After meeting her grandparents, her grandfather kindly gave her a red envelope.
The old man emphasized, “This is specifically from Grandpa for my little girl. No one else has one.”
Jiang Ruoxun’s nose reddened slightly. Ever since her mother moved abroad, only her grandparents had looked after her. She was deeply grateful.
Her grandmother asked, “Does Xunxun have someone she likes?”
As people get older, they hope for a house full of children and grandchildren. Every time they met, they asked the same thing.
Jiang Ruoxun would always smile and shake her head. “I don’t plan on getting married.”
This time, however, she seemed to hesitate. “I haven’t found them yet. Fate will bring us together.”
The banquet began. Many relatives from both the Jiang and Nan families had arrived. Nan Tingyin personally assisted the elders out to blow out the candles in front of everyone. The crowd swarmed around them, leaving no room for Jiang Ruoxun.
Initially, Jiang Qilin glanced at her several times, but he was eventually pulled away by his aunt.
Jiang Ruoxun crossed her arms. Perhaps among these dozens of people, she was the one who most sincerely wished for her grandparents’ well-being, yet this group gave her no place to offer her blessings.
It had been this way since she was a child. When it was Jiang Qilin or Jiang Chuzhi’s birthday, people would come to the house to celebrate. When they saw Jiang Ruoxun coming downstairs to eat cake, they would all wear expressions of shock.
Some seemed to be saying: Who is this child? Others seemed to be saying: She’s this old and still wants cake? Some said nothing—because they simply ignored the eight-year-old girl.
The eight-year-old Jiang Ruoxun had been innocent and naive; she wanted cake too, but no one ever cut a slice for her. In fact, she felt as though she had never really had a birthday of her own.
Standing by the stairs, a draft blew in through the window. The warmth on Jiang Ruoxun’s face gradually grew cold and stiff.
She held a lady’s cigarette between her fingers, the smoke curling around her. The exhaled breath eventually solidified in the cold air, and every bit of heat vanished—though there had been little to begin with.
“Sister, look at the sour face she’s making at us. Dad keeps saying we’re one family, but she doesn’t treat us like family at all!” Jiang Chuzhi’s voice, filled with complaints, echoed near the corridor.
Jiang Ruoxun naturally disliked these two younger siblings. Jiang Chuzhi was afraid of her and could only gossip behind her back. Although Jiang Qilin often tried to please her, in her eyes, it was nothing more than an act driven by guilt.
Footsteps approached. Two sets of eyes turned toward her, and soon, three gazes locked.
Jiang Qilin smiled gently. “What are you doing here, Sister?”
Compared to Jiang Chuzhi, Jiang Qilin possessed a Kind of friendliness that was hard to refuse; describing her as “gentle as water” was most fitting.
“Catching the breeze,” Jiang Ruoxun said indifferently, her cigarette burning down rapidly.
“You probably haven’t eaten enough. Why don’t you go back and have some more?” Jiang Qilin asked worriedly. When the banquet started, she had worried that Jiang Ruoxun would be too lonely and specifically sat next to her, though Jiang Ruoxun had barely eaten a thing.
“No, I’m leaving.” Jiang Ruoxun walked over, happening to pass right by Jiang Chuzhi.
Jiang Chuzhi was startled and instinctively recoiled, using Jiang Qilin as a shield by grabbing her arm tightly.
“Chuzhi has grown so tall. I remember when you only reached my shoulder,” Jiang Ruoxun said, seemingly in praise. Yet, her tone carried a hint of disparagement, and her cold smirk made Jiang Chuzhi’s skin crawl.
Jiang Qilin smiled. “He really is growing very fast.”
Jiang Ruoxun glanced at her sister; she could sense the genuine kindness in her eyes.
She simply said she was leaving. Her faint voice was gathered and then scattered by the wind: “A pity his brain hasn’t grown along with him.”
“Sister, look at her!” Jiang Chuzhi complained only after Jiang Ruoxun’s figure had disappeared.
Jiang Qilin took his hand and comforted him, “Forget it. She’s probably just in a bad mood.”
Jiang Chuzhi was furious but helpless. He could hardly summon the courage to confront Jiang Ruoxun. In a way, he had always viewed her as a demon; a single word from her could make his entire body tremble.
By the time rehearsals were over, it was already evening.
“Let’s have a group dinner in a few days,” the Club President said, patting Xu Youzhi on the shoulder. He had taken a liking to Xu Youzhi recently. “I’m warning you; you’re not allowed to decline.”
Xu Youzhi gave a helpless smile and agreed. However, just as she exited the school gates, she received a call from Jiang Ruoxun.
“Zhizhi, where are you?” The voice on the phone was unsteady, sounding as if she had been drinking.
“Sister? What’s wrong? Have you been drinking?” Xu Youzhi asked worriedly. Just how much had she had?
“Mm… I missed you.”
Her voice was lingering and gentle. The phrase “I missed you” heightened the atmosphere to something almost intimate, leaving Xu Youzhi unsure of how to respond.
“R-really?”
“Really,” Jiang Ruoxun’s voice began to sound aggrieved. “If only I could see you… I feel so bad right now. Alcohol tastes terrible.”
Xu Youzhi looked at Tang Heng, who was laughing and chatting with others up ahead. Normally someone who hated breaking promises, she called out for the first time, “President!”
Tang Heng turned back, puzzled.
“Something came up at home, I can’t go with you guys!” Without waiting for Tang Heng to respond, Xu Youzhi hurried away.
She hailed a taxi immediately.
The voice on the phone continued, “Zhizhi, are you back yet?”
