Chapter 127: Deviation

Hong Chen was choked by a fit of coughing. Once he finished, he wore a bitter smile. Who else but Jiang Ying would call him, address him as "Divine Doctor Hong," and possess such a tone?

"Miss Jiang, I don't believe I've offended you. Can we speak civilly?"

"Whether or not you’ve offended me is something you know in your own heart."

Jiang Ying’s tone didn’t soften; if anything, it became even more aggressive. Hong Chen scratched his ear. "Is there something you need?"

"Can't I call you if there’s nothing wrong?"

Great, the woman had clearly eaten gunpowder. Hong Chen had no obligation to indulge her spoiled-brat temperament time and time again. He laughed dryly, "If you have something to say, say it. If not, I’m hanging up."

"You wouldn't dare!"

Hong Chen pressed the end-call button immediately. Soon, Jiang Ying called back. Before she could speak, Hong Chen cut her off: "I hate two types of women the most: shrews and those with princess syndrome. Speak properly, or I’m blacklisting you."

"You don't even have my number saved, what are you going to blacklist?"

Hong Chen paused, realizing she was right. Then he heard Jiang Ying add, "If you dare hang up on me again, I’ll broadcast your secret to the world."

Hong Chen went abruptly silent. There was no sound on the other end, either. After a long moment, Jiang Ying’s voice returned, this time much softer, even tinged with a hint of hesitation: "Hello? Why aren't you saying anything? Are you angry?"

Hong Chen glanced at the driver beside him, swallowing the harsh words that had risen to his throat. He simply said, "Your brother and I are like brothers, and our relationship is good. I trust that you have some sense of boundaries."

"Small-minded!" A long snort came from the other end. After fumbling for a moment, she said, "Fine, let’s talk business. I need you to do me a favor."

"What favor?"

"Pretend to be my boyfriend and come to my house for dinner so my parents can meet you."

For a moment, black lines of frustration gathered on Hong Chen’s forehead. "This..."

"Don't 'this' or 'that' me. This was decided last week. It was supposed to be Cao Renjie, but you know his situation better than anyone. Now, you’re the one who has to fill in."

Hong Chen felt a headache coming on. "Me? Why don't you find someone else? Can’t you just grab anyone from our circle?"

"No. Everyone in the circle is a child of the various families in Qing City. My parents know everyone I hang out with, and I can't ask anyone I'm not familiar with. Among the people I know, you are the most suitable. I’ve already introduced you to my parents as a gold-medal jockey from the provincial capital who usually trains there."

Jiang Ying continued, "Don't worry, my parents are very unhappy about me having a jockey boyfriend. They’re only meeting you to show me respect. Afterward, they’ll definitely try to lecture me into breaking up with you. I’ll just play along for a few rounds of Tai Chi and drag it out for six months or a year so they stop trying to set me up with people."

She added, "You owe me two favors; consider this one settled. If you don't honor this, I won't keep your secret anymore. Besides, I’ll give you that car of mine as compensation."

Hong Chen was speechless. He hadn't been swayed by her earlier inexplicable threats, but now that she was leveraging the favors he owed her, he couldn't bring himself to lash out. The first favor was one she had forced upon him, and as for the second, he had to admit she had indeed stood by him at the Luo family's place.

"Since you aren't saying anything, I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll send you the address and time later. Alright, I have things to do, hanging up now."

Hong Chen was still struggling with the dilemma when Jiang Ying decided the matter herself and hung up, just as decisively as before.

Looking at the "Call Ended" screen, Hong Chen was caught between laughter and tears. He slapped his forehead and leaned heavily against the seat. Moments later, a message arrived: Time: 6:00 PM. Address: Villa No. 3, Qiuyue Anbang Residential Area, XXX Road.

He stared at the screen for a long time, finally letting out a long, resigned sigh.

After the taxi reached the villa district, Hong Chen got out, found a secluded spot to shed his "disguise," and grabbed lunch at a snack shop. On his way walking back to the villa, he called Jiang Tao.

As soon as the call connected, before he could speak, Jiang Tao’s cold sneer came through: "Heh, I thought that after doing something so shameful, you’d never contact me again in this lifetime."

Assuming Jiang Ying had already tipped him off, Hong Chen sighed. "How did it become something shameful on my part? Your sister arranged this job for me; I couldn't refuse even if I wanted to."

Jiang Tao cursed, "Are you even a man? Can you have a little bit of integrity?"

Hong Chen was bewildered. "How am I not a man? And how have I lost my integrity?"

Jiang Tao sent a video file via Cloud Message and said, "Don't tell me Xiao Ying forced you. No wonder you called me; so you're the third party trying to steal her away from Cao Renjie? I despise you."

