Chapter 25
To avoid anything changing if too much time passed, Jiang Zao only called Song Jintong at five-thirty on Saturday afternoon. That was their agreed meeting time.
The call connected, and Jiang Zao wasted no words, going straight to the point. “Something came up at the last minute. Jiang Tong and I won’t be able to go. You can eat by yourselves. After you finish, send me the bill, and I’ll reimburse you.”
Without giving Song Jintong a chance to speak, he directly hung up.
Song Jintong closed her phone, very unhappy.
Seeing this, Zhou Yuan asked, “What’s wrong, Sister Tong? Who made you unhappy?”
Song Jintong said irritably, “We got stood up.”
The classmates who had already gathered around came over one after another. “What happened?”
Song Jintong shook her phone and said with a fake smile, “Teacher Jiang said that he and the class monitor suddenly have something to do and won’t be coming. He told us to eat by ourselves, and he’ll pay the bill.”
The classmates exploded. “Damn, it’s not like I can’t afford to eat by myself. Am I missing this one meal from him? What we wanted was the sincerity of him treating us, okay? Now he’s not coming, so what’s the point of eating!”
“Exactly. For this meal, I even pushed off a lot of other invitations. In the end, he says he’s not coming and just doesn’t come. What does he mean by that?”
As everyone was filled with righteous indignation, Dai Chu, who had not spoken all this time, suddenly looked at her phone and said, “Lu She says he has something to do and won’t be coming.”
After saying that, she put away her phone, said “I’m leaving too,” and turned around.
Fang Han called out to her with displeasure on his face. “Hey, Dai Chu, what do you mean?”
Dai Chu glanced at him and said directly, “It means I don’t want to eat with you.”
Everyone else sucked in a cold breath. Ever since Dai Chu had come back that time, she seemed like she had become a different person. She was no longer like before, silently enduring everything. Toward things she disliked and could not tolerate, she would state it directly and refuse to cooperate. She had become extremely individualistic.
Fang Han’s expression grew even worse. He glared at Dai Chu, looking as if he might explode at any time.
Song Jintong rolled her eyes and stood between the two of them. “What are you doing? If she wants to leave, then let her leave. One by one, people are either not coming or leaving. What’s the point of eating this meal anymore? Let’s disband. Everyone go home.”
Her words received quite a few responses. Many people also felt that their spirits had been thoroughly dampened. Although they had not been happy because of the meal itself, it was rare for everyone to gather together with such a good atmosphere. In the end, just because Jiang Zao was the first to stand them up, things had become this tense. It was too boring. No, it was too awful!
And so, in addition to voices agreeing to disband, complaints about Jiang Zao also rose.
Zhou Yuan felt that with the atmosphere so bad right now, as the only class cadre on the scene, he had the responsibility and obligation to salvage class unity!
And so, Zhou Yuan stood forward with a righteous air. “Cough, stop arguing. If a few people are missing, then a few people are missing. It’s not like the rest of us can’t still have fun. How about this? After dinner, let’s go to a karaoke lounge. My treat?”
Song Jintong kicked him in the shin. “What good person are you pretending to be? I’m the organizer of this activity. What we do is up to me.”
Zhou Yuan wilted and asked obsequiously, “Then what brilliant plan does Sister Tong have?”
Song Jintong looked around the crowd and asked, “Does anyone know what Jiang Zao has going on today?”
Most people shook their heads. “No idea…”
“Useless.”
Fang Han looked thoughtful. “Today seems to be the birthday of the Lin family’s second son.”
“Who’s that?” Song Jintong asked.
Fang Han rolled his eyes right back at her. “Lin Tang. The one who keeps circling outside our class every day.”
Song Jintong remembered. “That idiot—right, isn’t he Jiang Zao’s biological younger brother? His birthday is today?”
“I just said that,” Fang Han said irritably.
Song Jintong revealed a playful smile. “Fine. Jiang Zao stood us up, and most likely went to support his younger brother instead. Then we should naturally return the favor and go crash the party.”
Zhou Yuan used his excellent Chinese language literacy to analyze it for a moment. Crashing the party did not count as returning the favor.
But looking at the eager expressions on everyone else’s faces, he thought it was better not to correct her. If they were going to crash it, then they could crash it.
