Chapter Seven: Jiao Jiao, You Wouldn’t Want to Scream Either, Right? (2/2)
But despite his merits, Wen Zhijiao still couldn’t bring herself to like him. After all, ever since he showed up, she had to be careful about everything she did. It was honestly frustrating because whenever she tried to go out and have fun without Wen Sui, she would always receive a call from her parents within three minutes of going out. Taking Wen Sui along wasn’t also a better option for her either, because taking him along meant that she wouldn’t be able to speak more than a word to anyone else.
He was skilled at reversing the colors black and white1颠倒黑白: a Chinese idiom that literally means “reversing black and white,” and figuratively means “distorting the truth” or “turning right into wrong.”, and he would file reports to the emperor2告御状: originally referred to petitioning the emperor or reporting grievances to the highest authority. Here, it’s used figuratively to express that he’s reporting to their parents. and act as their spy. Due to his constant meddling, she couldn’t even indulge herself and have flings without having the need to act cautiously. In fact, she almost felt like she was a secret agent having a covert meeting with a contact every time she tries to play around.
Although their contact had reduced significantly in recent years, she was still perfectly aware of his character. She knew that right as soon as he showed up and learned about her situation, he would definitely not hesitate and report everything to her parents.
Wen Zhijiao couldn’t bear to think about how worried her parents would be once they discovered the truth. After all, there was nothing they could do to solve the problem, and it would only leave them anxious. Such knowledge was useless. It would be better not to let them know.
She bit her lips as she began to ponder to herself. When she was done thinking things through, she began making a plan. First, she couldn’t let Wen Sui find out that something was wrong between her and Jiang Yuancheng. Second, she had to find a way to bypass Wen Sui in order to meet with the master alone. Lastly…
Crack—
The bedroom door was suddenly pushed open.
Wen Zhijiao immediately closed her notebook. Turning around, she was greeted by the sight of Jiang Yuancheng who was standing at the door. He was dressed in a formal suit while still holding his cane. His gray eyes narrowed as he locked eyes with her across the spacious bedroom.
“Why haven’t you gone downstairs to eat?”
Jiang Yuancheng asked.
“Huh?” Confused, Wen Zhijiao couldn’t help but dumbly react to his question. Looking outside the window, it was only then did she realize that it was already dark. She immediately straightened herself. “Oh, it’s nothing. I was just too occupied with checking my phone.”
She then walked to his side. “Well, weren’t you supposed to be in a meeting right now? Did it end so early?”
Jiang Yuancheng slightly lowered his head, briefly glancing at her. “Would you prefer me to come back later?”
Sensing that the conversation was heading to a territory that she shouldn’t enter, Wen Zhijiao immediately steered it away with a smile while wrapping her arm around his.
“We should definitely visit that Taoist temple together sometime. The scenery there is very beautiful.”
At her gestures, Jiang Yuancheng’s expression slightly softened. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he then pulled her into his arms and embraced her. After a few seconds, he murmured, “So what was the result?”
Wen Zhijiao paused for a moment before responding, “It went fine, but they didn’t mention anything about calculating the date.”
Jiang Yuancheng leaned in, brushing his nose and lips against her ear. To her surprise, he suddenly pressed a gentle kiss on her earlobe before retreating his face again.
He then continued to ask, “So?”
Wen Zhijiao wanted to withdraw her arm from his but found that he was grasping it too tightly, leaving her unable to move. The next second, his gray eyes suddenly grew cold as he stared at her, watching her speak.
“So I was just thinking… My father once hired a very skilled metaphysics3玄学 (xuánxué): is a term that refers to metaphysical studies, often associated with Chinese divination, astrology, and fortune-telling practices. master for his business ventures.” Wen Zhijiao tilted her head back and gave him a faint smile. “So I reached out earlier today, and the master actually said that he’s available. He said that he’ll be able to come to City A next week.”
Jiang Yuancheng raised his eyebrows, his gaze becoming even colder than ever as he looked down at her. “Wen Zhijiao, don’t take me for a fool. Do you honestly think that I can’t see through your plans? You’re just trying to buy yourself some time, right? By hiring someone to fool me, you must be hoping for our engagement to be further delayed. Even now, you’re probably still thinking about him, right?!”
His voice grew deeper while his gaze became more piercing.
Wen Zhijiao’s heart skipped a beat.
He actually saw through it so quickly?
She lifted her head slightly. Her voice was soft as she whispered, “Yuancheng, why would you think of that? Did I do something wrong? Is there something I did that isn’t well enough?”
“The thing is, I won’t let you bring in those so-called masters.” Jiang Yuancheng pinched her chin with a sneer in his eyes. “If you want to invite someone—then fine—but I’ll have my assistant invite the most prestigious ones, better than the ones you mentioned—”
His words suddenly faltered once his gray eyes had finally trailed down from her face and rested on her neck. The next second, Wen Zhijiao found her shoulders being held down by him as he pressed her against the corner of the stairs.
“W—what’s going on?”
Startled by his actions, Wen Zhijiao couldn’t help but stammer as she was almost left rendered speechless for a moment.
Jiang Yuancheng didn’t answer. He only raised his hand to slightly brush his rough knuckles against her neck, his eyes growing colder in every stroke. “What is this?”
“Huh?” Wen Zhijiao was completely confused. Her mind started to race while cold sweat started to break out on her back. “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”
…No way. There’s no way she’s that unlucky. Did Pei Ye leave a strand of hair on her or something? Damn it! If that’s the case, then no explanation would be able to help her. There’s no way she’ll be able to explain it even if she tries to say it a number of times.
