Accidentally Marked My Ex’s Crush, the Ice-Cold Goddess O - Chapter 23: Enemies Meet

Chapter 23: Enemies Meet

On Monday, Grandma recovered her health and returned to the company to take charge again, only handing over Shengding’s business to Jiang Ci to handle.

She wasn’t allowed to interfere with anything else.

Jiang Ci was naturally very happy. Without work, she went back to school to write her thesis, living a simple routine between the dormitory, library, and cafeteria.

That day, Jiang Ci had just left the library with her laptop on her back, heading to the cafeteria to eat, when she received a WeChat message on her phone. At first, she thought it was from Little Aunt, but when she opened it, she was so shocked she nearly shoved the phone into her eyes. The person messaging her was actually Fu Ruanyi.

Fu Ruanyi: 2 p.m. sharp, show up at the horse ranch. There’s work to discuss. If you don’t come, I’ll pull the investment.

Jiang Ci stopped in her tracks, staring at the message for several minutes, unable to believe it was from Fu Ruanyi.

Since their meeting at Shengding, they hadn’t had any contact. Even if there was work, it was handled through the company. Why would she message her directly and ask her to go to her horse ranch?

Though she didn’t know the reason, the other party didn’t seem friendly.

Jiang Ci replied: Okay, President Fu.

After replying, Jiang Ci switched to the driver’s chat and sent a message, asking them to wait for her at the school gate in ten minutes.

Then she put away her phone and jogged to the gate.

Fu Ruanyi told her to be at the ranch by 2 p.m. It was just past noon, so she had two hours left.

The roads weren’t too congested at noon. Jiang Ci first went home to change out of her short-sleeved shirt and long pants, taking a quick shower.

She got dressed and headed straight to the underground parking lot.

Meeting a client meant she couldn’t go bare-faced.

So, on the way, she put on light makeup, tied her long hair into a low ponytail with a rubber band, and fluffed it a few times to make it look fuller.

At 1:45 p.m., the car arrived at the horse ranch.

The driver entered from the underground parking lot and drove to the exit. Jiang Ci grabbed her bag and got out, following a staff member’s guidance to a white four-wheeled electric cart.

The staff member drove slowly along the path.

Although she had been to this ranch once before to discuss investment with Fu Ruanyi, she had only seen the entrance back then. This was her first time inside.

The ranch covered a large area, blending greenery and technology. Nearby were tall buildings, while in the distance were a few lush green hills. She heard the rest area had a small stream running through it, designed as a beautiful scenic feature.

Many people came here not just to watch races or practice riding but to relax and eat by the stream.

Jiang Ci was led into the main building. She turned right, walked down a corridor, and slowly approached the rest area, faintly hearing the sound of flowing water, which echoed pleasantly throughout the hall.

The moment she stepped out from the entrance, her view expanded dramatically. The small hill she could only glimpse before was now fully visible.

As she got closer, a clean, clear two-meter-wide stream appeared before her, blending with the surroundings. Combined with the forest-themed decorations around, it gave the illusion of walking beside a stream in a deep mountain.

This place was nice even without doing anything.

The staff member leading her suddenly stopped, turned, and said, “President Jiang, President Fu is waiting for you ahead.”

Jiang Ci nodded. “Okay, thank you.”

The staff member smiled. “No problem.”

Once the staff member left, Jiang Ci lost her mood to admire the scenery. She gathered her focus, walked to the terrace, and stopped beside Fu Ruanyi.

Fu Ruanyi was sitting on a rattan chair, wearing sunglasses and crossing her legs. A glass of juice sat on the wooden table beside her. She looked relaxed, like she was at a cool beach with air conditioning.

Jiang Ci greeted her first. “Good afternoon, President Fu.”

The sunglasses hid half her face, making it hard to read, but her tone was still the familiar bluntness. “One fifty-nine. You sure cut it close.”

Jiang Ci said, “You told me to be here at two. I was afraid coming too early or too late wouldn’t be right. I hope this time suits you, President Fu.”

Fu Ruanyi gave a cold laugh. “You, Jiang Ci, seem so honest, but you’ve got plenty of little schemes. If you’re cutting it close, just say so. No need for all that early-or-late nonsense. Too much empty talk.”

She didn’t like hearing such formalities, so Jiang Ci corrected herself. “Sorry, President Fu. I was at the school library earlier and went home to change clothes, so I arrived a bit late.”

Fu Ruanyi said, “Hmm, that’s better. Wait here. Someone will come to meet you soon.”

Someone to meet her…

Wasn’t today about Fu Ruanyi meeting her?

Though confused, Jiang Ci asked, “President Fu, may I ask who’s coming to meet me?”

Fu Ruanyi said, “You’ll know when you see them.”

Then she tilted her head to the side, looking like she was about to nap.

Jiang Ci couldn’t say anything and waited patiently.

She stood waiting for ten minutes, but no one came. The hall was so quiet she could only hear the stream and the staff moving around.

Fu Ruanyi seemed to be asleep, not moving at all.

Jiang Ci had to keep waiting patiently.

Another ten minutes passed, and finally, there were sounds of talking and footsteps in the quiet hall. Jiang Ci instinctively turned to look at the entrance.

A figure slowly appeared.

The person was dressed in a full black riding outfit, walking steadily with two or three people following behind, exuding a commanding presence.

When they first appeared, Jiang Ci couldn’t see clearly because of the distance. But as they got closer and she saw who it was, her expression couldn’t hide her shock. How… how could it be her?

