Jiang Tian gave a faint smile and said, “That’s a bit of an exaggeration! The cut isn’t that deep. I have some medicinal powder—just need to sprinkle some on, and it’ll be fine.”
Jiang Tian pulled out a small bottle of powder and sprinkled it over the wound. Huang Ling’er looked around, then tore a strip of fabric from her own skirt and helped Jiang Tian bandage it up.
Looking at his left hand, now wrapped up like a dumpling, Huang Ling’er felt an inexplicable ache in her heart. If it hadn’t been for her, Jiang Tian never would have gotten hurt.
The scene from just now kept replaying in her mind—Jiang Tian rushing forward without a second thought, blocking the blade with his bare hand. Her eyes couldn’t help but redden.
Jiang Tian noticed every subtle change in Huang Ling’er’s expression. He smiled and said, “Don’t look at me with that grateful gaze. I owed you from back then. Now we’re even.”
“Why are we even…?” Who would have thought that upon hearing this, Huang Ling’er would let two glistening tears slip down her cheeks?
Seeing this, Jiang Tian couldn’t help but panic a little. “I was just joking. Don’t take it seriously. I really didn’t mean it that way…”
For a moment, his thoughts were a tangled mess.
Earlier, Jiang Tian had tried to erase all memories of himself from her mind, but he hadn’t succeeded.
The wounds of love were too deep, the roots of affection too firmly planted, the resentment too heavy.
Jiang Tian wanted to heal her emotional scars, but matters of the heart are so delicate. If he wasn’t careful, Huang Ling’er might fall right back into love’s trap.
And from the looks of it now, that seemed to be exactly what was happening.
But Huang Ling’er, with tears in her eyes, gently took hold of Jiang Tian’s injured left hand. “Does it hurt?”
Jiang Tian slowly shook his head.
Huang Ling’er cupped his injured left hand between both of hers and softly said, “Promise me one thing: no matter what happens, take care of yourself.”
Jiang Tian looked into her tearful, dazed eyes, and a small ripple stirred in his heart—but the next moment, it settled back down.
He gave a slight nod. “I promise you.”
This scene made Mu Yunqing even more disappointed in Jiang Tian.
What kind of time do you think this is? You’re still in the mood to sip tea and flirt with a girl?
Mu Yunqing clutched her phone, hesitating over whether to call her extremely influential boyfriend for help.
But in the end, she shook her head and decided against it.
She had only recently started seeing him, carefully taking things step by step, deliberately crafting an image of elegance and high status. She was trying to hook this wealthy catch and eventually marry into a powerful family, soaring to new heights.
But if he found out she had such a worthless friend like Jiang Tian—someone who stirred up trouble over a petty jealousy for some young girl—then the cold, aloof, high-end image she had painstakingly built would probably be ruined in an instant.
Just then, an arrogant, overbearing voice rang out: “I heard someone just said they were going to scare the hell out of me? Where is he?”
“Young Master Qiang is here!”
“Yu Qiang!”
Everyone turned to look and fell silent as if struck dumb, scrambling to step aside and clear a path.
Yu Qiang’s face was flushed red from drinking, reeking of alcohol. Surrounded by a few young masters, he strode over quickly.
Yu Qiang had been feeling really down these past few days.
On the day of Jiang Changgeng’s birthday celebration, he had given Jiang Tian a generous gift, but later, Jiang Tian had sent it back.
Tang Shaoze and Bai Choufei had also told him that his gift simply wasn’t good enough, that it didn’t even meet Jiang Tian’s standards. The matter of him offending Jiang Tian still wasn’t settled. Even Guo Yinlin didn’t seem too keen on talking to him anymore.
This had left him unable to eat or sleep properly, restless and anxious. What am I supposed to do now that I’ve offended someone like that?
In his eyes, Jiang Tian really was that kind of “old monster.”
He was barely in his twenties, yet he could command the respect of top-tier young masters like Tang Shaoze and Bai Choufei, and even a big shot like Cao Shixiong treated him with special courtesy. If that wasn’t a monster, then what was?
“Either he’s possessed by some demon, or he’s a reincarnated immortal…” Yu Qiang had become more and more convinced of this.
“Kid, were you the one insulting me just now?”
Yu Qiang came here every day to drink himself into a stupor; otherwise, he couldn’t sleep at night. The alcohol was rushing to his head as he walked up behind Jiang Tian, slammed his hand on the table, and roared, “Do you want to die or something?”
But then suddenly, he got a clear look at Jiang Tian’s face. His soul nearly fled in terror, and he stood there frozen like a wooden chicken.
“Young Master Qiang, I’m so sorry! He’s had too much to drink today and wasn’t thinking straight. Please don’t take it to heart!”
Zhen Shuai bravely stepped forward, bowing repeatedly and pleading for Jiang Tian. “Please let him off the hook. As for Nie Feng, we’ll cover his medical expenses too! Name your price, anything is fine… Jiang Tian, apologize to Young Master Qiang right now!”
Everyone was watching Jiang Tian, expecting him to take the way out being offered and bow his head in submission. Even Mu Yunqing didn’t think Jiang Tian had the courage to stand his ground.
But then, unexpectedly, Yu Qiang’s legs went weak. His feet slipped, and he flopped to the ground like a toad—smack!
“Young Master Qiang, what’s wrong?”
Ouyang Bin, Hou Longbo, and the others all rushed forward to help him up.
“Am I really that terrifying?”
Jiang Tian couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. Honestly, he had never once shown his true strength in front of Yu Qiang.
But what he didn’t realize was that someone like Yu Qiang—an official’s son—truly understood what it meant when a top-tier power broker like Cao Shixiong bowed his head to Jiang Tian.
