211: Chapter 211: Protected by the Wife 211: Chapter 211: Protected by the Wife A slender and upright figure stood not far behind the two on the balcony of the second floor of the manor.
When Su He turned her head, she met the man’s gaze and knew instantly that he was a person of deep schemes with just one look.
Three minutes later, the group arrived in the living room.
The vast living room was utterly silent.
“So cold,” Lan Yan shivered all over and muttered, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think this was hell, with an eerie coldness all around.”
She wasn’t the only one who felt this way; Su He did too.
What did the furniture and decorating style here reveal about the character of the person who lived here?
At that moment, the raspy voice that was as cold as ice arrows sounded again: “This beautiful lady must be President Jiang’s well-hidden delicate wife?”
Their gaze followed the sound, and a man dressed in an all-black suit and black shirt stood at the top of the staircase on the second floor.
He had eyebrows like swords and stars for eyes, and a face as fair as jade, with a pair of long, narrow eyes that held a smiling, yet not smiling expression, and a bizarre gleam hidden deep within them.
He exuded an aura of darkness and malevolence from head to toe.
This close-up exchange of glances made Su He quite disliking this man’s gaze.
Jiang Yan unconsciously shielded her behind him.
Mr.
Xi Jue saw this move and met it with a cold smile at the corner of his eye.
He said with a smile, “President Jiang, long time no see.
You’re married now, while I remain a lonely bachelor.”
As he descended from upstairs, the sinister air about him grew even stronger.
Jiang Yan ignored him, so he took the initiative to greet Su He and introduced himself.
“Hello, my name is Xi Jue, I’m very pleased to meet you today, Miss Su He.”
On the last four words, he deliberately elongated the ending tone, looked at her with profound meaning, and extended his right hand, wanting to shake hands with her.
Su He glanced at him indifferently, paying him no mind, but a flicker of curiosity crossed her eyes.
For this man wore a black leather glove on his right hand but none on his left.
She did not hide her curiosity, so when she was puzzled, Xi Jue hooked his lips into a cold smile and said, “Miss Su, are you curious as to why my hand is wearing a glove?”
Su He said nothing.
Xi Jue didn’t mind, still smiling, withdrew his right hand, looked at it for a moment, and then slowly began to speak.
He said, “This is a gift from your husband.”
Su He narrowed her eyes without a change in expression; the “gift” he referred to was probably not so simple.
The whole hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Besides Jiang Yan and Jiang Feng, both Su He and Lan Yan were waiting for him to reveal more with his next words.
Then, they saw Xi Jue suddenly lift the sleeve of his right hand, and a mechanical arm appeared in front of them.
Lan Yan was slightly taken aback: “…”
Su He just slightly arched her eyebrow and then said the first words she had spoken since entering the place: “This gift looks quite expensive; it must have cost a lot, didn’t it?
Why are you still so wasteful?”
She was looking at Jiang Yan as she spoke.
It wasn’t clear whether she deliberately interpreted it this way or truly believed that this mechanical arm was a present from Jiang Yan to Xi Jue.
As soon as she said this, both Jiang Yan and Xi Jue were stunned.
She obviously wasn’t playing by the usual rules.
Mr.
Xi Jue’s smile noticeably receded, and then, from deep in his throat, came a forced chuckle that was quite uncomfortable to hear.
“Miss Su truly is humorous,” Xi Jue said.
Su He turned her head to look at him, with a forced smile she retorted, “Mr.
Xi Jue, you flatter me, I’m generally not fond of joking.”
Xi Jue didn’t know what to say in response for a moment.
No woman had ever rendered him speechless so quickly.
Su He was the first, and it was somewhat interesting.
His lips slightly curled, revealing a smile tinged with three parts cool detachment and four parts ridicule as he looked towards Jiang Yan, who had been silent all along, and said, “Your wife is quite interesting, much more so than those with the surname Tang.”
Those with the surname Tang?
The name that flashed through Su He’s mind was Tang Sirou.
Immediately, she leaned close to Jiang Yan’s ear, her warm breath brushing his ear as she murmured, “Mr.
Jiang, look, even your enemy knows about your ‘moonlight’ from the past.”
Jiang Yan’s brows furrowed, and he quickly explained, “That’s not real, you are the real one.”
“But no one else knows.”
“I know, that’s enough.
Others don’t need to know.”
“…”
Watching the interaction between the two, Xi Jue could sense a cloyingly sweet undertone, and he furrowed his brow.
They really didn’t consider him an outsider, did they?!
Jiang Feng and Lan Yan were slightly taken aback before returning to their normal expressions; after all, their master wasn’t ordinary, and neither were his actions.
