Chapter 2.2: Love Skill 01: Be able to fight
The two brothers looked at each other. Jiang Chi guiltily avoided his gaze.
Jiang Feng took a deep breath, the vein on his temple throbbing as he forced himself to stay calm: “So… you two already knew each other before?”
Qin Yan answered at a steady pace, “Actually, we didn’t. That only makes Mr. Jiang Chi’s sense of justice and decisiveness even more commendable. He stormed into the dressing room, threw me over his shoulder, carried me to the parking lot, and told me that this world is…”
Jiang Chi: “!!!”
Why is the protagonist shou spilling everything?! He’s way too pure!
Jiang Chi quickly slapped a hand over Qin Yan’s mouth and started dragging him out: “Big Brother, I’ll explain this later! We’re leaving now!”
Jiang Feng was furious, his blood pressure soaring.
He grabbed the flower vase next to him and hurled it at Jiang Chi: “Jiang Chi! You’ve really outdone yourself this time—crashing a wedding to chase after someone?!”
“I didn’t crash it!” Jiang Chi dodged the vase with agility: “I was rescuing someone!”
Jiang Feng was practically about to be driven to death by his infuriating little brother, rage surging like a volcano: “You better save yourself first! This is kidnapping! I’m calling the police right now! No one’s going to bail you out this time!”
Dragging Qin Yan along, Jiang Chi shouted back, “It’s not kidnapping! I’m doing it for his own good!”
Jiang Feng roared, “Jiang Chi! If you walk out that door today, don’t ever come back to the Jiang family!”
His furious voice echoed through the hallway, making Jiang Chi’s eardrums throb.
Looks like no matter which world he was in, Jiang Feng’s temper never changed—still as explosive as ever.
Jiang Chi looked down at the “Ji Yu” in his arms.
“Ji Yu” had his mouth covered, only his soulful eyes showing—eyes that seemed to carry a thousand unspoken words.
He tilted his head back slightly, revealing his slender, fair neck. He didn’t struggle, instead looking at Jiang Chi with a gaze full of trust.
Just that one look was enough to ignite every heroic bone in Jiang Chi’s body.
“I’ll protect you.” Jiang Chi released his hand and whispered near Qin Yan’s ear, “I wasn’t lying to you. Can you trust me?”
Qin Yan didn’t say yes, nor did he say no. He just quietly looked at Jiang Chi.
The two of them locked eyes for a moment.
Though he was clearly the one causing trouble for Jiang Chi on purpose, Qin Yan still asked innocently, “Jiang Chi, are you not allowed to tell your brother about the whole ‘transmigrated-into-a-book’ thing?”
Jiang Chi rubbed his nose. “Better not. I know my brother—there’s no way he’d believe it.”
The elevator descended steadily.
For a while, no one spoke. The cabin was quiet, filled only with the humming of the cables.
Once they reached the ground floor, the two of them walked together toward the parking lot.
But when they reached the car, Jiang Chi found a heavy lock clamped on the front tire.
Jiang Chi: “……”
Yep. That was definitely something his brother would do.
A parking attendant gave Jiang Chi a polite bow, stammering, “Second Young Master, the Eldest Young Master said… said you shouldn’t drive this car for now…”
Even though the lock was easy enough to break, Jiang Chi decided not to go head-to-head with his brother. That wouldn’t be good for his blood pressure.
Jiang Chi opened the car door, grabbed his wallet and phone, and walked away with an air of casual confidence.
Qin Yan reminded him, “He’s going to freeze your cards.”
Jiang Chi glanced at him. “I know.”
Qin Yan asked, “So what are you going to do?”
Jiang Chi handed him the wallet. “There’s still some cash.”
Qin Yan opened the wallet—and there really was just some cash. Two hundred-yuan bills, a few smaller notes… barely three hundred yuan in total.
Then Jiang Chi took off the platinum cufflinks from the sleeves of his suit and handed them over too.
The diamonds on the cufflinks caught the natural light, scattering it into dazzling colors—brilliant and breathtaking.
Qin Yan blinked, slightly taken aback. “What’s this supposed to mean?”
Jiang Chi placed the cufflinks into Qin Yan’s hand, then removed the watch from his wrist and gave him that too. “Find a pawnshop, get some money. I’m taking you to the hospital first.”
Qin Yan: “The hospital?”
Jiang Chi: “Yeah. According to the book, your health’s not great.”
