Chapter 48 : Chapter 48
Chapter 48. Everyone Else Is Taking the Martial Exam, and You Brought Your Fiancée on a Picnic?
"Brother Yichen, was that a sixth-rank Teleportation Talisman you used just now?"
Su Linyu watched Jiang Yichen arranging the food and asked with a pained expression.
A single sixth-rank Teleportation Talisman was worth a million. Even as the Su family's treasured daughter, she could not afford the luxury of using sixth-rank talismans just for travel.
"Yep. These talismans are incredibly convenient for getting around."
Jiang Yichen answered with a smile and beckoned to her. "Come eat with me."
Su Linyu took a deep breath and sat down beside Jiang Yichen. Looking at the lavish feast in front of her, her little face grew even more troubled.
Now that his mental power had increased, Jiang Yichen sensed it immediately. "What is wrong?"
Su Linyu cupped her cheeks with both hands. "I was thinking about how I'm ever going to afford to support you in the future, Brother Yichen~"
"If I ask my brother for money, he will not give me any. My parents pay even less attention to me. So the only option is to go to the border and kill demonic beasts for money. That pays quickly, and then I'll be able to support you."
A look of surprise appeared on Jiang Yichen's face. He glanced at the sixth-rank Teleportation Talisman in his hand and then at the luxurious feast laid out before them.
He instantly understood what Su Linyu was thinking. His spending really was too high. Just traveling here had already consumed two Teleportation Talismans.
That alone had cost two million. For an ordinary martial artist, that was already an enormous sum.
"And what if you cannot afford to support me?" Jiang Yichen asked, suddenly amused.
Su Linyu immediately grew nervous and hurriedly tugged at his clothes. "Brother Yichen, I can support you. Please do not cast me aside."
As she spoke, she pulled a gold card out of her pocket and placed it in his hand. "This is all the money I have. I'm giving it all to you, Brother Yichen. Spend it however you like."
"In the future, every time I get money, I'll give it to you. If my parents stop giving me money after graduation, then I'll go to the border and kill demonic beasts to earn money for you."
Jiang Yichen froze. Looking at the gold card in his hand, he said in a low voice, "If you give me all your money, then what about you?"
Su Linyu smiled sweetly. "It is fine, Brother Yichen. As long as you're happy, I'm happy."
"What a foolish girl."
Jiang Yichen tried to return the card to Su Linyu, but the girl instantly dodged away.
"Brother Yichen, I may not have much money, but it is still my sincerity. Will you accept it, please?" Su Linyu pleaded ingratiatingly.
Jiang Yichen was stunned. Did she really have to be this devoted?
After going back and forth several times, Su Linyu still refused to take it back, so Jiang Yichen could only hold on to it for the time being.
The two of them sat down together again, facing a super luxurious feast.
On the left was a seafood tower. Chilled Boston lobsters curled their bright red bodies atop it, their claws wrapped in silver foil.
On the right sat a grill, where marinated M5 wagyu sizzled on the grate. Fat dripped down and burst into sparks, the outside charred and fragrant while the inside remained tender and pink.
Jiang Yichen used a corkscrew to open a bottle of red wine and poured a glass for both himself and Su Linyu.
"Come on, cheers!"
He raised his glass with a smile as warm as spring.
In his previous life, he had not enjoyed a picnic even once during those four years. For Lin Wan's dream, he had kept fighting nonstop, leading the team all the way to the top of China.
Now that he was experiencing it again, the feeling was simply wonderful.
Sunlight, beautiful scenery, delicious food, and...
Jiang Yichen turned his head, and Su Linyu's lovely, exquisite face entered his sight.
And beauty too.
Only after he started taking it easy did he realize how beautiful life could be.
Clink!
Su Linyu touched her glass to his and bit her lower lip. "Brother Yichen, I know a very new way of drinking wine. They say it tastes especially sweet when you drink it that way. Shall I teach you?"
Jiang Yichen froze for a moment. After hesitating briefly, he slowly set down his glass. "Go ahead."
Su Linyu's soft, fair arm looped around his, and the two of them drank the wine with their arms crossed.
Jiang Yichen could not help smiling. "So you tricked me into drinking a nuptial toast?"
Su Linyu lowered her head shyly, a faint smile curling on her lips. "Brother Yichen, do you not think it tastes sweeter this way?"
