Chapter Thirty-Nine: A Childish Yet Effective Sham

"Why all the secrecy?" Qi Huanchang complained. "It's just like your novel—I'm only a supporting character and don't even have the right to know what's going on."

"You said it yourself, it's a novel. So I'll answer you like the protagonist: wait and see the show tomorrow."

After being chased out of the computer lab by Qi Huanchang, Jiang Xiwen handed his manuscript to Gong Xiang and went home. At nine in the evening—an ideal hour for secretarial duties—Fan Qiang called, as expected. He told Jiang Xiwen that Qi Huanchang had arranged a private meeting with Tian Weidong for the next day, likely to secretly negotiate the price and pull some tricks.

Jiang Xiwen feigned disbelief and outrage, expressing his determination to expose Qi Huanchang in front of everyone.

Fan Qiang stopped his "impulsive" plan, advising him to quietly observe at school the next day. If the situation proved real, he could confront Qi Huanchang after Tian Weidong left.

Jiang Xiwen sounded deeply grateful, as if entrusting everything to Fan Qiang, who hung up feeling reassured.

"Money... Ha! Fatty Qi, Jiang Xiwen, just wait for me to run you into the ground," Fan Qiang laughed loudly, lying back on his bed.

If Jiang Xiwen had known, he would have admired his own imagination. At the moment the call ended, he could already picture Fan Qiang's manic state.

From his parents' room came the faint sounds of an argument—a rare occurrence in Jiang Xiwen's memory. He pressed his ear to the door and heard his mother, Wang Yanan, say, "Forget it, our family is doing fine. There's no need to go for that county chief job and suffer all this."

"It's not about whether I want it or not," his father Jiang Hong replied, his voice gradually rising. "Since they've made me a candidate, it should be fair and just. How can there be a predetermined outcome?"

County chief? Jiang Xiwen thought for a moment—yes, his father had been a candidate for the chief of Yangning County under Yangjiang. But with his temperament, he was only ever a token contender. At that time, Jiang Xiwen hadn't cared about such matters, assuming his father was indifferent. Listening now, he realized his father had indeed been troubled by it.

Jiang Xiwen returned to his room, betraying no emotion. He couldn't think of a way to help his father for now. He trusted his father's abilities completely, but without a change of outlook, he would always struggle to be an official—a matter not solved overnight, but requiring gradual progress.

Early the next morning, Jiang Xiwen arrived as arranged at Tianxing Computer School, where Fan Qiang brought him to an office next to the reception room.

Fan Qiang didn't badmouth Qi Huanchang, instead chatting idly about unrelated topics, which made Jiang Xiwen trust his character more—he wasn't someone who slandered others recklessly. Facts would speak for themselves soon enough.

Jiang Xiwen understood ninety percent of Fan Qiang's scheme, but there was still ten percent he couldn't grasp: why would someone as shrewd as Fan Qiang let Tian Weidong show up in person? With Tian Weidong's caution, he might uncover the truth, rendering all of Fan Qiang's efforts fruitless.

Half an hour later, Jiang Xiwen finally understood Fan Qiang's boldness. When Fan Qiang led the nearly forty-year-old Tian Weidong into the reception room, Jiang Xiwen was surprised and amused—the man was a fake, full of bluster and looking sharp, almost convincing.

In this era, the internet was not developed, and even photos of major entrepreneurs were hard to come by. If Jiang Xiwen hadn't met Tian Weidong in his previous life, he might have been fooled by Fan Qiang's seemingly childish yet daring little trick.

A few minutes later, Qi Huanchang arrived at Tianxing Computer School. When he met Tian Weidong, he spoke naturally and behaved impeccably. Jiang Xiwen was amazed, and even Fan Qiang saw Qi Huanchang in a new light.

The fake Tian Weidong, however, seemed uncomfortable. When Qi Huanchang discussed high society topics unrelated to the business at hand, the impostor seemed out of his depth.

But he was quite familiar with the computer room management system.

After about half an hour, Qi Huanchang declared that he had overseen the development of the system, with his student Jiang Xiwen contributing some code; he was the system’s responsible party.

Jiang Xiwen played his part to the hilt, gnashing his teeth and clenching his fists in the adjacent office. Since Fan Qiang could bring in a fake Tian Weidong, he might also have someone watching nearby.

Tian Weidong asked detailed questions about the system, then went with Qi Huanchang into the classroom to try it out, before pompously declaring a deal: the contract would be signed the day after tomorrow, at a price of one and a half million.

Fan Qiang accompanied them, offering a few simple compliments—neither praising the system nor disparaging it. Occasionally, Qi Huanchang shot him resentful glances.

Fan Qiang sneered inwardly. "Fatty Qi, a mere high school teacher trying to make easy money right under my nose? After all my hard work, how could I let you profit so effortlessly?"

After the meeting, Tian Weidong offered to host a meal, but Qi Huanchang insisted on playing the host. The two argued, and Fan Qiang mediated, arranging for a banquet at Yangjiang Hotel.

Although Fan Qiang had advised Jiang Xiwen to wait until Tian Weidong left before confronting Qi Huanchang, Jiang Xiwen, eager to display his anger and further Fatty Qi's weight-loss cause, burst out of the office as they exited the reception room.

He pointed at Qi Huanchang's nose and shouted, "You useless fatso! Your words are sweeter than your singing. Trying to steal my program? No chance!"

Then he turned to the fake Tian Weidong: "Are you Chairman Tian? I’m Jiang Xiwen, the student this fatso keeps mentioning. I wrote the entire computer room management system—not him. He just knows Principal Fan and played matchmaker. I can't believe he turned out to be this kind of person!"

The impostor was clearly unprepared for this scene and didn't know how to respond. Fan Qiang kept signaling him until he finally recovered and replied, "Young man, you can’t talk like that!"

He then solemnly looked at Qi Huanchang and said, "I sincerely hope what you said is true. Our contract will be postponed until I investigate the full story!"

This line was originally meant for when Fan Qiang would arrange a private meeting between Jiang Xiwen and himself, after exposing Qi Huanchang’s “scheme,” at which point he would call Qi Huanchang and berate him in front of Jiang Xiwen. But now, the scene had simply been brought forward.