When Jiang Zao called Song Jintong, he had already brought Jiang Tong to the Lin family residence. By the time he finished the call and got out of the car, they ran into Lu She.
The moment the two little friends met, they had endless things to say. Jiang Zao was too lazy to listen to their sticky topics, such as “Have you finished your homework?” and “There’s a question I don’t know how to do,” so he quickened his steps and left them behind, entering the Lin family hall first. Then the Lin family’s housekeeper came up to him and lowered his voice, saying that Mr. Lin invited him upstairs for a talk.
Mr. Lin. The original owner’s father. The master of the Lin family.
Jiang Zao said something to Jiang Tong, who had caught up from behind. Then he exchanged a glance with Lu She and followed the housekeeper upstairs.
Mr. Lin was waiting for him in the tea room.
The tea room was decorated in an antique and elegant style, with thin wisps of incense burning. In front of the unsmiling middle-aged man, a pot of tea was being brewed. After the housekeeper reported, Mr. Lin signaled that he could withdraw, then had Jiang Zao sit across from him.
Jiang Zao walked over openly and sat down.
Mr. Lin picked up the teapot and filled a purple clay teacup to eighty percent before handing it over, but said nothing.
Jiang Zao picked up the teacup and lightly sipped it. After putting the cup down, he commented, “Very good tea.”
Such a vague comment, close to flattery, did not satisfy Mr. Lin, but he did not say anything. Instead, he took a sip of tea himself and slowly spoke amid the curling mist. “The way you are now is much neater than before.”
This was not praise, but Mr. Lin’s heartfelt evaluation. From before, he had disliked Jiang Zao’s image of letting his bangs cover his eyes. It made him look lifeless. How was there any vitality of a young person in that? Young people should be full of vigor, like Lin Ran and Lin Tang.
Thinking of the two children who satisfied him, Mr. Lin did not mind Jiang Zao’s lack of response anymore. In any case, he had always been like this before, as if he were mute. Other people would say ten sentences before he could reply with one or two. That timid, submissive appearance annoyed people.
Mr. Lin decided to make this quick and end the conversation as soon as possible. “You are teaching now.”
It was not a question, but a statement. Jiang Zao took another sip of tea and answered, “Mm.”
Mr. Lin did not often trim his eyebrows, so they were somewhat messy. Because of that, when he frowned, it was even more obvious. He was not very satisfied with Jiang Zao’s response. To speak so casually to an elder—he was simply too lacking in upbringing. But dissatisfaction was dissatisfaction. His many years of cultivation prevented him from getting angry over such a small matter. He merely lowered his evaluation of this biological son a little more.
He said, “Being a teacher at Jiayin High School is also a decent path.”
“That’s right,” Jiang Zao agreed.
“Even with a personality like yours…” Mr. Lin paused and could not help lifting his eyes to size up the young man across from him. He seemed greatly different from the impression in Mr. Lin’s mind. No, perhaps it should be said that he did not match the past few years. If traced back a few more years, there had been one or two periods when the other party’s state had been rather similar to now.
Mr. Lin stopped the recollection and continued, “If you stay there, as long as you don’t make any major mistakes, you can pass this life smoothly and steadily.”
“That’s right.”
Mr. Lin could not help frowning again. His attitude was too casual!
He took a sip of tea to suppress his emotions. Mr. Lin said, “Jiang Zao, you must remember. Outside, you represent the face of the Lin family. You absolutely cannot embarrass the Lin family. Understand?”
This time, Jiang Zao did not respond. He merely drank his tea in silence.
The emotions Mr. Lin had accumulated had already condensed into displeasure. He lowered his voice. “Did you hear what I said? Jiang Zao.”
He pronounced the final two characters very heavily.
Jiang Zao put down the teacup and lifted his head.
Mr. Lin had originally thought he intended to become serious, but instead, he saw the hint of a smile on Jiang Zao’s lips.
“What are you smiling at?” Mr. Lin’s brows furrowed even tighter.
“I seem to be surnamed Jiang, not Lin,” Jiang Zao said with a smile. “So how exactly would I embarrass the Lin family?”
“You!” Mr. Lin heavily set down his cup. He did not set it steadily, and the tea inside spilled across the table, winding down along the table’s corner.
Jiang Zao picked up the cloth towel and half-rose to help him wipe the table. But he wiped very casually, and after he finished, more than half of it was still wet. Still, he simply placed the cloth towel on the table and stood up. “If this is what you wanted to say, then I’ve heard it. I’ll go out first.”
