Thus, to avoid being abandoned by her family again.
She took a deep breath, forcefully blinked away the moisture in her eyes, and stiffly pulled her lips into a smile.
“Brother, don’t be angry. I was just joking with you.”
The rebellious shell she had grown shattered once more, and Si Yuan retreated back into her timid cocoon.
She handed the jewelry box to Lin Shuangyu, trying hard to make her tone sound sweet: “Shuangyu-jie, look how well this necklace suits you. I was just playing around with you earlier.”
A flicker of triumph flashed in Lin Shuangyu’s eyes, though she still pretended to be overwhelmed by the favor as she reached out to take the box: “Thank you! Xiao Yuan is so thoughtful!”
She then clung to Song Yan’s arm and cooed: “Look how you’ve scared your sister. It’s just a necklace.”
Seeing her relent, Song Yan’s expression softened slightly. He reached out and patted her shoulder: “We’re family. Don’t be so calculative.”
Si Yuan smiled without speaking.
Family…
As the wind blew, she felt her eyes stinging even more.
Lin Shuangyu hid behind Song Yan, winking at her friend and shaking her trophy.
Song Yan began to feel the chill, noticing Si Yuan wasn’t dressed warmly enough.
He reached out to guide her inside: “Let’s go in. It’s cold out here.”
Si Yuan paused, took a step back, and avoided his touch.
“Brother, I’m actually quite tired. I want to go home.”
Song Yan’s steps halted abruptly.
He turned to look at Si Yuan. The girl hung her head, her bangs covering her eyes.
Though she stood right before him, she felt more distant than when they were farther apart.
Belatedly, he realized he had been too harsh with her earlier.
Song Yan had prepared a gift for Si Yuan before she returned to the country, but never managed to give it to her.
Now, he had even taken away other gifts she received.
Someone nearby was about to say “don’t spoil the mood,” but when Song Yan shot them a glance, they swallowed their words.
In truth, this group’s attitude had always mirrored Song Yan’s from beginning to end.
Song Yan took half a step forward, his tone unconsciously softening with a coaxing note: “Tomorrow, gege will take you to buy new ones. Whatever you like, we’ll buy it, alright?”
Si Yuan slowly lifted her head. The redness in her eyes had long been suppressed, leaving only a calm obedience.
She gently shook her head without speaking, raising her phone slightly.
“No need. My ride is almost here. Brother, you and Shuangyu-jie have fun.”
“Aren’t you coming back to the Song Family together?”
Song Yan instinctively pressed, remembering his original plan to bring Si Yuan back to the Song Family after the event ended.
Family should live together.
She shook her head again, her reason stated lightly: “No, I have work tomorrow.”
Besides, those depression medications were waiting for her at home.
Song Yan wanted to say more, but Si Yuan had already taken two steps back, curving her lips into a slight smile toward him.
“Gege, I’m leaving first. Have fun.”
With those words, she turned and walked toward the roadside.
Alone, solitary, never looking back from start to finish.
Song Yan watched until Si Yuan got into the car and drove away before finally withdrawing his gaze.
Perhaps Hai City’s weather was too humid—Song Yan felt like his heart was stuffed with damp cotton, suffocatingly stuffy.
He hadn’t truly meant to make Si Yuan sad. It was just that when he saw the necklace was from another man, his anger flared up and he lost control, so he…
He somewhat regretted being so harsh with her earlier.
And for allowing those other messy people to pressure her along with him.
But as soon as this thought emerged, Lin Shuangyu grabbed his wrist and cooed, “A-Yan, it’s so windy outside. Let’s hurry in, shall we?”
He paused, glanced back at the empty intersection, and ultimately let himself be pulled along by Lin Shuangyu.
Because he knew Si Yuan would never truly stay angry with him.
He could always coax her back tomorrow.
In the black car across the street, Jiang Wang held a cigarette between his fingers, the smoke blurring the coldness in his eyes.
He had seen everything clearly—Si Yuan’s despair, her sorrow, and her feigned obedience.
His knuckles tightened unconsciously, and he only snapped back to reality when the cigarette butt burned his finger.
His gaze gradually cooled, clouded with a terrifying darkness.
The deafening music in the club drowned out everything. Lin Shuangyu danced wildly, the necklace around her neck dazzling with every movement as the scattered diamonds caught the light.
Exhausted, she eventually made her way to the restroom.
Just as she turned the corner in the hallway, a drunken man bumped into her, sending her stumbling. Her shoulder throbbed with pain.
The man had put all his strength into the collision, and Lin Shuangyu felt as though her arm might dislocate.
“Are you blind?” she flared up, pointing at the man and cursing for a long while, but he merely lowered his head and walked away.
Fuming, she headed back, only realizing something was wrong halfway.
She touched her neck—her fingertips met empty air. The necklace was gone.
