Chapter 235: Boss, You’re Amazing!

The setting sun cast its golden glow, painting the sky in hues of crimson.

By the time Miss Jiang returned to Jiangzhou, it was already around six in the evening.

She stood at the entrance of the shop.

Like a well-behaved lucky cat, Miss Jiang watched as her mother and Principal Ma practiced tai chi together.

With a flowing “cloud hands” movement, the two of them clasped hands warmly.

Then, with a “parting the clouds” move, Old Ma stuffed the cigarette back into her mother’s hand.

Finally, during the last sequence of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Eight Trigram Palm, Old Ma came out on top.

He got into his car.

Seeing this, her mother had no choice but to drag a certain bystander over.

“Go on, thank Principal Ma.”

“You little brat, don’t you know any manners?”

???

Me?

Miss Jiang was momentarily stunned, but being someone who knew how to read the room—no, someone who understood the bigger picture—she immediately offered several polite thank-you’s to Principal Ma.

Principal Ma waved them off with a smile.

Then, after Old Ma’s car drove away.

Miss Jiang turned to her mother with an awkward grin.

“Hehehe…”

“Mom, I missed you so much…”

Faced with her daughter’s attempt to butter her up, her mother just chuckled softly and gave Jiang Ning a once-over from head to toe.

“Let’s go inside.”

That one sentence made Miss Jiang’s heart sink.

“Um…”

“Mom, my stomach’s acting up a bit. I need to use the restroom first.”

She turned to run, but just as she spun around, her mother’s voice floated over, calm and light: “Try taking a single step.”

Perfect.

Miss Jiang instantly chickened out.

She obediently followed behind her mother, carrying her things as they headed into the shop.

As luck would have it.

The little brat next door suddenly poked his head out.

When he saw Miss Jiang trailing behind her mother like a scolded puppy, his face scrunched up pitifully.

“Auntie!”

“Big Sis always bullies me!!”

Hah.

The little brat had learned to tattle now?

Think that’ll work?

Anyone could see how fake that was…

There’s no way her mother would—

Just as Jiang Ning confidently turned her gaze toward her mother, she met a look in her eyes that was… hard to read.

“Mom…”

“You… you don’t actually believe him, do you…?”

“He, he, he, he…”

In the end.

Right before stepping into the “Pangpang” clothing store, Miss Jiang turned and glared fiercely at the smug little brat next door.

Just you wait!

Not even a Golden Immortal could save you now!

………

In the end, Miss Jiang didn’t get her revenge.

The brat ran off.

Went to tutoring.

According to Aunt Huang, he even volunteered to go.

To Miss Jiang, it felt like she’d been charging up a powerful ultimate move, only for it to fizzle out at the last second. The disappointment was real.

But she wasn’t one to just take it lying down.

She pulled a small Olympiad notebook from her pocket and handed it over.

“Aunt Huang, I won a prize in the math competition.”

“Really?!”

Aunt Huang took the certificate with a surprised look, but when she opened it—

Her face was full of shock.

“N-N-National?!”

And then.

After basking in ten-plus minutes of over-the-top praise, Miss Jiang patted her chest proudly.

“Don’t worry, Aunt Huang.”

“I’ll make sure to keep a close eye on Xiao Kai’s homework!”

The next day.

When Miss Jiang appeared before a certain young lad with a teaching pointer in hand—

The boy dropped to his knees on the spot.

Yep.

He actually knelt.

But did it help?

Not one bit.

——————

Truth be told, unless someone’s specifically paying attention, math Olympiad competitions don’t get much notice.

For example, right now, no one knew that the gold medalist of the National High School Math Olympiad—

The one hailed as the brightest star in the math world, Miss Jiang—

Was currently in the main hall of the “Shi Ning Ji” Times Square location, clearing dishes.

“Jiang Ning!”

“Table 19 needs bussing!”

“Got it, Sister Chen! On it!”

…

“Jiang Ning! Table 8!”

“Coming…”

…

“Jiang Ning!”

“The store manager wants to see you!”

“On my way!”

Wiping the grease off her hands, Miss Jiang made her way to the office.

Xia Ling was reading a newspaper.

When she saw Jiang Ning walk in, she handed the paper over to her.

“Boss, you’re amazing!”

“Math Olympiad gold medalist!”

“You can get into a top university now, no problem!”

“Not bad, not bad.” Miss Jiang gave a sheepish grin, clearly not wanting to dwell on the topic.

“What did Manager Yang say?”

“Are they giving us the spot, or are they still holding out for ‘Emperor’s Chicken’?”

At that, Xia Ling waved her hand and frowned.

“They gave us the spot.”

“But the deal they’re offering isn’t nearly as good as what ‘Emperor’s Chicken’ got.”

A weak offer?

Miss Jiang immediately understood that Xia Ling wasn’t happy with how the negotiation had gone.

