Marriage certificate?
Jiang Jingtong was taken aback for a moment, his heart skipping a few beats.
Marriage… he had imagined it before, but could it really happen?
He clutched his phone tightly, but still he felt that he and Shi Yuanbai shouldn’t get married so early.
He should be able to have a few more years of playing around before settling down and marrying Shi Yuanbai, and then loving each other for a lifetime.
But upon reflection, Jiang Jingtong realized that early marriage wasn't necessarily bad. After chasing Shi Yuanbai for so long, marrying sooner would also give him peace of mind. There were so many people who liked Shi Yuanbai; if he didn't act quickly, what if Shi Yuanbai was taken away by someone else?
He was well aware that Gu Siyuan often mentioned how people like Zhang Lianze, and certain young master1 types, all admired Shi Yuanbai very much.
Jiang Jingtong chuckled. He knew Shi Yuanbai was an outstanding person, coveted by many. But so what? He had already won him over.
Still, for something this important, he had to discuss it with his family. A marriage alliance with the Shi family was a win–win situation.
And recently, his own family business wasn’t doing well, with rivals trying to steal their projects. Teaming up with the Shi family would probably put an end to that.
When Jiang Jingtong and Shi Yuanbai went traveling, Wu Siyuan metaphorically tagged along too.
According to the original plot, Gu Siyuan and Jiang Jingtong had come to this place a year later. They encountered a series of events here, and Jiang Jingtong's bravery and protective stance towards the original protagonist moved him deeply, leading to the original host accepting his confession.
But Wu Siyuan always felt that this was a self-directed play by Jiang Jingtong. How come bandits just happened to show up there? That place wasn’t some poor backwater2. In fact, the security was pretty good.
So Wu Siyuan hired a private detective to follow Jiang Jingtong and Shi Yuanbai on their trip.
That weekend, Wu Siyuan went home and accompanied his father to inspect a new cinema location. After close scrutiny, he concluded that the equipment was good and the crowd was manageable. He was confident that if they kept up the momentum, expansion wasn’t impossible.
His own investments were also going well, bringing in more money. He was getting acquainted with quite a few second-generation heirs at school. Chen Xuyao even suggested that they should start a company together.
Gu Siyuan’s investment skills were obvious to all. Chen Xuyao thought, ‘better let this fertile water stay in our own fields3’. Even if Gu Siyuan would eventually take over his family’s cinema business, they could still form a strong alliance.
Who would turn down easy money? With Gu Siyuan’s eye for investments and his own knowledge of the entertainment industry, they’d definitely make a fortune by investing in various films and TV shows.
Wu Siyuan thought it over and agreed to partner with Chen Xuyao.
Chen Xuyao also pulled in Zhang Lianze, but the real decision-maker was still Wu Siyuan. Although he felt tricked. Wasn’t he just working for these two big shots for free?
But still, this raised his status in the eyes of the other second-gens.
Originally, Zhang Lianze was supposed to be Shi Yuanbai’s devoted supporting male lead. After Shi Yuanbai went abroad, Zhang Lianze had contributed the most money and effort. Even overseas, aside from the mysterious benefactor, Zhang Lianze was still the one helping him the most.
The Zhang family business had already gone international, with some influence overseas. When Shi Yuanbai wanted to start a small company abroad to gain experience, it was mostly Zhang Lianze who ran around helping him. The plot mentioned Jiang Jingtong's help and financial support, but it was only given when Shi Yuanbai asked for it. Otherwise, there was at most superficial concern. But still, Shi Yuanbai cared about him.
Whether it was worth it or not, Wu Siyuan didn’t know. But working with Zhang Lianze was definitely worth it for him, even if Zhang Lianze just invested a little and waited for dividends.
When Jiang Jingtong and Shi Yuanbai returned from their trip, Wu Siyuan knew their relationship had leveled up again.
During the trip, the detective even called Wu Siyuan to ask whether he should report the mugging incident to the police.
Later, he suspected it was just Jiang Jingtong paying people to act.
In any case, Jiang Jingtong had heroically saved the beauty.
Whether staged or not, the detective sent Wu Siyuan their lovey-dovey travel pics and even a few blurry room action shots.
Wu Siyuan was impressed. How did this detective even get photos from inside their room? Jiang Jingtong and Shi Yuanbai were way too careless.
Wu Siyuan quickly settled the bill and sent a red envelope to the detective as a token of appreciation.
As expected, Jiang Jingtong's heroic rescue was fake.
The original host, naive and inexperienced, had been fooled. But Wu Siyuan thought Shi Yuanbai shouldn't be so gullible. Maybe he was just playing along?
Carefully stashing the photos, Wu Siyuan picked out a few sweet travel shots and sent them to Chen Xuyao.
"Do you want to post these on weibo and share them in the super-topic?"
Chen Xuyao was as efficient as ever. In no time, those photos appeared in the super-topic, pretending to be accidental captures from a trip.
【Went traveling on the weekend, guess what I saw? Ahhh, too sweet! Zombie is real after all!】
Following that, several giveaway weibo accounts started raffles again.
