Chapter 1 Wuhan Wuhan 2
Jing Mingchen sneaked out of the bedroom, ran to the phone and dialed the number: "Hello, Nan Qiao, do me a favor, I want to make an appointment with your brother!"
Gu Nanqiao hung up the phone, turned to Jiang Gubei and said with a smile: "Guess who called, it was the third daughter of the Jing family, who asked me to arrange a date with you. Tell me honestly, have you two known each other for a long time? Otherwise, why is she so eager to date you?"
Jiang Gubei sat on the sofa, playing with the hat in his hand with a smile. He also felt strange in his heart. Why did Jing Mingchen ask him to meet? Could it be that... His heart suddenly skipped a beat. Could it be that she remembered?
He turned around and told Ah Da: "Cancel all your plans for tomorrow afternoon."
However, when he met Jing Mingchen in the Polo Pavilion the next day, he realized that this was not the case at all.
Jing Mingchen asked him to meet at the Polo House in the British Concession. There were few Chinese people coming and going at the Polo House, so when Jiang Gubei walked in, he saw Jing Mingchen chatting and laughing with a foreigner at the bar.
The lights changed, and when Jiang Gubei could see Jing Mingchen's face clearly, his face turned dark.
She put on makeup, thick black eyebrows, and bright red lips, which were totally inconsistent with her childish face. But what about her long hair? How did it become short overnight? And it was too short, almost to the roots of her ears. Even the most daring female students didn't dare to shave it so short!
And the dress she was wearing was even more unrestrained than the one she wore at the ball. She showed a pair of thin and white arms, and her right arm was resting on the British guy's shoulder. The scene was simply dazzling.
Seeing Jiang Gubei coming, she looked up at him with a smile: "Mr. Jiang, you are here. Order whatever you want to drink. Put it on my account. I am a regular customer, so I can get a 20% discount!"
Jiang Gubei frowned and looked at her for a long time, then suddenly smiled: "Miss Jing, if you don't want to marry me, you can just say it directly, there's no need to play this trick."
The night was as cold as water. Jing Mingchen hugged his shoulders and shuddered: "Mr. Jiang, how did you know that?"
Jiang Gubei raised his eyebrows and said, "Your makeup is too bad. There are only two explanations. First, you are not a frequent visitor to Polo House. Second, the British in Polo House are all blind."
He is really venomous! Jing Mingchen looked pitiful: "I was also forced to do so..."
Jiang Gubei chuckled: "Is marrying me so scary? Do you even want to throw away the hair you've kept for twenty years?"
Jing Mingchen touched the hair at the base of her ears. How much pain did she feel? She had been raising her hair for twenty years. How much effort did it take to keep it so long? She murmured distressedly, "Hair is precious, but freedom is more precious."
Jiang Gubei's brows relaxed and he smiled: "Am I really that bad?"
Jing Mingchen shook his head like a rattle: "No, you have very good conditions. You are young, handsome and successful in your career. All the wives and unmarried girls in Hankou think you are very good..."
Jiang Gubei interrupted her: "Except you?"
There was a playful smile in his eyes. Jing Mingchen's face flushed red. She said hesitantly: "I didn't... I just feel that we don't know each other well enough."
Jiang Gubei chuckled: "I think I know you well enough. I often hear my sister talk about you."
Jing Mingchen frowned: "Hearing is not true."
Jiang Gubei raised his eyebrows: "I saw it with my own eyes, too. You were hit by my car that day, and I saw you get knocked down because you pushed a little boy away. I saw you chasing him from a distance, and I saw you pushing him away regardless of your life, and after he was saved, he got up and ran away immediately, so I have always been curious about what happened that day, can you tell me?"
Jing Mingchen briefly recounted the incident of giving alms to beggars and being robbed that day. Jiang Gubei nodded and said, "It's roughly what I guessed. I saw it with my own eyes. I was there when you rescued the wounded that day. I saw you save people regardless of your own foot injury, and I saw you not giving up a glimmer of hope. I also saw it with my own eyes. These can't be wrong, right? To sum up what I saw with my own eyes, Miss Jing deserves the title of 'kind and courageous', so my proposal is not a hasty move."
No one had ever praised Jing Mingchen like this before. Everyone in the family liked to say that she was impetuous and arrogant. Jing Mingchen blushed to his ears, and she weakly refuted him: "I can't even cook."
