Elena Shen's legs were still sore, and with Annie Gu having slipped away early, she didn't feel like hanging around outside.
She returned to the apartment before long.
As dusk slowly descended, she was just about to order her usual meal from her go-to restaurant delivery app when a polite, genial voice sounded before her.
"Madam."
Instinctively, Elena looked up.
It was Mr. Pang.
Behind him stood a low-profile black car, flanked by several uniformed staff members.
The butler stepped forward, gesturing toward the car that had come straight from Yushan Mansion, explaining in a warm tone:
"Madam, Mr. Jiang was worried he might not like the local food for dinner, so he asked the chef at Yushan Mansion to prepare a special meal in advance.
Elena glanced at the sleek black car.
Mr. Pang continued, "Shall we bring it up now?"
She nodded. "Alright."
With her response, the staff near the car immediately moved to carry the meal upstairs. Elena clicked her tongue at the grandeur of it all. Something occurred to her, and she quickly added:
"Sixth floor."
Mr. Pang smiled kindly,"No need to worry, Madam. Mr. Jiang gave specific instructions."
The team from Yushan Mansion carefully laid out the meal in the apartment, then politely asked if she needed anything else before taking their leave.
Once the door shut behind them, Elena had barely a moment to herself before her phone lit up with a call.
She frowned slightly at the unfamiliar number but answered after a brief hesitation.
"Hello?"
The voice at the other end introduced himself immediately.
"Good evening, Madam. This is Zhou Lin."
"I've contacted the managers of the villas across from Huaihai University. They're ready for viewing or move-in at your convenience. Would you like to pick one now, or decide which unit you prefer first?"
Elena was struck by sudden recollection—Ethan had mentioned just that morning, before leaving on his business trip, that if she didn't like Yushan Mansion, he would have a new villa arranged for her.
She rubbed her still aching lower back and replied, "Mr. Zhou, thank you, but that won't be necessary. I'll stay at Yushan Mansion."
Zhou Lin replied, "Understood, Madam. I'll inform Mr. Jiang."
...
News of Ethan Jiang and Elena Shen's marriage had begun to ripple through elite circles, spreading quietly but swiftly. Yet few believed it to be true.
To many, Ethan—so aloof and indifferent—seemed utterly incompatible with someone like Elena.
Just like the engagement between the Jiang and Shen families, an arrangement that had existed for over twenty years.
And in those two decades, even though the main Jiang line only had Ethan and Adrian Jiang, everyone assumed the alliance would eventually fall on Adrian.
Even after Adrian's countless flings with actresses in the past two years.
So this sudden talk of a marriage certificate between Ethan and Elena felt like a wave cresting out of a still sea—unbelievable even to those closest to him.
In the private booth at Nightfall.
Sheng Yuye had been trying to process the news for what felt like ages, but he simply couldn't associate "marriage" and "certificate" with Ethan Jiang.
His voice was thick with disbelief. "Married? As in... married?"
Lin Feng, seated beside him, was equally skeptical. "Didn't he treat that Shen girl like a sister?"
The last time they'd asked Ethan out for a drink, their famous 'sis-con' friend had ditched them without hesitation just to pick up his 'sister.'
Among their circle, only Winston Gu—who had long since seen Ethan's intentions—sipped his drink with a knowing smile and decided to enlighten them:
"A sister? Does the Jiang family not have other female relatives?"
Lin Feng: "…"
Winston went on calmly, "So many branches in the Jiang family—have you ever seen Ethan pick up any of those so-called sisters himself?"
"Have you ever seen the head of Jiang Corp, who barely has time to breathe with all his work, blow off meetings just to babysit a sister?"
The rest fell silent.
Winston leaned back onto the sofa, one leg crossed over the other, his voice lazy, his smile amused.
"He's not raising a sister, my friends."
Even if Elena had lived in the Jiang household for nearly ten years.
…
The next morning.
Elena went to class as usual.
The moment she entered the lecture hall, she spotted her traitorous friend—Annie Gu—who'd stood her up the day before.
Elena walked up to the desk and stared silently at her for a few seconds.
Then, she held out her palm in front of Annie's face.
"You said you had a gift for me. Where is it? Let me see."
Annie let out a small cough.
The usually brash and carefree heiress suddenly seemed oddly flustered and embarrassed.
She clutched the tablet beneath her textbook as it contained state secrets, eyes darting left and right as if trying to avoid something shameful.
"Well… well, don't rush it, babe. It's not that easy, okay? I couldn't just ask someone else to pick it out—it had to be me, personally, one by one, until I found the perfect one for you. So just wait a little, alright?"
Elena: "?"
Annie, still hiding the tablet, glanced down at Elena's outstretched hand as if it had just sprouted something scandalous, her eyes growing even shifiter and red creeping up to her ears.
Finally, in what looked like a moment of panic, she grabbed a textbook and slammed it down over Elena's hand.
Yes—slammed.
So abruptly that Elena didn't even have time to react.
And then, as if trying to justify her madness, Annie lowered her voice and muttered shyly:
"Just wait, okay? No rush. Mr. Jiang's not even back yet—what's the point of giving it early?"
Elena: "???"
What was she even talking about?
What kind of gift was this?
Baffled, Elena removed the book from her hand and looked at her palm.
Was there something wrong with it?
What had Annie seen that made her blush like that?
Still completely confused, Elena gave her friend a questioning look. But Annie only remained cryptic, mysterious to the end.
"Wait for it," she kept saying.
"Almost ready."
"You're going to love it."