A Paper Contract GL - Chapter 25

Three women make a whole show; they were once very good sisters, sitting together and discussing the changes of the past few years.

Chen Nan sat to the side, bored, watching the young girls dancing on the stage, wondering what Jiang Yuetong was doing at that moment. She glanced at the name-brand watch on her wrist, thinking that Jiang Yuetong should be asleep now, as it was already very late, and she had class the next day. As soon as Chen Nan thought of Jiang Yuetong, she felt even more drowsy and wanted to leave quickly.

Just then, a business partner walked over and greeted Chen Nan, “What a coincidence, you’re here too.”

Chen Nan nodded, motioning for him to sit down and chat.

“Chen Nan, I heard you’re developing property in the West side? How is it going?”

Chen Nan shook her head, “Haven’t started yet, because there’s a funding gap right now.”

“You, short of money? Just ask your old man, any amount of money won’t be a problem.”

Chen Nan shook her head, “This is my own venture, I want to make it work myself, and raise the money myself. For this success, I don’t want it to come too smoothly; isn’t a little difficulty good? Actually, failure is the norm in life.”

“Hehe…” The business partner smiled lightly, “Then what do you plan to do? That’s a great opportunity, and opportunities don’t wait for people. Real estate is so hot right now, the price changes every day. If you’re one day late, it means you’ve lost a lot of money. How about, I inject capital for you?”

“I know. My recent stock investments are doing very well, they should be able to help me, so for now, I haven’t considered letting others become shareholders,” Chen Nan politely refused.

Seeing that Chen Nan didn’t want to continue the conversation, the business partner smiled and left.

After that, Chen Nan didn’t say anything more, drinking red wine glass after glass. Shi Ya was gathering with her partners, and Chen Nan had no interest in what they were saying.

Before long, Chen Nan was slightly tipsy.

“Shi Ya, who is she? Your friend? She’s so handsome,” the girl who came with Shi Ya pointed at Chen Nan and asked.

“En.” Shi Ya smiled and nodded, “But she belongs to me, so none of you should make a move on her. By the way, don’t you guys know her?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“The heir to the Tianqi Group, Chen Yennian’s granddaughter, you must know now, right?”

As soon as the girls heard this, they all wished they could strip naked and stand in front of Chen Nan, only asking to sleep with her for a night.

Shi Ya laughed softly, seeing the girls’ eyes sending sparks.

It was already 2 a.m., and Chen Nan took Shi Ya back to her villa on Ersha Island. Without asking, Chen Nan knew that Shi Ya didn’t want to go home. Five years ago, Shi Ya wanted to start a clothing company in England, designing clothes she liked, but her family firmly disagreed, insisting she return to Guangzhou to develop. Shi Ya broke off with her family because of this. Although later, due to the death of Shi Ya’s sister, all the family’s hopes rested on Shi Ya, and they made peace again. On the surface, it seemed Shi Ya had reconciled with her family, and with the expansion and remarkable achievements of Shi Ya’s clothing brand, her company was finally recognized by her family. However, the family’s lack of support still caused Shi Ya pain and disappointment, so Shi Ya firmly refused to go home whenever possible.

Because five years ago Shi Ya’s family refused to inject capital, fifty percent of the money came from Chen Nan, making Chen Nan the major shareholder of Shi Ya’s clothing brand.

Shi Ya stood outside Chen Nan’s bathroom, listening to the rushing sound of water inside, quietly opened the door, and walked in.

The sound of the water was loud, and Shi Ya’s movements were very light, so Chen Nan didn’t hear her at all. Chen Nan was washing her hair; only when she finished rinsing her hair and turned around to grab a towel did she see Shi Ya standing not far away.

“Hoo!” Chen Nan was startled, “Without a sound, you scared me.”

“It’s nothing, your phone just received a text message. I just wanted to ask if you needed to check it. But when I walked in and saw your familiar back, I just stood here like an idiot watching you for a long time. I kept thinking about one question, and that is, how could I endure the years without your company.”

Chen Nan took a bath towel to wrap herself, didn’t even dry her hair, and walked to the chair in front of the dressing table to sit down, crossing her legs, taking a cigarette to light it before speaking, “It’s not surprising. Because you are like me, a career-oriented woman. Your persistence in staying in England is the same as my persistence in returning home; we are both people who don’t give up on our goals. I’m for my grandfather’s family fortune, and you are for your own career.” Chen Nan chuckled, “Speaking of which, I sound like I have no ambition, just leeching off my family.” Chen Nan said self-mockingly.

Shi Ya said, “If I were you, I would also choose to come back. The Tianqi Group is truly too massive; it’s the result of timing, geographical advantage, and harmonious human relations, and it’s also a destined wealth. Perhaps all our life’s efforts won’t reach the height your grandfather reached, so your choice is not wrong.”

“Is that so? Your family business is also not to be underestimated, yet you are still persistent in your own career, which I really admire,” Chen Nan said sincerely.

Shi Ya smiled ambiguously, “Don’t joke, how can our family business compare to even one-tenth of Tianqi? And my own Shi Ya Fashion cannot compare to Tianqi either.”

