Chapter 396 - Chapter 396: I’m Just a Chess Piece
Chapter 396: I’m Just a Chess Piece
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Dr. North said lightly, “The descendants of the Jiang family are also few, but how come every one of them is extraordinary?”
“In City A, with so many top-tier families, who can compare to my master’s family?” Qin Wan said with a filtered tone. “The Jiang family has always maintained their noble lineage and their insistence on equal social status in relationships. With equal social status, their partners are no less exceptional. It’s no wonder that Grandma strongly opposed Jiang Mingyue marrying Gu Wenliang back then; she had great foresight.”
Gu Ci was speechless.
Gu Ci never expected to stumble upon discussions about her own background.
“Chen Liangdong is quite unfortunate. He has no sons or daughters, but he treats Ziyu as his own son,” Qin Wan concluded. “To treat him as his own child, he must be quite happy.”
Dr. North was puzzled.
Gu Ci had a say in this matter. “He has raised Ziyu very well. The boy is truly an angel now. Both Lu Zhiyuan and I don’t have that capability.”
After returning home, Qin Wan freshened up and started doing her homework. Just after half an hour, Jiang Junlin called her with a new task. Qin Wan and Gu Ci quickly hopped on their motorcycles and rushed off.
“Master, why do you seem so distracted today?” Gu Ci, being observant, had noticed that Dr. North seemed preoccupied, and his appetite for dinner was lacking.
“I’m thinking about some old matters,” Dr. North replied. “Do you also think Qin Wan and Chen Yang resemble each other?”
“They do look quite similar!”
Dr. North hesitated and asked, “Cici, I’m torn. Should I tell her about Little Cherry’s situation or not?”
Gu Ci, who had grown more understanding, said, “Whether you tell her or not, you’ll always be Qin Wan’s mother. That won’t change.”
Suddenly, the living room door swung open, and Qin Wan appeared at the entrance with an expressionless face, holding her helmet in one hand. “Cici, what were you just talking about?”
Qin Wan had rushed out and halfway to Jiang Junlin’s place when he requested a document. She came back unexpectedly, her steps light, and neither Gu Ci nor Dr. North had noticed her return.
“Qin Wan…” Gu Ci looked at Dr. North, alarmed.
Qin Wan checked her watch, hastily went upstairs, grabbed the document, and said, “I have a task to complete, and I’m in a hurry. I hope you can give me an explanation when I return.”
She left in haste, without causing a scene or shedding tears, just like a passing breeze.
Gu Ci and Dr. North were filled with regret. They rarely discussed Qin Wan’s background, but today, Dr. North had asked, and Gu Ci had casually mentioned it, not expecting Qin Wan to overhear.
“Master, what should we do?” Gu Ci asked.
Dr. North sighed, “We can’t hide it forever. I will tell her everything.”
Although Qin Wan appeared calm on the surface, as she sped on the expressway with her motorcycle, her heart was in turmoil. Her unease wasn’t about Dr. North being her mother; it was the fact that Gu Ci had known about it for a long time.
Does the Master know?
Why did the Master take an interest in her at first?
When the Master came looking for her, was it because Dr. North had betrayed him? Was he seeking revenge? And then why did he change his mind and keep her by his side?
Was the Master initially here to kill her?
When Qin Wan met Jiang Junlin, she threw the documents at him and scolded, “It’s all your fault for needing this stupid document. You’ve ruined my peaceful life.”
Jiang Junlin raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Wasn’t Qin Wan always obedient to the Master, following his every command without question?
Jiang Junlin lowered his head to organize the documents that Qin Wan handed to him, ignoring her emotional outburst. “Can you still handle the task, or should I assign it to someone else?”
“No need!” Qin Wan stormed off on her motorcycle again, and Jiang Junlin signaled for Zhang Qiang to follow her. “Keep an eye on her, and make sure she doesn’t cause any trouble.”
“Got it!”
Zhang Qiang followed Qin Wan.
Once they were out of earshot, Jiang Junlin propped his chin up in thought. What did she hear on her way to get the documents? Most likely, it was Dr. North and Gu Ci discussing her background.
Jiang Junlin pondered with curiosity, who was her father?
From the beginning, Jiang Junlin didn’t believe that Qin Wan was Chen Geng’s daughter. Dr. North had a ruthless personality, and if she had become pregnant with Chen Geng’s child, she most likely would have aborted it and not gone through the trouble of sending it to a safe place.
In the late night, Little Cherry and Zhang Qiang returned.
The mission was executed smoothly.
Little Cherry was still irritated, and Jiang Junlin said, “Let’s go, have a late-night snack!”
“Can we find a place open at this hour?”
“Money can move mountains,” Jiang Junlin said with a smile. The group headed to a late-night eatery, one of Jiang Junlin’s regular spots. It was a small family-owned place, and the couple who ran it were struggling. Besides the food cooked by Guifang at home, Jiang Junlin loved this family-owned eatery the most. Later on, when the couple faced financial difficulties, Jiang Junlin bought the place and only had one request: that the food be prepared according to his taste, and he didn’t take any profit from it.
With such a significant investment, the couple had turned the place into a private kitchen restaurant. Jiang Junlin often came here for social gatherings, and over time, it became a favorite gathering spot in the financial circle, where the company mattered more than the food.
When he arrived past 2 AM, the restaurant was still open. Jiang Junlin had called ahead to order late-night snacks. The couple who owned the restaurant let their staff go home early and waited for him.
The late-night snacks were quickly served. Qin Wan, hungry as a wolf, focused on her bowl of noodles while Jiang Junlin slowly savored his fish soup. He asked, “So, what’s bothering you? Tell me about it.”
Qin Wan picked up a bowl that was larger than her face and drank all the noodle soup in one gulp, slamming the bowl back onto the table. Jiang Junlin raised an eyebrow, “These tableware pieces are custom-made bone china. Don’t break them.”
“Is Dr. North my mother?” Qin Wan asked straightforwardly.
“Yes,” Jiang Junlin admitted just as straightforwardly. “Did you overhear the conversation between Gu Ci and Dr. North?”
“You all knew, and you kept it from me?”
“This is your and Dr. North’s private matter. If she wanted to tell you, she would have. If she didn’t, there was no need for me to pry,” Jiang Junlin explained gently. “Besides, you’ve always said you disliked her. Could I say anything?”
Qin Wan’s habit was to confront her enemies face-to-face and speak her mind. She didn’t like harboring feelings overnight. “When you first came to find me, were you planning to kill me?”
Jiang Junlin contemplated. It seemed that the little girl was concerned about this.
“You hesitated for three seconds. Indeed, you initially came to kill me for revenge!” Qin Wan accused. “Then why did you change your mind?”
“Triad members who die in the line of duty, we have to take care of their families. If they betray the organization, their families must also be registered. After Dr. North betrayed me, I thought she might look for her daughter, so I followed this lead to find her. I never thought about killing you. Don’t overthink it,” Jiang Junlin explained. “Later on, I didn’t pay much attention to you. I just had people keep a record of your whereabouts and report back to me. You’re intelligent, determined, and have a good foundation. Your adoptive parents didn’t treat you well. I wanted to bring you by my side, and as long as Dr. North was alive, I knew she would come looking for you someday.”
“I’m just a pawn!” Qin Wan looked saddened. “You trained me just to find your enemy..”