During the thirty minutes of waiting, Jiang Ci had thought of almost everyone she knew, even imagining Dr. Gu walking out from the entrance. But no matter what, she hadn’t expected it to be her.

“Not going to say hello?” Fu Ruanyi said.

Reminded, Jiang Ci closed her slightly open mouth, quickly stepped forward, bowed, and greeted, “Chairman Fu, hello.”

Fu Xianqing stopped a few steps away, her sharp gaze fixed on Jiang Ci. Her stern expression was chilling as she said, “So you’re the second daughter of the Jiang family who didn’t run away. You look pretty good. Your name’s Jiang something, Jiang Ci?”

Jiang Ci replied, “Yes, I’m Jiang Ci.”

As they faced each other, a staff member brought over a glass of juice. Fu Xianqing took it, sipped twice, put it back, and said, “I heard the Jiang family has top-tier alphas and omegas, but with you, you’re an alpha with no pheromones. I also heard from Ruanyi that the old lady in your family even made you take a paternity test. Is that true or not?”

Jiang Ci didn’t dare look up at all and answered, “It’s true. I went to the hospital for a checkup. The doctor said my condition is rare but not a big issue. It doesn’t affect normal life. As for the paternity test, Grandma did it for everyone’s sake. If I was accidentally switched at birth, we could still try to find out now.”

Fu Xianqing found it amusing. “You’re pretty open-minded.”

Fu Ruanyi suddenly sat up and said, “Hey, Grandma, I told you the same thing about her. She’s got a big heart.”

Jiang Ci gave a dry laugh. “Heh, yeah.”

Fu Xianqing glanced at her again, unbuttoned her clothes, walked past Jiang Ci toward Fu Ruanyi, and said, “I actually wanted to meet you today, so I asked Ruanyi to pass the message. You don’t have any objections, do you? If you do, you can tell me.”

Jiang Ci: Objections? How do you even write that word?

Jiang Ci quickly turned to follow, standing beside Fu Xianqing, and said respectfully, “No objections. When I was little, I saw your business achievements on TV and in newspapers. Meeting you in person now is a rare honor.”

“A rare honor?”

Fu Xianqing sat down on a chair, looked up at Jiang Ci, and said, “Why do I feel like there’s more to your words?”

Jiang Ci smiled lightly. “I wouldn’t dare.”

Fu Xianqing looked away, took off her clothes, handed them to a staff member, and said, “I bet when you were little, you didn’t see my achievements on TV or in papers. You probably heard your grandma cursing me at home. Can you tell me what your grandma said about me? Don’t give me that smooth talk again.”

Jiang Ci answered, “Grandma doesn’t often mention you at home. We learned about you from other sources.”

Fu Xianqing clearly didn’t believe her. “Lying isn’t good.”

Jiang Ci’s tone became even humbler as she replied, “How would I dare lie in front of you? Our family has a rule since I was young not to mention you or the Fu family, so I haven’t heard much. But when I grew up, I looked up news about you.”

Fu Xianqing said, “Your family doesn’t even dare mention the Fu family, so how did you dare come to Shengding’s door and ask us to invest?”

That was Fu Xianqing’s real reason for meeting Jiang Ci today.

The two families had been enemies since their generation and swore never to have contact again. For decades, they had no dealings until Liu Xiting, that girl, started dating the Jiang family’s girl. Even so, the two families remained enemies with no chance of reconciliation.

Their romance might work for a while, but not forever. Even if Liu Xiting stayed single her whole life, she absolutely couldn’t date someone from the Jiang family. For now, they just weren’t interfering.

Jiang Ci replied, “The younger generation of the Jiang family doesn’t know much about what happened back then. But since the two families swore to cut ties for decades, the grudge must be deep. Still, grudges are grudges. As the saying goes, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. For this project, looking at all of Linjiang, your Shengding is the most suitable partner and the only one that can achieve mutual benefit. That’s why I dared to approach for cooperation. I didn’t think much about the rest.”

Fu Xianqing asked, “Does your family’s old lady know you came to Shengding for this deal?”

Jiang Ci softly denied, “Grandma didn’t know. With her personality, she wouldn’t easily give in. I only told her after I got the contract.”

Even if the sky fell, she couldn’t let the Fu family know Grandma had indirectly agreed.

Otherwise, Grandma would be so angry she’d end up in the hospital again.

Fu Xianqing looked at Jiang Ci. “You’ve got some guts.”

Jiang Ci, after talking for a while, finally dared to meet Fu Xianqing’s eyes and said, “The Qiao family broke the engagement first. This project couldn’t fail in our hands, so I had to find a better partner. Coming to Shengding was a last resort, but also the best choice. Luckily, President Fu gave me this chance.”

Fu Xianqing’s mocking tone softened, and she even praised, “You’re one of the few bold ones among the Jiang family’s younger generation.”

Jiang Ci said, “Thank you for the compliment, Chairman Fu.”

After speaking, Jiang Ci quietly let out a breath.

The aura and pressure from this Fu family matriarch were almost as intense as Grandma’s. If she had known she’d be meeting her today, she’d rather have fainted and gone straight to the hospital.

Fu Ruanyi leaned toward Fu Xianqing and said, “I told you, this Jiang Ci is much better at talking than the other Jiang family members.”

Fu Xianqing nodded. “She’s got a bit of that.”

Jiang Ci listened and gave a faint smile.