Chapter 84: Two-Faced Phoenix Man 43

Married life unfolded exactly as Lu Xiang had imagined.

After the initial honeymoon phase, the two of them threw themselves into work without a word.

Both Lu Xiang and Jiang Rang had demanding jobs. Father Lu was gravely ill, and though he still commanded some lingering authority, pitting the current Lu Xiang against those sly old foxes of the business world was still a stretch. This meant the man often found himself reviewing documents, inspecting issues, and the like well into the night.

Jiang Rang was no less busy. He was occupied with expanding the research directions under his command, including quality control and upgrades for the Mechanical People. Every step required his personal oversight.

On top of that, the young man held a nominal position at Lu Corporation. Before their marriage, Lu Xiang had generously shared a portion of his own shares with him—not a large stake, and it came with no real influence—but Jiang Rang still had to attend every shareholders’ meeting as an observer.

Yet Jiang Rang proved to be a most considerate partner. No matter how late Lu Xiang returned home, there was always a light left on for him.

Sometimes, a pot of steaming nourishing soup awaited in the kitchen.

Other times, the moment he opened the door, a massive bouquet of roses would appear, followed by his lover’s elegantly handsome face flushed a delicate pink.

And sometimes, the young man hadn’t gone to bed yet. He would often lounge on the living room sofa in a thin, comfortable set of loungewear, legs tucked under him, reviewing files without a care for appearances, a bag of chips or other snacks within arm’s reach. Jiang Rang looked anything but poised and refined like this, but every time Lu Xiang saw him, a profound sense of real happiness welled up from the depths of his heart.

This hectic routine didn’t last forever. Though Father Lu hadn’t been the most exemplary parent, Lu Xiang was still the fruit of his union with his beloved, and Lu Corporation was the work of decades. Most of the challenges Lu Xiang faced now were merely lingering tests left behind by his father.

Lu Xiang knew this full well in his heart. He was no longer the impulsive youth of before; he had his own little family now. When problems arose, he tackled them methodically. And if things got tough, his lover was always there to brainstorm solutions with him. What hurdle couldn’t they overcome?

As for the resentment and hatred he’d harbored toward Father Lu since his teenage years, it gradually faded with the sight of the man wasting away, his mind growing ever more muddled.

When a person dies, it’s like a lamp snuffed out—worthy of a sigh or two, at most.

Once Lu Xiang weathered this storm, he finally caught a breather.

Summer days in Huajing were long in the light and short in the dark; by six in the evening, the sky was still bright.

The man made a rare early return home from work. The blanket on the sofa lay neatly folded just as he had left it that morning. There were no signs of his lover’s presence in the warmly lit, cozy villa. A single glance told Lu Xiang that Jiang Rang was probably still buried in work.

He wasn’t entirely in the dark about Jiang Rang’s affairs. Just a few days ago, he’d vaguely heard the young man mention that he was swamped with promotion efforts for a new project R&D, busier than usual.

Lu Xiang lowered his gaze for a moment, his long, slender fingers lingering on the phone screen before he ultimately decided against calling to check in.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to. It stemmed from a promise they’d made before their wedding.

Jiang Rang had been the one to propose it first.

The young man had said that marriage was for life, after all. Whatever had happened before, their foundation going forward had to be trust.

At first, Lu Xiang had been uneasy. No one knew better than he how irresistible his spouse was to others.

In the early days of marriage, he’d fretted over whether Jiang Rang and Ji Mingyu might rekindle their old flame, or worried about that overly familiar intern he’d spotted recently— all while juggling work, leaving him on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

It was Jiang Rang who slowly eased that thorn from his heart with his actions.

Out in public, the young man never hid his married status. He openly introduced his husband to everyone and treated that inappropriate intern with icy detachment, eventually reassigning him far away.

As for Ji Mingyu, Jiang Rang had simply let their collaboration lapse without renewal.

These steps gradually put Lu Xiang’s mind at ease.

Together, they had smoothly navigated their first year of marriage after so long apart, their relationship not only unshaken but growing even deeper.

With these thoughts, Lu Xiang’s finger shifted, and he dialed another number.

Before long, the doorbell rang. Someone delivered a haul of top-quality ingredients to the door.

Lu Xiang tied on an apron, intending to cook himself.

Money was no object for them these days, and the household chefs were all Michelin-starred pros specially hired.

