Jiang Cheng and the others followed into the room, where the warm and inviting air greeted them.

There were other people in the living room.

"Lao Guo, you’ve finally arrived!"

"Lao Qu?"

Manager Guo was slightly surprised, but even more surprising was who the young man was.

Lao Qu was the manager of a Xinhua Bookstore in a neighboring city of S City.

He often liked to spar with Manager Guo, but there was no real conflict between them—just a typical male rivalry.

"What’s up? Not happy to see me?"

Manager Qu stood up, walked over, and punched Manager Guo on the arm.

As he leaned in, he whispered, "Manager Hua’s nephew, unmarried."

A few words were enough for Manager Guo to feel a jolt inside.

He sneaked a glance at Jiang Cheng.

Seeing Jiang Cheng’s smile made Manager Guo somewhat uneasy, sensing potential trouble.

"Everyone, please sit down. Let me introduce you all to each other."

After Manager Hua finished introducing everyone, he pointed to the young man in the room and said, "This is my nephew, Hua Chundong. I thought you young people might have things to talk about."

With that one sentence, Principal Wang’s face turned visibly displeased.

What’s this about young people having things to talk about?

Is this an attempt to matchmake Jiang Cheng?

Setting aside the fact that Jiang Cheng has someone, even if she didn’t, this is not the way to arrange a match.

Since when does the woman’s side initiate, while keeping her completely in the dark?

The shrewd Jiang Cheng naturally understood Manager Hua’s intentions.

"What a coincidence, I prefer chatting with the elderly."

"Of course! I’m just an old man myself."

Principal Wang immediately joined in, and Manager Guo also chimed in to smooth things over: "That’s true, Jiang Cheng does get along well with older folks."

"What delicious food have you prepared? It smells wonderful!"

Manager Guo changed the subject; Manager Hua wasn’t too pleased but didn’t show it.

"Lao Guo, I heard you’re a great cook, so today you have to show us your skills!"

In the blink of an eye, Manager Hua had tasked Manager Guo, and after arranging him, he also brought out a chessboard, inviting Manager Qu to play a couple of games with Principal Wang.

As for the most annoying Zhao Chengde, Manager Hua kept sending him here and there to do various tasks.

Principal Wang tried several times to signal Jiang Cheng with his eyes: Can he skip the chess games?

Jiang Cheng shook her head.

She could handle this alone.

The moment Hua Chundong saw Jiang Cheng’s face, he was smitten.

Initially, he didn’t want to come.

His uncle spoke highly of Jiang Cheng, describing her as capable and a great earner, but Hua Chundong didn’t care at all.

However, upon seeing how beautiful Jiang Cheng was, Hua Chundong’s thoughts began to wander.

Hua Chundong sat in the single-seater sofa next to Jiang Cheng, pretentiously pouring tea.

"This is top-grade pre-rain Dragon Well tea... It must be handpicked before the rain, very complex."

Jiang Cheng rolled her eyes perfectly on time.

She calmly said, "Pre-rain Dragon Well refers to tea harvested before the Grain Rain period; it doesn’t really relate to whether it rains or not."

"It’s okay to be uneducated, but pretending despite it is quite laughable."

Jiang Cheng didn’t spare Hua Chundong’s dignity at all.

The water Hua Chundong was pouring was making a loud splashing sound, leaving him awkwardly unsure of where to set the teapot down.

Jiang Cheng calmly shifted her position—just don’t get anything on me.

"Heh, I was just joking."

Hua Chundong tried hard to save face.

Jiang Cheng moved a bit farther away.

"As long as you believe it."

"Ahem, ahem—what a great move!"

Principal Wang gave a forceful compliment, but the chesspiece was still in his hand.

With a tap, the chesspiece fell; Principal Wang leaned slightly sideways, trying to hear every word Jiang Cheng said.

What wonderful things she was saying!

Manager Qu, playing chess, finally understood why he was invited today—it was just to fill a spot and give Hua Chundong a chance.

