The registration process went very smoothly. Including Ji Heyuan and the others, everyone had chosen the club they wanted to join.
Since today was only for registration and the interviews would take place a few days later, after filling out the forms, the group had nothing else to do.
Ji Heyuan rubbed her stomach. "We haven't eaten together yet. It's still early—how about we go out and have a meal?"
Fu Xihe and the others naturally had no objections.
Jiang Jiang thought that since Ji Xu'an wasn't around anyway, she readily agreed to the suggestion.
There was a subway station and a bus stop near S University, making it convenient to go anywhere.
It was Jiang Jiang's first time taking the subway. Like a curious little baby, she stayed close behind Ji Heyuan.
Ji Heyuan knew she probably hadn't taken the subway before. She tugged at Jiang Jiang's sleeve and whispered in her ear, patiently teaching her step by step how to buy a ticket.
"There are physical tickets inside the subway station. Wherever you want to go, you buy a ticket to that station." Ji Heyuan stood in front of the ticket machine and motioned for Jiang Jiang to look at the route map on the electronic screen. "We're here right now. The line goes like this. You can buy tickets to any of the stations ahead."
"You have to make sure which station you're going to. Don't get on in the wrong direction."
Jiang Jiang nodded repeatedly, her small expression especially serious. "I think I roughly understand."
Ji Heyuan suddenly felt a strange sense of accomplishment. Although it was just a small matter to her, being looked at by Jiang Jiang with those admiring eyes made her feel inexplicably proud.
"If you don't want to buy a physical ticket, you can also purchase one directly on your phone."
The S City subway had a dedicated app. Ji Heyuan took Jiang Jiang's phone, downloaded the app for her, and had her register with her phone number.
"Think of a password yourself."
Without hesitation, Jiang Jiang used the pinyin of her own name. Ever since she learned pinyin, she had used it for all her passwords.
Just as Jiang Jiang tapped confirm, Ji Heyuan's voice drifted over faintly from beside her. "What an utterly ordinary password. Anyone could guess it at once."
Jiang Jiang: …
"Heyuan." Jiang Jiang's face was full of accusation. "How can you peek?"
Ji Heyuan replied righteously, "How is that peeking? I looked at it openly. Who told you to be so short? I just lowered my head and saw it."
Jiang Jiang huffed in dissatisfaction and secretly stood on her tiptoes, feeling that she wasn't much shorter than Ji Heyuan anyway.
Ji Heyuan laughed so hard she nearly died. "Tiptoeing won't help. You might as well drink more milk—maybe you'll grow a few more centimeters."
Jiang Jiang flushed with embarrassment and anger and refused to talk to her anymore.
She could always find a reason to refute Ji Heyuan on other issues, but not this one. Both Ji sisters had slender, well-proportioned figures. There was no need to mention Ji Xu'an—even Ji Heyuan was taller than Jiang Jiang.
Jiang Jiang had secretly compared before. The top of her head only reached Ji Heyuan's ears.
How infuriating!
Jiang Jiang viciously thought that being tall was useless—if lightning struck, it would hit the taller one first.
Ji Heyuan curled her fingers and tapped Jiang Jiang's head. "What bad idea are you thinking about now? Useless. My sister is even taller than me. Whatever you're thinking would be fulfilled on her first."
Jiang Jiang covered her head, displeasure gathering in her eyes. "Heyuan, how can you be so disrespectful?"
Ji Heyuan rolled her eyes. "You're the disrespectful one, right? Don't forget, I'm a few days older than you."
Ji Heyuan felt ashamed of her suspicions at noon today. How could she have thought that Xie Xiao, such a silly sweet girl, would understand what it meant to sow discord? Even if she doubted herself, she shouldn't have doubted Xie Xiao.
The two of them bantered back and forth. Fu Xihe and the other two covered their mouths and laughed quietly at the side. Heyuan and Jiang Jiang really had a good relationship. If Jiang Jiang married Ji Heyuan's sister in the future, at least she wouldn't have to worry about her sister-in-law making things difficult for her.
