Chapter 66

“Hello, nice to meet you for the first time. I’m Jiang Chen’s mother.” Jiang’s mother politely extended her hand to Ling Sheng.

Ling Sheng quickly shook her hand briefly and stepped aside, “Please come in, Auntie.”

After all, it was a temporary place to stay. Although it was a well-decorated apartment, clean and tidy, it lacked a human touch. Ling Sheng poured water for Jiang’s mother, and Jiang’s mother nodded slightly and said thank you.

Ling Sheng sat on another two-seater sofa. From the initial surprise and anxiety, he quickly calmed down.

Jiang’s mother looked at Ling Sheng’s calm face, a trace of appreciation flashed in her eyes, but it quickly disappeared. She took out a delicate black box from her bag, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Ling Sheng.

As soon as Ling Sheng saw the box, he recognized what it was. His jaw tensed slightly, but quickly relaxed.

“This is the gift you gave Chen Chen,” Jiang’s mother said. “It’s not appropriate for him to accept it.”

It was that pair of couple’s watches. After Jiang Chen took it back, he was reluctant to wear it, so he kept it in a good place.

Ling Sheng didn’t say anything, stared at the watch for a long time, and only said in a hoarse voice, “I understand.”

This watch is only worth a little over a hundred thousand. Jiang Chen could wear it for fun normally, but it’s not appropriate now, as it may become circumstantial evidence.

Seeing that he didn’t even refute, Jiang’s mother felt a lot more relaxed in her heart, feeling that Ling Sheng was a sensible person.

Ling Sheng ignored the watch and only asked, “Is Xiao Chen doing well now?”

Hearing him ask, Jiang’s mother’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and the light in her eyes dimmed a little. She said truthfully, “Not very well, he hasn’t eaten for three days.”

Ling Sheng suddenly raised his eyes, a wave appeared on his calm face, but he quickly thought of something and said, “Do you want me to persuade him?”

Jiang’s mother was silent for a while before saying, “Ling Sheng, you are seven years older than Xiao Chen, and you have experienced more than him. I was indeed very surprised by your relationship at first, but I understand my son, and I don’t doubt that he really likes you.”

Ling Sheng didn’t speak, just listened quietly.

“But now is not the right time. I know this is not your original intention, and I know that someone deliberately did it, but the situation is like this now. His father and brother are in their rising period, and now they are all suspended at home. We are upright and sit straight, and we are not afraid of being investigated, but for a family like ours, being put in the spotlight is already a very bad thing.” Jiang’s mother was also a person who had been in the business world for decades. Although she was anxious, her tone was still very stable when she spoke, “In this era, many people need traffic, but we don’t need it. What is honey to others is arsenic to us. You should also be very clear that even if the investigation is over and things are clear, as long as you are still together, the public opinion and attention will not stop.”

The relationship between him and He Xiaoyun will be exposed by netizens sooner or later. Although they didn’t really make it public in Jing City, they didn’t deliberately hide it. Not many people know the truth, but there are still quite a few. He Xiaoyun should have said something privately, and no one has dared to expose it until now. If it were normal, it would be fine, but now is a special period. If things don’t end soon, once it’s exposed, it will only be another storm.

“What do you want me to do?” Ling Sheng asked.

Jiang’s mother took out a photo from her bag, which was exactly the photo of them kissing.

She looked at Ling Sheng for a while before gently saying, “I know you didn’t want Xiao Chen to make your relationship public at the beginning, and I am very grateful to you. Since no one knows, just pretend it never happened. Leave Jiang City, and we will help you solve other things.”

Ling Sheng’s gaze fell on the photo on the table. Jiang Chen’s eyes were slightly closed, but only one-third of his profile was captured. Ling Sheng was grabbing his collar with both hands, so it could be said that he took the initiative.

In fact, Jiang Chen had one hand around his waist and one hand on the side of his head, and he was clearly forcing him, but the angle was very clever. Only the part above the waist was captured, and only him grabbing his collar was captured, as if Ling Sheng was taking the initiative.

