Chapter 24: Why Are You Here?

Ji Yunyi studied art management and has opened several galleries in New York, London, and North City.

She is also a well-known oil painter both domestically and internationally, but her works are never sold. She only donates a few pieces during charity events, with the highest-priced painting fetching nearly twenty million yuan.

The painting depicts a cherry blossom in April, with vibrant spring flowers. The cherry blossoms falling in the wind resemble a spring rain, and the bright spring light weaves through the petals.

In the depths of the light and shadow, there is a little girl in a white dress seen from the back. She is barefoot, gazing upwards as if waiting for the petals to fall, or perhaps waiting for the light.

The little girl in the painting is Jiang Se at six years old.

That afternoon, when she woke up, Aunt Zhang told her that Madam was painting in the cherry blossom forest. Jiang Se, who hadn’t seen Ji Yunyi for nearly half a year, didn’t even bother to change out of her nightgown. She rushed barefoot to the cherry blossom forest.

The little girl in the painting isn’t waiting for the flowers or the light.

She is simply looking for her mother.

“Madam Ji” is the respectful title others use for Ji Yunyi. Compared to “Mrs. Cen” or “Madam Ji,” she always preferred this one.

However, when this title was spoken by Jiang Se, the smile on Ji Yunyi’s lips faded slightly.

The last time they met was on the day Jiang Se changed her surname.

That day, Ji Yunyi said to Jiang Se, “Since you don’t want to carry the Cen surname, remember to return everything the Cen family gave you. From now on, don’t call me ‘mother’ anymore.”

Now, when they meet again, Jiang Se indeed no longer calls her “mother.”

In the banquet hall, countless eyes were on them—curious, probing, and waiting for the drama to unfold.

Cen Minghong furrowed his brows as he looked at Jiang Se, a flicker of displeasure passing through him like the wind.

But Ji Yunyi only gently nodded at Jiang Se, saying, “Miss Jiang, it’s been a long time. Thank you for taking the time to attend the Cen family’s dinner.”

Jiang Se smiled. “My junior personally delivered the invitation to me in Tong City. Today is her big day, and as her senior, I should come no matter what.”

The implication was that it was Cen Yu who invited her, and she was only here in her capacity as a senior.

Ji Yunyi quietly gazed at Jiang Se without speaking.

At this moment, the symphony orchestra on the staircase finished playing a piece.

Butler Yu, who managed the old Cen residence, quietly approached, greeted Jiang Se respectfully, and softly called out, “Madam?”

Ji Yunyi lowered her gaze briefly, and when she raised her eyes again, her expression had returned to normal. She tilted her head and smiled at Cen Minghong. “We should go now. Xiao Yu is waiting for us.”

Cen Minghong nodded, giving Jiang Se a glance before walking with Ji Yunyi toward the spiral staircase.

“Chairman, Madam Ji,” Jiang Se called out to stop them.

The two paused and turned back. Seeing the expression on Jiang Se’s face, Cen Minghong’s brow furrowed even more.

Ji Yunyi smiled and said, “If Miss Jiang has something to say, perhaps you can wait until after the banquet.”

“This is a rare occasion, so I’ll speak here. It’s just few short sentences,” Jiang Se’s gaze slowly swept over them as she spoke, pausing with each word. “For the past twenty-three years, I’m grateful to both of you for taking care of me. In the future, Jiang Se can no longer accompany you. Here, I respectfully say goodbye to both of you. I wish Chairman Cen and Madam Ji a lifelong, deeply loving marriage.”

As the night deepened, the orchestra began a new symphonic poem.

The whispers hidden within the symphony rose and fell, and there were even a few rude, gloating laughs.

From the corner of her eye, Jiang Se noticed someone raising a wine glass toward her with a smile.

She glanced sideways, meeting the smiling eyes of Zhu Mingli.

That smile was insincere.

Jiang Se couldn’t even be bothered to feign politeness. With a slight flutter of her eyelids, she completely ignored her. Just as she was about to step away to find Cen Mingshu, the light and shadow beside her suddenly dimmed.

“Se Se.”

The voice of the newcomer was low and gentle, and without even looking, Jiang Se knew the person was smiling.

This long-awaited voice made Jiang Se pause in surprise. She turned her head, smiling at the man beside her as she responded, “Fu Yun.”

Fu Yun was dressed in a well-tailored white suit, his handsome features carrying a hint of warmth, gentle and clear.

“How long has it been since we last saw each other?” Fu Yun tilted his chin slightly to the side, smiling. “Shall we chat for a while?”

Jiang Se glanced at the spiral staircase and nodded to Fu Yun. She walked with him toward the window, saying, “The last time we met was before you went to South America earlier this year.”

“That was in March,” Fu Yun sighed. “It’s hard to believe it’s been nine months already. I only remember that our last conversation was on Mid-Autumn Festival night.”

Jiang Se naturally remembered that phone call.

Their relationship was somewhat dramatic, to be honest.

