Chapter 3
Jiang Shangwan had been ill for a long time. It took her several months to fully recover from her sluggish state. It was as if this serious illness had drained her body completely—and along with it, all her emotions. Strangely, after her health improved, her mental state actually became better than before.
Her assistant reported her upcoming schedule to her—there was a press conference she needed to personally host. Jiang Shangwan only glanced at the speech script once and had already memorized it by heart.
When it came to work, she was always perfectly at ease, like a high-speed machine operating at full capacity. Her logic and workflow were like a set of strictly written code, executed with precision and rarely making a single mistake.
No one ever criticized her in terms of work—until that morning, when she saw a phone number that had called her private line five times in a row, along with a few unread text messages. Her brow furrowed.
Text 1: Wanwan, are you okay? I heard what happened with your family—I’m really worried about you.
Text 2: It’s Fang Liangchen. I’m back in the country. I hope we can meet—would that be okay?
Jiang Shangwan casually swiped left and deleted them, treating them like spam messages, not giving them a second thought.
This person was once her first love.
At the time, Jiang Shangwan was studying business administration in Los Angeles. They were classmates. Because they were evenly matched and neither had ever been in a relationship, they decided to give it a try out of curiosity.
But in less than half a year, they broke up—because the experience he gave her in every aspect was simply awful.
Rich second-generation kids often shared the same flaws: overly naive from growing up in comfort, self-centered, lacking empathy or the ability to understand others. Because things came too easily, they had too many options, which made them prone to playing the field and being unfaithful. And because they were overly protected, they often lacked a sense of responsibility.
Coincidentally, he had all of those flaws.
But rich second-generation kids also had their typical advantages: youthful confidence, good looks nurtured by a life of ease, a flair for grand romantic gestures, and a sense of relaxed security that comes from always having someone to fall back on.
If Jiang Shangwan had been an ordinary middle-class girl, perhaps such ambiguous messages might have moved her. Maybe she would have been delighted by the concern of such an attractive, elite, wealthy young man.
But she was the gender-swapped version of him—his equal in every way. It was dull. So dull.
They were equals, which meant she could see right through every tactic and card he held. And that left her completely bored.
Jiang Shangwan half-reclined in a lounge chair. Her long hair, which hadn’t been trimmed recently, now reached her waist. As she leaned back, it fell straight down, carrying with it a graceful, unrestrained beauty.
She gently pressed her temples with two fingers, trying to relax her tense nerves. Suddenly, something came to mind, and she asked, “It’s June already?”
Her assistant replied, “It’s June 2nd.”
Only then did Jiang Shangwan realize that the group of students she had been sponsoring earlier would soon be taking the college entrance exam.
“Before the exam, send them another round of study supplies. And once the results are out, inform me right away. If there are promising students, we can suggest they consider applying to a university in Jiangcheng. After graduation, Jiang Corporation can offer them internal referrals.”
Although Jiangcheng didn’t have top-tier universities like Tsinghua or Peking University, it still had prestigious, long-established institutions. Jiang University, a well-known
[efn_note]“985 university” refers to a Chinese university included in the “Project 985”, a government initiative launched in May 1998 (hence the name: “98” for the year, “5” for May) to promote the development of world-class universities in China.[/efn_note]
985 university in the city, had top-ranked programs in fields such as computer science, finance, statistics, and architecture, with strong employment outcomes.
For the students sponsored by the Jiang Foundation, if they were willing to develop their careers in Jiangcheng, the foundation would offer them suitable job opportunities.
Jiang Shangwan held two more conference calls. By the time she wrapped up her work, it was already dusk. Her usual way of relaxing involved small get-togethers with friends. Qiao Yuqing liked taking her shopping at luxury counters, sometimes stopping for afternoon tea. Shen Luo, on the other hand, preferred hitting up a bar for drinks—but of course, whenever Jiang Shangwan was around, he never called for hostesses.
Almost as if their minds were connected, a WeChat message from Qiao Yuqing popped up on her screen. Her profile photo was an artistic shot of her resting her chin on her hand, looking into the camera.
Qiao Yuqing: Done with work? Come out and grab a bite.
Soon after, she sent a location pin: Jinxuan Chinese Restaurant, The Ritz-Carlton (Jiangcheng branch).
Jiang Shangwan: On my way.
The doorman bowed as he opened the car door for Jiang Shangwan, naturally taking her handbag and light blazer, and guided her toward the restaurant area.
Qiao Yuqing was leaning by the window, her back to a massive pane of glass suspended dozens of meters above ground. She was holding her phone up for a selfie. When she saw Jiang Shangwan approaching, she walked over and grumbled, “You just got here? I’m almost done eating.”
Jiang Shangwan waved a server over and ordered a serving of crispy lobster balls with golden cereal and black truffle cod. She slowly wiped her slender fingers with a napkin. “Just finished work.”
Qiao Yuqing speared a piece of beef tenderloin and said casually, “Fang Liangchen seems to be back.”
“I know,” Jiang Shangwan replied without any expression. “He called my private number five times. I didn’t answer. Then he sent two spam texts.”
Qiao Yuqing: “……”
Qiao Yuqing sighed a little and said, “You really don’t have any feelings for him at all? Back then, you two were the perfect match. So many people wanted to chase Fang Liangchen, but once they saw you by his side, they backed off. But it seems after you returned to China, he went to New York to do his master’s and doctorate in finance, so that’s why he’s only just come back now.”
