Chapter 656 - 436: Her True Feelings
Lawyer Gu didn’t understand. If Chen Yuan was Jiangg Yao’s boyfriend, how could he possibly be sitting in the seat of honor for the Jiangg Family?
In the past two days, she had only met Chen Yuan briefly once at the Jiangg residence.
Her first impression of the young, handsome man was that he was the scion of some wealthy family—perhaps a contact Jiangg Ning had found elsewhere when she was looking for help.
After seeing him today, however, she changed her mind. Seeing him and Yaoyao acting like a couple, she figured he must be a son-in-law to the Jiangg family.
This only deepened Lawyer Gu’s confusion, especially considering Mo Nana’s strange behavior just moments before.
The atmosphere at the table was lively, with the ceaseless clatter of bowls and chopsticks as drinks were refilled one after another, leaving no time for thought. But Lawyer Gu’s eyes never left Chen Yuan.
With her sharp lawyer’s intuition, she sensed that the relationship between the two Jiangg sisters and Chen Yuan was bizarre.
Both of them were leaning toward the head of the table, leaning in very close. It was a subconscious and habitual sort of intimacy.
Without boundaries.
...
"Marriage is a huge deal. It’s no exaggeration to say it can make or break your entire life’s happiness. It’s not that I don’t want to find a partner, it’s that I can’t stand any of the losers I’ve met. And I’m not talking about wealth... Back in my student days, I was in a relationship. The guy was a little poor, but he had a great personality. We dated for over three years. And you know what happened? In those three-plus years, he cheated on me seven times! And one of his friends was the one who told me, otherwise I would’ve had no idea. After that, I just completely gave up on love."
"That really happened?" Chen Yuan and Ji Hai asked in surprise.
From what they knew of Mo Nana, they could hardly imagine this domineering and fiery woman having been so innocent and pure-hearted back in her student days.
To think she’d willingly played the fool.
"I’m only telling you this because I’ve had a few drinks and don’t care if you laugh. You two are not allowed to tell that bastard, Pei. If you do, he’ll tease me about this for years."
"Well, Director Mo’s situation is different from the problems most young people face today," the legal assistant said candidly. "They’re not against marriage itself, but the pressure on the average person is just immense. Starting a family and having kids in this kind of social environment is just too difficult."
"Yes, there’s a huge gap between this generation and ours. There are fewer opportunities, the world feels smaller. My students, to use a phrase you young people say, have no light in their eyes," Teacher Qiu said with a sigh.
"But the pressure to get married really is the biggest problem I’m facing! My current strategy is—I’m open to finding someone, I’m even open to marriage, but he has to be at least like our company’s chairman!"
Just as the conversation was heating up, Mo Nana abruptly steered the topic straight toward Chen Yuan.
Seeing their confusion, Mo Nana pointed at Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan shuddered, a bad feeling creeping over him.
"Looks, family background, personality," she said, counting on her fingers. "Emotional intelligence and capability."
The moment she said this, Ningning and Yaoyao both froze, their chopsticks halting mid-air.
The legal assistant looked bewildered.
Ji Hai fixed his gaze downward, pretending he hadn’t heard a thing.
Lawyer Gu instantly sensed her chance to get to the bottom of things. Her eyes lit up, and she looked ready to pounce.
Only Teacher Qiu nodded and said with composure, "Chen is indeed an excellent young man."
"It’s normal to feel pressured to marry. I can understand why some young people don’t want to; the societal pressure is truly immense. But Ningning, you have such a good job and you’re so beautiful. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve tried to introduce you to potential partners, but you’ve always politely declined," Lawyer Gu said nonchalantly. "Ningning, look, Yaoyao has already found a boyfriend. Aren’t you worried at all?"
The "boyfriend" she was referring to was, of course, Chen Yuan.
This was the first time Lawyer Gu had stated it so openly.
"That’s right. Our chairman is already spoken for, otherwise I’d have had my dad try to set us up," Mo Nana said, as if deliberately trying to stir the pot.
The main topic of discussion had now shifted to the two sisters and Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan, now mistaken for Jiangg Ning’s brother-in-law, wanted to explain but had no idea how.
It was just as the three of them had discussed before.
They could never expect anyone to accept such an unorthodox and twisted romance. It was mortifying to even speak of, whether in front of family or friends.
And now, they were facing that very hurdle.
Jiangg Yao glanced furtively at her sister’s face, noticing her strained expression. As her sister, she knew Jiangg Ning must be feeling awful.
The atmosphere suddenly grew awkward.
"There’s something... I don’t know if I should say it," Jiangg Ning began after a moment’s thought, brushing a stray hair from her forehead. "I’m so grateful for everyone’s selfless help. Words can’t truly express my gratitude, so let me raise a glass to you all."
She downed the alcohol in her glass in one go.
Her face was already a bit flushed, but after that drink, an unnatural blush spread down to her neck.
"Besides all of you, I’m also incredibly grateful to the person sitting beside me." Jiangg Ning looked at Chen Yuan, took a deep breath, and bit her lip. "I have someone I like. That’s why I’ve turned down Lawyer Gu’s kind offers so many times... Actually... Chen Yuan is the person I like..."
As soon as she said this, the people at the table who weren’t in on the secret were stunned.
Lawyer Gu, who had just been so eager to get to the truth, was completely dumbfounded.
But she had no idea that something even more shocking was about to follow.
Because Jiangg Ning continued.
"After the trouble started with my family, he came to Mingzhu City with me immediately. He stayed by my side without complaint, helping me handle everything. Besides helping me come up with plans, he was constantly trying to comfort me... I’m not as strong as I look on the surface. I know that about myself. So I’m incredibly grateful for his companionship. It gave me the courage to face all of this. Sometimes, courage is useful. And sometimes... it’s actually useless, like with this whole affair."
"For Youxia Company to do a complete one-eighty and proactively offer an acquisition... someone must have been pulling the strings behind the scenes to make it happen, right?"
This question was clearly directed at Chen Yuan alone.
Hearing this, he instinctively broke eye contact with Jiangg Ning.
Jiangg Ning was incredibly sharp; after a moment of reflection, she realized something was amiss.
"I was too naive. I almost made things worse, and it forced me to see a lot of things clearly... Often, what you believe to be true isn’t right at all; you’re just blinding yourself... And I don’t care if you all laugh at this, but Chen Yuan isn’t Yaoyao’s boyfriend. Or rather, he’s not *just* her boyfriend. Both of us like him very much."
As she spoke, even Yaoyao’s face flushed, her expression shifting uncontrollably.
"Before, I probably would never have brought this up. But things are different now. Everyone here is a true friend or a respected elder, and I don’t want to tell lies just to smooth things over... I want to speak the truth. And the truth is, both Yaoyao and I are waiting for him to make a choice."
Seeing her sincerity and hearing her earnest words, everyone fell silent.
For a moment, the dining hall was completely silent.
"If I truly love him, what is there to be ashamed of? It’s no big deal even if the whole world finds out." A smile suddenly bloomed on Jiangg Ning’s face as she looked at him. "Chen Yuan, thank you. May I propose a toast to you?"