Pampered by Short-Lived Bigshot

Chapter 379: 247 Paying respects at the grave, Wanwan vanishes into thin air? (3rd update)

Jiang Jinsang rented a light display for his confession, causing quite a stir. It spread throughout their circle, and the very next day, Jiang Zhenhuan called him over for a scolding.

The Jiang Family had always been discreet in their dealings; it was rare for someone like Jiang Jinsang to be so ostentatious.

“Be more careful in the future.”

“When you and Mother confessed, in a theater of thousands, clutching flowers—in that era, you were much more extravagant than I.”

Jiang Zhenhuan was left speechless; back then, Fan Mingyu had an ardent admirer, and their relationship wasn’t set in stone. In that era where there were no mobile phones, only letters, sometimes there would be no reply for ten days or half a month—how could he not be anxious?

The social morays were conservative at the time, so he didn’t even dare to hold her hand when asking her out.

So he was unclear about what Fan Mingyu felt towards him and had decided to throw caution to the wind with that grand gesture—a memory that has lived on to this day.

“Jiang Xiaowu!” Jiang Zhenhuan warned in a low voice.

This kid must be itching for a celebration recently.

“But I also heard that the first time you went to your grandfather-in-law’s house to propose, you were kicked out.”

Jiang Jinsang couldn’t help but laugh.

In the previous era, such a move meant everyone considered them a pair; no one would dare pursue Fan Mingyu or arrange another marriage for her. If it had worked out, it would have been fine, but if not, they couldn’t avoid the gossip.

Fan Mingyu’s grandfather suffered from Alzheimer’s; it had become more severe in recent years, with his memories in disarray. Whenever Jiang Jinsang visited him, he sometimes mistook him for Jiang Zhenhuan and would tirelessly repeat embarrassing stories about his father.

Every visit, he had to hear the story again, and the main thing was that each time, he would hear some fresh scandal.

“Get out—”

Jiang Zhenhuan was so frustrated he didn’t know what to do with this son who antagonized him.

…

This affair was the subject of many discussions for days until it was the anniversary of the Jiang Family’s eldest grandchild’s death. The night before, the elderly matriarch repeatedly reminded Fan Mingyu to prepare things for the ancestral tribute.

“Everything’s ready. We’ll just buy a bundle of flowers tomorrow morning before we leave.”

Flowers had to be fresh, after all.

“So, what time shall we leave tomorrow?” Past tributes were always done together with Jiang Zhaolin’s family. Despite previous disputes, they still had to consider the old lady’s disposition.

“Let’s leave at eight, just us,” said Fan Mingyu, not explicitly stating the reason, but the old lady understood.

“Alright, I’ll go inform the children.”

“Tell Yanting and Xiaowu to keep an eye on Chengsi tomorrow. He’s always a bit off during these two days every year, and having just quarreled with his father, I worry he might do something rash.”

“I’ve already mentioned it to them.”

“Oh, by the way…” the old lady called out to her, “Is the third child coming back?”

“He’s taking the morning flight and will arrive in the afternoon.”

Tang Wan was listening on the side. Jiang Zhaolin had three sons and a daughter; aside from the one who passed away young, the “third child” was the only one she hadn’t met.

“If it weren’t for his brother’s anniversary every year, I doubt we’d ever see him.” The old lady sighed, using her walking stick to head back. Perhaps because the anniversary was approaching, she had lost her appetite and had grown thinner.

**

The next morning

Tang Wan thought she had woken up early, but the Jiang family was already gathered in the living room, even Jiangjiang was there. Jiang Chengsi was dressed all in black, formal and proper, with none of his customary flamboyance or insolence. His demeanor was solemn, as if he had transformed into someone else.

“Good morning, Auntie.” Only Jiangjiang greeted her as usual, enthusiastic as ever.

Children, even if they knew they were going to pay tribute, could hardly grasp the sorrow of a family member’s passing.

After breakfast, the family split into two cars and set off. Jiang Chengsi, unusually, did not ride his motorcycle, and he was mostly silent throughout the trip.

Tang Wan had expected the cemetery to be in some suburban park but was surprised to find the burial site in the mountains. They couldn’t drive there, so they walked for over an hour to reach their destination.

Although it was a rare sunny day, the deeper they went into the mountains, the chillier it became. The paths grew narrower, the winds through the trees louder, and only the low chirping of insects and birds could be heard.

“Why would they bury him here?” Tang Wan asked Jiang Jinsang as they walked together towards the back.

“He left a will, stating he didn’t want to stay in a tiny box, so after cremation, they scattered his ashes in the mountains. Eventually, they erected a tombstone where his ashes were spread.”

