Chapter 1085: Chapter 1083: Joining Forces
After arranging the affairs at the base, Ji Huan dialed Zhu Qianying’s number again.
"Shadow, can we meet?"
Zhu Qianying didn’t ask much, she readily gave the address of a café, and the two agreed to meet there in half an hour.
What surprised Ji Huan was that half an hour later, he not only saw Zhu Qianying, but also that legendary man, Young Master Yan.
As soon as Ji Huan walked into the café, Zhu Qianying, sitting at the innermost seat by the window, waved at him.
Only when Ji Huan got closer did he see the tall man who’d just been blocked by a pillar.
"Hello! I’m Ji Huan. If I’m not mistaken, you must be Young Master Yan?" Ji Huan took the initiative to reach out his hand, smiling as he greeted Young Master Yan.
Young Master Yan sat in his seat, motionless, eyeing him sideways, completely ignoring the hand stretched out at him.
Feeling snubbed, Ji Huan thought for a second and more or less understood. He pushed his hand forward a bit more and added, "I’m Zhu Qianyu’s boyfriend!"
Only then did Young Master Yan raise his brows and slowly extend his hand to shake his. "Yan Han, nice to meet you."
Ji Huan silently felt a pang of worry for Zhu Qianying. With a man whose possessiveness was this strong and not the least bit concealed, could she really handle it?
"Ji Huan, sit. I’m guessing you want to talk to me about the situation at home. Young Master Yan just happened to be passing by—hope you don’t mind him joining us?"
Ji Huan shook his head. "I don’t mind. From a certain standpoint, Young Master Yan and I are basically on the same side."
Zhu Qianying merely smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, then raised her hand to call over the waiter. The three of them each ordered drinks and a few snacks.
"Shadow, I might have been a bit impulsive back then, didn’t think about your position or your mom’s. Is your mom okay?"
Thinking about it, Chen Jing was probably now the target of everyone’s anger in the Zhu Family.
"She’s fine. After you called me, I had a friend pick my mom up and take her out. She’s settled somewhere else now. My mom still doesn’t know about this, and I don’t intend to tell her."
Originally, those words were meant for Ji Huan, but at that moment, Young Master Yan, who was holding his glass and drinking water, frowned slightly. "Who did you ask to pick your mom up? Xing Bailun?"
Ji Huan sensitively picked up a faint whiff of gunpowder in the air.
"Yeah, my mom knows him well. She’d only be willing to leave if he went to get her, no one else would work." Zhu Qianying was just telling the truth.
"Exactly, who doesn’t know Xing Bailun is your good buddy?"
Young Master Yan’s words made the whole space feel sour to Ji Huan.
But Zhu Qianying ignored him and turned to Ji Huan instead.
"A while ago, about my engagement announcement with Young Master Yan—did you hear about it?"
Ji Huan nodded. "Yeah."
Because it involved Zhu Qianyu, he’d been closely following everything about Zhu Qianying and Young Master Yan.
"That first engagement announcement, it was my eldest brother, Zhu Junzhao, who had people send it out."
"I could tell. From Young Master Yan’s perspective, there’s no way he’d have used that kind of wording for an engagement announcement."
When Ji Huan first saw the announcement, he’d already sensed something was off. It’s just that at the time, he and Zhu Qianyu were still stuck in a misunderstanding; they could only be considered friends. Even if he cared, he could only quietly watch from the sidelines and never openly go ask for the truth.
"Yeah. My dad’s bank loan had been stalled for a long time—the only thing missing was a powerful guarantor behind him. My brother’s plan was, once the engagement news was released, unless Young Master Yan publicly denied the engagement on the spot, the Yan Family being the Zhu Family’s future in-laws would be taken as a done deal. The bank naturally wouldn’t risk offending the Yan Family. But his little scheme ended up being completely smashed to pieces by Young Master Yan’s heartfelt, ’Love declaration.’"
Even if Ji Huan hadn’t heard all the details, he could more or less guess seventy to eighty percent of what she was talking about.
"After Young Master Yan’s statement came out, it basically cut off all my dad’s and brother’s escape routes. That statement made their situation even worse than before. The bank directly sent back their loan application, and creditors started showing up at their door. Mingxuan’s stock price has tanked so badly it’s unwatchable. A few days ago, my dad transferred my third mom Fang Caiping’s training center to someone else. He put that money into Mingxuan, and it didn’t even make a single splash. Now they’re backed into a corner, planning to sell off those newly acquired hotels in other provinces. But honestly, who’s going to buy?"
Zhu Qianying didn’t treat Ji Huan like an outsider. She laid out in detail the whole story and the Zhu Family’s current predicament.
"Mm, I get it. Before this, my mommy was worried your brother might be driven into a corner and target Xiao Yu. After all, you’re already engaged to Young Master Yan; at this point, they definitely can’t touch you."
Zhu Qianying let out a long sigh. "Ji Huan, your mommy really read it right. A few days ago, my dad did plan to introduce Xiao Yu to some rich businessman’s son in exchange for his support. Then somehow he found out Xiao Yu is dating you. Before I even figured out what he was up to, he’d already rushed over to lay his cards on the table with you. I have to say, he’s pathetically stupid."
"So what do you think they’ll do next?" Ji Huan genuinely wanted to hear Zhu Qianying’s analysis. After all, those were her family members; no one understood their methods and personalities better than she did.
"They’ll probably bypass you and go straight to your daddy and mommy. Anyway, Xiao Yu is someone he’ll definitely offer up with both hands. The only question is how much he wants to sell her for."
A mocking smile tugged at the corner of Zhu Qianying’s lips. Clearly, she was thinking of her own situation.
"They really do treat their daughters like merchandise." Ji Huan was a bit angry. Even though what Zhu Qianying said matched what he’d predicted, hearing it out loud still made his blood boil.
He kind of regretted not using more force this morning. He really should’ve broken Zhu Zhizhou’s leg too; that would’ve been more satisfying.
"Why don’t you two release a statement as well, saying you’re also in true Love?"
After remaining silent for a long while, Young Master Yan suddenly spoke up.
"Nonsense, Xiao Yu and Ji Huanben are already in true Love!" For some reason, Zhu Qianying’s tone was a bit sharp.
With just a bit of thinking, Ji Huan could figure it out. Right now, Young Master Yan and Zhu Qianying were probably in a very awkward contractual relationship.
Ji Huan understood, but it wasn’t his place to pry into something so personal.
After all, they were all adults. Whether it was relationships or marriage, everyone had the right to decide for themselves; it wasn’t for outsiders to point fingers at.
"Yeah, everyone else has true Love." Young Master Yan’s voice was light, revealing no discernible emotion.
But Ji Huan faintly sensed a brooding tension like an impending storm. When he looked up at Zhu Qianying, her expression was also very calm.
Ji Huan was glad Xiao Yu wasn’t here at the moment. Otherwise, seeing this scene, who knows how worried she’d be about her beloved Sister.
"Shadow, I know what I’m doing. Even if all other solutions fail, our Ji Family still has quite a bit of business with Mingxuan. I’d like to think your dad and the others aren’t that stupid."