Xi Jue looked on with dark, knife-like eyes, his voice hoarse and ice-cold, “Do the two of you need me to clear out some space?”
“…”
“There’s no need for that trouble!” Jiang Yan said, the first words he spoke upon seeing Xi Jue.
The fury he had suppressed was now diverted by Su He.
So at this moment, his heart instead felt calm.
“Xi Jue, let’s not beat around the bush between us.
Speak your mind, or you might not have another chance!”
The man’s voice was low and cold, his sharply defined features taut, and his dark eyes were like two vortexes, so deep they sent shivers down one’s spine.
Jiang Yan’s presence was no less imposing than Xi Jue’s, carrying an undertone of a lone wolf’s pride.
Confronted with Jiang Yan’s threatening words, Xi Jue wasn’t angry but instead chuckled, “Jiang Yan, you’re still as arrogantly self-assured as always.”
Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes, his lips curled slightly with three parts mockery and seven parts narcissism, he said, “Can’t help it, outstanding people have that privilege.”
This phrase sounded familiar to Su He and Jiang Feng—they had heard it not long ago.
Had this phrase become his pet phrase?
But then again, there was nothing wrong with that sentence, and it almost seemed like a catch-all phrase.
A muscle in Xi Jue’s forehead twitched slightly, why did he feel that after all these years Jiang Yan seemed to have changed?
Then, as if struck by a thought, his thin lips curved into a sinister smile, “Since you’re so capable, back then you shouldn’t have let your good brother be your scapegoat.”
Unaffected by Xi Jue’s provocation, Jiang Yan was impassive.
The issues of the past were a knot in his heart, and although he always blamed himself for Jing Chu’s death, the true instigator was the man before him.
If Xi Jue hadn’t played dirty back then, that incident would never have occurred.
He had indeed been too careless at the time, underestimating the extent of the madman Xi Jue’s schemes.
Jiang Yan said in a deep voice, “Xi Jue, it seems losing an arm hasn’t taught you a lesson!”
Mentioning his arm, Xi Jue’s expression turned instantly gloomy and cold, his eyes filled with venom, as though a snake ready to strike at any moment had awoken within them.
The corners of his mouth twitched a few times, his face becoming extremely terrifying.
Su He saw a strong hatred and a murderous intent in his eyes; he wanted to kill Jiang Yan.
The thought flashed through her mind, and it startled her.
Despite Xi Jue’s effort to suppress the wildness deep inside him, she still noticed it.
And Jiang Yan’s words had clearly ignited the long-hidden hatred in his heart.
From these few sentences, she knew that Xi Jue’s broken arm was Jiang Yan’s masterpiece.
But now, they were on someone else’s turf, and the opponent had the advantage in numbers; it was best to stall for time if possible.
Su He gave a soft cough to break the somewhat oppressive and breathless atmosphere.
She looked at Xi Jue with an indifferent face and a faint smile, saying, “Mr.
Xi Jue, won’t you invite us to sit?
To be honest, I’m a little tired from standing.”
After hearing her words, Xi Jue’s eyes narrowed slightly; he found her quite interesting as he took another look at her.
Seeing him staring at Su He made Jiang Yan frown tightly with displeasure on his face.
But Su He secretly wrote a word in the palm of his hand: Endure!
Although Jiang Yan didn’t know what kind of quirky idea she had this time, since his wife had spoken, he could only obey.
Su He then added, “I believe Mr.
Xi Jue is a quite gentlemanly man.
It wouldn’t be right to let a lady stand and talk to you for too long, right?
Men have the physical strength to stand for hours without a problem, but it’s different for us girls; we have less stamina.
Especially me, I’ve been weak ever since I fell ill as a child and can’t stand for long.”
Jiang Yan listened to her ramble seriously and had no idea what sort of trick she was playing.
Lan Yan had a huge question mark in her mind: The boss says she can’t stand long?
She never complains during surgeries that last for seven or eight hours—isn’t that much longer than “standing for a while”?
Xi Jue’s gaze toward Su He was not too sinister; instead, there was a trace of appreciation.
He didn’t know much about Su He; almost all of it came from Si Jinchuan.
Jiang Yan had protected this woman so well that it was only recently that he became aware of Su He’s existence.
But the information on Su He was scarce, and such a woman deserved careful handling.
However, it was unexpected for Xi Jue that Su He was Su Zhimian’s sister.
Behind her was the entire Su Family, and Su Zhimian was not as simple as he appeared on the surface.
Eventually, he nodded, “Miss Su, please make yourself comfortable.”
Upon hearing this, Su He unceremoniously pulled Jiang Yan to the sofa and sat down confidently.
