Chapter 275: I Object!!!

Jiang Ning had another dream.

In it, she found herself standing at the entrance of an old-fashioned chapel.

A door made of white birch.

Faded white walls, a few ivy vines climbing up the exterior.

Just as she was wondering why she was here, the church bell began to chime.

“Dong… dong… dong… dong…”

Then, the chapel doors slowly opened.

A wedding seemed to be taking place inside.

Miss Jiang frowned and stared for a moment.

Suddenly, she noticed that the backs of the people seated inside looked strangely familiar.

Her mom?

Luo Shanshan?

Sun Qian?

While she was still trying to make sense of it all, a hand reached out and grabbed hers, pulling her forward.

She turned to look.

“Wenwen?”

She murmured the name.

But the girl didn’t respond, only smiled sweetly and led her inside.

In just a few steps, they were in the chapel.

That’s when she saw the priest presiding over a wedding ceremony for a couple.

“Dear Mr. Jiang Er, do you take Miss Jiang San to be your lawful wife, to live together under God’s law…”

“For better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health…”

Jiang Er?

Jiang San?

{The groom and bride are “Jiang Er” and “Jiang San” – euphemisms for her old male anatomy and new female anatomy.}

Hearing those names gave Miss Jiang an inexplicable jolt.

Then.

When she saw that one of the grooms was her runaway big bro…

Her face turned green.

She shot to her feet and shouted,

“I OBJECT!!!”

The next second.

Jiang Ning woke up.

She stared at the curtain swaying in the morning breeze.

The sky outside was just beginning to brighten.

Lying in bed, she was dazed for a long time.

Suddenly.

She remembered something.

She reached under the blanket and fished out her phone.

One glance—and her face darkened.

【Wifey? Fell asleep already?】

【Little Wife, weren’t we supposed to chat for an hour?】

【Darling? Oh no, not even an hour? You’re really too frail…】

…

Miss Xu was really too much.

Miss Jiang deleted the messages one by one.

Muttering curses as she did.

If Little Tao hadn’t told her that this crazy woman was planning to storm over the next day to mess with Luo Shabi…

Miss Jiang wouldn’t have sacrificed herself to chat for a whole hour.

Now she’d ended up having that bizarre dream in the middle of the night.

Wuwuwu…

Big bro…

Please don’t get married!

If you do, what am I supposed to do?!

Thinking of the scene in the dream, Miss Jiang felt a deep, heart-wrenching pain.

It was on par with a first heartbreak.

After a while.

Urged by her mom.

Miss Jiang reluctantly dragged herself out of bed.

Got dressed, put on her shoes.

Stepped out of her room.

Just in time to see her mom placing porridge on the table.

Still not fully awake, Miss Jiang blurted out,

“Morning, Mom…”

The moment the words left her mouth, she snapped awake.

She quickly coughed twice and rushed into the bathroom.

But her mom’s scolding still rang out behind her.

“Mom? MOM?!”

“So you do know I’m your mom!”

“It’s already seven and you’re still in bed!”

“Are you the one going to school or am I?!”

Her mom’s fierce tone sent Miss Jiang scurrying into the bathroom.

She stuck out her tongue.

Only to be caught by the reflection in the mirror.

The Jiang master in the mirror frowned in disgust.

This girl doesn’t look like a good person.

She clicked her tongue and started washing up.

A while later.

When she came out.

Her mom was already sitting on the couch watching TV.

Seeing that, Miss Jiang sat down too.

She ate while staring blankly at the TV.

There wasn’t much worth watching in the morning.

So her mom flipped through the channels until she landed on the morning news.

【Warm meals, warm hearts—frontline sanitation workers receive free breakfast…】

【Citizens report recent fluctuations in egg prices…】

【The Market Supervision Bureau assures the public: poultry prices will be kept under control…】

Every time the news touched on daily necessities like this, her mom’s righteous fury would flare up.

Pointing at the screen, she launched into a tirade.

“These vendors are money-grubbing lunatics!”

“Raising prices just for a few extra bucks, and it’s us ordinary folks who suffer!”

…

“Mom, I’m heading to school.”

“Go, go, I’m sick of looking at you!”

“Got it!”

…

Jiang the Schemer successfully slipped out of the house.

Hopped on her electric scooter.

And sped off toward school.

