Huang Wanyi was stunned.
She blinked her bright eyes, at a loss for words.
“Turn misfortune to fortune? Find opportunity in despair? What does that mean? Who put me in despair?”
And his tone was so strange, so serious— not like a fortune teller but more like making a solemn vow.
This Boss Jiang was truly an inscrutable oddity.
Yet, strangely, looking into his honest and sincere eyes and feeling the earnestness in his words, Huang Wanyi found she didn’t dislike him at all.
Perhaps it was because his gaze was clear and calm, his manner dignified and unassuming— like a true gentleman, not a sycophant.
Huang Tianjiao impatiently tugged on Huang Wanyi’s arm, nearly wrinkling her lace sleeve.
“Second sister, why waste time talking to this kind of person? Let’s go!”
Huang Wanyi was pulled off balance but stubbornly turned her head to fix Jiang Mingxi with a burning gaze and quickly finished her sentence:
“Boss Jiang, did you know Song Qingyuan personally praised you as a ‘world-shaking genius’?”
Jiang Mingxi merely raised an eyebrow, her tone even and calm: “Song Qingyuan did indeed say that.”
Feeling the grip on her arm loosen for a moment, Huang Wanyi smirked inwardly and quickly freed herself.
She tidied her slightly rumpled sleeve, turned her head with an almost innocent expression as if proud of her brother, and smiled at Jiang Mingxi:
“To be honest, Boss Jiang, my brother has been known since childhood as a genius prodigy.
He is fluent in English, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish, and graduated with honors from Yale University.
Nowadays, he holds an important position at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will soon accompany a special envoy abroad. His future is limitless…”
As she enumerated his achievements like treasured possessions, Huang Tianjiao’s previously hunched shoulders unconsciously straightened.
His chin lifted higher and higher, almost snorting at Jiang Mingxi, his eyes glancing sideways, soaked in the superiority of a scion of an old aristocratic family, practically tangible in the shabby alley.
However, Huang Wanyi’s tone suddenly shifted, tinged with just the right amount of regret and puzzlement:
“But despite all this, Song Qingyuan repeatedly evaluated him as… sigh, a ‘mediocre talent.’”
The words “mediocre talent” struck like two cold steel needles, piercing and shattering Huang Tianjiao’s carefully maintained pride.
His smile froze completely, the color drained from his face, leaving him pale as death.
This was an embarrassing secret known only within the Huang family and never spoken of outside!
He never expected his own sister to so casually and cruelly rip open his wounds here and now, in front of so many friends and this lowly person!
Huang Tianjiao clearly felt the gazes from his companions— surprise, disbelief, incredulity, then transforming into a kind of sympathy, curiosity, and even a secret sense of amusement.
Those looks burned into his skin like hot iron, painfully scorching.
He forced a smile that looked as natural as a painted mask, but his voice was dry and tight, with a faint tremble:
“…I’m ashamed. Indeed, my talents are shallow and I have not met Song Qingyuan’s standards.”
His humble words immediately drew a chorus of encouragement and comfort from his companions.
“Tianjiao! Why belittle yourself? If you’re mediocre, then what does that make the rest of us—dirt and clay?”
“Exactly! Song Qingyuan’s standards are too high. Don’t take his words seriously!”
“Right, right, Tianjiao, your talent is obvious to all of us!”
These comforting words somewhat soothed the turmoil in Huang Tianjiao’s heart.
Exactly! That’s the kind of reaction a normal person would have!
He couldn’t help but recall the humiliating master-disciple banquet four years ago.
His father had merely followed custom, humbly saying, “This dog is unworthy and inexperienced, please instruct.”
But the old Song Qingyuan had bluntly agreed, “Indeed, a mediocre talent.”
Young and hot-blooded, Huang Tianjiao’s blood had rushed to his head, and he retorted sarcastically, “Looks like those outsiders are blind, to praise a fool like me so highly.”
Yet the old man wasn’t embarrassed by his words, but seriously comforted him: “Don’t belittle yourself. Among ordinary people, your talents are quite good.”
Even after four years, recalling that humiliation still filled Huang Tianjiao with fury, the memory as vivid as yesterday.
Suddenly, he raised his head to look at the disheveled but silent Jiang Mingxi and forced a perfect, cold smile without any warmth:
“Well then, since you enjoy such high praise from Song Qingyuan, titled ‘world-shaking genius,’ you must surely possess talents beyond the imagination of us ordinary mortals? Care to show this ‘mediocre talent’ a thing or two?”
His tone was laced with provocation and defiance, almost tangible.
By now, Jiang Mingxi pretty much understood the situation.
She had simply been dragged into this mess by Song Qingyuan’s involvement and was extremely impatient— there were over five hundred small stoves waiting for her to move and arrange in the warehouse.
She had no time to waste on these pampered young masters playing childish power games.
But—
She glanced at Huang Wanyi’s bright eyes.
She suddenly sighed deeply.
Fine.
Since this is what you want to see…
Who asked you to have such a fine daughter?
Jiang Mingxi lowered her head slightly, her voice gentle, tinged with a little embarrassment:
“Mr. Huang, you flatter me. ‘Open my eyes’ is far beyond what I deserve. Actually… I’ve never been to school and didn’t know which way the classroom doors faced.”
