Shen Baizhi didn’t say a word as she tidied up everything she’d brought with her. She placed the new cotton quilt behind him as a cushion, helped him sit up, then took out a still-warm steamed bun from her basket and handed it to Jiang Yanli.
Jiang Yanli accepted the bun with a complicated expression. Even his usually cold, hard voice softened deliberately.
“Thank you… But you brought so many things—does your family know about this?”
As far as he knew, life was still quite hard for rural families here. White-flour buns and a brand-new cotton quilt—bringing so much at once might make her family unhappy.
If it was just to make him more comfortable, at the cost of her being reprimanded at home, that was the last thing he wanted to see.
He was extremely protective of his own. Although nothing substantial had happened between them, Shen Baizhi had already been placed among “his people,” and he naturally couldn’t bear to see her suffer any grievance.
Shen Baizhi quietly took out a bowl, poured some hot water from the thermos, and set it where Jiang Yanli could reach it. Only then did she answer calmly:
“It’s fine.”
Logically, she should have been a bit more enthusiastic toward him now, making him feel well looked after so that he might help her more in the future.
But after what had just happened between them, she truly felt awkward.
Sensing her discomfort, Jiang Yanli didn’t press the matter further and instead focused on eating.
If he was going to have a proper talk with this girl, he needed to fill his stomach first. Those people, in order to keep him from having the strength to escape, hadn’t given him any food for days, only daily injections of nutrients to keep him alive.
The fact that he’d managed to escape at all had already exhausted every ounce of his strength.
With nothing to do, Shen Baizhi gradually let her gaze rest on Jiang Yanli. As expected, he truly lived up to the upbringing of a great family.
It was obvious he was starving, yet the way he ate still carried an air of calm elegance. Outstanding in every respect—no wonder Shen Baiwei, so proud and arrogant, had obsessed over him for an entire lifetime.
Naturally, Jiang Yanli noticed her undisguised scrutiny. He was used to keeping a cold, expressionless face, so he managed to hold steady.
When he finished the bun in his hand, he was carefully choosing his words, preparing to talk to her, when a slender hand appeared before him again, holding a plump white bun.
Looking at that hand, he inexplicably thought of what it had done earlier. His gaze darkened…
The owner of the hand shook it lightly again, and the girl’s voice, forced into calmness, reached his ears.
“Eat. If it’s not enough, there’s more in the basket. Help yourself.”
Jiang Yanli moved his lips, then silently accepted the bun. His eyes couldn’t help flicking toward the basket she’d pushed over. Inside, wrapped in white cloth, were at least a dozen white-flour buns, each as big as his fist.
He frowned and asked,
“You really didn’t need to bring so much. How about you take some back while your family hasn’t noticed yet?”
In times like these, even during festivals people might not get to eat white-flour buns. She’d brought him over a dozen—and he’d also seen fine rice in the basket…
Actually, as long as he could survive, that would be enough.
Thinking of what that family had done, Shen Baizhi’s face darkened.
“No need. Just eat.”
Take it back? She’d rather feed it to dogs than take it back!
In her previous life, the Shen family had Shen Baiwei protecting them, and Shen Baiwei in turn had the man in front of her protecting her. As a stray with no backing, Shen Baizhi couldn’t touch them at all.
She could only pick on the softest targets. Relying on makeup skills she’d taught herself, she went to work as a housekeeper for the Lin family, and in the end sent them all on their final journey, letting them smile in their graves.
Even after she was arrested, her life story was exposed. She gained widespread public support online, public opinion surged, and she was ultimately given a suspended sentence. Even so, everything about Shen Baiwei was quietly erased.
That a creator of a horrific tragedy and a self-made, independent national goddess were actually cousins—such explosive news didn’t leak even a little. One could imagine the power of the man before her.
She knew that in her previous life, this man hadn’t really done anything wrong. He had only been repaying a debt of gratitude. And aside from secretly harming her and Susu, Shen Baiwei had always appeared flawless. He might not have truly known what kind of person Shen Baiwei was.
Yet Shen Baizhi couldn’t help but redirect her resentment toward him. If he hadn’t given Shen Baiwei such confidence and backing, perhaps she and Susu wouldn’t have suffered so miserably.
And after Susu died, she had waited and watched for half a year, trying to expose Shen Baiwei’s crimes to him. In the end, she never even got close, only watching helplessly as he left under the protection of security…
It was after that incident that she realized she couldn’t touch Shen Baiwei. She turned instead to taking revenge on the Lin family, diligently honing her makeup skills. Coupled with the fact that the Lins hadn’t seen her in years, she smoothly infiltrated the Lin household and exacted her revenge…
But even if every member of the Lin family died, so what?
What about her Susu?
Who was supposed to pay for Susu’s death?
In the end, she died of cancer during her suspended sentence. She’d known even before she acted that she didn’t have long to live, which was why she’d been so decisive and ruthless…
Sensing the change in her aura, Jiang Yanli paused mid-bite. At this moment, he finally understood the saying that a woman’s heart is as unfathomable as the sea—clearly not something that could be judged by common sense.
One second she was thoughtfully urging him to eat; the next, her expression had completely changed.
After silently eating two more buns, he finally stopped, lifted his head, and looked at Shen Baizhi with a serious expression.
“I think we should talk.”
Shen Baizhi remained silent. Though she needed this man’s help to leave An County, she didn’t want to appear overly calculating.
Seeing her silence, Jiang Yanli didn’t mind. Girls were always reserved. He continued,
“Let me properly introduce myself again. My name is Jiang Yanli. I currently serve as a regimental commander in the military. My family lives in the capital. There are quite a few family members—I can introduce them to you slowly in the future.”
“I apologize for my earlier impropriety. But since what happened has already happened, I hope you’ll allow me to take responsibility.”
“If you have no objections, once I’ve recovered and return, I’ll submit a marriage application.”
Shen Baizhi jerked her head up. She admitted that, at that moment, she was tempted. Just imagining claiming Shen Baiwei’s cherished white moonlight as her own filled her with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.
But she quickly calmed down. Jiang Yanli’s family was far beyond her reach. It was a level she, as an ordinary person in her previous life, could never even brush against.
Lin Cheng was merely the son of a deputy factory director, yet he’d condemned her to half a lifetime of humiliating servitude as a housekeeper. A family like Jiang Yanli’s would care even more about pedigree. With her background, she probably wouldn’t even qualify to be a housekeeper there—let alone be treated with respect.
Still, he hadn’t explicitly stated his family background, so she couldn’t use that as a reason to refuse.
So she spoke directly:
“I’m already married, so there’s no need for you to take responsibility.”
“If you really want to repay me, you could help me with one thing instead.”
Jiang Yanli didn’t even hear what she said afterward. Just the first sentence made him suck in a sharp breath. Even the cold, stern expression he wore year-round cracked.
He asked in shock,
“You said you’re married?”
Shen Baizhi nodded blankly. Wasn’t it better that he didn’t have to take responsibility?
After getting her confirmation, Jiang Yanli fell silent, his face turning even darker.
So… he had almost done that with someone else’s wife?
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