Refusing Divorce After a Contract Marriage - Chapter 12.2

Chapter 12.2

Since seeing Jiang Chumian smash the bottle over that Zhou heir, Jiang Xiaofan had undergone a sudden awakening. She understood that Jiang Chumian was absolutely not the pushover she had believed her to be since childhood; she was a wolf disguised as a husky. Coupled with the video of Jiang Chumian and Shen Qingye walking together last night… it was strange, but walking with Shen Qingye, she hadn’t been overshadowed at all.

Even when her father walked with Shen Qingye, Jiang Xiaofan often felt that one’s gaze would be unconsciously drawn to Shen Qingye. She had a powerful aura; even when smiling, there was a sense of pressure. Since childhood, Jiang Xiaofan had liked Shen Qingye and thought she was perfect in every way. But now, seeing them together, Jiang Xiaofan’s gaze didn’t stay only on Shen Qingye. She would unconsciously look at Jiang Chumian.

Clearly, Shen Qingye is the person I like.

Even more absurdly, Jiang Xiaofan began to feel that the temperaments of Jiang Chumian and Shen Qingye were similar. More accurately, they were the same type of person travelers on the same path. After seeing the videos from last night, she suddenly had this feeling.

“You’re right. We can’t be this passive. You need to keep an eye on things for your brother first,” Luo Wan said to Jiang Xiaofan after some serious thought. Since it was a weekday, the young “troublemaker” of the Jiang family had gone to school early and wasn’t at the table.

Jiang Xiaofan put down her spoon and let out a smile. “Mhm.”

Luo Wan felt her daughter had changed somewhat, but she couldn’t say what was different. “You don’t like Shen Qingye anymore?” she asked cautiously.

Jiang Xiaofan gave a self-mocking laugh and looked at Luo Wan. “Mom, didn’t Dad just say it? Sister Shen doesn’t want me. It’s okay. I’m a daughter of the Jiang family. Even without Shen Qingye, why worry about not marrying someone better?” Luo Wan said indignantly.

She didn’t believe, as some novels might suggest, that Jiang Xiaofan could break up Jiang Chumian and Shen Qingye. After all, the two were already married and currently seemed very affectionate. However, Luo Wan hadn’t worried about Jiang Xiaofan being unable to marry Shen Qingye since the beginning. She even felt that Jiang Xiaofan could pick a better man. Although the same-sex marriage law had passed several years ago, it still wasn’t that easy for Luo Wan to accept.

Jiang Xiaofan laughed mockingly in her heart, but remained obedient on the surface. “Mhm, Mom, I know. I have plans with friends later, so I’m heading out.”

“Who are you meeting? Don’t go to any disreputable places.”

“I know.”

Jiang Xiaofan answered with some impatience. It had been like this since childhood: get along well with those heirs, don’t lose face for the Jiang family, and maintain the image of a lady. Jiang Xiaofan thought her mother was incredibly naive after spending time with those same heirs, who could remain a “lady”?

She went upstairs to put on makeup and change clothes, then drove off in her car. She was going horseback riding with her friends today; if her mother knew, she likely wouldn’t allow it because it didn’t look like a “refined lady.”

A few days later, Jiang Wenyan actually arranged a position for Jiang Xiaofan in the group. And it was a entry-level position. Jiang Xiaofan wanted to protest, but Jiang Wenyan just glanced at her and said, “As long as you produce even a bit of result, you can be promoted. Do you know how many people can’t even beg for this opportunity?”

Jiang Xiaofan fell silent for a long time, finally nodding. Although she felt stifled why did Jiang Chumian get to be the Marketing Director of Xiguang immediately and then the GM in less than a year, while she had to start as an ordinary worker?

