CH 8

Jiang Jun knew that she was wrong, and timidly argued, “Every year, I sneak back to visit, okay? I think Grandfather is still mad at me. In these past few years, he never speaks to me when I call home, and last time when he came to Hong Kong, he clearly saw me in the welcoming party and glared at me.”

“If he was really angry with you, he wouldn’t have even looked at you, much less call me so often to ask about you. Like grandfather, like granddaughter, you two have exactly the same temperament. If you don’t bow your head, then do you want your elders to come and beg you in person?”

Jiang Jun pursed her mouth. “But he said back then, if I walked away from the family, I would never go back for the rest of my life, and the Zhong family never had me as a child.”

“Those are just words spoken in anger. Don’t you often tell me that if I don’t wash the dishes, I’ll never eat the food you cook again in my life? It’s the same principle.”

“But…” Jiang Jun naturally wanted to go home, but she was still not sure whether Grandfather would really forgive her.

Yuan Shuai hit the iron while it was hot. “Don’t keep hesitating, didn’t you already take your annual leave? Let’s not go to see the aurora borealis anymore. Go home instead, even if you are beaten, you’ll have time to recover.”

“You’re just gloating at my misfortune!” Jiang Jun pinched Yuan Shuai and pushed him away, “Okay, go down and ask your little duckling or little chick sister to dance.”

“You haven’t promised me yet.” Yuan Shuai pressed for an answer.

Jiang Jun seemed to very reluctantly nod her head quickly. “Okay.”

“Really?” Yuan Shuai embraced her excitedly, “Do you really promise?”

“I’m a woman of my word.”

“Jun’er, I…” Yuan Shuai’s expression seemed very strange to Jiang Jun and she wondered: Isn’t it just going back to Beijing for the New Year? Why does this guy look more excited about it than his own parents?

It wasn’t until Yuan Shuai’s lips were pressed on hers that Jiang Jun thought of the question he had asked before. It seemed that the two of them had been talking out of turn. Before she could respond, Yuan Shuai’s scorching breath filled her mouth. All Jiang Jun could feel was that her head was rumbling and then all the lines of rational defenses collapsed, enveloping her in dust and smoke. It was a mess, it was all a huge mess.

She hadn’t done this kind of thing in a long time and she had forgotten how a kiss could pierce the heart with throbbing and confusion. The tip of Yuan Shuai’s tongue swept across her teeth lightly, hot and gentle but invincible. Jiang Jun gave in to her emotions and indulged in her own desire, standing on her tiptoes and wrapping her arms tightly around his neck to bring him closer. Their lips and tongues tangled together, impossible to separate.

The cracking sound of utensils falling to the floor brought Jiang Jun back to reality. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw A Xiang, his face looking distorted from shock.

“You go down first, I’ll have a few words with him.” Yuan Shuai rubbed Jiang Jun’s back up and down and noticed her slight trembling. Knowing that she must be shy, he laughed in a low voice, “It’s okay, go wash your face.”

Jiang Jun didn’t know what to do, so she could only cover her smoldering cheeks and flee with her head down. She rushed to the bathroom and washed her face with cold water several times, then sat on the toilet and smoked a few cigarettes before she felt calm. Thinking of the scene just now, she pursed her lips, reflected on the moment, and bit her nails, unable to stop a laugh.

She touched up her makeup and came out of the bathroom, then drank a glass of chilled juice before she felt back to her normal self. Yuan Shuai was leading Xiao Ya around on the dance floor. Jiang Jun leaned on the bar and watched them dance together, thinking that he looked like a dad escorting his daughter. A Xiang leaned closer, his face even redder than hers, and stammered as he asked, “You’re actually with the smiling tiger, you guys…”

“Why are you so fond of giving people nicknames?” Although the nickname was in line with Yuan Shuai’s style of doing things, Jiang Jun just couldn’t get used to hearing it. She interrupted A Xiang, “I hope to see my Agera within the next week, or otherwise I guarantee that all the employees of Skyway will know that the Young Master of the Ding family is on a private visit to experience civilian life.”

“Voldemort is here.” The kid was probably going to renege on the bet. Not only did he turn a deaf ear to Jiang Jun’s words, he also stood up to welcome him, his expression stiff and his acting skills terrible.

Jiang Jun sneered without turning her head. “I’m not fucking afraid of Voldemort coming. The deadline’s Friday, if I don’t see the car on Friday, just wait to be welcomed by everyone.”

“Who’s Voldemor?*” [T/N* Spelled like that originally, Du is clearly not a Harry Potter fan]

Jiang Jun was startled by the sound and turned around to see Du smiling at them amiably. A Xiang stuck out his tongue at Jiang Jun, who shook her head, all her emotions leaving her wordless. Sure enough, he was someone who couldn’t even be mentioned by name!

A Xiang found an excuse to escape. Du looked at the deserted dance floor and reached out to Jiang Jun. “Let’s dance.” Not allowing her to refuse, he pulled her wrist and slid them onto the dance floor.

