After Being Forced Into Marriage, I Became Very Successful - Chapter 38

38:

When Jiang Yan got home, the living room light was on, but no one was there. She wasn’t surprised, Xia Yining wasn’t the type to watch boring TV dramas. They had lived together for a while, not too long but not too short, and she’d rarely seen her kill time with the TV.

The dining table was spotless, with no sign of whether dinner had been eaten or not. But it was nearly 8 p.m., and Jiang Yan figured Xia Yining definitely wouldn’t have waited hungry till now.

She took the things she’d brought back into the kitchen and only then noticed her portion of dinner on the counter, covered up.

Jiang Yan had eaten her fill at the shop and had no appetite for a while. She was pondering whether to portion everything out and save some for Xia Yining as a midnight snack.

Xia Yining didn’t love snacks much, especially after showering at night. Aside from drinking water, she rarely ate anything else. But what she’d brought back today was truly delicious, and it was the bosses’ heartfelt gesture.

Before she could decide, Jiang Yan heard movement outside. She leaned out toward the living room and saw Xia Yining walking over with an empty transparent glass.

“Everything went smoothly at the shop today?” Xia Yining still remembered Jiang Yan mentioning the malicious competition and guessed her frequent visits weren’t just for eating.

“Pretty good. The bosses have lots of ideas. They’ve been in business for years and seen all kinds of storms.”

Xia Yining walked into the kitchen with her glass, about to tell Jiang Yan that dinner was right there beside her, when she was drawn by a new aroma.

She stood next to Jiang Yan and saw the freshly portioned food, the bowl of big wontons especially caught her eye.

“These are signature dishes from each old shop, they insisted I bring some back for you to try. I was planning to have them for breakfast tomorrow; the texture shouldn’t be too off.”

After a moment, she heard Xia Yining’s soft “Mm.”

Jiang Yan had already portioned everything into containers and noticed Xia Yining still standing there unmoving.

“Do you want to have some as a midnight snack?”

The suggestion was clearly tempting, Xia Yining’s gaze flickered. But she hesitated, instinctively pursing her lips.

Jiang Yan guessed what she was wrestling with and chuckled softly: “Eating once or twice occasionally is fine. Plus, good food can relieve stress and boost work efficiency—so actually, it’s not a loss.”

Put that way, it really wasn’t a loss.

Ever since they decided to cancel the honeymoon, Xia Yining had thrown herself fully into preparing for the AG project. Some content was unfamiliar to her, requiring a lot of material to study and understand. She didn’t want to wait until the project officially started to act, but her regular work was already busy, so she could only cram in the evenings.

Today, back home alone, she’d only rested briefly before diving back into the materials, pausing midway only when the chef came to prepare dinner.

The pressure was considerable, and anxiety was inevitable; Xia Yining worked hard to adjust her mood. Probably from exhaustion, her irritability had reached a tipping point. Hearing Jiang Yan return, she instinctively wanted to go out, even just chatting with someone for a bit would help.

She wasn’t sure what to say to Jiang Yan, but continuing to stare at the materials alone didn’t seem productive. Xia Yining glanced at the glass beside her and drained the last of the water.

She’d been thinking of topics to chat about when she was deeply drawn in by what Jiang Yan brought back. The family chef’s skills were always excellent and consistent, but they lacked that certain soul-stirring something.

Ever since tasting Boss Qian’s scallion pancakes, Xia Yining had grown fonder and more trusting of the old shops. Hearing these were their signatures made her heart stir even more.

The only hurdle was that midnight snacks weren’t great for maintaining her figure, but Jiang Yan’s words instantly convinced her.

Seeing she still hadn’t moved, Jiang Yan knew she wanted it.

“Let’s have the wontons. Save the pan-fried buns and potstickers for tomorrow morning, sounds good?”

Jiang Yan turned to look at her, and Xia Yining finally set down her glass: “Okay.”

Seeing Jiang Yan grab the wonton container, she felt the quantity was still a bit much: “How about we share it?”

Jiang Yan was about to say she wasn’t hungry but remembered Xia Yining’s internal struggle and swallowed the words.

It was hard enough for her to decide to eat, Jiang Yan didn’t want to dampen her enthusiasm.

She grabbed another bowl from the side, scooped out four wontons, leaving eight in the container.

“Why not split evenly?”

“I tasted them at the shop, you can eat a few more.”

Soon, each had a bowl of wontons in front of them—simple, yet they ate happily.

Xia Yining had high expectations for the bowl already, but one bite exceeded them even more.

With the broth, she polished off one wonton after another. She thought eight was too many before, but now it seemed she’d worried needlessly.

Only after finishing did she realize Jiang Yan had kept pace with her, Xia Yining realized she might have been a bit unladylike.

“Which shop’s signature is this?” To avoid awkwardness, Xia Yining took the initiative and asked, genuinely curious about which chef’s handiwork it was.

“Right across from Boss Qian’s, less than five minutes walking. If you like it, next time I’ll take you or pack some back.”

