After finishing the case, Jian Jing's worries disappeared completely. She slept a long lazy sleep until 10 AM in the morning before getting up.
The sky outside was crystal clear, and the sunshine was intoxicatingly good, the spring breeze blew on her face, making her reluctantly want to go out for a walk immediately.
Jian Jing had intended to avoid the Jiang family's internal affairs and planned to pack up and leave directly, but then she thought that the three Jiang siblings united together, Jiang Xue and her daughter supported each other, even the outsider Jiang Yue had the help of Fan Secretary, only Jiang BaiYan was alone. Usually the capable broker was not around at all, it was truly too miserable.
So she decided to pretend to be deaf and dumb, and not leave for the time being, so as to make others more wary.
Therefore, she specifically asked the nanny to let her know that she was going out to visit some scenic spots and would definitely come back at night, so "don't let Jiang BaiYan run around recklessly."
"I would be very distressed if he disappeared," Jian Jing asked her to pass on purpose.
The nanny didn't know that the translated meaning of this sentence was - don't kidnap or illegally detain him - she enthusiastically agreed.
Only then did Jian Jing go out.
The local area was known as a famous tourist city. At this time of year, with pleasant weather, it was a comfortable time for tourism and there were many people around.
Jian Jing was completely unaware of her status as a public figure. She didn't bring sunglasses or a mask and walked along the roadside to appreciate the scenery openly.
At first, only a few people glanced at her frequently, but she didn't care. Later, two girls plucked up the courage to ask directly, "Are you Teacher Jian?"
Jian Jing nodded with a smile.
They immediately asked in a careful yet extremely eager tone, if they could take a photo together.
It was no big deal, so she naturally agreed.
And then it got out of hand.
"Rose Gold" was still screening in cinemas with such a high box office take, not many people hadn't heard of it. Young people may not watch detective films, but the previous "Haunted House Adventure" was a very hot variety show, more or less remembering her face.
Bumping into a celebrity, even if you're not a fan, taking a photo doesn't hurt.
Everyone stopped in their tracks and lined up to take pictures.
The crowded people attracted the attention of other passersby.
The real onlookers didn't recognize her, but seeing so many people asking to take photos together, their first reaction was that some celebrity had arrived.
So all at once, they surged over, and everyone raised their phones to take pictures or videos.
There were no lack of grannies, grandpas, uncles and aunties among them.
While lining up, they discussed her very loudly.
"She acted as the second female lead in xxx!"
"No, she was the one who recently participated in the idol contest show that my daughter watches, some kind of group."
"What eyes do you have, she's the beautiful one from the recent ancient costume drama, what's her name."
"Auntie, she's the author, the author of the Rose Gold movie."
"Oh oh oh, I know, that female romance novelist!"
Jian Jing: "..."
She was surrounded and unable to break free.
"Sorry," she decisively rejected the requests of the people behind her, "I have a plane to catch, excuse me please."
The agility stat on her character panel had never been so important. Jian Jing dodged left and right dexterously through the crowd, and with great difficulty, finally escaped.
She immediately bought a hat designed to fleece tourists from a roadside stall.
Still feeling unsafe, she rushed into a convenience store and bought a pink mask to put on too.
Peace at last.
This was the side effect of being "quite famous" - sweet yet annoying.
There were too many people at the attractions, she briefly toured around before catching a taxi straight to a local restaurant known for cuisine.
The food was alright, with the additional fame factor it didn't count as particularly amazing, but the service and environment were pretty good, overall it scored above average.
After eating, she went towards another attraction.
Continue punching in places.
Done.
Today was a very touristy day.
Jian Jing returned to the Jiang family villa feeling satisfied yet regretful, then she got a huge shock.
These past few days, lights blazed throughout the villa until late into the night without stopping, the swaying silhouettes reflected in the windows, it had been as lively as a marketplace, seeming as if a clash could break out at any time.
But now, she discovered that the lights in all the other rooms were switched off, only the public area still had a lamp on. The previously tense and confrontational Jiang family members were nowhere to be seen.
