Arranged Marriages Should Just Disappear

Xiao Qi said, "The one in black is Wen Junchi, and the one in white is Wei Heng. The woman is Jiang Tang. Wei Heng and Jiang Tang met in college. Not only are they exes, they were each other's first love."

"Under pressure from her family, Jiang Tang had no choice but to break up with Wei Heng. But Jiang Tang and Wen Junchi never had feelings for each other, and Wei Heng couldn't forget Jiang Tang either, so the two of them still meet in secret all the time."

Yan Wen griped, "Shouldn't they be reflecting on their own incompetence? The moment something goes wrong at home, they think of sacrificing their children's lifelong happiness. Arranged marriages should just disappear. This isn't some business transaction. Can the Wen Family really protect the Jiang Family and let them live without a care for the rest of their lives?"

"No, no, no. The Wen Family only helped the Jiang Family through this particular crisis. But Jiang Tang's fate was awful. I looked up how she ends up: Wen Junchi throws her out, and she freezes to death. He also destroys the Jiang Family, leaving them ruined and dead."

Yan Wen was stunned. "Another scumbag?!"

"Wen Junchi has always liked a girl from an ordinary family. But their backgrounds don't match, and the Wen Family looks down on her, so they arranged a marriage for him. His intended bride is Jiang Tang. Wen Junchi can't stand up to his parents, so he takes all his resentment out on Jiang Tang. That girl seems innocent and kind, but she's actually no saint."

"This is exactly like those melodramatic shows my Yan Mom loves watching. That girl frames Jiang Tang, and that idiot Wen believes her, then keeps taking revenge on the Jiang Family without even looking into it. Right?"

"Correct!"

Jiang Tang clenched her hands in fear. Was what that voice said true? Would Wen Junchi make her die a miserable death on the streets and destroy her family too?

Xiao Qi said, "Actually, Jiang Tang is perfectly capable of resolving the company's current crisis. But because of her stepmother, she never even got a chance to see her father before her stepmother talked her into an arranged marriage."

Jiang Tang suddenly raised her head. If that was the case, she could solve the problem by finding a way to see her father. She was the Jiang Family heiress. How could she let that disgraceful old woman scheme against her?

Wen Junchi's expression turned vicious. "Jiang Tang, you're my fiancée, yet you're out having dinner with another man."

Jiang Tang said disdainfully, "Stop pretending you care so much about me. I'm going to talk to my dad about the company. I'm not letting you ruin my happiness for the rest of my life."

"What are you talking about?"

"Do I need to spell it out? We never had feelings for each other. I have someone I love, and so do you. You might not be capable of solving the problem, but I am. There's no way I'm marrying you just to suffer."

With that, Jiang Tang grabbed Wei Heng. "Come on. Come to the company with me."

Yan Wen was bowled over by how cool she was. "What a badass! She's so cool!"

Jiang Tang turned to look Xiang the crowd. She had to find the owner of that voice.

Yan Wen asked, "Has her ending changed?"

Xiao Qi said, "It has. Jiang Tang gets the company through its crisis with her own abilities. The process isn't exactly smooth, but the ending is good."

Yan Wen let out a breath. "That's good. Let's go back and eat crayfish."

Yan Wen returned to the table. The crayfish had already been served, and he went back to enjoying his delicious meal.

Mu Xu Ci and Mu Xu Xi guiltily patted their chests. Thank goodness they had run fast enough, or they would have been caught.

Jiang Tang went straight to the company and waited in the office for an hour before she finally saw her father.

Jiang Jun was rather surprised that his daughter had come to see him. Because of the arranged marriage, Jiang Tang had not spoken to him, her own father, for a month.

Jiang Tang got straight to the point. "Dad, I can solve the company's problem. Trust me."

Jiang Jun thought she was talking nonsense and said with a smile, "What do you know about the company's affairs? I know you're upset, but the Wen Family specifically asked for you to marry into their family. For the company's sake, just accept it."

"Dad, I really have a way to solve this. Why won't you believe me? Would you really rather sacrifice your own daughter than trust her?"

Jiang Jun frowned. "Tangtang, there's a limit to how unreasonable you can be. Even I can't solve this. What could you possibly do?"

Jiang Tang sneered. "Aunt Yang said something to you, didn't she? She was the one who suggested the arranged marriage too, wasn't she? The Wen Family never specified who they wanted as the bride. So why not have Jiang Xinyao marry him?"

To her surprise, those words enraged Jiang Jun, and he slapped her.

Jiang Jun snapped, "Don't you know what kind of man Wen Junchi is? Are you trying to get your sister killed?"

Jiang Tang touched the spot where he had struck her and advanced on him, step by step. "So you can bear to get me killed instead? What did you promise Mom when she died? You said you would never let me suffer. But what about now? You want to sacrifice me for the company's benefit. Jiang Xinyao is a daughter of the Jiang Family too. Why does she get to live in peace?"

Jiang Tang stopped and gave a self-mocking laugh. "I should have gone with my mom when she died. Now Aunt Yang and Jiang Xinyao are your family, and I'm just a tool you can sacrifice whenever you want. You want an arranged marriage, don't you? Fine, I'll marry him. But don't celebrate too soon. Once I marry into the Wen Family, I'll kill myself. When I get to the other side, I'll tell my mom how you've treated me all these years and tell her to stay far away from you in her next life."

Jiang Tang gave her father a look filled with hatred, then turned to leave. Just as she reached the door, Jiang Jun called her back.

"Since you're so insistent, give it a try."

Jiang Tang smiled, her plan accomplished. Taking that slap had been worth it.

After returning home that evening, Mu Xingfeng and Xie Yunshu talked about Yan Wen's adoptive parents in their room.

Mu Xingfeng said, "I heard the name Yan Lin at a business association gathering before. He's no ordinary man."

Xie Yunshu said, "Could it really just be someone with the same name? Didn't we look into their family before we went to bring Xiao Wen home? They only run a small business."

Mu Xingfeng's brow furrowed slightly. "I don't think it's that simple. Don't you think they've taught Xiao Wen far too much?"

"What do you mean?"

"Xiao Wen said last time that he knows how to play every kind of chess game. And good grades alone aren't enough to get into Shengyuan. You have to master at least two disciplines from music, chess, calligraphy, painting, or the six arts—ritual, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics—to qualify for admission. You remember how much we spent on An's calligraphy and painting lessons, don't you?"

Xie Yunshu nodded. "I hired the best private tutors for him. It cost several million."

Mu Xingfeng asked, "If the Yan Family really only runs a small business, could they afford to have Xiao Wen learn all those things? Even if they scrimped and saved to pay for those lessons, you know Shengyuan's admission requirements, don't you?"

Xie Yunshu realized there was more to this. "Now that I think about it, Huilan doesn't look like someone who does manual work either. Her skin is even better than mine. And that gemstone bracelet she was wearing—I saw it at an auction once. It was worth over three million. How could someone who only runs a small business afford something so expensive?"

"I think we should look into the Yan Family's background."

"Wouldn't that be inappropriate? What if we uncover something bad? How would we tell Xiao Wen?"

"Then we'd have all the more reason to tell Xiao Wen, so he can stay away and avoid getting hurt. But if things aren't what we think, our Mu Family could work with their Yan Family. Both families could grow together. Why not?"