Hearing those words, Zhao Wuxia glanced at Jiang Feng and saw him holding a copy of the Classic of the Way, frowning in deep thought with a conflicted expression. She was momentarily taken aback.
She had long heard the rumors about Young Master Jiang locking himself away to read, but since such scenes had repeated countless times before, she had lost any sense of novelty or interest in them.
Still, she hadn’t expected that Young Master Jiang would actually develop a thirst for knowledge. But looking at him now, she suspected he probably couldn’t even recognize half the characters in the book.
Jiang Feng turned his head to glance at Zhao Wuxia. She hadn’t changed much—still wearing those rigid black-framed glasses. The only difference was the color of her uniform. It made Jiang Feng idly wonder just how many identical sets of clothes she owned.
Tapping a finger on the book, Jiang Feng asked, “Secretary Zhao, how many existing versions of the Classic of the Way are there in circulation today?”
“I don’t know,” Zhao Wuxia replied curtly. Inwardly, however, she was already speculating—was Young Master Jiang planning to collect all the rare editions and resell them for profit?
“You don’t know?” Jiang Feng frowned. “How could you not know?”
“I really don’t know,” Zhao Wuxia replied, unable to fathom what Jiang Feng was up to this time.
“Then go find out for me,” Jiang Feng said, contemplating.
The Classic of the Way had many versions in circulation, but most had been heavily altered, stripping away much of their original essence. Aside from some philosophical teachings, these versions had lost their true significance.
He could sense how profound and majestic the original text must have been. If it had truly been lost to time, it would be a great pity.
“That might be a bit difficult,” Zhao Wuxia remarked.
“Oh?” Jiang Feng was puzzled.
“All of your bank cards have been frozen by the old master’s orders,” Zhao Wuxia said icily.
Jiang Feng chuckled bitterly, then shook his head. “Forget it, then.”
It wasn’t as if he absolutely had to collect the original. Even if he obtained it, it wouldn’t be of much practical use to him. The only real value lay in using it to gain insight into the fundamental changes of this world. Of course, he was unaware that Zhao Wuxia’s mind was already deeply ingrained with his past disgraceful deeds. Even if she could track down rare copies of the book, she definitely wouldn’t bother doing it for him.
At that moment, he finally asked, “Who did you say came to visit?”
“Miss Ye Qingxuan,” Zhao Wuxia answered.
“Ye Qingxuan, huh?” Jiang Feng smiled as he recalled the racetrack at the flower fields—her graceful, heroic figure atop a galloping horse. Casually, he said, “Not seeing her. I’m busy.”
With that, he picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and continued flipping through the The Classic of the Way.
“Hmm?” Zhao Wuxia was momentarily stunned. Of all people, she knew best about Jiang Feng’s relentless pursuit of Ye Qingxuan—he had confessed to her thirty-two times already. She also knew exactly how he felt about her.
In the past, even just hearing about Ye Qingxuan’s whereabouts would have sent Jiang Feng rushing to meet her. If she had come in person, he would have leaped at the chance to get closer to her.
Yet now, he was refusing to see her?
Was he trying to play hard to get? Using retreat as a strategy to advance?
A faint sneer appeared on Zhao Wuxia’s lips. It was amusing to see this good-for-nothing young master trying to play such tactics. Though it was a rather crude attempt, at least it was some kind of progress. Was this the result of his late-night reading?
Still, as his personal secretary, she remained professional and advised, “Miss Ye said she came to apologize. Out of courtesy, you should at least meet her.”
“I’ll see her when I have time. I’m busy right now,” Jiang Feng replied flatly.
Seeing that he didn’t seem to be putting on an act, Zhao Wuxia’s expression shifted slightly. She gave a small nod and left the room.
In the Main Villa Hall.
Ye Qingxuan sat gracefully on the sofa, her face adorned with a polite smile. Her attire today was simple—a plain, elegant violet dress. Her long, beautiful purple hair was casually pinned up at the back of her head, without any extravagant adornments. Yet, her refined and noble demeanor remained captivating.
She was chatting with Wu Xiuli, who was showering her with endless praise. Wu Xiuli smiled and sighed, “I truly don’t know what kind of man could ever be worthy of you.”
Ye Qingxuan had long grown accustomed to such flattery and didn’t take it to heart. Though she continued chatting with Wu Xiuli, inwardly, she felt nothing but disdain.
The incident where Jiang Feng fell off his horse at the flower field racetrack had nothing to do with her directly. However, the commotion had been too great—news of it had spread across all of Yanjing. The pressure on her had been considerable, forcing her to personally visit the Jiang family.
Yet, whenever she recalled Jiang Feng’s past relentless pestering, a wave of disgust surged within her. She dreaded the possibility of him doing something ridiculous again. However, since she was already here, she had to maintain proper decorum.
As she made idle conversation with Wu Xiuli, her mind was occupied with thoughts on how she should handle Jiang Feng when they met.
To be honest, Jiang Feng’s endless pursuit had long worn down her patience. This visit was partly due to the pressure she felt, but more importantly, she wanted to make him face reality—so he would finally stop bothering her.