"I have a cook."
"I can't do the math, either."
"I have a counting-house."
"I know nothing about housekeeping."
"I have a housekeeper."
After hearing his various "indifferences", Jing Mingchen suddenly became indignant: "Okay, even if you know me 100%, marriage should be a two-way choice, and I know nothing about you."
Jiang Gubei was stunned for a moment, and then he replied: "I thought every young lady in Hankou already knew everything about me ."
He is really narcissistic!
She waved her hand: "That's not the question...Put yourself in my shoes. If you were me, and were suddenly proposed to by a stranger you only met once, wouldn't you feel terrified?"
Stranger... Jiang Gubei was stunned. Yes, to her, he was just a stranger.
Looking at Jing Mingchen's indignant face, he had a thousand words to say in an instant, but in the end he just apologized: "I'm sorry."
Past relationships only have meaning when the relationship continues. Sooner or later, he will mention to her what happened in the silver shop that year, but not now, but the day when she is willing to be Mrs. Jiang.
Jing Mingchen struck while the iron was hot: "So, about proposing marriage..."
Jiang Gubei interrupted her: "Miss Jing, do you have someone you love?"
Jing Mingchen shook his head: "No."
Jiang Gubei was unwilling to let her go easily. He pressed her aggressively: "Really? I heard that you seem to have some different feelings towards an officer named Liang Tingyue from the Army Hospital."
Where did he hear that? Jing Mingchen was a little surprised: "No, I just admire Officer Xiao Liang... and I was entrusted by someone."
Jiang Gubei breathed a sigh of relief. Now he felt relieved.
The night was getting colder, and he took off his suit jacket and put it on Jing Mingchen's shoulders: "I am a little abrupt in proposing to you. But I am curious, what is Miss Jing's view on marriage?"
Influenced by Western education, Jing Mingchen is not shy about discussing this with the opposite sex: "I think marriage should be based on love. But there are two kinds of love, one is love at first sight, the other is love that grows over time. I have never experienced love at first sight, and I think it is too dramatic. I believe more in love that grows over time."
"Oh?" Jiang Gubei asked without hesitation, "Love grows over time. How long do you think this long time will last?"
Jing Mingchen tilted his head, thought for a long time, and said, "From the first meeting to the first hand-holding, there should be at least a whole summer in between. We should have watched movies together, danced together, supported each other, lived and died together, shared secrets, and shared sweetness... until we have a true and complete understanding of each other. Seven years, seven years is not a long time to understand a person."
Jiang Gubei burst out laughing. This Miss Jing dared to say that she thought love at first sight was dramatic. She and he were sharing life and death and the same ideals. It was even more dramatic than love at first sight.
They were walking under a tree with dense leaves and long branches in the midsummer. Jiang Gubei casually lifted a drooping branch in front of Jing Mingchen's eyes and said, "I can agree to your request, but I'm curious. Your parents haven't agreed to me yet. You can ask them to reject me."
The gentle moonlight flowed on Jing Mingchen's face, fading her clumsy makeup and revealing her original freshness and childishness under the heavy makeup. She sighed, her face full of sorrow: "My mother thinks you are the best son-in-law, and she wants to agree to you immediately. It's useless to beg her."
Jiang Gubei raised his eyebrows: "Your mother is very discerning. Have you ever thought that being rejected by someone is not a good reputation? If it gets out, I'm afraid your future marriage will be affected."
Jing Mingchen had an indifferent expression on his face: "People who really like me will naturally find ways to understand the real me and will not be affected by rumors. People who are swayed by rumors are neither reliable nor smart. I am not willing to marry such a stupid person who has no fate with me."
Jiang Gubei nodded: "Fate, well said, I believe in fate too. I can agree to your request, but I'm a little busy recently, I will ask Mrs. Ding to come again in a while."
Jing Mingchen jumped up with joy, and this jump hit Jiang Gubei's palm that was holding the branch. She covered her head and smiled embarrassedly. Jiang Gubei also laughed: "But if this happens, I'm afraid I will go from being the first rich son-in-law in your mother's heart to the first bastard."
"Since you are determined to do this, let's act out a play together. I will risk my image in your mother's heart, and you will risk your reputation for the rest of your life. I will play the villain and you will play the victim. Remember, you must act realistically."
