No matter how curious Jiang Su was, Jiang Xuxu refused to open the door.
Jiang Su stood outside, straining to catch even the slightest sound from within, but he heard nothing.
About half an hour later, just as he was on the verge of nodding off, he felt a sudden, refreshing breeze brush past his body. It was as if every pore in his skin had been instantly revitalized.
At that same moment, everyone in the villa felt that same crisp, clean wind. It left them feeling clear-headed and sharp-eyed.
Downstairs, Uncle Ming was even more bewildered.
"Where did that wind come from?"
It was the height of summer, and the villa's central air conditioning ran around the clock to ensure not a single hint of heat reached the occupants. Since the AC was on and the windows were shut, where could a breeze like that have come from?
It was strangely comfortable.
Inside Jiang Xuxu's room, movement finally stirred again.
The three young men in black hats emerged carrying empty cardboard boxes and bid Jiang Xuxu a respectful farewell.
Jiang Su wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt as though the looks in the eyes of those three couriers held a hint of... adoration as they looked at her?
He couldn't wait to duck inside the room. To his surprise, aside from a toolbox Jiang Xuxu had placed on her desk, there wasn't a single piece of new furniture in sight.
"Sis, what about those three big boxes of stuff you bought? How is there nothing left but this toolbox?"
Although the toolbox wasn't smallroughly the size of a carry-on suitcasethe boxes those couriers had been carrying were clearly much larger.
Jiang Xuxu only glanced at the floor beneath his feet but offered no explanation.
What Jiang Su failed to notice was that the floorboards beneath him had been completely replaced.
If anyone from the Xuanmen had been present, they would have realized that Jiang Su was currently standing right in the middle of a Spirit-Gathering Array paved with Spirit Stones.
Arrays of this type were generally used to gather environmental Spiritual Qi for cultivation.
As a Talisman Master, Jiang Xuxu required a significant amount of Spiritual Qi to assist her in both drawing and carving her talismans. The Spirit-Gathering Array was designed to better concentrate the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth within the confines of her room.
Once the Spiritual Qi gathered, the entire villanot just her roomwould be more or less cleansed by its presence. That refreshing breeze everyone had felt earlier was the result of Jiang Xuxu activating the formation.
Since Jiang Xuxu didn't explain, Jiang Su had no way of knowing the truth. He simply stood there, reluctant to leave his sister's room.
He couldn't quite put it into words, but he felt the "air conditioning" in her room was special. It didn't feel chilly or artificial; instead, it felt perfectly balanced. Just standing there made his mind feel clear and settled. It was incredibly pleasant.
Downstairs, Jiang Cheng and the others had also been keeping an eye on the activity above. When he saw the three couriers in black hats descending the stairs in an orderly fashion, something occurred to him. He stood up and intercepted them.
"Which company are you with?"
Jiang Cheng, like Jiang Su, had noticed that Jiang Xuxu seemed quite fond of this particular delivery service. However, looking at them now, he realized they didn't have a single logo on their uniforms. At a glance, they didn't even look like couriers.
He was beginning to worry that Jiang Xuxu had gotten herself involved with some strange cult. He didn't care what happened to her personally, but she couldn't be allowed to tarnish the Jiang Family's reputation.
Despite his inner suspicions, he maintained a friendly facade.
"My new company is looking for a logistics firm to partner with. Give me a business card; perhaps we'll have a chance to work together in the future."
Jiang Cheng wasn't lying. Having graduated from university this year, he was preparing to start his own business and genuinely needed a logistics partner. However, he would never usually consider a small company. As a member of the Jiang Family, any resource he used had to be top-tier.
He expected the three couriers to be overwhelmed by the offer, eagerly and humbly presenting their business cards. After all, this was the Jiang Family residence. Partnering with them was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
To his surprise, the three men simply stared at him blankly.
One of them, whose eyes were the only visible feature above his black mask, scanned Jiang Cheng from head to toe. Then, the man let out a small, mocking laugh.
"I'm sorry, but you don't meet our company's client standards."
A Muggle with not a single drop of spiritual power. We don't accept your kind.
Jiang Cheng froze. Nearby, Jiang Han and Lu Xuexi were equally stunned.
What did that mean?
He had heard of clients picking courier companies, but he had never heard of a delivery company picking its clients. They weren't some massive international logistics conglomerate; what right did they have to be so arrogant?
Besides, if Jiang Xuxu could use them, why couldn't he?
Jiang Cheng felt as though he had been slapped in the face.
However, the man in the black hat had no intention of explaining further. After delivering his rejection, he simply turned and walked toward the front door.
Jiang Cheng felt humiliated, but he wasn't about to lower himself by chasing them down to argue. They were just some obscure, third-rate delivery service. He had given them face just by asking; it wasn't as if he actually cared!
His heart burned with dissatisfaction, and he shifted some of that resentment onto Jiang Xuxu for using such a shady service in the first place.
Meanwhile, in a VIP hospital ward.
Guan Ruirui was listening to the audio recording that was circulating online, reading the comments that were a landslide of insults and criticism directed at her.
With the intervention of the Jiang Family legal team, the news of Lin Ruirui suing Qin Hao, Guan Ruirui, and the other bullies had become a viral sensation.
When Guan Ruirui saw the video of Lin Ruirui describing the bullying in front of a camera, her pretty face turned paper-white. Her lips trembled, and she finally lost her temper, slamming her iPad onto the floor.
The violent movement aggravated the injury to her waist, sending a sharp jolt of pain through her that brought tears to her eyes.
"Ruirui, what's wrong now?"
Bai Shuqin watched her daughter, her heart aching with concern.
Guan Ruirui was crying from sheer rage, her usual sweet facade completely forgotten. Her voice was shrill and sharp.
"Jiang Xuxu set me up! She recorded me in secret! She promised that recording would never be heard by anyone else!"
"And Lin Ruirui! That bitch didn't even die! They teamed up to lie to me! She's still alive!"
Heaven knew how terrified Guan Ruirui had been when she first saw Lin Ruirui online. She had honestly believed she was seeing a ghost. But it didn't take long for her to realize the truth.
She hadn't seen a ghost. She had been played.
She had been played by the combined efforts of Jiang Xuxu and Lin Ruirui! They had clearly set a trap to manipulate her into saying those things!
At that moment, Guan Ruirui wanted nothing more than to leave the hospital immediately, find Jiang Xuxu, and slap her as hard as she could! How could she dare treat her this way?!
"Ruirui, don't be afraid. Mom has already sent the lawyers to handle it. Since that Lin Ruirui isn't dead, there's even less to worry about."
Bai Shuqin had only learned of her daughter's involvement in the bullying through the internet. Although she didn't want to believe her well-behaved, kind daughter was capable of such things, the voice in the recording was undeniably Ruirui's, and she had admitted it herself.
Bai Shuqin was surprised, but in the end, she didn't think it was a big deal. Children were children; they got into scuffles and had minor conflicts at school all the time. It was a common occurrence.
In her eyes, Lin Ruirui was the one at fault for having no self-respect, getting herself pregnant before she was even an adult, and then turning around to blame her Ruirui.
"She's only making this scene for money. It's just a matter of cash, and your father has plenty of that. Besides, there's the Qin Family."
With the combined wealth and influence of their two families, how could a mere Lin Ruirui ever hope to fight them?
🚨 Note: Consider supporting this story on Patreon.com/kleinmoretti to access 100+ advance chapters and 2 new chapters daily! (Full story bundles also available without a subscription).