After the second period ended, Jiang Jiang originally planned to rush straight to Ji Xu'an's company, but at that moment He Jingjing sent her a message, asking her to go to the office.
Jiang Jiang had no choice but to inform Ji Xu'an first, then hurried to the Hanfu Association's office as quickly as possible.
When she arrived, He Jingjing was lowering her head organizing materials. Jiang Jiang raised her hand and knocked on the door. The sound startled He Jingjing out of her busyness. "You're here."
Jiang Jiang stepped into the office. "Senior Sister, you asked me to come over. Is there something you need?"
"It's like this." He Jingjing pulled a flyer out from a pile of documents and handed it to Jiang Jiang.
"Next month, S City's Arts Department and the Hanfu Association will jointly hold a runway show event. Our association will probably also send people to participate in the selection. I wanted to ask if you're interested?"
Jiang Jiang took the flyer and gave it a quick glance. Just as He Jingjing said, besides university club members, the runway show would also invite well-known hanfu models.
Jiang Jiang was very interested in this, but she still had concerns in her heart.
She looked up at He Jingjing. "Senior Sister, I just joined the association. Is it appropriate for me to go?"
He Jingjing smiled at her. "It's fine. Although you're a newcomer, your external conditions are very outstanding. And we'll first hold an internal selection within the club. Everyone can give it a try."
Jiang Jiang understood.
In other words, He Jingjing was only suggesting that she participate. As for whether she could actually go, that would depend on whether Jiang Jiang had the ability.
"If you want to participate, you can fill out a registration form first."
He Jingjing pulled out a blank registration form and handed it to Jiang Jiang. Seeing that Jiang Jiang seemed a bit confused, she simply sat down beside her and patiently guided her on how to fill it out.
Time passed unknowingly. Jiang Jiang thought she had not stayed long, but when she came out of the office, it was already half an hour later.
She sent Old Liu a message. After receiving his current location, she carried her backpack and walked quickly toward him.
From a distance, Jiang Jiang saw a familiar black car parked by the roadside. Old Liu was standing by the car door. When Jiang Jiang approached, he gave her a subtle look without drawing attention.
Jiang Jiang tilted her head. Only after Old Liu opened the car door for her did she understand why he had done that.
A familiar figure was sitting in the back seat. Hearing the door open, the woman looked toward Jiang Jiang. Between the long hair draped over her shoulders was Ji Xu'an's cool and indifferent face.
"Sister." Jiang Jiang did not expect Ji Xu'an to come personally. "Is work not busy today?"
Ji Xu'an: "Mm."
As she spoke, her fingers moved slightly, discreetly switching the silent button on the side of her phone.
Jiang Jiang let out an "oh" and bent down to get into the car as well.
She lowered her head to fasten her seatbelt. The first time, she failed to buckle it. Just as she was about to try a second time, a hand suddenly reached out in front of her, gently covering the back of her hand.
Ji Xu'an naturally guided Jiang Jiang to fasten the seatbelt. When she withdrew her hand, she seemed to casually hook Jiang Jiang's fingertip with the pad of her finger.
Jiang Jiang felt as if she had been electrocuted and quickly pulled her fingertip back.
Ever since Ji Xu'an said she could not hold back, her behavior seemed to have grown increasingly unrestrained.
Strictly speaking, she had not actually done anything. Yet that subtle atmosphere made one feel uncomfortable all over.
Jiang Jiang always felt that every move Ji Xu'an made carried a silent implication.
Her eyelashes trembled randomly twice. Her gaze subconsciously fell out the window, using that as an excuse to avoid Ji Xu'an's burning stare.
But through the reflection in the car window, Jiang Jiang could still vaguely see that Ji Xu'an was staring at her without blinking.
What was there to look at?
Jiang Jiang took a deep breath and decided to speak to break the ambiguous atmosphere.
"Sister, what exactly did you mean by what you said to me today?"
Even when serious matters were mentioned, Ji Xu'an did not withdraw her gaze. She kept staring at Jiang Jiang.
But at least she did not say anything this time that would leave Jiang Jiang unable to respond.
"It's related to Arkle and Zheng Zhouzhou." Ji Xu'an explained softly. "I'm afraid they might jump over the wall in desperation."
When the topic turned to what she cared about most, Jiang Jiang temporarily forgot her earlier discomfort and turned her head to meet Ji Xu'an's gaze again.
"What exactly happened to Zheng Zhouzhou?" Jiang Jiang paused. Seeing that Ji Xu'an did not answer, she threw out a second question. "What exactly did she say to Sister yesterday?"
Ji Xu'an gazed deeply at Jiang Jiang's brows and eyes. "You care a lot about Zheng Zhouzhou's affairs."
Jiang Jiang froze for a moment.
Ji Xu'an continued, "Speaking of which, from the very beginning you didn't really like Zheng Zhouzhou. Is it because she once targeted you?"
Or is it related to Ji Heyuan?
Ji Xu'an did not say the latter sentence aloud, but Jiang Jiang somehow understood her meaning.
The fingers resting on her lap curled slightly as she quickly thought in her heart about how to answer.
"Perhaps there is that reason. I don't know if Sister Xu'an can understand." Jiang Jiang spoke rather tactfully.
She pretended not to understand Ji Xu'an's implication and did not deliberately explain whether it was related to Ji Heyuan. She only said softly, "I can feel that Miss Zheng harbors deep hostility toward me."
It was impossible to tell from Ji Xu'an's expression whether she believed Jiang Jiang's explanation, because Jiang Jiang could hardly discern what she was thinking just by looking at her face.
However, Ji Xu'an did not remain silent for long. Soon she asked again, "Have you never been curious why Zheng Zhouzhou has been targeting you all along?"
Jiang Jiang knew what Ji Xu'an wanted to hear. After weighing it for a moment, she simply followed Ji Xu'an's words and said, "I have guessed before. Perhaps it's related to little Yuan."
Ji Xu'an showed no surprise upon hearing this. She merely looked at Jiang Jiang quietly, as if she was not very interested in the topic.
But where Jiang Jiang could not see, Ji Xu'an's body had already tensed, and her heartbeat had reached an unimaginable frequency.
Jiang Jiang did not notice Ji Xu'an's tension. She licked her lips. "Sister…"
As she spoke, Jiang Jiang leaned toward Ji Xu'an. Their shoulders pressed tightly together, their long hair interwoven and entangled, indistinguishable from one another.
It was only after several full seconds that Ji Xu'an answered in a low voice, "What is it?"
Her voice seemed slightly hoarser than before, though not obvious, and Jiang Jiang did not pay much attention.
Covering her lips with her hand, she spoke almost in a breathy whisper, "Can you raise the partition first?"
Her heart had risen into the air with Jiang Jiang's approach, then crashed heavily down with Jiang Jiang's whisper. Within half a minute, Ji Xu'an experienced an emotional rise and fall, and her reactions became somewhat slow.
She had thought…
"Sister?"
Jiang Jiang's puzzled voice sounded again by her ear. Ji Xu'an heard herself hum in response. Before her mind could react, her hand had already reached out and raised the partition between the front and back seats.
—
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