Over the next two days, Ji Xu'an did not return to the old residence.
For one thing, the old residence was not particularly close to the company, and going back and forth was troublesome; for another, what had happened in the back garden that day had ultimately served as a warning to her. Although it might only have been her illusion, she truly could not afford to get too close to Jiang Jiang.
Ji Xu'an had no intention of marrying Jiang Jiang. The days they had spent together at most allowed her to speak a few calm words when facing Jiang Jiang, but it was still far from counting as any real affection.
Since she did not have that kind of intention, she ought to keep her distance, lest she cause Xie Xiao to misunderstand.
Jiang Jiang was not someone dull-witted. Of course she could tell that Ji Xu'an was deliberately distancing herself. In fact, when she chose to test Ji Xu'an that day, she had already considered that such a consequence might follow.
Ji Xu'an was an exceedingly cautious and sensitive person. Jiang Jiang had merely looked at her hand a few extra times; her gaze had not even been particularly presumptuous, yet Ji Xu'an had immediately noticed.
Her strategy in response was simply to withdraw in silence.
Not only was Jiang Jiang not anxious, she even let out a breath of relief. She had originally thought that Ji Xu'an would warn her once again not to harbor petty schemes. Judging from their previous confrontations, Ji Xu'an was not someone who cherished and pitied delicate beauty.
Jiang Jiang did not take Ji Xu'an's distancing to heart, because she knew that as long as the engagement existed, Ji Xu'an's withdrawal could only be temporary. There would always be times when they had to stay together.
However, she did not know what Ji Xu'an had said to Ji Heyuan that night. The next morning, when they met in the stairwell, Ji Heyuan did not immediately mock Jiang Jiang as usual. Instead, she merely gave a cold snort to express her dislike.
Jiang Jiang smiled at her good-naturedly, yet Ji Heyuan felt that she was being provoked.
So when she passed by Jiang Jiang, Ji Heyuan still could not resist deliberately bumping hard into Jiang Jiang's shoulder. Lowering her voice, she threatened, "Don't think that just because my sister protects you, you can step all over my head."
Jiang Jiang could have avoided it, but she chose to stand still. She was knocked into a heavy stagger, her arm numb from shoulder to elbow.
Seeing her look as though she dared to be angry but did not dare to speak, Ji Heyuan immediately felt satisfied. Humming a little tune, she walked downstairs, completely unaware of how cold Jiang Jiang's gaze had become as she watched her from behind.
After breakfast, Ji Heyuan prepared to go out. She had no desire to stay under the same roof as Jiang Jiang; there was not the slightest enjoyment in it.
Jiang Jiang did not go out. When Butler Chen asked about her plans, she said she wanted to return to her room to catch up on sleep.
After going back to her room, Jiang Jiang drew the curtains tightly shut, leaving only a narrow slit.
The window was not closed. The wind traveled from the distant mountains and forests, passing through layers of leaves and lifting a corner of the curtain.
From where Jiang Jiang stood, she could clearly see Ji Heyuan walking outside. The other woman pressed her phone close to her face; her lips opened and closed as she spoke, her face full of smiles.
Completely different from the arrogant and domineering expression she had worn when facing Jiang Jiang just moments earlier.
Jiang Jiang narrowed her eyes.
Downstairs, Ji Heyuan was on the phone with Zheng Zhouzhou. Zheng Zhouzhou seemed very concerned about Xie Xiao's situation, probing for information between the lines.
Ji Heyuan did not suspect Zheng Zhouzhou's motives. She had quite a favorable impression of her and spoke without reservation, pouring out all her dissatisfaction with Jiang Jiang.
"You have no idea, she's really so…" annoying.
Before she could finish speaking, Ji Heyuan suddenly felt a piercing pain in her calf, as though something had struck her leg viciously. Her left leg immediately lost strength. Accompanied by a scream and a dull thud, she fell heavily to the ground in an extremely awkward posture.
The intense pain nearly caused her to faint on the spot. She even forgot that she was still on the phone with Zheng Zhouzhou. Tears burst from her eyes instantly. "Uncle Chen! Uncle Chen! Is anyone there? Hurry and save me, wuwuwuu—!"
Downstairs instantly descended into chaos. Ji Heyuan's cries were so miserable that they frightened everyone.
Because she kept repeating that her left calf could not move, Uncle Chen feared causing secondary injury and did not dare let anyone move her. Ji Heyuan could only sit pitifully on the ground under the crowd's watchful eyes, waiting for the ambulance.
The new outfit she had specially chosen for going out was stained with dust. Her carefully styled hair had come loose. When she wiped her tears, the dust on her hands smeared onto her face, making her look utterly miserable.
Jiang Jiang stood by the window and took in the entire scene. She stared at Ji Heyuan's tearful appearance for quite a while before the corner of her lips slowly curved upward.
This was her small punishment for Ji Heyuan.
It had not injured her bones or tendons; it would only make her hurt for a couple of days. With Ji Heyuan's delicate temperament, she would likely need to recuperate in bed for some time. In other words, for the next few days at least, Ji Heyuan would not come to bother her again.
