Chapter 32: Chapter 32: This Man, So Strange

When Chen Jingjia saw Lin Jiang walk in, her eyes went wide, and her legs seemed to forget how to move.

"Brother Jiang, this is an employee from my dad’s company. We just happened to run into her today, and she came over to bring us a bottle of wine."

’What a coincidence.’

Lin Jiang knew that Chen Jingjia worked at a property management company called Desheng, but he never expected it to be owned by Qin Youyou’s father.

"That is quite a coincidence. You two go ahead and talk."

Lin Jiang walked past Chen Jingjia and sat back down in his chair.

Staring at Lin Jiang’s back, Chen Jingjia felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

Her mind was filled with a single question.

’How could he possibly know the younger Miss Qin?’

"Miss Chen?" Qin Yangyang asked politely.

"Um..."

Chen Jingjia was flustered and quickly tried to compose herself.

"I won’t disturb your meal any longer. I’ll be going now. Bye-bye."

"Okay, bye-bye."

CLICK—

Chen Jingjia closed the door, and in that final moment, she caught another glimpse of Lin Jiang’s back.

Her heart began to race uncontrollably. It was one thing for Lin Jiang to be eating here, but for him to be eating with the Qin Sisters—that was something Chen Jingjia just couldn’t wrap her head around.

’Did he get together with the younger Miss Qin after our divorce?’

’But from the atmosphere just now, it seemed like they were just friends.’

’Why is this happening?’

Chen Jingjia didn’t even know how she made it back to the first floor. By the time she returned to her seat, her mind was still reeling over it.

"Did you deliver it?" Zhao Qingtian asked.

"I did," Chen Jingjia answered distractedly.

"That bottle wasn’t cheap. The moment they taste it, they’ll know it’s good wine. It definitely won’t let you down."

"But I saw Lin Jiang upstairs."

"Lin Jiang? Your ex-husband?"

"Mhm."

"Someone must have treated him. There’s no way he could afford a place this expensive."

"The people he was eating with... were our boss’s daughters."

"Huh? No way!" Zhao Qingtian said in surprise. "Has he given up on working hard? Is he planning to just latch onto someone rich?"

"I don’t know. But I’m definitely curious."

"A guy like that is just pathetic," Zhao Qingtian said, a cigarette dangling from his fingers.

"But don’t overthink it. Your boss is loaded. When it comes to finding a son-in-law, they’ll definitely want someone of equal social standing. They’d never pick him."

SIGH...

Chen Jingjia let out a breath.

Hearing Zhao Qingtian say that, she felt a wave of relief.

’Other people might not know, but how could I not?’

’He just has a pretty face. Besides that, he has no other good qualities.’

’How could he possibly latch onto a rich heiress!’

「...」

After Chen Jingjia left, they didn’t discuss her any further.

Things like this were common in the professional world. Qin Yangyang did similar things herself, just for different reasons.

"Brother Jiang, this wine looks pretty good. Want to have a little?" Qin Youyou said.

"We can just call a designated driver to take us home afterward."

"We didn’t drink at the start, so let’s just not drink now. You two can take this bottle home," Lin Jiang said with a smile.

"I hear drinking a little before bed is good for your skin."

"You’re actually right about that, but I don’t have that habit. My sister drinks a tiny bit every night before bed."

"I see," Lin Jiang said, nodding with a smile.

After that, the two chatted about other things. Qin Yangyang would chime in occasionally, and from time to time, she would take out her phone to reply to a few messages. In this relaxed atmosphere, the dinner gradually came to an end.

"Brother Jiang, it’s only nine o’clock. Want to go sing some karaoke?" Qin Youyou asked as they walked out of the private room. "It’s too early to go home. That’s no fun at all."

"Do you think everyone is like you, staying up all night and partying until the early morning before coming home?" Qin Yangyang teased with a smile.

Lin Jiang had originally planned to refuse, but Qin Yangyang’s words set the tone for the matter.

"Hey, I don’t go out every day! Don’t ruin my reputation. I just go out with friends occasionally."

After her rebuttal, Qin Youyou looked at Lin Jiang.

"Brother Jiang, want to go for karaoke? Or maybe find a bar to hang out at?"

"I’ll have to pass. I need to go back and prepare my stock."

"Huh? It’s already this late and you still have to go prepare stock? That’s way too much work." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"If you want to make money, you have to work hard. It’s normal, no need to feel sorry for me," Lin Jiang said with a smile.

"Alright then. Let’s hang out again when we have time."

"Okay."

As they were talking, the three of them reached the front counter, and Qin Yangyang went to pay the bill.

"Hello, the gentleman here has already settled the bill."

"He already paid?"

Qin Yangyang looked at Lin Jiang in surprise. This was completely unexpected.

"Brother Jiang? I said it was my treat. Why did you go and pay the bill?"

"It’s our first time eating out together. How could I let you pay?"

"That’s not right. We clearly agreed it was my treat."

"It’s not like this is the only time we’ll eat together. You can treat me next time."

"Then it’s a deal. Next time we go out, it’s on me."

’When you’re out in public, you have to look out for your own reputation.

I paid the bill early to avoid looking like I was here to mooch a free meal.’

The three of them walked out of the restaurant but didn’t rush to their cars. Qin Yangyang turned to face Lin Jiang.

"You spent too much today. You’re friends with Youyou, so there’s no need to be so formal."

"Since we’re friends, there’s no need to worry about it. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

"Alright, we’ll get going then. Let’s meet up again when we have the chance."

"Sounds good."

The sisters’ car was parked by the entrance. Because there was something on the front passenger seat, Qin Youyou sat in the back and waved goodbye to Lin Jiang.

"Brother Jiang, we’re leaving now! Drive safe, and we’ll come to your place for noodles tomorrow!"

"Alright, you two be safe on the road."

Qin Yangyang started the car, rolled down the window, and said politely,

"We’re off."

"Drive carefully."

"Will do."

Qin Yangyang drove the car, slowly pulling out of the parking lot.

Just as she was about to close her window, she heard a BEEP BEEP.

She instinctively glanced at her rearview mirror and saw that Lin Jiang had pressed his car key fob.

’A Maybach SUV?!’

Although Lin Jiang’s car was still in its parking space, its massive size caused the front to stick out a bit, revealing the double-M logo on the hood.

Qin Yangyang didn’t know much about cars, but she knew about Maybach.

Because her own father drove one!

To make sure she wasn’t mistaken, Qin Yangyang deliberately slowed down, keeping her eyes glued to the rearview mirror until Lin Jiang got in his car and slowly pulled out of the parking space.

’It really is his car!’

Qin Yangyang found herself unable to figure Lin Jiang out.

If his talk about buying a house in Century Triumph at the dinner table and paying the bill early were actions meant to save face, then his behavior with the car just now was something she couldn’t comprehend.

If he wanted to show off his status, he would have definitely flaunted the car. He wouldn’t have waited until they were leaving to quietly drive away.

These two contradictory behaviors left Qin Yangyang baffled.

She felt she understood Lin Jiang even less now.

Most importantly, where did he get a car like that?

An ordinary person couldn’t afford such a car, and it seemed unlikely that the owner of a small noodle shop would have such wealthy friends.

’This man... is so strange.’