Scumbag Forcing Me to Divorce? Watch Me Turn Around and Marry a Powerful Capital Tycoon! - Chapter 96

Shen Jingnian disliked kitchens.

He also hated the smell of cooking fumes.

A real man should be strategizing on the battlefield of business or war—
What business did he have in a kitchen?

Completely off-track!

Yun Haotian knew exactly what his little uncle was like. Hearing that answer, he didn’t push.
“Alright, alright. My dad and I will head to the kitchen then.”

Yun Zhengyi looked at Shen Jingnian.
“Jingnian, going into a kitchen isn’t degrading. Who knows—maybe one day when you fall for someone, you’ll want to cook and make soup for her yourself.”

“Brother-in-law,” Shen Jingnian replied calmly, “you are you, I am me. I can’t vouch for others, but I will absolutely never become the kind of person you just described.”

Yun Zhengyi shrugged.
“You never know.”

Who could say what might happen tomorrow or the day after?

Shen Jingnian sat down on the sofa.
“Facts speak louder than words.”

“True,” Yun Zhengyi nodded. “Jingnian, you had better not slap yourself in the face later. Otherwise, I’ll laugh at you.”

“Count me in,” said Old Madam Shen. “Not only will I laugh at you, I’ll laugh loudly!”

“And me!” Shen Jingshu chimed in.

“Meow!” Even Little White, lounging on the sofa, gave a supportive cry.

“How unfortunate for all of you,” Shen Jingnian said as he walked over and picked up the cat, “because that day will never come. You rebellious brat—still know how to come home, don’t you?”

He lowered his head and sniffed.

Good.

The same familiar scent.

He held Little White a bit tighter.

Yun Zhengyi and Yun Haotian’s cooking was indeed good. During dinner, Old Madam Shen praised them nonstop.

Even the ever-picky Shen Jingnian complimented the food a few times.

After the meal, Old Madam Shen suddenly remembered something.
“Jingshu, Zhengyi—if your family of three is free this Saturday, come home.”

“Saturday?” Shen Jingshu said, “Mom, I have a facial appointment that day. I won’t have time.”

“Grandma, I’m going racing with my friends Saturday. No time either. Is something important happening?”

“I invited Ningning over,” Old Madam Shen said lightly.

Shen Jingshu sat up instantly.
“I’m free. Very free.”

Yun Haotian also immediately abandoned racing.
“I’m free too. Perfect timing. I can show Dad Jiang my cooking skills.”

Shen Jingnian quietly picked up his phone and sent a message:

[Cancel all appointments for Saturday.]

Once sent, he placed his phone back on the table.

Retreating after achieving glory.

Shen Jingnian’s secretary nearly thought he was hallucinating.

Cancel all Saturday appointments?

ALL?

He’d worked for the Shen Group for three years.

Shen Jingnian had never canceled appointments without reason.

What happened today?

Did Ninth Master forget that he had an important contract to sign Saturday?

The secretary sent a reminder:

[Ninth Master, the contract will be delivered Saturday for your review.]

The phone buzzed.

Shen Jingnian picked it up again and replied:

[Postpone.]

Just one word, yet it made cold sweat drip down the secretary’s back.
He didn’t dare message him again.

This time, Shen Jingnian didn’t put his phone away immediately. He suddenly remembered he hadn’t posted on Moments in several days, so he switched to camera mode and took a picture of the dishes on the table.

Caption: [Dinner.]

As usual, the moment it was posted, likes and comments flooded in.

Shen Jingshu happened to be scrolling through Moments then.
Seeing his post, she narrowed her eyes.
“Jingnian, I remember you never post on Moments. Yet recently you’ve posted twice in a row. Do you… actually like someone?”

Old Madam Shen perked up.
“Who? You brat, who do you like? Is it Ningning?”

The moment he heard “Ningning,” Shen Jingnian’s breath hitched—
But he quickly steadied himself, face cool and detached as always.

“When a person reaches a certain age, they unlock new hobbies naturally. Like opera. Or tai chi. Is that strange?”

Yun Haotian nodded earnestly.
“That’s true. I didn’t like tai chi before. Now I love it.”

Shen Jingshu narrowed her eyes. Something felt wrong, but she couldn’t figure out what.

Old Madam Shen immediately deflated.
She thought the brat had finally awakened!

But no.

“So, are you coming home Saturday?” she asked.

“Maybe,” Shen Jingnian said as he lifted a spoonful of soup.

“I’m warning you,” Old Madam Shen said firmly—she was determined to match him with Jiang Ning. She’d even learned how to swim for her future daughter-in-law, despite being terrified of water. “The whole family will be home Saturday. If you dare not show up, I’ll crack your dog head open.”

Shen Jingnian looked at her with an expression of reluctant surrender.
“Since you want me home so badly… I’ll try.”

He set down the spoon.
“Mom, brother-in-law, Jingshu—I’m done. Going upstairs.”

“Go, go! Looking at you annoys me,” Old Madam Shen waved.

No one noticed the faint upward curl on his lips once he turned around.

Saturday arrived quickly.

Jiang Ning came as promised.

She brought flowers, fruit, and a box of tea.

Old Madam Shen personally came out to greet her. Seeing her carrying so many items, she scolded gently:
“Ningning, you child! I’m already happy you came. Why bring so much?”

Jiang Ning’s dimples appeared.
“It’s just a small token, Auntie. Please don’t be so polite.”

Shen Jingnian walked over and lowered his voice.
“Let me carry them.”

“Alright.” She handed the items to him.

The moment he took them, he paused—surprised.

These things were much heavier than they looked. She had carried them so effortlessly he assumed they were light.

It seemed…

The Jiang Miss he saw was only the tip of the iceberg.

The Yun family trio stepped out then.

“Ningning, welcome.”

