Chapter 551: 550: Ji Baijian, Still Alive (Second Update)
Chapter 551: Chapter 550: Ji Baijian, Still Alive (Second Update)
The banquet ended.
Everyone left gradually.
Jun Mingyu sat in his carriage.
The carriage moved smoothly along the streets of Jin City.
Inside the carriage was very quiet.
For no known length of time.
Jun Mingyu suddenly spoke up, “Song Zhizhi said, the first person Leng Wanqing will target is Qin Wenguo.”
The carriage was very quiet.
Jun Mingyu grinned, then uttered, “Leng Wanqing has betrothed Qin Jingxiang to me.”
Still, there was no sound.
Jun Mingyu faintly stated, “Qin Jingxiang is deeply in love with you, I can’t rob her of her love, can I?”
“Her liking for me is her thing, it has nothing to do with me.”
“Sometimes I don’t understand why you fell in love with Song Zhizhi,” said Jun Mingyu, addressing the man in the front passenger seat wearing a duckbill cap.
The man did not respond.
“I feel she’s colder than you,” Jun Mingyu said, “Even though you are cold, at least you care about one person. But Song Zhizhi doesn’t. It seems she doesn’t have a heart at all; she will do anything to achieve her goals!”
There was still no sound in the carriage.
Jun Mingyu felt like he was talking to thin air.
He was used to it anyway.
Therefore, he casually continued, “Song Zhizhi was extremely dazzling tonight. At least eighty percent of the men in the room were staring at her. And do you know who she was trying to seduce?”
“I don’t need to know.”
“She was trying to seduce Jun Minghan.”
“She was doing it to gain more trust from Leng Wanqing.”
“You don’t care?” Jun Mingyu raised an eyebrow.
It seemed that only when Song Zhizhi was mentioned did this man show a slight reaction.
He said, “I care, but it’s her choice. I can only respect it.”
“You don’t love, once you do, you love with your life. Ji Baijian, do you think it’s worth it?”
“Worth it.” Two words, without the slightest hesitation.
Jun Mingyu had nothing to say.
Neither was the man sitting in the passenger seat likely to initiate a conversation.
He just looked out of the car window.
It was already late at night, apart from the dazzling lights, there was little traffic on the streets.
His gaze wandered, to the tallest building in the city, the place he and Song Zhizhi once called home.
He chose that apartment only because no matter where he was in the city, all he had to do was look up, and he could see that place, towering before his eyes.
He lowered his gaze.
He closed his eyes to rest.
Yes, he was not dead.
He and Song Zhizhi only staged a performance, deceiving everyone.
Song Zhizhi no longer trusts him. She has to protect her family on her own, so she has to infiltrate Jun Minghan’s camp and get him to cooperate with her.
That night, on the ship, he had prepared for the escape.
There were people hiding under the sea ready to rescue him, and that day, he intentionally wore a bulletproof vest.
The bullet hit his heart, but did not pierce his skin. The impact of the bullet made his body somewhat overwhelmed, although not deadly.
After resting for a week, his body was basically fine.
The next step was to look for information from Song Zhizhi and in secret, they would take care of Leng Wanqing.
Ji Baijian’s throat moved slightly.
He didn’t know what would happen in between!
He didn’t know if there would be any contingencies…
Everything was just wait and see.
…
Song Zhizhi and Song Zhidao left together.
Wei Ziming drove the car, sending Song Zhizhi back first.
Everyone in the car was somewhat silent.
Song Zhidao couldn’t help but speak up, “Sis, what do you think Leng Wanqing’s intentions were in arranging Qin Jingxiang’s marriage to Jun Mingyu?”
Song Zhizhi withdrew her gaze from the window.
She looked back and said, “She must have her reasons.”
“How are we going to deal with the Qin family if she does this?”
“We don’t need to deal with them, they will deal with each other, we just need to watch.”
“I always feel that nothing is simple. The deeper we get into this, the more dangerous it seems. I don’t think Leng Wanqing is a person we can trust.”
“Indeed, she is not deserving of our trust, but as long as we are sincere towards her, she will not mistreat us in the future.”