The shock and fear he felt toward Jiang Tian were ten times stronger than what ordinary people felt. It was absolutely overwhelming.
“J-Jiang… Jiang Da-Shi (Great Master Jiang), I truly didn’t know it was you. If I had, I never would have dared come over!”
Yu Qiang shrank back like a frightened quail, trembling all over, looking pitiful, his smile stiff and awkward.
Everyone was stunned, unable to believe their eyes.
“What’s going on here? Jiang Tian—a discarded son of the Jiang family—actually scared Young Master Qiang this badly?”
Ouyang Bin was dumbfounded. He pinched his own thigh hard. “Are my eyes playing tricks on me?”
Zheng Xia’s face was full of shock, her scalp tingling. “What just happened? Did Young Master Qiang really get scared shitless by him?”
Zhen Shuai was also dumbstruck, his smile frozen on his face. He stared at Jiang Tian in disbelief. “Was he not bluffing? Did he actually take down Sun Hao?”
Even Mu Yunqing couldn’t stay calm. A storm was raging inside her. What else is he hiding? Even if he is the heir of the Yaowang Group, there’s no way he could overpower Yu Qiang. What’s going on?
“Yu Qiang, the Nie family is doomed sooner or later. Don’t get too close to them.”
Jiang Tian sipped his tea comfortably and said calmly, “Don’t you know the saying: ‘A wise man doesn’t stand under a collapsing wall’?”
“I understand. I understand. I didn’t come here to stick up for him. I just heard someone was cursing me out, so I came to see. I never expected it to be you, sir! For you to curse me is my honor!”
Yu Qiang’s already pale face turned even whiter. Cold sweat poured down his face, and no matter how much he wiped, he couldn’t get it clean.
“Mm. The reason I hit him today is because Nie Feng was bullying my friend. If the police show up, make sure you speak the truth.”
Jiang Tian’s tone was indifferent.
“Don’t worry, Jiang Da-Shi! I can handle such a small matter easily! It’s as simple as playing a game!”
Yu Qiang pounded his chest with a loud thump-thump.
“Mm. My hand is still injured. I’m leaving now.” Jiang Tian stood up and walked off with Huang Ling’er.
“Jiang Tian, what exactly is going on? How did you scare Yu Qiang like that?” Zhen Shuai followed him, asking excitedly.
“My mom is back in control of the Yaowang Group. Maybe he’s afraid of the Jiang family’s power.” Jiang Tian casually made up an excuse.
He was tired of explaining. Some truths, even if you told them, people would just think you were bragging.
“Jiang Tian’s grandfather used to be the deputy director of the Little Imperial Medical Hall. It’s possible he knows some big provincial leaders.”
“So Auntie Wanqing has taken control of the Jiang family? That means Jiang Tian is the heir of the Yaowang Group again!”
Several of the young companions suddenly understood and nodded one after another. The way they looked at Jiang Tian had already changed.
“Jiang Tian, I’m really sorry about earlier. You know me—I like to joke around…”
Zheng Xia was especially full of regret. Now that Jiang Tian was the heir of the Yaowang Group, how could he be compared to Ouyang Bin?
What a pity—she had been blind and missed such a good opportunity.
“So this is the power of influence—it can even make Yu Qiang bow his head and give in.”
Even Mu Yunqing felt like she had seen something new.
And in that moment, her resolve grew even stronger: I’ve absolutely got to lock down that young master from Yangcheng this time!
Yes, in her view, even if Jiang Tian had become the heir of the Yaowang Group, he was still slightly inferior to her boyfriend.
As Jiang Tian and his group walked out of the club, a graceful figure appeared at the entrance. She gazed at Jiang Tian from a distance. “So that’s Jiang Da-Shi? Hah. No wonder the Yaowang Group has been so high-profile lately.”
Then, a faint glimmer of killing intent swirled in her beautiful eyes. In a voice so low that only she could hear, cold and fierce, she murmured, “But two tigers cannot share the same mountain. In the end, Jinling is still the Murong family’s domain.”
…
Zhen Shuai drove, accompanying Jiang Tian as they took Huang Ling’er home.
Huang Zhihui saw Jiang Tian come in with his daughter and paused in surprise. He smiled and said, “Ling’er, how did you run into Professor Jiang?”
“Oh, I went out for dinner tonight and happened to bump into Professor Jiang. We were just talking about some old memories,” Huang Ling’er said softly.
“Old memories? You knew Professor Jiang before?”
Huang Zhihui offered Jiang Tian a seat and poured him a cup of tea, looking a bit incredulous.
“Come to think of it, Professor Jiang was actually my senior back in school. Back then, he was dating a girl in my class, but they broke up later. I thought he looked familiar when I attended one of his lectures, so I asked him about it today, and sure enough, it was him!” Huang Ling’er said in a sweet, melodious voice.
Jiang Tian inwardly lamented.
Girls are truly natural-born liars. She came up with that story in the blink of an eye.
“What a coincidence…”
Huang Zhihui had no idea about his daughter’s past emotional entanglements with Jiang Tian, so he asked with genuine surprise.
“Yeah…”
Jiang Tian gave an awkward smile and said, “When I ran into Huang Ling’er, I wanted to ask her about that whole situation. Anyway, it’s a pretty embarrassing memory from the past. I honestly didn’t even recognize Huang Ling’er at first—it’s been a few years, after all.”
“Professor Jiang, have some tea. And thank you for taking the trouble to bring this naughty girl home.”
Huang Zhihui saw that the tea had steeped well and handed it to Jiang Tian. Jiang Tian quickly thanked him and took it with both hands.
Just then, Huang Ling’er gave a charming smile, batted her beautiful eyes, and said, “Professor Jiang, do you still treat her as your girlfriend?”
