Hearing this sentence, Ji Xu'an was completely stunned for two full seconds.
The word "scheme" contained meanings that were far too broad. Ji Xu'an could not help lowering her head to look at Jiang Jiang, only to find that Jiang Jiang was looking at her with a pair of almond-shaped eyes. That expression, in Ji Xu'an's eyes, held nothing but innocence and purity.
Ji Xu'an could not help laughing. "Is that so? Then how did you scheme against me?"
Her voice was low, and the smile mixed within it was clearly audible.
Ji Xu'an's reaction greatly exceeded Jiang Jiang's expectations. Jiang Jiang had thought Ji Xu'an might be confused or angry. She had never expected that Ji Xu'an would actually laugh out loud.
Jiang Jiang could not help tilting her neck back even higher, trying to see more clearly the deeper emotions hidden in Ji Xu'an's eyes.
She did not realize how alluring this posture of hers was, but Ji Xu'an's gaze moved downward from Jiang Jiang's brows and eyes at the very first moment, finally stopping on Jiang Jiang's lips.
The girl in her arms was soft and warm. The slender waist beneath her palm could be grasped in one hand. And she was looking at her in a posture that seemed almost like asking for a kiss.
Ji Xu'an's lowered eyelashes trembled lightly. Then she shifted her gaze away somewhat unnaturally. The two of them were still discussing a very serious matter. Certain thoughts in her mind could only be considered ill-timed.
Jiang Jiang noticed Ji Xu'an's evasive gaze. At first she did not react, until she realized that under her prolonged stare, that cold and beautiful face of Ji Xu'an's seemed to gradually bloom with a faint blush. Only then did Jiang Jiang belatedly understand.
She withdrew her gaze uncomfortably.
This fleeting moment of ambiguity and racing heartbeats was firmly suppressed by both of them. Neither mentioned why those two minutes of silence had occurred.
Jiang Jiang licked her lips again. "Actually I…"
She paused. "I told Grandma that I like you very much and asked her to help me."
The heat that had finally faded from Ji Xu'an's face showed signs of rising again. Even though she knew Jiang Jiang might not mean it in that way, Jiang Jiang's words still sounded like a confession to her ears.
"When was it?" Ji Xu'an asked, then immediately reacted. "Was it the day Grandma suggested that we become sisters first?"
At this point, Ji Xu'an's expression turned somewhat subtle, carrying an indescribable complexity.
Because that day was not only the day she and Jiang Jiang formally addressed each other as sisters, it was also the time when she and Jiang Jiang agreed to break off their engagement.
At the same time, it later became a moment Ji Xu'an regretted deeply, so she had an extremely vivid impression of it.
Jiang Jiang nodded. She did not look at Ji Xu'an again, but she did not withdraw from Ji Xu'an's embrace either. Her hand still rested lightly on Ji Xu'an's shoulder, her posture incomparably docile.
"So when I knelt before Grandma, it was not because I wanted to beg her to agree to let us break off the engagement. It was because I wanted to ask her to help persuade you to agree to our marriage."
This was probably the first time Jiang Jiang admitted that she had actually wanted to marry Ji Xu'an a long time ago. It had nothing to do with any external factors, nor was it because she could not go against Old Madam Ji. It was simply because she wanted to find a backer in this world.
Ji Xu'an was the person she had chosen.
Even if Jiang Jiang had not explained, Ji Xu'an could probably have guessed.
She also honestly told Jiang Jiang, "Actually Grandma hinted at it to me later."
So Old Madam Ji was truly the one who knew everything. Yet her mouth had been extremely tight, fooling both Jiang Jiang and Ji Xu'an.
Jiang Jiang was still waiting for Ji Xu'an to continue, but Ji Xu'an only said this one sentence and then fell silent.
The hand resting on Ji Xu'an's shoulder moved slightly. Jiang Jiang's fingertips lightly grasped a bit of Ji Xu'an's clothing. "Don't you have anything else to say?"
For someone like Ji Xu'an, whose desire for control was extremely strong, to suddenly learn that she had been manipulated in someone's palm, was she not angry at all?
Ji Xu'an cleared her throat.
Jiang Jiang's heart slowly tightened. She was waiting for the coming storm.
She guessed Ji Xu'an would be angry, but not too angry. After all, those things had already happened in the past. Everything had long since become a settled fact.
Moreover, Old Madam Ji had also participated. Ji Xu'an would not vent her anger at her own grandmother.
Jiang Jiang had already prepared herself mentally, but clearly her preparation was still insufficient.