Mr. Lin’s trouser leg was dampened by the water flowing down. The water carried warmth, but was not very hot. Sitting where he was, he spoke to Jiang Zao, whose back was to him. “Are you blaming me for not changing your surname back when I brought you home?”
Jiang Zao stopped. He seemed to seriously think about it for a moment, then turned back and smiled as he shook his head. “No need. ‘Lin Zao’ sounds very unpleasant.”
Mr. Lin slowly said, “It was not easy for your adoptive parents to raise you. Letting you keep their surname was so you could remember their kindness.”
“That’s right.” Jiang Zao nodded in agreement. “My adoptive parents treated me very well, so now, I want to do everything I can to repay the Jiang family.”
Mr. Lin fell silent.
Jiang Zao paused for a while. Seeing that he had nothing more to say, he also said no more and turned to continue walking toward the door.
Just as he was about to leave, Mr. Lin suddenly spoke. “If you encounter difficulties later, you can come to us. After all, we are parent and child. Your mother and I will do our best to help you.”
With his back to him, a mocking smile tugged at Jiang Zao’s lips. Mr. Lin’s words did not come from a father’s care for his child, but more like fulfilling a responsibility he had no choice but to fulfill. Just as he had said, in order to avoid embarrassing the Lin family, he had no choice but to offer to solve problems for this unlikable son. This was for the Lin family’s dignity.
Without responding, Jiang Zao opened the door and went out.
The housekeeper was still waiting outside the door. Seeing him come out, he brought him back to the banquet hall on the first floor.
He had been delayed for a while at Father Lin’s place. The banquet hall, which had originally been rather empty, now had quite a few people. Most were teenagers or young people in their early twenties. There were hardly any slightly older people in sight.
This was not surprising. Lin Tang was not yet an adult and had not formally stepped into social circles. This birthday banquet was more a place for people his age to have fun, not a networking venue full of clinking glasses.
Jiang Zao did not expend much effort before finding today’s main character, Lin Tang. He was very conspicuous, probably the most radiant presence there apart from the carefully dressed women. Standing beside him was Lin Ran. Although he was not dressed as dazzlingly, Lin Ran still attracted many shy gazes with his outstanding appearance and friendly attitude.
The brothers were surrounded by guests, chatting and laughing with ease.
As if noticing the gaze from this side, Lin Tang lifted his eyes and looked over. His smile then turned into disgust, and he unhappily turned his head away. Lin Ran, who noticed, also looked over. Smiling, he apologized to the people around them, tugged Lin Tang, and brought him along as they walked toward Jiang Zao.
Jiang Zao stood where he was with leisure, waiting for them to approach.
“Jiang Zao, hello.” Lin Ran took the lead and greeted him with a smile. “Were you called by Dad to talk just now?”
“Yes.” Jiang Zao took a drink from the table and sipped it. “Mr. Lin chatted with me for a few sentences.”
Hearing his answer, Lin Ran was surprised. Jiang Zao actually called Father Lin “Mr. Lin.” Although Jiang Zao had always been awkward and hesitant before, what he called him was “Dad,” even if he rarely received a response.
There were people all around them, so Lin Ran could not expand on this topic and could only hurry past it. “Dad and Mom know that you went to Jiayin to become a teacher, and they’re very happy for you. Mm… Xiao Tang and I are also happy for you. Jiang Zao, if you run into any trouble, don’t be polite. Just tell us. Although we might not be able to help with any major things, with matters such as transferring classes, I think we still have some say.”
Jiang Zao smiled. “Thank you. Mr. Lin said the same.”
Lin Tang finally could no longer endure it and erupted. “Every other sentence is Mr. Lin. What, is he not your dad?”
Lin Tang had originally been very happy today. It was his birthday. He had received gifts from his parents and older brother, many relatives and friends had come to give him blessings, and Lu She had also come to attend his birthday banquet. He felt this day could practically be called perfect.
But his good mood very quickly plummeted to rock bottom when he saw Jiang Tong staying inseparable from Lu She.
Lu She had not come over when he saw him. Lin Tang endured it and lowered his face to take the initiative to find him, but Lu She’s attitude was very cold. Instead, Jiang Tong talked a lot, wished him happy birthday, gave him a gift, and declared that it was something he and Lu She had jointly given.