Chen Nan gave a faint “En” and then said, “In just a few years, you’ve turned Shi Ya Fashion into a company with tens of millions in annual revenue. The investment I made in you was my smartest investment, because none of my other investments have appreciated this quickly.”

Shi Ya walked behind Chen Nan, put her arms around her neck, and said intimately, “Are you reminding me that you have half the shares in Shi Ya Fashion? Do you want a dividend?”

Chen Nan laughed, “For a businesswoman, there’s no reason to refuse money. Dividend? Of course, I want one. Don’t forget my name, Chen Nan, is on the contract as the capital contributor.”

Shi Ya chuckled, “Even if I gave it all to you, why would my eyes even blink?” Her hand gently massaged Chen Nan’s brow, the strength was mild, carrying a shallow tenderness.

“Alright, it’s late, you should go wash up and sleep too. The guest room next door was cleaned for you this afternoon.” Chen Nan patted Shi Ya’s hand, then stood up.

Shi Ya suddenly hugged her from behind, “Chen Nan, don’t you want me tonight? After so long apart, don’t you miss me?”

Chen Nan turned to look at Shi Ya, “You’re more beautiful than before, but let’s forget about tonight. I haven’t been in the mood to do that recently, and you can’t force it, right?” Chen Nan said jokingly, then left without looking back.

Shi Ya was a person with status; even if she wanted it more, she could only say so much. If she insisted further, would she still have her self-respect?

Shi Ya sighed, silently left Chen Nan’s room, and returned to her own guest room.

Chen Nan opened her phone’s text message; it was from Jiang Yuetong.

“Chen Nan, are you asleep? You haven’t contacted me all afternoon…”

Chen Nan looked at the time; it was already 3 a.m., afraid of disturbing Jiang Yuetong’s sleep, so she didn’t reply to the message. But what Chen Nan didn’t know was that Jiang Yuetong hadn’t slept at all, keeping her eyes open, looking at the stars and the moon in the sky. She had been waiting for Chen Nan’s reply.

The next day, Monday, Jiang Yuetong was late. When she rushed to school, the first class was already over, and Jiang Yuetong happened to have a class during the first period.

The Dean of Students found Jiang Yuetong and criticized her for being late. When Jiang Yuetong was about to leave, the Dean, who seemed to have more to say, added, “Yuetong, there have been some bad rumors about you recently, have you heard anything?”

Jiang Yuetong frowned; she knew what the Dean was referring to, it was about her relationship with Chen Nan. But they had only been seeing each other for a short time, and they had tried their best to avoid meeting on campus, so how did the Dean of Students know?

The Dean of Students seemed to sense Jiang Yuetong’s confusion and added, “Not only do I know, but the Principal knows too. Today’s conversation was also assigned to me by the Principal to talk to you.”

“Just say what you want to say directly.” Jiang Yuetong’s heart was heavy.

“Alright.” The Dean of Students pushed up the glasses on his nose and said, “Our school is a provincial key school, outstanding in all aspects among all schools. Besides cultivating students, the school also highly values its reputation. Any issue with either students or teachers will seriously affect the school’s reputation…” The Dean was trying hard to find the right words, “Yuetong, I know who you are with is your private matter, but you can’t not consider the school, after all, you came here to work right after college graduation, and it’s been three years now.”

Jiang Yuetong nodded, “Okay, I know what you mean.” Jiang Yuetong finished speaking, lowered her head, and walked out of the Dean’s office, returning to her own office.

In the office, there was no one else besides Li Haitao. Li Haitao’s gaze was fixed on Jiang Yuetong, seemingly trying to probe something. Seeing that Jiang Yuetong’s face was looking very unhappy, he walked over and patted her on the shoulder. Even just this physical touch made Jiang Yuetong feel annoyed.

“Is something the matter, Teacher Li?” Jiang Yuetong adjusted her breathing and asked.

Li Haitao smiled, “I should be the one asking you, Teacher Jiang.”

Jiang Yuetong no longer looked at him, only saying, “I’m fine.”

“But it’s written all over your face. What? Were you just lectured by the Dean of Students?” Li Haitao asked.

Jiang Yuetong stiffened, and retorted, “Not about this, is there something else?”

Li Haitao quickly shook his head, “How would I know… I wasn’t there listening when he talked to you.” After saying this, Li Haitao sheepishly returned to his seat. Jiang Yuetong looked at Li Haitao but didn’t say anything. Jiang Yuetong thought, surely Li Haitao wouldn’t be so narrow-minded as to report her to the Principal and the Dean, would he?

When Chen Nan walked downstairs, looking sleepy, Shi Ya checked her watch: 10 a.m. For Shi Ya, who woke up at 6 a.m. for a run, makeup, and breakfast, 10 a.m. was a terrifyingly late time.

“You weren’t like this in England, have you become decadent after returning home? Waking up so late? You’ve wasted several hours of your life sleeping; it’s a loss, you know.” Shi Ya shook her head.

Chen Nan looked at Shi Ya’s delicate face, and said calmly, “I only fell asleep at three in the morning, how can I wake up so early? By the way, you just got back, don’t you need to adjust to the time difference?”