Chapter Eight: Jiao Jiao, You Wouldn’t Want to be Kind and Soft Either, Right? (1/2)
The ancient manor appeared even more eerie at night. It didn’t help that the enormous and perfectly round moon also seemed to appear cold and green because of the lush green mountains that it loomed over.
Inside the study area situated on the first floor of the manor, a projector could be seen casting its image onto the screen.
At this time, Jiang Yuancheng had taken off his suit jacket, revealing the gray vest and shirt that he had underneath. His hand rested idly on the desk while a glass of deep maroon wine lay beside it. His sleeves, which were tightly bound to his arms, accentuated the defined contours of its muscles. Standing behind him was his butler, who had his head lowered in a deferential pose while reporting the matter that he was tasked in hand with: “Mr. Jiang, this is all the footage we can find.”
After saying these words, he pressed the play button.
In order to highlight key moments, the butler had edited the video to be a compilation of several short clips. In the first scene, Wen Zhijiao could be seen stepping out of the car. This was all captured by the camera mounted in the front seat. Zooming in, it was clear that her neck bore no marks at the time. The second scene then flashed, and it showed her getting inside the car along with Pei Ye trailing after her. Right after he announced his name, the driver immediately pulled up partitions, preventing the back seat from being recorded. Just before that happens, the camera immediately zoomed in to her figure, but there were still no marks seen on her neck. The third scene occurred just as the car was about to arrive at the manor. At this time, the driver had lowered the partitions in order to ask Wen Zhijiao a question. However, this revealed Wen Zhijiao who was looking disoriented and tearful in her seat. In addition, there were now red pinch marks visible on her skin.
The video eventually ended with an attached report certifying that “no signs of AI modification were found after the verification process.”
Jiang Yuancheng was quiet as he picked up the controller to replay the third scene again. He zoomed in directly on Wen Zhijiao’s figure, who was sitting in the car as the light from outside streamed in through the window and fell on her face. Her lips seemed to be faintly trembling, making her appear especially helpless and pitiful.
He stared at the image for a very long time, feeling his breathing become heavier by the second. Finally, he spoke, “Remove Pei Ye’s access from the whitelist.”
Jiang Yuancheng thought for a second before adding again, “Remove Gu Ye’s and Xie Guanhe’s access as well.”
If it had been in the past, he would have still been reluctant to let her have any contact with them—or anyone from the outside world in general—out of fear that they might covet her. But now, his concerns had shifted, and he realized that he should be more worried about the senseless hostility that these beasts seemed capable of harboring.
Jiang Yuancheng’s hand hovered over the glass of wine before eventually settling his hold on the cane placed beside him. Just as he did so, a sharp ringing seemed to echo in his ears. As though his blood had been stirred by the sound, it suddenly went into a feverish surge. This noise simultaneously awakened a storm within him, a feeling of anger and a raw, destructive urge seeming to simmer within him.
Unaware of the turmoil beside him, the butler spoke again, “Mr. Pei called. He mentioned that he’s currently on his way to his ancestral home and won’t be in City A for the next few days. However, he plans to return next week. He said he’ll be hosting a small banquet and is inviting you, Mr. Gu, and Mr. Xie to attend.”
Jiang Yuancheng didn’t respond. He simply raised a hand.
The butler quickly understood his gesture. Straightening himself, he excused himself to leave the room.
Jiang Yuancheng played the short video over and over again. As he slowly drained the wine from his glass with a large mouthful of gulp, his deep, sunken eyes were twitching slightly. His fingers repeatedly traced the rim of the glass, his head tilting unconsciously. Eventually, he slowly closed his eyes.
She must have been so scared back then.
No, no, no—she was only scared just now.
If Wen Zhijiao could answer him right now, she would have immediately answered him with these words.
At this moment, she was almost jumping up and down and had paced around the room for what felt like the eightieth time.
What should she do if Pei Ye denies everything and Jiang Yuancheng comes back to question her? If she ever fails to explain, not only Jiang Yuancheng would lose his mind, but Pei Ye—who was already hostile to her to begin with—would also use this as an opportunity to target her even more!
No, wait. Maybe Jiang Yuancheng wouldn’t even bother to confront Pei Ye for her sake. Right?
As soon as Wen Zhijiao had this thought, she heard a knock on the door. Jiang Yuancheng’s voice came through, and it sounded muffled and surprisingly soft.
“Jiao Jiao, can you please eat first? Don’t starve yourself.”
He paused before adding again, “I’ll deal with Pei Ye’s matter later.”
Deal with him later? You just don’t think that it’s such a big deal, right?
Wen Zhijiao rolled her eyes and immediately got up from her bed. She stormed her way to the door and shouted through it. “Do whatever you want! But I don’t want to see you right now, nor do I want to see your friends! And I certainly don’t want to hear another word about our engagement and our future! Jiang Yuancheng, when I was trying to choose the perfect day for us and for our engagement, you chose to doubt me while your friends, on the other hand, mocked me! I really don’t understand—”
She made her body quiver as she let herself utter out a choking, trembling sound. “Just what exactly do you take me for?”
Wen Zhijiao pressed herself against the door as she strained to hear a reaction from him. After a few seconds, she heard a deep sigh.
