Pampered by Short-Lived Bigshot

Chapter 415: 266 Engagement, the Big God who Steadies the Scene (2 more updates)

Hotel Restaurant

When Jiang Yanting and Shen Zhixian arrived with their children, the old lady and others were already dining. Fan Mingyu had finished eating, Jiang Chengsi had gotten up too early and had no appetite, so he took care of the two children, allowing Shen Zhixian to relax a bit and eat peacefully.

"What’s going on?" Jiang Jinsang lifted his hand to block Jiang Yanting beside him.

"What?"

"Xie Duo seems off, especially when he looks at you. There’s a murderous vibe. Did the two of you, who aren’t living together, have a falling out?"

"I just scolded him as his future uncle."

Uncle... uncle?

Jiang Jinsang lowered his head and took a sip of soy milk, no wonder he felt so depressed. They were equals, and suddenly he was demoted a generation, how could he not feel aggrieved?

From the corner of his eye, seeing Jiang Yanting smirking at his misfortune, he cleared his throat, "Xiaowu."

"What?"

"If Shen Shuci starts dating and gets married, you’ll also have an uncle who’s about your age, or even younger."

Meaning, your situation is much like Xie Duo’s, what right do you have to laugh at him?

Today was Jiang Jinsang’s big and happy engagement day; unexpectedly, he woke up to a splash of cold water, chilling him to the core.

He just smiled and whispered into his ear, "Brother, although you and your wife have two children, it seems she only wants the children and not you. Wanwan and I will get married soon after our engagement, but you don’t even have an official status yet. Despite living under the same roof, which was Wanwan’s arrangement, you still need to push harder."

"Mild intense exercise makes you faint due to illness; you need to try harder too."

Early in the morning, the two brothers started stabbing each other with words, each more ruthless than the last.

...

Jiang Zhenhuan sat opposite the brothers, not quite catching what they were fussing about, but seeing their forced smiles, he roughly guessed it and coughed slightly, "If you two aren’t going to eat, go and soothe the kids, don’t sit here being an eyesore."

Grown men, but still bickering like children as soon as they woke up, never peaceful.

"I’m going to grab some more food." Breakfast was buffet-style, so Jiang Yanting got up to get some more food and came back, dropping several steamed carrots onto Jiang Jinsang’s plate.

Jiang Jinsang’s fingers around his chopsticks twitched—how ruthless!

"You have to undergo surgery in a while; you must have a balanced diet with all three meals."

**

The engagement banquet was held in a private room on the 5th floor of the hotel where Jiang Jinsang was staying, with three tables set up. The Jiang Family and the Xie Family occupied one table, and together with the Tang and Shen families, the number of guests was limited but all were close friends and not to be neglected.

Tang Yunxian was arranging everything about the banquet, Tang Wan didn’t interfere, and this was her first time in the private room.

Upon entering, she was dumbfounded.

She doubted she was in the right place.

The room was festively decorated with red and green hangings and even adorned with many pink roses. The small private room had a main stage and even a champagne tower, making it resemble...

A wedding scene!

Most notably, there was a banner on one-side wall reading: "Welcome to the engagement ceremony of our dear daughter Tang Wan and her fiancé Jiang Jinsang."

"Dad?" Tang Wan hesitated, "Aren’t you going a bit overboard?"

Some engagements didn’t even have a ceremony; it was just a meal together for the families. How did her dad turn this place into this?

"How is it overboard?" Tang Yunxian raised an eyebrow; he even thought the private room was too small to be impressive, otherwise, he really wanted to give her the best.

"Never mind." What’s done was done, and soon the friends and relatives would arrive; there wasn’t much Tang Wan could do.

The Jiang Family was the first to arrive, and though they were surprised by the venue, they still praised Tang Yunxian for his hard work.

Jiang Chengsi almost choked back a laugh:

Is this an engagement? Moreover, it’s a mix of Chinese and Western, traditional and modern, fashionable yet with a strong vibe of elderly preferences, a style beloved by the older generation.

The old lady tapped him twice on the leg with her cane and glared, "Manage your expression."

"Pfft—okay." Jiang Chengsi really couldn’t hold it back.

...

Guests arrived one by one. When Qi Zeyan came, he was still clad in a neat suit, with a parted slick hairstyle, and polished leather shoes, looking quite like he was attending a meeting. As soon as he entered, he saw Tang Wan talking to someone.

She was wearing a red sweater dress today, her waist slender and her posture graceful. Naturally gentle and pure, her makeup today was slightly heavier, especially the bright color on her lips.

Bright and dazzling, intensely captivating.

But Qi Zeyan’s gaze flickered to the person in front of her; that person had a great figure, long wavy hair reaching just below the waist, likely dressed entirely in black, giving an illusion of a waist so slender it could be encircled with one hand.

In contrast with Tang Wan’s delicate and graceful figure, she was more provocative.

"You’re here." Tang Wan noticed Qi Zeyan and went immediately to greet him, while the person she was speaking with also turned around.

Qi Zeyan could never have expected it would be Ruan Mengxi. Normally at work, everyone wore standard-issue company uniforms which couldn’t compare to wearing one’s own well-fitting clothes.

"Boss." Ruan Mengxi greeted him with a smile, fierce and stunning like the full bloom of a beautiful flower.