Jiang Wenyan, a veteran of the business world, sipped his tea slowly. “There’s no point in being resentful. If I put you in Chumian’s position, you wouldn’t even be able to organize a single fashion show, let alone anything else. You aren’t on the same level as your sister. Since childhood, your grades were never as good as hers. I agreed to let you train in the group, but I won’t let you mess around. Learn well from your manager. If you aren’t born smart, work hard later.” Every word he spoke was devoid of tact.

Jiang Xiaofan felt a sourness in her heart; she had never suffered such a grievance. But thinking back, it seemed her father had never really looked after her; her mother was always the one telling her to please him based on his preferences. Only after exams would Jiang Wenyan look at her report card with a dark expression and blame her mother for how the child was raised. Now he started looking down on her for being useless. Jiang Xiaofan suddenly felt it was all utterly pointless.

To outsiders, she looked glamorous, but she felt bored out of her mind. Even playing with those heirs meant being stuck with idle troublemakers. Just like that day if Su Jun and the others hadn’t come downstairs out of curiosity to watch Jiang Chumian, she wouldn’t even have been qualified to drink with them. At that moment, her loathing for her current life reached its peak.

On her first day of work, Jiang Wenyan’s secretary picked her up as soon as she arrived at the company. Although she was sent to the “grassroots” for training, it wasn’t under a hidden identity; Jiang Wenyan felt that given her personality, it would be impossible to keep it a secret anyway. The secretary led her to her workstation, where even the department manager came to greet her personally.

Previously, Jiang Xiaofan would have been happy with such flattery. Now, she just found it annoying. “Secretary Sun, you can go back. I can handle this myself,” she said to her father’s secretary.

“Eldest Miss, this…”

“Tell my dad I requested it myself. He won’t blame you.” Having suddenly cleared her mind, she had some understanding of her father.

“Very well. If you have any problems, you can tell Manager Zhang immediately.”

Manager Zhang, standing nearby, bowed and scraped. “Yes, the Eldest Miss can tell me anything.”

“Mhm,” Jiang Xiaofan nodded. Although she was slightly more “sober” now, long-held habits couldn’t be changed overnight. Her attitude toward Manager Zhang was still somewhat arrogant.

After Secretary Sun left, Manager Zhang led her to her desk. “Eldest Miss, you can just sit here. Someone will bring your office supplies and computer shortly.”

“No need, I brought my own.” Jiang Xiaofan set out her laptop. It was clearly a high-end model bought for work. No ordinary worker would buy such an expensive computer for themselves. Other employees nearby watched her with curiosity, but didn’t dare say anything.

Manager Zhang nodded fearfully. “Then please, make yourself comfortable. If you need anything, just ask.”

“Mhm.”

After sitting at her station, the department assistant spent the whole morning telling her things all nonsensical trivialities. Meanwhile, everyone else looked exceptionally busy. Perhaps because she was sitting there, the office was unnaturally quiet. Besides necessary work communication, people spoke in hushed tones. Even their “slacking” was silent.

Having never worked a day in her life, Jiang Xiaofan couldn’t tell if they were actually busy or just pretending. But after observing for a morning, she slightly regretted insisting on coming to work; these people looked truly exhausted. For instance, the guy sitting across from her had dark circles comparable to a panda. He spent the whole day yawning. She heard him talking to a colleague about how he had been revising a proposal all night.

“Clients these days are truly… I’m going to vomit. They said the first version I gave was no good, then I revised it three times in a week, and finally, they asked me to combine the first and last versions. I’m truly grateful.”

Jiang Xiaofan listened, mourning for him in her heart how tragic. But all day, besides the department assistant helping her with onboarding and the group leader giving her some materials to read, no one else talked to her.

In the breakroom, she vaguely heard people discussing, “Sigh, why do you think the Eldest Miss came here?” “Who knows? Maybe she wants to start from the grassroots?” “I think it’s because the second daughter is so impressive now, and she’s feeling threatened.” “You sure dare to speak.” “But what do you think of the Eldest Miss’s capability?” “Who knows? Just do your own thing. Wealthy family drama don’t guess too much. Whether she’s capable or not, I just hope my job doesn’t change.”