Tearfully, she rushed back to their booth, grabbing Song Yan’s arm with red-rimmed eyes. “A-Yan, the necklace is gone! It disappeared after that drunk bumped into me! Send someone to help me find it, please!”
Song Yan, holding a glass of wine, merely lifted his eyes at her words, his tone completely indifferent. “If it’s lost, then it’s lost.”
Lin Shuangyu froze, not expecting this reaction.
She didn’t know that, from the very beginning, Song Yan had never cared about the necklace. He hadn’t been determined to give it to Lin Shuangyu—he simply didn’t want Si Yuan to keep it.
Now that the necklace was gone, he found he didn’t mind at all.
Si Yuan returned home.
She kicked off her shoes and, without even turning on the lights, headed straight for the bathroom.
Water cascaded noisily as she numbly undressed and stepped into the bathtub.
Only when the warm water rose past her chest did Si Yuan feel like a dying fish finally returned to water, grasping a faint thread of security.
She stared blankly at the bubbles floating on the water’s surface, the doctor’s warning echoing in her mind.
If she had been drinking, she couldn’t take those pills.
Yet the suffocating ache in her chest continued to surge, and her entire body felt weak and drained.
She gripped the edge of the bathtub, her fingertips turning white, her expression dazed.
She truly didn’t know how she would make it through the night.
In her muddled state, she didn’t even know what she was doing.
It was only when her senses returned that Si Yuan noticed her phone screen glowing.
On the call screen, the characters “Jiang Wang” flashed.
She snapped back to reality, realizing she had dialed his number at some point without knowing.
Perhaps it was the alcohol giving her courage, or perhaps it was a fragmented survival instinct—Si Yuan truly didn’t know how to save herself.
She didn’t hang up. Instead, she asked, “Jiang Wang… would you be willing to be my medicine?”
There was a two-second pause on the other end before his clear voice came through.
“Right now, if you asked me to blow up the Song Family, I would.”
He was always like this—saying earth-shattering things with utter seriousness. Whether he meant it or was just trying to comfort her, Si Yuan felt her nose sting with emotion.
As if possessed, she added, “I want to kiss you.”
As the words fell, the breathing on the other end seemed to halt.
A long silence followed.
Only then did Si Yuan belatedly sober up.
Her cheeks burned, and she hurriedly tried to explain, “I’m sorry… I had too much to drink today…”
“Open the door.”
The man’s voice suddenly interrupted her, low and urgent, as if spoken directly into her ear, making her heart jolt violently.
Si Yuan opened the door, and a cold wind carrying the chill from Jiang Wang’s body rushed in.
Dewdrops dotted his shoulders, clearly indicating he had just stepped out of a car, still wearing that custom-made smoke-gray suit.
Wasn’t he supposed to be at the club gathering with Song Yan and the others?
How could he have returned so quickly…
Or had he been waiting outside the door all along?
Si Yuan stood motionless in the entryway, wearing a bathrobe with her hair dripping wet, her eyes still clouded with dazed confusion.
Without speaking, Jiang Wang stepped inside first, closed the door to shut out the noise and cold, then turned to look at her.
His gaze was heavy and serious.
“What did you just say?”
Si Yuan froze.
She had just been venting empty words, never expecting Jiang Wang to actually appear.
Facing him in person, she couldn’t repeat the bold words she’d spoken earlier.
“I… I said I’d had too much to drink…”
Before she finished speaking, Jiang Wang suddenly stepped forward, his palm gently cupping the back of her neck as his lips, chilled from the night, covered hers.
Si Yuan went completely rigid, her eyelashes fluttering as she even forgot to breathe.
With their lips pressed together, the dampness from her bathrobe mingled with the faint scent of tobacco on him, creating a dizzying entanglement.
Her hands unconsciously clutched at the hem of his clothes, fingertips trembling, yet she didn’t push him away.
For the second time that night, she felt that hollow, aching heart of hers gently being filled with something.
Jiang Wang kissed her deeply, only releasing her when Si Yuan turned her head away breathlessly.
He smiled: “Did you miss me?”
Si Yuan didn’t speak, just stared at the tips of his shoes. The words she’d said on the phone earlier came flooding back, making her cheeks burn with both embarrassment and grievance.
She opened her mouth, wanting to protest “I didn’t,” but before the words could form, tears began to fall.
Not loud sobs, but silent drops that fell one after another onto Jiang Wang’s hand, leaving small, spreading wet marks.
Jiang Wang seemed scalded by them, his brow furrowing slightly before he wrapped his arms around her.
The warmth from the bathtub had long since faded.
But now, with Jiang Wang holding her, his presence wrapped around her like a thin, warm layer, finally allowing her heart – frozen stiff in front of Song Yan – to show signs of thawing.