The smells of cigarettes and strong tea had disappeared from the air, and the sounds of high heels clicking could no longer be heard in the corridors.
In the huge villa, there was only the old nanny left.
"Where is everyone else?" Jian Jing instantly felt as if she had been gone for ten days or half a month.
The old nanny shook her head with a sigh, "They've all left."
"Where did they go?"
She said, "Don't know, anyway everyone left." And also, "Little BaiYan is in his dad's room."
Jian Jing was extremely puzzled and went upstairs to find Jiang BaiYan.
Indeed he was in the Chairman's bedroom, it was the room with the best view in the entire villa, with a huge balcony directly facing the lake and peach forest.
Jiang BaiYan was lying in a deckchair on the balcony, swaying lazily like a retired old man.
"Did they all leave?" she asked.
Jiang BaiYan lazily replied, "Divvied up the loot, of course everyone went back to their own homes, to find their own mothers."
Jian Jing glanced at him, sensing that he was not in a good mood.
"So fast," taking advantage that he was lying down unable to get up, she ruthlessly touched his head.
Jiang BaiYan yawned and said, "Of course it wouldn't have been so fast originally. Battles over wealthy family inheritances, anything less than forty episodes would be a waste. But wasn't the situation special, almost losing everything, it became much simpler."
Jian Jing was very curious about what transaction they had reached, but she figured family secrets of the wealthy were ultimately private matters, and did not inquire further.
Yet he took the initiative to speak, "It dragged on past 3 AM yesterday, then took up the whole day today, in the end it was uniformly called death by illness. Since no one can be sure whether it was morphine or the oxygen machine anyway... in the end the Chairman himself didn't care either."
The last sentence inevitably carried mocking tones.
Jian Jing also sighed, fathers who behaved like this were hopeless.
"But in the end, I gained something out of it." Jiang BaiYan rested his head on his arms, gazing into the distance at the galaxy, "Originally in the Chairman's plan, I was probably supposed to be the scapegoat right."
Jian Jing abruptly fell silent.
He was right, according to the Chairman's original plan, the six children schemed against each other until the isolated and helpless Jiang BaiYan was finally squeezed out as the sacrificial lamb.
He had been estranged from his family for ten years, completely unaware of the family circumstances, he also didn't have someone like Madam Jiang or Secretary Fan helping him. His only value was in becoming the "enemy" to force the other five children to unite.
Was this the truth behind why he was called back?
"What did I amount to in the end?" he asked.
Jian Jing could not answer.
"Jiang Lian said, he didn't believe that I was completely innocent in this matter," Jiang BaiYan said suddenly, "What do you think?"
Jian Jing thought for a long time before replying, "Perhaps."
Jiang BaiYan asked, "What does 'perhaps' mean?"
"It means that I believe you didn't do it, but..." She turned her gaze, meeting his eyes, "You hid some things from me."
"Oh~" His smile was very different from usual, the interjection as innocent and sweet, but his tone was cold, like a still lake beneath the night sky, no longer the warm and cute act from daylight, "What things?"
Jian Jing said, "Don't know. When you want to deceive, I can't tell either."
Jiang BaiYan lightly exhaled and said, "Actually it's very simple. When the Chairman was alive, despite Jiang Lian and the others guarding against me, he still had ways to meet me alone. We talked a lot."
"He asked me why I wanted to act," he paused briefly, then casually said, "I told him it was because no one liked me when I was little, so I wanted to be liked by many people."
This account completely differed from his previous claims, but Jian Jing felt that both times could have been true.
"The Chairman said that I was much better than Jiang Ou in being able to steadfastly choose what I wanted to do. Jiang Ou was always thinking of doing this one moment, then wanting to do that the next. Every time he talked about investments but actually abandoned everything halfway."
Jian Jing smiled, "Must have been very happy to hear that right."