He leaned down and got close to her ear, his warm breath hitting her ear. Jing Mingchen couldn't help but tremble. He only heard him say, "On the day I asked someone to cancel the engagement, you performed this to your mother..."
After discussing the plan to break off the engagement, Jiang Gubei sent Jing Mingchen home. After getting off the car, Jing Mingchen ran a few steps and suddenly stopped, turned around and said to Jiang Gubei: "Mr. Jiang, I think you are very strange. Sometimes you are unkind, sometimes you are considerate, sometimes you are cold like the north wind, and sometimes you are warm like the south wind."
Jiang Gubei smiled and pointed to the sky: "It doesn't matter what kind of wind I am. What matters is that if you don't go home quickly, you will be blown by the cold wind."
Jing Mingchen looked up at the dark clouds, said "goodbye", and ran away.
Jiang Gubei stood under the street light until Jing Mingchen disappeared around the corner. He lit a cigarette and stared at the Jing family's small house not far away. The lights on the third floor were on. Jing Mingchen must have returned to her bedroom.
He didn't want to marry Jing Mingchen right away, but because the situation was unstable, he wanted to arrange the marriage first to avoid separation due to the war. Since Jing Mingchen didn't want to, it didn't matter. If she wasn't his wife or fiancée, wouldn't he be able to take care of her? He was no longer the seventeen-year-old Jiang Gubei.
Since you want seven years, then why not wait for you for seven years?
In the next few days, Jing Mingchen kept waiting for Jiang Gubei to come and cancel the engagement, but he unexpectedly received an explosive news first.
Mr. Jiang Xing, the owner of Jiang’s Oil Shop, passed away.
The news was announced at the dinner table by the elder brother Mingyu, who worked for Jiang's company. "The oil company is finished now. Mr. Jiang has only one son, who is still studying at Wuhan University. The real power of the company will most likely fall into the hands of Mr. Song, the uncle of the Jiang family. Mr. Song is not good at business, but he is also a big drinker and a whore. Sooner or later, Jiang's company will be ruined by him."
Jing Mingchen also went to Boss Jiang's funeral on the day. She went there to accompany Gu Nanqiao. Gu Nanqiao said that she wanted to go and see the excitement and forced her to be a companion.
Jiang's Oil Shop has been in business in Wuhan for decades, and the name of Mr. Jiang is a household name. On the day of the funeral, many people came, including those who came to pay their respects, those who came to attend the funeral, and those who came to watch the fun. The hall was packed with people. Everyone was dressed in black and sweating. The air was filled with the smell of sweat, and everyone was so hot that they kept fanning themselves with their hands.
Jing Mingchen accompanied Gu Nanqiao in the crowd. Gu Nanqiao's face was pale and her lips were bloodless. She held Jing Mingchen's wrist, her body was shaking, and her eyes were fixed on the large black and white photo of Boss Jiang in the mourning hall. Jing Mingchen was worried that she had a heat stroke and asked her, "What's so good about a funeral? Why don't we go?"
Gu Nanqiao shook her head: "I want to go in and bow."
Jing Mingchen stretched his neck to look into the mourning hall. There were three people standing next to the coffin. The round-faced young man dressed as a filial son should be Mr. Jiang's only son Jiang Qianmo. The middle-aged woman with a white flower on her head should be Mrs. Jiang. The middle-aged man in a satin jacket next to her was probably Mr. Song, the uncle of the Jiang family mentioned by his brother.
The mourners took turns to go in and bow, Jiang Qianmo responded to each one, Jing Mingchen and Gu Nanqiao lined up in the queue, patiently listening to the MC calling out names: Manager Zhang of Jardine Matheson has arrived, Manager Sun of Huamei Pharmacy has arrived, Mr. and Mrs. Chen have arrived...
Suddenly, a loud voice sounded from behind: "Mr. Jiang from Lin's Tung Oil Company is here!"
The dead silent crowd was suddenly in uproar.
Jing Mingchen and the others looked back and saw a row of black cars parked in front of the Jiang family's gate. The doors opened one by one, and a group of people in black suits got out and quickly divided into two teams and stood in line. After they stood still, the door of the last car opened, and Jiang Gubei, who was wearing a black suit, got out of the car, and strode towards the mourning hall in the queue.