Jiang Yichen had no answer for that. Not wanting to spoil her mood, he drank the crossed-cup wine with her.
It really did taste sweeter than the red wine from before.
"Brother Yichen, you actually are not rejecting me anymore. I'm so happy."
Su Linyu's eyes were full of Jiang Yichen. She stamped her feet excitedly, looking like someone who had just been shown favor.
In his previous life, he had rejected all physical intimacy with Su Linyu.
If Su Linyu had dared to approach him of her own accord, he would have lost his temper and hit or cursed her.
Thinking back on it now, Jiang Yichen felt that he owed this foolish girl far too much.
But there was no rush. They had plenty of time ahead of them.
The two of them admired the scenery while eating their meal.
The divine beast Xiao Bai also came over greedily, lying beside them and devoting itself to eating.
Under the sunlight, the scene was indescribably beautiful.
But Jiang Yichen having a picnic on the martial exam grounds made Shen Qingyue and Su Zhan's faces darken.
"That brat is utterly shameless! He does not even know how to choose the occasion!" Su Zhan roared in fury, slamming his cane hard against the ground.
It would have been one thing if Jiang Yichen had decided to slack off and stop killing demonic beasts to compete for ranking points.
But dragging his daughter into it as well was simply disgraceful.
He was furious. Turning toward Shen Qingyue, he said, "Qingyue, I'll speak plainly. If Jiang Yichen cannot pass the martial exam, then the marriage alliance between our two families is off the table."
"My daughter, Su Zhan's daughter, will never marry someone who lacks all ambition and even slacks off during the martial exam. Hmph!"
Bloodshot veins appeared in Su Zhan's eyes, showing just how enraged he was.
Shen Qingyue had no way to refute him. Watching her son having a picnic during the martial exam, she truly felt helpless to the extreme.
She was already starting to wonder why she had insisted on coming in the first place.
It was simply too humiliating!
Before this, Su Zhan had still cared about preserving the Jiang family's dignity and had not spoken openly about ending the engagement.
But now his words were so direct that he had clearly already made up his mind to sever the engagement with the Jiang family.
Shen Qingyue's face was full of worry. She sighed again and again, thinking, How on earth did I give birth to such a thing? Sigh.
Of the four of them, the most pleased were Zhou Mingyuan and Jiang Dongnian.
With Su Zhan's attitude, he had absolutely already decided to turn against the Jiang family.
As long as Jiang Yichen failed the martial exam, their goal would be achieved.
Once Su Zhan dissolved the engagement, he would inevitably form an alliance with the Zhou family.
And without the support of his engagement to the Su family, the Jiang family's upper echelon would never agree to let Jiang Yichen continue as heir.
It was a win-win situation.
Zhou Mingyuan and Jiang Dongnian exchanged a smile. They were practically ready to pop the champagne halfway through.
With Jiang Yichen's earlier ranking of 9,999th, he had probably fallen completely out of sight by now.
Zhou Mingyuan smiled smugly and lifted his tea to sip it slowly.
Meanwhile, the livestream was also broadcasting Jiang Yichen's picnic, and the viewers completely lost it.
"No way! This is the martial exam, Young Master Jiang. Why are you acting like you're on vacation?"
"Other examinees: I have to hurry and kill demonic beasts for points. Young Master Jiang: No rush. Let me have a little picnic first."
"Heh. Just as expected of the Jiang family's useless heir. This is such a serious occasion, and he's out here having a picnic."
"Exactly. Not only is he not working hard for a good ranking himself, he's even dragging Goddess Su down into slacking off with him. What a waste of her wholehearted devotion. It's like feeding your conscience to a dog!"
"Forget about him. Let him keep slacking off. When he fails the martial exam, let's see whether the Su family still agrees to their marriage."
"Right. Host, hurry up and check the rankings. Jiang Yichen has definitely fallen out of the top ten thousand by now."
"..."
Seeing this, the host smiled faintly. Without even looking first, she directly pulled up the martial exam ranking board.
First place: Chu Xingchen — 4600
Second place: Jiang Feng — 3900
...
Sixth place: Lin Wan — 3000
...
9,999th place: Jiang Yichen — 700
The moment the rankings appeared, everyone was dumbfounded.
What?
Half an hour had already passed. How had he still not dropped?!