Ji Heyuan helped Jiang Jiang bind the account. "Just use this code and scan it at the entrance gate. Let's go. Watch me first."
Jiang Jiang followed behind her and saw Ji Heyuan press her phone against the scanner. Immediately, the gate in front of her opened automatically.
It reminded Jiang Jiang of the elevator in the apartment building, which also required an elevator card to open—similar to what Ji Heyuan had just done. So the physical ticket earlier and this thing called a QR code worked in a similar way to an elevator card.
When she had seen it while joining group chats before, Jiang Jiang had thought it was some special pattern specifically for joining groups. She hadn't expected it to have other uses.
Jiang Jiang felt she had roughly understood. Then she thought of something else and asked softly, "Heyuan, can this QR code be used for other things too?"
"This one is for taking the subway. Different QR codes have different functions…"
Only then did Jiang Jiang learn that although she had thought paper money was convenient before, now almost no one used cash anymore. When paying, they simply used the QR code on their phone.
In this world, not having a phone was very inconvenient—especially among young people.
No wonder when she first told Ji Xu'an she didn't have a phone, Ji Xu'an had thought she was lying.
Jiang Jiang unconsciously tightened her fingers around her phone, feeling that it had become even more important.
"If there's anything you don't understand, just ask me. Don't worry, I won't laugh at you." There was a strange tenderness in Ji Heyuan's gaze when she looked at Jiang Jiang.
"Okay, Heyuan." Jiang Jiang smiled at her gratefully.
Ji Heyuan looked at Jiang Jiang's smile. For a moment, she felt dazed and didn't even realize the subway doors had opened.
"Let's go, Ji Heyuan. What are you thinking about?" Yan Ke bumped her shoulder.
Ji Heyuan snapped back to her senses, her face instantly flushing red. She coughed guiltily. "What? I wasn't thinking about anything."
"You're very suspicious." Yan Ke narrowed her eyes.
Ji Heyuan felt cold sweat almost break out on her back. She forced herself to stay calm. "What's suspicious about me? Don't talk nonsense."
Yan Ke laughed and tugged her sleeve. "Alright, alright, I'm joking. Let's go."
Ji Heyuan followed Yan Ke into the carriage. Jiang Jiang had already found a seat and was sitting down, seriously fiddling with the app on her phone.
Ji Heyuan ground her teeth. "Xie Jiang Jiang, why didn't you wait for me?"
Jiang Jiang looked up at her in confusion. "Heyuan, don't be unreasonable."
It was only a few steps—what was there to wait for?
Ji Heyuan subconsciously avoided her gaze, then realized her reaction had been too exaggerated and deliberately glared back fiercely. "You didn't even save me a seat."
By the time she came in, there were no empty seats left, so she could only stand in the middle of the carriage.
Jiang Jiang sensed Ji Heyuan's guilt and her attempt to cover it up. She couldn't help frowning. In just that short moment, had something happened that she didn't know about?
Though doubtful, she didn't show it and didn't even look at Ji Heyuan again. Still, Jiang Jiang could feel Ji Heyuan's gaze fixed on her. But whenever she raised her head to ask what Ji Heyuan wanted, Ji Heyuan would move her eyes away first, as if she hadn't been secretly looking at her at all.
Jiang Jiang lowered her lashes thoughtfully.
Only after Jiang Jiang looked down again did Ji Heyuan turn her gaze back to her. Her expression was strange—an entanglement of shock mixed with confusion.
This was ridiculous!
In that moment of eye contact with Xie Jiang Jiang just now, how had she felt that dating Xie Jiang Jiang might actually be nice…?
Ji Heyuan even went further in her thoughts—if Xie Jiang Jiang were just a bit more lively and adorable, it would be perfect.
Help!
Ji Heyuan suddenly snapped awake, so frightened by her rebellious thought that her face almost turned green.
She had actually thought that Xie Jiang Jiang should be her wife!
How could she have such an absurd idea?!
Ji Heyuan withdrew her gaze awkwardly, afraid that Jiang Jiang might notice her thoughts.