“Dad Jiang!”

“Miss Jiang.”

Three people, three very different greetings.

Jiang Ning smiled at them.
“Sis Shen, brother-in-law, Haotian.”

Shen Jingshu loved hearing her call her “Sis Shen.” It made her feel several years younger.

“Come, Ningning! Let’s go in. The chef has made several new desserts—I’m sure you’ll love them!”

Old Madam Shen chased after them.
“Wait for me, Jingshu, Ningning—slow down!”

Autumn had arrived.
The scenery in the back garden was beautiful, so Shen Jingshu suggested having tea there.

Jiang Ning agreed.

But in reality—

The “scenery” was fake.

Creating time for Ningning and Jingnian to be alone was real.

So, not long after they arrived in the garden, Jiang Ning went to wash her hands.

When she returned, only Shen Jingnian was still in the pavilion.

Jiang Ning blinked.
“Where’s Auntie and Sis Shen?”

“They went over there to look at camellias,” he replied.

“And brother-in-law and Haotian?”

“They went to the kitchen. Said they wanted to impress you today.”

“The kitchen?” Jiang Ning was shocked.
“Brother-in-law and Haotian can cook?!”

“Is cooking impressive?” Shen Jingnian asked lightly.

“Of course!” Jiang Ning’s eyes curved. “Don’t tell me—you can cook too?”

“I can. Of course I can.” He nodded calmly.

Meanwhile, sweat prickled his back.

“So you’re amazing too!” Jiang Ning said, sipping her tea. “I tried learning before, but it’s too troublesome. How did you learn? I really didn’t expect you to know how to cook!”

She had assumed someone like Shen Jingnian would never step foot in a kitchen.

But he wasn’t like others.

“Cooking is simple. Not as complicated as you think,” he said, keeping a straight face while panicking internally.

“As expected of you!” Jiang Ning gave a thumbs-up.

If they talked any longer, he might start sweating visibly. So he quickly changed topics.

“Ningning, since the chance is rare, how about a round of Go?”

“Sure!” Jiang Ning’s attention was instantly drawn away.

He messaged a servant to bring the Go set.

Soon—

The two were deep in battle.

Move after move, intense and focused.

Old Madam Shen and Shen Jingshu peeked from behind a pillar.

Shen Jingshu sighed dreamily.
“A perfect couple! Jingnian and Ningning look so good together!”

Old Madam Shen nodded, eyes shining.
“I can already imagine how beautiful my future granddaughter will be!”

She could practically see the adorable little girl waving at her.

That night, after Jiang Ning left, Shen Jingnian immediately ordered two cooking encyclopedias online.

Then signed up for a local cooking class.

He’d bragged—
Now he had to commit.

Even if he had to crawl through the process!

Secretly.

Monday morning.

Jiang Ning went to school with Yue Qianlan.

As they reached the gates, Qian Sicheng ran up behind them.

“Jiang Ning, wait a moment!”

She turned slightly. “What is it?”

He handed her a test paper.
“This is yours.”

“You finished reading it?” she asked.

“Yes.” Qian Sicheng looked defeated.
“Your level is too high. I… I might not be able to surpass you on next month’s exam.”

Ugh.

He might be stuck as second place forever.

“So unconfident?” Jiang Ning raised a brow.

“It’s not that I’m unconfident—you’re just that good,” he said earnestly.

He had analyzed her paper carefully.

Her essay was nearly perfect, English only had a few vocabulary mistakes, and the math errors were simple slips—
not wrong answers.

He’d tried doing that test himself.

Without referencing any answers, even pushing himself to the limit, he could only reach around 690 points.

So he truly wasn’t confident he could surpass Jiang Ning next time.

“But!” Qian Sicheng looked up, serious.
“Even if I can’t beat you next month—you’d better not get proud! I’ll surpass you in the college entrance exam! I definitely will!”

“Okay,” Jiang Ning nodded.

He walked off determinedly.

Yue Qianlan chuckled. “This bookworm is actually pretty funny.”

Jiang Ning nodded.
“He really is.”

He Suosuo entered the school just in time to witness Qian Sicheng talking to Jiang Ning.

Her brows furrowed, jealousy flaring.

Shameless!

How did Jiang Ning hook Qian Sicheng so quickly?

Not only was Qian Sicheng a top student, he also came from wealth—
and he was handsome.

Many girls adored him.

But he was a study-obsessed nerd who never got close to girls.

And Jiang Ning had been here only a few days?

Yet even Qian Sicheng was chasing after her?

He Suosuo grew angrier the more she thought about it.

Jealous to the point she could hardly breathe.

No.

She couldn’t let Jiang Ning be smug.

She hurried to catch up to Qian Sicheng.

“Qian Sicheng—wait!”

He stopped.
“Do you need something?”

“Jiang Ning is divorced.”

Qian Sicheng frowned slightly, not understanding at first.

He Suosuo’s eyes flashed with triumph.
“You heard me right. She was married before! She’s a second-hand woman nobody wanted. Don’t get close to her!”

Qian Sicheng’s face instantly darkened.
“So what if she was married? Compared to that, your behavior—spreading malicious gossip behind someone’s back—is far more shameful.”

He Suosuo froze on the spot, face turning green and white by turns.

Why?

Why wasn’t he reacting the way she expected?

Wasn’t he supposed to despise Jiang Ning?

Why was he defending her?

Damn it!

Damn Jiang Ning!

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, the semester ended.

On the first day of winter break, Yue Qianlan rushed to find Jiang Ning.

“Ningning, let’s go travel for a few days! Then come back just in time for New Year! Want to go with me?”

Coincidentally, Jiang Ning had also planned to travel, though she hadn’t decided where.

She asked,
“Sure, Qianlan. Where shall we go?”

“How about Hong Kong?”