Vоlumе 1 Chaрtеr 5: Friеndshiр Аmong Threе
Тhe Jiang fаmily had dеер rооts, аnd the оld mаnsiоn was dеcоrated in а simрle, сlassiсаl stуle. Sеrvаnts cаmе аnd wеnt, уеt it wаs not nоisy.
“Yоung Мiss, what are yоu doing?”
Аunt Tаng wаtсhеd Jiang Xining bustling аbout with a рuzzlеd ехprеssion, аlmost on thе vеrgе оf sаying shе was plaуing hоusе.
Еаrly in the morning, Jiаng Хining hаd eаgerlу gotten оut оf bеd, hоpping оn оne foоt as she triеd tо рrеpаrе fruit. With the help of the servants, shе evеntuаllу аrrаnged а small table fillеd to thе brim with all kinds оf snaсks and fruit platters. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought it was a primary school student’s spring outing.
“I’m waiting for Xingxing!” Jiang Xining leaned on her crutch, one foot wrapped up like a rice dumpling, and looked excitedly toward the door.
“Aunt Tang, Xingxing’s eyes are healed, and he’s back. He’s coming to play with me today.”
Xingxing?
Aunt Tang searched her dusty memories for fragments of recollection. “Oh, Young Miss means Young Master Huaixu…”
“That’s right!” Jiang Xining said happily. “Xingxing said he won’t leave this time, and he won’t go abroad anymore. Aunt Tang, I’m so, so happy!”
Aunt Tang knew they had been close since childhood. Back then, when Young Master Huaixu went abroad due to illness, Jiang Xining had cried so hard at the airport that her eyes were swollen, as if the sky had fallen.
Over the years, everyone else had grown up, but the Young Miss remained stuck in her childhood.
When she liked something, she couldn’t help but emphasize it three or four times.
“If you’re happy, then be happy, but don’t run around recklessly. If you get hurt again and Old Madam finds out, you’ll be scolded…”
Old Madam Jiang hadn’t gone to the Fu family yesterday, but when she learned about Jiang Xining’s injury, she had nagged over the video call for quite a while.
“Alright, alright, I won’t. I’ll just wait obediently on the sofa and not run around.”
Jiang Xining was exceptionally good at making promises, clinging to Aunt Tang’s hand and acting coquettishly. “As long as Aunt Tang doesn’t tell on me, how would Grandma know?”
“You…”
As it turned out, her promises were even less reliable than a man’s vows. The moment she heard the roar of a car outside the courtyard, she immediately sprang up.
“It must be Xingxing! I’ll go greet him!”
“Young Miss, slow down!”
Aunt Tang knew all too well that this little troublemaker said one thing and did another, never obediently following instructions. She immediately followed to support her.
Still, she couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Fu Jinghao had often visited before, but she had never seen Jiang Xining this happy about it.
…
Two cars stopped simultaneously outside the Jiang family’s old mansion.
The car door opened, and Fu Jinghao stepped out first. Seeing the car opposite him, he recalled the preferential treatment from the day before, and his face subtly darkened.
He was the legitimate fiancé, after all. No matter how angry she was, how could she let another man hold her for so long in public?
Then again, she didn’t understand anything…
It was precisely this innocent purity that angered Fu Jinghao. She didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, but did his uncle not understand either?
Since childhood, she had always favored him, worrying over every little headache or fever as if it were a major concern. Even though he had taken care of her for so many years, the moment his uncle returned, she forgot all about it.
Truly heartless.
The anger of a male whose territory had been encroached upon made Fu Jinghao’s expression unpleasant. However, remembering his grandfather’s admonitions from the night before, he restrained his temper and greeted politely, “Uncle.”
Fu Huaixu responded with a light “Hmm.” “Jinghao is here too?”
Fu Jinghao: “…” He had visited the Jiang family far more often than his uncle.
The servants were somewhat troubled seeing the two of them approaching side by side. The Young Miss had instructed them yesterday not to allow Young Master Fu inside, but…
Fu Jinghao greeted familiarly, “We’ve arrived a bit early. Jiaojiao is probably still sleeping in, right?””Young Master Fu…” The servant hesitated, unsure whether to stop him or not. Fortunately, Jiang Xining’s arrival resolved his dilemma.