As for the poultry price hike mentioned on the news…

It wasn’t as serious as they made it sound.

Because before Jiang Ning took action, she’d already had Mature Woman Li give her dad a heads-up.

They’d prepped a bulk supply of poultry to ensure the public wouldn’t be affected.

As for why the news was still reporting on it…

It was probably just a few scattered vendors trying to make a quick buck.

As long as the overall market remained stable, the higher-ups wouldn’t treat it as a real issue.

As for the situation with the Hongsheng Group…

Miss Jiang had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

After all, the Board of Directors was a strange beast.

Some members genuinely wanted to expand the company, while others were just looking to cash out and bail.

With the right leverage…

And a little money…

You could get some surprising results.

Mm.

Thanks, Mature Woman Li.

Fifteen minutes later.

Miss Jiang arrived at class.

She had just sat down when Little Ye leaned over.

“Jiang Ning.”

“I heard that during the School Sports Meet last Friday, Luo Chengming touched your leg and you almost broke his hand?”

???

What the hell?!

Miss Jiang stared in utter disbelief.

Just then, the two boys behind her leaned in as well.

“No way, Sister Na.”

“What we heard was that Luo Chengming tried to relieve himself in public, got stopped by the Class Monitor, flew into a rage from embarrassment, and tried to retaliate—only to nearly get his arms broken by her?”

Huh?

Did that really happen?

Miss Jiang felt like she was listening to a wild story.

But as more versions of the tale surfaced, each more absurd than the last, she gradually began to understand the school’s intention.

And with that, she stopped taking the whole thing seriously.

After all, who would believe that a delicate little girl like Miss Jiang could actually come close to breaking a grown man’s arms?

…

As it turned out, Miss Jiang’s guess was spot on.

In the days that followed, once the final rumor about “Jiang the Enchantress who loves to eat men’s arms” faded away, the incident stirred up no more waves.

People went back to doing practice problems.

Back to attending classes.

Back to sleeping…

Yes.

Sleeping quite soundly…

Miss Jiang glanced at the young Miss Ye beside her, who was drooling in her sleep, and gently shook her head.

If she remembered correctly, this girl had just sworn yesterday to study hard and aim to get into the same university as Little Tao.

And yet, here they were, only in the third class of the second day, and she was already out cold again.

Hopeless.

Truly hopeless.

Miss Jiang sighed, then turned her attention back to the podium, watching as Lao Guo constructed his perfect world of chemistry.

Meanwhile, outside the school, things were far more dramatic.

Just yesterday, the entire Procurement Department of Hongsheng Group was laid off.

From the department head down to the office cat, not a single one was spared. Even the litter box was thrown out.

Officially, it was called a “resource optimization.”

But anyone with eyes could see that Hongsheng Group was just taking out its frustration on its own people because it couldn’t buy any chicken.

So, starting yesterday, a poultry vendor with the surname Jiang suddenly appeared on the radar of Jiangzhou’s food industry.

Some said he was targeting Hongsheng Group because of business rivalry.

Others claimed that Boss Jiang was aiming to dominate the entire poultry market in Jiangzhou, to become the undisputed Chicken King.

There were even rumors that Boss Jiang was actually a young girl, and that her battle with Hongsheng Group stemmed from a personal vendetta against the Luo family’s eldest son for being a womanizer.

In any case, the theories were many and varied.

But they all pointed to one thing: everyone was watching to see how Hongsheng Group would solve its poultry supply chain crisis.

After all, no one could guarantee their own supply chains wouldn’t face similar issues in the future.

And yet, poultry wasn’t the only problem for Hongsheng Group.

Reports soon surfaced of regulatory violations at their production facilities.

The very next day, the Safety Supervision Bureau came knocking.

Though the investigation didn’t uncover anything major and only resulted in a 2,000 yuan fine, it was still a negative mark on the company’s record.

Today was November 14.

There were eight days left before the Blackrock Group’s order deadline.

But for Huang Lili, the newly appointed head of the Procurement Department at Hongsheng Group, it didn’t matter whether it was one day or eight.

Because starting from yesterday, even if they scoured all of Jiangzhou City—no, even the entire Linjiang Province—they could barely find any poultry available for bulk purchase.

If it were just to supply the company’s internal food products, the current supply might barely hold.