Back then, Jiang Shangwan ended things decisively. Many people had advised her to reconsider.
The strange thing about love is that only those involved truly understand its good and bad. Outsiders usually judge by worldly conditions—appearance, identity, and status—to decide if a couple matches.
Jiang Shangwan held her knife and fork, cutting her food slowly. “Feelings? The feeling is that it really was just average.”
“Alright then.” Qiao Yuqing dropped the prying tone. Jiang Shangwan rarely confided her true feelings, so even close friends rarely heard much gossip from her.
“Anyway, no matter what, I’m definitely on your side… but, um… actually, Fang Liangchen is also at the Ritz right now…”
Jiang Shangwan looked up, her finely curled eyelashes lifting to reveal a deep, rare flash of annoyance in her eyes.
Qiao Yuqing glanced awkwardly behind Jiang Shangwan. At some point, a waiter had brought over a huge bouquet of pale pink and white roses—at least 9,999 blossoms. At the same time, a sharply dressed man carrying an orange shopping bag was walking toward them step by step, adjusting his tie as he came.
His hair was carefully styled with gel, revealing a neat forehead. His rolled-up sleeves were fastened with exquisite gold cufflinks. Every casual movement he made exuded an overwhelming aura of elite status.
Fang Liangchen paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and then slowly said, “Wanwan, long time no see.”
Jiang Shangwan never turned around. From Qiao Yuqing’s few introductory words and the direction of her glance, she had guessed almost everything already. Hearing that voice—neither too familiar nor completely strange—her first reaction was that after all these years, he was still that persistent ghost.
It seemed he hadn’t found anyone with better conditions than her abroad, so he came back and was still so entangled with her.
Jiang Shangwan had already deleted him on WeChat. This action implicitly showed her desire to keep her distance, but she had never blocked his phone number because their families had previously collaborated on projects. There was no need to make a scene.
Friends? Possible. Lovers? Absolutely unnecessary.
“Wanwan.” Fang Liangchen was as polite as ever. He walked from behind her to stand in front of her, put down the shopping bag, then took out a deep blue ring box from the middle of the bouquet. Inside was a
[efn_note]“Harry Winston diamond ring, a huge ‘pigeon egg’ cut” means: Harry Winston: a world-famous luxury jewelry brand known for top-tier diamonds and fine craftsmanship. Diamond ring: a ring set with a diamond, often used for engagements or statements of wealth. “Pigeon egg” cut: not a formal diamond cut, but a slang term in Chinese (鸽子蛋 gēzidàn) meaning a very large and showy diamond, roughly the size of a pigeon egg.[/efn_note]
Harry Winston diamond ring, a huge “pigeon egg” cut.
Holding the ring band delicately between two fingers of his right hand, he knelt on one knee, gently covering her soft hand with his left. As he drew close, she could smell the strong scent of men’s cologne on him. He whispered softly, “Will you get back together with me?”
Jiang Shangwan felt a bit overwhelmed by the perfume. Her response was equally gentle, but she decisively withdrew her hand.
“Sorry.” Jiang Shangwan smiled faintly and politely declined, “The ring is very beautiful.”
Fang Liangchen was a little disappointed, but still kept his gentlemanly composure, shrugging his shoulders as he put the diamond ring back into the box. Then he stood up and created a subtle distance between them. “Back when we were studying, you said you liked HW’s ‘pigeon egg’ diamond and Graff’s yellow diamond. Too bad there was never a chance back then.”
How could there have been no chance?
Rich second-generation heirs don’t lack money or time, what they lack is the right status. A precious ring usually signifies an intention to marry, but at that time, Fang Liangchen had never given one—because he believed their relationship was just dating and marriage was still far away.
Jiang Shangwan could almost see through every one of his actions. Over time, perhaps after weighing pros and cons many times, he finally realized that she was the most suitable marriage partner. But by then, it no longer mattered to her at all. An ending was an ending, and honestly, she felt the whole experience had been really unpleasant.
“I’m leaving now, I still have work.” Jiang Shangwan stood up to say goodbye. She didn’t want to linger. There was no reason to keep eating. Passing by the huge bouquet of roses, she didn’t even glance at it and simply took care of the bill.
Qiao Yuqing: “…”
Qiao Yuqing belatedly realized that Jiang Shangwan must be angry. She rolled her eyes at Fang Liangchen and said with frustration, “So this is what you’ve been pestering me about for a whole month? I did it for you. Don’t bother me again!” After saying that, she grabbed her purse and left.
Fang Liangchen was left standing alone. He quietly picked a few roses from the bouquet and crushed the petals fiercely in his palm.
—
June 7th, the college entrance exam (Gaokao) was successfully held, marking the official start of the first major turning point in countless students’ lives. Under the blazing sun, every figure moving around was either a nervously preparing student or a patiently accompanying parent. Some wore green clothing, sincerely praying for their children to have a smooth test with all green lights.
The math exam ended at five in the afternoon that day. Many people came out of the exam hall looking dejected, discussing the details of the test paper with familiar friends and classmates—whether they missed the final big question, or if they rushed while filling out the answer sheet and might have made mistakes.
Teachers also anxiously waited. When they finally saw a familiar figure in a T-shirt and jeans slowly appear, they quickly asked, “How was it? I heard this year’s math was really tough, and many people didn’t do well on the big questions.”
Shi Yu casually put his hands in his pockets and said indifferently, “Tired. You can’t leave early or even sleep after finishing.”
The teachers: “…”