Jing Mingchen's arm suddenly hurt, and Gu Nanqiao pinched her.
Jiang Gubei walked straight to the mourning hall without looking around, but was stopped by someone. It was Mr. Song: "You are not welcome here!"
Jiang Gubei didn't say anything. He put his hands in his trouser pockets, raised his eyebrows and looked at Mr. Song coldly.
Mrs. Jiang said nothing. She just supported Jiang Qianmo with a pale face, as if she was about to faint.
Jiang Qianmo took a step forward: "Uncle, you are a guest..."
Mr. Song shouted, "Shut up, kid!"
Jiang Gubei sneered: "I'm afraid you are not qualified to stop me."
He looked up at Jiang Qianmo and said, "Young Master Jiang, you are the filial son of this mourning hall today. It is up to you whether to let me in or not."
Jiang Qianmo tried his best to put on a mature look on his childish round face: "Please come in."
Jiang Gubei nodded slightly, and the black-clad bodyguard following him pushed Mr. Song away. Jiang Gubei stepped into the mourning hall solemnly and calmly, walked to the coffin and stopped, standing straight, looking down at Boss Jiang's coffin.
He looked at it for a long time.
Jiang Qianmo reminded him to salute: "Mr. Jiang?"
However, it was beyond his expectations, and beyond everyone's expectations.
Jiang Gubei bent his knees and knelt in front of the coffin.
The whole audience was in an uproar, and Jing Mingchen was also confused. What was he doing? He looked like he was here to demonstrate, so why did he kneel down to the dead? Did he suddenly feel that he was at fault for Boss Jiang's death?
Before she could figure it out, Jiang Gubei's next move shocked everyone.
He leaned down and kowtowed twice.
This is a filial piety ceremony.
Jing Mingchen's arm suddenly sank, and she looked down to see that Gu Nanqiao had slipped out of her arm and fell to the ground.
Jiang Gubei's voice was clear and loud, like the sound of metal and stone colliding, and it was deafening: "As a filial son, Jiang Gubei, I kowtow to my father. I hope my father will rest in peace on his way to the underworld."
For a moment, the whole mourning hall was noisy and noisy like cold water splashing into boiling oil. Everyone was stunned by the news. The young master of the Jiang family had an incredible expression on his face. His uncle Mr. Song stared at Jiang Gubei with bloodshot eyes, wishing to tear him into pieces, and Mrs. Jiang had already fainted. Jiang Gubei turned a blind eye to all this. A man in black came to him with a tray. He took the cuffs on it, shook them out calmly, and put them on his arms. The word "filial piety" was like a victory flag, proudly announcing his identity.
Jing Mingchen held Gu Nanqiao with one hand and looked at Jiang Gubei in shock.
What kind of person is he? If he is really the son of Boss Jiang as he said, then why did he take over his father's business and force his father to death, and even put on such a show at his father's funeral?
She remembered what she had written in her diary on the day she and he agreed to cancel the engagement: Now I at least understand him a little bit; he is a considerate person.
And now...what kind of person is he? What kind of soul does he have? Jing Mingchen is confused.
The wonderful show at the funeral soon spread throughout the streets and alleys, and the Jing family was naturally no exception.
That night, the Jing family had a rare reunion. The eldest sister brought her husband and son back to her parents' home for dinner. The second sister, who had not been seen for a month, also came back. Mrs. Jing finally waited until everyone was together. She couldn't wait to tell everyone what happened in the Jiang family's mourning hall today. After that, she proudly announced: "Some time ago, Mr. Jiang asked someone to come to our house to propose marriage. He wants to marry our little girl!"
Jing Mingchen's mind replayed the scene of the day over and over again. She ate her meal with a heavy heart and said nothing. However, her mother did not let her go: "How is the husband that your mother chose for you? It turns out that he is not only capable, but also has a good family background."
The second sister Ming Huan insisted on singing a different tune: "Not necessarily a good thing. If he is really the son of the Jiang family, then there are many problems. Why doesn't everyone know that the Jiang family has such a son? Where does he come from? Is his mother married to Boss Jiang in a formal way or is she a concubine with no status? Or is it just a fleeting marriage that even Boss Jiang himself doesn't remember? Besides, if he is really Boss Jiang's son, it would not be a good reputation to force his own father to death."