After a while, Zhao Wuxia finally walked in from outside.
To Ye Qingxuan’s surprise, Zhao Wuxia came in alone. She had expected to see the lovestruck Young Master Jiang with him, but he was nowhere to be seen. Slightly stunned, she frowned in confusion. This was different from what she had imagined. Could it be that Jiang Feng’s condition was serious enough to keep him from leaving the house? Otherwise, she couldn’t think of a reasonable explanation. Her gaze lingered on Zhao Wuxia, filled with curiosity and doubt.
Zhao Wuxia glanced at Ye Qingxuan and said indifferently, “Miss Ye, Young Master said he is busy and doesn’t have time to see you.”
No time?
Ye Qingxuan’s expression froze, and for a moment, her mind nearly stopped working.
“He’s busy?” she asked in confusion.
Zhao Wuxia nodded and said no more.
On the side, Wu Xiuli chuckled and said, “Now, this is rare. What exactly is our Young Master Jiang so busy with that he doesn’t even have time to see guests?”
Despite her words, Wu Xiuli actually didn’t want Jiang Feng and Ye Qingxuan to meet. She was well aware that Ye Qingxuan would never be interested in that useless fool, but Jiang Feng’s persistent pursuit of her not only embarrassed the Jiang family but also hindered others from getting closer to Ye Qingxuan.
She truly admired Ye Qingxuan—not just for her noble beauty but also for her prestigious background. She had always hoped Ye Qingxuan would spend more time with her two sons. Of course, she couldn’t say this outright; otherwise, it would seem too opportunistic.
“Young Master is reading,” Zhao Wuxia said in the same indifferent tone.
“Reading?” Wu Xiuli exaggerated her laughter and turned to Ye Qingxuan. “Miss Ye, did you hear that? Our Young Master Jiang is reading! It’s rare for him to have such a studious moment. It seems he really doesn’t have time. Your kind intentions, I’m afraid, will be wasted.”
Ye Qingxuan, of course, could hear the sarcasm in Wu Xiuli’s words. She couldn’t help but find it amusing. After all, she knew exactly what kind of person Jiang Feng was—he had pursued her relentlessly for so long that she was all too familiar with his character.
The idea that Young Master Jiang was too busy reading to meet her was nothing short of an international joke. She even wondered if Zhao Wuxia was deliberately making up such an excuse. However, Zhao Wuxia’s serious expression didn’t seem like she was joking.
Could he really be reading?
But how could that be possible?
Ye Qingxuan was filled with questions, but she couldn’t ask too much. Instead, she softly said, “Did Young Master Jiang say anything else?”
Zhao Wuxia replied honestly, “Young Master said he is very busy right now and will see you when he has time.” She herself didn’t quite understand Jiang Feng’s intentions.
Wu Xiuli sneered, “Does he really think he’s the great Young Master of the Jiang family? That he can meet Miss Ye whenever he pleases?”
Zhao Wuxia remained unmoved, paying no attention to Wu Xiuli’s attitude.
Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath, realizing that she no longer understood Jiang Feng. In the past, he wouldn’t just come running the moment he heard her name—at the very least, he wouldn’t act like this.
However, she interpreted his words differently from Wu Xiuli. On the surface, it seemed like he was leaving room for future interactions and wasn’t giving up on her yet. But to Ye Qingxuan, it felt more like he genuinely didn’t want to see her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come up with such a weak excuse—after all, it was far too obvious.
Then, she recalled what had happened at the Jiang residence yesterday afternoon. Rumors said that after Jiang Feng was discharged from the hospital, he had caused a huge commotion at home—slapping Jiang Hao across the face and even throwing Jiang Jingyun out the door.
Setting aside the fact that Jiang Feng had always been weak and incapable of fighting, just the idea that his cowardly nature had changed so drastically was already shocking enough.
Of course, such a scandal was not something the Jiang family would want to discuss openly, so she didn’t bring it up. Instead, she simply said, “I didn’t come here for anything else—I just wanted to check on Young Master Jiang’s health.”
As she spoke, she looked at Zhao Wuxia. She was familiar with Jiang Feng’s personal secretary and knew that with Zhao Wuxia’s intelligence, she would understand the real meaning behind her words—though they were somewhat insincere.
“Young Master has recovered well. There should be no major issues. Miss Ye, you need not worry,” Zhao Wuxia responded as expected.
Ye Qingxuan nodded. “Then, I’ll leave it at that. I have some matters to attend to, so I’ll be going now.”
She handed Zhao Wuxia a business card and said, “If anything happens, feel free to contact me directly.”
Wu Xiuli opened her mouth, wanting to invite Ye Qingxuan to stay for a meal, but in the end, she felt it wasn’t appropriate. Instead, she said, “I’ll see you out.”
Zhao Wuxia watched Ye Qingxuan leave with a thoughtful expression. Her gaze turned a bit more intriguing.
Jiang Feng’s move was crude, but it wasn’t entirely ineffective.
If Young Master Jiang knew the look on Ye Qingxuan’s face as she left, he’d probably laugh himself awake in his dreams.