Hong Chen opened the video and watched for a few seconds. He felt as if a flock of crows were flying over his head, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a duck egg.

The content of the video was from the first night in Nan City, showing him and Jiang Ying on the dance floor of a nightclub, completely wrapped around each other. Combined with Jiang Tao’s words, he realized with horror that this was a massive misunderstanding!

"You really don't have the guts, do you? If you liked Xiao Ying, you should have just said so. She’s my sister, not my girlfriend. Doing it on the sly like a thief... If I hadn't gone to KTV last night and had a bit too much to drink, and started teasing Xiao Ying, asking if Cao Renjie had taken her for lamb and to those low-class KTV bars, she wouldn't have shown me this video. I would still be kept in the dark by you two..."

Jiang Tao’s incessant complaining continued on the other end. The more Hong Chen heard, the more wrong it felt. His face turned uglier by the second until he finally interrupted: "Stop! I’m telling you one thing right now: Jiang Ying is making me pretend to be her boyfriend tonight to meet her parents."

Jiang Tao screamed, "Damn! You two are moving way too fast! Let me tell you, meeting the parents means Xiao Ying is serious about you. She’s my sister; if you’re just playing with her feelings, don't blame me for turning on you."

Hong Chen had been so afraid of the suspicion of playing with her feelings that he had been willing to ruin his own image to nip it in the bud. Now, thanks to the communication between the siblings, things had gone off the rails—no, the deviation was significant.

Hong Chen felt terrible. His face shifted rapidly, and he gritted his teeth. "Where are you? Are you free? Let’s meet up. Some things can't be explained over the phone."

Jiang Ying said casually, "Oh. I'll send you an address. Come find me, I’ll buy you a coffee."

After hanging up, Hong Chen’s mind was a mess. He returned to the villa, didn't even go inside, and took Jiang Ying’s BMW. Half an hour later, he arrived at the address Jiang Tao had sent—a high-end 5A office building.

Hong Chen parked the car, called Jiang Tao, and then entered the building to find the café. He saw Jiang Tao waving from a corner seat.

After sitting down, Hong Chen gulped down half a glass of iced coffee in one go, exhaled, and offered a bitter smile to Jiang Tao. Without waiting to be asked, he told him everything.

He recounted the first night of the Nan City trip—excluding the part about Jiang Ying’s kidnapping—exactly as it had happened, then jumped to the events after leaving the Luo residence, right up to Jiang Ying taking a taxi alone that night.

Jiang Tao listened patiently without interrupting. After he finished, he remained silent for two minutes. Suddenly, he pointed at Hong Chen and laughed, an inscrutable expression on his face. "Tell me, what kind of situation is this?"

Hong Chen smiled bitterly. "Originally, she wanted to mess with me in Nan City. By some twist of fate, how did she end up getting interested in me?"

Jiang Tao spat, "Stop feigning ignorance while reaping the benefits."

Hong Chen pouted. "I’m not reaping anything. My head is about to explode. You know I have a wife, and she’s your sister..."

Jiang Tao raised a hand to stop him. He leaned back, resting his hands behind his head, and said softly, "Based on my understanding of Xiao Ying, after your performance at the racetrack, and then your burning the car and messing with people that night, she must have been interested in you already."

Hong Chen rolled his eyes. "Spare me. She plotted to trick me into going to Nan City because she couldn't stand me and wanted to fix me."

Jiang Tao was non-committal. "I believe she plotted to lure you to Nan City. That girl has plenty of devious ideas. But to say she sacrificed herself, acting as bait just to expose you and force me to stop recognizing you as a brother? If you believe that, you’re just too blinded by the situation..."

"If she really wanted to mess with you, she wouldn't have done it herself. She would have hired a few women, filmed the video, and sent it to my parents instead of me, letting them pressure me. That would have been truly effective."

Hong Chen’s eyes flickered, deep in thought. Jiang Tao glanced at him, a playful curve to his lips. "Her true goal was to turn a fake act into reality, even calculating me into the mix. She compromised herself, took the video, and showed it to me later. Standing in my shoes, what would you say I’d do?"

"One is my sister, the other is my brother. Since there’s a 'scandal,' the most perfect ending is for me to play along and let it be. I naturally became the mediator, the matchmaker, the old man under the moon."

"Besides, I’ll get rid of Cao Renjie, give him some money, and make him disappear from Xiao Ying’s side. Tsk tsk, this level of planning—Xiao Ying’s wisdom is almost catching up to mine."

As he finished, Jiang Tao rubbed his temples with two fingers and gave Hong Chen a silent smile—a smile that was as narcissistic as it could possibly be.