When Ji Xu'an got home from work that evening, Jiang Jiang was still not asleep.
As expected, Ji Heyuan stayed overnight in the apartment. She did not even give Jiang Jiang a chance to speak before going straight into Ji Xu'an's room, leaving Jiang Jiang standing alone at the doorway, hesitating as she looked at the tightly closed door.
Indeed, according to their previous habit, whenever Ji Heyuan stayed over, Ji Xu'an should sleep in Jiang Jiang's room.
But the problem was that such a thing had happened between them, and it was not suitable for them to lie intimately on the same bed as before.
Yet facing Ji Heyuan's puzzled expression, Jiang Jiang did not know how to explain it.
Based on her understanding of Ji Heyuan, once Ji Heyuan knew, the whole world would know.
In the end, Jiang Jiang could only return to her own room first.
She did not know when Ji Xu'an would get home, so she left a crack in the door and kept her ears pricked, listening to the sounds outside.
Only when she heard the sound of the door opening did Jiang Jiang poke her head out from her room and lean against the doorframe to look outside.
Ji Xu'an was standing sideways to Jiang Jiang, lowering her head to unfasten her watch strap. She was still wearing the shirt and suit from the daytime. Her long hair hung loosely behind her. Half of her body was hidden in the darkness, and her cold and beautiful face was blurred slightly by the halo of light.
Jiang Jiang did not make a sound. She simply tilted her head and quietly sized Ji Xu'an up. The emotions in her eyes were neither strong nor faint, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
Ji Xu'an sensed Jiang Jiang's gaze. She turned her head to look over. The expression on her face froze slightly, then she lifted her foot and walked straight toward Jiang Jiang, stopping in front of her. "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
She was quite a bit taller than Jiang Jiang. Jiang Jiang had to lift her eyes to clearly see Ji Xu'an's expression.
In Ji Xu'an's eyes, Jiang Jiang saw only seriousness and concern. In those deep black pupils, what was reflected was entirely her own figure.
Jiang Jiang gathered the loose strands of hair by her ear and answered irrelevantly, "Little Yuan might already be asleep."
Ji Xu'an immediately understood what she meant. Looking at Jiang Jiang's slightly lowered brows and eyes, her expression did not change because of Jiang Jiang's words. There was not the slightest trace of disappointment or dissatisfaction in her gaze. "It's okay. You go to sleep. I can sleep with little Yuan. If it really doesn't work, there are extra quilts at home. I can also sleep on the sofa."
Jiang Jiang bit her lip. She did not seem very good at disguising herself; all the thoughts in her heart were written on her face. Ji Xu'an saw at a glance her entanglement and difficulty.
"It's really okay. I'm not coaxing you," Ji Xu'an said softly. "I used to live like this before. There's nothing to be unaccustomed to."
Before sleeping together with Jiang Jiang, she often suffered from insomnia, unable to sleep through entire nights. For Ji Xu'an, those few days of sharing a bed with Jiang Jiang were actually the exception.
But Jiang Jiang had no obligation to accommodate her, and Ji Xu'an did not want to put her in a difficult position.
Hearing this, Jiang Jiang finally let out a breath of relief. She avoided Ji Xu'an's gaze, her voice also soft. "Then… then let's leave it like this for tonight."
Ji Xu'an not only did not look disappointed when she heard this, she even slightly curved her lips. "Jiang Jiang, I'm very happy."
"In the future, if you encounter something you don't want to do, you can say it directly like today. You don't need to wrong yourself."
"Of course." Ji Xu'an's voice lowered a little. "I also promise you that what happened before will absolutely not happen again."
She was referring to the fact that Jiang Jiang had clearly said no, yet she had pretended not to hear it.
Jiang Jiang's long lashes trembled slightly, and her expression was somewhat unnatural. "Mm, I understand."
She paused, then suddenly brought up another matter. "Actually, after we parted that night, Sister Fu explained to me that she had put something in the wine."
Ji Xu'an's expression showed no surprise at all when she heard this. She clearly already knew.
She knew what Jiang Jiang wanted to ask. Without waiting for Jiang Jiang to continue probing, Ji Xu'an said softly, "I know. Fu Xiaoyin already told me."
She stared unblinkingly into Jiang Jiang's eyes. Her tone was not cold; it even carried a kind of inexplicable gentleness. "Jiang Jiang, the matter of the wine was not your fault. It was entirely Fu Xiaoyin's idea. You don't need to feel uneasy because of it."
"Fu Xiaoyin brought this upon herself. If she comes to you to plead for mercy, ignore her."
She probably thought Jiang Jiang wanted to speak well of Fu Xiaoyin. Before Jiang Jiang could even raise it, Ji Xu'an flatly refused.