Lin Tang accepted this joint gift with a smile on his face, then turned away and was so angry he nearly crushed his teeth.
Could they be any more shabby? Two people giving one gift together. Lu She was so knowledgeable and courteous. It definitely had not been his idea. Then it must have been Jiang Tong who had instigated it. Since he was poor and could not give a present worthy of being brought out, he had instigated Lu She to give it together, knowing Lin Tang would not act up for Lu She’s sake.
Lin Tang indeed did not act up. He endured until he almost suffered internal injuries, then was pulled aside by Lin Ran to receive other guests.
The fire in his heart had finally gone down a little, only for Jiang Zao to come before him and sway around, even with that hateful smile on his face. Maybe he had even been the one who taught Jiang Tong to give a joint gift!
These two brothers really made him angrier the more he looked at them!
And so, grasping Jiang Zao’s words, Lin Tang began his counterattack.
The guests were basically all gathered in this circle. Lin Tang deliberately did not lower his voice. He wanted everyone else to hear just how shameless Jiang Zao was. The Lin family had treated him well and rescued him from a poor, bitter household, yet he had no sense of gratitude at all and actually would not even call out “Dad.”
He had originally thought that under everyone’s gaze, after being exposed by him as an ungrateful wolf, Jiang Zao would be so ashamed he would have nowhere to hide. But unexpectedly, Jiang Zao remained calm and composed, as if the person being talked about was not him.
Jiang Zao smiled and asked, “Does having a blood relationship mean I have to call him Dad?”
“Otherwise?” Lin Tang snorted coldly.
“I see.” Jiang Zao nodded, then gave Lin Ran a meaningful look.
Lin Ran immediately felt as if he had been slapped across the face, burning hot. It was as if everyone else’s gaze had also turned toward him. Although Jiang Zao had not said anything, Lin Ran knew what he wanted to express. Lin Ran had also never called the Jiang couple “Dad” and “Mom.” If Jiang Zao was at fault, then Lin Ran was guilty of the same.
Lin Tang simply disliked Jiang Zao’s habit of speaking halfway and leaving the other half unsaid. He immediately glared at him. “What do you mean by—”
Lin Ran tugged hard on his arm. Lin Tang felt pain, and his words turned into a cry of pain. He turned around, wanting to question him, but upon seeing Lin Ran’s pale face, he immediately understood that this sweeping attack had been poorly aimed and had accidentally wounded Brother Lin Ran.
He wanted to apologize, but in front of Jiang Zao, if he admitted fault, it would mean apologizing to Jiang Zao as well. That was something he absolutely refused to let happen.
They were indeed brothers who had lived together for more than ten years. Even without the connection of blood, their accumulated understanding over the years allowed them to understand each other’s meaning through a few exchanges of looks.
Lin Ran stepped forward and quietly blocked the space between the two of them. He had already adjusted his mood. At this time, he absolutely could not show weakness. Even if those who had come were all young people, which one of them had not grown up absorbing things from their families by ear and eye? If he did not behave appropriately, he would immediately become a joke in social circles.
Lin Ran’s smile was kind. “Jiang Zao, Xiao Tang didn’t mean it like that. He only wants the family to be harmonious. But children at this age are always bad at honestly expressing what’s in their hearts. I hope you can understand.”
Since the other party had already provided him a step down, Jiang Zao was too lazy to continue providing others with a topic. He followed the step down and nodded. “Mm, I understand. The children in my class are the same. They’re not honest enough. They’re all very tsundere.”
“Who are you calling tsundere!”
The voice came from the direction of the banquet hall entrance. Jiang Zao turned his head. Led by Jiang Tong and Lu She, every member of Class 19 had arrived.
After agreeing to come crash the party, the group had stormed to the Lin family with fierce momentum, only to be told by the security guards at the entrance that they could not enter without invitations. And so, they each displayed their abilities and contacted their own networks. It was only one tiny Lin family gate. They refused to believe they could not get in!
Jiang Tong and Lu She had hurried over after receiving Dai Chu’s message.
Dai Chu had notified them of this matter earlier. Jiang Tong had felt extremely conflicted. His intuition told him that these people had come with bad intentions, but he also did not know what to do. His first reaction had been to call his brother to discuss it, but then he thought again. His brother was meeting Mr. Lin. If he called and the conversation over there had not ended yet, would that be bad?