Just as Xi Jue took his seat, she said, “Mr.
Xi Jue, you should have tea in your house, right?”
The underlying message was: she was thirsty!
She was not polite at all.
Xi Jue said to a bodyguard, “Go, have someone prepare tea for Miss Su.”
Bodyguard: “Yes, sir.”
As the bodyguard turned to leave, Su He quickly added, “I only drink green tea, and the best water temperature is around sixty degrees, thank you.”
Bodyguard: “…”
Wasn’t this woman’s request a bit too demanding?
The bodyguard instinctively looked at Xi Jue, who tugged at his thin lips and said, “Just do as Miss Su asks.”
The bodyguard was slightly taken aback, but he didn’t dare say more and turned to leave after a response.
Soon, a maid came out with the tea.
Su He still politely thanked her.
Mr.
Xi Jue had been watching her all along, and the more he watched, the more he found her interesting.
No wonder Si Jinchuan liked her.
Su He picked up her glass and sipped the water cautiously as if she really was just there as a guest.
Following that, she even offered an evaluation: “Not bad.
It seems that Mr.
Xi Jue’s household really does have all sorts of talent.
This tea-making skill is quite good.
However, there is still room for improvement.”
Mr.
Xi Jue watched her drink so confidently without a single moment of hesitation and smiled at her, saying, “Miss Su, aren’t you worried that I might have tampered with the tea?”
Su He remained unflustered, smiling lightly, “I just said that you’re a gentleman, so you shouldn’t be doing such despicable things.
Besides, given your current status, you should be above such acts.”
As soon as she finished, Mr.
Xi Jue broke into laughter.
“Ha ha ha…”
“Miss Su, when I say you have a sense of humor, that’s the truth,” he said, lips curled into a smile.
“As for this high praise you’re giving me, I’m afraid I can’t accept it.”
He paused for a second before turning the conversation, “But there is one thing you’re right about.
I really do despise doing that kind of thing now.”
“Because, unless I allow it, you indeed won’t be able to leave this place.”
Su He wasn’t surprised at all and remained as calm as ever, “This, I do believe.
However—”
She narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly and then continued, “Bullying the few with the many is not Mr.
Xi Jue’s style, I presume?”
Mr.
Xi Jue’s brows slightly furrowed, “What are you trying to say?”
Su He spoke slowly, “The grudges between you men, honestly, I’m not in a position to interfere.
But, there are still matters that need to be fair.
Otherwise, even if you win, it won’t look good when it gets out, right?”
Mr.
Xi Jue: “…”
“Miss Su, do you really think I care about these ethereal things?”
Su He replied, “Whether you care or not is not within my consideration.
But it’s unfair to my husband, so I definitely have to consider his position.
There are only four of us, and two of us are women incapable of even trussing up a chicken, while your estate is filled inside and out with your own people.”
Lan Yan, incapable of trussing up a chicken: “…”
Jiang Yan’s mouth twitched slightly: “…”
He had a feeling that if she kept talking this way, Mr.
Xi Jue would certainly think he was afraid of him.
But—
This was the person he treasured most in his heart, so he allowed her to continue speaking.
Mr.
Xi Jue’s narrow eyes squinted slightly, a hint of curiosity in his gaze, “So?
Are you suggesting I should let you go?”
Su He raised her hand and waved it slightly, “That won’t be necessary.”
Mr.
Xi Jue arched one of his fierce brows, “Then what?”
Su He pondered for a few seconds, her red lips curling up as she said, “How about we make a bet?
If you win, I’ll hand my husband over to you.
If you lose, your life belongs to my husband.
How about it?”
As soon as these words were uttered, everyone present was stunned.
Mr.
Xi Jue’s narrow eyes narrowed even deeper, as Su He’s words caught him by surprise.
It was as if you could never guess what she would say next, or rather, you could never truly understand her thoughts.
Jiang Yan watched her say these words, but he did not stop her, nor did he say anything.
Mr.
Xi Jue did not respond to Su He, but instead looked at Jiang Yan and said mockingly, “Since when do you need a woman to protect you?”
Facing his mockery, Jiang Yan was unflustered and proudly said with casual arrogance, “You, as a lonely dog, would never understand the feeling of having a wife’s affection and protection.”
Mr.
Xi Jue: “…”
He clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth and uttered a classic remark!
Immediately after, Jiang Yan sneered again, “It’s been so many years since we’ve seen each other, and now you’re telling me you don’t even have the courage to make a wager with a woman?
It seems I’ve overestimated you.
All these years of keeping a low profile, and now you’re even scared of a woman.
That’s quite pathetic.”
Mr.
Xi Jue felt a twitch in his head: “…”