Tang Wan nodded. This desolate and remote place didn’t seem like a typical graveyard.

Upon reaching the mountain top, it was only then, seeing the tombstone, that Tang Wan saw him for the first time. The photo on it was from over a decade ago, he was young, with a smiling face indicating that he had been a gentle person, very different from Jiang Zhaolin or Jiang Chengsi.

After the bowing and paying respects, the old lady spoke to the tombstone in a low soliloquy. She was of advanced age, and climbing the mountain was not easy for her, so she could only visit once a year.

“… everything at home is fine, although there have been quite a few events. You have a new little niece, and the little girl is exceptionally beautiful. In a few days, Xiaowu is going to get engaged too…”

At that moment, Tang Wan’s phone vibrated. Glancing at the caller ID, she saw it was Ruan Mengxi. She hung up once, but the calls continued insistently. She had no choice but to walk further away to answer, “Hello—”

“What are you busy with? Hanging up on me.”

“I’ve got something on.” The matter with the Jiang family couldn’t be explained briefly, so she vaguely mentioned being busy.

“Come to the company quickly if you can. There’s been an incident here. Two actors came for auditions and fought over using the makeup room, ruining all your stuff.”

“What?” Tang Wan’s Cyan Feathers were all handmade; even a little damage was heart-wrenching.

The sound of arguing was faintly audible from Ruan Mengxi’s end of the call, “You better come and see for yourself.”

“I understand.”

Some stars really are completely different in private than on TV. The persona and the person can differ a lot. Plenty have discordant public and private faces, fighting viciously over resources behind the scenes. She just hadn’t expected it to come to the fore today.

“What’s happened?” Jiang Jinsang approached.

“There’s a problem at work.”

“Do you need to go down the mountain now?”

“It’s nothing.”

Despite Tang Wan’s dismissiveness, the repeated phone calls suggested it was urgent. Fan Mingyu even came over to tell her to take care of her matters, as they would probably stay on the mountain for a while longer.

“Then I’ll take you down the mountain,” Jiang Jinsang stated. Today was only for the closest members of the Jiang family. Even Jiang Cuo didn’t come.

“It’s fine, I can go down by myself. You should stay here. I think Fourth Brother doesn’t look very good; pay more attention to him.”

Jiang Chengsi stood aside, his face stern and silent, truly intimidating.

“I’ll call Jiang Cuo to come and pick you up.”

“Okay.” Tang Wan seemed to want to say more, but then her phone rang… Ruan Mengxi on the other end was clearly frantic.

“Just follow the path up the mountain all the way down, don’t stray.”

“I’m not a child,” Tang Wan laughed, “don’t worry, I can take care of myself.”

Worshipping ancestors was a major event for the Jiang family, but since Tang Wan didn’t know him, she could only feel regret at his passing without truly empathizing.

There was only one path up and down the mountain, so there was no need to worry about losing her way.

…

About half an hour later, Jiang Cuo called to say he had reached the foot of the mountain but couldn’t get in touch with Tang Wan.

By all accounts, descending the mountain should take over an hour, so they shouldn’t have missed each other. “Sir, it may be that the signal is bad on the mountain. There’s only one path, it’s impossible to miss her. I’m waiting in the car, and Jiang Jiu has already gone to meet her.”

Jiang Jinsang hung up, then called Tang Wan, but her phone was out of service range.

And they were almost finished preparing to descend the mountain as well…

Jiang Jiu, a trained athlete, moved fast. He jogged into the mountain and even after he and Jiang Jinsang’s group converged, Tang Wan was nowhere to be found.

“Uncle Jiang Jiu,” Jiangjiang called happily upon seeing him, greeting him warmly, “Are you coming to pick us up?”

With so many of them, they didn’t need him to come. The children didn’t understand, but everyone knew in their hearts that Jiang Jinsang probably sent him to pick up Tang Wan. If he had found her, he would have left already, not crossing paths with them.

“Where is she?” asked Jiang Jinsang with a furrowed brow.

Jiang Jiu shook his head, “I didn’t see her.”

“Not seen? And Jiang Cuo didn’t see her either?”

“We’ve kept in touch the whole time, but we didn’t see Miss Tang descending the mountain.”

With only one paved path, even if she had tripped or hurt herself, there’s no way she wouldn’t be seen. It was her first visit, so she couldn’t have taken a shortcut, and she was not the type to do anything dangerous amidst the surrounding bushes and undergrowth.noveldrama

“Is it possible for someone to just disappear into thin air on the mountain?” Jiang Jinsang’s voice rose slightly, startling Jiangjiang.

Clinging to Jiang Yanting’s leg:

Uncle Grumpy suddenly got angry, so fierce!