"Of course." Jiang BaiYan said as he slowly rose from the rocking chair to sit cross-legged, "He also said he watched the movies I acted in and felt they were very good. He got the company to organize group viewings to get all the employees to watch too. This should have been true, I asked the driver and secretary before, they said they all went and the movie was great, but..."
He turned to face her as he enunciated word for word, "It was all to trick me."
Jian Jing was stunned into silence.
"He said to let me go do whatever I wanted to do, I was also his son, he wouldn't shortchange me," he said slowly, "for a moment there, I believed it."
"Then what?"
"The afternoon he died, didn't I say, before 7pm, I met with him," Jiang BaiYan said, "The Chairman wanted me to go find him at 12 midnight, he had something he wanted to give me."
Jian Jing was shocked, incredulous.
"I felt it was very strange, extremely extremely strange," Jiang BaiYan said calmly, "A person right before death, suddenly has a change of heart and wants to compensate his son, very normal, but why did he suddenly treat me so well?"
"The Chairman would not possibly treat me so well, he never cared about me before, why when he was about to die, would he single me out? When Jiang Lian and the others went to find him, sometimes he wouldn't even see them, yet he specially had Fan Secretary find me to go over."
"Now I understand, Fan Secretary knew, so Jiang Yue would know, and when he died—no matter if someone killed him or he died himself—I would be the most suitable scapegoat."
Jian Jing pursed her lips.
She had originally thought this was a multiple choice question, if no one else was greedy and didn't make a move, everyone could obtain a reasonable share. Turns out she was completely wrong, how could the Chairman possibly allow such a "wonderful" ending?
If no one made a move, the group's shares would be divided among six people, there would inevitably be some struggle.
Yes, he was a dic-ta-tor, a tyrant, he fundamentally did not give his children any room to oppose.
This was the most reasonable explanation.
But she still comforted him: "Maybe he just wanted to get to know you better."
"No, the Chairman already knew me well enough." Jiang BaiYan slowly said, "In a litter of wolf cubs, I'm the only dog."
He said: "Lotus is pure, kylin is auspicious, seagull is carefree, moon and snow are also beautiful things, only Jiang Xian has nothing."
Xian means riverside, so Jiang Xian is beside the river Jiang.
What is beside the riverside Jiang? Nothing.
Not even the little flowers, little grass, kittens or puppies.
Jiang BaiYan gave a short laugh, then said: "Cai Lawyer gave me a letter, saying only those with inheritance rights could read it, so they don't know—the letter had the account and password for the surveillance cameras, and one line."
He slowly read out that line: "The truth is not important, the determined answer is reality."
Jian Jing was speechless.
"He was telling Jiang Qi and the rest, it's not important whether I'm a bad person, my existence is to complete his plan," Jiang BaiYan said, "It's just like in Japanese dramas, a group of people commit the same mistake, so they keep their mouths shut and don't tell anyone."
"The Chairman really understands me well, although he never cared about me, but he truly understands me, if nothing unexpected happens, I would have gone." The words were hurtful to hear, but Jiang BaiYan's emotions were very stable, "I rarely had a chance to speak with the Chairman alone, very rarely, when I lived with my mother, he rarely came, and at the Jiang family, Jiang Lian and the others also didn't allow me to talk with him much, even calling him 'Dad' once in awhile was hard to come by."
A child who never received a father's love from young, how could he refuse such a chance?
Yes, the Chairman left no loose ends, even if he found it strange he would still go, to spend a bit more time with his father, hear him praise himself, recognize himself, care about himself.
"So it's me, only a pathetic creature like me would definitely fall for it. And furthermore, even knowing the truth, I still wouldn't hate him." He covered his face, laughing at himself, "I'm willing to use money to exchange for his love, he never liked me—this was the only time he liked me."
Jian Jing finally couldn't stand it: "Stop talking."
Jiang BaiYan instead laughed, lying back into the rocking chair: "Don't be sad, just talking. Look, this pretty place now belongs to me."
He looked up, and softly said: "Money is so good, now I have siblings."