But she didn’t mind.

She said bluntly:

“The Hongsheng Group’s got more clout than we do.”

“Manager Yang’s just afraid of offending them.”

“So?” Xia Ling asked tentatively.

“Are we taking this event or not?”

“We’re taking it!” Miss Jiang sneered, tapping the copy of the *Jiangzhou Evening News* on the desk.

“We’re going to strike while their company’s still playing house.”

“Take back every bit of market share that ‘Emperor’s Chicken’ grabbed.”

“I don’t believe for a second…”

“These idiots actually think they can break into the market by throwing money around like Madam Shang did.”

…

To be honest, Jiang Ning hadn’t expected it either.

In just a few short days, Hongsheng Group had been hit with a flood of negative press.

Things like “tainted raw materials in the factory,” “conflicts among shareholders,” “delayed wages for workers”—all kinds of scandals.

The reports were well-sourced, backed by photos and evidence.

It all seemed disturbingly real.

Still, Miss Jiang found it hard to believe that a company with over twenty years of history could make such amateur mistakes.

But the newspapers painted such a vivid picture, it made her almost want to pick up the phone and call that elegant housewife for answers.

Unfortunately, the timing wasn’t right.

Meanwhile, at Horton Manor—

Shang Jie sat on the living room sofa, overseeing her two children as they did their homework.

At first, she had thought that being grounded like this would be unbearable.

But once she got used to it, once she laid down the burdens she had carried for so long, she found herself feeling an unexpected sense of peace and ease.

Maybe…

Just staying by her children’s side as they grew up wasn’t such a bad kind of happiness after all.

If only…

“Mom, I want to go to the amusement park.”

“Me too, Mom!”

Hearing her children’s requests, Shang Jie sighed and smiled gently as she comforted them.

“Be good. Once you finish your homework, I’ll have Uncle Li take you.”

But the two kids just exchanged a glance, then started shaking their heads vigorously. As they did, they each grabbed one of Shang Jie’s arms and tugged insistently.

“Mom, we want you to come with us.”

“Yeah, Mom! All my classmates go with their moms!”

The two of them shook her arms so hard it made her head spin.

“Alright, alright, alright.”

“Stop shaking, stop shaking.”

“Mom will go with you, okay?”

At her words, the children cheered in delight.

But just then—

Luo Guosheng, who hadn’t been seen in days, appeared at the entryway without a sound.

He stood there, his gaze calm as he looked at the three of them in the living room.

“Daddy!”

“Daddy!”

The children got up and greeted him sweetly.

But he didn’t respond.

His eyes remained just as calm.

“Come to my study.”

A short while later, in Luo Guosheng’s study—

Shang Jie stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and there was a trace of disbelief in her expression.

“You think it was me?”

“You think I leaked the company’s scandals to the media?”

At that, Luo Guosheng didn’t deny it.

He simply took a cigarette case from his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and placed it between his lips.

His movements were slow, deliberate, without pause.

When Shang Jie saw the spark flare at the tip of the cigarette, her brow creased instinctively.

“You said you wouldn’t smoke in front of me.”

“And you said you’d never betray me.”

Luo Guosheng’s words wiped the expression from Shang Jie’s face.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

In that moment, for some reason, the man standing before her felt like a stranger.

But she didn’t say much more. She simply fixed her gaze on him and asked calmly,

“Do you have proof?”

“Does it matter?” Luo Guosheng exhaled, the gray smoke curling into the air.

“No one on the Board of Directors believes you anymore.”

At those words, something seemed to click for Shang Jie. She let out a soft, self-mocking laugh.

“Ever since you made me hand over my VP title and control of the stores half a month ago, I knew something was off.”

“But I still held onto a sliver of hope.”

“Now that I think about it, it must be the 3% of shares I hold that made you feel threatened.”

“Or maybe you think I’ll side with Huang Jue and the rest of the board?”

Luo Guosheng didn’t answer. He stubbed out the cigarette on the desk.

After a long silence, he spoke a number.

“Three million.”

But Shang Jie rejected him without hesitation, leaving no room for negotiation.

“Not selling.”

“No matter how much you offer, I’m not selling.”

“These shares are my children’s future.”

At the mention of “children,” Luo Guosheng’s expression turned visibly irritated.

He loosened his collar, his tone edged with frustration.

“Haven’t I already given you enough for their future?”

Shang Jie said nothing.

She understood why Luo Guosheng wanted the shares.

Power struggles in the company had always been ongoing.

But what she hadn’t expected was that the man she had followed for nearly ten years would now even try to take the shares from her hands.

It was almost laughable.

In the end, their conversation ended in cold silence.

Standing by the window, watching the black sedan drive away, Shang Jie couldn’t help but recall the words that pretty young woman had once said to her.

“Hongsheng Group…”

“Really isn’t a good place…”

(End of this chapter)