Mrs. Jing was so angry that she wanted to twist Ming Huan's mouth, but she still defended Jiang Gubei: "You have heard of 'there are no fathers and sons in the business world, and no brothers in the battlefield', right? Boss Jiang himself is old and in poor health. It is only a matter of time before he gets sick and dies. How can it be said that Jiang Gubei forced him to death? As for the identity, it will be clear sooner or later. I believe it must be a formal marriage. Boss Jiang is 60 years old this year, and the young master of the Jiang family is only 17 years old. Boss Jiang can't have his first son at the age of 43. It is likely that Jiang Gubei's mother is the original wife. I have seen many people from the countryside of Ningbo who come to the big city to make a living and abandon their wives and remarry."
The second sister snorted and laughed, and said in a sarcastic tone: "That's even more troublesome. The eldest and the youngest son remarried their original wives. The Jiang family has such a messy relationship, and our third fool is so stupid..."
The second sister in the family likes to call Jing Mingchen stupid. But when she was studying in a church middle school, she had an English name called Sansa, so the second sister simply gave her the nickname "Sansa".
Mrs. Jing put down her chopsticks: "You just want to piss me off to death. How could I have given birth to such an enemy like you? You ran off to attend military school without saying a word, and now every word you say is full of gunpowder..."
The fact that her second sister secretly ran away to study at the Wuhan branch of Huangpu Military Academy has always been a thorn in Mrs. Jing's heart. Every time it is mentioned, it means the beginning of an hour-long quarrel.
Jing Mingchen didn't dare to breathe and just ate his meal in silence. He thought to himself, when Mrs. Ding comes, you won't know how to scold Jiang Gubei, so you will have to swallow back everything you said now.
Just as I was thinking about it, the doorbell rang, and Aunt Zhang's voice came up from downstairs: "Master and Madam, Mrs. Ding is here ."
Jing Mingchen choked on a mouthful of rice.
Both her father and mother went downstairs to greet the guests. Jing Mingchen dropped her bowl, jumped out of her chair, and quickly ran back to her room. She began to gather her emotions. In her mind, she searched for Jiang Gubei's words that day: "When your mother comes to tell you the news, you must open your eyes wide and pretend that you didn't understand. Gather the tears. After a few seconds, your eyes will start to moisten, and then you will burst into tears. It doesn't matter if you can't cry, just bury your face in the pillow..."
She was nervously preparing herself for the next moment, listening to the noises downstairs. She heard footsteps approaching, and immediately grabbed a book and leaned against the bed. The door opened, and her mother walked in with a grim face, sitting heavily on the bed.
Jing Mingchen opened his innocent eyes wide: "What's wrong, Mom?"
Mrs. Jing gnashed her teeth and said, "Just now, Mrs. Ding said that Mr. Jiang regretted his decision and wanted to withdraw his proposal."
Jing Mingchen thought to herself, half an hour ago it was Jiang Gubei, but now it has changed to Jiang... She opened her eyes wide and pretended to look at her mother in confusion, as if she didn't understand. Mrs. Jing's eyes were red: "My poor little girl, how will she live in the future?"
Tears finally welled up in his eyes. Jing Mingchen blinked his eyes, then fell on the bed as if he had suddenly realized something, buried his face in the pillow and cried loudly.
Mrs. Jing also started sobbing, stroking her daughter's back while sobbing: "It's all my fault. I didn't see clearly how ruthless this kid was. I said, how can a man who forced his own father to death be a good person? What's more, his origins are unknown, and I don't know whether he is the son of Boss Jiang and some wild woman..."
Jing Mingchen almost burst out laughing.
To comfort her daughter, Mrs. Jing used her gossiping skills as a middle-aged lady to exaggerate what she heard at the card table to explain to her daughter that Jiang Gubei was not a good man and it was not a pity to miss him: "I heard that this Jiang has a messy private life, and he is involved with Miss Fu and Miss Lin..."
Jing Mingchen was curious. She poked her face out from under the pillow and asked in a muffled voice, "What is Miss Fu and Miss Lin?"
