HBWMA -Chapter 144 Liang Xu

At the far edge of the night, the North Star shimmered brightly as the evening breeze swept over the mountain mist and drifted into the pavilion.

Jiang Huashan sat by the window ledge, lost in thought.

Zhang Ru had finally finished sorting eight racks of new clothes and pushed the pile out from the walk-in closet.

“Miss Jiang, what should we do with these clothes?”

The ones being replaced were all bought by Fang Mei. Every month, she would take all of Jiang Huashan’s allowance, then use it to buy a few off-season imitation designer pieces to maintain her image as a “good mother.”

Jiang Huashan didn’t even bother to lift her eyelids. “Throw them away.”

Zhang Ru paused. “Miss Jiang, many of these are still brand new, some even with the tags still on. These brands don’t look cheap either—wouldn’t it be a waste to throw them out?”

Jiang Huashan thought for a moment, then nodded. “You’re right, that would be a waste. Then clear out the room on the first-floor terrace and store the unused clothes there.”

Zhang Ru hesitated. “The one Miss Wanyi used to stay in?”

Jiang Huashan gave a small hum. “Is there a problem?”

Zhang Ru quickly shook her head. “No problem. It’s just that Miss Wanyi still has quite a lot of belongings in that room. It might take some time to clear it out.”

Jiang Wanyi hadn’t moved her things because she believed she was only leaving temporarily and would return sooner or later.

But this time, both she and Fang Mei were going to be disappointed.

Jiang Huashan curled her lips slightly. “She’s still as careless as ever. Aunt Zhang, I’ll have to trouble you to pack everything up.”

—

Bayview Apartment.

Just a moment ago, Jiang Wanyi had been smiling as she chatted with her friends about gossip. But the instant she hung up, her face darkened.

Everyone was asking her for invitations to the Shen family’s heir’s homecoming banquet—yet she hadn’t even seen what the invitation looked like.

No. If she couldn’t attend the Shen family banquet, she would definitely be exposed.

At a loss, Jiang Wanyi could think of nothing better than to call Fang Mei again, but as before, the call wouldn’t go through. Her unease grew stronger.

Ever since her mother said she would be away for a while, she had completely disappeared. Could something have happened?

Click—

Just then, the electronic lock on the front door beeped. Someone had returned.

Jiang Wanyi hurried to her feet, about to speak, when the sight before her left her frozen in shock.

Fang Mei walked in with a man, their arms wrapped around each other. Completely unaware of anyone else present, they kissed passionately, like dry tinder catching fire. The man teased her now and then, and Fang Mei responded eagerly, clearly enjoying herself.

Bang—

Jiang Wanyi’s phone slipped from her hand and hit the floor.

Fang Mei snapped out of it, quickly pushing the man away and straightening her clothes, forcing herself to remain composed. “Wanyi, you’re home?” she said, while shooting the man a warning glance.

Jiang Wanyi’s expression darkened as she looked the man over with hostility.

Before they got involved with the Shen family, there had always been many men around Fang Mei. Back then, her mother had told her it was out of necessity—that without relying on men, she couldn’t support the two of them.

But now, they lacked nothing. So why were there still different men by her mother’s side?

Liang Xu noticed the hostility on the young girl’s face. Raising his hands slightly, he stepped back and leaned casually against the wall. “Looks like your little darling is upset. I’ll head out first.”

Without waiting for Fang Mei’s response, he turned and left.

A trace of regret flashed through Fang Mei’s eyes. Over the past few days, she had truly come to understand the pleasures of being a wealthy woman—once you’ve had a taste, it’s hard to stop. After getting off the yacht, she had invited Liang Xu over again, only for Jiang Wanyi to interrupt them.

“Mom, who is that man?” Jiang Wanyi asked, pretending not to care as she picked up her phone.

Fang Mei thought for a moment. “He’s my new boyfriend.”

Boyfriend? A flicker of disgust crossed Jiang Wanyi’s eyes, though she quickly hid it.

Feeling somewhat guilty about what had just happened, Fang Mei rarely showed such patience as she explained, “Wanyi, I thought you were at school, so I brought him home. Ahem… you weren’t scared, were you?”

Jiang Wanyi shook her head. “No. I was just surprised that you suddenly have a boyfriend.”

Still stirred up by Liang Xu, Fang Mei poured herself a glass of water, her gaze passing over Jiang Wanyi as she deliberately changed the subject. “Weren’t you staying at school? Why did you come back?”

Jiang Wanyi steadied herself. “Mom, I think something’s very off about my sister lately.”

She then recounted everything—how the Shen family had stood up for Jiang Huashan, and how Jiang Huashan had stirred up trouble among the students—leaving nothing out.

At some point, Fang Mei had already set down her glass, her expression turning serious.

Now that she thought about it, it did seem strange.

If what Jiang Wanyi said was true—Shen Qingyu carrying her out of school, Shen Jiao standing up for her, and Jiang Huashan being able to incite chaos among students on her own—then she would not be easy to deal with.

Fang Mei shook her head. “A person doesn’t suddenly become this smart. There must be someone backing her.”

“Grandpa Shen?” Jiang Wanyi asked.

“No.” Fang Mei denied it without hesitation.

Jiang Huashan had clearly only changed in recent months. If the old master had wanted to drive a wedge between them, why would he have agreed in the first place to let her move into Shen Garden to take care of Huashan?

A trace of imbalance rose in Jiang Wanyi’s heart. That useless girl was inferior to her in every way—so why did everyone only have eyes for her?

“Mom, the Shen family banquet is in four days, but we don’t even have an invitation.”

Fang Mei paused. “Didn’t the Shen housekeeper deliver one? Could it be they forgot?”

That shouldn’t be the case.

She had already agreed to leave Whale Harbor. Even just to make it up to Jiang Huashan, the old master would surely give them face. After all, in public, she was still Jiang Huashan’s mother. If she didn’t attend, Jiang Huashan would also be criticized.

“It’s fine. I’ll call Shen Garden tomorrow to ask,” Fang Mei said, suddenly feeling sleepy after spending days with Liang Xu, as she walked toward the master bedroom.

“Mom—”

Jiang Wanyi had more to say, but the bedroom door slammed shut with a bang.

“…”