But from the looks of things, Hua Chundong’s chances weren’t any better than the pieces in his hand!

Hua Chundong was slightly embarrassed and irritated.

"I didn’t expect Mr. Jiang to be so humorous."

"Being able to detect humor probably means you’ve been personally harvesting tea before the rain."

Jiang Cheng indirectly suggested Hua Chundong wasn’t too bright, causing him to set the teapot down and sneer.

"Jiang Cheng, you’d better adjust this attitude of yours after we get married."

Jiang Cheng frowned in disgust, her sharp gaze fixed on Hua Chundong.

"You nauseating fool!"

Jiang Cheng sprang up, grabbed a teacup, and splashed it at Hua Chundong.

"Wash that brain of yours!"

"You—"

"What’s happening? What’s happening?"

Principal Wang, who had been observing all along, energetically charged in, standing in front of Jiang Cheng.

Hearing the commotion, Manager Guo also rushed in, along with Zhao Chengde, who had been dragged into talking about translation issues by Manager Hua.

"What’s going on?"

Manager Hua walked over and, seeing the tea stains on his nephew’s face, his dissatisfaction grew.

"What is the meaning of this?"

The Hua Family had only a single male heir across three generations.

Jiang Cheng pushed Principal Wang aside, standing her ground against Manager Hua.

I’ve cultivated so many connections only for a joke?

"What do you think? I’m telling him he’s a toad lusting after a swan, helping him cleanse that dirty mindset, and I’m tempted to disable him completely."

"Isn’t that clear enough?"

Manager Hua didn’t expect Jiang Cheng to have such a sharp tongue and adamant personality.

He had always wanted to find someone for his nephew who could support the family while also being able to take care of the family.

Jiang Cheng seemed to fit the bill—age-appropriate, from the countryside and thus presumably easy to handle, without a stable job so she could manage the household, and earning money through translation.

That’s why he wanted to matchmake them.

If he’d known she was like this, he wouldn’t have considered it at all.

"Shrew!"

Self-proclaimed cultured Manager Hua called Jiang Cheng a shrew, making her laugh.

"Having read a couple of books makes you think you’re detached from worldly concerns! Then starting today, stop eating, drinking, wearing clothes, and putting on airs! Go live outdoors and begin your spiritual journey!"

"If you’d absorbed any of the books you read, you wouldn’t act like this! A grown man, introducing someone to a woman behind her back, and what a choice!"

"And daring to warn me to change after marriage, I’ll change you to a girlfriend here and now, believe it or not!"

With that, Jiang Cheng grabbed the teapot and hurled it towards Hua Chundong’s lower area.

Principal Wang pretended to be too slow to stop Jiang Cheng.

"Hey, hey, hey—don’t, don’t—"

"Calm down! Calm down!"

Manager Guo stood with a bunch of scallions, advising, but without taking any concrete action.

Jiang Cheng kicked out, her foot striking rapidly—one kick was bound to land!

Hua Chundong was just a coward.

Seeing Jiang Cheng going all out, throwing whatever was at hand, he ducked and dodged, yelling: Uncle!!

Seeing the room turning chaotic, Manager Hua shouted in anger, "Stop!"

Jiang Cheng really stopped.

Crash!

The vase in Jiang Cheng’s hand fell to the ground, shattering.

"You told me to stop,"

The expression she wore, so innocent.

"Pfft—"

An unexpected laugh emerged; in the kitchen stood a woman, covering her mouth and struggling to hold back her laughter.

Jiang Cheng followed the sound.

The woman met Jiang Cheng’s gaze, embarrassedly nodded, and greeted, "Hello."

Jiang Cheng nodded slightly and looked back at Manager Hua.

"Manager Hua, did I forget to tell you that I’m actually taken."

"My partner’s not terribly impressive, but he has been a reigning champion a few times, with a 99% chance of squishing Hua Chundong single-handedly."

"Care to try?"