She remembered how she had previously sworn that she didn't like dumplings and would never like her sister-in-law. Now her face felt like it was twitching painfully.
But Ji Heyuan truly felt that she didn't like Jiang Jiang—or rather, the affection she had for Jiang Jiang didn't contain any romantic intentions. Otherwise, she wouldn't have desperately tried to match Jiang Jiang with Ji Xu'an.
But if it wasn't liking her, why would she have such strange thoughts?
Had her brain malfunctioned?
Ji Heyuan's features nearly twisted into a knot from her inner struggle. Yan Ke, who was beside her, couldn't stand it anymore and elbowed her arm. "Why are you staring at Jiang Jiang the whole time?"
Ji Heyuan immediately retorted loudly, "Who's staring at her? I—I was looking in a mirror!"
Yan Ke looked amazed. "If you weren't, then you weren't. Why are you so agitated?"
Ji Heyuan pulled her sleeve and moved to the other side, farther from Jiang Jiang. Covering her mouth with her hand, she whispered, "What do you think of Xie Jiang Jiang?"
What did she mean?
Yan Ke couldn't figure out her intention and cautiously replied, "I think she's great. Jiang Jiang is cute and has a good temper."
Seeing that Ji Heyuan didn't interrupt her and only showed a thoughtful expression, Yan Ke asked back, "Do you think Jiang Jiang isn't good?"
"That's not what I mean." Ji Heyuan pondered how to describe her confusion. "When you look at Xie Jiang Jiang, do you ever feel an impulse to date her?"
Yan Ke froze. After reacting, she quickly waved her hands. "Don't talk nonsense! I know Jiang Jiang is your little sister-in-law. I won't have any special thoughts about her."
She was afraid Ji Heyuan would think she wanted to steal her sister's fiancée.
"I know. I'm just asking. It's fine—answer me honestly. I won't misunderstand."
Yan Ke was half doubtful. "I already said just now—Jiang Jiang is beautiful, gentle, and speaks softly. What girl wouldn't want to date someone like her?"
What exactly was Ji Heyuan trying to ask?
Ji Heyuan ignored her confusion and quickly seized on the key point. "So you also want to date Xie Jiang Jiang, right?"
She felt the sentence sounded ambiguous and added, "If Xie Jiang Jiang weren't my sister's fiancée."
Yan Ke thought about it. "Probably. I feel like dating Jiang Jiang would be very happy."
Ji Heyuan let out a heavy sigh of relief. So other people had the same thought. It wasn't that something was wrong with her—it was that Xie Jiang Jiang herself gave others the feeling of wanting to date her. So the problem lay with Xie Jiang Jiang.
"What exactly are you trying to ask? Don't tell me you yourself…" Yan Ke trailed off, a horrified expression appearing on her face as she looked at Ji Heyuan with disbelief.
"How is that possible! I'm just asking for my sister." Ji Heyuan had already prepared her excuse in her mind. "My sister is worried that Jiang Jiang is too popular. She… um, she might feel a sense of crisis. You understand, right?"
Ji Heyuan said the last sentence in a very low voice. Even though Ji Xu'an wasn't present and would never know how her younger sister was spreading rumors about her in front of outsiders, Ji Heyuan still felt terrified.
"I see." Yan Ke suddenly understood and had no doubt about Ji Heyuan's explanation. "There's nothing to be done about it. Jiang Jiang is just too pretty. That face alone can attract countless admirers."
"But it's good that you're here. You can help block some of her peach blossoms." (Admirers)
In Yan Ke's opinion, the best solution would be to let everyone know Jiang Jiang already had a girlfriend. But she could tell that Ji Heyuan didn't want people to know about Jiang Jiang's relationship, so she didn't say it.
Ji Heyuan, however, followed Yan Ke's words and muttered to herself, "How could those people compare to my sister? If they'd seen her, they'd definitely feel inferior…"
This made Yan Ke a bit curious. The chairman of Linghai Group rarely accepted interviews. There wasn't much information about her online—videos were out of the question, and even photos were only of her back.