“Xingxing!”
From afar, they heard this energetic voice. Both turned to look simultaneously and saw Jiang Xining being supported as she hopped forward on one foot, like an adorable yet clumsy little seal.
Fu Huaixu watched in near silence. The person he had only ever seen through a cold screen was finally infused with vivid color.
“Take it slow.”
“Don’t worry, I’m being very careful…” Her excited words screeched to a halt when she saw Fu Jinghao. “—What are you doing here?”
She had said yesterday that she didn’t want to see him, yet he still came to annoy her.
As Jiang Xining approached and he saw her charming, lively expression, Fu Jinghao softened his stance. “Jiao Jiao, don’t be angry anymore, forgive me, okay?”
Holding up the sugar figurine Jiang Xining loved most, he coaxed gently, “I was drunk yesterday, I didn’t hear all that nonsense they were saying. Otherwise, I definitely would have stood up for you. Back in school, didn’t I often help you teach those bullies a lesson? How could I ever look down on you?”
Jiang Xining didn’t believe him immediately, instead eyeing him suspiciously. “Really?”
“Of course it’s true.”
Fu Jinghao continued, “Don’t worry, I’ve already cut ties with them and even complained to their parents. They’ll definitely get an earful when they get home.”
“The sugar figurine from West Street—I went there specially to buy it. It’s your favorite, shaped like a little cat.”
Jiang Xining frowned in thought. Dou Dou was drunk, so he couldn’t help her. Afterward, he cut ties with those bad guys and even bought her favorite sugar figurine…
“…Alright then, I forgive you.”
Jiang Xining happily took the sugar figurine. “But don’t do this again next time, or I really won’t talk to you.”
After coaxing and promising all the way, Fu Jinghao was finally allowed into the living room.
Upon seeing the array of items on the coffee table, the air around him seemed to drop imperceptibly.
She had never been this attentive toward him.
Completely unaware, Jiang Xining patted the empty spot beside her excitedly. “Xingxing, come sit quickly! I prepared lots of delicious snacks!”
Xingxing had been alone abroad, and Grandpa Fu didn’t care about him. He had even gotten thinner from hunger. Jiang Xining decided she must fatten him up—round was much cuter.
Fu Huaixu sat down as instructed, his expression gentle. “Jiaojiao still remembers what I like to eat?”
“Of course I remember!” Jiang Xining beamed with pride, starting to count on her fingers. “My memory is great! You like sweet things, Dou Dou doesn’t eat bitter melon, Mom loves durian… I can remember everything you’ve told me just once!”
Is that so…
The smile Fu Jinghao forced onto his lips felt inexplicably strained. He had told her not to call him “Dou Dou” in front of outsiders, but she never remembered.
Fu Huaixu asked, “Is your foot feeling better?”
“Much better! But my sisters insisted on wrapping it up like this.” Jiang Xining looked disdainfully at her mummified foot. “I don’t like it.”
Hearing this, Fu Jinghao knew she would demand to remove the bandages in the next second.
Before she could speak, Fu Jinghao quickly changed the subject. “By the way, Jiao Jiao, did you have something else to say to me last night?”
Only then did Jiang Xining remember—in her anger yesterday, she had smashed the birthday gift she meant to give Dou Dou…
A slight pang of guilt stirred in her heart. However, she was an expert at forgiving herself and didn’t think it was her fault.Jiang Xining gave a light hum and said with a proud tone, “I wanted to tell you that the painting I gave you lights up when plugged in. But since you all made me angry, it serves you right that you didn’t get a birthday gift this time.”
Fu Jinghao opened the handbag he had been carrying, revealing the light-up painting from which the LED strips had fallen out the day before.
“Look, I had someone fix it. It’s not broken.”
While he was “performing,” Fu Huaixu had been watching quietly.
Only now, as the lights lit up after being plugged in, did the scene of a family of three holding hands appear, bathed in a hazy glow.
It was even a bit too bright, almost glaring.
Fu Jinghao seemed to notice his silence and raised the painting. “What do you think, Uncle?”