The Glamorous Comeback of the Ousted Heiress

Chapter 414: 162 Affection, looking for (first shift)_1
 

The light was dim, and the only shadows cast on the wall were those swaying from the phoenix trees in the neighboring yard.

Jiang Fulai slightly lowered his head, his voice still carrying its usual coolness at the end.

A gentle breeze rustled through the treetops, and occasionally, snippets of conversation would drift over from the courtyard not too far away.

He gently pulled Bai Lian toward him, embracing her lightly.

His gaze swept past the black tips of her hair, the wooden hairpin shimmering slightly in the lamplight, and her slender, fair neck—only this time, he rested his chin on Bai Lian’s shoulder.

He gently rubbed it against her shoulder.

Down the alley, there was just a faint whiff of cool mint in the air, creating an atmosphere that was quiet yet somehow restless.

“Alright,” he let go, stepped back, and watched her for a moment, his shallow, pretty phoenix eyes bending ever so slightly, “Good night.”

**

In the courtyard.

Ji Heng sat on the stone table, drawing design diagrams, while beside him, Jiang He held half an apple in one hand and a puzzle piece in the other, leisurely fitting pieces together.

The nearby lamplight stretched their shadows long.

Bai Lian opened the door and came in, her voice calm, “Grandpa, I’m back.”

She would always say this to Ji Heng every day when she returned home, and likewise before leaving the house, and Ji Heng would always wait up for her, no matter how late.

“There’s still tangyuan in the rice cooker,” Ji Heng said, looking down at his paper, studying it for a while before finally making a stroke.

Bai Lian set her schoolbag down in her room, served herself a bowl of tangyuan, and while eating, pulled out her phone.

A message from Xu Wenyao: “I asked a friend to find this new question bank for you.”

Xu Wenyao: “[Image]”

The contents were all biology and chemistry, thanks to Principal Huang’s relay; he understood Bai Lian’s weaknesses well, and these materials were not easy to come by.

Xu Wenyao: “Shall I send it to your school?”

Xu Wenyao had been to Xiangcheng and knew Bai Lian attended Xiangcheng No. 1 High School.

Bai Lian: “I’ll have someone pick it up from you tomorrow.”

Yan Lu had finished her scenes in Xiangcheng and was off to Jiangjing to shoot the last segment, which should take a bit over a month to complete.

Xun Chun and Xiaowu had gone to Jiangjing in the last couple of days, partly to deliver a contract to Yan Lu and partly to scout the traditional medicine market there.

Now with traditional medicine on the decline, Xiaoqi was very ambitious.

Speaking of which, Bai Lian turned to Xun Chun’s WeChat, asking her to see Xu Wenyao the next day.

While eating the tangyuan, Bai Lian continued to check her phone non-stop. After watching her for a while, Ji Heng set down his pen, took out his own tobacco pipe, and said, “If you’re eating, then don’t study. You should balance work and rest.”

Bai Lian took a sip of soup, looked up, and asked, “Grandpa, what does ‘wave-particle duality of light’ mean?”

Ji Heng: “…”

He lowered his head, and pried out a piece of the puzzle that Jiang He had just put together, saying sternly, “You got this wrong here.”

Jiang He still had the apple in his mouth, watching wide-eyed as Ji Heng removed the piece he had just placed, and then forcefully squeezed it into a spot where it didn’t belong.

Jiang He: “…”

**

Saturday.

Xu Wenyao found some free time to visit the Xu Family.

He happened to run into the hurried Wang Director, who had just come back from abroad. Upon seeing Xu Wenyao, Wang Director’s face sprouted a bunch of creases with a smile, “Wenyao.”

“Wang Director,” Xu Wenyao was very polite to him but also quite distant.

He headed straight for the elevator, leaving Wang Director behind, who spit out a “Pah,” near the elevator doors. He had business left unfinished abroad, but upon hearing Chen Ye’s news, he hurried back.

However, the Xu Family remained tight-lipped about the matter, and he could not pry any information even from the lips of Mrs. Xu.

Ding—

The elevator doors opened, and a middle-aged woman stepped out.

“Oh, Wang Director,” the woman, followed by a secretary, looked spirited and efficient, “You’re back from vacation. I’ll have a drink with you another time; I need to go report to our old master.”

Wang Director’s face darkened. He recognized the woman; she was from the Ma Family, the one he had lost a case to before. He had not expected that this time she would seize the opportunity at the wedding banquet, getting to know Shen Min.

Watching the woman’s retreating figure, his smile twisted unnaturally. Who would have thought that in Xu En’s second marriage, he would marry someone unknown, yet manage to invite Shen Min and the Chen Family?

Upstairs.

Xu Wenyao was reporting to Xu En about the laboratory situation in school.

Ji Mulan followed Xu En, studying design, but also striving to get closer to the Xu Family. She understood a bit of what Xu Wenyao was saying.

Outside, Mrs. Xu, leaning on her cane, entered.

She knew that Xu Wenyao would be coming to Xu’s today, so she came directly, “Wenyao, what’s been going on with you and Shuyun lately?”

“I have made things clear with her,” Xu Wenyao did not want to discuss this with Mrs. Xu, rubbing his forehead, he stood up, “Grandma, I still have to deliver exam materials to Alian’s friend. I’ll head downstairs first.”