But for the Blackrock Group’s order, this amount of chicken wasn’t even one-fifth of what was needed.

At this point, Huang Lili had already started thinking about which foot she should use to step out of the company when she got fired.

Then, her assistant suddenly mentioned that President Shang—more precisely, the President’s wife—had once supported a group of poultry suppliers. Maybe she still had some usable resources on hand.

Upon hearing this, Huang Lili immediately found Shang Jie’s number and hesitated in her office for a long time before finally making the call.

At that moment, Shang Jie was reclining on a lounge chair on her balcony, listening to old vinyl records while flipping through company documents.

That’s right.

She wasn’t focused on the Ningzhou branch’s affairs. Instead, her attention was on the recent side events unfolding within the group.

Ever since she learned that Jiang Ning was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes, she’d become especially curious.

She wanted to understand this girl’s methods.

Though after the last incident, Shang Jie had no intention of informing Luo Guosheng or helping Hongsheng Group, she couldn’t help but be intrigued.

A high school girl who built everything from scratch—what kind of tactics could she possibly be using to force a billion-yuan corporation to retreat?

Just then, a vibration pulled Shang Jie out of her thoughts.

She turned her head.

Her phone was ringing on the table.

She picked it up and flipped it open.

“Huang Lili from the Transportation Department?”

Shang Jie frowned, unsure why someone from the Transportation Department was calling her.

She thought for a moment.

She still picked up the phone.

Moments later.

A look of utter shock appeared on Shang Jie’s usually calm face.

“You’re the head of the Procurement Department now?”

“I remember you used to be…”

On the other end of the line.

Huang Lili was sitting on her office desk, her expression bleak.

“That’s right, I used to be just the director of the Transportation Department.”

“This time, I got pushed into the role at the last minute.”

“President Shang, please help me.”

…

A while later.

Huang Lili stared at the number written on the paper beside her.

Shang Jie’s instructions echoed in her mind.

She frowned slightly, confused.

Why could this number only be reached between 12:30 and 1:00 in the afternoon?

Still, confusion was one thing.

Huang Lili glanced at the watch on her wrist.

11:47.

Still a ways to go.

Originally, she had planned to grab a bite and come back to wait.

But given how urgent the matter was, she decided to have her secretary bring lunch instead, while she sat by the phone and waited patiently.

And so.

When the time hit exactly 12:29 PM.

Huang Lili put down her chopsticks.

She picked up the phone and began dialing the number, one digit at a time.

By the time she finished, it was exactly 12:30.

Seeing the timing was perfect, Huang Lili, nervous and uncertain, pressed the green call button.

“Beep… beep…”

The call tone rang as usual.

But after just a few seconds…

“The number you have dialed is currently busy. Please try again later…”

???

Rejected?

What does that mean?

Huang Lili froze for a moment.

Then she called again.

This time was even worse—after just two seconds, the call was rejected outright.

Now she was panicking.

She picked up the phone to dial again.

“The number you have dialed is powered off…”

…

“Jiang Jiang, why were you swearing in the bathroom?”

Qi Wen looked puzzled as she came out of the restroom.

She hadn’t expected Miss Jiang to be fuming.

“Some coward kept calling me.”

“You have no idea.”

“If I hadn’t been quick, my phone would’ve gotten flushed down the drain!”

“I was so mad I just turned it off!”

So that’s what happened.

Qi Wen covered her mouth and giggled, but after a moment, she asked, “But what if they really needed to reach you?”

That did make some sense.

Miss Jiang nodded.

Since there weren’t many people around, she took out her phone, slipped it into her sleeve, and through a small opening, turned it back on.

Sure enough.

As soon as it powered on, a text message came through.

【Hello Boss, I’m Huang Lili, head of the Procurement Department at Hongsheng Group. I got your number from President Shang. Sorry for the sudden contact, but I was wondering if we could purchase some poultry from you?】

At first glance, Miss Jiang thought it was a scam.

She was about to delete it.

But when she noticed the words “Hongsheng Group,” she paused in surprise.

Then her eyes caught on “President Shang,” and her expression turned a little amused.

“What is it, Jiang Jiang?”

“Nothing. Just realized… some women really are quite interesting.”

“Women?”

Hearing that word, especially from Little Qi’s lips, made Miss Jiang feel uneasy.