Seeing the response, Mrs. Jing became more excited: "Miss Fu is the big star Fu Qiudi. She came to Wuhan after the war in Shanghai. I heard that the man surnamed Jiang had a good relationship with her, but who knows if there is any truth to it. She is a married woman. I heard that her husband is a playboy who spends his days in debauchery. There is also Miss Lin, the daughter of the Lin family. It is said that this Miss Lin and he also have some ambiguity, but Miss Lin has been weak and sick since she was a child and has never come out to see people. Humph, maybe it is because Miss Lin can't have children that this man surnamed Jiang asked you to take the blame. Fortunately, we found out early..."
As she spoke, Mrs. Jing had already firmly characterized the incident as "the wolf from Zhongshan's scheme to deceive marriage was exposed." The image of Jiang Gubei in her mind was also, as Jiang Gubei himself said, changed from the number one rich son-in-law to the number one bastard in the world.
Finally, she persuaded Jing Mingchen: "It's okay. I didn't tell anyone about the proposal. The only people who knew about it were him, our family, and Mrs. Ding. If Mrs. Ding didn't lie to anyone..."
At this point she became indignant again: "You didn't see how Mrs. Ding looked, she was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling! I knew she didn't want you to marry better than her Lulu."
Jing Mingchen asked quietly, "Didn't you just say that Jiang is not a good man and whoever marries him will be unlucky?"
Mrs. Jing coughed awkwardly: "There's still Tremella soup stewing in the kitchen. I'll go down and take a look."
She finally left. Jing Mingchen breathed a sigh of relief, threw away the pillow, and wiped away the tears from his laughter.
Free at last!
However, after being happy, she felt a little melancholy in her heart, and she thought of the problem that had been bothering her.
What kind of person is Jiang Gubei?
Mrs. Jing is a vengeful person. After Jiang Gubei broke off the engagement, she mentioned him more often at home, especially in front of Jing Mingchen. Every word she said was derogatory, as if she was telling her little daughter that it was a blessing for her not to marry such a scumbag.
At a family dinner in late September, she mentioned Jiang Gubei again: "I heard that he is involved in a lawsuit now. Mrs. Jiang sued him for murder and seizing the family property. This man is really amazing. I heard that he was the last person Mr. Jiang saw before he died."
Jing Mingchen suddenly thought of the morning when he took Jiang Gubei's car. In the car, the driver Ada said that he had received a letter from the Jiang family, inviting Jiang Gubei to visit the Jiang Mansion.
In a moment of impulse, she wanted to tell her mother that it was Mr. Jiang who invited Jiang Gubei to the Jiang family, but she didn't dare say it out loud.
She was afraid that if she said something nice to Jiang Gubei, it would arouse her mother's suspicion.
Mrs. Jing continued, "As soon as he left the Jiang family, Mr. Jiang died. Who would believe him if he said it had nothing to do with it? I think it was probably him who poisoned Mr. Jiang! Such a vicious person, I hope he loses the lawsuit and goes to jail, or at worst gets out of Wuhan!"
The eldest sister Minglang said "Mom" lightly, and the eldest brother-in-law Xu Zhao coughed lightly uncomfortably. Mr. Jing smiled: "You'd better pray that he doesn't lose the lawsuit, because his lawyer happens to be your good son-in-law."
Jing Mingchen couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of soup .
No matter how much Mrs. Jing hoped, the lawsuit ended with Jiang Gubei's victory. On the afternoon of the day when the result was announced, the court's events spread all over the streets and alleys. That night, countless families had the Jiang family's court showdown as their side dish. Jiang Gubei produced the decisive key evidence in court - the will that Mr. Jiang left at the lawyer's office, which stated that two-thirds of his shares in Jiang's would be inherited by his eldest son Jiang Gubei, and the remaining one-third would go to his wife and youngest son. The court ruled that the will was authentic and valid, and Jiang Gubei officially became the largest shareholder of Jiang's.
Mingyu has since become an employee of Jiang Gubei. He admires Jiang Gubei very much: "Why did he hide the will and let Mrs. Jiang go to court before producing evidence in court? In this way, he can tell everyone through the court, an authoritative institution, that he is the legitimate heir. Otherwise, even if he takes over the Jiang family, it is inevitable that someone will stir up trouble and spread rumors that he got to the top by underhanded means. This young Mr. Jiang is really amazing."
Mrs. Jing looked at him with disdain: "It's just scheming!"
Jing Mingchen didn't say anything. She didn't tell her mother that she was in the courtroom at the time. Yes, she went to the courtroom. She didn't know why. Maybe she was just curious about what kind of soul Jiang Gubei had.
