My Manor

"Hmm? Is it her?" Jiang Hai, who had been stuffing food into his mouth, paused for a moment when he saw the contact on his phone. He muttered in surprise. This person didn't call him often.

Even when he was involved in cattle slaughtering, it was always someone else who called. This made Jiang Hai feel somewhat relieved about her—she seemed to have no interest in him, and he was glad for that.

"Hello, Qi Li, what's up?" Jiang Hai swiped his phone and put it to his ear, asking the person on the other end.

At the table, the four girls immediately perked up at the mention of Qi Li's name, their attention now shifting from the delicious food to Jiang Hai's phone.

"Jiang Hai, did you hear that?" Qi Li's voice came through the phone, sounding excited despite the background noise. But honestly, Jiang Hai had been listening for a while and couldn't hear anything.

"Uh, what am I supposed to be hearing?" Jiang Hai asked, genuinely confused.

"Listen to the sound of our opening! Today is the grand opening of our restaurant!" Qi Li responded, sounding a bit impatient. Her frustration was clear; she wasn't thrilled to be calling Jiang Hai.

It wasn't because she had anything against him, but rather because she was afraid he would bring up divorce or a breakup. Though they had never been romantically involved, Qi Li had developed feelings for him and was now quite nervous.

In the past, she had asked her assistant to handle calls to Jiang Hai, with Qi Li quietly listening in. But after the last conversation, when Jiang Hai's words hinted at some dissatisfaction, Qi Li finally decided to make the call herself.

"Ah, congratulations. Another cross-border business project, I see," Jiang Hai said nonchalantly. He hadn't really processed what Qi Li said about the restaurant; he was too busy eating.

"Aren't you nervous? The main dish is your beef," Qi Li added, realizing it was awkward to mention the restaurant being "hers" since Jiang Hai hadn't contributed financially. After hesitating, she rephrased her sentence.

"Don't worry, there's no issue with the beef. It sells well in the States. If you ever need more, just let me know and I'll send it over. With our friendship, I can always refund you for the beef." Recently, people like Zhang Dehai and Pra-Walton had been asking if Jiang Hai had any more beef.

"Ugh, forget it, you blockhead." Qi Li sighed, irritated by Jiang Hai's cool response. "Okay, I'll stop here. I need to entertain the guests now."

As she hung up, Jiang Hai was left a bit stunned on the other end of the line.

"Well, your temper's really getting worse," Jiang Hai muttered, shaking his head. He put his phone down and went back to his meal.

On the other side of the table, Bernice and Xiaoya exchanged glances. After a brief pause, Xiaoya tentatively asked, "Jiang Hai, who called just now?"

Jiang Hai chuckled and replied, "I'm not sure how to explain it. I think she's my wife, though we've never actually been together. Our relationship isn't great, but we're still maintaining this arrangement for now. Honestly, though, I suspect it won't last long. It's a bit sad not to have a clear 'leading lady' in my life."

Bernice put down her chopsticks and looked at him with a serious expression. "What do you mean by 'leading lady'? What does it mean to be your wife if you haven't even been together?"

Jiang Hai smiled wryly. "Haven't you ever watched a drama or read a novel? Every story has a male lead and a female lead. Let's say I'm the male lead, but I don't have a female lead right now." He paused before continuing, his tone turning more reflective. "As for her, well, she first used our family's name to stabilize her company and then cast us aside. Once I became capable, she came back. I was too weak to say no, and I ended up agreeing to this relationship."

Darlene, who had been listening quietly, picked up her chopsticks again and muttered to herself, "That sounds like you're the one being taken advantage of."

Bernice and Xiaoya exchanged surprised looks. They hadn't realized how passive Jiang Hai had been in this situation.

"Well, whatever. I'm heading out for a bit. You two eat slowly." Jiang Hai's face turned red at their remarks. Did he resent Qi Li? Initially, yes, but now it was hard to say how he felt about her.

Even though Qi Li was rich, she wasn't wealthier than Jiang Hai. And even though she was beautiful, there were plenty of beautiful women around him. As for why Jiang Hai had become passive—he wasn't sure, but he knew one thing: Even if he ended up with Ai Xiaoxi, she wouldn't be his leading lady.

With his meal finished, Jiang Hai left the restaurant, heading back to his room. He then entered the warehouse where Azarina Vicarbolio was kept.

Recently, Jiang Hai had been conflicted about Azarina. Despite her being harmless now and not being sent by anyone else, she had once tried to kill him. He couldn't just let her go, but he wasn't sure he could kill her either. He had been keeping her alive, giving her good food and drink while locking her up. He felt uneasy about both killing her and leaving her free.

Today was no different. When he entered, Azarina was reading a novel—one of many Jiang Hai had bought for her. She had told him she had long been fond of reading but never had the means or opportunity.

Jiang Hai had become more entangled in his thoughts the more he learned about her, while Azarina remained calm, having already accepted her fate. If Jiang Hai wanted to kill her, so be it. But she preferred being locked up here where she had food, drink, and shelter. To her, this life was better than constantly worrying about betrayal or death.

"You're here," Azarina said, smiling as she put down her book. "Your cooking has really improved lately. The food you make is delicious. I went to China once on a mission, and I have to admit, Chinese food is the best in the world."

Jiang Hai, slightly embarrassed, replied, "This isn't my cooking. It was made by a guest at my manor. I'm impressed by her skills."

He set the lunch box down and sat across from her, chatting for a while before leaving again. There were only four people who knew about this place: Jiang Hai, Darlene, Marianne, and Afra. Feng Yunchen and Ai Xiaoxi knew about it too, but they were back in China now. Of the people in the manor, only Jiang Hai ever came to visit Azarina.

Meanwhile, things were not so peaceful for two other groups. One was from China—Qi Li's restaurant had opened and was attracting a lot of attention, including people she didn't want to see, like An Changwu. The other group, in Boston, had been causing trouble for Jiang Hai. However, aside from a few fearless individuals, no one else dared to challenge him.