Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 37

Accompanied by the princess, Cheng Jinyang left Taicheng, feeling torn once again.

The key option for the flag had been chosen, and he had made significant progress on Sister Xinnan’s route, but what should he do next?

This trip to Taicheng could be summed up as him exchanging a few empty words for a few empty words from the other side. Whether things would smoothly progress depended on each party’s intentions.

Yu Yuangui surely wanted to push for the agreement’s implementation, so there was no worry about him backing out.

He had promised to participate in the war to gain the princess’s autonomy in marriage and to extricate his family from the conflict—this was just the foundation of their cooperation.

However, when to join the battle, how to fight, and the specific details all needed to be discussed later with Zhongshu Yu, to extract as many benefits as possible.

Without discussing the specifics, this matter could not move forward. For example, if Lord Zhongshu suddenly went mad and said that the cabinet had decided for him to pilot the Iron Giant and directly head north to suppress the rebel army, Cheng Jinyang would definitely reply, “Actually, I’m not being humble, but I can’t do it. Please find someone more capable.”

However, Yu Yuangui was a professional bureaucrat and naturally wouldn’t naively think that a verbal agreement could let him command Cheng Jinyang at will. Even a mayor inviting investment had to pamper the bosses; surely, Zhongshu Yu had to provide ample compensation.

What was really troubling Cheng Jinyang were several other issues:

How to explain piloting the Iron Giant to the girls?

How to persuade Miss Wang if she saw through his real intentions?

Shouldn’t there be a reward for what he had done for the princess sister?

“Jinyang,” the princess sister spoke beside him.

At this point, she wouldn’t coyly say, “Forget it, you don’t have to go to such lengths for me,” but…

Jinyang’s sudden performance just now, in terms of masculinity and charm, completely outshone his father.

She recalled how, as a young girl, she admired her teacher and her husband for their courage to abandon the royal family and the Cheng family to be together.

However, now she realized that compared to Jinyang’s willingness to risk his life on the battlefield for her, her teacher and her husband abandoning a mere royal family and the Cheng family didn’t move her anymore.

Cheng Jinyang turned his head, only to be embraced by the princess sister. Her golden hair covered his sight, and warm softness pressed against his lips.

Wow, she took the initiative? A thought popped into his mind. As expected, Sister Xinnan is the best!

After a long time, their lips parted.

“Sister Xinnan, is this my reward?” Cheng Jinyang asked with a smile.

“No,” Princess Nankang wrapped her arm around his, smiling gently, “This is what you deserve, just given to you in advance.”

What did she mean by what he deserved? To marry her, of course!

Normally, these intimate actions required an engagement, but the princess sister didn’t mind doing things out of order.

Leaving Taicheng, Princess Nankang reluctantly bade farewell and headed to the High-Energy Particle Research Institute in Pukou District to continue her work.

With the war approaching, time was short, and she needed to quickly produce results from her work.

Cheng Jinyang took a cab back to the family estate to continue his combat training with Teacher Li.

But first, he had to take a bath to remove any scent left by the princess sister, and he had to think about how to cover up this morning’s conversation if the girls asked about it.

Hurrying into the estate, Cheng Jinyang had not gone far when someone tugged at his clothes.

He quickly turned around to see Xie Lingjiang standing behind him, holding a thick book in her left hand and tugging at his clothes with her right:

“I’m here to find Sister Wanrou. Have you seen her?”

“Wanrou isn’t here?” Cheng Jinyang was slightly stunned, “Did you call her?”

Xie Lingjiang shook her head, “Kids can’t have cell phones.”

“Alright then.” Cheng Jinyang took out his phone and dialed Wang Wanrou’s number.

No answer.

So, she should be in the ancestral land of the Taiyuan Wang family right now, which is why she didn’t bring her phone with her.

“She probably went back to the ancestral land,” Cheng Jinyang said.

“Oh, okay.” Xie Lingjiang felt a bit disappointed.

After a moment.

“Why are you still here?” Cheng Jinyang asked curiously.

Xie Lingjiang was silent for a moment before she pursed her lips and said,

“Brother Jinyang, I heard that Lord Wang is discussing a marriage alliance with my family, intending to marry Sister Wanrou to my cousin Xie Qiudu. Don’t you… don’t you have any thoughts on this?”

The world seemed to stand still for a moment.

Just as Xie Lingjiang was feeling a bit bewildered, she saw Cheng Jinyang’s face reveal a classic fake smile, like that of Miss Wang, which showed no real emotion:
“Lingjiang…”

“Ah, ah?!” Xie Lingjiang suddenly shivered.

“Wanrou is getting married?” Cheng Jinyang squinted his eyes and asked with a smile, “I really didn’t know… and the person is your cousin?”

“Yes, yes.” Xie Lingjiang didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt a chill run up her spine. She calmed herself a bit and then said:

“I’m not very familiar with my cousin, but it’s said that he usually lives a debauched life and is addicted to alcohol and women, which is why Uncle Anshi doesn’t like him. Later, Aunt Liu was worried about his future, so she begged Uncle Anshi to let him inherit the title, and then asked Lord Wang to marry Sister Wanrou to him… Um, my Xie family and the Wang family have always been close and often form marital alliances. Brother Jinyang, you know this, right?”

“I know.” Cheng Jinyang nodded and smiled, “Then what is Wang Maohong… Lord Wang’s attitude about this?”

“Lord Wang seems to be noncommittal about it,” Xie Lingjiang said softly, “It should depend on Sister Wanrou’s own wishes.”

“I see.” Cheng Jinyang thought for a moment, then smiled, “Alright, I’ll take you to the Taiyuan Wang family’s ancestral land to find her.”

“Ah? Eh!” Before Xie Lingjiang could react, Cheng Jinyang grabbed her hand.

However, this clever girl quickly realized that if Cheng Jinyang went alone, he might not be able to enter the Taiyuan Wang family’s ancestral land, so he needed to use her identity as a pass.

So she immediately took three steps in two and quickly followed Cheng Jinyang out of the ancestral land, boarding the Shendu Cheng family’s special car.

The ancestral land of the Taiyuan Wang family is located around the most prosperous Confucius Temple in Jiankang City, usually bustling with guests and traffic.

Getting out of the car, Cheng Jinyang stood by the roadside with Xie Lingjiang, looking at the outer wall of the ancestral land across the street. Behind the wall was the Wang family’s ancestral land, with lush trees, jagged rocks, pavilions, towers, high corridors, and waterside pavilions. Its scenery was no less impressive than the Confucius Temple Park on the other side of the Qinhuai River.

The elegant heritage of a thousand-year-old noble family seemed to be fully embodied in this exquisite garden. No wonder it could share the world with the Sima family.

Hmm, I wonder if it could withstand a few steps from my Iron Giant?

In the training ground behind the Cheng family’s ancestral land, Li Qingwan was sitting on a bench by the field, looking serene and elegant, with a premonition that she would be stood up again today.