“But I saw her today she hardly looked at the materials or booklets. I don’t think she’ll last long.” “Heh, everyone starts like that. If I hadn’t met you two back then, I would have run off too.” “This shows that having a lunch buddy is important, right?”

At first, their voices were low, but since the breakroom was otherwise empty and Jiang Xiaofan happened to arrive, she caught the gist of it. Later, when they talked about lunch buddies and work complaints, their voices grew louder. Jiang Xiaofan left without even getting water.

Returning to her station, she looked at the materials again and felt a headache coming on, just like when she had to memorize texts in school. But strangely thinking of those ordinary employees’ words, she gritted her teeth and continued reading for a while. But after less than half an hour, she couldn’t take it anymore. She sent a message to her group of friends.

Xiaoxiao: “My dad made me come to the company for training.” “?” “?” Two question marks showed the confusion of her two friends. Jiang Xiaofan didn’t want to explain too clearly and sent a worried emoji.

“Sigh, basically I have to come for training, but my dad’s making me start from the bottom.” “How’s the experience?” “Is working fun?”

Xiaoxiao: “Not fun. No one talks to me at all.”

One friend said, “That’s normal. From what I’ve seen online, workers don’t really want to be too close to someone with connections.” “Why?” Jiang Xiaofan truly didn’t understand. “Simple. If they accidentally mess something up and you tell the leader in one sentence, aren’t they finished? Also, someone like you is likely just here temporarily and will leave in two days. Flattering you is useless.”

Her two friends told her a lot, and Jiang Xiaofan realized how little she actually knew. “How do you all know so much?” “Hehe, I’ve always wanted to work, but my dad won’t let me. He says a girl doesn’t need to work that hard.”

Seeing that sentence, Jiang Xiaofan suddenly felt that the friends around her were just like her. “Xiaoxiao, I’m so jealous of you.”

Jiang Xiaofan sighed. What’s there to be jealous of? She was exactly the same as them.

“But seriously, the grassroots level must be tough. Can you handle it?”

Jiang Xiaofan let out a lament. How would she know? “Don’t know. We’ll see.”

The three of them chatted in the group, and soon it was time to clock out. Jiang Xiaofan left exactly on time, and no one dared say anything. But as she left, she noticed no one else was moving; some were even in the meeting room. Thinking she might have to live like this in the future, she felt her scalp tingle. Truly terrifying. She even entertained the idea of not being so hard on herself.

Jiang Xiaofan practically fled home. On the way, she thought that being a “waste” supported by her family wasn’t so bad. When she met the right person in the future, she could marry them and be a wealthy socialite wife like her mother. But once home, she felt that wasn’t right either.

Upon arriving, she saw her mother sneakily coming out of the study, looking at her with a dark expression. No need to guess; she likely discovered her father had a new mistress again. Sure enough, after a while, her mother cursed “vixen” under her breath.

Jiang Xiaofan suddenly thought that this was truly “unladylike.” But what was the point of being a lady? At that moment, she felt that being a wealthy wife like her mother someone who could only wait at home for her husband to visit when he was in a good mood—was not good at all. She even began to envy Jiang Chumian again; it was so good she could marry Shen Qingye. That should have been my life.

She felt a surge of hatred toward Jiang Chumian again. But then, hearing her mother call her father’s private assistant, saying it was fine as long as the other woman didn’t get pregnant but to keep a close eye on her… a great sense of tragedy rose from her heart. She suddenly remembered her father saying that even if he gave her Jiang Chumian’s opportunity, she wouldn’t do it well. Resentment and unwillingness filled her heart again. She gritted her teeth and didn’t tell Jiang Wenyan she wanted to quit.

The next day, Jiang Xiaofan managed to drag herself out of bed, but was still late. Sitting at her station rubbing her temples, she wasn’t quite awake yet. But the colleagues around her seemed busy, the phones ringing constantly. They nearly got into an argument.