She sat in an inconspicuous corner, watching Jiang Gubei standing in the dock with his back to her. Although he was the defendant, he stood straight and looked as handsome as if he was at a dance party.
However, when the judge announced the verdict, Jing Mingchen suspected that she saw a tear in the corner of Jiang Gubei's eye. Because of that bright light that looked like a tear, she was frightened all the way to the cemetery.
She followed Jiang Gubei.
She followed Jiang Gubei out of the court, not too far behind him. He was alone, wearing a well-tailored suit in the late autumn, walking alone in the autumn wind, his back was lonely. They had not met many times, but she was very familiar with his back. At the dance, she was bored and observed him, and he stood with his back to her and talked to others. He also had his back to her when he helped her find the bracelet on the ground. Just now in the court, he still had his back to her.
He walked into the cemetery and stopped in front of a tombstone.
Jing Mingchen squatted down behind another tombstone not far away, stuck his head out and quietly observed Jiang Gubei.
She saw the words on the tombstone in front of Jiang Gubei, which were the name of Mr. Jiang.
Jiang Gubei just stood there, wearing a black suit, with his hands in his trouser pockets, looking down at his father's tombstone. Jing Mingchen squatted until his feet were numb, and finally heard him speak.
"I'm back after all."
"My sister changed her surname to Gu, but I didn't. I have always kept my surname Jiang because I promised her that I would either never return to the Jiang family or return to the Jiang family with dignity as the head of the family."
"I am not grateful for your will. I once promised her that I would come back, and I have kept my word. Even without your will, I would definitely take back what belongs to her and me, just like I took the Wilson & Co. business from you."
"I will never thank you, nor will I forgive you, ever."
After saying this, he took off his hat, bowed slightly to the tombstone, and turned and left.
However, he did not go very far.
He suddenly stopped in front of the tombstone near Boss Jiang.
Jing Mingchen couldn't see his expression, but he felt that he was frozen as if he was cursed and turned into a stone statue.
After a while, he suddenly squatted down and reached out to touch the words on the tombstone. Following his finger, Jing Mingchen saw the name on it: Qian Yiru.
Jiang Gubei suddenly knelt down, like a stone statue suddenly falling down, and collapsed in front of the tombstone. He held the tombstone tightly with both hands and rested his forehead on the cold stone.
He seemed to be in great pain. The blue veins on his hands were twisting like earthworms under his skin, as if they were about to break out of the ground. His whole body was shaking.
Thunder roared and heavy rain poured down. Jing Mingchen hurriedly opened his umbrella. Before he went out, his mother told him that it would rain today and asked him to bring an umbrella. Jiang Gubei, however, maintained his original posture, kneeling on the ground motionlessly. The heavy rain quickly soaked his whole body. The wet clothes clung to his body, exposing his thin body under his gorgeous clothes. It turned out that he was so thin, like a piece of rock.
Jing Mingchen looked at him and suddenly felt very sad. She wanted to run over and hold an umbrella for him to block the rain, but she did nothing in the end. She just hid behind the tombstone and looked at him quietly for a long time, then quietly got up and left.
In the next month, there was bad news almost every day. The war became more and more intense. There were more and more refugees on the streets, more and more wounded in the army hospital, and the faces of the elders and superiors became more and more gloomy...
But no matter how fierce the war is, ordinary people still have to live their lives.
Going to Luojia Mountain to enjoy the autumn scenery in November has been the Jing family's unshakable habit for the past few years. This year is no exception, but it is somewhat overshadowed by the war. Although the scenery of lakes and mountains is beautiful and the ginkgo leaves are still falling along the way, the men's topics of conversation always revolve around the war.
The mother didn't want to hear this, so she walked in front with Ming Huan and Ming Chen, letting the men express their opinions. However, Ming Chen pricked up his ears to pay attention to what was said behind them. He keenly caught the words "Mr. Xiao Jiang" in Ming Yu's words.
Mingyu was talking to his father about things in the company.
"As soon as Mr. Jiang took over the company, he sold off most of Jiang's businesses, including silk and tea, which Jiang had been doing for more than ten years."
Jing Mingchen couldn't help but turned back and interrupted: "Then will the other shareholders in your company agree?"
