The car roared as it drove away, kicking up a cloud of fine dust.
As she watched the direction where the car's tail disappeared, the expression on Qiu Yihe's face grew increasingly gloomy.
She had naturally heard Qiu Li's words about her clinging to the powerful and wealthy just now.
Even though Jiang Cheng had stood up for her and retorted just now, given the prejudice those two sisters had against her, the more she intervened, the more they would surely act up.
But at the end of the day, even if she wanted to intervene, she was powerless.
With her status, to put it bluntly, she was just an employee.
It was useless to look for her own father, and even more impossible to look for Qiu Yihe's maternal uncle.
As long as Qiu Li simply said it was legal and compliant, no one could do anything to her.
However, as someone who had studied criminal psychology for many years, she felt that Qiu Li's performance just now was a bit strange.
Thinking this, she immediately turned around, wanting to call out to Jiang Cheng.
But when she turned around, Jiang Cheng was nowhere to be seen...
When they came out just now, Jiang Cheng had politely escorted them to the door.
How could he have vanished in the blink of an eye?
Qiu Yihe stomped her foot, feeling both anxious and a bit of an indescribable awkwardness in her heart.
After pulling out her phone and opening wechat, she wanted to send Jiang Cheng a message, only to belatedly remember that she had blocked him...
Uh... is this the legendary boomerang effect?
When this boomerang hit her, it was both painful and embarrassing.
Gritting her teeth, she walked quickly to the entrance.
She asked the guard standing on duty at the door, "Where is Young Master Jiang? Did he go back inside just now?"
The guard recognized her and respectfully pointed toward the east: "Miss Qiu, Young Master Jiang went in the direction of the gardens."
Qiu Yihe looked in the direction the guard pointed and indeed saw the shadows of a bamboo grove swaying gently nearby.
Qiu Yihe followed the bamboo grove path inward, but was stopped not far ahead by a guard stationed at a fork in the road.
Seeing herself blocked, Qiu Yihe pouted: "Is Young Master Jiang inside? Please inform him that Qiu Yihe is looking for him."
A few minutes later, after the guard verified her identity, he stepped aside and let her through.
Passing through a moon gate, the view ahead suddenly opened up.
After following a young man in special clothing for a distance, Qiu Yihe finally saw Jiang Cheng.
He was standing with his back to her under the shade of a tree, with several tall guards standing in front of him, completely blocking the view ahead.
Seeing that Jiang Cheng hadn't turned his head, Qiu Yihe muttered secretly to herself: When under someone else's roof, one must bow their head.
"Wow, Young Master Jiang is in a good mood, taking a stroll..."
As her voice fell, Jiang Cheng slowly turned around, holding an ebony tray in his hands.
A layer of dark velvet was spread over the tray, and several pieces of bright red raw meat were neatly arranged on it, their fat shimmering faintly in the shade.
With just one look, Qiu Yihe knew what Jiang Cheng was doing.
"What are you feeding?"
His eyebrows quirked slightly, his tone unreadable: "Small animals. You've come at the right time; want to feed them together?"
Qiu Yihe had come to ask for his help anyway, so she nodded repeatedly, the smile on her face becoming even more eager: "That would be great..."
As she spoke, she leaned in, her gaze falling on the raw meat in the tray, and followed up curiously: "I love small animals the most. What is this for? The meat looks quite fresh."
While talking, she reached out to pinch a piece of raw meat, wanting to get a closer look.
Right at that moment, the guards blocking the front moved aside to both sides with perfect coordination.
Qiu Yihe's field of vision suddenly widened, and that giant Golden Python coiled on the bluestone platform instantly crashed into her sight.
The snake's body, as thick as a bowl, was coiled and winding, its golden scales glinting coldly. Its long tongue flicked in and out, and a cold, fishy breath rushed toward her.
"Ah—!"
A short scream broke from her throat, and the raw meat in Qiu Yihe's hand fell to the ground with a'splat.' She felt as if all her strength had been drained away, and her body recoiled two steps uncontrollably, nearly tripping over the stones behind her.