The dance floor was dimly lit, but Jiang Jun could still feel Yuan Shuai looking at her. She felt inexplicably guilty and stiffened her body into a posture worthy of the national standard, straightening her chest and neck to distance herself from Du as much as possible.

“Hey, Du!” Yuan Shuai led Xiao Ya until they were next to her and Du, and stopped dancing to greet them.

Du let go of Jiang Jun, shook hands with him, and said with a smile, “What a coincidence.”

The cell phone in Jiang Jun’s bag rang. She took it out and looked at the caller’s number before lifting her eyelids slightly, her glance aimed at Yuan Shuai’s left hand in his pants pocket.

Jiang Jun smiled at the three people in front of her. “Sorry, I have to take a call.” After she walked off the dance floor with the phone, she sent a text to Yuan Shuai: Your pants are too thin, you’re exposed.

Du and Yuan Shuai also left the dance floor and sat down cozily together to drink and chat. Nothing good could come of two demon kings getting together to plot.

Jiang Jun wanted to slip away, but A Xiang dragged her around in a big circle to show off. When she couldn’t bear it anymore, she used the excuse of having a smoke to escape. She wanted to find a quiet place to stay for a while and there was no one on the second floor, but her kiss with Yuan Shuai just now made her lose the courage to revisit that place. Seeing that there was a VIP room behind the bar, Jiang Jun went over and knocked on the door. After waiting for a while, no one answered, so she simply pushed the door in. The room only had small lights at each of the four corners. A lady, whose age and demeanor made it obvious that she was not from A Xiang’s generation, was sitting alone on the sofa in the corner, drinking. Seeing that someone had come in, she raised her head to take a closer look. Jiang Jun recognized this rich wife and greeted her with a smile, “Mrs. Du, long time no see. Sorry to disturb your peace and quiet, I thought no one was in this room.”

The other woman was slightly tipsy and kept laughing. “Oh, it’s you, let’s have a drink together?”

Jun Jiang glanced at the bottle and saw that it was Swedish vodka, which was definitely not the choice of a virtuous family woman. She tactfully declined, “Thank you, but unfortunately, I’m allergic to alcohol and I can’t enjoy the blessing of fine wine.”

The other woman propped up her head with her hand and smiled at Jiang Jun. “Are you afraid? Don’t tell me that Du’s precious darling is also sometimes timid?”

Jiang Jun had heard similar expressions so many times that she didn’t take it seriously. She didn’t have the ability to kill the people who said these things, so she could only keep thickening her own skin. She politely said goodbye to the other woman, “Take your time drinking, goodbye.”

A Xiang was looking around everywhere for Jiang Jun, and when he saw her coming out of the door, he rushed over and asked in a panic, “Did you go in?”

Jiang Jun asked, “Why did you bring Du’s wife here?”

“She’s my sister’s friend, what did she say to you?”

Jiang Jun smiled, “It’s nothing, she seems to have drank too much, I’ll look for Du to take her back.”

“No, no matter what, don’t tell Du.” A Xiang shoved the plate of snacks in his hand at her and hurried into the room. After the door closed came the sound of the lock. Jiang Jun stared thoughtfully at the pattern on the wooden door for a moment.

“Excuse me, do you need a drink?” The bartender came over and asked.

Jiang Jun handed the plate in her hand to him and rubbed her forehead, seemingly a little drunk. “What kind of wine is in that bottle in the room? It’s so strong.”

“Vodka, of all the ladies in Hong Kong only Mrs. Du drinks it. I’ll go make a hangover drink for you?”

Du’s wife was the youngest daughter of a media tycoon and often appeared in various fashion parties, a standard high-class socialite. It was hard to imagine that she was actually a lover of such strong spirits.

Jiang Jun was full of worry and said, “It looks like she’s drunk. It’s probably better go get Mr. Du to send her back.”

The bartender’s face stiffened and he hurriedly said, “There’s no need, she has good alcohol tolerance and won’t be drunk. Master Xiang… They’re talking about things, so it’s better not to disturb them.”

“They have a really good relationship,” Jiang Jun said meaningfully. Seeing the other person’s expression change, she smiled with understanding, took out a few tickets from her purse and stuffed them into the bartender’s hands. “Please squeeze a glass of grapefruit juice for me and add half a spoon of honey, thanks.”

She took the juice, walked back to her seat, and saw Yuan Shuai being surrounded by a group of pampered young ladies and gentlemen. She didn’t know what they were talking about, but she heard bursts of laughter and admiration. She didn’t want to stay any longer. It was a boring party.

She hadn’t taken a few steps out the door when Du caught up with her and wanted to take her home. Jiang Jun refused, “I didn’t drink, so I can go back by myself.”

Du threw the car keys to Jiang Jun, spreading his hands. “Then you can take me home, I’ve been drinking.”

Jiang Jun was speechless; this person’s egotism was really beyond saving.

On the way, Du asked Jiang Jun, “Are you and Zeus very familiar?”

Jiang Jun said without hesitation, “He’s my cousin.”

