Jiang Ning soon emerged from the hospital room as well.
Her expression appeared calm, her emotions seemingly untouched by her granduncle’s passing.
Yet Xi Yue felt as if he could see Jiang Ning’s withering soul.
A sudden, indescribable feeling welled up in Xi Yue’s heart.
He asked Jiang Ning, “Are you still going to attend the funeral?”
Jiang Ning glanced back at the hospital room. After a long pause, she finally spoke, “My grandaunt probably wouldn’t welcome me. I won’t go.”
Xi Yue said, “Then let’s go back.”
Jiang Ning had stayed in Hong Kong for less than an hour before returning.
Aside from the few questions Xi Yue had asked, Jiang Ning hadn’t spoken a single word to him throughout the entire journey.
On the plane.
Jiang Ning remained lost in thought for a long time, her gaze fixed on the endless sea of clouds outside the window, never once looking away.
It gave Xi Yue the illusion that if she could jump from here, Jiang Ning would do so without hesitation.
Although Xi Yue often sought attention in front of Jiang Ning, he didn’t bother her at this moment.
Xi Yue sent a message to Qin Huai’an on his phone.
[Can you find out how her mother died?]
[That’s a bit difficult. The Jiang family is, after all, a prominent and influential clan in Hong Kong. Things they don’t want outsiders to know are quite hard to uncover. I’ll do my best. Jiang Ning’s close friend Shi Lili probably knows some inside information. I’ll swallow my pride and try to contact her.]
[Thank you.]
[Don’t mention it. We’re buddies.]
…
It wasn’t until they returned to City S, where the show was being filmed.
After getting into the car, Xi Yue finally heard Jiang Ning speak voluntarily for the first time.
“I’m not feeling well. Could you ask the director for another day off for me? I’ll go back tomorrow.”
Since Xi Yue learned about her condition, she no longer felt the need to hide her exhaustion in front of him.
Xi Yue acknowledged her request and instructed the driver to head to the hotel.
The car arrived at the hotel entrance.
Jiang Ning noticed Xi Yue still intended to follow her.
Before he could step out of the car, she blocked the doorway, leaning slightly forward with her hand on the car door to look at him.
Jiang Ning said, “You should go back to the program group. I’ll be fine after some rest.”
Xi Yue could only reply, “Call me if you need anything.”
Jiang Ning responded with a vague “Mm,” clearly brushing him off.
She was about to close the door for him when she suddenly heard Xi Yue ask, “Have you ever called me?”
Jiang Ning was taken aback, her overly fatigued mind slow to react as she stared blankly at him.
For a moment, she didn’t understand what he meant by his question.
Xi Yue continued, “In these six years, have you ever called me?”
The car’s interior light was dim, casting the harsh lighting typical of filming, yet Xi Yue’s tall nose bridge and sharply defined jawline remained clearly visible.
Xi Yue said, “In your first year abroad, I already knew you had depression. You didn’t know anyone overseas, and I guessed you wouldn’t actively make friends.”
“I was afraid you might be in danger. If the people your father assigned to you couldn’t be reached, I thought that in an emergency, you might turn to me. All these years, my phone has never been on silent, out of service, or turned off—not even when filming shows. I always kept it in my pocket.”
The corner of Xi Yue’s mouth lifted slightly, resembling a smile.
“But you never did.”
It was hard to say whether this smile was one of relief that Jiang Ning had not encountered any danger during her six years in the M country.
Or whether it was a forced smile after six years of being on high alert, yet never receiving a single phone call from Jiang Ning.
In the end, Xi Yue only said to her, “Let’s go back to the hotel. It’s cold outside.”
Jiang Ning pressed her lips together.
She felt that at a time like this, she should say something to Xi Yue.
But when she opened her mouth, her throat felt dry and hoarse, unable to utter a single word.
In the end, Jiang Ning could only leave.
She thought she would wait until she was in a better state, and then find an opportunity to talk to Xi Yue again.
Xi Yue watched Jiang Ning’s figure disappear into the brightly lit hotel lobby before withdrawing his gaze and saying to the driver, “Let’s go.”
