On the surface, Ji Heyuan was playing on her phone, but in reality she had been secretly observing the two of them out of the corner of her eye.
No, was the atmosphere between her sister and Xie Jiang Jiang always this clingy when they got along?
Ji Heyuan truly wanted to complain. Since their relationship was already this good, why was Ji Xu'an still suspecting her?
Sure enough, she had only herself to blame. She should not have deliberately stimulated her sister just to give them a push.
When Ji Xu'an and Jiang Jiang came over, Ji Heyuan quickly lowered her head, pretending to reply to messages seriously.
Ever since guessing that Ji Xu'an might be suspecting something between her and Jiang Jiang, Jiang Jiang had also deliberately avoided meeting Ji Heyuan's eyes.
Without Ji Heyuan in the middle to liven up the atmosphere, the dining table fell into silence for a while. Jiang Jiang could only pretend to look at her phone. Coincidentally, a notification popped up in the club group chat, asking all members to go to the club office and see the vice president sometime today.
Jiang Jiang told Ji Xu'an about it.
"I might go to the company a bit later. Sister, can you help me tell Uncle Liu?"
"Alright." Ji Xu'an nodded.
As she spoke, her body unconsciously leaned closer to Jiang Jiang, their shoulders nearly touching.
Ji Heyuan sat opposite them, increasingly feeling like an unnecessary third wheel.
If she had known, she would not have come out to eat with them. Wouldn't it have been better to go back to school alone?
Jiang Jiang did not notice Ji Heyuan's discomfort, because she herself was even more nervous than Ji Heyuan.
Ji Xu'an was sitting far too close. She had even draped her arm over the back of Jiang Jiang's chair, as if encircling her in her embrace. With every breath Jiang Jiang took, she could smell the faint perfume on Ji Xu'an.
It was not as if Ji Xu'an had never done this before. Back then, Jiang Jiang had never felt flustered, because she knew Ji Xu'an would not really do anything to her. But now, that was not necessarily the case.
The current Ji Xu'an seemed as if some internal meridians had suddenly been unblocked. She had abruptly become strange.
Jiang Jiang lowered her eyes uncomfortably, holding her phone without knowing what to do, so she opened the comment section of her new book again.
She truly loved reading the little angels' comments and wished she could read them eight hundred times a day.
However, aside from discussing the plot, most of them were urging updates. Jiang Jiang also wanted to update more, but unfortunately her typing speed could not keep up. She could only guiltily reply, "I will definitely work hard!"
She did not deliberately avoid Ji Xu'an while looking at her phone. Ji Xu'an only needed to lower her head slightly to see Jiang Jiang's screen clearly.
She glanced at it twice, then picked up her own phone and did not know what she did.
After a while, Jiang Jiang suddenly noticed a new comment in her comment section.
Eucalyptus had sent her another deep-water torpedo.
Jiang Jiang abruptly looked up at Ji Xu'an. "Sister, why did you…"
Ji Heyuan was still sitting opposite them. Jiang Jiang inexplicably felt a little embarrassed and could only wave her phone at Ji Xu'an.
"What did I do?" Ji Xu'an asked knowingly.
Only recently had Jiang Jiang learned that if she received enough tips, she could gain better exposure positions. That was why her new book's favorites had increased so quickly.
Thinking of this, Jiang Jiang's mood became somewhat complicated. She had even thought it was because her writing was good enough that she had gained so many little readers. She had not expected Ji Xu'an to have helped.
"Don't…" Jiang Jiang's voice grew softer, "don't tip me anymore."
That way she would owe Ji Xu'an even more.
Ji Xu'an looked at Jiang Jiang intently and lowered her voice as well. "Has my tipping made you uncomfortable?"
Jiang Jiang shook her head. "That's not what I mean."
She did not know how to explain it. Jiang Jiang knew clearly that if Ji Xu'an learned her true thoughts, she would definitely be unhappy.