She asked in the group again: “I want to persist, but looking at these materials is truly painful.” Jiang Xiaofan’s face was a mask of misery.

“Sweetie, why don’t you treat those colleagues to a meal? Find one who looks like they have a good personality and let them teach you. It’s better than reading by yourself, right?”

Jiang Xiaofan thought her friend had a point. She messaged the department assistant and asked how many people were in the department. The answer stunned her the entire large office had nearly a hundred people. And that was just the office she was in, not the whole department. Jiang Xiaofan did the math and eventually gritted her teeth to treat everyone to milk tea and some small cakes.

The order was large, so the merchants said it wouldn’t be ready until the afternoon. Jiang Xiaofan didn’t mind. Delivering the afternoon tea was a bit of a hassle, but with the assistant’s help, it went quickly. Hearing the “thank yous” and praise, she couldn’t help but feel a bit floaty again. The Eldest Miss still couldn’t completely let go of her arrogance, looking like someone others couldn’t afford to climb toward.

Seeing they had accepted her afternoon tea, Jiang Xiaofan scanned the crowd, found someone she thought might have a decent temper, and told the group leader to have that person explain things to her. The person was stunned but eventually had to comply.

In the morning, it was Jiang Xiaofan who wore the “misery mask”; in the afternoon, it was the person teaching her. She was so hard to teach, and they couldn’t even speak loudly. That person even prayed silently that Jiang Xiaofan would soon find it unbearable and leave. But a week passed, and she had no intention of leaving.

Originally, she couldn’t have persisted, but a friend suddenly asked her: how did she persist during the last six months of the college entrance exam? Although the final result wasn’t great, Jiang Xiaofan had at least tried during those last six months. She thought seriously about the question and realized it was to compete with Jiang Chumian. But why she was competing, she couldn’t even remember now.

Eventually, she found a way not to give up: whenever she wanted to quit, she thought about how much stronger Jiang Chumian was now, and she was resentful! She also thought about her mother, who spent her whole life fighting mistresses and lovers. Before she knew it, Jiang Xiaofan had persisted for a week.

On the first day of the second week, an intern arrived. The intern had no idea of Jiang Xiaofan’s identity; hearing she had also just joined, she started dragging Jiang Xiaofan to lunch and complaining together. Even upon seeing Jiang Xiaofan’s luxury car, she only thought she was some “rich girl” experiencing life and didn’t guess she was the daughter of the group’s owner.

No one told her the truth and it wasn’t their fault; after three and a half days, the intern’s desk was still clean, looking like she might run off any day.

But because she had Jiang Xiaofan, the “rich girl,” with her, the intern actually persisted. And because of this fearless intern, Jiang Xiaofan felt the introductory period wasn’t as hard to endure.

By the time Jiang Chumian heard the news of Jiang Xiaofan starting work at the Jiang Group, she had already been there for half a month.

Shen Qingye asked with a smile, “Aren’t you afraid she’ll become an obstacle?”

Jiang Chumian shook her head. “Don’t you know her capability, Qingye?” Even if Jiang Xiaofan had an awakening, her talent was still what it was.

“That’s true,” Shen Qingye said, thinking of Jiang Xiaofan’s performance since childhood. By her standards, it was “disastrous.”

Sitting on the sofa, Jiang Chumian laughed to herself. “Actually, I’m quite happy for her that she’s had an awakening.”

“So the way she made things difficult for you back then… doesn’t count?” Shen Qingye raised an eyebrow.

Jiang Chumian shook her head. “One thing at a time. I won’t forgive her for those things, but I feel it wasn’t easy for her to wake up.” “What do you mean?”