Originally, Jiang Se’s fiancé was Fu Laozi’s only grandson, Fu Jun. Fu Yun was Fu Laozi’s illegitimate son, two years older than Fu Jun, and Fu Jun’s uncle.

The year Jiang Se graduated from university, she was supposed to be engaged to Fu Jun, but two months before the engagement, Fu Jun suddenly passed away.

The cooperation between the Fu and Cen families had already begun, and neither family wanted to give up on the marriage alliance, so they planned for another member of the Fu family to replace Fu Jun and marry Jiang Se.

The Fu family was large, and there were at least two or three other candidates who could have married Jiang Se. But in order to maintain power within their branch, Fu Laozi used strong-handed tactics to assign Fu Yun the task of continuing the marriage alliance with the Cen family.

Fu Jun had been Fu Laozi’s favored grandson, and his position in the Fu family was worlds apart from Fu Yun’s, who was an illegitimate son.

It’s unclear how Fu Laozi convinced Cen Minghong, but the Cen family agreed to let Fu Yun replace Fu Jun.

Before this, Jiang Se had only met Fu Yun a few times and didn’t have much of an impression of him, only remembering that he was a very gentle person.

After the engagement, although their interactions increased, both of them were very busy, and it wasn’t uncommon for them to go six months without meeting.

The phone call on Mid-Autumn Festival was after the Fu family had informed Jiang Se about the swap with Cen Yu. It was Fu Yun who called her.

On the call, Fu Yun asked her, “Se Se, do you still want to continue with our engagement?”

Jiang Se asked him, “If I no longer carry the Cen surname, do you think your father would allow you to continue with our engagement?”

Fu Yun was silent for a moment before responding, “He won’t agree, but I can try to persuade him. But before I do that, I want to know your thoughts.”

There was a hint of tenderness in his words.

Fu Yun didn’t actually like her much; rather, he felt sympathy for her situation.

Both of them were pawns pushed into this marriage by their families, and there was no need to create friction with Fu Laozi over a little mutual pity.

Jiang Se didn’t like being indebted to anyone.

Moreover, she saw this marriage alliance as part of her duty as a member of the Cen family. Once she decided to give up that surname, it naturally meant she was also giving up the engagement.

Since the moment she realized she wasn’t truly a Cen family member, she had no intention of continuing.

Jiang Se told Fu Yun the truth—that she didn’t want to.

Fu Yun seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and upon hearing her, he smiled and said, “Then our engagement is off, but Se Se, I’m still your friend.”

After Jiang Se moved to Tong City, their communication gradually became less frequent.

Now, seeing each other again, Fu Yun naturally asked about her family: “How are your relatives treating you?”

“They’re good,” Jiang Se smiled slightly. “I knew you’d ask that.”

Fu Yun also smiled, his light brown eyes sparkling with warmth, like glass beads shimmering in the sunlight.

In North City, the heavy snow had lasted for more than half a month, and tonight was the rare occasion when the moonlight appeared. The moonlight spread across the window ledge like a layer of crushed salt.

The figures of Fu Yun and Jiang Se stood bathed in the moonlight, looking like a perfect pair.

Near the spiral staircase, a woman wearing a diamond headband nudged Zhu Mingli’s elbow, signaling her to look at Jiang Se.

“You think if Cen Se doesn’t return to the Cen family, she’ll cling to Fu Yun? Fu Yun has done a lot of impressive work these past two years, gaining Fu Laozi’s favor. Although he’s a bastard son, he’s now the only heir to the Fu family, and it’s highly likely that the Fu family will be handed over to him in the future.”

Zhu Mingli glanced over, her expression cold as she replied with a smile, “Fu Laozi is famous for his shrewdness. He wouldn’t allow Fu Yun to take in a counterfeit. No matter how real a counterfeit is, it’s still a counterfeit.”

“True.”

Cai Xiao, the woman with the diamond headband, glanced at Jiang Se’s haute couture dress. Just as she was about to speak, the door to the spiral staircase was suddenly pulled open from outside, and two butlers respectfully greeted the newcomer with a quiet response.

Cai Xiao looked in the direction of the door, and through the snowstorm, she saw a dark figure standing in the faint light under the corridor.

Her gaze sharpened, and after recognizing the person outside, she quickly nudged Zhu Mingli and whispered, “Mingli, look who’s here?”

She pointed her chin toward the door, “It’s the man from the Lu family!”

The man had already stepped through the door, with snowflakes falling lightly on his shoulders as the door opened and closed. He seemed unaware, his thin, cool lips slightly lifted as he turned to speak with the butler beside him. His high nose bridge, visible beneath his gold-rimmed glasses, cast a shadow like a towering mountain.

Zhu Mingli narrowed her eyes and looked at him. She then glanced toward the windowsill, and for some reason, her glossy red lips suddenly pressed tight.

As soon as the door closed, the chandelier in the banquet hall dimmed by half, and a beam of bright light fell from above the stairs.