Because Ji Xu'an not only did not get angry, her tone even carried a trace of inexplicable embarrassment. "Why didn't you consider little Yuan?"
"Hm?" Jiang Jiang froze for a moment, her brows slowly knitting together. "Consider what?"
Ji Xu'an subconsciously tightened the arm wrapped around Jiang Jiang's waist, as if afraid the person in her arms would disappear. "Little Yuan looks similar to your fiancé. You should be more familiar with her. Why didn't you choose her in the beginning?"
After all, what Jiang Jiang wanted was only a backer who could allow her to gain a foothold here. Although Ji Heyuan was a bit foolish, she was also the legitimate Second Miss of the Ji family. As long as she wished, she could likewise protect Jiang Jiang well.
Jiang Jiang did not choose the person who resembled her supposed fiancé, yet chose the 'fiancé's' elder sister instead. Did that mean that in her eyes, she herself was more worthy of trust?
Jiang Jiang understood Ji Xu'an's unspoken meaning.
For a moment she even suspected that the person holding her was not Ji Xu'an.
Was this still the head of the Ji family who had coldly warned her not to indulge in wishful thinking?
She had confessed so many things, each one challenging Ji Xu'an's bottom line. Yet the only thing Ji Xu'an cared about was this single question.
Could liking someone really make a person this tolerant?
Jiang Jiang could not help closing her eyes briefly. A trace of confusion appeared in her gaze. She felt that she did not seem to have similar feelings toward Ji Xu'an. If Ji Xu'an deceived her, she would definitely be unhappy.
Jiang Jiang was still puzzled. She probably did not know that in this world there existed a type of person called an "ultimate love-brained fool."
For Ji Xu'an, as long as Jiang Jiang did not leave her, no matter what Jiang Jiang had done, she could persuade herself to accept it.
Unable to think it through, Jiang Jiang gave up trying to figure out Ji Xu'an's thoughts. She said softly, "Because little Yuan does not like me."
At the beginning, Ji Heyuan's feelings toward Jiang Jiang had been more than just dislike. It had practically reached the level of hostility.
Ji Xu'an immediately replied, "So you actually considered her?"
Jiang Jiang looked up into Ji Xu'an's eyes and happened to catch the fleeting disappointment in them. She shook her head. "Not exactly. There was still an engagement between you and me. Little Yuan is your younger sister, so naturally she is also my younger sister."
Ji Xu'an understood. So Jiang Jiang had not actually cared who the person was. Just like when she had agreed to marry the Crown Prince, what she acknowledged was only the engagement between them. It had nothing to do with the person.
At this moment Ji Xu'an felt incomparably fortunate that in this life, the one engaged to Jiang Jiang was her, not Ji Heyuan.
She suppressed the excitement in her heart. After hesitating for a moment, she asked again, "Since you decided from the very beginning to marry me, why were you so cold to me afterward?"
At this point, Ji Xu'an's voice became even softer. "Was it because I took liberties with you and made you unhappy?"
Her words inevitably made Jiang Jiang recall that kiss between them.
It had also been in such a dim environment. Ji Xu'an had grabbed her wrist, pinned her against the wall of the hotel, and crushed her lips wantonly with her thin lips, kissing her until Jiang Jiang's breathing had become somewhat difficult.
A rosy glow spread across Jiang Jiang's cheek. She lowered her head to avoid Ji Xu'an's burning gaze. "Do you think you did not go too far?"
Without waiting for Ji Xu'an to answer, Jiang Jiang continued, "Actually there is another reason."
"I did not know how to face you."
Jiang Jiang said, "Although I can distinguish between you and Princess Huaining, I did call her elder sister for a period of time."
So in Jiang Jiang's heart, Ji Xu'an had also been like her elder sister.
She had found a suitable reason for her behavior back then. Ji Xu'an was willing to accept this explanation. But in the next second, she pressed further.
"Then what about now? Do you still see me as your sister?"
She was too close. That step-by-step pressing sense of oppression was impossible for Jiang Jiang to ignore. She pushed at Ji Xu'an's shoulder. Without specifically saying yes or no, she only said in a very small voice, "I will not marry my sister."
The huge stone in Ji Xu'an's heart finally fell away. As long as Jiang Jiang was willing to accept the relationship between them, everything still had hope.
"Thank you, baby," Ji Xu'an said sincerely.
Hearing this form of address again, Jiang Jiang frowned. "Baby?"
"Why are you calling me that?"
—
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