"Holy crap!! Is it this fierce?"
The giant Golden Python was as thick as an adult's arm.
Its golden scales glinted with a cold, eerie light in the tree's shade.
The snake's body was coiled on the bluestone platform, its long tongue flicking in and out, bringing a cold, fishy scent toward her.
Seeing that she was about to fall, Jiang Cheng reacted very quickly and grabbed Qiu Yihe's waist.
Qiu Yihe was wearing a short sweater, and with Jiang Cheng's grab, half of his palm touched the skin of her waist.
Mhm~ not bad, very smooth...
"Oh, nice waist, no extra fat..."
Qiu Yihe's entire attention was on the giant python in front of her.
She didn't pay attention to Jiang Cheng's hand still rubbing her waist; instead, she grabbed his hand in return and immediately hid behind him.
"I have more nice parts than just my waist, okay? You scared me to death! How is this a'small animal'..."
After saying that, she even gave Jiang Cheng's arm a few light, coquettish punches, sounding quite like she was acting spoiled.
After hiding behind Jiang Cheng, she grabbed the clothes at his waist and poked her head out to take another look at the Golden Python.
Although the python had been disturbed by Qiu Yihe's 'holy crap' and raised its head slightly, fortunately, its reaction wasn't large.
Those amber vertical pupils merely glanced at her indifferently.
Then it lazily lowered its head again.
Qiu Yihe usually acted like a tomboy who feared nothing, so this was the first time Jiang Cheng had seen her acting so much like a Little Girl...
However, the thought had just arisen when he was bumped by a pair of soft walls of flesh from behind, causing him to narrow his eyes slightly.
This can't be a Little Girl, absolutely impossible!
Early spring is truly great; people wear fewer clothes, and the fabrics are thin.
The distance between them was also quite close.
Jiang Cheng originally wanted to reply: "Is that so? Let me see..."
But if he replied that way, the pressing against his back would surely disappear.
He could only hold back the words at the tip of his tongue, raising an eyebrow to glance at her with a tone of nonchalant mockery: "Making a fuss over nothing."
Seeing that Qiu Yihe was about to jump up in protest, Jiang Cheng added in time: "Though, when I first came here, my expression wasn't much better than yours..."
As expected, Qiu Yihe's puffed-up cheeks instantly broke into a vibrant laugh at Jiang Cheng's words.
Seeing the person behind him suddenly lean in and start 'vibrating' with laughter, a faint smile also slowly curled at the corners of Jiang Cheng's mouth.
Lu Xun was right; sometimes agreeing with a Girl can close the distance between you.
"How can there be such a big python here!"
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng extended his fingertip to gently stroke the python's cold scales, his lips curving into a shallow arc: "There isn't just a giant python here..."
After glancing at Jiang Cheng's movements, Qiu Yihe subconsciously looked further past the bluestone platform.
With this look, her eyes instantly widened...
On a wicker chair not far away, a gorilla was actually sitting lazily.
The fellow was covered in dark brown short fur.
It was holding a large bunch of bananas and peeling them unhurriedly.
From time to time, it let out one or two satisfied grunts.
A pair of dark, beady eyes stared straight over here.
Ever since visiting Mount Emei, Qiu Yihe had developed some personal prejudices against these kinds of primates.
Scanning further to the side from the gorilla, Qiu Yihe's breath hitched again.
By the low bushes on the opposite bank of the stream, a miniature donkey covered in light golden short fur was bowing its head and nuzzling the ground.
Its palm-sized ears flicked occasionally, looking incredibly adorable.
Seeing this, her movements of clinging to Jiang Cheng became even tighter.
"Ah, are these animals a bit too free or..."
Hearing Jiang Cheng give an "Ah?", Qiu Yihe smiled somewhat awkwardly: "I mean... these animals... look quite well-behaved."
Jiang Cheng finally turned back to look at her, the corners of his mouth twitching up with a meaningful tone: "Can those who aren't well-behaved stay here?"