She quickly laughed it off.

“Ahem, I didn’t mean a woman…”

“Then you meant a man?”

“Oh, come on, as if! My attitude toward men couldn’t be worse. Why would I ever…”

Just then.

A man’s voice suddenly called out from the stairs.

He waved at Miss Jiang.

“Jiang Ning, come to the office for a moment.”

“Uh… coming!”

She responded quickly.

Then turned back to Little Qi, who was trying not to laugh, and gave a small explanation.

“Except for Lao Guo, of course…”

…

Two minutes later.

Miss Jiang stood in front of Lao Guo’s desk, her voice timid.

“Respected Teacher Guo, did you need something?”

Before Guo Ming could answer, Boss Yang Mei, seated nearby, burst out laughing.

She turned to look at the ever-glamorous Miss Jiang.

“Jiang the Hero, your staff technique is quite something.”

Of course, Old Jiang knew what Boss Yang Mei was implying.

She scratched her head sheepishly.

“No, no…”

“Compared to your… ahem…”

“Teaching pointer, right?” Yang Mei chuckled, then waved at Guo Ming.

“Teacher Guo, I think this little rascal is still too full of energy.”

“I suggest copying the ‘Memorial to Dispatch Troops’ ten times.”

???

Hey hey hey!

Boss Yang Mei.

I’ve been working under you quietly for so long.

Even if I haven’t made great contributions, I’ve put in the effort.

Is it really fair to say that?

Of course, Miss Jiang couldn’t say any of that to Boss Yang Mei. She could only turn back with a pitiful face and look pleadingly at Lao Guo.

In the end.

The stern-faced Lao Guo suddenly let out a snort and laughed.

Then he shook his head.

“As expected, there’s no such thing as a wrong nickname, only the wrong name.”

“Jiang the Enchantress…”

“Tsk tsk tsk.”

If any of the young guys had said that…

Miss Jiang had already rolled her eyes ages ago.

But the words had come from Lao Guo.

So she could only put on a sheepish face, mumbling timidly, “Teacher Guo, I’m actually really well-behaved…”

In response, Lao Guo merely tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“The school decided to handle last week’s incident quietly.”

“The boys who blocked your way received serious warnings and each had to write a letter of apology. Do you want to read them?”

Seeing that Miss Jiang wasn’t interested, Lao Guo continued, “Luo Chengming has been taken home for a one-month suspension.”

“Originally, the principal wanted to expel him.”

“But after all…”

“I get it, I get it…” Miss Jiang waved her hand.

She never expected that little punk to be expelled over this anyway.

Getting him suspended for a month was already more than she’d hoped for.

In fact, he probably wouldn’t even last the full month.

But it didn’t matter.

If everything went according to plan, by next month, things might already look very different.

After that, Lao Guo gave a few reminders about the upcoming midterm exams.

Just when Miss Jiang thought the conversation was wrapping up, Lao Guo pulled out a few sheets of paper filled with writing from his drawer and laid them on the desk.

“This is an invitation faxed over by an entertainment company.”

“They said they’d like to invite you to join their talent development program.”

Entertainment company?

Could it be that someone in the industry had figured out her identity?

Wait a minute.

Talent development program?

Miss Jiang instantly caught the key phrase.

Frowning, she took the papers from Lao Guo.

At the top, it read:

【Lion King Entertainment】…

………

Ten minutes later.

At the school phone booth.

Miss Jiang called Liao Liao to talk about the situation.

Their final guess was that Wang Yang still hadn’t given up.

He’d used the company’s name to send a formal letter to the school, hoping to use the school as a bridge to get Miss Jiang to contact Lion King Entertainment.

Once she realized this was the most likely explanation, Miss Jiang let out a small sigh of relief.

However…

Liao Liao’s proposed solution made her a little reluctant.

“I already signed a contract with you guys under the name ‘Jiang Jiang’…”

“If I sign another one using my real name, isn’t that just asking for trouble…”

“If you don’t sign with an entertainment company, do you think they’ll just leave you alone?” Liao Liao’s voice over the phone left Miss Jiang silent for a long moment.

Suddenly.

A thought struck her like lightning. She hesitated, then asked tentatively,

“Sister Liao Liao.”

“What if I start my own entertainment company…”

“Would that work?”

(End of chapter)