章 22: Star of Calamity (2)
Everyone turned their attention to Jacob Qin, thinking something was wrong with the Qin family. Issues and scandals came one after another, effectively destroying the legacy that their great-grandfather started. The once glorious and respectable Qin family came crashing down.
As for Lennox Qin, the news of his death was released twelve years from now. He died at thirty-eight with only a few friends and his mother by his side. The news never revealed the cause of his death, but Adrienne wouldn't be surprised if his relatives instigated it.
"Have you given it a good thought, Miss Jiang? I've been waiting for you." His tone was light and had no hint of displeasure or irritation.
She eyed him for a while longer, then turned her attention to her mother. The probability of having the Zhao family on her side is quite low. She would only know how to proceed with them after their meeting. However, her mother's hospital bills continued to pile up, drying up her funds. This left Adrienne with no choice but to consider Lennox's proposition.
"You could have waited for me a little longer, you know. I plan to visit you to discuss this." She answered, striding towards the window to open the curtains, allowing the sun to shine.
Lennox groaned and blinked, turning his head to one side to avoid the bright daylight.
"Is that so?" He replied. "And here I thought you would ditch me."
Adrienne chuckled at that and checked her mother's chart. She wondered if Nurse Nova had dropped by during her absence and injected drugs into her mother again.
"You know my circumstances, so why would I leave without a word?" She said. "I would like to know what the deal entails before I can give you a definite answer."
A knock on the door startled Adrienne. She wasn't expecting anyone to arrive or visit her mother at this time.
"Miss Jiang, it's me, Gavin. May I ask if Lennox is with you?"
It was definitely Gavin Si, and Adrienne sighed in relief.
"You may come in. He is with me." She answered.
The door slid open for a moment but was shut immediately. Gavin stood tall at the doorway with a frown as he looked at his best friend. He wore a black business suit with a white dress shirt. He was also holding some files in his right hand.
"How did you end up here?" He asked Lennox. "I only went down for a moment, and you were already gone when I came back!"
He then turned and faced Adrienne and apologized for Lennox's behavior.
"It's no problem, Mr. Si. In fact, Mr. Qin here has made it easy for me. I was planning to see him and discuss the proposition he mentioned to me before. Are you aware of it?"
Gavin nodded but couldn't help shooting his friend a displeased look.
"Nox told me, and I told him it would be dangerous for you. No amount of money is worth your life, Miss Jiang, but he insisted you wouldn't receive any help aside from this."
Adrienne appreciated Gavin's thoughtfulness, but Lennox was right. She wouldn't allow herself to be indebted to anyone. If she needed to make a deal, then it should be on her terms, and it should be profitable on her part.
"It's good that you're here now, Gav. You should be our witness." Lennox ignored his friend's glare. "Do we need to sign a contract?" He asked Adrienne.
"I see no reason why we shouldn't." She answered. "But how many children are we talking about?"
Lennox grimaced at her question.
"We're not sure how many children my old man fathered, but as far as I know, six children were proven with DNA tests."
"These are the files with their details, Miss Jiang. If you need help, please do not hesitate to call me, and I will arrange things for you." Gavin handed the files he was holding to Adrienne before pulling out his business card and giving it to her.
Adrienne looked at the two men before checking the children's files one by one. The first on the list was a fifteen-year-old girl in her last year of middle school. She was attending a middle school near Springfield Academy. She had the same hair and color as Lennox, but her facial features were far from him.
The second was a young man the same age as her. He was sporting an arrogant grin in his picture and looked rebellious. He was attending a school in another city. It would take a two-hour drive to reach that place.
The third one was a set of identical male twins. They were both mischievous-looking, and everything about them was almost the same, making it hard for anyone to tell them apart. They were a year younger than Adrienne.
The fourth file was on a young girl aged eight. She looked meek and shy in the picture, and there wasn't any notable information about the girl except that she was being home-schooled.
The last one was a young boy aged four. Clearly, a toddler, but was already attending kindergarten. The boy could easily be mistaken as Lennox's son, given his young age and their resemblance. It was as if Adrienne was being given an idea of what Lennox looked like when he was younger.
To think that Lennox's father was able to father this many children with different women… Adrienne could somehow sympathize with Lennox now. Dealing with Cayden and Elise was already hard for her. She couldn't imagine how hard it would be if there were six of them.
"So what do you think, Miss Jiang? Do you think you could do it?" Lennox asked as he looked at her expectantly.
Adrienne looked at the faces of the children again, each still had a hint of innocence in their eyes. She didn't know how these six children ended up in her previous life, but she was sure they didn't deserve to die.