In the end, she could only say vaguely, "It's too much. Will others misunderstand?"
"But I see many people do this." As Ji Xu'an spoke, she deliberately opened the novel app and pulled up someone else's book in front of Jiang Jiang to prove she was not making it up.
Jiang Jiang was speechless.
Seeing her silence, Ji Xu'an asked again, "Or is it just because it's me, so you're unhappy?"
This topic was too dangerous. Jiang Jiang even noticed that while saying this, Ji Xu'an's gaze casually swept toward Ji Heyuan.
Only then did she remember that Ji Heyuan had also tipped her a deep-water torpedo before. At the time, she had only said thank you and had not stopped her.
Could it be that Ji Xu'an had remembered that and was deliberately saying this in front of her?
Jiang Jiang tried hard to suppress this absurd thought. Ji Xu'an should not be such a childish person.
But this way, she could no longer stop Ji Xu'an. Otherwise, Ji Xu'an might suspect again that there was something between her and Ji Heyuan.
Jiang Jiang quietly glanced at Ji Heyuan. The other woman was crossing her legs and playing on her phone, completely unaware that she had just been hovering at the edge of danger.
Jiang Jiang came back to herself. "I'm not unhappy. Sister Xu'an being willing to support me makes me very happy."
Afraid Ji Xu'an would not believe her, she even reached out and lightly tugged at the fabric at Ji Xu'an's waist, pulling her a little closer.
After Ji Xu'an leaned in, Jiang Jiang whispered, "Thank you, Sister."
That closeness and ambiguity in her soft voice just happened to soothe the restlessness in Ji Xu'an's heart.
Clearly Jiang Jiang's attitude was gentler and more ingratiating, yet some invisible rope seemed to tighten firmly around Ji Xu'an's neck.
Ji Xu'an fell silent in an instant. Jiang Jiang did not hear her response and glanced over curiously from the corner of her eye, only to see Ji Xu'an's slightly lowered brows and eyes.
Jiang Jiang blinked and was about to withdraw her gaze when her sight suddenly paused.
She saw that, beneath the cover of loose strands of hair, Ji Xu'an's small earlobe was gradually flushing red.
And under her gaze, that redness was slowly creeping upward.
Jiang Jiang could not help looking again and again.
Ji Xu'an did not need to guess to know what Jiang Jiang was looking at.
Her expression was slightly unnatural, yet for some reason, Ji Xu'an neither avoided it nor pretended nothing was happening by changing the subject. She maintained her posture, allowing Jiang Jiang to look at her.
After a while, even Ji Heyuan sensed that something unusual was going on.
Although she did not know what Jiang Jiang was looking at, inexplicably, Ji Heyuan knew she was unnecessary again.
Jiang Jiang had simply never seen Ji Xu'an look shy before, so she could not help looking a bit longer. But once she realized it, she felt somewhat embarrassed.
Especially when she noticed that Ji Xu'an had been looking at her the entire time, and that her gaze was not fixed on her brows or eyes, but lower, Jiang Jiang's cheeks grew even hotter.
Ji Xu'an would not be bold enough to kiss her in front of others, would she?!
Was she crazy??
Jiang Jiang hurriedly turned her head to avoid Ji Xu'an's gaze.
In her panic, even Jiang Jiang herself did not realize that what she rejected was not Ji Xu'an wanting to kiss her, but rather that the timing and place were not right.
Fortunately, Ji Xu'an was not that crazy. After Jiang Jiang avoided her, she also restrained herself and withdrew her gaze.
Yet afterward, that heart-quickening atmosphere lingered around them, refusing to dissipate.
This time, the children's set meal came with a small toy. Jiang Jiang liked it very much. After playing with it for quite a while, she carefully put it into her backpack.
Ji Xu'an watched silently from the side, a thoughtful look gradually appearing in her eyes.
After breakfast, Ji Xu'an sent the two of them to school and then drove to the company.
