Chapter 702: 701 A Point of No Return

So from that day on, Luo Qiete kept using busyness as an excuse not to meet with her, which finally led to Old Master Jiang losing his patience and directly making a video call.

Luo Qiete was not in a hurry, but that didn’t mean Old Master Jiang wasn’t. The Jiang family’s status had already been severely threatened, and if they were unable to secure a strong relationship with Independent State, they might be ostracized by Beijing.

“Luo Qiete, we had a good discussion before, as long as I send Jiang Linyan to you, you agreed to collaborate with Independent State, didn’t you? Why are you going back on your word?”

Before discussing the collaboration, Old Master Jiang had already considered the difficulty of controlling Luo Qiete, but he had never anticipated Luo Qiete would go back on his word.

Listening to Old Master Jiang’s accusations, Luo Qiete couldn’t help chuckling. He picked up a cigar from nearby, lit it, and took a puff…

“Rest assured, as long as I’ve confirmed my interests, I will definitely collaborate well with Independent State. You don’t have to worry about that.”

After speaking, Luo Qiete took another puff of his cigar, his gaze on Old Master Jiang unconsciously grew heavy.

“Old Master Jiang, sometimes inviting the wolf into your house isn’t a good thing. There are many tales of those who ended up with not even bones left after being eaten by the wolf, all being precedents that you should be careful of!”

After making his cold remark, Luo Qiete smiled and then ended the video call directly.

Looking at the darkened screen, Old Master Jiang, in a fit of anger, smashed the keyboard in front of him. How could he not understand the meaning behind Luo Qiete’s words? But he had already been driven to a dead end and had no way out.

Old Master Jiang sat in his chair and took a cigarette case out of the drawer. He lit a cigarette and, after taking a puff, he couldn’t help letting out a sigh.

This year he had already turned eighty years old. If not for that successful surgery back then, he would probably have been long buried. Yet now, not only was he unable to enjoy his old age, but he also had to keep toiling to stabilize the Jiang family.

He often lay awake at night wondering if the reason heaven was punishing him in such a way was because of a mistake he made years ago.

He was saved by Wen Xin personally and was also personally pushed into the abyss by Wen Xin, walking a path of no return.

Everyone thought that the Jiang family was finished, but they didn’t know that this was the real beginning of the Jiang family. All of their successes and failures hinged on this moment. He had no road back; he could only keep walking in the dark.

As soon as the butler entered from outside, he saw Old Master Jiang smoking in his chair and immediately felt a flicker of panic, stepping forward, “Master, the doctor has said that you cannot smoke…”

“Can’t smoke? The doctor also told me not to worry too much! But who else is going to resolve that issue if not me? I don’t know how much longer I can hold on; all I can do now is to take each day as it comes!”

Old Master Jiang crushed the cigarette butt in the ashtray, stood up, and gently patted the anxious butler on the shoulder.

“You old thing, this house is too quiet now, just the two of us left! Tell those people to come home for a meal tomorrow. Let’s see, before I fall, whether all the baboons have nearly run off.”

As he spoke, a desolate smile appeared on Old Master Jiang’s face. He had never thought that his twilight years would be spent in such a state.

The butler, looking at Old Master Jiang who had lost his once proud demeanor, involuntarily sighed softly, supporting Old Master Jiang as they walked toward his bedroom.

“Old Master Jiang, I hate to say something so pessimistic, but I feel that Miss Wen didn’t really try to harm you with all her strength, Mu Chengxi also said that she showed mercy. So, perhaps we should stop fighting and come to terms with Miss Wen, after all…”

“Come to terms? How do we come to terms? The current Wen Xin still doesn’t know about the things I did in the past. If she finds out, even if I want to compromise, she won’t let the Jiang family off the hook. This path has been destined to be a point of no return!”

Old Master Jiang interrupted the butler, looking out at the heavy rain with a helpless chuckle.

“Do you still remember? It was on a rainy night just like this one when Wen Boqian came to warn me not to collaborate with the old fox, but I didn’t take his words seriously. Now that I think about it, if I had heeded his advice back then, maybe… I could be enjoying my twilight years just like those other old bastards.”

Gazing out of the window, Old Master Jiang thought about his insatiable ambitions… It was just too bad that he realized it all too late, and there was no turning back anymore.

The next morning, Wen Xin was woken up by a phone call from Mu Chengxi. She answered the call with half-closed eyes, casually tossed the phone aside, propped herself on the pillow, and listened to the gentle voice of Mu Chengxi from the other end of the line.

“Are you still not awake? Are you in the dorm?”

“No, I’m at home. After I saw you off yesterday, I went to the hospital. It was a bit late, so I didn’t return to the dorm…” Wen Xin, still lying on the pillow, responded in a muffled voice.

“Uh-huh, did you sleep well last night? Did I disturb your rest? Are you going back to school for classes today?”

Listening to Wen Xin’s sleepy voice, Mu Chengxi chuckled softly and continued to ask gently.

“I’ll head to school in a bit. Are you there yet?” Wen Xin finally woke up after struggling for a while. She sat up, picked up the phone she had tossed aside, and now seemed capable of having a proper conversation with Mu Chengxi.

“I’m already at the villa and will be heading out with some people in a while…”

Mu Chengxi briefly explained his plans for the day. Hearing this, Wen Xin started to feel sleepy again, lay back down on the bed, and dozed off after mumbling some words of concern, telling Mu Chengxi to take care of himself.

Mu Chengxi listened to Wen Xin’s steady breathing, smiled tenderly and indulgently, not wanting to disturb her. He allowed her to continue sleeping and hung up the call.

By the time Wen Xin woke up again, it was already noon. She hurriedly climbed out of bed, rushed into the bathroom, quickly changed into a set of clothes, and, with her backpack in tow, drove Mu Chengxi’s car to the school.

Wen Xin drove directly into the school in Mu Chengxi’s car. As she entered the school grounds, she suddenly realized a problem—there were no parking spots available for her…

She drove around the school and finally parked the car in the spot where Mu Chengxi had taken her to do something naughty the day before…

After getting out of the car, she unconsciously replayed the events of the previous day in her mind…

Wen Xin couldn’t help but touch her somewhat hot cheeks, slapped her forehead, and forced herself not to think about those messy things. It was truly embarrassing!

“Student Wen… this… is this the car you drove here yesterday? I thought it was Mu Chengxi who came!”

Just then, Principal Lu spoke up in surprise from behind Wen Xin, with a group of people standing silently beside him, all quietly watching her.