“Jiang Xiaofan making things difficult for me and disliking me… that’s understandable. My mom was indeed a mistress; I think even if I were her, I’d be the same. I won’t say I don’t care about some of her later actions that’s impossible. But her arrogance and rudeness were ultimately indulged by Jiang Wenyan. When I first returned, he didn’t like me any more than anyone else and hated me as much as they did. But as I grew older, I started to pity Jiang Xiaofan.”

The girl held a throw pillow, her head resting on it as she stared at the floor, speaking slowly. “Luo Wan signed her up for so many classes piano, painting, ballet, etiquette, and so on.”

“Isn’t that good?” Shen Qingye still didn’t quite understand.

“Everyone thinks it’s good, right?” Jiang Chumian scoffed. “But Luo Wan did all that because she saw Jiang Xiaofan as a tool to help her son. She hoped that through these courses, Jiang Xiaofan could marry into a good family and then help her son. Because back then, Luo Wan wasn’t sure if Jiang Wenyan had other illegitimate sons besides me.”

Shen Qingye somewhat understood. “Afraid her son couldn’t compete, so she used her daughter to gain some capital for him to fight for the estate in advance?”

“Mhm. So I think she’s quite tragic. Even once, when Luo Wan heard Jiang Xiaofan say she’d fire some people once she became the GM, she even started guarding against her own daughter. All these years, Luo Wan has been instilling in her the idea that a woman doesn’t need to be too strong and that being a wealthy socialite is enough. Although she isn’t that smart, I just feel it’s not easy for her being treated as a tool for her brother… it’s quite sad.”

After speaking, Jiang Chumian suddenly looked at Shen Qingye. “Do you think it’s funny that I think this way?”

Shen Qingye shook her head with a lazy smile. “No. I’d say you have clear boundaries and empathy.” Shen Qingye didn’t think much of it; Jiang Chumian was born in the darkness, so she was more sensitive to the darkness of the world. “Jiang Xiaofan probably isn’t as happy as she used to be,” Shen Qingye said teasingly.

“That’s for sure.” As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. When she didn’t see any problem, she was happy being the “Eldest Miss.” But once she realized things, her desires increased, and she naturally wouldn’t be as happy. But that wasn’t Jiang Chumian’s concern, nor was she truly caring for her. She wouldn’t forgive Jiang Xiaofan for what she had done.

Shen Qingye took a sip of wine. “Chumian, this is the first time you’ve told me something ‘insignificant’ like this.”

Jiang Chumian looked up at her, confusion in her eyes. “Is it? Don’t I usually say unimportant things?” She didn’t think she was that extreme.

Shen Qingye shook her head. “I don’t mean those.” She meant things related to Jiang Chumian herself, not just daily trifles. Shen Qingye was happy she shared daily life, but hearing her speak her heart about something seemingly irrelevant felt even better. Jiang Chumian shook her head, still not quite understanding. Shen Qingye didn’t explain further, just smiled and took another sip.

After finishing her glass, Shen Qingye stood up and rubbed Jiang Chumian’s head. “Time for bed, President Jiang. Work tomorrow.” She put the glass in the kitchen. On her way upstairs, she smiled at Jiang Chumian. “If possible, you can share more ‘insignificant’ things with me in the future.”

Jiang Chumian watched her go, her fingertips twitching, and felt her face grow slightly warm. She couldn’t say why, but looking at Shen Qingye’s back, she felt that occasionally talking about random things like this wasn’t bad. She didn’t have to worry about her not accepting it or finding it boring. Shen Qingye looked so “cold,” but to people she chose to be with, her attitude was quite gentle. At least Jiang Chumian felt so.

“Okay,” Jiang Chumian answered suddenly before Shen Qingye closed her door.

Shen Qingye looked down from the second floor. The girl was looking up, her face appearing exceptionally soft under the light. Her dark eyes reflected the light, looking as beautiful as starlight on a calm lake.

Shen Qingye smiled. “Go to sleep.” “Oh.”

