As soon as the exam ended, Jiang Yuan caught Zhang Siyi, who was trying to slip away at the door. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "What’s the rush? Have lunch with me."
Zhang Siyi stole a glance at Xiong Zhipeng, who was standing behind Jiang Yuan. Terrified by Xiong Zhipeng’s unwavering, intense gaze, he shrunk his neck and asked with a long face, "Aren't you going to accompany Brother Xie?"
As he spoke to Jiang Yuan, he shuffled backward in small increments, clearly unwilling to join this meal.
Jiang Yuan saw right through his attempt to flee and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him toward the exit. He already had a ready-made excuse: "His company has a donation ceremony today. They’re donating a batch of robots to the city."
Zhang Siyi’s attention was instantly diverted. "Donating robots? For what?"
Jiang Yuan gave a vague explanation: "I heard they’re serving as volunteers."
He wasn't entirely clear on the details himself, so he could only promise the enthusiastic Zhang Siyi that he would ask Xie Chengnan about it later.
Just outside the school gates was the student street. Since it was lunchtime, the area was swarming with Nanda students looking for food. Jiang Yuan’s appearance was already striking enough, but today he was flanked by two burly men in dark sunglasses, and he was quickly recognized by the onlookers. Fortunately, most people were merely curious, maintaining a respectful distance and a polite level of attention without causing a commotion.
Jiang Yuan hadn't walked more than a few steps before he lost the desire to move. Ever since they had tasted the forbidden fruit, that older man had seemingly deleted the word "restraint" from his dictionary. Fooling around once was the norm; when the man was in high spirits, he could leave Jiang Yuan unable to get out of bed, completely disregarding whether his slight frame could handle it.
Jiang Yuan supported his lower back with one hand. He looked at the bustling Sichuan restaurant on his right, then at the quiet porridge shop on his left. He curled his lip and resignedly turned left.
"Don't," Zhang Siyi said, pulling him back. "Why drink porridge? It’s so bland it’ll make me grow wings."
Jiang Yuan turned his head and looked at him silently. Zhang Siyi blinked, and after a few seconds, he let out an "Ah." He couldn't help but glance toward his brother’s backside, his face full of gossip.
Jiang Yuan pushed that nosy face aside and said fiercely, "Are you eating or not?"
Zhang Siyi immediately changed his tune. "I’m eating, I’m eating! Porridge is great, it’s healthy!"
The four of them entered the porridge shop. No sooner had Zhang Siyi sat down next to Jiang Yuan than Xiong Zhipeng impatiently sat directly across from him. Zhang Siyi shifted his weight, looking entirely uncomfortable. Under the "tyranny" of his brother, he didn't dare run away, looking utterly pathetic.
One kept his head down to look at the menu, while the other kept his head down to wipe the table. From time to time, they would steal glances at each other. Jiang Yuan had to cover the lower half of his face with his hand, afraid they would catch him laughing.
The atmosphere was so thick that even Sun Zheng, who was unaware of the history between them, sensed something was off. His eyes frequently darted between the two.
Jiang Yuan casually ordered a light porridge and began playing with his phone. After a while, he seemed to see something interesting and let out an ambiguous chuckle.
"What are you looking at?" Zhang Siyi dropped the menu and leaned over, desperate for a distraction.
Jiang Yuan tilted his phone screen toward him, showing him an article: *The Heir of the Jiang Group is Actually Him!* A glamorous selfie of Jiang Hao, taken at a forty-five-degree angle, was featured right below the headline.
"Holy shit!" Zhang Siyi cursed instantly. "This guy is truly shameless!"
Only yesterday, netizens had been speculating that Jiang Yuan was the Jiang heir based on Jason’s comment about the "Young Master of the Jiang family." Today, Jiang Hao, the illegitimate "Young Master Jiang," had popped up to snatch the title. Anyone with eyes could see this was Jiang Hao’s own doing.
Zhang Siyi realized immediately, "Jiang Hao couldn't sit still."
"Mhm." Jiang Yuan took his phone back and scrolled through the comments with interest. Many people were debating which of the two was the real deal. It was obvious that Jiang Hao had not only paid marketing accounts to write press releases for him but had also bought a large number of internet water army accounts to drum up hype.
Seeing that Jiang Yuan wasn't worried at all and actually seemed to be in a good mood, Zhang Siyi found it strange but still expressed his concern. "Should we spend some money to buy some water army accounts too? Otherwise, we're at too much of a disadvantage."
"No need." Jiang Yuan put his phone away and focused on his porridge. "Don't get involved in this. Let him make a scene."
"Oh." Zhang Siyi didn't know what kind of trick his brother had up his sleeve, but since he was told not to worry, he put the matter out of his mind.
The post continued to ferment online. Jiang Yuan didn't respond to the fans on Weibo who were begging for the truth. He calmly finished his afternoon exams and had Sun Zheng drive the car to Nanyuan Technology to wait for Xie Chengnan to get off work.
By now, no one in the entire company was unaware that Young Master Jiang was the person the CEO held closest to his heart. Upon seeing him, they didn't even need to announce his arrival, respectfully inviting him into the CEO's office.
Xie Chengnan had just returned from the ceremony. His eyes lit up the moment he saw Jiang Yuan. He stood up, led him to the sofa, and smiled. "Why did you come over now? I thought you’d go straight home after your exams."
"I missed you." Jiang Yuan looped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck and looked up to give him a kiss. The bodyguards were left outside; it was just the two of them in the office now.
Filled with joy, Xie Chengnan reached out and pulled the youth onto his lap. He let out a low sigh of contentment against Jiang Yuan’s ear. "I missed you too."
After a lingering kiss, Jiang Yuan let Xie Chengnan go back to handling the remaining official business. He leaned back on the sofa, propping his head with one hand while idly scrolling through Weibo with the other.