“You’re not afraid that she will kick down the ladder after she crosses the river?”
“I trust she won’t,” Song Zhizhi affirmed.
Song Zhidao didn’t say any more.
There seemed to be something Song Zhizhi wanted to say to her brother, but she stopped at the brink of utterance.
Song Zhidao seemed to see through his sister’s thoughts, “Sis, if you have something – just say it.”
“Zhidao, I don’t want you to involve yourself in these power schemes,” Song Zhizhi warned, “this path leads to no return.”
“But you are walking down this road now.”
“I’m doing it to protect our lives, it can’t be helped.”
“I also hope to help you,” Song Zhidao said firmly.
Song Zhizhi’s eyes moved slightly.
She seemed to be silent for a long while.
Slowly, she said, “Zhidao, this is the last time I’ll ask you, what’s more important to you, family or power?”
“Of course, it’s the family,” Song Zhidao said without hesitation.
“I hope you will remember what you said today.”
Song Zhidao was stunned.
He felt a little unsure.
Did his sister find something out?!
He had hidden everything carefully, she couldn’t possibly know.
He calmed his emotions, briskly nodded, “I will not follow in father’s footsteps.”
Song Zhizhi only nodded slightly.
The car quickly arrived at Song Zhizhi’s apartment.
Song Zhizhi got out of the car.
Wei Ziming drove Song Zhidao away.
Song Zhizhi watched the tail light of the car.
She was giving her brother a chance, hoping he could face reality and change his mind.
…
News of the engagement between Jun Mingyu and Qin Jingxiang spread on major news platforms the next day.
Everyone was somewhat surprised yet thought it was natural.
In the eyes of the uninformed public, their union seemed perfect.
Rumours of the Commercial Management and Official Family merging had been around for a long time, such a move was obviously a reconciliatory bond, and many people considered it a joyous event.
Only those who knew the inside story were aware of the many sinister manipulations involved.
Qin Wenguo was obviously now isolated.
No one dared to associate with him too closely, because they did not know what would happen next in the official family.
One might cause trouble without even realizing it.
Qin Wenguo was also at his wits’ end.
Wasn’t Leng Wanqing’s behavior pushing him towards a pit of fire?
How was he to save himself?
At this moment, Qin Jingxiang was sitting in Qin Wenguo’s office. She couldn’t think of a solution either, so she remained silent.
Last night Jun Mingyu had a private chat with her.
It was clear that neither of them had any emotions for each other.
Qin Jingxiang made it clear to Jun Mingyu that she could never be with him, as the only man she had ever loved in her life was Ji Baijian, and nobody could ever replace him.
Jun Mingyu made it clear that he would not force her.
But the current situation was unchangeable, unless…
Unless…
Jun Mingyu did not say it out loud.
But anyone with wits would know that he was insinsuating the only way out was for Leng Wanqing to step down.
But how easy could it be to make Leng Wanqing step down?!
Leng Wanqing was holding all the power, all the Deans had to obey her orders. Now that the current Dean was critically ill, Leng Wanqing was bound to support her son to succeed. Once Jun Mingyu ascended to the throne, Leng Wanqing’s power would grow even more!
Qin Jingxiang concealed her emotions and remained silent.
Watching his daughter, Qin Wenguo became restless and said, “Jingxiang, what do you think your dad should do? Your dad is being victimized by that woman, Leng Wanqing! Just when your dad was beginning to enjoy all this, someone is trying to pull him down.
And it’s not just that, I might even lose my life, what do you think is the most appropriate thing for me to do now?!”
“That’s why I originally advised you not to compete for this position, we can’t beat the official family.” Qin Jingxiang was also somewhat frustrated.
“I didn’t seek this. Wasn’t I directly assigned to me? So now, even if I wanted to, I couldn’t drop it!” Qin Wenguo was clearly terrified.
Qin Jingxiang also could not think of a solution.
Qin Wenguo rose from his chair and began to pace back and forth.
Qin Jingxiang also couldn’t calm her mind.
