian, then lowered his head again, a trace of disdain flashing in his gaze.

Trying to win by going around the flank?

Seeing that his direct approach was useless, he planned to curry favor with the stepmother and have her persuade him?

Clever enough, and quite quick-witted, but before absolute power, all such efforts were futile.

Seeing that she could not dissuade him, the stepmother had no choice but to let Shen Xian into the kitchen to help.

Once inside, she was surprised to discover that Shen Xian was extraordinarily skilled at picking, washing, and cutting vegetables.

He also knew how to cook a wide variety of dishes, even authentic capital-style cuisine.

For example, shredded pork in Beijing sauce and braised shark fin.

Especially the shredded pork in Beijing sauce, a classic signature dish of the capital. When Shen Xian made it, it had everything: color, aroma, and flavor.

The stepmother tasted a bite and was instantly astonished. It was even more authentic than what she made herself, perfectly balanced between salty and sweet, rich with sauce, and remarkably distinctive in flavor.

“Xiao Shen, how do you know how to do everything?” the stepmother asked.

While washing vegetables, Shen Xian replied, “If you do it yourself, you have enough food and clothing.”

He did not say that he had learned it back in his student days, when he worked part-time in restaurants and hotels everywhere.

In the end, it was the stepmother who became the one assisting Shen Xian.

Watching him busy himself before the stove, the stepmother wore a face full of gentle smiles, and satisfaction shone in her eyes.

Ning Cai was quiet and reserved, Shen Xian agile and adaptable; they really did seem well matched.

As she was thinking this, the doorbell rang, and then a rough voice called out, “Hello, Uncle Ning.”

The stepmother’s expression changed.

Why had that filthy pervert come?

Su Ru Long was the first to arrive.