But perhaps influenced by those lean days in the Small Room, the man loved cooking personally—especially when his lover praised the results. That sense of fulfillment and joy felt like it had grown wings, filling him to the brim.

~~~

“Buzz—”

The incessant buzzing of his phone drew every eye in the conference room to the elegantly dressed young man seated at the head of the table.

Jiang Rang couldn’t help furrowing his brow. He didn’t need to guess who the messages were from.

Lu Xiang always honored their agreement, never disturbing him during work hours. Zhou Yichun was even more like a devoted little wife, waiting patiently every day for Jiang Rang to come to him.

Only Ji Mingyu.

Jiang Rang unlocked his phone and glanced at the barrage of messages popping up on the screen. Irritation surged through him.

He just couldn’t understand it. Ever since he’d gotten married over the past year, Ji Mingyu had turned into a completely different person.

The man who’d once been so in sync with him now seemed utterly bewitched. Instead of focusing on work or shoring up Ji Corporation, he obsessed over Jiang Rang’s marriage, constantly prying for updates and urging him to accelerate the plan.

No surprise there—the guy had been lovesick enough in middle school to threaten suicide.

Ji Mingyu never stopped to think that the Lu Family wasn’t some bone an outsider like him could gnaw through in a year or two.

Never mind Lady Yang’s subtle meddling and watchful eye. Take Lu Xiang alone: Jiang Rang had tried sweet-talking the man into promoting him at Lu Corporation and gradually handing over real power.

Sure, Lu Xiang had given him a promotion and some authority. But he’d also assigned an assistant to keep tabs on him.

The assistant was supposedly there for support, but it amounted to nothing less than oversight. Jiang Rang had noticed how the assistant reported his every move and daily routine right back to Lu Xiang.

At twenty-eight, Lu Xiang had weathered betrayal, torment, and the brutal tides of the business world. He was mature and steady now, his sharp black eyes like arrows. He was no longer the gullible student who’d once trusted Jiang Rang blindly and granted his every whim.

Lu Xiang still loved him, of course. But his instincts cut straight through to the calculating heart buried beneath Jiang Rang’s gentle exterior.

And what true heart did Jiang Rang have? Power. Money. Connections. Prospects.

As long as Lu Corporation stood strong and Lu Xiang never got foolish enough to hand over everything without reservation, their marriage would never crack.

That left Jiang Rang’s plans indefinitely on hold.

Fuming inside, he could only grit his teeth and play the long game.

“Buzz buzz—”

The phone vibrated again.

Perhaps fed up with the silence, this time the message on the glowing screen carried an unmistakable threat.

“Jiang Rang, stop pretending you haven’t seen them. Eight o’clock tonight, XX Hotel. We need to talk.”

“If you don’t want him finding out about us.”

“Bang—”

The phone slammed onto the table, prompting furtive glances from everyone around the conference table as they snuck peeks at their boss’s drama.

The refined, handsome young man’s face had gone ashen, veins throbbing at his temple, knuckles bone-white from gripping the device. He looked thoroughly enraged.

A few veteran shareholders who’d always been on good terms with Jiang Rang exchanged looks before one couldn’t hold back. “President Jiang, trouble at home? No rift too deep—just both sides swallow your pride and apologize. Besides, you two seem rock-solid. I figured you never even argued.”

Jiang Rang forced a smile but said nothing.

Even with a knife to his throat, he stayed cool and saw the meeting through to the end.

Time flew by. When it wrapped up, night had fully fallen. Jiang Rang’s expression dark, he took the elevator straight down to the underground parking lot. He found his car, slammed his foot on the accelerator, and the sleek luxury sedan shot out like a cold arrow.

The evening breeze was cool as water. Huajing’s nightlife dazzled the eye, with fireworks reflected eternally in the artificial lake—like one opulent spring dream bleeding into the next.

Jiang Rang rested one long, knuckled hand on the leather steering wheel. With the other, he tugged loose his constricting collar. Only once the cuffs had slackened did he exhale a heavy breath.

His eyes gleamed with cool clarity and razor sharpness, his elegant brow bones cast in hypnotic, otherworldly relief by the dim night and faint dashboard glow.

He was like a siren etched with mesmerizing patterns, his lithe, beautiful legs and arms draped and coiled across the pricey leather seats, steeped in the aura of money and unbridled greed.

That bone-deep allure was enough to ensnare any soul.

The black sedan eased to a stop in the hotel parking lot, but its owner made no move to get out.

Jiang Rang glanced down at the softly glowing time on his phone.

7:45.

Plenty of time.

He lowered his gaze, concealing the scheming glint deep in his dark eyes.

Today was actually the best opportunity.

—The perfect chance to borrow someone else’s hand to get rid of Ji Mingyu, that invisible ticking time bomb.

If he hadn’t remembered incorrectly, around four in the afternoon, Lu Xiang’s informant—that assistant—had mentioned that thanks to the success of a major project, the project team members would be holding a celebration banquet at XX Hotel around seven-fifty that evening.

Jiang Rang was betting on these five minutes that he could run into that assistant.

The young man sat in his car, straightening his sleeves and the hair at his temples. The white shirt beneath his suit had been buttoned meticulously by his Master, the diamond cufflinks at his cuffs subtly catching the hotel’s bright lights.

Jiang Rang pushed open the car door, gripping the phone strapped to his wrist.

His phone screen was still glowing, displaying an inquiring message from three minutes ago, sent by his legal partner, Lu Xiang.

The message was simple and lighthearted, as if laced with honey.

“Jiang Jiang, I got off work early today and cooked dinner myself. When will you be done there? I’ve been waiting for you—the food’s getting cold…”

Jiang Rang didn’t reply. He lifted his gaze, scanned his surroundings, approached the hotel front desk to ask about the private box, and the moment he turned away with the information, he brushed past the assistant in gray clothes.

With his eyes slightly lowered, the young man slowly curved his lips into a smile. His knuckles rubbed along the edge of his phone as he stepped into the elevator bay.

The silver elevator doors slid slowly shut, swallowing the last trace of that eerie smile on the young man’s face.