Wen Zhijiao’s heart then started to beat more rapidly. Mechanically glancing down, she saw nothing; but as she looked up in confusion, she happened to catch her reflection through the arched window glass at the corner of the stairs. And what she saw made her feel even more helpless than the thought of being caught with a stray hair strand. For some reason, there was a small, red mark encircling her neck, which had appeared on her body at some point without her noticing.
What is this? When did this happen? An allergic reaction? But she wasn’t even wearing any necklaces to begin with.
While she was lost in thought, she suddenly noticed Jiang Yuancheng’s fingers trembling. She looked up and saw that his gray eyes were dilated. His voice was now thick with suppressed anger. “Who left this? What happened to you?!”
…It’s over. His overprotective nature is about to explode again.
“Why are you injured?” Jiang Yuancheng’s eyelids slightly twitched, and his fingers kept stroking the red mark on his neck, his tone becoming lighter and lighter as he continued speaking, “Why do you always get hurt so easily? You shouldn’t have gone out. I shouldn’t have listened to you. I shouldn’t have—”
His hand gripped her arm tightly as he pulled her all the way back to her room again. “Tell me, who did this?!”
Jiang Yuancheng’s anger was clearly growing, but all Wen Zhijiao could focus on were the words that he had just said.
Those keywords: Shouldn’t have gone out!
No, she couldn’t let that happen at all!
If that happens, then what is she supposed to do? If she can’t go out, then does that mean she has to find a way and meet with the master alone here at Jiang’s residence? But that’s an almost impossible task. There are spies everywhere here!
“Yuancheng, listen to me. This isn’t a real injury—”
Wen Zhijiao’s words suddenly trailed off.
Wait, is it really not an injury? She stretched out her hand and rubbed the mark on her neck; but just as she did, she immediately felt a searing pain. At the same time, a terrifying thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Could it be that this was the mark left by the Pei Ye in her dreams? But how could a dream actually leave physical traces? Could those dreams actually be some kind of foreshadowing?
Wen Zhijiao’s mind became increasingly confused.
“Are you really going to speak for the person who hurt you?” Jiang Yuancheng’s gray eyes narrowed. But even though he wasn’t clearly pleased about it, his voice was still surprisingly gentle as he cupped Wen Zhijiao’s face with his hands. Leaning in, he spoke softly, almost coaxing. “Tell me, who was it? If you don’t choose to tell me, I can simply call today’s driver, bodyguards, and servants right now, and have them brought before you one by one for questioning.”
“Jiao Jiao, who asked me to protect you like this?”
The corners of Jiang Yuancheng’s lips twitched. He leaned over again and softly pressed kisses on the scar on her neck.
Wen Zhijiao immediately placed her hand on her face, concealing it from him. Lowering her head, she was silent for a long time. The silence stretched for so long that Jiang Yuancheng could almost feel his heart sinking inside his chest.
It felt as though his heart was being tightly squeezed. His emotions seemed to grow restless, making his blood run hot. For a moment, he felt dazed, and he couldn’t understand what was happening in front of him at all.
Jiang Yuancheng grabbed her hand, only to see her face wet with tears. She was silently crying all this time.
“It was Pei Ye,” Her voice carried a hint of sadness as she spoke. “I met him at the temple. He said that you and I aren’t suited for each other at all and warned me not to even think about climbing the social ladder.”
Jiang Yuancheng’s brow twitched once he heard this name. “Pei Ye? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
Wen Zhijiao weakly pushed Jiang Yuancheng away as tears uncontrollably spilled out from the corners of her eyes. “He said that if I knew what was good for me, I should better stay away from you. I didn’t want to tell you because he’s originally your friend! What can you do anyway? Are you going to beat him up for someone like me? I know very well where I stand in your heart. I’m just a toy, someone that you can easily manipulate. What else can I do except endure it?”
“If I really saw you as a toy, then why would I let myself get engaged to you?” Jiang Yuancheng spoke quickly, refuting her assumptions. He reached out, trying to pull her into his arms, but she was quick to raise her hand and push him away again. “What else did Pei Ye say?”
“But I even asked a master to calculate an auspicious date for us, and yet all you can think of is that I have ulterior motives!” Wen Zhijiao’s voice cracked as she screamed, her fluffy curly hair sticking to her drenched pale face. Her dark eyes were red and swollen from crying, and her voice choked with emotions as she sobbed. “How can I trust you? Do you really think you’re treating me well? Does it even matter what Pei Ye said? He’s right. I just don’t deserve you!”
Jiang Yuancheng staggered a few steps backward. He wanted to embrace her, but before he could even get close, she suddenly pushed him out of the room before slamming the door shut in front of his face in the next second.
Bang—
The moment the door closed, Jiang Yuancheng’s face instantly turned dark and gloomy while his breathing grew heavy. He knocked on the door a few more times, but all he heard from the other side was a muffled sound that nearly turned into a sob: “Go away!”
Jiang Yuancheng closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. After a few seconds, he gripped his cane tightly and strode away.
“Now, go and investigate Pei Ye’s schedule for today.”
His voice was calm as he instructed his staff.
T/N: Whoops! Here’s part 2. I actually managed to catch up before this week ends 😂 Anyways, so happy to see more Yuancheng’s moments. I really love translating his parts (cause he’s one of my faves *coughs*)
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