Shen Muran hurried into the men’s restroom and locked the door.
Pale-faced, he rolled up his sleeve and forcefully jabbed the sedative Jiang Li had given him into his arm.
Fortunately, Zheng Shuman had also been afraid of causing trouble and hadn’t obtained any particularly potent drugs.
The sedative would be enough to calm him down.
He closed his eyes and waited for the medication to take effect.
Slowly, Jiang Li’s beautiful, delicate face surfaced in his mind.
The stretchy fabric clung tightly to her figure, perfectly outlining her graceful curves. With every step she took, the hem of her skirt swayed gently.
Shen Muran even found himself unconsciously recalling the faint scent of her youthful body.
Realizing something was off, he abruptly opened his eyes.
He rushed to the sink and held his face under the running water.
After a moment, Shen Muran lifted his head and looked at his own flustered reflection in the mirror, letting out a bitter laugh.
It was a laugh of self-mockery.
Jiang Li’s face only ever showed arrogance and domineering pride. She had always looked down on his status.
…Husband?
The young miss was forever high above.
How could she possibly call him that?
It must have been nonsense spoken in a moment of delirium.
The cut on his hand was deep. He simply rinsed it with water, then expressionlessly tossed the gauze into the trash.
He wanted no part of such hypocritical kindness.
Suddenly—
[Chicken Lady Protection: 50,000 yuan received.]
His phone buzzed again with several notifications.
[Starting tomorrow, you’ll need to bring me breakfast~ This is for the meal and your effort.]
[Make it nutritious! Each meal should be billed at a standard of 300 yuan.]
…
That afternoon.
Jiang Li was taken to the hospital by the housekeeper, Mother Wang, for a full-body checkup.
She moved like a puppet doll—letting them draw blood when told, undergoing a CT scan when instructed.
Only when her mind finally relaxed did she gradually come to accept the reality of her rebirth.
Looking back on the past seven years, Jiang Li had lived freely under her brother’s protection, accustomed to arrogance.
She never expected that two years later, her brother would die in a plane crash, and the sports agency he ran would be torn apart by shareholders.
Overnight, the high-and-mighty princess became a drowned dog.
Jiang Li had once tried to support herself through her own abilities, but an accident left her hand disabled, completely blocking her path as a cellist.
She drifted into the entertainment industry relying on her looks, only to be schemed against by several despicable people who wanted to share her.
It was at this time that Shen Muran, now successful and filled with hatred, returned to exact his revenge.
Bang—
“What the hell, has Shen Muran grown a dog’s guts? How dare he kidnap and force you?”
“Little Pear, how about I have my bodyguards tie him up and smash his eyeballs?”
The hospital room door was suddenly pushed open, and a head popped in close, startling Jiang Li.
The girl sported a head full of colorful dreadlocks, several shiny, edgy earrings pinned to her ears, and a jingling assortment of necklaces hanging around her neck.
It was Song Ying’er’s permanently cemented “ghost fire girl” image.
Jiang Li: “…”
“Bestie, that’s illegal.”
Song Ying’er angrily pulled out her phone and tapped away. “Look, the school forum is flooded with posts about you two right now. The comment section has already piled up thousands of layers.”
Without exception, they all talked about Jiang Li being kidnapped.
Every post condemned Shen Muran.
Not a single word mentioned the actual kidnapper.
Jiang Li patiently read through the mudslinging comments, clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, and instructed her lawyer to speed up the investigation. She also asked the school to cooperate in finding the surveillance evidence of Zheng Shuman knocking her out and to simultaneously clarify the messy rumors on the forum.
Song Ying’er placed her hand on Jiang Li’s forehead to check for a fever.
Jiang Li understood her meaning. “No fever. He didn’t do it.”
“Huh? Oh, but you don’t need to step in for that, do you?” Song Ying’er teased without thinking. “Do you have a crush on him?”
Jiang Li tilted her head. “Maybe~”
Song Ying’er turned her face away, her voice rising an octave. “Then what about your engagement to Xu Jiarang? Isn’t he still chasing you?”