章 23: Marry Me (1)
The children were innocent and had committed no sins toward the Qin family. However, Adrienne understood that their mere existence was already a threat to the other members of the Qin family, which could easily have been avoided if Richard Qin had remained faithful to his wife.
Adrienne met Lennox's gaze, which was as cold as the northern star, his expression pensive. He was possibly thinking of another plan in case she rejected his offer. A man like him would surely not accept defeat easily.
"Is there a time limit?" She asked. If Lennox were in a hurry, she would rather not accept the deal. She also had some personal matters she needed to deal with.
Lennox equally sized her up. He knew he was being unreasonable for asking her to do this when they both knew it would be dangerous for her. Gavin had a valid reason to be worried about her safety. If his relatives knew she was aiding him to secure his position and his inheritance, they might attempt to take her life as well.
Adrienne Jiang had recently turned eighteen, but something about her made him think she was mature enough to decide rationally. She was a young lady who had yet to reach her prime, but her eyes reflected someone who had already experienced enough bitterness in life.
She stared at him quietly. Her clear obsidian eyes were akin to a cold lake in winter without any hint of warmth. Lennox thought that it was her most beautiful attribute. Furthermore, she had an expression that exudes an austere charm. How could Lennox even think of ignoring this young lady before him?
"No, but I would prefer it if you retrieve them immediately. My relatives haven't turned their attention to them yet since they are more wary of the progress of my recovery." He answered truthfully.
"You are using my mother against me. Indeed, misery loves company. Is this the reason why you sought me? Mr. Qin, do you think my services are cheap?" Adrienne spoke calmly, but Lennox and Gavin felt the slight chill in her tone.
"Name your price then, Miss Jiang." Lennox didn't think she would agree so easily to his proposition.
"$1 million for each child." Adrienne started, placing the files on the table before leaning against the windowsill. "When the right time comes, you should marry me. We can discuss the details of this marriage later, but know that I don't intend to be your wife for a long time."
Lennox wasn't the only one stunned upon hearing it, even Gavin couldn't believe what Adrienne was saying. Was she out of her mind? Didn't she know what entailed the title of Lennox Qin's wife?
It was Lennox who recovered first from his shock. He let out a chuckle and gave Adrienne a freezing look. A look that made many of his enemies tremble in the past.
"What would Miss Jiang gain from marrying a crippled and useless man like me?" He spat venomously. If Adrienne Jiang was after his money, then this woman was no different from the other women who tried to pin him down with marriage before.
"Protection from my father." Adrienne said without batting an eyelid. "Unlike you, I wasn't born as a man. My father would try to discredit me for the succession of the Jiang Corporation in favor of handing it over to his bastard son. Soon, he will try to sell me off in a transaction disguised as marriage."
Lennox opened his mouth but found himself unable to say anything. Of course, it wasn't the first time he had heard of such a thing. Marrying daughters to more affluent and influential families to gain something was quite prevalent in their social circle. With the type of father she had, it seemed like Adrienne Jiang wasn't safe from this arrangement.
"If I have to marry, it should be on my terms. I should be the one who gets the most out of it and not my father," Adrienne added. "If you are worried that I'm only marrying you for money, the $6 million I would get from you is enough for me. You can draft a prenuptial agreement to protect you and your finances against me once we marry…"
Lennox and Gavin exchanged stares as they agreed that Adrienne was very smart to consider this far into her future. However, for her to propose an arranged marriage between her and Lennox, wasn't it too reckless on her part?
Indeed, Lennox Qin would be able to protect her from being married off by her father to other men, but didn't Adrienne know she would also gain enemies by just being Lennox's wife?
"Don't you want to marry out of love?" Lennox asked in return, meeting Adrienne's equally cold gaze. This young woman was undoubtedly a cold beauty. It wouldn't be hard for her to find a husband with the kind of face she had though.
Her lips curved slightly as if she had just heard the biggest joke in her life. Adrienne thought she knew what love was in her previous life, only to be proven wrong in the end. After her rebirth, she didn't believe in love. As quickly as one falls in love, one can fall out of love just as fast. Then what? Either the relationship ends or it becomes toxic.
"Love?" She scoffed and shook her head. "Love is a luxury not everyone can afford. When you marry for love, it generally means you have all your other needs met, which I don't. I'm a person who worries about safety and survival. I have no time to seek the man of my dreams and marry him. Also, respect should be the foundation of marriage, not love. You need mutual respect, shared goals, and compatibility way more than love to have a sustainable, lasting relationship. When love wanes, the marriage gets shaky. When the romance stops, the nuptials die."
Just look at what happened to her mother. The entire Zhao family vehemently opposed the marriage, but Rosemary was determined to marry Lewis Jiang. Although she wasn't openly disowned, the Zhao family had cut off their connections and communications with her.
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