Pampered by Short-Lived Bigshot

Chapter 1797: Side Story: The Younger Generation (50) - Family Feud, Heart-Stirring, I’ve Been Waiting for You

Qi Zhiyi accepted a friend’s dinner invitation, carrying desserts, and while taking a taxi home, suddenly remembered the person who came to pick up her friend—that was her brother.

Thinking of the ignored friend request on WeChat, she still felt a sense of discomfort.

Her friend said she wanted to introduce her to her brother, letting her become her sister-in-law. She just laughed it off; they all teased, and her friend even took her phone, which forced her to add her brother as a friend.

Qi Zhiyi wasn’t really hoping for anything to happen between her and her brother, but being unable to even pass the friend request was certainly unsettling.

She thought about it but didn’t dwell on it too much. After all, she was befriending Duan Yinuo, not her brother, so her relationship with him wasn’t that important.

Besides, it had been so long that she had already let it go.

Returning home, she saw Tang Wan’s family had come over, which made her happy. She completely put the matter aside and sat next to Tang Wan, chatting warmly with her.

The classmates’ dinner had just ended, so she wasn’t very hungry. She just sat at the table, chatting for a while.

"...I think you’re overthinking it. How could Fu Chen and that group possibly show us favor? I think he’s busy with his son’s wedding and has no energy to spare," Qi Zeyan scoffed, looking at Jiang Jinsang, pouring him some wine. "Anyway, a project I had earlier, the Duan Family was also competing for it, and they certainly didn’t go easy on me."

Qi Zhiyi lowered her head, using a small spoon to scoop the dessert in front of her bit by bit.

"I’ve heard Duan Linbai’s son has already started interning at the company, and he’s reportedly doing quite well," Jiang Jinsang rubbed his wine glass, taking a sip of red wine. "His personality didn’t follow his father."

"He’s a child raised by the older generation of the Duan and Lin Families. If he followed his father, who knows what he’d turn out like."

"That’s similar to your family with Qi Lie."

"How is it similar? Can Duan Linbai’s son compare with my son?"

Qi Zeyan and Duan Linbai had a grudge from kindergarten days; both have somewhat childish personalities, have families and careers now but no overlap, always "competing."

Childhood grievances are generally not a big deal. If everyone took a step back, nothing would happen.

But these two don’t yield to each other, holding onto some resentment, making it seem like the two families have some deep-seated blood feud, lifelong enemies.

"My son was directly admitted to the university, can Duan Linbai’s son compare?" Qi Zeyan scoffed, "Can his son be more outstanding than mine?"

"That kid is still so young, how can he understand anything? It’s all market rumors and intentional flattery."

"A kid who hasn’t even fully grown up, what can he do?"

Whenever Qi Zeyan mentions the Duan Family, he reacts like a dog with its tail stepped on, bristling and hopping around.

"But Zhengyu also praised that child, saying he’s quite good." The Zhengyu Jiang Jinsang referred to is his cousin’s younger sister—Fan Zhengyu.

"What’s good about him?" Qi Zeyan scoffed.

"Said he plays the violin well, even passed the tenth grade, and once considered going abroad for further studies." Duan Linbai came from a classical music background, so the child is surely influenced.

This younger cousin from the Fan Family is also a professional violinist, likely knows the Duan Family child.

Qi Zeyan listened, dismissively saying, "Playing the violin well is useless; in the marketplace, without ability, you’re nothing."

"You shouldn’t view the child with tinted glasses just because you have animosity towards his father," Jiang Jinsang chuckled.

"Aren’t we here today to celebrate landing a big project? Why bring up the Duan Family, killing the mood?" Qi Zeyan held his wine glass, "Let’s have a toast first."

The conversation afterward was more varied, covering topics from their children to recent political events, intentionally avoiding the Duan Family.

Qi Zhiyi had always been obedient, didn’t touch her chopsticks, watching who needed a wine or drink refill, or who wanted more food, she would help out, extra gentle, prompting Tang Wan to exclaim that daughters are indeed considerate.

If it were their family’s younger son, he would finish eating and eagerly run off to his room to play games, unable to sit still.

...

Jiang Jinsang and Qi Zeyan drank a bit tonight, eating slowly; everyone else had left the table while the two were still sipping wine. Tang Wan and Ruan Mengxi were chatting together, so Qi Zhiyi attended to Jiang Mutang.

She was in the kitchen, slicing fruits, when the phone on the table started vibrating.

Qi Zhiyi’s phone was on the table, Jiang Mutang glanced over, and saw the name displayed on the screen:

[Nuonuo]

"Zhiyi, you have a call." He reminded her.

