My Online Girlfriend Has a Twin Sister

"Alright, I’ll let them in now."

The security guard took the phone, handed it back to Jiang Ning, then opened the door and gestured for the two of them to enter.

The moment the door opened, the crowd behind Chen Yuan and Jiang Ning suddenly surged forward.

Many people were craning their necks to look inside.

’Chen Yuan was terrified they would impulsively rush inside.’

Thankfully, that didn’t happen. These people probably knew that rushing in would be useless. Even tying Jiang Ruxue to a cross and setting her on fire wouldn’t solve the problem.

One after the other, Chen Yuan and Jiang Ning walked inside.

To be honest, Chen Yuan didn’t know how to feel. He knew he would be seeing Jiang Ruxue when he came, and his heart had been in turmoil. Besides meeting his mother-in-law in such a peculiar capacity, the awkwardness of their last encounter was... still fresh in his memory.

The meeting was so sudden he didn’t even have time to be nervous, as his attention was focused on the suffering employees.

A thought or two flashed through his mind.

Past the entryway, the main office came into view. A few listless people were gathered together, looking no more spirited than the crowd outside.

Even the most high-end clothes look disheveled after being worn and wrinkled for a full day and night, to say nothing of the grim faces of the executives.

They didn’t even look up.

After crossing the office, Jiang Ning pushed open the ajar door to an inner room. A simple desk and sofa came into view, with sunlight filtering through a gap in the curtains.

A woman with slightly messy hair sat there, her hand on her forehead.

She wore a black women’s suit with slim-fit trousers and stilettos. Her figure seemed almost petite behind the enormous desk. Her hair, which must have been impeccably styled the day before, hadn’t been touched in who knew how long. It was held in a bun at the back of her head with just a few hairpins.

Her haggard makeup was visible at a glance.

’A person at their peak and a person at their lowest point are like two completely different people,’ Chen Yuan thought.

When they met in Lanjing, Jiang Ruxue had radiated sophistication and arrogance, not even deigning to spare a glance for others.

"Ningning, you’re here?" Jiang Ruxue looked up, then quickly lowered her gaze, her face hidden in the shadows. "That bastard Jiang Ruzheng... I told him again and again not to tell you, but he still did..."

"It wasn’t Uncle. I got a notification that my bank card was frozen. I asked him about it after that, and I couldn’t get through to your phone."

"Oh, so that’s what happened..." Jiang Ruxue raised her head again. This time, her eyes swept over Chen Yuan, but she didn’t say anything. "Have a seat."

Perhaps because he was wearing a mask, she didn’t recognize Chen Yuan immediately.

But after a moment’s thought, Jiang Ruxue probably guessed that Chen Yuan was the boyfriend from Lanjing that Jiang Ning had mentioned.

Seeing her in person, Chen Yuan couldn’t help but marvel... ’Talk about mother and daughter!’

Regardless of Jiang Ruxue’s other aspects, the resemblance was uncanny.

If Jiang Ning and Jiang Yao were standing next to their mother, his shock would be even greater than it was now.

’Genetics are a wondrous thing.’

It seemed Jiang Ruxue was slightly shorter than her daughter, but their facial features and shape were strikingly similar.

He knew he had no need to get involved in the conversation between mother and daughter. He just needed to stay quiet and be invisible.

This was also an opportunity to get a good look at the mother the two sisters feared like a tiger.

In the small inner office.

The conversation between mother and daughter continued.

"I’m meeting President Qi tonight. Uncle already gave me his contact details and some information."

"You’re going?!" Jiang Ruxue’s head snapped up. "Didn’t I arrange everything for him? What do you need to go for?"

"Uncle said he had some family matters to attend to, so he had no choice but to leave it to me. He said he’ll come once he’s taken care of things at home."

"What family matters could he possibly have? At a time like this... Just great." After her initial shock, Jiang Ruxue let out a cold laugh. "Heh, now I see. Even my own brother is running for the hills. And after I’ve been so good to him... I’m calling him right now to ask!"

"Mom," Jiang Ning frowned. "It’s no use asking him. Are you just going to chew him out and tell him to get his ass over here? What could he do even if he came? Are you going to start a fight at a time like this?"

"If he doesn’t know how, I’ll teach him. He’s a good-for-nothing who can’t do anything right."

"You’ve been teaching him for years, and you still haven’t taught him well," Jiang Ning said, looking down slightly. Her calm voice was neither servile nor overbearing. "It’s too late now."

Chen Yuan could clearly see Jiang Ruxue’s gaze shift, fixing on Jiang Ning.

But she had no rebuttal for Jiang Ning’s words.

It was the truth.

"I can handle the communications and try to negotiate a reasonable price. I’ll let you know how it goes tonight," Jiang Ning insisted.

"What is a kid like you getting involved for? Go back to Lanjing. If your uncle won’t go, I’ll arrange for someone else."

"It’s not that I want to get involved. Mom, haven’t you realized yet that you have no one left by your side?"

"What did you say?"

"The people who supported you, the people who trusted you—you’ve spent years using all sorts of methods to drive them away. Do you think I want to get involved? If you could listen to others, if you weren’t so arrogant, things never would have gotten this bad." Jiang Ning had been calm just a moment ago, but her emotions flared as she spoke. "Do you even act like an entrepreneur?"

"So you’re here to call me to account?" Jiang Ruxue SLAMMED her hand on the desk and shot to her feet. "Now that the company’s finished, everyone thinks they can walk all over me, is that it? Even my own daughter has to come all the way from Lanjing to lecture me?"

"I’m not here to call you to account, there are just some things I have to say," Jiang Ning said, meeting her gaze without fear. "If you hadn’t made so many pointless, risky investments, if you hadn’t been so stubborn and actually listened to other people’s advice, if you hadn’t recklessly squandered the company’s brand value, you wouldn’t be in this position today! How did you treat your employees out there? You even used their salaries to gamble on outcomes. No wonder they’ve surrounded the entire building... Do you know what people are saying about you outside?"

"Are you embarrassed? No one begged you to come back! No one asked you to come and see this mess! When you’re busy criticizing me, did you ever think about how I raised you and Yaoyao?" Jiang Ruxue no longer cared about saving face, her voice rising sharply. "Just because I failed today, everything I’ve ever done gets negated, is that it?!"

Chen Yuan swallowed hard from the sidelines.

It wasn’t just him; the terrifying shouts could probably be heard outside as well.

Chen Yuan was doing his best to be invisible, not daring to even breathe too loudly—this was a battlefield far above his pay grade.

"You’re not a good mother. I’ve always believed that, from the very beginning," Jiang Ning said, biting her lip so hard her eyes instantly reddened. "I only came back because you gave birth to me. There is no other reason."