“What do you want?” Jiang Yuancheng’s voice finally came through the door as he asked this question.
Wen Zhijiao pinched her nose. “No, you’re right. I shouldn’t have gone out. I’ll just stay in this room from now on. That way, as long as I stay here, no one will grab me, insult me, or accuse me of ulterior motives. I won’t have to hear that I’m not good enough for you, and at least this way, I won’t also have to guess at whatever intentions you have toward me.”
She squeezed out a few tears as she forced her breathing to hitch. “You can’t even take the time to choose an engagement date properly. What’s the point of telling you anything? You’re just always on the rush!”
“Why are you so determined to meet this so-called master? To calculate some date? I’ve told you a thousand times already—there’s nothing to worry about!” After a long pause, Jiang Yuancheng’s deep voice sounded, “Forget it. If you don’t want to see me, I’ll just leave.”
Not long after, she heard the sound of footsteps retreating down the hallway as he left her to her own.
Wen Zhijiao breathed out a sigh of relief.
Jiang Yuancheng was clearly feeling guilty right now. She felt that if she persisted for a few more days, he would finally cave in and agree to her other demands.
Over the next few days, Wen Zhijiao launched a full-blown game of hide-and-seek. As long as Jiang Yuancheng was at home, she never dared to leave her room, refusing to come out even for meals. If she ever happened to see him while she was downstairs, she would immediately retreat, turning around and running straight back to her room. Fortunately, every time she didn’t get to eat, the servants would always bring her an extra meal, so she never really went hungry despite her self-imposed isolation.
However, after persisting for almost a week, Wen Zhijiao found herself almost at her limit. She could no longer bear it this morning.
It was because the master was arriving at the airport this afternoon, and Jiang Yuancheng still hadn’t relented to her demands yet.
The only good news was that Wen Sui had to attend a last-minute summit in another city, which meant that he would most likely have to wait until the engagement ceremony before he could come over with their parents. At least for now, she wouldn’t have to keep up with a charade and pretend to be a sweet couple with Jiang Yuancheng.
Breakfast had been served for more than ten minutes ago, but Wen Wenjiao had no appetite at all. She simply sat there, staring blankly at the bread in front of her.
No way. Did she make things worse? Was she really going to be stuck in this room forever?
While she was spiraling herself into despair with these nerve-wrecking thoughts, she suddenly heard the sound of a key turning in the lock from outside the room.
Click!
The final lock eventually clicked open.
Jiang Yuancheng opened the door. He was immediately greeted by the sight of the untouched dinner plate resting on the bedside table. The bedroom was eerily empty. He froze, taken aback. Later, his expression shifted, his gray eyes dilating, as he immediately entered the room to frantically search for her figure. He desperately called out, “Jiao Jiao? Jiao Jiao?! Wen Zhijiao?!”
He staggered through the room, opening almost everything he could. He threw open the closet doors, checked inside the bathroom, and yanked open the cabinets. Eventually, he decided to tear back the curtains. lt was then that he finally saw her. She was just sitting behind the curtains, holding a piece of bread as she quietly nibbled on it.
Jiang Yuancheng moved unsteadily closer before dropping himself to almost half-kneeling position. Leaning in closer to her at first, he pulled her into a tight embrace before completely collapsing against her.
Wen Zhijiao didn’t even flinch. She just continued to ignored him while chewing on her bread in silence.
Jiang Yuancheng pinched her by the chin. His voice was low and trembling. “Wen Zhijiao!”
At this time, she had finally stopped chewing as she went utterly silent.
Jiang Yuancheng gritted his teeth. After a few seconds, he spoke again, his tone more desperate and urgent. “Speak.”
In the tight space between the curtain and the window, they were like the closest of lovers, with their bodies deeply pressed to each other while their breaths mingled in this still air.
For a moment, Wen Zhijiao felt him gently brush the corner of her eyes with his thin fingers. It didn’t take a few more seconds before this was finally followed by a soft sound of surrender. “Fine. Do as you like. If you want to go, you can go. Just… choose a preferred day, so I can join you. Also, don’t hide from me anymore, and…”
After a few seconds, he raised his hand. As he leaned against the window sill, he stood up. His voice was slightly trembling as he spoke, “Don’t ignore me.”
Wen Zhijiao’s lips impercetibly raised. She whispered softly, “Have you had breakfast? You shouldn’t starve yourself.”
Jiang Yuancheng’s gray eyes slightly softened, though there was no smile on his face. “No, I wasn’t able to eat. There was something urgent I needed to attend to at first.”
After he finished speaking, he leaned over again. Gently holding Wen Zhijiao’s head, he pressed a kiss on her forehead. As their skin pressed against each other, their breaths intertwined, staining their faces with faint heat.
Wen Zhijiao patted his cheek lightly with a small smile playing on her face. “Then don’t starve yourself. It’s not good for your health.”
Jiang Yuancheng caught her hand, pressing her palm against his cheek as if to savor her warmth. He then gave a quiet nod.
After he left, Wen Zhijiao lazily stretched her body before giving herself a thumbs-up.
She knew it—persistence always led to victory!
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