“Sister, just wait a little longer!”
Xu Youzhi couldn’t bear the sound of her distress. She urged the driver, “Sir, could you please go a bit faster?”
Jiang Ruoxun hung up the phone and tossed it to the other end of the sofa with a faint scoff. Her slender fingers twined through her long hair, her features flushed with a hazy, captivating charm brought on by the alcohol.
Her red lips curved upward. Her heart fluttered with a sudden, growing sense of playfulness, as if she were under a spell.
The good little puppy actually took the bait.
Xu Youzhi arrived at the ninth floor at twice her usual speed. She bypassed room 901 and knocked on the door of 902.
Jiang Ruoxun sent a message immediately: —The door code is 12139.
After opening the door, Xu Youzhi indeed smelled the faint scent of alcohol.
Jiang Ruoxun was sprawled on the sofa. She hadn’t taken off her high heels or her blazer. She just stared blankly at the ceiling, her face flushed, with several empty bottles sitting on the table.
Xu Youzhi walked over. “Sister, why did you drink so much?”
Her hand brushed against Jiang Ruoxun’s exposed arm. The scalding heat made Xu Youzhi flinch as if she had touched fire.
Jiang Ruoxun sat up, hooked her arms around Xu Youzhi’s neck, and leaned her head into her embrace. The cold fragrance of her perfume mingled with the scent of wine.
“Zhizhi, you’re finally here.” “You got here so fast.”
The Movie Queen’s usual aura of cold detachment vanished instantly in front of Xu Youzhi. Xu Youzhi never imagined she could act so spoiled—and that her acting spoiled would be so precisely, perfectly cute.
“I… I’m here.” Xu Youzhi didn’t know how to handle this. She remembered when Li Qingshuang got drunk, she had grabbed Kuang Yuan and started kissing her. Could it be… was the Movie Queen going to kiss her too?
No! Impossible. How could a gentle older sister’s drunken behavior be compared to Li Qingshuang’s!
“My head is so dizzy,” the Movie Queen murmured, her breath fragrant with wine.
“Should I go make you some sober-up soup?” Xu Youzhi suggested.
“But…” She knitted her beautiful brows, the vulnerability adding an adorable contrast to her cool temperament. “I want to take a shower. I was out all day and I’m a bit sweaty.”
“Then let’s get you a shower,” Xu Youzhi comforted her.
The Movie Queen suddenly gripped her arm tightly, leaning her head against Xu Youzhi’s shoulder. Her red lips were almost touching Xu Youzhi’s ear.
“Did you say ‘we’?” Her eyes were like soft water, carrying a devastatingly beautiful charm. A gentle breeze of intimacy seemed to stir, yet she lowered her neck shyly.
It tickled. The air from her words was fragrant and soft, like a feather rubbing against her ear. The sensation made it impossible for Xu Youzhi to retreat, yet she couldn’t look her in the eye either.
“Huh?”
“You said we should shower together.” She was beaming. Though she was clearly tipsy, her eyes were clear, and they were pointedly reflecting Xu Youzhi’s blushing face.
In the end, Xu Youzhi managed to let Jiang Ruoxun shower alone. Of course, Jiang Ruoxun wasn’t actually going to let the “little brat” see her body just yet.
However, she wasn’t finished playing. She wanted to see how the little brat would react. Jiang Ruoxun held her hand, pleading as if she were on the verge of a breakdown, “Help Sister take off her clothes… I don’t seem to have any strength left.”
Hearing this, Xu Youzhi nodded obediently. She leaned down to remove her high heels. Jiang Ruoxun was not only beautiful in face but perfect in every part of her body. Her feet were porcelain-white and translucent, with faint veins showing—a mark of a mature woman’s restrained sensuality. Xu Youzhi quickly looked away.
She saw two big toes wiggle playfully.
Once the blazer was off, followed by the shirt, Xu Youzhi could see the black lace lingerie underneath. The full, curvaceous lines seemed to tug at her heartstrings, making her hands tremble as her skin brushed against the warm fabric. She couldn’t help but swallow hard.
Suddenly, Jiang Ruoxun pressed down on her hand. She let out a soft “Ying.”
When Xu Youzhi looked up, the coldness was gone again, replaced by layers of coquettish charm. The flush on Jiang Ruoxun’s cheeks looked like the beautiful colors of a sunset.
“Does Zhizhi know how to undress someone?” Jiang Ruoxun propped up her head.
Xu Youzhi didn’t understand what she meant and let out a confused “Ah?”
“I mean…” The Movie Queen emphasized, “Do you know how to unfasten a bra?”
Xu Youzhi’s face turned bright red. “Sister, I’m a girl. Of course, I know how to do that.”
Jiang Ruoxun felt around the front, then took Xu Youzhi’s hand again. “Mine fastens in the front.”
This meant the unfastening had to start from the front. This style wasn’t common, and Xu Youzhi didn’t wear them, but undressing was simple enough.
Seeing her acting so muddled, Xu Youzhi reached out. “I’ll do it for you.”
But her hand was pressed down again by the Movie Queen.
Jiang Ruoxun smiled. “Actually, I’ll do it.”
Xu Youzhi looked up.
“Okay. I’ll go cook the soup for you.”
“Mm. Thank you, Zhizhi.”
It wasn’t until the bathroom door closed that Xu Youzhi felt something was slightly off.
Why did that conversation just now not sound like a drunk person at all?
Once the sober-up soup was ready, there was movement from the bathroom.
Jiang Ruoxun called out from inside: “Zhizhi, can you come in and help me apply some body lotion?”