Cen Yu slowly stepped into the beam of light at the end of the corridor.

Over the past few months at the Cen family, Cen Yu had developed excellent poise, and the deep blue starry gown she wore made her look like a brilliant star.

The low hum of the cello seemed to carry emotions, and Cen Yu, linking her arm with Cen Minghong, gracefully descended the spiral staircase.

Lu Huaiyan didn’t look toward them. He handed the gift box in his hand to the butler and coolly said, “This is a gift from Grandfather for Miss Cen Yu,” before slowly scanning the surroundings.

His gaze quickly landed on one particular spot.

While everyone else was watching Cen Yu, he alone fixed his eyes on Jiang Se, who was standing by the window.

She wore a gray-blue off-shoulder mermaid gown, the ocean-like color subtle but perfectly outlining her graceful shoulders and slender neck.

The moonlight streamed in like water through the window, her skin glowing like cream.

She tilted her head slightly, calmly watching the people on the spiral staircase. There was not a hint of attachment or jealousy in her eyes—her expression was as serene as a lake undisturbed by a breeze.

Six years ago, at her coming-of-age ceremony held here, she had been like this too, linking arms with Cen Minghong, slowly descending the staircase under the gaze of countless onlookers.

The song played by the orchestra when she descended was one she personally chose—Debussy’s Clair de Lune.

On that day, Lu Huaiyan, irritated by Cen Li’s interference, hadn’t paid much attention when Jiang Se walked down. He gave her a quick glance and looked away.

He didn’t remember what the eighteen-year-old Jiang Se, standing in the light, looked like back then.

But now, Lu Huaiyan thought Jiang Se looked like a bright, attention-worthy moonbeam.

She must have been like this when she was eighteen too.

His gaze, when focused on someone, always felt weighty, as if it could almost be touched.

Even from a distance, and through his glasses, his stare was impossible to ignore—it was almost suffocating.

Jiang Se’s gaze subtly shifted, and their eyes met.

Lu Huaiyan walked toward her. As he reached her, he noticed that she was standing next to someone else.

When he turned his head to look, the other person also glanced at him.

Lu Huaiyan and Fu Yun had crossed paths in the past, though not closely acquainted, but he knew who he was—Fu Yun was the successor the Fu family had been grooming in recent years.

Of course, his impression of Fu Yun was stronger now than before—he was Jiang Se’s ex-fiancé, or rather, her second ex-fiancé.

Whether it was because Lu Huaiyan’s aura was too overwhelming or due to other reasons, Fu Yun, upon noticing Lu Huaiyan, turned to Jiang Se and said, “I’ll excuse myself for now, Se Se. If you have time during your stay in North City, we should find a chance to catch up.”

After saying this, he nodded slightly to Lu Huaiyan, exchanged a few polite words, and headed toward the spiral staircase.

As he passed by Zhu Mingli and Cai Xiao, he paused briefly, greeting them with a polite nod. Zhu Mingli, however, ignored him, tightening her grip on her wine glass and instead focusing on a glance out the window.

Once Fu Yun left, Lu Huaiyan took his place, standing beside Jiang Se.

Jiang Se looked up at him and said, “You’re late.”

Lu Huaiyan was never late to a banquet, so arriving half an hour late tonight was a first.

“Late? It’s fine. It’s not some important event.” Lu Huaiyan looked at Jiang Se and chuckled, “Do you think I arrive twenty minutes early for every occasion?”

The day they had met at the Japanese tea house to discuss business, Lu Huaiyan had arrived twenty minutes early.

Jiang Se didn’t respond.

Lu Huaiyan stared at her slightly distant gaze and continued, “I just went to the Lu family to pick up a gift. Grandfather prepared gifts for both you and Cen Yu.”

Jiang Se blinked in surprise. “Why did Grandpa Lu prepare a gift for me?”

Since Lu Huaiyan couldn’t possibly arrive empty-handed when visiting the Cen family, the gift for Cen Yu had been ready long ago. The gift he went to pick up at the last minute must have been for her.

Was it because Old Master Lu had learned she was back in North City and specially prepared one for her? Or was there another reason?

Lu Huaiyan replied calmly, “Don’t you know that Grandfather has always liked you? Tonight’s New Year’s Eve, even I have a gift—how could you not have one? I’ve left it in the car. Where are you staying tonight?”

Jiang Se looked at him without speaking for a while, then said, “I’m staying at my aunt’s place.”

“Alright,” Lu Huaiyan responded, “Let me know when you’re about to leave, and I’ll bring the gift to you.”

Just as he finished speaking, the entire banquet hall erupted in thunderous applause.

They both turned to look at the spiral staircase, where Cen Yu, arm-in-arm with Cen Minghong, had already descended.

Lu Huaiyan gave them a brief glance before shifting his attention back to Jiang Se, his gaze focused on her. He asked softly, “Why did you come?”

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