Qin Yan reached out and touched Jiang Chi’s forehead. “Jiang Chi, I think… you’re the one who needs to see a doctor.”
Jiang Chi leaned against a tree and sighed. “So you do think I’m crazy.”
Qin Yan responded with expert tact, confirming without directly saying so: “You’re… unlike anyone I’ve ever met.”
Jiang Chi caught the meaning behind those words.
But instead of getting angry, he actually found it a little funny.
He raised his hand and gently plucked the sprig of lily-of-the-valley from Qin Yan’s lapel. “Sorry. I was being presumptuous. I totally ruined your wedding… I’ll take full responsibility for the mess. I’ll explain things to the Ji family and the Qin family too.”
Jiang Chi’s fingers were long and elegant, like they were carved from jade, making the lily-of-the-valley in his hand look almost translucent in its purity.
The flower had been off the stem too long—its leaves had shriveled and drooped, no longer vibrant and fresh. But in Jiang Chi’s hand, it still looked beautiful.
Qin Yan’s gaze lingered on the flower. “It’s okay. I didn’t really want to marry someone I’d never even met anyway.”
Jiang Chi casually slipped the flower into his pocket. “Yeah, this arranged marriage was a setup—a power play among the elite. The idea to use the marriage to ‘ward off bad luck’… that came from Qin Yan’s stepmother.”
Qin Yan’s stepmother, Su Xiaowan, was a ruthless woman.
Back then, after Madam Qin passed away, Su Xiaowan had outmaneuvered all the mistresses Father Qin kept outside and entered the Qin household with her son in tow.
From mistress to legitimate wife, and her illegitimate child became the rightful heir to the Qin family.
To help her son seize control of the family, Su Xiaowan came up with a plan to have Qin Yan marry a male spouse.
Her own child was still young and couldn’t yet contend for the head of the family, but if Qin Yan married a man, he’d have no offspring—buying her son time to grow up.
It was a plan that killed two birds with one stone—and it was vicious.
To be able to sit so securely in the role of Qin family matriarch, Su Xiaowan’s means were clearly formidable.
In the original story, Su Xiaowan appeared endlessly caring toward Ji Yu on the surface, but in truth, she constantly sowed discord between the protagonist and his love interest behind the scenes.
To Qin Yan, Ji Yu was Su Xiaowan’s chosen pawn. Her fake kindness felt like pouring oil on a raging fire—only making him more wary of Ji Yu.
Ji Yu’s married life was like walking on a tightrope, with traps everywhere—caught between suspicion from inside and pressure from outside. It was pure misery.
Just thinking about all those frustrating scenes from the novel made Jiang Chi uncomfortable. “Su Xiaowan is a queen of inner-court scheming—says one thing to your face and does another behind your back. If you had married Qin Yan… you’d have to be very careful around her.”
Qin Yan looked a bit surprised.
Su Xiaowan was a venomous snake, skilled in lying low. Even with a heart full of poison and malicious intentions, to outsiders, she came across as a kind, generous woman.
So how did Jiang Chi know what she was really like?
Even Qin Yan himself had suffered many setbacks before realizing Su Xiaowan was anything but harmless.
He was only in elementary school when his mother died.
His father was a philanderer, unreliable and unfit for leadership. When Su Xiaowan officially entered the household, Qin Yan’s grandfather had made it clear: the Qin family would one day be passed to Qin Yan.
Su Xiaowan had nodded repeatedly and said that was exactly how it should be.
In front of others, Su Xiaowan’s most frequently spoken words were: “The Qin family’s future belongs to Xiao Yan. We’ve never thought about fighting for it. If it’s not ours, we won’t take it, even if it’s given to us.”
Su Xiaowan treated Qin Yan better than her own son, gaining a reputation as a kind, gentle, and righteous woman.
Later, when Qin Yan’s grandfather sent him abroad for studies, Su Xiaowan sent him a large sum of money every month.
Others praised Su Xiaowan for her kindness and generosity, saying she was never stingy. But Qin Yan knew very well that Su Xiaowan was trying to use money to drag him into moral decline.
Horse racing, card games, and snooker weren’t even the worst of it. When Qin Yan was sixteen, Su Xiaowan sent people to take him to the gambling capital of Las Vegas. She even spiked his drinks and cigarettes, attempting to get him addicted to dr*gs.
Unfortunately, Qin Yan’s personality was completely different from his father’s. Father Qin was a philanderer and a libertine, while Qin Yan had no interest in the indulgences of the worldly pleasures.
