"Going after a friend's girlfriend."
Zhou Yichi's gaze lingered on Jiang Ningchu's face, then turned back to Jiang Heng. "Is President Jiang that kind of person?"
Zhuang Jingyi stepped forward at just the right moment, gently taking Zhou Yichi's arm and saying softly, "Senior Yichi, she really isn't worth this. I only saw her being intimate with President Jiang and wanted to give her a word of warning—who knew it would turn into this…"
Zhou Yichi's pupils contracted. He whipped his head toward Jiang Heng, then looked at Jiang Ningchu, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Wh-what do you mean… you two…"
Jiang Heng didn't even spare them another glance. He only curled his lips faintly, his smile full of icy mockery.
He turned and walked away.
Jiang Ningchu closed her eyes. The last trace of warmth in her heart dissipated completely.
She yanked her hand free and, without so much as a glance at Zhou Yichi, followed Jiang Heng out.
Pei Yi had just come in through the entrance when he ran headlong into Zhao Ye, who was rushing out with red eyes, and stood there utterly bewildered.
He casually pulled aside a passerby to ask what had happened, and learned that the sky had fallen.
"Hey, hey, hey?"
Pei Yi watched Jiang Heng and Jiang Ningchu walk off without looking back. "Why are you leaving already? What happened?"
Zhuang Jingyi shook her head.
Three glasses of baijiu burned in her stomach, and her head felt dizzy.
She forced herself to shuffle half a step forward, unwilling to give up, and leaned close to Pei Yi, lowering her voice. "President Pei, President Jiang of Lingxi Technology—he's the… President Jiang of Jiang Group, right? Young Master Jiang?"
"That's right." Pei Yi frowned, looking at her in confusion. "What about it?"
"Then what about Jiang Ningchu?"
Zhuang Jingyi's breathing quickened, her eyes locked tightly on Pei Yi's face as if trying to wring out one last shred of hope. "She said she's a member of the Jiang family… and that President Jiang allows it. Right?"
"Allows it?"
Pei Yi was stunned by the question, then as if he'd heard something absurd, his brow relaxed and his tone turned matter-of-fact. "Little Jiang is a member of the Jiang family. The Jiang family's eldest daughter—Jiang Heng's younger sister. Why would she need anyone's permission?"
The moment those words fell, Zhou Yichi stood frozen as if struck by lightning, every trace of color draining from his face.
Lin Wei clapped her hands in satisfaction, shaking her head with a smile. "Well, Dr. Zhou, see clearly now? This lovely junior of yours has been working so hard to sow discord—her scheming even extends to the girl's own brother."
"Oh, and if I remember correctly, Academician Song is Madam Jiang's godmother. So if you do the math, isn't she basically our Jiangjiang's grandmother?"
With that, she leaned forward, closing in on the equally pale-faced Zhuang Jingyi, and drove each word home: "That's just how this circle works. You'd better come to terms with it—some people simply lose at the starting line, and no amount of effort will change that."
Zhou Yichi's expression shifted, and he turned to walk out.
Zhuang Jingyi staggered after him and grabbed his wrist, her cheeks flushed an unnatural crimson from the alcohol and agitation. "Yichi… you—do you really… not understand?"
"I don't understand."
"And I don't want to!"
Zhou Yichi flung her hand off, his eyes churning with disbelief and a disgust he could no longer hide. "All I know is that the one I love is Xiaochu. I can't lose her!"
With that, he rushed out the door without a backward glance, chasing after the two figures that had long since vanished around the corner.
In the passenger seat, Jiang Ningchu looked down, gently fidgeting with the thin gold chain on her wrist.
Hanging from the chain was a delicate little seven-spotted ladybug, its wings spread open as if ready to take flight at any moment.
Both wings were inlaid with pigeon-blood rubies, glinting in the shifting light outside the window, making the skin of her wrist look all the more fair and delicate.
Jiang Heng pressed the accelerator, his gaze sweeping over her absorbed profile.
As the car merged onto the main road, he withdrew his gaze and said in a low voice, "Do you like it that much?"
"Mm!"
Jiang Ningchu lifted her head, the light in her eyes impossible to hide, her voice bright with excitement. "I love it! The little bug is so cute, and Grandma gave it to me—of course I love it!"
The Song, Su, and Shen families had all lived in the same compound back in the day. Song Aoxue had watched Su Wanqing and Shen Shuning grow up.