Halfway there, she stopped at an intersection for a red light. The window of the car beside hers suddenly rolled down.
Ji Xu'an subconsciously turned her head to glance over, only to meet a gaze filled with interest.
The moment their eyes met, a sense of familiarity suddenly rose in Ji Xu'an's heart. Her intuition told her she had definitely seen this girl somewhere before.
But she searched through her memory and could not find her at all.
If it had been before, Ji Xu'an might not have thought much of it. But she had just heard Zheng Zhouzhou talk about "heaven's will" yesterday. Thinking again about this sense of familiarity, Ji Xu'an's gaze darkened.
In the car beside her, Jiang Zhenyun curved her lips and raised her hand to greet Ji Xu'an.
Last night, she had originally planned to do something, but He Qiuwan had coaxed her until she felt dizzy, and in her haste, she had forgotten about it.
Seeing Ji Xu'an now, Jiang Zhenyun remembered her plan again.
She knew Ji Xu'an did not recognize her now. With Ji Xu'an's personality, her attitude would probably not be good. But Jiang Zhenyun had still underestimated Ji Xu'an's indifference.
After coldly sweeping her gaze over her for two seconds, Ji Xu'an rolled up her car window.
Jiang Zhenyun: …
Alright, alright.
The red light quickly turned green. Ji Xu'an stepped on the accelerator, and the car sped through the intersection.
Even after arriving downstairs at the company, she was still thinking about it, her expression more solemn than usual.
Along the way, no one dared breathe too loudly, afraid of angering the boss.
After entering her office, Ji Xu'an pondered for a moment and called Secretary Zhao in.
"Any news from Qu Jingran?"
Secretary Zhao shook his head. "Not yet. Officer Qu hasn't said anything."
"Mm." Ji Xu'an leaned back in her office chair, her fingertips lightly tapping on the desk. She was silent for a while.
"Go help me investigate someone."
After starting the car earlier, Ji Xu'an had seen the license plate of the car beside her through the rearview mirror. She asked Secretary Zhao to find out who the owner of that car was.
Secretary Zhao was already used to the boss assigning inexplicable tasks and readily agreed.
After giving all necessary instructions, Ji Xu'an waved him out.
Thinking about everything that had happened recently, she raised her hand and rubbed her temple, lowering her eyes to stare blankly at the documents on her desk. For a long while, she did not move at all, lost in thought.
—
On the other side, Jiang Jiang and Ji Heyuan walked side by side through the school gates.
Ji Heyuan very deliberately kept an arm's length distance from Jiang Jiang.
Jiang Jiang merely turned her head and glanced at her casually. Ji Heyuan immediately took a big step back. "What are you doing?"
Jiang Jiang smiled at her. "Why are you hiding so far away?"
Ji Heyuan rubbed her arms, feeling a chill down her back. "Forget it. Let's keep some distance. Otherwise it's easy for people to misunderstand."
"Oh?" Jiang Jiang asked.
"The person you're talking about… wouldn't happen to be Ji Xu'an, would it?"
Ji Heyuan did not know whether to first be shocked that Jiang Jiang dared to call her sister by name, or that Jiang Jiang knew exactly why she wanted to avoid suspicion.
Before she could deny it, Jiang Jiang asked again, "Did Sister Xu'an say something to you last night?"
Ji Heyuan truly could not act. Before she had time to think of an excuse, Jiang Jiang had already seen through her disguise.
In the end, Ji Heyuan could only slump her shoulders and admit it.
"My sister said some really crazy things last night. If you heard them, you'd definitely be shocked."
Even without her saying it, Jiang Jiang could more or less guess what Ji Xu'an had said.
But on the surface, she did not show any understanding.
"What did Sister say?"
Ji Heyuan thought she truly knew nothing. "Anyway, they were some outrageous things. You'd better not hear them."
The more she said that, the more certain Jiang Jiang became of her guess.