Ling Sheng really wanted to smoke, but politeness prevented him from smoking in front of Jiang’s mother. He smiled lightly and mockingly twice, “Does Jiang Chen know?”

“He doesn’t need to know,” Jiang’s mother said directly, without the euphemism she had just had.

Ling Sheng raised his head. He was not wearing glasses, nor even contact lenses, but because the two were not far apart, Ling Sheng looked directly at Jiang’s mother. He could understand the hearts of parents, and he could also understand their habitual mentality as superiors. After all, he often saw these things, but he was never someone who could be arbitrarily manipulated. “What if I refuse?”

“If the public opinion continues to ferment, it will not be good for each other. Now there is still a chance to recover the losses. If He’s loses the development project because of you, even if He Xiaoyun wants to protect you, will the senior executives of the company agree?” Jiang’s mother’s eyes became more and more sharp, “I know that you and He Xiaoyun have a close relationship, but will he offend the Jiang family for you? Give up the development project? Are you worth it?”

This was implying to him that they had thoroughly investigated his past.

In fact, Ling Sheng was mentally prepared. He Xiaoyun called him the day before yesterday and asked him if he had considered withdrawing. He could help him.

He understood what he meant at the time.

It has been a month since the incident happened. There is actually no trickery in this cooperative development project. Neither the Jiang family nor He’s are afraid of investigation, but even if it is investigated clearly, the reputation loss, public relations costs, and adverse effects on both parties during this period cannot be erased by just clearing things up. Someone has to be responsible for it.

Jiang Chen is the son of the Jiang family, so they naturally cannot push him out. Then there is only Ling Sheng. If He Xiaoyun hadn’t been protecting him, he would probably have been pushed out by now.

If he insisted on being with Jiang Chen, the Jiang family would not let him go, then he would not be able to withdraw. He Xiaoyun would not be able to protect him all the time. He had to make a choice.

Ling Sheng had been listening calmly from the beginning, but after listening to everything she said, his expression slowly changed from the 未分类 just now to a sharp look in his clarity: “Auntie, I am very sorry for the development of things to this point, but whether He will protect me is He’s business. Even if I lose my career for this, it is the consequences that I have to bear myself. That is my business, but since I promised Jiang Chen, I cannot give up this relationship because of a few words from other people.”

Jiang’s mother originally thought that Ling Sheng was very cooperative, but she didn’t expect him to refuse so directly.

“Then can you watch him give up his studies, give up his future career, and hide until things are over? And as long as you are together, things will not be able to end so quickly.” Jiang’s mother saw that the previous threats were not working, so she changed her tone, these are also the pros and cons that she hopes Ling Sheng can understand: “He is already a senior, he wants to take the postgraduate entrance examination, he wants to be a lawyer, and he wants to have his own law firm, you know these things, right.”

The bottom of Ling Sheng’s eyes slackened almost invisibly, but he quickly hid it. He said bluntly: “I believe that Xiao Chen has also thought about these things, and even told you. I am because I care, so someone intends to lead the public opinion to me, I didn’t speak out, and I didn’t explain. If it is for Jiang Chen, I admit it, but it doesn’t mean I don’t know.”

Jiang’s father meant to lead the public opinion to Ling Sheng, dilute Jiang Chen’s role in it, and take him out, as if Ling Sheng was pursuing Jiang Chen, and the incident on the Zhiyin was just Ling Sheng using his position to force Jiang Chen to go there. Everything was Ling Sheng’s initiative, and Jiang Chen was just a victim. After all, Jiang Chen has always been a straight man to the outside world, and Ling Sheng’s orientation may not be known to many people in Jiang City, but there are still some people in Jing City who know it, even a lot. Since it is the beginning of a scandalous news, then treat this matter as a scandalous news.

Dirty a person, clean a person, lose credibility and reputation, now the network is so developed, Ling Sheng will not only lose his job, can not stand in Jiang City, and even may not be able to find a job in the next few years, and even as long as the Jiang family does not let go, He’s can not give up the opening project for one him, and once the cooperation breaks down, he may also face He’s lawsuit and huge reputation loss compensation.