"I’m coming right away." Qi Zhiyi quickly brought over a plate of sliced oranges and washed jujubes, approached Jiang Mutang, bent over to place the fruit plate down, casually asking, "Who called?"

"The name said Nuonuo."

Qi Zhiyi’s finger trembled, causing a jujube to roll off the plate. The ground was carpeted, so it didn’t attract anyone else’s attention, but Jiang Mutang couldn’t help but glance at her twice.

"Are you okay?"

"The plate was too heavy, it felt really tiring to carry." Qi Zhiyi smiled as she put down the plate. "Brother, have some fruit. I’m going to make a phone call to a friend."

She’s just a young girl, the Qi Family has protected her well, making her quite innocent and not good at hiding things.

The initial phone call was simple, and Jiang Mutang didn’t think much of it at first, but someone’s behavior made him suspicious.

The first thought that crossed his mind was:

This girl...

Could she be in a relationship?

Qi Zhiyi had already gone back to her room to make a call, "Hello, Nuonuo?"

"Are you free around noon tomorrow? At that farmhouse of ours, the one I took you to."

"Isn’t that in the suburbs?" Qi Zhiyi had gotten her driver’s license, but unlike Jiang Ruan, who started driving as soon as she got hers, she barely touched a car after getting her license. She usually takes the subway or a taxi when going out as she’s still a student, and the Qi Family didn’t buy her a car.

"I’ll come pick you up."

"Alright then."

When Qi Zhiyi finished the call and returned to the living room, she sat next to Jiang Mutang who was looking at his phone, "Bro, why aren’t you eating the fruit?"

"Did you call your friend?" Jiang Mutang put away his phone and looked at her leisurely.

"Yeah, we just met tonight and she invited me out again." Qi Zhiyi picked up a date and popped it into her mouth.

Yet she didn’t realize Jiang Mutang suddenly leaned in closer and lowered his voice, "Be honest with me, are you in a relationship?"

Qi Zhiyi was so startled by him that her heart skipped a beat, her teeth clenched and she bit into the date pit, "No, just a friend, a girl."

"Really?" Jiang Mutang pushed up the glasses on his nose.

The light slid across the lenses, reflecting a dark glow that made Qi Zhiyi’s heart race.

Her close friend, Duan Yinuo, was actually the person Qi Zeyan had just "criticized" — the daughter of Duan Linbai.

The Duan Family had a pair of twins, a brother named Duan Yiyang, and a sister named Duan Yinuo. The siblings had very different personalities. Qi Zhiyi and Duan Yinuo became friends by chance, but knowing her father’s "hostility" towards the Duan Family, she never dared to tell her family about this friend.

If her father knew, he would probably think she was fraternizing with the enemy and would definitely nag endlessly.

Qi Zhiyi nodded as she chewed on the date, "Should I call her now? You can listen to her voice to see if she’s a girl."

Jiang Mutang just chuckled, returned to his place, and continued looking at his phone.

This girl talks like this, but he was almost sure that she had something secret in her heart. But Jiang Mutang wasn’t one to blab—kids this age all have little secrets. Even if he knew Qi Zhiyi was dating early, he wouldn’t tell her parents.

**

Qi Zhiyi was tense under Jiang Mutang’s gaze until she saw off their family before finally letting out a long breath. She wasn’t too concerned about the meal the next day, so by ten o’clock in the morning, she had already arrived at the agreed mall entrance.

The cold, freezing day had some sunshine, but the cool breeze blew through completely, offering no warmth at all.

Qi Zhiyi was afraid of the cold, wrapped in a thick down jacket, wearing a scarf, hat, and mask, exposing only her eyes.

As soon as she stepped out, the cold wind hit, and she couldn’t help shivering.

She arrived early, with still five or six minutes until the appointed time, so Qi Zhiyi looked for a spot with sunlight but no wind. However, the wind seemed to come at her from all directions.

She turned to head into the mall to hide from the wind...

Inside the mall, heating was on, the outside temperature was extremely low, and the mix of hot and cold fogged up the glass door at the entrance, obstructing the view between indoors and outdoors. As Qi Zhiyi was about to push the door, it was pulled open from the inside, releasing a small wave of warm air, which hit her chilly eyes and made her pause her breath.

The next second,

A boy appeared in front of her.

Unlike her, bundled up like a ball, he wore a simple white sweater and a black long woolen coat, making him look tall and slender. He looked...

Very warm.

He looked down at her and said softly:

"I’ve been waiting for you for a long time."

The cold wind blew from behind, the warm air rushed in from the front, making Qi Zhiyi feel a bit dizzy.