Deliberate Possession [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Is My Girlfriend

Jiang Yumian was only released by Jing Xiaoyan after being forced to remove her from the blacklist under her watchful eye.

When the two of them exited the elevator, the office building was almost empty. Jiang Yumian walked to the main entrance and turned to ask Jing Xiaoyan, “Do you have a ride?”

Jing Xiaoyan wanted to say no, but meeting Jiang Yumian’s you’re dead if you dare to lie to me gaze, she immediately nodded after shaking her head.

Jiang Yumian: “…”

She asked patiently again, “Do you or don’t you?”

Jing Xiaoyan nodded. “Yes, Xiao Feng is waiting for me in the car. I’ll call her to come over.”

Jiang Yumian watched her take out her phone. Her own driver had already arrived. She waited until Jing Xiaoyan’s call connected before moving to leave.

Jing Xiaoyan hung up the phone, quickly chased after her, and grabbed Jiang Yumian, who was about to get into the car. “Mianmian, I’m going to film the show tomorrow afternoon. Can I meet up with you?”

Jiang Yumian glanced at the driver in front of the car, not wanting to be harsh to Jing Xiaoyan in front of an outsider. She looked at the hand holding her and said warmly, “Let’s talk about it tomorrow. I’m going home.”

Jiang Yumian got into the car, her mind filled with Jing Xiaoyan’s hurt expression and her pitiful eyes looking at her. She was still thinking about it even after arriving home.

She knew she was easily soft-hearted, especially towards Jing Xiaoyan. As soon as Jing Xiaoyan looked wronged, she couldn’t take it, and today she had even made her cry.

As she walked into the house, she planned to go find her aunt, but she was a little confused when she saw Jiang Xiaoyan and Su Mumu playing in the living room.

“Mumu?”

Jiang Yumian looked at Jiang Xiaoyan, who ran towards her. She bent down, patted its head, and walked towards Su Mumu with the dog.

Su Mumu fed herself a piece of fruit with a toothpick and casually mumbled an “Mhm.” “I was passing by, so I stopped to visit.”

Then she went straight to the point. “I heard you blacklisted Jing Xiaoyan?”

Jiang Yumian had just sat down on the dog’s exclusive carpet with Jiang Xiaoyan. When she heard the question, her hand holding the dog’s toy paused. “Did she tell you?”

The toy in her hand was grabbed by the dog. She looked back at Jiang Xiaoyan, released the toy, and asked, “Why did you come over?”

Su Mumu intentionally sighed. “Yes, she looked haggard yesterday. She came to my place looking so pitiful, bullied by you. I was passing by today, so I came to be a mediator.”

Then she quickly explained. “I’m not betraying you. It’s just that I didn’t understand the situation yesterday and scolded her on your behalf. I feel quite bad about it.”

Jiang Yumian’s eyes widened a little. She didn’t quite believe it. “You scolded her?”

Su Mumu cleared her throat. “Yeah, she said she was your cousin. I thought about how much you liked her, and she was pulling all this. I was just trying to stand up for you…”

Jiang Yumian’s petting of the dog slowed down even more. Her mind was full of Jing Xiaoyan’s pitiful look.

Jiang Yumian gently stroked the very smooth fur, saying to the puppy, “Although Jing Xiaoyan hid it from me, she’s not my biological cousin, so there’s nothing for me to be angry about, right?”

Although it didn’t understand, Jiang Xiaoyan was very cooperative. “Woof!”

Jiang Yumian chuckled slightly, then continued, “Jing Xiaoyan only didn’t tell me because she likes me. Her perspective is different from mine. She’s so good to me, and I really like her too. Maybe I should go talk to her?”

Jiang Xiaoyan: “Woof woof!”

Su Mumu listened dumbfounded as Jiang Yumian brainwashed herself. She felt there was no need for her to have come.

“Then Xiaoyan-yan, you come with me. I’m afraid I’ll be mean to her again. She’s so pitiful. She even cried today. She just wants to be with me. No one has ever liked me this much. Maybe we should go find her tonight?”

Jiang Yumian rubbed the puppy’s head. Seeing it bark and nod again, she couldn’t help but smile.

She had figured it out. She cared more about the elders at home, but not everyone was like that. Besides, her aunt and uncle were abroad. It was normal for Jing Xiaoyan, who had lived alone for so long, to overlook these things.

The excuse she made for her was a bit clumsy. Jiang Yumian clearly saw her heart leaning heavily towards Jing Xiaoyan, but she couldn’t help it. She seemed to like Jing Xiaoyan very much and thought about her every day.

Su Mumu stood up from the sofa and rolled her eyes impolitely at Jiang Yumian, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor.

She couldn’t help but complain. “I’ve never seen anyone capable of PUAing themselves like you.”

Jiang Yumian looked back at her. “Aren’t you here to mediate for Jing Xiaoyan?”

Her task was complete now. Why was she still criticizing her?

