Refusing Divorce After a Contract Marriage - Chapter 12.1

Chapter 12.1: A Request Impossible to Refuse

“Who was that? You two seemed quite familiar,” Shen Qingye asked in a seemingly nonchalant tone.

Jiang Chumian chuckled softly. “The spokesperson for Xiguang, a newly crowned Film Queen. She’s been trending quite a bit lately.”

“Oh.”

Jiang Chumian felt that Shen Qingye was acting a bit strange, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. Ultimately, she decided to let it drop and stop overthinking it.

Next was the donation segment. Shen Qingye never went out of her way to steal the limelight. Every year, she donated an amount corresponding to the Shen Group’s assets never excessively high, but certainly never low. It was mainly to garner goodwill with the public. As for actual charity, the Shen Group provided daily support to many children in mountain regions and donated a significant amount of supplies.

When the banquet concluded, the two left the venue slowly, arm in arm. Reporters at the entrance snapped photos of them relentlessly. After all, this was the first time the two had attended such a large-scale formal gala together since the marriage alliance between the Shen and Jiang Groups.

Inevitably, they were asked several questions. However, they weren’t celebrities with hordes of fans surrounding them. Coupled with the fact that Zhu Tao, the little assistant, was incredibly efficient, she managed to coordinate with the bodyguards to squeeze a path through the reporters for the two to leave.

Once in the car, Zhu Tao remarked with a sigh of relief, “I’m glad I’m not a celebrity assistant. Dealing with entertainment reporters, fans, and anti-fans every day… that must be so exhausting.”

Sitting in the back, Shen Qingye smiled and picked up the conversation. “You saw plenty of celebrities today, didn’t you?”

“I did! Mi Yinyao is truly stunning.”

“Haven’t you seen her before?” Jiang Chumian asked, amused.

“Hehe.”

Zhu Tao sat in the passenger seat scrolling through her phone, only to see the Xiguang official Weibo account being flooded. To promote the brand, the official account had posted a photo of the two bosses in the afternoon. Combined with the significant screen time Mi Yinyao got when she went to chat with Jiang Chumian, fans of high-visual couples had flocked to Xiguang’s official page.

Zhu Tao mentioned it to them while in the car, but neither of them took it too seriously. However, after arriving home and freshening up, the topic of “Shen Qingye and Jiang Chumian’s compatibility” unexpectedly trended. In this day and age, visuals are everything.

“Gosh, I always thought the CEO of the Shen Group was a middle-aged man. I didn’t expect such a beautiful young lady.” “President Jiang’s mermaid makeup is stunning! It’s like a fairy descended to earth.” “President Shen is so dominant, and President Jiang is the ‘little delicate wife’ type they match so well.

I’ve already written a million-word socialite romance in my head.” “What ‘delicate wife’? If you don’t know how to speak, don’t talk. Do you know how capable Jiang Chumian is? To label her a ‘delicate wife’ when she’s far stronger than you think this is clearly a power couple pairing.” “Please, official account, post more photos!

Don’t hide this kind of beauty; share it.” “The fact that these two haven’t debuted is a loss for the entertainment industry.” “To the person above, do two CEOs even need to debut?” “I heard that originally, the Shen Group was supposed to marry the eldest Jiang daughter, but it ended up being the second daughter. Is there a story behind this?” “I know! I heard it’s because President Shen and President Jiang happened to be dating.”

While the two involved parties were still unaware, they had already gone viral due to their looks. However, Shen Qingye and Jiang Chumian wouldn’t have cared even if they knew; they would just see it as free advertising for Xiguang.

When Zhu Tao excitedly shared the news with Jiang Chumian, she simply gave a flat reply: “Mhm. I’ll be happier if Xiguang sees a surge in sales.” Is this the reality of business elites? So pragmatic.

However, after a while, besides Zhu Tao, many acquaintances sent messages. Even Mi Yinyao, enjoying the chaos, posted a photo of herself with Jiang Chumian. “Beautiful, isn’t it? Pity I didn’t get a photo with President Shen too.”

Some people even dug up the previous Autumn Show. Jiang Chumian had personally prepared that show, and both she and Shen Qingye were present. Through “online archaeology,” netizens discovered that no matter the occasion, the two looked incredibly well-matched!

Xiao Jinyu, staying up late as usual, sent a message to Jiang Chumian screaming, “Ahhh! Mianmian, you’ve really made it! You two are so ‘shippable’!”

Jiang Chumian shook her head, too lazy to deal with the manic Xiao Jinyu. Shen Qingye, however, leaned against the headboard and scrolled through the photos posted by netizens. Truth be told, some of them were quite nice. She had to admit that netizens these days had incredibly fast hands. After satisfyingly saving a few pictures, Shen Qingye finally lay down to sleep.