After thinking left and right, Jiang Tong finally decided to rely on himself to persuade them. But just as he cleared his throat, Fang Han had already finished making a call. The Lin family sought business from the Fang family, and he had directly contacted Father Lin. Once the phone was passed to the security guard at the door, they were smoothly let inside.
With the rice already cooked, Jiang Tong could only lead everyone in with a strong sense of guilt, while secretly praying that his brother would be able to hold these people down and not let them overturn the sky.
They had come with the intention of crashing the party. The whole group was eager and ready, just waiting to make a dazzling entrance and show off their abilities, letting mere Jiang Zao see the consequences of standing them up. Did he really think that just because they had gotten along fairly peacefully these past few days, he had them under control? That was only because they had been too lazy to cause trouble.
But the moment they came in, what did they hear? Jiang Zao said the children in his class were not honest and were tsundere!
Wasn’t he talking about them? Were those words a human should say?!
Everyone was very angry, so angry their faces turned red. Someone immediately became embarrassed into anger and cursed, “Who are you calling tsundere!”
Seeing that it was them, Jiang Zao was surprised for a moment, then quickly calmed down. “Why are you here?”
Song Jintong reacted the fastest. She pouted, her face full of grievance. “Teacher is too much. You stood us up just to come celebrate your younger brother’s birthday. We clearly made plans with you first. Teacher broke his word!”
Everyone else was dumbfounded. Sister Tong, you said we were coming to crash the party. You didn’t say we were crashing it like this. Acting, is it?
And so, the group was collectively possessed by acting spirits.
“Exactly. Teacher doesn’t care about us at all. We all pushed aside lots of invitations for Teacher, but Teacher couldn’t push aside this birthday party for us. We’re so hurt.”
“Teacher, Teacher, in your heart, are we more important, or is your younger brother more important?”
The last sentence made not only everyone else want to vomit, but even the person who said it felt nauseated. It was too disgusting, as disgusting as the drowning question from someone with a love brain. But this question was the most lethal. They had heard that Jiang Zao really wanted to improve his relationship with his younger brother. But if he answered that his younger brother was more important and did not choose the students, then from his position as a teacher, there would be plenty to say about it.
This was a deadly forced choice!
Beneath their feigned sad expressions were malicious smiles.
They originally thought he would hesitate and struggle. But unexpectedly, Jiang Zao did not hesitate at all and answered easily, “Of course it’s you. You are my important students, after all.”
Their expressions froze.
Whether sorrow or joy, all of it froze on their faces at this moment.
Someone’s lips moved. “Really?”
Jiang Zao smiled. “Really.”
Song Jintong was still very rational. She asked suspiciously, “Since we’re important, then why did you still stand us up?”
Jiang Zao’s smile did not change. “Because I knew you were very sensible and would definitely understand that Teacher has adult difficulties.”
Damn it, he turned it back on them!
Jiang Tong, standing nearby, almost wanted to clap. His brother was too amazing. With just a few words, he had reversed the situation. These people had originally wanted to seize on the topic to make trouble, but now they had been given the evaluation of being sensible. If they did not do something sensible, it would no longer make sense.
The other guests present were also dumbfounded. They were not familiar with Jiang Zao, but they were very familiar with this group of second-generation heirs. They were simply little devils, and not just one of them, but a whole group!
Usually, unless necessary, they would absolutely stay far away from these people, not wanting to touch them at all. Today, seeing a whole group of them arrive aggressively, they had thought blood would flow like rivers. In the end, they had unexpectedly been appeased by just a few words from their new homeroom teacher. It was simply too inconceivable.
Even more people cast their gazes at Jiang Zao, wanting to explore the truth of this real young master whom the Lin family had never had anything good to say about when mentioning him.
His eye area was covered by a pair of tacky black-framed glasses, lowering his overall attractiveness. However, the shape and placement of his features were excellent. It was only that they could not see the full picture, making it impossible to judge exactly how he looked. They could only guess that if he took off the glasses and dressed up a little, he was probably quite delicate and handsome.
His figure was well-proportioned, and his posture was sufficiently upright. Although there was no elegance in his every movement that came from long years of soaking in upper society, he was graceful and natural, giving people a very comfortable feeling. Added to the scholarly air that occasionally emerged from him, overall, he did not give a bad impression.