“Cousin?” Du’s always-indifferent expression changed slightly, “I’ve never heard you talk about him before.”

“I keep it low-profile.”

“Turn right ahead, let’s go get something to eat.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I’m hungry, you can take me there.”

Jun Jiang turned to the side and glared at him. Du smiled and said, “There’s something worth celebrating today, I want to share it with you. By the way, have you met Zhang Suyun yet?”

Jiang Jun nodded. “She left after we exchanged just a few words.”

“What was said?”

“I said it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other, she said we should have a drink together, I said I’m not used to drinking vodka, she said forget it then, goodbye. It was like that.”

“I hope it was really like that. Well, we’ve arrived. You can’t drive to the front, so we’ll park here.”

“Can you eat in this place?” Jiang Jun got out of the car and looked around. “These houses won’t collapse, right?”

“Don’t worry, it’s very sturdy.” Du pulled her forward for a bit and walked up to the second floor of a dilapidated building. There was a private restaurant there, and there are three small tables in the room, one of which had several small dishes such as dried bean curd and peanuts. Du motioned to Jiang Jun to take a seat, while he himself took a bottle from the wooden shelf next to him and carefully studied the flowers carved on it.

Jiang Jun protested, “I’ll have to drive again later!”

Du overruled her. “I’ve already called the driver to come over, and there are some things I want to tell you.”

To be honest, Jiang Jun was quite reluctant to talk to Du about work now. She had Yuan Shuai on her mind and just wanted to go home early, but she could see by Du’s attitude that he would not let her go so easily.

Recently, it had not been peaceful at the company. With an overall performance decline for three consecutive quarters, the battle among the high-level factions had intensified. As the traditional pillar of the company, the IBD business* was the focus of the fierce battle, and the consecutive arrivals of several airborne troops let Jiang Jun faintly smell a trace of blood. [T/N* Just a reminder, IBD = Investment Banking Division]

Du appeared indifferent to this arrangement, but Jiang Jun understood that the man was just biding his time.

Jiang Jun reported what she knew of the situation and the key points to Du as much as possible, and Du snorted coldly. “It’s all just some small moves that can’t be seen on the stage, did it affect you?”

Jiang Jun raised her eyebrows. “Is this considered caring about me, or humiliating me?”

“Of course I care, shouldn’t I?”

“Don’t beat around the bush, just say what you’re up to.” Jiang Jun pushed away the wine glass that Du handed her, “I don’t drink.”

Du smiled slyly. “There’s an old saying in China that wine strengthens people’s courage, and there’s also a saying that the truth comes out after drinking, so we have to talk after drinking.”

“You want to get me drunk with just your little bit of alcohol?” Jiang Jun laughed in spite of herself and said, “You better ask before you black out, or you won’t get another chance. What can be said, I’ll say anyway, even without you getting me drunk, and what I can’t say, I won’t say even if you give me industrial strength alcohol.”

Du asked, “Tell me about your little boyfriend?”

Jiang Jun asked back, “If you didn’t already know his background, would you have accepted his invitation?”

“He didn’t say that weren’t his girlfriend.” Du sat upright, “So I’m asking for proof.”

“I’m not.”

“That’s good, I don’t want you to have anything to do with the Ding family.”

“He’s a nice guy, and he’s in Skyway now, so I can use him.”

“What’s going on over at Skyway?” As soon as Du said that, an old man came out of the kitchen to serve the food. Jiang Jun bowed her head to eat and stopped talking.

Du took the dish and said to the old man, “You should go rest early, if there’s anything we need, we can do it ourselves.”

When they were the only two left in the room, Jiang Jun approached Du and lowered her voice to tell him all about her plan to take down Skyway.

Du was full of praise. “Well done, and you don’t need to be so quiet. There’s only Uncle Tian here in this house, and I paid for this store’s opening.”

Jiang Jun licked her lips. “This place is so shabby and the food is bad, you must have lost a lot of money.”

“I like this place.” Du gave her a piece of a dessert she hadn’t eaten before. “Try this, I used to eat it every day.”

Jiang Jun tried a bite, didn’t think it was that good, and simply put down her chopsticks. “If there’s nothing more, can I go home and sleep now?”

“What’s the hurry, I heard you and Allen have been very close recently.”

“We’ve been working on a project together, is that a problem?”

Du smiled and sipped his wine. “Is it that you don’t trust me and you’re looking for a way out for yourself, or are you trying to scheme against him?”

“I want to get two project managers from him, but he dragged his feet and wouldn’t let them go. I needed to hire more people soon, so I said I’d trade Andy. You know how tempting the resources in Andy’s hands are.”

~ ~ ~

Translator’s Notes: Don’t you just want to shoo Du away and let Jiang Jun get back to Yuan Shuai already!? One thing I think the drama did really well was to make the investment banking aspects more relevant to the characters and more interesting in general. But I do like how confident, independent, and experienced Jiang Jun is here, something that I think the drama took away from her character by making her a newcomer and also especially by making Yuan Shuai her boss rather than Du. What do you guys think?