But according to Ji Heyuan, her sister was only twenty-six this year, with delicate and coldly stunning features, not inferior to the top beauties in the entertainment industry. Her temperament was uniquely aloof and noble, always standing out like a crane among chickens in a crowd.
Yan Ke felt that this description contained some personal filter, but probably 80% of it was true. Just looking at Ji Heyuan's face was enough—she was still a bit youthful and already very beautiful. Her sister surely couldn't be much worse.
This whole family was good-looking. They really left no room for others to survive.
Yan Ke sighed deeply.
After resolving the major issue weighing on her mind, Ji Heyuan relaxed completely. She no longer avoided Jiang Jiang's gaze and even smiled at her when Jiang Jiang looked over.
Jiang Jiang: Ji Heyuan must be sick in the head.
Before setting off, the group had already discussed it and unanimously decided to eat hot pot. Ji Heyuan found a highly rated restaurant on Meituan. It was just over 300 meters from the subway exit.
Fu Xihe pestered Ji Heyuan and Yan Ke, asking what they had been secretly plotting. The two refused to say. Xu Zhen also joined in interrogating them. The four of them played around and unknowingly left Jiang Jiang walking behind.
Jiang Jiang said nothing, only watching them with a gentle and calm gaze. When they reached a crossroads and were about to turn, Jiang Jiang casually glanced back, catching a fleeting familiar figure in her eyes.
Her gaze turned cold, the emotion in her eyes deep and unreadable.
Fu Xihe happened to glance back and caught the chill on Jiang Jiang's face, momentarily stunned. But when she looked carefully again, Jiang Jiang had already returned to her usual obedient and gentle expression. "What's wrong, Xihe?"
"Nothing." Fu Xihe shook her head.
She must have seen it wrong. How could Jiang Jiang possibly have such an indifferent, emotionless gaze?
She was the dorm's unanimously acknowledged pure little white rabbit!
"You hadn't said anything, so I wanted to see what you were doing," Fu Xihe explained.
Jiang Jiang quickened her pace to walk beside her. "I was thinking about something just now and didn't notice. What were you talking about?"
"Oh, we were saying…"
Fu Xihe was easily distracted. The five of them chatted and laughed as their figures soon disappeared around the corner.
About sixty or seventy meters behind them, Liang Junsheng narrowed his eyes, still recalling Jiang Jiang's expression just now.
Had Xie Xiao turned around and looked at him?
Probably not. He hadn't followed too closely, and there were many people on the street. The people in front had blocked him tightly. Xie Xiao shouldn't have noticed him.
Perhaps he was overthinking it.
—
The environment of this hot pot restaurant wasn't as quiet and elegant as the one Ji Xu'an had taken Jiang Jiang to before. Its decoration style was more minimalist. Since it was mealtime, the hall was quite full.
Ji Heyuan asked for a private room. She didn't want to sit in the hall—if they wanted to say something, it wouldn't be convenient.
After all, she was treating today. The young lady wasn't short of money.
Everyone ordered dishes in turn. Each person before her ordered two or three dishes. When it was Ji Heyuan's turn, she added quite a few snacks and desserts.
After ordering, Ji Heyuan suddenly remembered something. She asked Jiang Jiang, "Xie Jiang Jiang, do you want milk tea?"
Jiang Jiang licked her lips, recalling the sweet taste of milk tea. Her tone became firmer. "Yes."
"Then use my phone to order delivery. I don't want to go out again." After speaking, Ji Heyuan naturally handed her phone to Jiang Jiang.
From beginning to end, she never considered letting Jiang Jiang go buy it herself. It was obvious she treated Jiang Jiang like a child who couldn't leave an adult.
Fu Xihe and the others clicked their tongues in amazement, thinking that Jiang Jiang must be the family's little darling in the Ji family. Even Ji Heyuan, who had a somewhat spoiled personality, treated Jiang Jiang like a child. There was no need to mention Ji Xu'an.