As one of the earliest researchers sent abroad for advanced study, Academician Song had devoted her life to academia with no interest in marriage, so she took Su Wanqing and Shen Shuning as goddaughters—and naturally, Jiang Ningchu called her Grandma too.
Grandma in name, but in over twenty years they'd met only a handful of times. Yet Song Aoxue doted on her especially.
The first time she saw five-year-old Jiang Ningchu, the old lady was utterly charmed.
After that, every time she returned to the country, no matter how busy she was, she would make time to visit the Jiang family, holding little Jiang Ningchu and chatting with her for a good while.
"Grandma came back… and you didn't even tell me in advance."
Jiang Ningchu rested her hand back on her lap, then turned the little ladybug over onto the back of her hand and stroked the rubies on its wings. "The surprise is almost turning into a shock."
"A shock?"
Jiang Heng gave a short scoff, eyes still on the road. "What difference would it make if I told you in advance?"
"Of course there's a difference!"
Jiang Ningchu frowned, thinking for a few seconds before answering earnestly, "I could dress more cheerfully—Grandma likes liveliness. And I could go buy pastries from Shen's Delicacies ahead of time to bring her!"
Jiang Heng gave a low hum of acknowledgment. "Shen's Delicacies—I've already arranged for someone to buy some and send them over."
"And also…"
She tilted her head, thinking carefully, then added seriously, "I've started working now. I'm part of the workforce. Grandma will definitely be even happier to see that I've grown up and I'm different from before!"
"…She doesn't have time."
Jiang Heng was silent for two seconds before speaking again. "Next time."
"Mm…"
Jiang Ningchu's voice dropped. "I know."
Song Aoxue was a top expert in her field, and she had returned specifically for a research project—naturally too busy to get away.
Jiang Heng had picked her up the moment her plane landed. Getting even a hurried meeting with Jiang Ningchu backstage at the gala was already considered good.
The car fell quiet again.
The joy of seeing Song Aoxue gradually settled, diluted by the silent atmosphere.
The familiar scent of ocean and cedar lingered in the air, crisp and clean, and thoughts that had been temporarily buried began to surface again.
Jiang Ningchu couldn't help thinking of the road home at the foot of the mountain, of the night she was picked up by the roadside, of the farce before she left the gala…
As if sensing something, Jiang Heng reached out to adjust the rearview mirror's angle and remarked offhandedly, "Miss Jiang, you seem to have a particular interest in certain pointless games."
Jiang Ningchu froze, asking instinctively, "What games?"
Jiang Heng gave the faintest smile—or was it a cold snort. "The game of seeing who can kill you first."
"…"
Jiang Ningchu turned her face away, exasperated. "Not funny."
"Is that so?"
Jiang Heng glanced at her in the gap between turning the steering wheel, his tone icy. "The eldest daughter of the Jiang family, getting cursed to her face on her own turf—how could that not be funny?"
"…"
Jiang Ningchu frowned.
The grievance she had been suppressing in her chest suddenly all came surging up.
She opened her mouth. "I…"
As if with X-ray vision, Jiang Heng struck straight at the heart of the matter. "You're an adopted daughter, not the eldest daughter."
"…"
Jiang Ningchu understood the deeper meaning in Jiang Heng's words.
Hidden inside his mockery was actually concern.
She knew he didn't mind—on the contrary, he hoped she would use her "Jiang family" identity more confidently.
"I am too!" Jiang Ningchu pouted, turning defiant. "I told you, they wouldn't believe me, so I hesitated a little…"
"Hesitated about what?" Jiang Heng kept his eyes on the road, the corner of his lips curving ever so slightly. "About whether to drink three glasses of wine and then apologize?"
"Of course not!" Jiang Ningchu said through gritted teeth.
Remembering how aggrieved Zhao Ye and Zhuang Jingyi had looked as they tipped their heads back and drank, something inside her softened again.
"I was just hesitating… about whether to simply name-drop my brother."
As Jiang Ningchu spoke, her confidence inexplicably grew, and the little pride on her face even took on a rare touch of fierceness. "Scare them to death."
Jiang Heng tilted his head with interest, glancing at her, then suddenly gave a low scoff. "Oh?"
"Really!"
Meeting his half-doubtful gaze, Jiang Ningchu nodded repeatedly and said earnestly, "I usually don't drop your name lightly—afraid it would cause too big a stir… At the sign-in desk, I only mentioned it once, and they skipped the whole procedure for me."