In recent years, Su Xiaowan’s actions in the country had become more frequent. If he didn’t return soon, the Qin family’s domestic assets might soon belong to the Su family.
After coming of age, Qin Yan stayed abroad for a long time, but his sudden return to the country was bound to provoke Su Xiaowan’s suspicion. So, Qin Yan pretended to be injured and unconscious, claiming he needed to return to China for treatment.
To “wake” Qin Yan up, Su Xiaowan came up with the idea of using a marriage to ‘dispel bad luck’. She even offered her own wealth as a dowry, paying a high price to marry Ji Yu, the illegitimate son of the Ji family.
To the public, Su Xiaowan appeared to be selflessly devoted to her stepson, Qin Yan, even to the point of sacrificing everything for him.
It was because Su Xiaowan played her role so well that Jiang Chi’s warning made Qin Yan particularly surprised.
Could Jiang Chi really be… someone who’d crossed into a novel?
Qin Yan feigned hesitation and cautiously asked, “Be careful of Aunt Su?”
Jiang Chi whispered, “Su Xiaowan is a venomous snake. Don’t be fooled by her gentle appearance—she’s plotting to take over the Qin family’s assets, her mind is set on making her son the heir.”
Qin Yan’s gaze flickered, and he lowered his voice as well. “But everyone says that Aunt Su doesn’t care about the Qin family’s wealth, that she… and my uncle… they’re truly in love.”
Jiang Chi raised an eyebrow. “You’re too naive. The less someone has, the more they talk about it. If she didn’t care about the family’s wealth, why would she keep mentioning it?”
At this point, Qin Yan was starting to believe that Jiang Chi was truly someone who had crossed into a novel.
He had been tricked by Su Xiaowan countless times, only to realize the woman’s schemes. And Jiang Chi, who had never had dealings with Su Xiaowan, how could he know her intentions so clearly?
Seeing that Qin Yan didn’t respond but was just staring at him, Jiang Chi felt a little embarrassed.
He silently withdrew his arm from around Qin Yan’s shoulder. “Anyway, she’s the worst character in the whole story. If you don’t believe me…”
Qin Yan interrupted, “I believe you.”
Jiang Chi suddenly turned his head, staring blankly at Qin Yan.
Seeing Jiang Chi’s dazed look, Qin Yan almost wanted to laugh.
He didn’t say anything further, instead turning and walking slowly down the long street.
Jiang Chi followed behind him. “Hey, where are you going?”
Qin Yan replied, “I don’t know. Where do you want to go?”
When Jiang Chi heard that “Ji Yu” had no intention of returning to the Qin family, he felt a sense of joy in his heart.
As long as “Ji Yu” doesn’t return to the Qin family, it meant that Jiang Chi had successfully altered the original plot of this world. Though the results weren’t visible yet, it was still progress.
Jiang Chi walked side by side with Qin Yan. “Then you should come to my house first. Qin Yan’s the type who’s hard to deal with—he doesn’t respond to soft or hard tactics. I’ve read the original text, so I can teach you how to handle him.”
Qin Yan thought for a moment, then glanced at Jiang Chi. “Right, with so many exes, you must be really experienced when it comes to relationships.”
Jiang Chi: “……”
The original owner’s flirtatious ways had caused so much trouble!
Jiang Chi wanted to explain that he had never had a lover, but then he thought, if he admitted to having no romantic history, wouldn’t that lower his credibility in giving relationship advice?
As luck would have it, the original owner had left behind the identity of a heartthrob playboy.
This identity would make his relationship expertise seem much more reliable.
In the end, everything was for the best.
It seemed that his purpose in crossing over was to win over Ji Yu after all.
Jiang Chi put one hand in his pocket, speaking coolly. “Right, there’s no man I can’t win over. Don’t worry, with me around, I’ll make Qin Yan fall head over heels for you.”
“Alright, you go ahead and try,” Qin Yan replied, his voice tinged with a hidden smile that he couldn’t conceal. It was clear he was in a good mood.
The two walked down the street, and coincidentally, they passed a boxing gym.
Jiang Chi raised his hand and pushed Qin Yan inside.
Qin Yan turned around, confused. “What are we doing here?”
Jiang Chi grinned. “Teaching you how to handle relationships.”
Qin Yan’s eyes were filled with questions. “In a boxing gym?”
Jiang Chi nodded, pushing Qin Yan toward the changing rooms.
“Yes! Relationship tip number one: You have to be able to fight.”