Just then, his phone rang.
It was a call from Qin Huai’an.
Xi Yue answered and asked him, “Did you find out?”
“I did,” Qin Huai’an said, keeping it brief. “She jumped from a building at a psychiatric hospital. Jiang Ning had just arrived and didn’t have time to stop her. She watched her jump right before her eyes. It was a bit…”
For a moment, Qin Huai’an couldn’t find the right word to describe the tragic scene.
He waited a long time on the other end of the line but received no response from Xi Yue.
He knew Xi Yue must be thinking a lot right now, so he didn’t press further. Instead, he went on to share something that could be considered a silver lining for Xi Yue.
“That little girl Shi Lili refused to talk at first and kept pressing me about who sent me to ask about this. I thought I wouldn’t get anything out of her, so I just blurted it out.”
“Who would have thought that when Shi Lili heard it was you asking, she immediately told me the truth. Judging by her attitude, she really hopes you can win Jiang Ning back.”
“She and Jiang Ning grew up as close as sisters, even closer than Jiang Ning’s so-called foster brother. If Shi Lili says this, she must have sensed that Jiang Ning still has feelings for you, or at least doesn’t dislike you.”
After a long while, Qin Huai’an finally heard Xi Yue speak in a hoarse voice, “I understand.”
The back seat was unlit, and as the car moved, the flickering light from the passing streetlamps cast shifting shadows inside the vehicle.
In the alternating light and darkness, the entire car felt like the gaping mouth of a giant beast, as if it might swallow everything at any moment.
The image of Jiang Ning’s uncle slitting his wrists, the agonized cries of her aunt, “Your family’s defective genes!…”
And the death of her mother.
Xi Yue seemed to have faintly touched upon the barrier that had always kept Jiang Ning from letting him in.
…
After Jiang Ning entered the hotel lobby.
The front desk attendant quickly approached her.
“Miss Jiang.”
Her tone didn’t sound like a greeting but more like a warning for her to leave quickly.
The next moment.
Jiang Yanjing’s voice came from the side.
“Ningning.”
Jiang Ning turned toward the voice and realized just how unlucky she was—running into Jiang Yanjing again, here to collect his debt.
Jiang Yanjing walked over with his assistant, dressed in a sharp suit, exuding a calm and gentle demeanor, with handsome features.
To someone who didn’t know him, he might appear at first glance as a well-mannered scion of a distinguished family.
But no matter how you looked at him, there was no trace of the timid boy who had just entered the Jiang family from the orphanage.
Jiang Yanjing asked her, “Why aren’t you going home? Dad is very angry.”
Jiang Ning didn’t even have the energy for sarcasm and simply replied flatly, “Isn’t that exactly what you want? The more Jiang Jintao despises me, the more secure your inheritance becomes.”
Jiang Yanjing: “No matter what you think, I never intended to push you out of the Jiang family. Everything in the Jiang family will always be yours. I’m merely holding onto it for you temporarily. Whenever you want it back, you can take it directly.”
Jiang Ning: “Then I’m sorry, I expressed myself incorrectly. It’s me who wants to stay far away from all of you.”
Right now, she just wanted to return to the hotel and sleep. After saying this, she turned to leave.
As she brushed past him, Jiang Yanjing directly grabbed her wrist.
“Stop being stubborn. Come back with me.”
“Let go!”
Compared to his forceful action, Jiang Yanjing’s tone remained gentle: “Come back. I know you don’t like blind dates. I’ve already spoken with Father, and he won’t have such ideas for now.”
Besides Jiang Yanjing’s two-faced nature, what Jiang Ning disliked even more was the authoritarianism he had learned from Jiang Jintao and his uncompromising need for control.
If she hadn’t once idly tested Jiang Yanjing and Jiang Jintao’s DNA, she would have thought Jiang Yanjing was Jiang Jintao’s illegitimate son.
No matter how hard she struggled, Jiang Ning couldn’t break free from Jiang Yanjing’s grip.
She truly thought she would be dragged back to Hong Kong like this.
Suddenly, a figure in a pink dress rushed out from the side and shoved Jiang Yanjing hard.