But Xia Yining was thinking something else. Boss Qian’s scallion pancakes had been amazing, and she’d tasted something similar from Jiang Yan. So, could this wonton be worth anticipating too?

If she could have it at home in the future, without going to the shop or waiting for takeout, wouldn’t that be even better?

Xia Yining gave Jiang Yan a deep look but didn’t voice the thought outright.

“Do you usually learn their skills when you go to the shops?”

Jiang Yan shook her head with a smile: “These are their family secrets, they make their living from them. How could I just casually learn?”

Xia Yining felt a bit disappointed but knew she was right.

Jiang Yan had no idea Xia Yining had thought so far ahead after one bowl, assuming she was just interested in the old shops.

Both in good moods after eating, they kept sitting and chatting. Jiang Yan knew little about the AG project, only that it was the company’s key focus for the next half-year, but seeing how seriously Xia Yining took it, she asked a few more questions.

“The project’s difficulty is manageable; it’s just that I haven’t touched this line of business before, so I’m a bit rusty. The team has lots of experienced seniors, and I want to learn as much as I can from this.”

“You’ve already worked hard, don’t pressure yourself too much.”

But Xia Yining didn’t let it drop, sighing lightly: “Actually, the real hassle is the specialist they’re sending. I heard it was the long-term executive representative for Greater China, but now it’s changed to someone straight from the European headquarters.”

Jiang Yan caught the dismay in her tone and felt both surprised and curious: “Are you worried about handling that specialist?”

Xia Yining shook her head frankly: “Work stuff, it’s not about fear, just a headache.”

She gestured on either side of her head, instantly lightening the mood.

Jiang Yan realized that since moving out, Xia Yining’s changes seemed even bigger than hers. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who’d felt constrained at the main residence.

After chatting for about half an hour, Jiang Yan worried about delaying her work and stood to clear the bowls: “Don’t stay up too late tonight. Tomorrow’s a new week, fighting!”

Xia Yining actually curved her lips in a rare smile: “Okay, you too.”

Xia Yining’s early preparation paid off clearly. Qin Yishan noticed that lately, when discussing the AG project, her insights and ideas had changed dramatically from the start.

“Yining, you’ve definitely put in a ton of effort, to grasp the AG Group so thoroughly in such a short time.”

“I don’t fight unprepared battles, these are just what I should do.”

Seeing the faint smile at Xia Yining’s lips, Qin Yishan could tell her mood had been great lately.

“You canceled the honeymoon for work, did Director Jiang really have no issue?” Qin Yishan noticed Jiang Yan hadn’t come to the promotions department recently.

Thinking of the gourmet treats Jiang Yan brought back every few days, plus their brief chats over breakfast or dinner, her relationship with Jiang Yan had eased to an all-time high.

“No, she completely understands and fully supports me.”

At first, Xia Yining had been skeptical, thinking Jiang Yan was just going along to please her reluctantly. But lately, observing closely, she’d found Jiang Yan truly didn’t mind. Several times they’d talked about the AG project, and Jiang Yan had even encouraged her actively.

So, Jiang Yan has changed quite a bit from before. Maybe her mom was right, people mature after marriage. Even if this marriage wasn’t 100% real, Xia Yining genuinely felt Jiang Yan’s transformation.

Qin Yishan secretly dug her nails into her palm. Xia Yining probably hadn’t noticed, but just now, her smile had slowly widened, full of triumphant springtime smugness.

Swallowing her bitterness, she wanted to probe more, it was rare for Xia Yining to chat so much personal stuff. It had taken Qin Yishan a long time to recover from the fact that “Yining likes women,” followed by endless regret.

If she had gotten closer to Xia Yining back then, or been braver and probed more, maybe the outcome would’ve been different. She should be smiling and blessing Xia Yining, but Jiang Yan’s reputation, plus her capabilities, made it impossible to let go.

In terms of family background, the Qin family was no worse than the Jiang’s. And with the Jiangs’ current precarious state versus the Qins’ shares in Xia Corporation, it was no contest.

“I heard Director Jiang’s been pretty invested in the new cafeteria bidding lately. Looks like she really knows her food.”

Having seen the variety show and Jiang Yan bringing food to Xia Yining a few times, Qin Yishan’s impression matched most others: Jiang Yan still just loved enjoying herself.

Speaking of food, Xia Yining admitted she was quite picky, but Jiang Yan’s treats always hit her preferences spot-on. So now, she trusted Jiang Yan’s choices completely and even felt a bit of eager anticipation for whatever new thing she’d bring next.

“The cafeteria bid is office work, I won’t interfere much with her job. But personally, I do trust her taste in food.”

Qin Yishan caught the protective tone and felt a pang of sourness.

“Looks like Director Jiang must make lots of gourmet stuff at home. You’ve got more glow since moving out.”

“Really?” Xia Yining hadn’t noticed, but Qin Yishan saw her almost daily. If she said so, it was probably true.

“As long as you don’t say I’ve gained weight, otherwise, I’d really be upset for a while.”