Jiang Heng gave a flat "mm" and waited for her to continue.
The more Jiang Ningchu spoke, the more convinced she became—she even had the air of it: "Just now, if you hadn't arrived so fast… I would have told them straight out—Jiang Heng is my brother. If you have anything to say, go say it to him!"
The light turned red, and the car slowed to a stop.
Jiang Heng raised an eyebrow and turned to her, with a "go on, keep making things up" look. "And then?"
"And then?"
Jiang Ningchu lifted her chin, eyes bright. "And then, they, would! Be! Done! For!"
"Mm. So you say." A glimmer of satisfaction flashed in Jiang Heng's eyes, though his voice remained steady. "Will you remember from now on?"
Outside the car window, the flickering neon lights receded at a steady pace.
Warm yellow light happened to pour in from the front side, sweeping across his brows and eyes, the bridge of his nose, drawing a sharp line of light and shadow along his jaw.
His usually sharp, clean-cut features blurred at the edges in the flowing light and shadow, revealing a rare trace of gentleness.
Jiang Ningchu found herself staring, entranced.
She came back to herself and slowly withdrew her gaze, her voice dropping low and soft. "I'll remember…"
After a pause, she added very quietly, "…Thank you, big brother."
Jiang Heng seemed not to notice her momentary daze and simply responded naturally, "How will you thank me?"
She had thought the conversation was over—she hadn't expected him to ask that, and Jiang Ningchu was momentarily at a loss.
These past few weeks, through a series of coincidences, he really had helped her quite a lot.
Setting aside the natural way an older brother looks after his little sister in daily life, she really should properly thank him for the matter with Firefly Creative.
She had mentioned treating him to a meal before, but once things got busy, she'd forgotten.
"Well then…" She thought about it seriously. "When you have time… how about I treat you to dinner?"
"No need."
Jiang Heng answered quickly, his tone carrying his usual hint of disdain, "Full of cakes."
"……"
It took Jiang Ningchu several seconds to realize he was "insulting" her.
She suddenly felt that keeping her distance from him in the past had been extremely wise.
Everyone's fear of him wasn't without reason.
Already unsmiling, with an oppressive presence—and he held grudges, too…
"I can't exactly drag you off to eat right now…" she said, somewhat troubled. "Besides, it's not like you're missing this one meal."
Jiang Heng's expression was calm, betraying no emotion. "Then use your brain and think of something else."
"……"
Jiang Ningchu was even more stumped.
She actually didn't know Jiang Heng well at all.
If she were really to treat him to a meal, she didn't even know what he liked to eat, let alone how to thank him in some other way…
Her gaze landed on the opened bag of Little Devil Candies on the center console.
She leaned over, picked up the purple packaging, and gave it a gentle shake, trying to lighten the mood. "How about… a piece of candy?"
Jiang Heng glanced at her with some surprise, then nodded.
"Sure."
Jiang Ningchu froze, her hand holding the bag suspended in midair.
…Sure?
And then what?!
He's driving right now—how is he supposed to eat it?!
She couldn't just hand him the bag and make him take one himself…
Uncertain, she asked again, "R-right now?"
Jiang Heng kept his eyes on the road, only glancing at her in the brief moment between shifting gears.
Jiang Ningchu understood.
That look clearly said: Another empty promise?
Steel herself, she pulled out a wet wipe, cleaned her hands, then layered a dry tissue over them and picked at the candies through the tissue.
The candies were coated in sour powder, making them hard to grip through the tissue. After several tries, she carefully pinched one up.
Looking at the round candy sitting in the center of the tissue in her palm, she hesitated again.
Picking it up directly with her fingers would be unhygienic; but if she passed it with the tissue, what if the candy dropped in the car…
Her mind, quick as ever at the wrong moment, had somehow already conjured up an image of the candy getting stuck in a crevice and her awkwardly bending down to retrieve it.
Gritting her heart, she pinched up the candy with her fingertips and gently held it to his lips. "Here…"
Jiang Heng didn't even lift his lashes, only tilting his head slightly. His cool lips brushed her fingertips as he took the candy into his mouth.
Just for an instant.
A tingling electric current crawled up Jiang Ningchu's arm from her fingertips, and goosebumps broke out all over her.
Having gotten his candy, he actually seemed satisfied, his voice still deep. "Aren't you having one?"
"……"
Jiang Ningchu's fingers resting on her lap were still frozen in the posture of "pinching" the candy, curled stiffly.
