Qi Yan was determined to cut ties with everything here once and for all. At first she hadn’t wanted to sell her company shares, since the company was like a hen that laid golden eggs.
But Jiang Chan had too many methods, and it was impossible to guard against her. Thinking about Jiang Yu and Qin Miao, who had both ended up badly after crossing her, Qi Yan figured it was better to take advantage of the few threads of goodwill still between them.
Money could buy a good life anywhere. Why cling to Jiang Chan’s company alone?
So Qi Yan left with Jiang Xiaobao, and Jiang Yu was left a lonely man. He lived without restraint, staying out all night, not bothering to find a job, simply eating away at what he had.
With only fifteen percent of the shares left, his dividends shrank sharply. Soon he was strapped for cash, and even his nights out were no longer satisfying.
Jiang Chan paid no more attention to him. A man like Jiang Yu would destroy himself sooner or later.
She put all her energy into finishing her studies. In three years she completed all the credits required for university, and at twenty-one she applied for early graduation.
But she had barely graduated when the old man began pressing her to marry. At more than eighty years old, he left no means unused in his determination. Jiang Chan felt her head splitting under the constant pressure.
Lin Jinyu was already married with children, leaving only her. Before, she could use her studies as an excuse, but now that she had graduated, the old man was more spirited than ever.
Jiang Chan knew it was time for her to leave. Late at night, she called out to Qingyuan in her mind. In the next moment, she was back in the orphanage, in front of the old desk in her room.
She blinked at the open textbook on the desk. The questions looked ridiculously simple now. She had no desire to work on them, so she closed the book and lay down on the bed.
It was already past midnight, but Jiang Chan had no sleepiness. Qingyuan drifted out of the jade pendant around her neck. Jiang Chan glanced at her. “Why don’t you look any different?”
Qingyuan moved slightly. “The progress is too small to see with the naked eye.”
Jiang Chan turned over. The room was stiflingly hot, but the heat made it feel more real. She wondered if, now that she had returned, Lin Yuanshan and the others would notice that the person inside had changed.
With that thought, Jiang Chan slowly fell asleep.
“Why am I up so early every day?”
This was her first day back in her own body. When the Jiang Chan who had crossed over was carrying out the task, the original Jiang Chan had always been asleep. But whenever the task ended, the memories of what had been done during that time would be left to her.
Her own nature was rather lazy, and she had drifted through life for years. Yet on her first day back in her body, her internal clock had her awake by five.
She turned over, tried to sleep again, but couldn’t. Giving up, she sat up and began going through the memories the other Jiang Chan had left her.
When she saw that Qin Miao was in prison, Sun Xuyao had gone to live with his real father, Jiang Lianyu was studying in the capital and rarely came home, and Jiang Yu’s life had taken a turn for the worse, Jiang Chan’s feelings were complicated.
To be honest, she had never expected the tasker to complete the mission so thoroughly. Especially the fact that Jiang Siyu turned out not to be Jiang Yu’s son. That was something she never would have imagined.
In the end, she blamed her own weakness. If she had turned to the Lin family for help back then, her life would not have been so miserable. Since she was up anyway, she decided not to linger in bed. She got dressed, ready for morning exercise.
As she came down the stairs, a round-faced woman smiled at her. “Xiao Chan, you’re up. There’s some white fungus soaking from last night in the kitchen. What are you planning to make?”
From the tasker’s memories, Jiang Chan knew this was Aunt Zhang, who always cared for her and often experimented with cooking in the kitchen.
Jiang Chan nearly tripped over her own feet. She was completely unskilled in such things, nothing like the tasker who could cook so well. Still, she had to keep up appearances. She nodded. “I’ll go take a look. Maybe make a white fungus porridge.”
On her way to the kitchen, she quickly searched through the memories in her mind, following them step by step to make the porridge. After a few awkward stumbles at the beginning, she managed to get the hang of it. It seemed the body remembered what the mind did not.
At breakfast, the old man brought up his old refrain again. “Xiao Chan, if you meet someone suitable, seize the chance. I’m already this old. Who knows if I’ll live to see your child born?”
Lin Jinyu’s little son piped up in a childish voice. “Auntie, when are you going to find an uncle? Xiaoyu wants an uncle.”
Liang Chen said, “Mrs. Qi’s son is young and promising…”
Lin Qiao added, “Just meet some people first, take your time. When you find the right one, then you can talk about the future.”
Wave after wave of urging left Jiang Chan at a loss. From the tasker’s memories, she knew the girl had ended the mission early just to escape the Lin family’s pressure to marry. Now she herself had to face it, and her feelings were mixed.
“Grandpa, I just want to focus on my career right now. Once I’ve achieved something, I’ll definitely bring you a grandson-in-law.”
It was no joke. In two lifetimes Jiang Chan had never even dated, and now being pressed to marry out of the blue was more than she could handle. The only excuse she could come up with was putting her career first.
But when she thought about the career the tasker had left her, her face fell. The tasker had been too successful. She hadn’t just kept the company out of Jiang Yu’s hands, she had toppled him completely and taken over as chairwoman herself.
And on top of that, she had expanded the company’s scale so much. Remembering how the tasker worked late into the night every day, Jiang Chan felt her head spinning.
As someone who hadn’t studied properly in years, suddenly being faced with such heavy responsibilities made her panic. After saying a quick goodbye to the old man, she grabbed her briefcase and rushed to the company.
If she stayed at home any longer, it would only mean more lectures. Better to get to the office and start familiarizing herself with the business.
The family left behind exchanged glances. The old man frowned suspiciously. “Xiao Chan seems different today. She looks more lively than usual, and she’s smiling more. Could something good have happened?”
Feeding Xiaoyu a bite of egg, Liang Chen said, “Isn’t being lively a good thing? Maybe she’s just happy now that she’s graduated and can focus on running the company. Before, trying to balance both school and work was too hard for her.”
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Honestly, good for Qi Yan. She’s a smart woman, I respect that.
And it’s always so humorous seeing what the original person has to deal with after Jiang Chan leaves. Now this is what we call “suffering from success”, lol