The previous two times Jiang Jiang had milk tea, Ji Xu'an had bought it. She had only thought it tasted good. Now that it was her turn to choose herself, she realized there were so many different flavors.
She was dazzled.
After finally picking the flavor she wanted, when it came to cup size, Jiang Jiang chose the large cup without hesitation.
She wanted the biggest one!
After Jiang Jiang finished choosing, Ji Heyuan handed the phone to the others. "Take a look and see what you want to drink."
Fu Xihe raised her hand. "Reporting to the young lady, we request a little fruit wine. Is that allowed?"
"Exactly! Only kids drink milk tea. We're adults now—we want alcohol!" Xu Zhen covered her mouth as she laughed, deliberately glancing at Jiang Jiang. "Little Xie can just drink milk tea."
Jiang Jiang let out a soft huff. She propped her chin on her hand, the soft flesh of her cheek slightly puffed up by her fingers, making Xu Zhen's hands itch a little. But with Ji Heyuan there, she didn't dare to actually reach out.
Jiang Jiang didn't notice her restless urge. She liked this kind of relaxed atmosphere. Even when teased, she didn't feel angry, because she knew they didn't mean any harm.
This feeling of being able to joke freely was really nice.
Just as Jiang Jiang was sighing to herself, she heard Ji Heyuan laugh loudly twice. "You don't know this—Xie Jiang Jiang even has to order the kids' meal at KFC."
This joke was never going to die.
Jiang Jiang shot her a faint glance. Since she was in a good mood today, she unusually didn't retort.
In the end, Jiang Jiang was indeed the only one who chose milk tea. Everyone else ordered fruit wine. If they didn't have to return to the dorm later, they would have preferred something stronger.
The food came quickly. As if by unspoken agreement, everyone picked up their phones to take pictures. Only Jiang Jiang looked at them blankly.
Was this some special ritual before eating?
To fit in, Jiang Jiang also took out her phone.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Ji Heyuan open her camera, so she simply followed suit and took a photo of the table full of food.
"Okay, I'll edit it and post it on Moments." Ji Heyuan didn't even have time to eat before busily retouching the picture.
So it was to let others see.
Jiang Jiang understood, but she didn't want to post on Moments. Just then, Chu Yueqi asked what she was doing, so Jiang Jiang sent her the photo.
[Jiang Jiang Doesn't Eat Ginger: Eating with Heyuan and her roommates.]
After replying, Jiang Jiang thought for a moment, then sent the same photo to someone else.
[Jiang Jiang Doesn't Eat Ginger: Sister, Heyuan brought me out for hot pot tonight. Have you eaten?]
She also specially took another photo of her milk tea and sent it to Ji Xu'an.
[Jiang Jiang Doesn't Eat Ginger: Heyuan bought the milk tea too. It's too sweet—doesn't taste as good as the one you bought for me. Sitting obediently.jpg]
After sending the messages, Jiang Jiang put down her phone and happily took a big sip of her milk tea.
She didn't know what the chewy thing in her mouth was—soft, yet slightly springy. So delicious.
As expected of her. The first time she bought milk tea herself, and she picked such a good one.
Ji Heyuan was still editing photos, completely unaware that the seemingly pure and innocent Jiang Jiang sitting beside her had just subtly stepped on her in front of her sister.
—
Ji Xu'an was very busy today. In the morning she had to inspect a project site; in the afternoon she met with partners to discuss cooperation matters; in the evening she had a social engagement. Her entire schedule was packed.
Even so, she still took a moment in the car to glance at her phone.
Her work WeChat was handled by the secretary team. What Ji Xu'an checked was her personal WeChat.
At the very top was Jiang Jiang. Next came the twenty-plus messages from Ji Heyuan.
Without hesitation, Ji Xu'an tapped into Jiang Jiang's chat interface. She knew her younger sister well—out of those twenty-plus messages, at most three would be useful.
No need to read them.
Ji Xu'an quickly scanned Jiang Jiang's messages. When she saw Jiang Jiang say the milk tea wasn't as good as last time's, Ji Xu'an probably didn't even realize her lips had curved upward. Her fingers moved lightly as she typed a reply.