She lowered her voice, feeling a little guilty. "As long as you have one, I don't need to…"
Before she could finish, Jiang Heng flipped on the turn signal and slowly pulled the car over to a stop.
With one hand on the steering wheel, he turned around, his calm gaze settling on her face.
"Eat."
"……"
So that's what he was waiting for.
Jiang Ningchu had already felt that his sudden, easy agreement was somewhat out of character, but couldn't put her finger on why.
Now she understood.
Resigned, she pinched out another candy from the bag and popped it into her own mouth.
Instantly, the familiar sourness swept dominantly across her palate, rapidly flooding her entire mouth.
"Ahh…"
Trembling, Jiang Ningchu sealed the bag of candies and put it back on the center console, clutching her sour-puckered cheeks with both hands as she complained indistinctly, "These are… way too sour…"
Having achieved his goal, Jiang Heng said nothing more, restarted the car, and smoothly merged back into traffic.
The strongest wave of sourness slowly faded, and Jiang Ningchu swallowed, unable to resist muttering quietly, "Was that just to make me jealous?"
Jiang Heng gave a disdainful snort, his tone cool. "Isn't this your favorite thing to do?"
"I…"
Jiang Ningchu was speechless. "That was when we were kids. Besides, this candy is so sour… do you actually like eating it?"
Jiang Heng's brow furrowed slightly, and he didn't answer.
Jiang Ningchu suddenly remembered the silver candy tin in the drawer beside her bed.
One in the car, one in the tin—he practically carried them everywhere.
"If you don't like them, why buy so many?"
"Mm." Jiang Heng answered quickly, almost without thinking. "I'm addicted."
Jiang Ningchu thought she'd misheard. "Addicted… to candy?!"
Jiang Heng's lashes lowered.
Keywords from his psychologist's lengthy diagnostic report back in college flashed through his mind.
Depression-inducing, addiction, substitution, withdrawal, adverse reactions…
He answered flatly, "Mm."
"I'll treat you to dinner. A real one!"
Jiang Ningchu assumed he was just getting back at her for "making empty promises," and didn't think any deeper of it.
Her tone brightened. "When are you free? I think payday is coming up. Once I get paid, I'll treat you—okay?"
A faint smile flickered across Jiang Heng's lips. "Mm."
"It's a deal then!" Jiang Ningchu counted the days in her head. "Promise!"
Back home, Su Wanqing kept Jiang Ningchu chatting in the living room for a long while.
Song Aoxue's schedule was packed, and Su Wanqing disliked attending formal social occasions, so the two had only met briefly on the way from the airport to the hotel.
After talking with Su Wanqing, having a simple late-night snack, and showering, it was already past ten when Jiang Ningchu lay down in bed.
After replying to Lin Wei's message, she hesitated for a few seconds, then exited the chat and returned to her WeChat friends list.
At the top of her pinned chats, more than a dozen unread notifications beside Zhou Yichi's name persisted stubbornly.
Her finger hovered in midair for a few seconds before she finally opened the chat, tapped the corner, and unpinned it.
Among the dozen-plus unread messages were missed voice calls and video invitations, scattered short phrases, and long, rambling "essays."
It was clear that upon learning Jiang Heng was her brother, Zhou Yichi had truly panicked.
Jiang Ningchu read through each message carefully, staring quietly at the screen.
The words on the screen gradually grew unfamiliar, blurry, then slowly scattered and drifted away before her eyes.
She suddenly realized she felt… nothing at all.
None of the expected hurt or relief, none of the joy or satisfaction of clouds finally parting—only calm.
An empty, hollow calm.
His earnest apologies, his anguished remorse, his passionate declarations of love…
She seemed to no longer care about any of it.
After who knows how long, Jiang Ningchu tapped the screen and replied to Zhou Yichi's last message:
[Okay, let's meet and talk tomorrow.]
Send.
She slept dreamlessly through the night.
She'd expected to toss and turn over everything that had happened that day, but when she opened her eyes again, sunlight was already streaming through the gauze curtains, filling half the room with brightness.
At the old campus of Nancheng University, phoenix tree leaves rustled in the wind.
Zhou Yichi clutched a huge bouquet of red roses, pacing back and forth beneath the old tree by the school gate.
His brow was tightly furrowed, his gaze drifting again and again toward the taxis parked by the roadside, and each time the door opened to reveal a stranger's face, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
The moment he saw Jiang Ningchu, his eyes lit up.
