“I think I have an idea of where it might be.” Jiang Yuan closed the cabinet filled with gifts and lowered his gaze. His slender fingers traced the lines of the inventory list, finally coming to a stop at one particular item: “C10, Neruda’s Poetry Collection.”
Xie Chengnan paused, not quite understanding the significance yet.
“Neruda’s love poems held a very special meaning for my mother,” Jiang Yuan explained as he knelt down. He opened a cabinet door at the very bottom corner, revealing a Baroque-style silver-carved wooden box stored within.
Jiang Yuan lifted the wooden box out and placed it on the center table. The interior was spacious, filled with neatly stacked, yellowing manuscripts. Each page bore the marks of having been thumbed through countless times.
The youth’s eyelashes trembled slightly as he began to read the words on the manuscripts in a low voice.
*Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche.*
(Tonight I can write the saddest lines.)
*Yo la quise, y a veces ella también me quiso.*
(I loved him, and sometimes he loved me too.)
*En las noches como ésta la tuve entre mis brazos.*
(Through nights like this one I held him in my arms.)
*La besé tantas veces bajo el cielo infinito.*
(I kissed him again and again under the endless sky.)
...
*Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche.*
(Tonight I can write the saddest lines.)
*Pensar que no la tengo. Sentir que la he perdido.*
(To think that I do not have him. To feel that I have lost him.)
...
*Ya no la quiero, es cierto, pero tal vez la quiero.*
(I no longer love him, that’s certain, but maybe I love him.)
*Es tan corto el amor, y es tan largo el olvido.*
(Love is so short, forgetting is so long...)
Jiang Yuan’s soft recitation sounded like the most tender and passionate youth whispering his heart’s secrets into a lover’s ear.
Xie Chengnan couldn't help but press a kiss to the top of his head, praising him, “That was beautiful. I didn't know you knew Spanish.”
“My mother taught me before she passed,” Jiang Yuan said, removing the manuscripts from the wooden box and carefully setting them aside. “She loved Neruda’s poetry, but she didn't particularly like this poem because she found it too sad.” Yet, in the final moments of her life, she had used this poem as a cover, as if commemorating the end of a relationship.
Once Jiang Yuan had emptied the manuscripts, the slightly lighter-colored bottom of the box was revealed. He rapped his knuckles against it, hearing a dull, heavy thud.
“This box has a hidden compartment.” Jiang Yuan felt around for the mechanism. “It used to hold love poems hand-copied by Jiang Kunbo. Hard to imagine, isn't it? That a man like Jiang Kunbo would copy love poems.”
Xie Chengnan raised an eyebrow. “That is indeed a surprise. Auntie Yuehua never mentioned it to me.”
“She was probably embarrassed,” Jiang Yuan mused. “I only found out because I once caught her organizing those old letters. She told me the story of their romance back then. Love at first sight, exchanging letters across the distance... in the end, she insisted on marrying her sweetheart despite her family’s objections.”
Xie Chengnan asked with some confusion, “Both families were of equal social standing. Why did the Zhang family object?”
“Because my grandfather felt Jiang Kunbo was too calculating—that he wasn't a good man.” Jiang Yuan pursed his lips. “She really was a foolish girl.”
With a soft *click*, the wooden box finally revealed a narrow slit. Jiang Yuan reached out to lift the false bottom. As he looked at the items before him, his heart was calmer than he had imagined it would be.
Hidden inside were no longer the affectionate letters of days gone by, but rather the evidence sufficient to send her lover behind high walls.
The missing account books from after Wei Ying’s company was acquired, bank records of massive funds moving through Jiang family accounts, Jiang Kunbo’s bribery diary, and a voice recorder disguised as a fountain pen...
Jiang Yuan let out a slow, long breath. These items not only confirmed Jiang Kunbo’s crimes of embezzling funds for personal gain but also solidified his decade-long underground affair with Li Yan. This was the final straw that had crushed Zhang Yuehua.
Jiang Yuan finally understood why Jiang Kunbo had stood by and watched her die. The loss of the diary was likely the fuse; Jiang Kunbo had failed to convince her to hand it over, so he coldly observed her death.
“Let’s go.” Jiang Yuan packed the items back into the box. “I want to give this gift to Jiang Kunbo as a surprise.”
When the car reached the villa gates, Jiang Yuan kissed Xie Chengnan goodbye and drove off alone. He needed to lobby several key board members to ensure they would stand on his side once the truth was revealed.
Xie Chengnan didn't know exactly how he would do it, but he instinctively believed that his young man was capable of anything.
The next day, during the Jiang Group board meeting, Jiang Yuan called the police on the spot. He watched as Jiang Kunbo and Li Yan were escorted into police cars. Then, under a sea of stunned gazes, he took the Chairman’s seat and presided over the day’s meeting.
The board members watched coldly, tacitly allowing this transition of power.