After waiting a few seconds and confirming no new messages popped up, Ji Xu'an exited the chat and finally tapped Ji Heyuan's profile.
Ji Heyuan talked a lot. After summarizing it, Ji Xu'an found only one thing that caught her attention.
Ji Heyuan said Jiang Jiang liked hanfu very much. She heard that the Hanfu Association member in charge of recruitment had been especially enthusiastic toward Jiang Jiang, because Jiang Jiang could style beautiful hair buns.
Ji Xu'an thought of Jiang Jiang's neat handwriting and the handkerchief she had embroidered. She wasn't particularly surprised. For some reason, she felt that Jiang Jiang would look very beautiful in hanfu.
As her thoughts moved, so did her actions. Ji Xu'an barely hesitated before sending a message to Secretary Zhao back in the country.
Secretary Zhao replied instantly.
[Secretary Zhao: Understood, President Ji. I will arrange for someone to deliver them as soon as possible.]
Ji Xu'an replied with a simple "Mm," then put down her phone and closed her eyes to rest.
There were still many things to handle today. She had to stay sharp.
—
At the hot pot restaurant.
Everyone was basically done eating. They were mostly chatting, only occasionally picking up their chopsticks.
After finishing her large cup of milk tea, Jiang Jiang secretly drank a bit of Ji Heyuan's fruit wine too.
Her alcohol tolerance was fairly good, but she flushed easily. Her little face was red, as if she had knocked over a rouge box.
Ji Heyuan wasn't drunk. While talking with the others, she glanced at Jiang Jiang. "Xie Jiang Jiang, don't get yourself drunk. I don't want to take care of a drunkard."
Jiang Jiang's mind was very clear. She spoke slowly. "I won't, Heyuan."
Drunk people always say they're not drunk.
Ji Heyuan rolled her eyes. "You're not allowed to drink anymore."
If anything happened to Xie Jiang Jiang, she wouldn't be able to explain it to her sister.
Jiang Jiang: "Oh."
She lowered her head to reply to messages. Ji Heyuan leaned over to peek, but before she could see clearly, Jiang Jiang vigilantly covered the screen.
The more she did that, the more curious Ji Heyuan became.
"Who are you chatting with?"
Jiang Jiang looked like a hamster hiding food. "With Sister. Check your own phone—Sister definitely replied to you too."
Ji Heyuan was half-skeptical. "Really?"
She opened WeChat and found that the chat window still showed only her own twenty-plus messages. Her sister hadn't even replied with an ellipsis.
"You're lying! You must be tricking me!" Ji Heyuan frowned. "Are you chatting with Chu Yueqi?"
Pretty accurate guess.
But that had been earlier, not now.
As if reluctantly, Jiang Jiang turned her screen toward Ji Heyuan. "See for yourself."
Ji Heyuan: …
Looking at the familiar profile picture and the new message received just one minute ago, Ji Heyuan was so angry she laughed.
Fine. So this is blatant favoritism?
Time to reply to your wife, but no time to reply to your sister?
"On what basis!" Ji Heyuan slapped the table and gritted her teeth. "If Ji Xu'an doesn't give me an explanation, I'll—"
She thought for a long time and sadly realized she couldn't really do anything to her sister.
How infuriating!
Jiang Jiang lowered her eyes to look at the new message she had just received, the corner of her lips curling ever so slightly.
So Ji Xu'an really had chosen to reply to her first.
Did that mean she already held at least a tiny place in Ji Xu'an's heart?
—
The others were still chatting. Jiang Jiang felt like going to the restroom. She told Ji Heyuan, who didn't think much of it and just waved her off.
After taking care of her needs, Jiang Jiang stood at the sink washing her hands.
She let the water run over her fingers, staring unblinkingly at herself in the mirror. Her expression looked a little blank. Paired with her flushed cheeks, anyone would think she was already drunk.
"Xie Xiao?"
Someone suddenly called her name from beside her. Jiang Jiang turned her head and saw Liang Junsheng's honest, simple-looking face.