She did not press Ji Heyuan further and changed the subject at the right time. "Did Sister mention Miss Zheng?"
At the mention of this, the guilt on Ji Heyuan's face instantly turned into anger.
"Don't even mention it!" Ji Heyuan rolled her eyes. "I didn't expect Zheng Zhouzhou to stab me in the back!"
"All my allowance money, all wasted!"
Her sister had also invested in Zheng Zhouzhou's drama, so it might still get finished, at worst with a different female lead.
But unfortunately, Ji Heyuan's allowance had been given directly to Zheng Zhouzhou. Zheng Zhouzhou would definitely not return it.
Jiang Jiang had only asked to gauge Ji Heyuan's attitude toward Zheng Zhouzhou. Now she had gotten the answer she wanted.
"Little Yuan." Jiang Jiang looked at her meaningfully. "If Miss Zheng came to apologize to you now, would you forgive her?"
"No." Ji Heyuan answered without hesitation.
"Didn't I tell you before? Arkle and our family are sworn enemies. Zheng Zhouzhou chose to ally with Arkle and even target my sister."
"No matter what she says to me in the future, I won't forgive her again."
Jiang Jiang saw firmness and determination in Ji Heyuan's eyes. As those words left her mouth, Jiang Jiang clearly felt as if some invisible restriction had been broken.
It was a feeling difficult to describe in words, something that could only be understood, not expressed.
Jiang Jiang looked up at the sky, feeling that for a brief moment, even the sky had darkened.
After saying those few sentences, Ji Heyuan closed her mouth.
It was not that she no longer felt dissatisfied with Zheng Zhouzhou. On the contrary, it was precisely because there was too much dissatisfaction that she had lost interest in talking about her.
In any case, from now on, Zheng Zhouzhou had nothing to do with her.
Seeing Jiang Jiang staring up at the sky, Ji Heyuan also glanced up curiously. "What are you looking at?"
Jiang Jiang shook her head. "Nothing."
She was just thinking that now the bond between Ji Heyuan and Zheng Zhouzhou should be completely severed.
At the same time, Ji Xu'an received good news from Qu Jingran.
"The relevant department has already taken Zheng Zhouzhou away."
When Qu Jingran said this, his tone carried a sense of relief. "You were right. There really is something strange about her."
"Several of our colleagues were watching her together, and she still managed to escape."
Zheng Zhouzhou did not know where she had gotten wind of it. After learning that the relevant department had arranged for people to monitor her, she had actually tried to follow Arkle to M Country.
"Arkle's people were indeed difficult to deal with, but fortunately, in the end, we managed to stop her successfully at the airport."
Qu Jingran described it to Ji Xu'an. "How should I put it? It really felt dramatic."
"Before, we tried our hardest and couldn't catch up to her. At the final critical moment, she suddenly seemed to lose her protection and was easily taken away by our people."
After this incident, Qu Jingran no longer dared to underestimate Zheng Zhouzhou. "It was as if heaven had truly been helping her. But fortunately, in the end, heaven finally came to its senses and knew it couldn't let her go."
At that moment, Ji Xu'an thought of Ji Heyuan and Jiang Jiang.
After hanging up, she immediately sent Jiang Jiang a message.
When Jiang Jiang saw the message, she was in class.
Ji Xu'an suddenly asked her whether everything was going smoothly at school and whether anything had happened.
Jiang Jiang had a premonition that Ji Xu'an asking this must be related to Zheng Zhouzhou.
Just as she was thinking about it, another new message popped up on her phone.
It was from Uncle Liu.
[Uncle Liu: Miss Xie, have you heard the news?]
[Uncle Liu: A friend guarding the hospital told me Liang Junsheng committed suicide and couldn't be resuscitated.]
Jiang Jiang's expression froze.
She knew Liang Junsheng would die sooner or later, but this timing was far too coincidental.
What exactly had happened on Zheng Zhouzhou's side?
—
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