Jiang BaiYan lowered his head and glanced at Jian Jing's simple notebook, asking: "What's the use of this order?"
Jian Jing said: "It's temporarily useless. The murderer would not have acted during this time period."
Leaning his head on his hand, his eyes that could speak without having to open his mouth in the screen asked: Then why did you write it?
Jian Jing smiled slightly, it was hard to explain.
She closed her notebook with composure: "It's already 11:30. I think after experiencing so much today, everyone must be tired too. Why don't we go back and rest for now?"
The suggestion was well-received.
From 3 a.m. until now, everyone had been arguing almost non-stop. If not for the huge inheritance dangling in front like a carrot, even those made of iron would not have persisted.
Everyone dispersed like birds and beasts, returning to their rooms to rest.
Lawyer Li had booked a five-star hotel while Jian Jing had gotten a guest room.
Although usually unoccupied, the villa was very well-equipped: brand new four-piece bedding set, high-end silk pajamas, underwear and eye masks, Michael Kors’ Midnight Escape Toiletry Bag, slippers and toiletries were all new.
The housekeeper had even delivered yogurt, fruits and a small bowl of silver ear mushrooms and donkey hide gelatin soup.
Jian Jing took a hot shower, changed into her pajamas, and finished all the night snacks that were delivered.
Then, she was even hungrier.
A box of yogurt, a small bowl of mangoes, bananas and coconut, and a bowl of mushroom slices, how could that fill her up?
Who had such a tiny appetite?
Starving.
She took out her phone but there were no shops in the vicinity, delivery was 10 km away.
"Knock knock knock", someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," she said concisely.
Jiang BaiYan came in carrying a plate of supper: "Want some? Spaghetti."
The smells of tomato sauce and black pepper were beckoning her taste buds. Jian Jing abruptly sat up straight: "Where did you get that?"
"I made it," he brought it in front of her and pulled over an ottoman to sit down. "The villa has everything but the housekeeper's gone to sleep, so I could only make it myself."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony," Jian Jing picked up her fork and wrapped the bright orange noodles around it before sending it into her mouth.
Carbs in stomach, all those health fruit yogurts and sweet desserts were trash.
She praised: "Not bad skill level."
"You were just hungry," Jiang BaiYan sprawled on the small tea table. His voice suddenly turned gentle, "Teacher Jing Jing, what do you think about the Chairman..."
Jian Jing glanced at him. She said: "Before the investigation is complete, I can't draw any conclusions. But you've also realized right, if there really wasn't any issue, the nurses and doctors would not have spoken like that."
The patient was suspected to have not died a natural death. So the doctors and nurses were the primary parties responsible. If everything was normal, they should have argued based on reason.
Yet they did not.
What they said was "It would not have been odd no matter when the Chairman passed away."
Not odd and no issue were actually two different things.
Jiang BaiYan sighed lightly, self-deprecatingly said: "Don't know who made the move, but it's too ironic."
Jian Jing ate while asking: "Tell me more about your father. What kind of man was he?"
"The Chairman ah..." He pondered, objectively said: "He was an extremely tough man, a dictator who had the final say. Don't be fooled by Jiang Ou's arrogance. He once scolded me as a 'bastard' in front of the Chairman, and got slapped by him."
"Oh?" She was slightly surprised.
Jiang BaiYan said: "What the Chairman cared most about was the group. Jiang Ou could only throw money around in his social circle because the Chairman didn't let him into the group, thinking he was incompetent."
Jian Jing twirled her fork thoughtfully.
"You've really never talked one-on-one with the Chairman before?" She asked.
Jiang BaiYan made a huge grimace. "How is that possible?"
As expected, it wouldn't be easy for the Jiang siblings to deal with him.
"What did you all talk about?" She was curious.
"Actually we just chatted a little about movies. He said he saw the ones I filmed, Hide and Seek and Rose Gold, then asked why I wanted to start acting." Under the warm yellow wall lights, Jiang BaiYan's expression became somewhat hard to discern, as if a layer of illusory filter had been cast over it.
"I said it was because my grandfather passed away that year, and I didn't have money to continue school. So I took leave from school to work. I was planning to apply to be a model at a magazine but I saw Director Ding doing auditions and tried it on a whim. Didn't expect to get picked," Jiang BaiYan said.
"What happened next?"
"The pay was 100k. Of course I went back to school and took the exams for the Academy of Drama as well," he matter-of-factly said. "Although my grades weren't very good but if I didn't get a degree, grandpa would have beaten me up."
Jian Jing glared at him. "I was asking what happened after you finished talking to the Chairman."
"Oh that..." He tilted his head back and suddenly laughed. "The Chairman said, you're also my son. I won't leave you behind."
As expected, it was about the will.
Jian Jing pondered: "What do you think would be in the Chairman's will?"
Jiang BaiYan scowled. "How would I possibly know? I haven't seen him in 10 years already."
"Stop pretending," she slapped his shoulder. "I came all this way to save you. Say something truthful."
Jiang BaiYan evaded: "Oh right, how did you know I was here?"
"Didn't you post a photo?"
"I just wanted to let Sis Chen and the others know I was safe." Jiang BaiYan said. "Secretary Fan said Sis Chen called the group and once news of the Chairman's critical illness comes out, the stock will fall. That's why he asked me to post on Moments."
Jian Jing said: "The photo was enough."