"Xiaochu!"
He hurried over with the flowers in his arms, the corners of his mouth curving into a gentle smile, and held out a large bouquet of bright red roses to her. "You're here?"
Jiang Ningchu stared at the bouquet, momentarily stunned.
When was the last time Zhou Yichi had given her flowers… She couldn't quite remember.
She had never been one to care much about romantic gestures.
On Qixi Festival, the year they first got together, Zhou Yichi had skipped their dinner reservation because of an experiment. The next day, once he was done with work, he made it up to her.
At the time, after hearing the waiter describe the crowded lines on Qixi night, they had both, without discussion, felt relieved they hadn't joined the crowds.
From then on, whether it was Valentine's Day, Qixi, or their anniversary, they had tacitly avoided crowded places, finding a quiet little restaurant instead and celebrating with a simple meal.
Quiet and comfortable—but missing a bit of festive atmosphere and ceremonial feeling.
Seeing that Jiang Ningchu didn't take the flowers, Zhou Yichi gathered them in his arms and naturally draped his other hand over her shoulder, guiding her toward the campus. "It's been so long since you came back. When they moved campuses, you said you'd definitely come visit often."
"Mm."
Jiang Ningchu snapped out of her daze, quickened her pace slightly, and subtly slipped out from beside his arm. "We've both been too busy."
Zhou Yichi's arm fell on empty air, his fingers pausing for half a second before slowly withdrawing.
A flicker of gloom crossed his eyes, quickly covered by a smile, and he hurried to catch up.
The campus was quieter than usual on the weekend, with only a few scattered students walking by with books in their arms.
The two of them strolled along the plane tree path beside the sports field, slowly heading toward the piano rooms.
Zhou Yichi's voice was warm, full of nostalgia and cherishing for the past. "Do you remember the old piano room? Back then, whenever you had free time, you'd pester me to play for you."
The memory stirred, Jiang Ningchu gazed at the familiar brick-red building in the distance and gave a faint reply: "Mm."
Their first meeting had been at the sports field, where Zhou Yichi handed her a jacket and got her out of an awkward situation; their second encounter was in that very piano room.
In the morning light, Zhou Yichi sat at the piano, the melody flowing.
He turned his head and gave a faint smile to her, standing by the door…
That image, she had remembered for a long time.
Zhou Yichi pushed open the old wooden door of the piano classroom and gently set the roses in his arms on the steps before the mirror.
The classroom was spotless, even the piano lid polished to a shine—clearly tidied up in advance.
He turned to look at Jiang Ningchu, who was still standing at the doorway, his voice a little tight. "Shall I… play that little tune you love most for you?"
Jiang Ningchu walked over and sat down at the edge of the steps, shaking her head. "No need. Let's just sit here and talk."
Zhou Yichi froze for a moment, then sat down beside her.
Afraid she would speak first and say something final, he rushed to speak, reciting from beginning to end, word for word, all those long passages of apology and promises from his WeChat messages.
"Xiaochu, I truly love you."
He spoke faster and faster, his voice almost trembling at the end. "You told me to think carefully about what I really want… I've thought about it, very clearly. What I want is only you. I can't lose you…"
"Okay."
Jiang Ningchu raised her eyes and met his gaze, brimming with guilt and hope, the corners of her lips curving into a faint smile with no warmth in it at all. "Let's go on a trip."
"Sure!"
Zhou Yichi shot to his feet, rubbing his hands together unconsciously, his eyes lighting up instantly. "You've always said you wanted to see the ocean, right? Then let's go see it! I'll book the best ocean-view room—the kind where you can watch the sunrise and sunset just by opening the window…"
Then something seemed to occur to him. His brow furrowed slightly, and he hurriedly pulled out his phone to check his schedule. "Once I get through this busy stretch, I'll…"
Just as expected.
Jiang Ningchu gave a self-mocking smile, relieved in a way that felt like dust finally settling.
She stood up, walked over to him, and spoke calmly:
"That's exactly the problem."
"Wait until graduation, wait until this busy stretch is over, wait until the experiment is done, wait until the paper is published…"
"But when one experiment ends, there's always the next. When one paper is finished, there's always another."
Zhou Yichi froze entirely, his lips parting slightly, unable to utter a single word for a long while.
Jiang Ningchu looked at him, her gaze clear and calm. "Let's… end it here."