“The line of people chasing me stretches all the way to France. Tell him to buy a plane ticket and wait at the end.”
She didn’t like hypocrites.
Jiang Li refreshed Shen Muran’s chat window, muttering unhappily, “He took the money without hesitation, but hasn’t replied to a single message.”
Playing hard to get is such a lousy move!
【Rule #1 for Followers: Reply to Jiang Li’s messages as soon as you see them.】
She sent the message and started counting down in her heart.
3, 2, 1…
Ding—
Her phone chimed, but the screen showed a notification from the group chat ‘Gossip Trio’.
【Sister Li, Shen Muran’s karma has arrived! Come check out the drama!】
Immediately after, a video was sent—showing Shen Muran being shoved by a few badminton team guys at the entrance of the Sports Institute.
In just one second, Jiang Li pulled out her IV needle and shot up from the hospital bed.
Song Ying’er, who had just picked up an apple to peel, looked up to find the bed empty. “Huh? Xiao Lizi, you haven’t finished your IV drip yet!”
The McLaren sped down the road and pulled up at the school’s back gate ten minutes later.
Jiang Li rushed straight to her destination as soon as she got out of the car.
Sports Institute.
Shen Muran was cornered against an outer wall by a guy wearing an oversized black hoodie with a silver, edgy wolf-cut mullet hairstyle.
Ji Chengyu was half a head shorter than him, but his attitude was outrageously arrogant.
He was Jiang Li’s childhood friend, here specifically to seek justice for his buddy.
“Hey, did you really team up with Zheng Shuman to screw over my Sister Li? If you don’t tell the truth, I won’t let you have an easy time at Jincheng University.”
Shen Muran lowered his gaze, his voice deep and steady. “I didn’t.”
Ji Chengyu instinctively didn’t believe him and was about to issue another warning when a clear voice rang out from behind.
“Shen Muran!”
Jiang Li, panting heavily, ran between the two of them, pulling Shen Muran around to check him over. “Did the badminton team guys hit you?”
Shen Muran pressed his lips together. “No.”
His eyes were like obsidian dipped in ice—cold and hard.
Jiang Li wasn’t used to such a gaze. Her eyes drifted downward, catching sight of blood seeping from between the man’s fingers. Frowning, she asked, “Why didn’t you bandage the wound?”
The girl wasn’t afraid of him. Instead, she familiarly grabbed his hand to inspect it.
Since he hadn’t applied any medicine and had rinsed it under the tap, the reddened wound looked pale and wrinkled, with the edges of the skin torn and swollen.
Jiang Li’s soft, warm fingers poked and prodded at his palm. He felt the fine, tingling pain from the wound, his entire body tensing up uncomfortably.
She gently blew on it. “Doesn’t it hurt? If you don’t treat this properly, it’ll get infected and you’ll need shots later.”
Her tone was clearly laced with concern, yet it was the same face that, just days ago, had looked at him with disgust and called him a creep.
“None of your business.”
Shen Muran clenched his fist, withdrawing his injured hand. He walked to the corner, picked up the scattered books and the tennis racket with its strings tangled and torn, brushing off the dirt with his fingers.
Ji Chengyu looked utterly confused. He leaned in and whispered, “Sister Li, caring about him is pointless.”
She couldn’t explain the reincarnation, but she had to make her stance clear to her friend.
Jiang Li patiently explained, “If it weren’t for Shen Muran giving me the sedative first and kicking the camera to pieces today, Zheng Shuman’s scheme would have succeeded. So, for my sake, be a little nicer.”
Her voice wasn’t loud, but Shen Muran could definitely hear it.
Ji Chengyu was a bit surprised—the forums didn’t say it was like this!
But since Jiang Li had personally clarified it, he nodded and said, “Oh.”
At noon, when the sun was blazing fiercely, a faint chill still seemed to linger around the boy.
Shen Muran still had a part-time job to get to and needed to leave soon, but hearing light footsteps approaching from behind, he gradually slowed down as he packed his bag.
Jiang Li walked over and crouched beside him, pulling out a wet wipe. “The mud on the ground is dirty.”