Mingyu said, "That's right. On the surface, they advised me but behind my back they scolded me as a prodigal. Mrs. Jiang and Mr. Song were so angry that they came to the company to make trouble several times. But Mr. Jiang didn't care about that at all. He just sold his own shares. His shares exceeded the total of all other shareholders, and others could do nothing about him. But at that time, I thought he was right. He invested all the money from selling these properties in the southwest and bought a lot of land in Sichuan to build houses. As expected, you see, the government announced two days ago that it would move the capital to Chongqing. Once the capital is moved, the southwest will inevitably become the new economic center."
For some reason, Jing Mingchen felt a little happy when he heard Mingyu praising Jiang Gubei: "So he has shut up the others now?"
Mingyu shook his head. "It's not that simple. Half of the people are against it. They all say that the development of the barren mountains and wild ridges in the southwest is limited. How can it compare to Wuhan, which was founded by Zhang Xiangshuai. Politically, it was the beginning of the revolution of the Republic of China, and economically, it had a century-long foundation for prosperity. But Mr. Jiang said that Wuhan could not be saved. It is better to sell it now than to flee in panic when the enemy reaches the doorstep. He also said that he had persuaded Lin to transfer the industry to the southwest two years ago. I guess the reason why Lin's tung oil company was transferred to Wuhan was probably because of his selfishness, in order to fight the Wilson war with Jiang."
Jing Mingchen's heart skipped a beat, and she asked Mingyu, "Is Wuhan really no longer safe?"
Mingyu shook his head heavily. "In July, they lost Beijing and Tianjin, and two days ago they lost Shanghai. Half of China has fallen into the hands of the Japanese. I'm afraid their ambitions go far beyond this."
Mom interrupted them and said, "You keep talking about company affairs when we're out for a walk in the autumn. I shouldn't have brought you along."
Everyone had no choice but to shut up and look at the scenery while finding some romantic topics to talk about.
Jing Mingchen was worried, as she thought of Liang Tingyue.
Last week, Liang Tingyue returned to the team after recovering from his injury. She went to say goodbye to him and gave him a talisman she had obtained from Guiyuan Temple. He accepted the talisman and said to her, "I know who gave it to me, and I know her intentions. But I am going to the battlefield and it is hard to predict whether I will live or die. Maybe I will die on the battlefield and never see you again in this life. Even if I survive, I still have a wife and children to take care of back home. Although my wife and I have a bad relationship, I can't abandon her. I have no chance to be with her in this life, so I can only apologize. I can only wish her to forget me and live a peaceful life."
Where is he now? Is he in Nanjing?
As she was thinking about her worries, she walked slower and slower. When she came to her senses, she found that she had fallen behind the group and her parents had gone somewhere unknown.
There was a path in front of her, so she simply turned into it. Early winter was already biting the tail of late autumn, and fallen leaves were piled on the ground. It had rained the day before, and the rain soaked the dead leaves, making a "crunching" sound when she stepped on them. As she walked, she suddenly stopped.
A man was walking towards me. It was Jiang Gubei.
In late autumn, he was wearing a coat, with his hands in his pockets, walking alone on the path. I don’t know if what happened in the cemetery that day gave Jing Mingchen an illusion, but since then, whenever she looked at Jiang Gubei, she always felt that his figure was very lonely.
Jiang Gubei also noticed her. They both stopped and nodded to each other across the road covered with fallen ginkgo leaves.
As they were about to pass each other, Jing Mingchen's heart suddenly started beating fast, and her shoulder was already touching his sleeve. Suddenly, she heard a word "be careful", and her whole body was held by the waist and lifted into the air, and then gently landed on the ground.
Jiang Gubei smiled and pointed to the middle of the road: "There is a mud puddle over there. You almost stepped into it."
Jing Mingchen's cheeks flushed and she said thank you. Jiang Gubei waved at her, and the two of them walked their way with their backs to each other.
Jing Mingchen couldn't help but look back, and Jiang Gubei suddenly stopped for some reason. Jing Mingchen was startled and ran away as fast as a rabbit.
Her footsteps startled the birds along the way, which circled and chirped above the woods on Luojia Mountain in November 1937.
Jiang Gubei's foresight was soon verified.
One day in December, Jing Mingchen was writing a news release in the newspaper office when a male colleague stumbled in and said with a pale face, "Nanjing has fallen."