Even if one would not think to build a deep friendship with someone like this, one probably would not particularly dislike him either.
Many people secretly gave their evaluations.
Jiang Zao did not react to other people’s observations. He merely smiled apologetically at the students who had come looking for him. “I apologize to you all for being absent from the gathering at the last minute.”
His tone changed. “But what I want to know now is, why did you all come here?”
To crash the party. Jiang Tong closed his eyes and thought coldly of the information Dai Chu had told him.
The one who spoke was Fang Han. He fully displayed what could be called the art of language. “Because we are sensible and considerate children. Since Teacher had something to do and couldn’t come to us, it isn’t impossible for us to accommodate Teacher and come to your side instead.”
Song Jintong smiled and added, “In any case, a gathering is all about the atmosphere. Where it happens isn’t important. Right?”
She did not forget to ask everyone else’s opinions. Everyone nodded along in agreement.
Jiang Zao calmly swept a glance over Lin Tang’s livid face, then spread his hands. “This isn’t something I can decide. After all, I was only invited here to attend the birthday banquet. If you want to participate, you have to ask for the host’s consent.”
Lin Tang’s face went pale. He had indeed been angry just now that Jiang Zao had overstepped as the guest and taken over the host’s place. But now that the other party had returned the initiative to him, he panicked again. He did not want to keep these people at all, but he was also afraid of offending them.
He glared at Jiang Zao resentfully. This person was definitely deliberately making him look bad! He had known he should not have invited the Jiang brothers. With them here, nothing good would happen!
Lin Tang did not express his stance. Fang Han impatiently urged him. “Lin Tang, are you keeping us or not? Just say the word. Is there a need to drag things out and waste time?”
Zhou Yuan joined in. “Exactly. Don’t tell me you think we’re not qualified to attend your birthday party?”
“Aiyo, now this is truly funny. Has the Lin family become such a high and mighty household that they even look down on us?”
“That can’t be, right? The day before yesterday, I saw Lin Naichang and his wife staying at my house until midnight. Was it because they were begging for a loan?”
“Lin Tang, can you make this decision or not? Don’t tell me you still need to listen to your dad. Then why don’t we call Lin Naichang out and hear what he has to say?”
Listening to these malicious words, Lin Tang felt so wronged he nearly cried. What was all this? Saying such things on an occasion where he was the main character—weren’t they deliberately making him look bad? So many of his classmates and friends had come. How was he supposed to raise his head in front of them in the future?
“I…” Lin Tang opened his mouth, his voice shaking beyond control.
Lin Ran felt distressed watching him. Although he also felt bad inside, he still forced himself to stay composed and spoke on his behalf. “If all of you students are willing to attend Xiao Tang’s birthday party, of course we couldn’t ask for more. How could we be unwilling?”
Ren Hao pinched his chin and said to his deskmate Song Jintong, “Sister Tong, don’t you think he looks a little like the class monitor?”
Song Jintong looked at Lin Ran, then at Jiang Tong, trying to analyze it from a professional angle. “He does look quite similar. Look at the eyes and the mouth. Those two parts are the most alike. The proportions of the face are also almost identical…”
Her analysis was orderly and logical. Jiang Tong listened with great embarrassment. How was he supposed to tell them that this was his biological older brother, though he had never been acknowledged?
Fang Han interrupted their boring chatter. “Are you two done or not? That’s the class monitor’s biological brother. How could they not look alike?”
His words were nothing much to the guests who had already understood the situation before, but to the members of Class 19 who had only just learned this, it was big news.
“Ah? So he’s that fake?”
“The Lin family is really interesting. Although the real one is ordinary, treating a fake like a treasure is also one of a kind.”
“Don’t underestimate him, all right? He joined Lansheng Orchestra, and his first performance was with Rong Jingcheng.”
“Wow, that’s pretty good. Unlimited prospects. Looks like he’s much stronger than our Teacher Jiang.”
“How can those two be compared? A lousy teacher and a musician with a bright future—one look is enough to tell who’s higher and who’s lower.”
“Not bad, not bad. How about next time we organize a group to go support him?”
Jiang Tong really wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it. He could no longer keep listening. These people really had come to crash the party. Destroying the atmosphere was also one way of crashing a party. But had they perhaps crashed the wrong person?