Hearing Ji Xu'an's meaning, it seemed she truly did not suspect her. The huge stone pressing on Jiang Jiang's heart finally barely fell away.
"Sister can decide this matter. I have no objections."
After all, in a sense, Ji Xu'an was also a victim. She had the right to decide how to "repay" Fu Xiaoyin.
When Ji Xu'an heard her call her Sister, and her tone no longer seemed as angry as in the morning, she quietly let out a sigh of relief in her heart.
Moreover, Jiang Jiang was clearly not planning to care about Fu Xiaoyin anymore. Thinking of this, Ji Xu'an's mood improved even more.
Seeing that Jiang Jiang seemed to have nothing else to say, she proposed, "Then, you should rest first. I'll go back to my room too?"
Jiang Jiang made a soft sound of agreement. "Good night, Sister."
Ji Xu'an's lips curved slightly, her voice becoming even gentler. "Good night."
—
Ji Heyuan was not asleep yet. She was lying on the bed scrolling through Weibo. When she heard movement at the door, she suddenly sat up from the bed.
"Who is it?!"
Ji Xu'an turned on the light with a snap. Her tone was calm. "It's me."
Ji Heyuan patted her chest, still frightened. "You scared me to death!"
Ji Xu'an glanced at her. "If you do nothing guilty, you won't fear ghosts knocking at the door."
Ji Heyuan gave an awkward laugh. She really was doing something guilty—she was looking at Zheng Zhouzhou's Weibo.
At nine o'clock that evening, Zheng Zhouzhou had suddenly posted a very inexplicable update.
Why call it inexplicable?
Because its content made no sense.
Zheng Zhouzhou did not say a single word. She only posted a picture.
It was an abstract painting. The fans searched the entire internet and could not find the original image. It was likely drawn by Zheng Zhouzhou herself.
No one could understand what the painting was trying to express. They all left their own guesses in the comments. Ji Heyuan was also very curious.
However, one advantage she had over ordinary fans was that she could directly send Zheng Zhouzhou a message.
Ji Heyuan indeed did so, but Zheng Zhouzhou did not reply.
Ji Heyuan looked through her chat history with Zheng Zhouzhou. Compared to before, their frequency of chatting had greatly decreased recently. Sometimes they did not exchange a single sentence in an entire day.
Strangely, Ji Heyuan did not seem particularly sad. Previously, no matter what she encountered, she would share it with Zheng Zhouzhou at the first moment. But now she no longer had that urgent impulse to let Zheng Zhouzhou know.
In fact, when she gave all her pocket money to Zheng Zhouzhou last time, she had already had this feeling.
Sometimes she felt that she did not actually like Zheng Zhouzhou that much. Her attention toward Zheng Zhouzhou seemed to come from an instinct. Even Ji Heyuan herself could not explain why. It was as if, in the dark, a voice was telling her to treat Zheng Zhouzhou a little better.
Ji Heyuan could not help but open Zheng Zhouzhou's WeChat Moments again. Although the other party did not explicitly mention anyone, Ji Heyuan had a hunch that Zheng Zhouzhou had definitely met new friends.
To Zheng Zhouzhou, she was no longer that important. So if she did not look for Zheng Zhouzhou, Zheng Zhouzhou would not take the initiative to look for her either.
Perhaps this was the decent distancing of adults. Their personalities were not suitable for long-term interaction. Zheng Zhouzhou wanted too much, and she could give too little.
Ji Heyuan let out a long breath. She covered her phone screen and secretly glanced at Ji Xu'an's back. The last trace of melancholy in her heart disappeared.
Ji Heyuan thought that being in a relationship herself seemed rather meaningless.
At that moment, Qu Jingran's face suddenly appeared in her mind. Ji Heyuan's expression stiffened. She quickly shook her head and suppressed a certain absurd thought.
Forget it, forget it. Watching other people fall in love is more interesting!
Look at her sister and Xie Xiao, how sweet they are!
This thought persisted until Ji Xu'an finished showering, came out, and lifted the quilt, preparing to get into bed. Only then did Ji Heyuan suddenly realize something was wrong.
"You… you're not going to sleep with Xie Xiao?!"
"Mm." Ji Xu'an responded casually.
Ji Heyuan's eyes widened. "Why?!"
"Why so many whys."
"Did you two quarrel?" Ji Heyuan pressed.
Ji Xu'an was silent for two seconds. "No."
She did not intend to explain the reason to Ji Heyuan. Ji Heyuan's mouth could not keep secrets at all.