December was mainly for the Shen Group’s year-end audit. Jiang Chumian had prepared for nearly a month and felt there were few flaws, but she was still nervous when the day arrived. She even prayed it wouldn’t be Shen Qingye, as her strictness was legendary. No one was not afraid of audits, and Jiang Chumian was no exception.

The day for Xiguang’s audit was finally set, and Jiang Chumian didn’t expect it to be Shen Qingye. Seeing her, Jiang Chumian just sighed in her heart and maintained a professional attitude throughout. Shen Qingye didn’t relax just because it was Jiang Chumian; she said what needed to be said and praised what deserved praise.

After the meeting, the two went to Jiang Chumian’s office, and the staff finally breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought with President Jiang there, President Shen would be easier to talk to. I didn’t expect her to be this cold.” “Forget it. Aren’t they the same? President Jiang can be just as cold and ruthless.” “Truly a matched pair.”

They went back to the office and talked for a while. Seeing it was getting late, Jiang Chumian asked if she wanted to have dinner together. Shen Qingye didn’t refuse.

The audit passed smoothly, and before they knew it, it was Christmas. However, Jiang Chumian didn’t expect that the day before Christmas, Yu Xuan would message her saying she was coming back for a trip and asking if she was free.

Jiang Chumian could never refuse Yu Xuan’s requests, because Yu Xuan had never refused any of hers in the past. But now Yu Xuan was no longer like that, and Jiang Chumian wasn’t used to it not used to no longer being Yu Xuan’s most important person, and not used to her hot-and-cold attitude. She knew it was wrong, but whenever Yu Xuan beckoned, she couldn’t help but draw near, even if she could no longer gain warmth from her.

“Okay, when’s your flight?” “Afternoon. I’ll go to the hotel first, and we can have dinner after you get off work.” Yu Xuan’s words seemed considerate, but upon closer thought, they weren’t. Jiang Chumian sometimes felt that Yu Xuan was so confident, certain that she would always be waiting for her.

“Okay. Send me the hotel name, and I’ll call you after work.”

After agreeing, Jiang Chumian put down her phone and walked to the window. The frustration in her heart couldn’t be stopped. Finally, she took a pack of cigarettes from the drawer and started smoking. When Zhu Tao came in with documents, she was stunned by the smell of smoke; she had never seen Jiang Chumian smoke. Although Jiang Chumian had turned on the ventilation, the smell didn’t dissipate immediately.

“President Jiang, the documents.” These were the documents she had been asked to organize. Since Jiang Chumian told her to bring them as soon as they were ready, Zhu Tao had entered without knocking.

“Okay, put them down. Thanks for the hard work,” Jiang Chumian said as if nothing had happened. Zhu Tao didn’t dare ask anything and simply left. But before she reached the door, Jiang Chumian called her: “Zhu Tao.”

“Yes, President Jiang? Anything else?” “Don’t tell Qingye.”

It wasn’t hard to guess that Zhu Tao was Shen Qingye’s “eyes.” Zhu Tao scratched her head. “So you knew, President Jiang.”

“Mhm.” Jiang Chumian gave her a forced smile. “I’m sorry.” “I know. It’s mainly because Qingye offered too much.” Jiang Chumian understood. Besides, Zhu Tao had never told Shen Qingye about anything else. Today she just feared she would worry too much, so she gave an extra reminder.

“Sister, you don’t have to worry. I stopped taking President Shen’s money later; I felt it wasn’t right. But in my first month after graduation, I was indeed short on money. And since President Shen only asked if you were eating well, I agreed. I absolutely never told her about anything else, I swear.”

“Don’t be nervous, I know.” Jiang Chumian gave her an assuring smile. “I’m not here to interrogate you. You can go.” “Oh, okay.” “Sister, you’re a really good person,” Zhu Tao said with a smile before closing the door.

Jiang Chumian watched her go, a slight smile touching her lips. I’m not a good person. And receiving a ‘good person card’ isn’t a good thing.

Support Refusing Divorce After a Contract Marriage