Don’t be arrogant,billionaire

Chapter 002: I Am Married

Ouyang Qiqi's heart fluttered uneasily upon hearing the choked sobs of Aunt Zhang Jing on the other end of the call. “Why not take Uncle to the hospital if he's passed out?”

“Oh, you wretched girl! You still suspect your aunt? Just come back quickly!!” Aunt Zhang's voice almost broke with frustration and annoyance before she abruptly hung up the phone.

Frowning slightly, Ouyang Qiqi pondered. Her uncle had always been the picture of health; how could he have suddenly collapsed? But the thought of her dear uncle, who always treated her with such affection, compelled her to return without delay…

“Grandma Jiang, I have to go now…”

“Is it an emergency, Qiqi?” Grandma Jiang pinched Jiang Moyan, who stood by idly, and urged, “It's settled then. Let Xiao Jiang take you. Call on him if you need help!”

Jiang Moyan's brow furrowed involuntarily, but under his grandmother's insistent eye, he had no choice but to escort Ouyang Qiqi to the car. She glanced at the car's badge – a common Volkswagen. Mr. Jiang seemed to be modestly affluent, a reasonable match for her, she mused.

Taking a deep breath, she caught Jiang Moyan's piercing gaze in the rearview mirror. He seemed reluctant to drive her. She shifted uncomfortably and offered, “Mr. Jiang, if you're busy, you can drop me off at the next light.”

“I'm not busy,” he responded curtly, and silence filled the confined space until they arrived at the Sunshine Home complex.

After hesitating, Ouyang Qiqi spoke slowly, “Mr. Jiang, I might be up there for a while. You should go back and rest. I can take a taxi home later.”

“I'll wait for you. If you need help, just call me,” Jiang Moyan offered. His mind echoed with the harsh tones of the female voice from Ouyang Qiqi's phone.

He vaguely knew Ouyang Qiqi's background: a single-parent family, raised by her mother who had passed away early, and a father addicted to gambling, leaving her to stay with her uncle. Life hadn't been kind. As for how unkind, he, living at the top of the food chain, could hardly imagine.

So he waited downstairs, just in case there was trouble, and to appease his grandmother.

“Thank you, Mr. Jiang,” she said gratefully, nodding. She'd just married into the family and was already imposing on him. She would need to find a way to invite him for a meal or give a gift in return.

With that thought, she turned and ascended the stairs, each step heavy with dread. She had no desire to return to this house if not for her uncle.

Since the age of eight, after her mother's death, she had stayed here. Her uncle was kind to her, slipping her money for treats in secret, but in front of everyone, she was at the mercy of her cruel aunt. She was commanded to do chores, cook, and clean, even forced to wash clothes in ice-cold water during the coldest days, her hands raw with chilblains. Despite having the money, her aunt deemed heating an unnecessary luxury.

Thankfully, she'd earned enough to heal her hands; otherwise, they would be marred by the scars of frostbite.

As Ouyang Qiqi pushed open the door to her uncle's house, Aunt Zhang's wailing pierced the air, while her cousin, Ouyang Wenny, was indifferently scrolling on her phone.

Something felt amiss.

“Qiqi! You're finally back…” Zhang Jing's face was streaked with tears, and with a fierce swipe across her cheeks, she continued to sob uncontrollably before Ouyang Qiqi could utter a word.

In the heart of a bustling urban sprawl, where family fortunes rose and fell with the swiftness of a falcon's dive, there was a whisper of discord in the Ouyang household. Distress had come to visit, and with it, the cold breath of despair.

“Qiqi, you must save your uncle… Do you understand? The family business is in dire straits! Ouyang Enterprises has stumbled upon hard times! The company is so steeped in debt it can barely turn its head. Your uncle is beside himself with worry,” Aunt Zhang's words tumbled out in a frenzied cascade.

“Where is Uncle?” Qiqi cut through the cacophony of her aunt's rambling. This wasn't the first time her uncle had used deceit to entwine her in his webs of desperation. If not for the love she bore him, she would have long ceased to care.

“Oh, Qiqi… the Ouyang legacy is your heritage,” Aunt Zhang implored, but her words fell on deaf ears.

Qiqi inhaled deeply. Aunt Zhang had been pocketing the wealth of Ouyang Enterprises for over a decade, and now she sought to manipulate her once more?

“What would you have me do?” Qiqi asked, her voice steady as a rock amidst a maelstrom.

Aunt Zhang's demeanor shifted. She clutched Qiqi's hands with an affection that seemed to drip with honey. “Dear Qiqi, only the Wang family, with whom we have a partnership, can spare the funds. A mere half a million. Marry President Wang, and all will be well.”

Qiqi's expression turned icy, her hands slipping from her aunt's grasp like eels. “Where is my uncle? I cannot believe he would barter me to President Wang!”

Her temper was mild, but it was not without its limits. She remembered kindness and repaid it with a wellspring of gratitude. But deceit? She repaid in kind.

Her uncle, who adored her, would never trade her for the company's salvation. And Aunt Zhang dared to spin this web of lies?

“You're surely mistaken, sister,” chimed in her cousin Wenny, with a deliberate edge of provocation, putting her phone away. “Father is stricken with worry, and you're here seeking proof rather than offering help. It seems his affection for you has been misplaced.”

“Exactly! To refuse such a marriage? President Wang is but forty-five, wealthy, with millions to his name, and three daughters. Bear him a son, and joy abounds! Where else will you find such fortune?”

Wenny and Aunt Zhang's duet darkened Qiqi's mood further. They were blatantly cajoling her back to talk of marriage.

“Let Uncle speak to me directly about this. If President Wang is such a catch, let Wenny marry him. I am already married!” Qiqi quickly changed her shoes, ready to leave.

“Oh, dear, don't take Aunt Zhang's words to heart,” her aunt pleaded, grabbing her hand. “Talking of marriage when you're still unwed is bad luck!” She didn't believe Qiqi's claim of marriage. “President Wang will be here shortly. Meet him, and who knows, you might hit it off?”

She winked at Wenny, urging her to hasten President Wang's arrival as Qiqi stood on the brink of departure.

“He's just downstairs. Wait a bit longer; this is President Wang, a man of substantial wealth!”

Listening to their back and forth, Qiqi couldn't help but laugh in frustration. Was it her quiet nature that made them think she could be so easily manipulated? Thankfully, she was indeed married.

Elsewhere, ensconced within the confines of a modest black Volkswagen, Jiang Moyan's slender fingers glided over the screen of his device, connecting a call to his assistant, Zhou Qi.

“Prepare the smallest house. I will stay there tonight,” he instructed.

“Very well, President,” Zhou Qi replied, a trace of disbelief in his voice. Why would their boss, with a sprawling estate at his disposal, choose the confines of a modest apartment?

The following words from Jiang Moyan were even more startling.

“Make sure there are two sets of toiletries ready.”

Two sets? Zhou Qi couldn't help but wonder if the iron tree of their stoic president was finally blossoming after years of anticipation.

“Yes, President. The address has been sent to you.”

“Mm,” came the low acknowledgment from Jiang Moyan, who couldn't resist loosening his tie. He cast his gaze towards the aging staircase outside the window. Twenty minutes had passed, yet no one had come down.