After Jiang Chen knew about it, he had a big fight with Jiang’s father and hadn’t eaten anything for three days. Jiang’s mother came to Ling Sheng today, but it was just a way to make Ling Sheng let go himself and let his son give up.

After all, she can’t watch her son really starve to death at home.

Ling Sheng’s reckless attitude finally broke Jiang’s mother’s calm and loving expression. She shook her whole body, thinking of Jiang Chen being pressed to the ground by the bodyguard, Jiang’s father whipping his back with a belt, but he was still stubborn and didn’t bow his head.

She finally began to retreat: “I know my own son, he likes you now, but, Ling Sheng, Chen Chen is still young, he is only twenty-one years old, the feelings at this time are real, the impulsiveness is also real, young people always have ridiculous times, after a few years, these will fade.”

These were Ling Sheng’s concerns in the past, for which he had also quarreled with Jiang Chen, but he had never known more clearly than now the depth and shallowness, the intensity and lightness, he just looked at Jiang’s mother, sincerely but firmly: “If you really think it will fade sooner or later, why did you come to me?”

Jiang’s mother could not refute, because she knew that her son would never enter a relationship casually, nor would he fall in love with a person so easily, and Jiang Chen’s performance these days made her clearly see that he was serious.

Jiang’s mother seemed to see her son lying on the bed, drowsy from hunger, in Ling Sheng’s determination, and finally could not calm down, her volume began to rise, becoming sharp: “You are now forcing him to choose between you and his family, no matter which side he chooses, he will not be better off, you really love him, shouldn’t you consider him?”

“Then aren’t you doing the same thing for him now? He is already twenty-one years old, he has enough understanding to know what he wants, if he thinks I am more important, then I will not give up.” Ling Sheng did not give in, he looked at Jiang’s mother and said, “Similarly, I can give up my career that I have worked hard for so many years, I can leave my hometown and start over, I am also willing to bear the consequences that I should bear for this matter, and I am willing to do everything I can to solve the problem, but Jiang Chen, I can’t give up, and, you can’t really lock him up for a lifetime, if you really understand your son, then you know, even if I leave Jiang City, go to Jing City, or go to other places, he will definitely find me, he is not short of this plane ticket, not short of this train ticket, do you really think this is useful?”

Jiang’s mother has been very tired these days between her husband and son. Jiang’s father has always been very displeased with Ling Sheng because of this incident. All of Jiang Chen’s resistance has intensified this contradiction. The family has not been peaceful for a month.

“It will pass after a long time, he is still young.” Jiang’s mother said in a stiff voice, but the end of her voice couldn’t stop trembling a little.

Ling Sheng smiled shallowly: “That depends on how long you and uncle can tolerate, if I don’t cooperate, then Jiang Chen will not give up.”

The room fell silent again, neither side spoke, until the water on the table was completely cold, Jiang’s mother tiredly smoothed her neat hair and said, “What do you want?”

Yes, Ling Sheng was right, if she could persuade her son, she would not have come to Ling Sheng today.

Ling Sheng only said calmly: “I want to see Jiang Chen.”

“There is no need, the Jiang family is still in charge of his father, even if you really see him, it will not help your current situation.” Jiang’s mother glared at Ling Sheng, full of defense: “You don’t need to see each other.”

Ling Sheng retorted faintly: “If that’s the case, then what are you afraid of?”

He has prepared to resign, leave Jiang City, and even lose everything. After the worst case has been presupposed, he doesn’t think he is still afraid of anything.

Back then, he could do so much for Xiang Yang, now, for Jiang Chen, he is willing to pay more.

It’s better to start all over again than to regret it for life.

“Since it’s a matter between the two of us, then let’s decide together. No matter what the final result is, he has the right to know and the right to decide.” Ling Sheng looked at Jiang’s mother sincerely and persistently: “I want to see him.”