"Um," Qi Zeyan greeted her with a reserved posture, neither warm nor cold.

"Brother Four’s table seems full. You and Xixi can sit with my master later," Tang Wan arranged a seat for him.

"Okay."

However, as soon as Qi Zeyan took his seat, he realized that the person sitting next to him was the head of the Qiao Family, Yunxian. His lips twitched fiercely—this was...

Master?

Was this a mistake?

There had been a jade craze in Beijing before, and the best jade craftsmanship in the country belonged to the Qiao Family. Qi Zeyan, as a businessman eager to make money, had sought connections and even personally visited Wusu to meet this man.

At that time, the man was holding a carving knife, skillfully engraving something. His technique was adept and sharp, like cutting through iron, and his gaze was cold and intimidating as he glanced over.

He was passionate about carving stone and jade and had no interest in business, so the matter eventually came to nothing.

"Mr. Qiao, what a coincidence, hello," Qi Zeyan felt a tremor inside, as he had never expected to meet him. He greeted him neither servilely nor overbearingly.

Qiao Wangbei turned to examine him and shook hands, then said very politely, "Do we know each other?"

Qi Zeyan: "..."

"Master, this is Qi Zeyan, a friend of Brother Five," Tang Wan introduced them.

"Hello." It took Qiao Wangbei a while before he vaguely recognized him. He seemed to recall seeing this slick-haired young man. noveldrama

...

Although an engagement wasn’t as significant as a wedding, Tang Yunxian made the event grand. He even went on stage to give a speech, thanking everyone for coming. As it was in Pingjiang, mostly friends and relatives of the Tang family were present, so he led Tang Wan and Jiang Jinsang to toast and greet the guests.

Jiang Jinsang had just poured a glass of wine when Tang Yunxian handed him a cup of tea.

"Uncle?"

"I need surgery in a while; don’t drink alcohol. Everyone here today is an acquaintance. They won’t mind the lack of formalities."

The sudden show of concern made Jiang Jinsang somewhat flattered. He smiled and said, "Thank you, uncle."

Seeing him so pleased with himself, Tang Yunxian threw cold water on his excitement, "It’s not for you—I’m doing it for Wanwan."

Jiang Jinsang didn’t mind and just followed him around, toasting from table to table.

Aside from his frail health and slim build, there was nothing to fault about Jiang Jinsang’s background or the way he conducted himself—especially on such a joyous day. Everyone praised and congratulated them, acclaiming them as a match made in heaven, a pair of talents and beauties, and told Jiang Jinsang to treat Tang Wan well.

However, the atmosphere changed abruptly when they reached Qiao Wangbei...

His face showed no pleasure, his eyes slightly narrowed and sharp. He twirled the small wine cup in front of him while his eyes bore into Jiang Jinsang, as if he wanted to dissect him and see everything clearly.

"Master, Brother Five and I would like to toast you. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to come," Tang Wan said with a smile.

"Mr. Qiao, thank you for coming," Jiang Jinsang spoke carefully. Unlike Tang Wan, he politely addressed him as ’Mr.’ instead of ’master.’

Qiao Wangbei, being an elder, didn’t stand up but simply held up his wine cup. "Wanwan’s master is a good friend of mine, so since you call me master, it’s no different from you being my disciple."

"If you dare to mistreat her, though I can’t take your life, I have ways to make you miserable."

"Do you understand?"

Where others offered praises and congratulations, he offered intimidation and threats.

Jiang Jinsang, used to tackling tough situations, smiled and replied, "I understand."

They clinked glasses, and Qiao Wangbei downed his drink in one go, secretly muttering:

This kid is so weak, a gust of wind could blow him over.

He was naturally not good at socializing and Jiang Jinsang didn’t try to force conversation. However, he could still feel a sharp gaze locked on him.

"Wanwan."

"What’s up?" Tang Wan turned her head to look at him.

"You mentioned your master is good friends with Mr. Qiao. What kind of person is he?" After all, anyone who could befriend Qiao Wangbei was likely no simple character.

"My master just occasionally has a temper, but he’s a very kind person, not like the master here. He looks very benevolent; I’ll show you a photo of him later," Tang Wan laughed. "He’s busy right now and couldn’t come, so he asked the master to step in. He said he’d come himself when we get married and bring us a big gift."

"Oh, I almost forgot something." As Tang Wan spoke, she took a black keychain from her bag and handed it to him. It was designed for men, but Jiang Jinsang wasn’t accustomed to wearing bracelets besides his watch.

"For me?"

"The master specifically sent this for you, saying it can ward off illness and disaster. It’s just for good luck." Tang Wan stuffed the bracelet into his hand. If stones really had such effects, why would they need doctors?

"I’ll have to thank him later."

Jiang Jinsang glanced unconsciously at Qiao Wangbei not far away. Their eyes met, and the man’s gaze was still as chilling and intimidating. Jiang Jinsang pursed his lips and smiled at him. Qiao Wangbei just snorted coldly, bowing his head to continue eating and drinking.

As long as Wanwan’s master was kind and benign, that was what mattered.

As long as he was not as frightening as this master—but he believed his affinity with elders was quite good.

The subsequent facts told him, however, that even if someone appeared benevolent and smiled like Maitreya Buddha, they might not necessarily have the heart of a bodhisattva.