She always felt like all of this could be a conspiracy arranged by Song Zhizhi!
What on earth are Song Zhizhi and Ji Baijian doing?
Everything seemed oddly obscure.
Or Ji Baijian’s sudden disappearance, where had he gone?!
Her thoughts felt jumbled.
In Qin Wenguo’s desperate state, Qin Jingxiang’s phone suddenly rang.
Both of them looked at Qin Jingxiang’s mobile phone.
“Who is calling you?” Qin Wenguo was agitated.
Qin Jingxiang said, “Unknown number.”
But the number seemed unusual.
“Answer it.”
Qin Jingxiang answered the call.
A male voice came from the other side of the phone, “Miss Qin, this is Jun Mingyu. May I see you if you have some free time?”
“Now?”
“Yes, now.”
“What’s the matter?”
“A big deal.”
Qin Jingxiang’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, seeming a bit hesitant.
She had an instinct that Jun Mingyu calling her at this moment couldn’t be anything good.
Jun Mingyu said, “I personally believe that if you want to protect your Qin family, you need to cooperate with me.”
Qin Jingxiang’s eyes tightened.
It seemed that Jun Mingyu understood her current anxieties.
She said, “Okay, where?”
“I will pick you up.”
“At the Commercial Management building?”
“I’ll be at the Commercial Management building in ten minutes.”
“OK.”
After Qin Jingxiang hung up the phone, she turned to Qin Wenguo and said, “Jun Mingyu wants to see me.”
“What does he want to see you for?”
“We are now on the same side as him.”
“I will definitely not be on the same side as Jun Mingyu. Once we take sides, we would truly be at odds with Leng Wanqing!”
“But we don’t have a choice now.” Qin Jingxiang was certain, “Let me meet Jun Mingyu first.”
“Jingxiang, your dad is counting on you.” Qin Wenguo trusted his daughter completely and pinned his hopes on her.
Qin Jingxiang nodded her head.
She rose from her seat and headed straight for the exit towards the building below.
She waited for about 5 minutes at the entrance of the Commercial Management building.
A black saloon car stopped there.
Jun Mingyu got out of the car himself and opened the door for Qin Jingxiang.
Qin Jingxiang got in and the saloon car took off.
Song Zhizhi was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window in her office, watching their car leave.
She picked up the phone, “Mr. Jun, Jun Mingyu has just left the Commercial Management building with Qin Jingxiang.”
“Jun Mingyu is remarkably proactive.”
“I suspect he may want to win over Qin Wenguo soon.”
“He’s dreaming.” Jun Minghan sneered.
“I’m just passing on the message. For the upcoming events, Mr. Jun needs to be cautious.”
“Rest assured, I won’t let the people you want to take revenge on get away easily!”
“My gratitude.”
“Song Zhizhi.” He suddenly called from the other end of the phone.
“Mr. Jun, is there anything else?”
“Would you like to have dinner together tonight? I happen to be free tonight. I want to talk to you about the upcoming arrangements.” Jun Minghan asked, clearly expecting that no one would refuse him.
Song Zhizhi smiled faintly, “Mr. Jun, I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you.”
“What? Busy?”
“Not that I’m busy, but your mother has given her command.”
Jun Minghan’s face went cold.
“Your mother told me last night to be patient. Before all the dust settles, I hope you can control yourself, otherwise, I might not even know how I died.”
“Being so careful?”
“I dare not take your family lightly.”
“Suit yourself!” Jun Minghan hung up the phone directly.
He seemed a bit angry.
At that moment, Song Zhizhi heaved a sigh of relief.
Luckily, Leng Wanqing knew the bigger picture and was fully aware that the impact of Jun Minghan’s every action at this moment would directly affect his struggle for succession. So, she gave them a precautionary warning, which helped maintain her reputation. Otherwise, she couldn’t find an excuse to refuse Jun Minghan.
She took a deep breath and sat back in her office.
How was he now?
Did he get hurt that night?
She couldn’t even be certain that he was still alive, still well…
All she wanted now was to take revenge!
She could no longer consider anything but that!