Su Mumu twitched her mouth. “I was wrong. I won’t look for you. I’ll look for Aunt Jiang. I’ll see if I can persuade her to change the heir. I feel like if your company is given to you, and you encounter Jing Xiaoyan, you’ll ruin it completely.”

“You’re overthinking it.”

Jiang Yumian chuckled softly, because she wouldn’t run into Jing Xiaoyan in the business world.

Speak of the devil, her mother came out of the kitchen and warmly said to Su Mumu, “Mumu, you haven’t had dinner yet, right? Why don’t you stay the night?”

Su Mumu waved her hand. “No, Aunt Jiang. My friend is waiting for me nearby. I need to go.”

Jiang Yumian was surprised. “Sister Yunyun is nearby too?”

Su Mumu nodded. “Mhm, she’s waiting there for me. It just happened to be the time you got off work and came home, and we were passing by, so I came over.”

She had deliberately told Chu Qianyun not to follow, otherwise she wouldn’t have an excuse to leave later. Jiang Yumian’s mother was very enthusiastic.

Jiang Yumian nodded. “Then hurry up.”

After Su Mumu left, Jiang Yumian played with Jiang Xiaoyan for a while longer until it was time for dinner.

Yesterday, she said she didn’t want to hear her aunt finish speaking. Now, Jiang Yumian was thinking about how to bring it up and get her to continue.

The more she resisted yesterday, the more suffocated she felt today.

Jiang Yumian slowly sipped her soup, debating for a long time. Seeing her aunt was almost done eating, she thought for a moment and suddenly put a piece of vegetable in her aunt’s bowl.

Her aunt was stunned, turned to look at Jiang Yumian, hesitated for a few seconds, then ate the vegetable.

Hearing a light cough from the other side, Jiang Yumian put a piece of vegetable in her mother’s bowl too.

Seeing that they both ate it, she gave a dry laugh. “The food is really good today, isn’t it…”

Her mother snorted softly. “Don’t flatter yourself. It wasn’t specially made to coax you.”

Jiang Yumian: “…”

She hadn’t even said anything yet.

But knowing her mother made it, she was still very happy. “No wonder it tastes different from usual. It’s really delicious.”

Her mother raised an eyebrow, elegantly wiped her mouth, and said directly, “Just say what you want to say.”

Jiang Yumian quickly lowered her head, taking an apologetic stance. “I was wrong. Tell me, what else is there that I don’t know?”

Her mother deliberately teased. “Oh, you’re quite flexible, aren’t you?”

Jiang Yumian looked up mournfully. “Mom…”

Her mother spread her hands. “I don’t know. Ask your aunt. I want to hear it too.”

Jiang Yumian tilted her head, and her gaze landed on her aunt, who had just stood up to sneak away.

Her mother immediately called out, “Jiang Jifeng! Sit down!”

Jiang Yumian tilted her head and looked at her aunt, who was startled and sat down with a thud. “Aunt?”

Her aunt twitched her mouth, laughing awkwardly.

She usually wasn’t afraid of her sister, but now…

Under the gaze of the mother and daughter, her aunt debated for a long time. She hesitated and asked, “Sister, you’re eight years older than me. You basically watched me grow up. If I lied to you about something, it shouldn’t be a capital offense, right?”

Her mother frowned, slightly raising her chin. “You talk first. I want to hear what you lied to me about.”

Seeing the situation, Jiang Yumian slightly hunched her shoulders, reducing her presence.

Her aunt moved her chair closer to Jiang Yumian, looked at her, and said directly, “Let me tell you, actually, Xiaoyan’s dad and I were planning to divorce anyway. It just so happened that you and Xiaoyan liked each other, so I decided to use that as an excuse to cover it up.”

Jiang Yumian was stunned for a long time. They were planning to divorce anyway?

Then…

Jiang Yumian took a light breath, her voice slightly trembling. “But Mom said you and Uncle were getting along well. Why are you divorcing?”

Her aunt twitched her mouth, not daring to open her mouth wide, deliberately mumbling, “Because we’re in a sham marriage.”

Her mother gave her a look. “Speak clearly.”

Her aunt took a breath, closed her eyes, hardened her heart, and spoke quickly. “Because we were in a sham marriage, and we were planning to divorce anyway. But any other excuse wouldn’t work with you. You would definitely check if he was treating me badly, and you would find out we were in a sham marriage. I was afraid you would kill me! So I thought about using Mianmian and Xiaoyan!”

She said the whole speech very quickly, as if afraid they would understand.

But her mother reacted quickly. Jiang Yumian was still dazed, but her mother was already rolling up her sleeves.

Her aunt opened her eyes and saw her sister looking at her as if she wanted to kill her. She immediately stood up and hid behind Jiang Yumian.

Her mother also stood up, staring at the person behind Jiang Yumian. “Jiang Jifeng, it’s been over a decade. You really ran away from home. How many elders did I deal with for you, telling them you were doing well, letting you do what you wanted. And you went and had a sham marriage with someone?”