Meanwhile, at the Jiang residence, Jiang Xiaofan couldn’t sleep at all. Looking at the photos of Jiang Chumian and Shen Qingye, her heart was consumed by jealousy. She couldn’t even distinguish if she was jealous because Jiang Chumian had “stolen” Shen Qingye, or because Jiang Chumian had reached a height she might never achieve in her life.

Clearly the daughter of a mistress, clearly she lived a worse life than me growing up, yet now she’s a rising star in the fashion world.

Jiang Xiaofan was resentful, but remembering how Jiang Chumian had smashed the bottle and the calm, sharp aura she displayed during the dice game with the Zhou family heir, she knew clearly that she was no match for her. Despite her unwillingness, Jiang Xiaofan had to admit she couldn’t compete with Jiang Chumian; for all those years, Jiang Chumian simply couldn’t be bothered to argue with her.

After a sleepless night, Jiang Xiaofan thought for a long time and finally decided she should join the group for training. Otherwise, she would never be qualified to sit at the table and compete with Jiang Chumian.

The next morning at the breakfast table, Jiang Xiaofan shared her thoughts with Jiang Wenyan. Jiang Wenyan didn’t show much emotion, merely remarking with his usual indifference, “Finally remembered to do something productive?”

“Dad, I’ve realized that since Mianmian and Sister Shen are so impressive, I can’t fall behind.”

But Jiang Wenyan only chuckled. “You can’t compare to Chumian, and you certainly can’t compare to Qingye. They are natural-born businesswomen. With your brains, it’s better not to have any grand designs.”

Hearing Jiang Wenyan’s words, Jiang Xiaofan felt indignant, but she didn’t even have the confidence to argue. Looking back, everything she had learned since childhood was superficial. Even for things she clearly had no talent for, her mother always said they were “required courses” for a wealthy socialite wife—she didn’t need to master them, but she couldn’t be ignorant of them.

Now, Jiang Xiaofan felt lost. Besides etiquette and essential schoolwork, her mother never let her learn anything else. Yet Jiang Chumian’s academic performance had always been at a height Jiang Xiaofan could never reach. It was from that time that Jiang Xiaofan began to despise Jiang Chumian intensely. Her mother always said that someone as “coarse” as Jiang Chumian would never have a good future. Now, Jiang Xiaofan truly began to doubt the truth of those words.

Although Jiang Wenyan belittled Jiang Xiaofan, he didn’t oppose her joining the group for training. Surprisingly, her mother, Luo Wan, who had always doted on her, was the one who opposed it. She argued that a girl didn’t need to do such things; the company wouldn’t be hers to manage anyway, as she would eventually get married. At that moment, Jiang Xiaofan felt that the mother who always pampered her was strangely unfamiliar. She wanted to ask why, but ultimately couldn’t speak.

Jiang Wenyan glanced at the woman. “If she remains this ignorant, she won’t even be able to climb into a high-status family. Shen Qingye didn’t want a ‘vase’ (eye candy), so why would anyone else?”

At that moment, Jiang Xiaofan felt like an object rather than the daughter they claimed to love. For the first time, she felt a sense of estrangement from her parents. She finished her meal quietly, then gave Jiang Wenyan a sweet smile. “Dad, so when can I go to the company?”

“In a couple of days. I’ll have my secretary see if there’s a suitable position for you,” Jiang Wenyan said plainly while eating his breakfast. Jiang Xiaofan obeyed.

Once Jiang Wenyan left for work, Mrs. Jiang looked at Jiang Xiaofan. “Sweetie, why the sudden desire to work at the company?”

Jiang Xiaofan gave Luo Wan a forced smile. “Mom, look at how much weight Jiang Chumian carries in Dad’s heart now. If we don’t act, Dad really might hand the group over to her.”

“How could that be? The Jiang family estate will only be left to your younger brother.”

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaofan felt she had caught a glimpse of something. She lowered her head and took a sip of soup. “But Brother is only a few years old. With Jiang Chumian and Shen Qingye’s methods, the group will completely belong to them long before Brother becomes an adult.”

“Jiang Chumian hasn’t even entered the Jiang Group; surely she won’t covet the estate?” Luo Wan asked hesitantly.

So, because you feel ‘safe’ with Jiang Chumian, you’ve started to be uneasy about your own biological daughter? Jiang Xiaofan didn’t dare think too much; she feared the truth was exactly what she suspected.

“Mom, do you think my ‘sister’ is really that good? Look at her now; even though she’s not in the Jiang Group, there’s so much cooperation between the Shen and Jiang Groups. She just returned, and through Shen Qingye’s network, she’s elevated her status in the circle. Nowadays, when people talk about Jiang Chumian, they only know her as the GM of Xiguang and Shen Qingye’s wife. Who mentions she’s the illegitimate daughter of the Jiang family?”

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