A powerful leader who could move massive amounts of capital under everyone’s noses was someone to be feared.
But a young, seemingly naive leader who appeared easy to control? That was the favorite kind of puppet for ambitious men.
The internal turmoil of the Jiang Group was quickly suppressed under the joint pressure of various forces. A new round of profit-sharing was about to begin.
Xie Chengnan hadn't expected the recording pen to contain conversations secretly recorded by Jiang Kunbo and Li Yan during their bribery attempts. It was likely intended as Jiang Kunbo’s insurance policy, but in the end, it became the evidence of guilt for a whole string of officials.
The diary and the recording pen were handed over to the inspection team. Nanyuan Technology’s authorization application was approved almost immediately. A surveillance video from the perspective of a medical robot not only implicated the interest groups behind the SIMON incident but also allowed investigators to follow the trail and uncover even more insider trading.
The leadership of Nancheng City underwent a massive reshuffle. Nanyuan Technology trended on social media again, jokingly dubbed the “Anti-Corruption Fighter” by netizens.
Everything had finally settled.
Secretary Fang, who had handled Jiang Kunbo’s private affairs for years, had secretly kept plenty of incriminating evidence. Now, he used it all as leverage to strike a deal with Jiang Yuan, leaving the Jiang Group with a payout.
Jiang Yuan brandished the newly acquired evidence and smiled at Xie Chengnan. “As expected, in the face of sufficiently tempting interests, any alliance is a paper tiger.”
Xie Chengnan pressed a kiss between the youth’s spirited brows and gave a low chuckle. “How do you plan to handle these?”
Jiang Yuan flipped through the documents lazily. “First, I’ll send Jiang Hao in to keep his parents company. He’s learned the trick of embezzling funds quite well. The portion involving Li Yan is enough to keep her in prison for an extra ten years. As for Jiang Kunbo, I plan to use this to make a deal with him.”
Xie Chengnan raised an eyebrow. “In exchange for his shares?”
Jiang Yuan pecked him on the lips and smiled with curved eyes. “As expected of my boyfriend, so smart.”
“The directors haven't made a fuss?”
“They can't reach me for now; they’re too busy with their own infighting.” Jiang Yuan blinked, putting on an innocent and naive expression. “I’m just a little lamb. They think they can just swallow me whole, skin and bones, in the end.”
Xie Chengnan looked at him with amusement. His little tiger in sheep’s clothing certainly kept his claws well-hidden. He wondered how those directors would feel when the day came for him to strike; he was actually quite looking forward to it.
As they were talking, Jiang Yuan received a phone call. He listened while turning to look at Xie Chengnan, his expression appearing somewhat surprised.
“What is it?” Xie Chengnan frowned, guessing it might involve him.
Jiang Yuan said, “Back during the New Year, your parents mentioned they wanted to buy back the Xie family’s old mansion. I went to look into it for them.”
Xie Chengnan’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly calmed down. Although the reason Zhang Yuehua had bought the Xie mansion remained unclear, it was at least evident now that she had nothing to do with the Xie family’s bankruptcy.
Thinking of this, Xie Chengnan asked calmly, “Did you find anything?”
“Yes.” Jiang Yuan nodded. “I originally wanted to buy it secretly as a gift for you, but I discovered the house is actually in my name.”
Xie Chengnan raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. “In your name?”
“Yes.” Jiang Yuan turned to look at him, his smile full of delight. “I consulted Lawyer Lin, who handles my mother’s will, about the property transfer procedures. He told me something.”
Xie Chengnan said helplessly, “You really have become my benefactor. Given the location and scale of my family’s old mansion, it’s roughly estimated to be worth nine figures now... You were just going to give it to me like that?”
“That’s not the point,” Jiang Yuan said. “The point is, I’m not allowed to sell that house.”
Xie Chengnan froze. “What do you mean?”
Jiang Yuan reached out to cup Xie Chengnan’s face, his eyes crinkling. “My mother stated in her will that this is the only property I have no right to sell. However, I can transfer it as a gift—but the recipient *must* be a gentleman named Xie Chengnan.”
If it weren't for Jason controlling the vehicle, Xie Chengnan thought he might have driven onto the green belt out of sheer shock.
He looked at the warm smile on the young Master Jiang’s face and finally realized that the gentlest person in the depths of his memory had never actually abandoned him.
She had used her own way to preserve the place that had witnessed his birth and growth.
Perhaps, right up until she left, she was still waiting for that child—whom she had treated as her own—to return to Nancheng and continue that bond of mother and son that transcended blood.
Xie Chengnan sat in a daze for a moment before finally coming to his senses. He pulled Jiang Yuan into a tight embrace and laughed softly.
The people and stories of the past had finally reached a perfect conclusion at this moment.
Outside the window, the grass grew and the warblers flew; the spring light was just right, much like the rest of his life with Jiang Yuan.
***