Jiang Yumian swallowed hard, quickly stood up, too. It was the first time she saw her mother this angry, and she was also trembling. “Mom, Mom, please don’t be impulsive. Maybe listen to Aunt finish first…”

Her mother gritted her teeth. “Jiang Jifeng, I can understand you not wanting an arranged marriage back then, but living alone is better than a sham marriage.”

Although Jiang Yumian was a little confused, she still nodded, turning to whisper, “Aunt, my mom has a point.”

Her aunt twitched her mouth. “Your grandma was forcing me into an arranged marriage back then, but I didn’t want to marry the person she chose, so I found someone to have a sham marriage with me.”

Jiang Yumian blinked, turned to look at her mother. Her mother pursed her lips and nodded. “Your grandmother was extremely controlling. After hearing your aunt got married, she wanted to kill her. I was the one who stopped her. Then she got sick from anger, lay in the hospital for a few years, and passed away.”

Her aunt scoffed softly, defending herself. “Sister, you don’t know. She had people lock me up then. She wanted to tie me up and take me away.”

Seeing the surprise in her mother’s eyes, Jiang Yumian sighed softly. “Mom, let’s sit down and talk.”

Her aunt only relaxed after they sat down, and continued. “I was abroad with Mianmian back then. I managed to jump from the second floor to escape.”

“I didn’t have any money after I ran out. I was sitting on the side of the road when I ran into Xiaoyan, who was coming home from school.”

Jiang Yumian’s brow slightly twitched. She didn’t expect her aunt to be the first one to meet Jing Xiaoyan.

Her mother pursed her lips, glanced at her, and only said, “Continue,” after confirming she wasn’t making up the story.

Her aunt sighed softly, glanced at Jiang Yumian, and decided to tell them in detail. “I twisted my ankle when I jumped from upstairs. Xiaoyan saw me then and asked what was wrong with my foot. I talked to her for a long time. She said her house was nearby and told me to wait at the entrance. She went home to get me some medicine.”

“Then I waited for a long time and didn’t see her. I thought she might have lied to me, but I didn’t think she would. So I walked in the direction she pointed, and saw her mom hitting her.”

Her aunt paused, looked at the two frowning people, and finally skipped the process, summarizing briefly, “Anyway, after some back and forth, I grabbed her, contacted her father. Her dad took Xiaoyan and me to the hospital. Eventually, I found out her father had just divorced her mother that day. After spending some time together, he said he was very grateful to me, and Xiaoyan really liked me. So I thought about it, and persuaded him into a sham marriage with me.”

Her mother frowned deeply. “You tricked him into marrying you?”

She really hadn’t expected that.

Jiang Yumian bit her lip, clenching her fists, and asked, “Why was Jing Xiaoyan’s mother hitting her? How did she end up in the hospital?”

Her aunt lowered her head, picking at her fingers, and mumbled softly, “That’s Xiaoyan’s privacy…”

Her mother reprimanded her sternly, “Tell me everything!”

“Aiya!” Her aunt frowned, a little impatient. “Say it, say it, I’ll say it! Her mom went to be a mistress to her first love, a third party. She felt that Xiaoyan’s existence was a mistake. She wanted to kill her whenever she saw her, considering her a stain on herself. Xiaoyan was abused for a while. Her dad divorced that woman immediately after he found out. The time I went, her mom almost beat her to death, that’s what happened!”

Jiang Yumian’s head buzzed. She bit her lip tightly. Jing Xiaoyan’s words that day immediately echoed in her mind. She felt suffocated and struggled to breathe.

Her aunt reached out and patted Jiang Yumian, then continued. “But later, there were too many rumors. There were always vicious people saying Xiaoyan would end up like her mother. So her dad and I finally decided to get married. I told everyone outside that I was her mother. I picked her up from school and everything. Things only slowly got better after that, especially since I really like Xiaoyan too.”

“So, wasn’t our sham marriage a good thing?”

“Later, we were planning to go abroad, but Xiaoyan, for some reason, became more and more resistant to her father as she grew older, and didn’t want to go abroad with us. She also preferred to be alone more and more. But we weren’t comfortable leaving her alone in the country. So that’s why I asked your mother to look after Xiaoyan more, but not to disturb her.”

Jiang Yumian blinked. She braced herself against the table and stood up, her voice trembling. “Mom?”

Her mother frowned slightly and nodded. She knew some of these things about Jing Xiaoyan, so she paid more attention to her, afraid she would be wronged in her work.

Jiang Yumian’s throat tightened. Her fingers clenched. “I’m going out for a bit.”

Her mother hesitated, guessing what she was going to do. She nodded and reminded her, “Don’t drive yourself. Have the driver take you.”

Jiang Yumian nodded. Her mind was a mess.

Just as she was about to get into the car, Jiang Xiaoyan barked after her. She was stunned for a moment. She remembered. She had said she would take it with her to find Jing Xiaoyan.

“What should I do…” Jiang Yumian’s eyes were burning hot. She squatted down and hugged Jiang Xiaoyan, finally letting out a cry.

Jiang Xiaoyan kept rubbing against her with its head.

Jiang Yumian calmed down a little. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to her.”

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