Jiang Jiang had originally intended to endure it, but who told Ji Heyuan's mouth to be so vicious? She had repeatedly courted trouble. From yesterday until now, Jiang Jiang had been suppressing a bellyful of anger.
Moreover, if she had not seen wrongly, Ji Heyuan's lip movements just now had clearly formed the word "Zhouzhou."
Aside from Zheng Zhouzhou, Jiang Jiang could not think of a second person called Zhouzhou.
If Ji Heyuan was injured, would Zheng Zhouzhou come to visit her?
Thinking of the unpleasant scenes in her dreams, Jiang Jiang could not soften her heart in the slightest.
Accompanied by Ji Heyuan's sobbing from not far away, Jiang Jiang lowered her head in a rather good mood and ate the remaining peanut in her palm.
Fragrant and crisp. Truly delicious.
—
Butler Chen's morning could be described as nothing short of harrowing. Who would have thought that the Second Young Miss would fall flat on level ground in her own courtyard and cry so miserably? After ordering someone to call 120, he hurriedly informed Ji Xu'an and Old Madam Ji.
"She fell?" Ji Xu'an rubbed her brow, momentarily unsure what to say.
She had left the old residence early that morning without even eating breakfast, only drinking a cup of coffee. At this moment, her faintly aching stomach seemed to echo the swelling pain in her head, leaving her exhausted in both body and mind.
Listening to the crying on the other end of the phone, she said indifferently, "She can still cry. It shouldn't be serious."
Butler Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Second Young Miss says her leg hurts a lot, and her palms are scraped."
"She's quite capable, isn't she? Did she grow a brain just for decoration?" Ji Xu'an showed no mercy even when mocking her own younger sister.
Butler Chen was speechless.
Ji Xu'an sighed. "Call me if there's a problem. I'll go see her after I finish my work."
She was not a doctor. Going earlier would only mean waiting idly. With Butler Chen there, she was not particularly worried.
Old Madam Ji, however, felt quite distressed. Ji Heyuan felt even more wronged and cried to her grandmother for a long time, until the ambulance finally took her away and the villa at last grew quiet.
Butler Chen followed to the hospital. Before leaving, he remembered to have someone inform Jiang Jiang.
Jiang Jiang rubbed her sleepy eyes and asked the maid standing outside the door in a daze, "What happened?"
"The Second Young Miss fell. Butler Chen is taking her to the hospital and asked me to let you know."
Jiang Jiang looked shocked. "Little Yuan fell? Is it serious?"
She bit her lip, the worry on her face entirely genuine. "Why don't I go and take a look as well?"
Butler Chen felt that this was a good opportunity to ease the relationship between Jiang Jiang and Ji Heyuan, so he arranged a car to take Jiang Jiang to the hospital as well.
The scene was rather chaotic. Ji Heyuan did not notice Jiang Jiang at all. It was only after the X-ray was done and she was waiting for her wounds to be bandaged that she caught sight of Jiang Jiang among the crowd.
She had suffered greatly today and was in a state of having nowhere to vent her anger. The moment she saw Jiang Jiang, it was as if cold water had been poured into hot oil—everything exploded.
"What are you doing here?! Are you here to laugh at me?!"
Jiang Jiang thought to herself that Ji Heyuan was quite clever, seeing through her intentions at once.
Naturally, she did not show it on her face. She only looked at Ji Heyuan with restraint and softly defended herself, "little Yuan, you've misunderstood."
Butler Chen also felt that Ji Heyuan was being unreasonable. "Second Young Miss, Miss Xie is also worried about you."
"She'd be worried about me?" Ji Heyuan was aggrieved beyond measure. "Maybe she was secretly cursing me behind my back!"
Otherwise, she had walked that path so many times—why was it only today that she fell flat on her face?
Jiang Jiang clenched her fists, as though hurt by Ji Heyuan's baseless accusation. Her almond-shaped eyes, which usually carried a smile, slowly reddened, even her lashes glistening with faint moisture.
She had suffered a grievance, yet her back remained perfectly straight. Apart from her slightly reddened eyes, she revealed no further signs of embarrassment. Even her tone remained calm.
"Little Yuan, if you don't want to see me, I'll just leave."
After saying this, Jiang Jiang turned and walked toward the door. After taking two steps, she stopped again and looked back at Ji Heyuan. "Thank you for treating me to food yesterday. It was very delicious. I also liked the art album very much."
Then she gave Ji Heyuan no chance to speak and ignored Butler Chen's hesitant look, leaving only a sorrowful silhouette behind as she quickly disappeared beyond the ward door.
Ji Heyuan was stunned. She had only mocked her out of habit—how had Xie Xiao just left like that?
And just now… had Xie Xiao been crying?
When Ji Heyuan came back to her senses, she saw Butler Chen looking at her with disapproval.
"Second Young Miss, you should apologize to Miss Xie."
—
Author's Note:
In Butler Chen's eyes, Jiang Jiang: a punching bag, a pitiful little thing.
Ji Heyuan: She cried, but why does it feel like the one who suffered is me? (utterly unable to figure it out)
—
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