"But…" Ji Heyuan was almost dying of curiosity. "Xie Xiao is guarding an empty room alone. How lonely!"
"Don't you feel bad? Don't you want to accompany her?"
Ji Xu'an closed her eyes in restraint. If she could, would she have chosen to come sleep with Ji Heyuan?
Ji Xu'an suddenly felt that her thinking might still have some problems. Perhaps she really should go sleep on the sofa.
Ji Heyuan still had not sensed Ji Xu'an's gloom and continued stabbing at her heart. "Such a good wife, and you're willing to let her sleep alone. Really, I feel heartache for you!"
Ji Xu'an's gaze suddenly fell on her.
Ji Heyuan quickly spat twice and stiffly explained, "I didn't mean it that way! I mean, aren't you afraid a love rival will take advantage of the situation?"
So stop fighting me for the quilt and hurry to sleep with Xie Xiao!
Ji Xu'an stared at her for quite a while before hammering down the final word. "If you don't want to, you can sleep on the sofa."
Ji Heyuan silently pulled the quilt higher. "Okay, nothing's wrong."
She did not dare say another word. She felt that if she spoke one more sentence, Ji Xu'an would suspect she was really coveting her sister-in-law.
Ji Heyuan also felt wronged. She believed she had never done anything improper toward Xie Xiao, at least in reality she absolutely had not.
As for dreams, could that be the same?
Why did Ji Xu'an always suspect her?
Ji Heyuan shivered. Could it be… her sister actually knew what she had done in her dreams?
Did Ji Xu'an have mind-reading abilities?!
Ji Heyuan swallowed and secretly said in her heart, "Ji Xu'an big devil," while observing Ji Xu'an's reaction.
Ji Xu'an: …
"Sleeping in my bed and still cursing me?"
Ji Heyuan froze, her eyes filled with terror. "You you you!!"
You really do?!!
Ji Xu'an did not want to pay attention to her at all.
This fool had every thought written on her face. It was hard not to see through her.
If Ji Heyuan knew what Ji Xu'an was thinking, she would probably feel wronged again and accuse her of favoritism.
The same behavior, when Jiang Jiang did it, was pure and cute. When Ji Heyuan did it, it became a lack of intelligence.
That night, neither sister slept well. Ji Heyuan was still entangled over whether her sister had mind-reading abilities, muttering about Ji Xu'an in her heart the entire night.
Ji Xu'an thought of even more, but most of it was related to Jiang Jiang.
Grandmother had told her not to worry, saying that Jiang Jiang would definitely agree to her in the end.
Grandmother would not lie to her. The fact that she said that probably meant Jiang Jiang had already agreed in front of her.
Ji Xu'an was both expectant and uneasy, afraid that in the end she was simply overthinking. As long as she had not personally heard Jiang Jiang's reply, she could not feel at ease for even a day.
When they got up the next morning, as expected, there were faint dark circles under both Ji Xu'an's and Ji Heyuan's eyes. Fortunately, they were not serious and could be covered with makeup.
After sending Jiang Jiang and Ji Heyuan to school, Ji Xu'an drove to the company. The rest of the morning was busy.
It was not until there was only half an hour left before the time she had arranged with Zheng Zhouzhou that she set out with Secretary Zhao for the private restaurant she had booked in advance.
Zheng Zhouzhou had already arrived. From a distance, Ji Xu'an saw several sturdy bodyguards standing at the entrance. They should have been brought by Zheng Zhouzhou.
Ji Xu'an's steps paused almost imperceptibly. Zheng Zhouzhou had not told her that she had brought other people along.
It seemed she was a bit smarter than Ji Xu'an had thought. She even knew to ask for help.
Probably because of what had happened to He Xinyao, Zheng Zhouzhou had developed a psychological shadow. She was afraid Ji Xu'an would use the same methods she used against He Xinyao to deal with her.
Ji Xu'an had not come alone either. Besides Secretary Zhao, she had brought two bodyguards.
The two sides met at the entrance, and there was an indescribable tension in the air.
The closer she walked, the more Ji Xu'an could feel that the aura of those bodyguards was not something ordinary people possessed. Compared to regular bodyguards, they seemed more like mercenaries who had undergone harsh training.
Ji Xu'an's expression did not change, but she was secretly pondering in her heart.
Who exactly was the helper Zheng Zhouzhou had invited?
She had people watching Zheng Zhouzhou twenty-four hours a day. The information sent back recently showed that Zheng Zhouzhou had barely even gone out.
Where had she found the opportunity to come into contact with such people, and even persuade them to back her up?
Ji Xu'an increasingly wanted to know what exactly was strange about Zheng Zhouzhou.
Would it be as she had previously guessed?
—
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