"Oh, it's you." Jiang Jiang spoke slowly.
"I didn't expect to run into you here. What a coincidence. If I hadn't come with my roommates, I'd almost suspect it was intentional."
Liang Junsheng placed his hands under the faucet as well. "Are you here with your roommates too?"
"Mm." Jiang Jiang tilted her head and thought for a moment. "This place is quite famous nearby."
"I was recommended by a senior. I heard many S University students come here to eat," Liang Junsheng explained smoothly.
Xie Xiao, this fool, really didn't suspect a thing. She even proactively found him a reason.
After washing his hands, Liang Junsheng didn't leave immediately. He stood two steps away from Jiang Jiang. "Xie Xiao, did you drink?"
As he spoke, his brows furrowed.
"A little. Why?" Jiang Jiang flicked the water droplets from her fingertips carelessly.
Liang Junsheng looked concerned. "You should drink less. You still have to go back to school later. It's not safe for girls to drink too much at night."
Jiang Jiang stared at him steadily. "Why isn't it safe?"
Liang Junsheng hadn't expected that question. Shouldn't Xie Xiao be moved by his concern?
Everyone understood this kind of thing without saying it. Why spell it out?
Was she pretending not to understand?
Full of suspicion, Liang Junsheng lowered his voice. "You might run into people with bad intentions."
Jiang Jiang still seemed confused. "What do you mean by people with bad intentions?"
Liang Junsheng didn't know what to say. Did she really need him to be that explicit? If he said it outright, would she think he was being indecent?
Seeing that he didn't answer, Jiang Jiang continued, "Do you count as someone with bad intentions?"
Liang Junsheng's heart clenched fiercely. For a split second, he felt as though he had been seen through. He almost thought Jiang Jiang had already guessed what he intended to do.
"I'm just concerned about you. I don't have any extra thoughts," he said, even taking two steps back. "You've really misunderstood me, Xie Xiao."
When he saw Jiang Jiang still silent, only quietly watching him with her clear black-and-white eyes, Liang Junsheng inexplicably felt a long-lost sense of nervousness.
He had originally wanted to say more, but now decided against it, lest he alert the enemy.
"My roommates are waiting for me. I'll go first, Xie Xiao."
After saying that, he turned and walked out. After a few steps, he looked back. Jiang Jiang was still standing there, staring straight at him.
"I mean it—you should go back early. See you next time."
With that, Liang Junsheng strode away.
Jiang Jiang looked down at the remaining water on her hands and let out a very soft sneer.
When she returned to the private room, Ji Heyuan and the others were already preparing to leave.
"Why were you gone so long?" Ji Heyuan asked.
Jiang Jiang didn't hide it. "Ran into a middle school classmate. Chatted for a bit."
"What a coincidence." Ji Heyuan didn't think much of it. "Let's go. Xihe and the others want to go sing karaoke. Are you coming?"
It was only eight-thirty. For Ji Heyuan, that was still early. But Jiang Jiang already felt a bit tired.
"I won't go."
Ji Heyuan nodded. "That's fine. We've got company anyway. If you stay out too late and go back alone, it's not safe."
They grabbed their bags and headed out. Ji Heyuan went to the front desk to pay, but was told someone had already settled the bill.
"Who? That's so strange." Ji Heyuan frowned.
When Jiang Jiang heard that the person who paid was a young man wearing black-framed glasses and a white shirt, she immediately understood.
"Heyuan, it was probably my middle school classmate who paid."
Ji Heyuan let out an "Ah." "That's so embarrassing. I said I was treating."
"It's fine." Jiang Jiang smiled. "If he wants to pay, let him. Anyway…"
"Hmm?" Ji Heyuan didn't catch the last part. "What did you say?"
"Nothing. Let's go."
Jiang Jiang nudged her arm. "I'll thank him."
"Alright then. This time counts as your treat. I'll treat you all next time." Ji Heyuan didn't dwell on it. She even thought Jiang Jiang's classmate was pretty decent—quite generous.