Following the morning post, several more marketing accounts had published similar articles. Stripping away the flowery rhetoric, the core message was the same.
They started with Jiang Hao’s age, stating he was older than Jiang Yuan and thus the eldest son; in Chinese tradition, the eldest son inherits the family business. Next, they claimed Jiang Hao had excellent grades and strong capabilities, already capable of independently operating a real estate company, while Jiang Yuan could only "bounce around" on a live-streaming platform. Finally, regarding bloodline, they noted Jiang Hao was the son of the current Mrs. Jiang, while Jiang Yuan was the child of the ex-wife. No matter how one looked at it, Jiang Hao seemed more likely to win. After such a wave of analysis, even Jiang Yuan almost believed it.
Consequently, the meticulous netizens, having finished their "melon-eating" entertainment, began to dig deeper.
[I went to check who this Jiang Hao is. He's only twenty-one and already the general manager of a real estate company under the Jiang Group.]
[At that age... if there's no fishy business, I'll eat my keyboard on a livestream!]
[But I remember reports from a few years ago saying the Chairman of the Jiang Group only had one son. Where did another one suddenly come from???]
[Upstairs is out of the loop. After Chairman Jiang's first wife died of illness, he married his current wife. The current wife brought a son into the Jiang family. There were newspaper reports about it at the time.]
[So, has anyone noticed a problem... the ex-wife's son is younger than the current wife's son...]
[I smell a massive scandal...]
[Emmm... could it be that the mistress and the illegitimate son successfully took over...]
[The illegitimate son is older than the legitimate son. How long ago did he start cheating...]
[It's also possible this person has no blood relation to the Chairman...]
[Would he dare be so arrogant without a blood relation?? Unlikely!]
[Didn't they say Chairman Jiang deeply loved and respected his late wife? There were even reports recently of him taking his current wife to pay respects at the late wife's grave. Was it all just a show??]
[They also said his private life is exceptionally clean, a "clear stream" in the circle of the wealthy...]
[If this is confirmed, it’s more like a mudslide...]
The public persona Jiang Kunbo had built for decades was on the verge of collapsing. The Jiang Group's stock price also began to show a downward trend because of this.
Netizens soon discovered that these posts were being deleted rapidly. However, the marketing accounts seemed to be on steroids; for every post deleted, another was uploaded, showing a clear intent to clash head-on with the other side.
Jiang Yuan was watching the spectacle with great relish. Xie Chengnan had been sitting beside him for quite a while before he even noticed.
"What are you looking at so intently?" President Xie asked, sounding a bit jealous.
Jiang Yuan turned to see him and immediately leaned against him like he had no bones. "Watching a dog-eat-dog fight."
Xie Chengnan looked at the screen but couldn't make heads or tails of it.
Jiang Yuan’s spirits lifted. "Here it comes."
Xie Chengnan saw a statement posted on the Jiang Group's official Weibo. It claimed that Chairman Jiang Kunbo’s personal reputation had been maliciously slandered and that legal action would be taken against anyone who continued to spread rumors.
The tone was severe throughout, but there was no substantive content. The netizens' questions regarding infidelity and the illegitimate son were not addressed directly.
The deleted posts finally stopped reappearing, but enough netizens had seen and remembered the incident. In particular, Jiang Yuan’s legion of fans flocked to the Jiang Group’s official Weibo to demand the truth, acting as if they wouldn't stop until everything was made clear.
Jiang Yuan let out a slow breath and chuckled softly. "The gift has been delivered. I wonder if they like it."
Xie Chengnan still didn't quite understand what had happened, his face filled with confusion.
Jiang Yuan playfully pinched his cheek and began to explain the twists and turns of the situation.
"My identity can withstand scrutiny. Even if it's dug up, it won't bring negative impact to Jiang Kunbo. So, when he found that my popularity could bring profit to the company, he tacitly allowed my frequent media exposure."
Jiang Yuan gave a cold laugh. "Originally, the netizens were focused on my sexuality, which Jiang Hao naturally didn't care about. But when I became associated with the title of 'Jiang Group Heir,' he couldn't sit still.
"He seems smart sometimes, but he's actually incredibly stupid. When the first batch of posts was deleted, he probably thought I was the one who hired people to delete them. So, he doubled down and kept posting, never considering that it might be Jiang Kunbo who didn't want people to know of his existence.
"Jiang Kunbo has played the hypocrite for decades. His upright image is deeply rooted in people's hearts and has long been tied to the reputation of the Jiang Group. How could he allow the public to know that he cheated twenty years ago and that his illegitimate son is older than his legitimate one?
"Now that Jiang Hao has made such a fuss, Jiang Kunbo has to consider how to clean up the mess."
Xie Chengnan toyed with Jiang Yuan’s slender fingers, watching his analysis with interest. "So, you know what he will do?"
Jiang Yuan curled his finger and tapped lightly on the back of Xie Chengnan’s hand, saying playfully, "A man like Jiang Kunbo only cares about himself in this life. If the truth will drag him into the mire, he will do everything in his power to bury it."
Xie Chengnan raised an eyebrow, roughly guessing what kind of "thank you gift" Jiang Yuan’s initial present would receive.
Jiang Yuan said with certainty, "When public opinion can no longer be controlled, Jiang Kunbo will definitely deny his blood relationship with Jiang Hao. To him, it’s just a temporary tactic, nothing major. But to Jiang Hao, these will be proof that Jiang Kunbo favors me. When he thinks he’s the one being abandoned, guess what he’ll do?"
Xie Chengnan asked with a smile, "What will he do?"
Jiang Yuan shrugged. "A cornered rabbit bites, and a cornered dog will leap over a wall. I’m truly looking forward to the stupid things he’s going to do~"
***