Those who knew would say they wanted to praise Lin Ran in order to step on Jiang Zao. But listening to these words, it seemed Lin Ran was being stepped on even harder. Starting from “fake,” every sentence was a critical hit. Couldn’t they see that his biological older brother’s face had nearly turned whiter than the wall?
Jiang Tong had no special feelings toward Lin Ran, this biological older brother. Perhaps because they had never really spent time together, he knew this was someone related to him by blood, but emotionally, he could not feel close to him. The one he was closer to was Brother Jiang Zao, who had grown up with him since they were children. On this point, the other party was the same, closer to Lin Tang. So Jiang Tong did not like the other party, but he also did not hate him. He only regarded him as a blood-related stranger. When necessary, he could call him older brother. Aside from that, there was nothing further.
But now, looking at that lofty Lin Ran’s face turning pale because of these comments, Jiang Tong felt complicated. Although he did not like the other party, Mom always missed this biological son. She often paid attention to news about him and would also mention Lin Ran’s excellence beside his ear. So in Jiang Tong’s heart, Lin Ran’s status was somewhat lofty.
He could not help thinking that the person so outstanding and perfect in their eyes turned out to be lowly as dust in the eyes of others. He did not know how Mom would feel if she knew.
“Enough.” Jiang Zao spoke up at the right time. “Pointing fingers at other people’s family affairs is very impolite.”
The students shut their mouths, but their expressions were all a little dissatisfied. They had attacked so hard, yet Jiang Zao had not reacted at all. Instead, Lin Ran, whom they had nearly praised to the heavens, had turned deathly pale. Boring.
Jiang Zao turned to Lin Ran and said apologetically, “Sorry. These children simply talk too much. They don’t mean any harm.”
Lin Ran forced a smile. “It’s fine.”
Jiang Zao looked at the two Lin brothers opposite him, whose faces were each paler than the other’s, and sighed inwardly.
He felt nothing toward the Lin brothers, and even the entire Lin family. Whether they ignored “Jiang Zao,” hated him, or treated him kindly, he did not care. He only wanted to draw a clear line and each live peacefully. It was just that this time, Lin Ran had used Mother Jiang to get him to come to the birthday banquet, and he was somewhat unhappy about that. But he could teach Lin Ran a lesson himself and call it even. Now that his students had come to crash the party because of him, he also felt a little apologetic. It was better to take this group of little ghosts who thought trouble was never too big and leave early, so the host could properly celebrate his birthday.
And so he spoke. “I thought about it. With so many people arriving all at once, it will probably affect the original process. Since it’s Lin Tang’s birthday, I also hope everything can go smoothly without mistakes. So I’ll take them and leave first.”
Lin Ran looked at him, his expression very surprised. He had not expected Jiang Zao to take the initiative to suggest bringing them away. He could feel that Jiang Zao had control over them, but not much. If they continued to stay here, who knew what else might happen? Now that someone was willing to take them away, Lin Ran also breathed a sigh of relief.
But he could not make the decision and looked toward Lin Tang.
Lin Tang felt like he was a joke right now. It was his birthday, but no one cared about him. His spotlight had been stolen, and he had been humiliated and mocked. Right now, he wished Jiang Zao and everyone from Class 19 would all disappear on the spot, including Lu She—having Lu She see him in such an embarrassing state made him want to die.
Lin Tang’s temper rose. He sniffed hard, pointed at Jiang Zao, and said, “Hurry and take your people away!”
He still restrained himself and did not use “scram.” After all, Lu She was there, along with people he could not afford to offend.
Jiang Zao did not mind his tone. Since the host had agreed, taking the students away immediately would not be rude. However, he still smiled and said to Lin Tang, “Lin Tang, I forgot to say: happy birthday. I hope you like the gift I gave you.”
Lin Tang froze.
Jiang Zao had already turned around to speak to his students. “Little friends, now I can fulfill the promise I made to you and take you to the gathering. Let’s go.”
Everyone looked unwilling. Were they this easy to coax?
But before they could say anything in refusal, a refined male voice came from the banquet hall entrance. “Eh? I only just arrived, and someone is already leaving?”
Author’s Note:
How could a certain someone not join in this kind of excitement~
Comments 0
You must be logged in to comment.
No comments yet. Be the first!