Even if it wasn't much money, they didn't know him after all.
Since she was eating with Ji Heyuan and the others, Jiang Jiang had told the driver to go back first. She had planned to take the subway home herself, but as soon as she stepped out of the hot pot restaurant, she saw a familiar car parked outside.
Ji Heyuan saw it too. "I was worried it wouldn't be safe for you to go back alone. Good—now I'm relieved."
Jiang Jiang didn't say that she hadn't called the car herself. She got in, rolled down the window, and waved at them. "I'm heading back first."
"Go on, go on," they waved back.
The window rolled up. Jiang Jiang asked the driver in the front seat, "How did you know I was here?"
"President Ji called me and told me to pick you up here," the driver replied.
Jiang Jiang reopened WeChat. Their conversation ended with the little rabbit emoji she had sent. The message before that was her telling Ji Xu'an she was heading back, and Ji Xu'an replying with a simple "Okay."
From start to finish, Ji Xu'an had never asked which restaurant she was at. So how did she know?
Jiang Jiang reread their chat from beginning to end. Finally, she opened the first photo she had sent. After zooming in, she saw the restaurant's name printed on the bowls and plates.
Even Jiang Jiang couldn't help admiring Ji Xu'an's attentiveness.
The difference between being kept in someone's heart and not being kept there was truly that big. If it had been before, Ji Xu'an definitely wouldn't have bothered with her.
But now, even without her saying anything, Ji Xu'an would proactively piece together the clues she revealed and thoughtfully arrange everything.
Of course, it might also be because Ji Xu'an genuinely worried about her safety.
But this action itself already revealed that Ji Xu'an's heart had softened.
Her work seemed very busy. Yet even in such a hectic time, Ji Xu'an still deliberately made time to arrange things for her. That alone explained a lot.
Jiang Jiang hugged her phone and leaned against the car window, a faint smile lingering at the corners of her eyes and brows.
It wasn't even nine when she got home. Jiang Jiang turned on the lights. As her gaze swept across the living room, her expression suddenly stiffened.
Someone had been here.
Her heart instantly became alert. Had a thief broken in?
Relying on her own ability to protect herself, Jiang Jiang casually grabbed a decorative wooden ornament from the partition shelf, holding it as a makeshift weapon. Then she checked each room one by one, even opening every cabinet.
When she reached the walk-in closet, she suddenly froze.
The wardrobe, which had previously had empty space, was now packed full. The extra clothes were all in familiar styles to Jiang Jiang.
It was an entire closet full of hanfu—mostly ruqun, along with some woven-gold mamian skirts.
She also found a large box that hadn't been there before. When she opened it, it was filled with gold and silver jewelry.
This must have been arranged by Ji Xu'an.
Jiang Jiang looked at the room full of things. She had once owned even more and better clothes and jewelry. But these were from Ji Xu'an, and that made them different.
She took a photo and sent it to Ji Xu'an.
[Jiang Jiang Doesn't Eat Ginger: Sister, are all these for me?]
A moment later, Ji Xu'an replied.
[Sister: Mm. Heyuan said you liked them.]
She liked them, so they were bought for her?
That was very much Ji Xu'an's style.
[Jiang Jiang Doesn't Eat Ginger: Thank you, Sister! I really like them!]
[Jiang Jiang Doesn't Eat Ginger: But when I came home just now, I was so startled. I thought a thief had broken in.]
She added a crying emoji.
Jiang Jiang had expected Ji Xu'an might comfort her with a few words. What she didn't expect was that Ji Xu'an would directly initiate a video call.
When the call request popped up, Jiang Jiang was startled. Somewhat unfamiliar with it, she selected accept.
The next second, Ji Xu'an's cold and distant yet stunning face appeared on the screen.
Her thin lips parted slightly. "Sorry. I forgot to tell you in advance."
Ji Xu'an was apologizing to her.
—
Author's Note:
Ji Heyuan: Fine, fine—so you forget your sister when you see a pretty face? This family doesn't need me anymore, huh?
—
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