"Other than interviews, you're not allowed to have any private contact with him," Jiang Beihuai said, his long, fair hand tightly gripping a ballpoint pen. "I agree that you want to make a documentary about your father-in-law, but you must take me with you. I'll help you gather materials."
Bai Wenxi coquettishly pleaded, "Are you jealous? It's nothing. It's just work-related communication."
Jiang Beihuai lowered his eyelids slightly and stubbornly repeated, "That Chen guy gives me a bad feeling. Anyway, you should have less contact with him."
His inky black eyes locked onto her tightly, and his dazzlingly white skin glowed with a cold light.
Bai Wenxi sensitively sensed that his aura was extremely low at this moment, and it was obvious that he was suppressing his anger.
"Okay, I'll listen to you," Bai Wenxi said as she sat on his lap voluntarily, wrapping her arms around her husband's neck. "He has been in too close contact with Yao Chunmei. I won't have much to do with this person either."
"Originally, I was thinking of taking him to my mother's house to rediscover my father's emotional journey when he was young. Now I'll have to trouble you."
Hearing his wife's promise, Jiang Beihuai finally beamed, like the sun breaking through the clouds after the rain. "It's not troublesome. It's what I should do as a son-in-law. I haven't paid my respects to your mother's tomb yet. I can take this opportunity for you to introduce me to her."
Bai Wenxi ran her fingers through his thick, black hair and gently massaged the acupoints on his scalp. "I won't bother you anymore. Talking to you until now has affected your work efficiency."
"I'll come and call you when it's time. Let's go to the old mansion together to visit grandma."
Jiang Beihuai pinched his straight nose and put on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. "Your massage feels so good. Give me a few more presses."
He was already a bit drowsy. "To be honest, I'd rather go to the front line to work on projects than sit in the office every day looking at these repetitive documents."
"You're the heir of the Jiang family and the president of the Jiang Group," Bai Wenxi said with a smile at the corner of her eyes, feeding sliced fruit into Jiang Beihuai's mouth one by one.
"Stop saying such childish things. I'll close the door for you. Don't be anxious. Take your time to read."
Although it was exhausting to outwit those old foxes in the group, and it was quite difficult for someone like him who was used to physical work to suddenly take over the management of a complex multinational group.
But thinking of his ambitions and Bai Wenxi, who had no support from her natal family, Jiang Beihuai pushed up his glasses that were about to slide off and plunged back into the mountain of documents.
While her husband was struggling in the business world, Bai Wenxi was also kept busy.
She specifically reviewed all the upcoming exhibitions at the Star Art Museum. She was familiar with every painting that was going to be on display.
Apart from being a virtuous wife, she also had to be a good professional woman. Only with a career to strive for and some property to rely on could she gain a firm foothold in the Jiang family.
The relatives in the old mansion were no easy people. They were all snobbish and used to looking down on the weak and currying favor with the strong.
Many rumors about Jiang Beihuai came from their mouths. They not only exaggerated but also completely fabricated some stories out of thin air.
Even their marriage was decided by Old Lady Jiang against all odds. Many elders of the Jiang family had expressed their dissatisfaction with the Bai family's status in front of her more than once.
During her breaks at work, Bai Wenxi would unconsciously twitch her hands. She tried to calm her racing heart and took deep breaths to encourage herself.
As the time for the evening dinner drew closer, her mood gradually became more and more depressed. Her feeling about going to the old mansion was like going to a cemetery.
Sadness, tinged with a bit of sorrow...
"Weren't you comforting me this afternoon? Why can't you figure it out when it comes to yourself?" Jiang Beihuai said with a smile as he watched his wife sighing. Her delicate eyebrows were unconsciously furrowed.
"If you keep frowning, there'll be a deep wrinkle between your eyebrows!"
"Ah?" Bai Wenxi was startled and quickly pressed her finger between her eyebrows. "A frown line in the middle of my forehead would be so ugly. I have to keep pressing it. I mustn't let it leave a mark."
"I'm not being unable to figure it out. It's just that as a man, you definitely can't understand the mindset of a new bride meeting her in-laws."
Bai Wenxi swallowed hard and wracked her brains to explain. "They won't say many things in front of you, but they'll shoot at me without any scruples."
"Although I don't have proper in-laws, your aunts and half-uncle are already enough for me to handle."
Facts proved that Bai Wenxi's worries were not unfounded!
The discrimination that had started to show during the church wedding intensified after she officially married into the family.
Looking at the narrow side door, Jiang Beihuai's expression was solemn and his face was as gloomy as water. "Who told you that the young mistress isn't allowed to enter the old mansion through the main door?"
"Y-Young master, it was Second Grand Aunt's order," the male servant said helplessly. He was just an employee and didn't want to get involved in the feuds of the wealthy family.
"It seems that Second Aunt wants to step on me too?" Jiang Beihuai's eyes were bloodshot. He clenched his fists tightly, and his chest was filled with intense hatred.
After the eldest brother's accidental death, the married daughters of the Jiang family wanted to come back and divide up the family property.
Unexpectedly, Old Lady Jiang took the initiative and found the illegitimate son left by the eldest brother when he was young.
The three daughters got together and decided that they mustn't let Jiang Beihuai take control of the family property alone. So they instigated the son of Old Master Jiang's mistress, their fifth younger brother, to fight for power.
But with Old Lady Jiang in charge of the Jiang family, they couldn't stir up the slightest wave.
They had no say in the major matters of the group. They could barely maintain their membership in the board of directors.
Since they couldn't gain a foothold in the business world, they could at least act like elders in small matters to relieve their depression.
Second Aunt couldn't wait to jump out and give this young couple a warning.
Jiang Beihuai wanted to lose his temper on the spot, but was stopped by Bai Wenxi. "Our main purpose today is to visit grandma. Don't have any meaningless arguments with these people."
Bai Wenxi's gentle voice flowed into Jiang Beihuai's restless heart like a gurgling mountain spring.
"Grandma is old and still busy with the group's affairs. If I didn't consider her, I'd definitely teach these people a good lesson."
Jiang Beihuai gritted his teeth, his face ashen, and managed to hold back his anger. "Let's go and visit grandma first. We don't have to rush to meet those bastards."
Although Old Lady Jiang was old, she still kept track of all the developments in the Jiang family.
When she learned that the two children had endured the injustice for the sake of the overall situation, she smiled with satisfaction.
"In this difficult world, the only thing is to endure," the old lady said as she took a sip of tea. Her features were kind. "Everything I've done up to now is for Bai Wenxi."
"Let's just say it's to repay the kindness of her mother."