Going to college.
Hearing those three words again after two years made Jiang Nian feel both unfamiliar and a little dazed.
Actually, three years ago, the future he envisioned wasn’t about entering the entertainment industry to become a star.
It was about graduating from a top-tier university and then starting his own business.
Relying on memories from his past life, he wanted to build his own business empire, top the Forbes list, and reach the pinnacle of life.
But unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.
All of Jiang Nian’s dreams for the future died during the harsh winter three years ago.
“Whoosh—”
Letting out a long breath, Jiang Nian forced a smile onto his face. “Mom, who’s been filling your head with these ideas again? Out of nowhere, why are you thinking about sending me to school? Was it Uncle Zhao? I remember he was the one who nagged the most back then. But look how old I am now. At this age, what’s the point of going to school?”
Hearing this, Jiang Nian’s mom stayed silent for a long time. Finally, she took a deep breath. “Son, that’s not how you should look at it. Learning is a lifelong thing. It’s never too late to learn.”
“And then what?” Jiang Nian asked in return. “Isn’t the point of school just to make money? I’m making plenty now. That’s way more useful than going to school.”
“But—”
“Alright, alright, stop talking. That’s enough. I’m not going to chat anymore, okay? I’ve been busy all day, I’m exhausted. I’m going home to eat and sleep. When I come home for New Year’s, I’ll take you to the hospital for a check-up. You keep coughing, coughing non-stop.”
“Sigh! You, this child, I say a couple of things and you act like this. Fine, you go rest first. Just don’t wear yourself out.”
“Don’t worry about that. Bye bye, bye bye!”
With that, Jiang Nian hung up the phone.
Almost instantly, the forced smile on his face completely collapsed.
Without saying a word, Jiang Nian took the barbecued meat from the deli stall owner and went home.
He opened his laptop, which he always carried with him, and clicked on a document he had created three years ago.
Staring at the mother-daughter photo in the document—the one that had destroyed over a hundred families, the one that countless people wished they could skin alive and drink the blood of—Jiang Nian clenched his fists. A chilling, fierce light flashed deep in his eyes.
He wasn’t highly educated. He couldn’t understand why justice delayed was still considered justice.
All he knew was that if he was wronged and no one did anything about it, the best—and only—way was to fight back with his own fists. Blood for blood!
Jiang Nian believed that day wouldn’t be too far off!
The next morning, early.
“Good morning!”
Having sorted out his mood, Jiang Nian ate breakfast and arrived at the film set, greeting everyone he saw with a smile.
In return, people smiled back and said nice things to Jiang Nian.
“Mr. Jiang, you’re in a really good mood today?”
Nearby, seeing Jiang Nian smiling constantly, Li Guifei asked with great curiosity.
Jiang Nian nodded and asked in return, “Did I seem like I was in a bad mood yesterday?”
“Of course,” Li Guifei nodded, putting on a frightened expression. “You have no idea. After you finished acting yesterday, your expression, your mannerisms—I really thought you were Yu Huatian. I didn’t even dare talk to you.”
“Oh, I see. I was just too deep in character. I didn’t expect to scare Your Highness. This humble subject truly deserves punishment. I beg Your Highness for forgiveness.”
With that, Jiang Nian bowed deeply to Li Guifei, looking exactly like a loyal dog greeting its master.
And in the play, that was exactly the relationship between them.
Li Guifei was Yu Huatian’s protector.
Yu Huatian, in turn, was Li Guifei’s tool for dealing with pregnant concubines and solidifying her position.
Li Guifei obviously understood this. She giggled, quickly helped Jiang Nian up, and pretended to be concerned. “My darling little joy, how can you say such distant words? You’re breaking my heart! Get up quickly. There’s no need for such formality between us.”
“Thank you for your favor, Your Highness.”
Jiang Nian said, then straightened up.
Then, he and Li Guifei looked at each other and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Darling, why haven’t I realized how amusing you are before?”
“Perhaps it’s because Your Highness has lived deep in the palace for so long and hasn’t had much contact with me. I hope Your Highness will take good care of me from now on.”
“Darling, you’re being too hard on me. If anything, you should be taking care of me.”
“I wouldn’t dare. That would be overstepping my bounds. If the Emperor were to find out…”
“Hmph, what Emperor? Since he’s not here, I am the Emperor. My word is law. Darling, you wouldn’t be going against me, would you?”
“Never.”
This playful banter successfully brought them closer together.
Li Guifei looked at Jiang Nian, curiosity sparkling in her bright eyes. “Darling, can you tell me about that skill you showed yesterday? What was it all about?”
“Well…” Jiang Nian looked troubled. “It’s not that I don’t want to say, but this is a family secret. I absolutely cannot reveal it.”
“But I’m very curious. I really want to know. What should I do?”
“Hmm…” Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment, then crooked his finger at Li Guifei.
Curious, Li Guifei leaned in close.
Jiang Nian whispered in her ear, “If it’s Your Highness asking, it’s not impossible. But this kind of thing needs to be kept highly confidential. No third person can know. Your Highness, you understand what I mean, right?”
His warm breath tickled Li Guifei’s ear.
It felt itchy. Li Guifei suddenly realized what he was implying.
She immediately pulled back, rolled her eyes in annoyance, and said coquettishly, “Wow! How dare you, you traitor! You’re trying to take advantage of me? And here I trusted you so much.”
Jiang Nian, however, looked completely innocent. “Your Highness, what did I do?”
“What do you think? You, you actually wanted Your Highness to… to… with you…”
Li Guifei wanted to accuse him of something, but when the words came to her mouth, she couldn’t actually say anything.
Because Jiang Nian had never actually said what he wanted to do at all.
It was all just her imagination.
If she said it out loud…
“Your Highness, you weren’t thinking something improper, were you?”
“Are you serious?”
“This humble subject is the director of the Western Depot. You couldn’t possibly be…”
Jiang Nian looked at Li Guifei with a shocked expression.
His little look seemed to say, So you’re that kind of person!
“You… you…”
Li Guifei was completely speechless. She immediately activated her passive skill: making unreasonable demands.
She stomped her foot, let out a huff, and said, “Your Highness is angry. I’m not talking to you anymore.”
With that, she turned around and left without looking back.
Seeing this, Jiang Nian smiled faintly, didn’t say anything more, and certainly didn’t try to stop her.
He just asked the prop master for a sword.
Then he found a quiet, empty place, closed his eyes, steadied his breathing, and before filming started, began practicing the [Sword-Breaking Technique].