Jiang BaiYan bared his teeth. "That's way too amazing."
It wasn't really. But Jian Jing deliberately did not clarify, scaring him: "So, confess early what bad things you've done. If I find out on my own..." She laughed coldly, "I'll go visit you in prison."
"Family visits..." Jiang BaiYan covered his pinched cheeks, surrendering. "Alright alright, I'll talk."
He pondered a long while before saying: "To be honest, I really don't know what the Chairman would do. Everyone says he won't shortchange each of us but what does not shortchanging mean? The Chairman is so wealthy. Giving each of us 10 billion, we'd be able to live pretty comfortably but is 10 billion really enough?"
"For ordinary people, forget 10 billion, even 1 billion would be a tremendous amount of money. But every single Jiang family member knows the Chairman has so much money. No one would be satisfied getting 'just' 10 billion."
"If he doesn't give out money it'd be 10 billion. If he does, it might be 20 billion, 50 billion. Everyone has reason to make a move."
"After all, he was going to die anyway," he gloomily speculated. "Might even have felt they were ending his suffering, doing a good deed."
Jian Jing nodded slightly. "I reckon your father would have expected this."
Jiang BaiYan: "So that's why he made that bizarre request?"
"Obviously, he had foreseen that someone might take action against him." Jian Jing finished the spaghetti and opened a can of soda, slowly drinking it to satisfaction. Massaging the muscles in her neck, she said: "Very interesting."
He said: "No one would admit to going over after 11pm."
"Correct," she calmly said. "But the problem is, more than one person should have gone over."
"That's the crux to breaking this case," Jian Jing smiled. "After 11, did you go over?"
"No," Jiang BaiYan slowly replied. "But I did see someone go in."
"It's been many years," said the nanny, who was in her fifties. Half of her hair had turned white, but she was still spry and lively. "I used to work at the old house, but later I couldn't handle the workload anymore. So the boss told me to come here and take care of things - that was his way of looking after me."
Jian Jing chatted with her: "Does Ms. Jiang Lian have any children?"
The nanny said, "Yes, her daughter is in middle school now. She's got good grades and she's well behaved. The boss used to dote on her very much."
"Her daughter should be around the same age as Jiang Xue, right? Do they interact much?"
"The big boss doesn't like the little ones mingling together. His daughter rarely sees the young master and miss," said the nanny, shaking her head. "That's just how rich families operate - hard to explain clearly."
Jian Jing nodded in agreement. She then praised the nanny's cooking skills, saying the congee she made was fragrant and sticky.
The nanny became even happier. Like most elderly folks, although she was well-provided for by the Jiang family and her job was not demanding, seldom did anyone care to listen to her long speeches.
Since the old boss had passed away, she was glad to talk more: "The boss was very generous. He gave us red packets every new year and festival. For people like us he treated us perfectly fine. But he was too harsh on the children - oh, it's because he had too much money, afraid they'd turn out to be ne'er–do–wells after he died, and would squander the family fortune."
"But I heard that Ms. Jiang Lian is very capable? The Chairman wasn't happy with her either?"
"The boss didn't like the man she married," said the nanny mysteriously. "He took one look and could tell he was no good - his eyes were always on the money. The big boss was shrewd his whole life, yet was thoroughly hoodwinked by that man."
Jian Jing suddenly understood: "So he was afraid the family fortune would be swindled away by that man?"
The nanny nodded. In a hushed voice she added: "The original plan was for the boss to have his granddaughter take on the Jiang surname. But the big miss went crazy and insisted that they only had one son on their side, and the next child who takes on the Jiang name would have to be borne by her. Of course she tried but never succeeded to have a second child. The boss scolded her badly several times over this."
"What about the second son, Jiang Qi? Has he gotten married?"
The nanny heaved a long sigh, clearly hesitant to divulge more.
"He doesn't want to get married?" Jian Jing probed tentatively. "Or could it be that..."
The nanny was aggrieved and sorrowful: "The second son was great in every way - obedient since young. Who could have expected things to turn out like this."
Jian Jing's mind raced: "He doesn't like women?"
The nanny nodded with difficulty. With her traditional values, more than Jiang Qi not wanting to marry, what pained her even more was that he had zero interest in the opposite sex altogether: "I remember it was some years ago. The second son said he wanted to marry a man in America. It angered his father so much that he threatened to disown him if he went ahead."
"Then what happened?"
"The second son was stubborn. He adamantly refused to break up with that man. But turns out that man was no good either - he eloped with some woman later on." The nanny felt indignant on Jiang Qi's behalf. "After that the second son never brought up marriage again. To this day he has no girlfriend or shows inclination for other pursuits. It pains me to see him this way."
"That is worrying indeed." Jian Jing made some perfunctory sounds of sympathy, before moving on swiftly, "What about the third son then?"
The nanny was helpless: "He was involved with some small-time actress. I wouldn't have minded if he properly settled down with her. But all he did was fool around without commitment. One moment he's buying aeroplanes, the next he's dabbling in investments - basically just wheedling his dad for money whenever he fancied."
She heaved another sigh, shaking her head: "It was tough on the old boss too."
Jian Jing took note and inquired: "What about the little one?"
"Indulged and pampered very much," the nanny summed it up in three words. "Being daddy's precious girl makes all the difference, after all."
Jian Jing asked the final question: "Then, what about Madam Jiang herself?"