This way, no one would miss it. Whether it was Xiao You, or the fish in Shi Yuanbai's pond, everyone saw the photos.
When Shi Yuanbai returned to campus, several fish came to question him about his relationship.
These fish weren't very useful, but since he had already lost Zhang Lianze and Wen Yongliang, he had to take them seriously.
He hadn’t expected them to find out about him and Jiang Jingtong.
Shi Yuanbai suddenly wondered if Gu Siyuan had found out.
But when he checked weibo, Gu Siyuan was quiet, posting nothing but the occasional daily complaint.
Shi Yuanbai dismissed his suspicions about Gu Siyuan but was drawn to one of his weibo posts.
【Ugh, have to accompany my dad this weekend to check whether the employees are slacking off. Exhausting.】
What exactly did Gu Siyuan’s family do?
Shi Yuanbai was contemplating whether such a die-hard fan like Gu Siyuan could be turned into his loyal supporter.
Wu Siyuan, busy with the establishment of the new company, shivered. Who was thinking about him?
Everything was going according to his plan, except for the unexpected Shi Yuanbai.
For some reason, Shi Yuanbai had been coming to him more often.
Even when Wu Siyuan tried using Jiang Jingtong as a shield, Shi Yuanbai kept showing up.
Keeping a polite smile, Wu Siyuan greeted him. “Shi-shixiong, what brings you here?” He had just returned to campus when he ran into Shi Yuanbai.
Shi Yuanbai put on a charming smile that could captivate anyone, “Just passing by. Saw shidi and came to say hi.” Then, casually added, "Lately, it seems like Gu shidi has been quite busy?"
Wu Siyuan replied, “It's manageable.” Then smiled and asked, “Shi-shixiong is off to see Jiang-shixiong?”
Shi Yuanbai's expression faltered for a moment, "He's so busy, I don't want to disturb him."
"..." So he came to disturb me instead?
Shi Yuanbai added, “Actually, I don’t have many friends at school. You are one of the few that qualify.”
Wu Siyuan nodded helplessly. What’s this? His fish pond was cleaned out so fast that even the shrimps were gone? Was he trying to develop new connections?
Seeing Wu Siyuan agree, Shi Yuanbai’s eyes lit up. He invited him to afternoon tea.
As he sipped tea, Wu Siyuan listened to Shi Yuanbai talk about Jiang Jingtong. He didn’t deny that they were together. However, he subtly conveyed that he wasn't very happy about being with Jiang Jingtong. Or perhaps, Jiang Jingtong wasn't making him very happy.
Then came complaints about his deteriorating relationship with his family. Shi Yuanbai complained to him that when he returned home, it seemed like he was an invisible person. He felt that after being away for a while, his family had started to dislike him. Especially his brother, who was becoming increasingly cold.
Wu Siyuan gave no reaction or comfort. Shi Yuanbai thought this straight-laced loner was impossible to flirt with.
He even tried brushing Wu Siyuan’s hand. But aside from lifting his cup, Wu Siyuan kept both hands in his pockets.
Un-flirtable. Shi Yuanbai had no choice but to retreat.
Wu Siyuan finally sighed in relief. What the hell? Was Shi Yuanbai treating him as a new fish?
Poor guy. How did he even get interested in me?
Just then, Wu Siyuan checked his phone and saw messages from Shi Yuzhe:
— My good little brother seems to have hooked up with Jiang Jingtong.
— Looks like he’s desperate, otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten together with that fellow so quickly.
Clearly, Shi Yuzhe knew his younger brother’s style. Wu Siyuan replied.
— Them being together is a good thing.
Almost immediately came another reply, as if Shi Yuzhe had been waiting:
— So that’s it. No wonder the Jiang family has been under pressure lately. I can push for the marriage alliance soon.
Wu Siyuan hadn’t really said anything, but Shi Yuzhe was sharp.
Wu Siyuan felt that the people in this world were quite remarkable. Just drop a hint, and they would run with it. Wu Siyuan only wanted to get stronger to avoid retaliation later. But Chen Xuyao was already crushing the Jiang family, leaving them no chance.
And Shi Yuzhe was even scarier. Without Wu Siyuan saying a word, he pieced everything together himself.
If Wu Siyuan just wanted those two scumbags to be together quickly, so they’d hurt fewer people. Then Chen Xuyao wanted them to be stuck in a miserable but inseparable relationship.
Especially after Wu Siyuan contacted Shi Yuzhe, Chen Xuyao was more fired up than ever.
The Jiang family needed Shi family’s support, but once the Shi family shoved Shi Yuanbai off, they might as well ignore him.
Then, as the Jiang family tried desperately to drag the Shi family into their mess, Shi Yuzhe could strike them down.
The more Wu Siyuan thought about it, the happier he felt. Victory was in sight. He could already imagine the scenario of completing the mission with full marks.
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Young master: wealthy or pampered young men, in general someone who acts spoiled, entitled, or expects to be served.
Backwater: slang for a super remote, insignificant place
Fertile water shouldn’t flow into others’ fields: i.e. keep benefits within the group/family.