She raised her eyes, clear and sincere, filled with genuine confusion, “It was pure luck. On the train escaping the disaster, I happened to sit next to an English gentleman. He saw I had nothing to do and was quite dumb, so he kindly taught me some English for a few hours to pass the time.”
Her tone was casual, as if talking about something trivial.
“Really just a short time— probably not even as long as one of your tutoring sessions?”
She paused just right, her gaze unintentionally flicking over Huang Tianjiao’s suddenly tensed jawline, then continued with a gentle, slightly apologetic tone,
“I’m quite stupid and slow. I barely managed to learn some simple greetings, to read some basic letters, and to write a few clumsy lines… it’s very crude and far from elegant.”
“Compared to you, Mr. Huang, who’s fluent in six languages and top-educated, my abilities are like the difference between clouds and mud.”
“Perhaps Song Qingyuan’s praise was just a joke or pity for my wandering fate—meant to encourage me, not to be taken seriously.”
Her concluding words were earnest, almost apologetic for Song Qingyuan’s “overpraise.”
Her tone grew humbler, but her words were earth-shattering!
Just a few hours?
On a train?
And she learned to read and write English letters?!
The once noisy alley filled with comfort and agreement suddenly fell into a bizarre, deathly silence.
The expressions on the young masters’ faces froze.
Their eyes toward Jiang Mingxi shifted from scorn and disdain to sheer shock, confusion, and incomprehensible terror!
All of them had been tutored since childhood by expensive private teachers, immersed in foreign language environments, studying hard for over a decade to reach their current level.
And this ragged, uneducated person had learned to read and write letters in English in just a few hours on a train?!
This was no longer just “genius”— this was… a monster!
Huang Tianjiao’s face drained of color, his proud eyes now only filled with shock and intense doubt.
It was as if he’d just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.
He took a step forward, voice sharp with agitation:
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”
He almost shouted but then controlled himself, squeezing out the words through clenched teeth,
“A few hours? On a train? Learned English? And to read and write letters? Boss Jiang, even if you’re trying to bluff me, please come up with a better story! Such a tall tale— I’m not buying it!”
Faced with this aggressive challenge, Jiang Mingxi did not back down but lifted her head slightly.
“Mr. Huang!” Her voice sharpened with emotion but remained clear. “Although I’m lowly born and never had the fortune to attend school even a single day, I do understand the principle that ‘without trust, one cannot stand.’ I would never, nor could I ever stoop to tell such an easily exposed lie.”
Her chest rose and fell slightly as if deeply offended.
Then she lowered her head like the air had been let out, muttering softly in a mixture of humility and frustration,
“I know I’m stupid and slow… I spent five or six hours barely memorizing a few hundred English words… truly laughable…”
Everyone: “…”
Silence.
The young masters’ faces showed a complicated, strange expression— wanting to argue but seeing such sincerity that was frightening; wanting to admit but unable to deny the impossible truth!
A strong sense of absurdity and helplessness choked everyone’s throats, neither able to spit it out nor swallow it down, causing almost internal injury.
Huang Tianjiao felt a metallic bitterness rise in his throat, dizziness, his temples and “tianmen” acupoints pounding wildly, and his vision blurred.
He had never been so humiliated in his life— this was a hundred times worse than being openly insulted!
Even Huang Wanyi, who had been watching for amusement, was completely speechless, her rosy lips slightly parted, staring at Jiang Mingxi not as a “genius” or “fraud” but as something… inexplicable and terrifying!
In the thick, almost solid silence, a trembling, excited voice suddenly broke in:
“If that’s the case… words are no proof— seeing is believing. How about a little test right now?”
Everyone turned to look and saw a middle-aged man in a slightly worn Zhongshan suit with gold-rimmed glasses standing at the alley entrance, carrying a briefcase.
Jiang Mingxi was surprised to recognize him as Wang Editor from Jinshi Xinshi.
His eyes gleamed with excitement behind the lenses.
He had come by address to deliver reader letters and orders to Jiang Mingxi, never expecting to witness such a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle!
Looking at Jiang Mingxi’s eyes, he saw a walking goldmine, a news story that would set the city abuzz!
Pushing up his glasses, his voice cracking with excitement, he said,
“I overheard your debate just now. What Boss Jiang said is unheard of and incredible. Mr. Huang’s doubts are understandable.”
His tone shifted as his gaze fixed on Jiang Mingxi, full of the eagerness and encouragement of a journalist discovering a big story:
“Boss Jiang, since you insist your words are true, would you be willing to take a small, fair test here on the spot?”
Whether true or not, headlines like “Huang Family Prodigy Questions Song Qingyuan’s Praise of ‘World-Shaking Genius’” and “Street Test of Unforgettable Language Skills” would make the next issue of Jinshi Xinshi sell out!
This was a headline falling from the sky!
Jiang Mingxi: ???
She had actually just lied a little.
She had slightly exaggerated her talents.
Learning a few hundred English words in a few hours was a bit of a stretch. She had really spent over ten hours learning.
If a test were to come…
She glanced at the eager Huang Wanyi beside her and smiled bitterly inside.
Well, as long as she’s happy.
She’d just have to deal with whatever came.
Besides, it would be a good chance to promote her Mingzhao International Company, which would be beneficial.
More importantly, she was far more curious about what fate awaited Huang Wanyi and how such a noble lady could possibly fall into such dire straits.