That night, Li Zhenmian had another nightmare—the same explosion. When she woke up the next morning, her complexion looked a bit off.
She put on some light makeup to cover it up.
Wen Yang had invited her to dinner today, saying it was to thank her.
At an upscale restaurant, Wen Yang had chosen a seat by the window and waved at Li Zhenmian as she walked in.
“Zhenmian, over here.”
Li Zhenmian walked over to Wen Yang and sat down across from her.
Li Zhenmian had a cold personality, and Wen Yang wasn’t much of a talker either. The two exchanged a few words now and then.
“Zhenmian, is your family from Andu?”
“No, I grew up in Maple City.”
“Maple City? I’ve heard it’s beautiful there. I’d love to visit sometime.”
“If you ever want to go, I can show you around.”
“Sure.”
Having interacted with Wen Yang a few times, Li Zhenmian had grown to like her personality—gentle and refined, comfortable to be around.
The harmonious atmosphere was broken by a sudden female voice.
“Miss Wen, Miss Li, what a coincidence! You’re dining here too.”
Zhao Xinyuan’s mind was flooded with the image of Qi Siyan carrying Li Zhenmian out of the banquet that night.
She had been on the verge of madness with jealousy that evening.
Zhao Xinyuan forced a smile and asked with feigned friendliness:
“I’m meeting a friend here. After we finish eating, would you two like to go shopping together?”
Wen Yang clearly didn’t want to engage with her.
Li Zhenmian had also grown tired of Zhao Xinyuan’s repeated provocations.
“Miss Zhao, are we that close?” Li Zhenmian set down her knife and fork. “I don’t think we’re familiar enough to go shopping together. We’re still eating, so if Miss Zhao has nothing important, you can leave now.”
Zhao Xinyuan’s face fell.
“Miss Li, what do you mean by that?”
“What I mean is, I don’t particularly like you. So can Miss Zhao stay away from me?”
Zhao Xinyuan hadn’t expected Li Zhenmian to be so blunt. Her expression darkened, jealousy and resentment barely contained.
Just as Zhao Xinyuan was about to speak, someone cut her off.
“Zhao Xinyuan, she’s made it pretty clear. What are you standing there for with that shameless look on your face?”
A lazy voice drifted over.
Li Zhenmian and the other two turned to look.
Ji Yuheng stood there in a light blue shirt, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes on his handsome face as he looked at Zhao Xinyuan.
“Mr. Ji.”
Zhao Xinyuan’s handbag crumpled under her grip.
Ji Yuheng was meddling in something that wasn’t his business, but he was someone she couldn’t afford to provoke.
“What? Need me to escort you out?”
Because Zhao Xinyuan had also targeted Jiang Zhi before, Ji Yuheng and the others knew exactly what kind of person she was.
Zhao Xinyuan didn’t dare go against Ji Yuheng, so she stormed off in a huff.
Ji Yuheng greeted Wen Yang, then turned to look at Li Zhenmian.
He smiled at her.
“Li Zhenmian, right? Hello, Miss Li. I’m Ji Yuheng, a good friend of Qi Siyan’s.”
Hearing the name Qi Siyan instantly soured Li Zhenmian’s mood.
“Hello.” Li Zhenmian’s tone was icy.
Ji Yuheng felt like he wasn’t exactly welcome here.
With a face like his that everyone loved, how could someone not like him?
“?”
It was quite awkward. He had at least helped them get rid of Zhao Xinyuan, yet these two women didn’t even react.
“Ahem, well then, I won’t disturb you. I’m upstairs—feel free to call me if you need anything.”
Ji Yuheng took the hint and left.
Once in his private room, Ji Yuheng sent a message to the group chat.
[Ji Yuheng: Guess who I ran into.]
No one responded, but he wasn’t bothered.
[Ji Yuheng: Li Zhenmian and Wen Yang are having dinner at the restaurant.]
[Qi Siyan: Address.]
Qi Siyan popped up instantly. Ji Yuheng raised an eyebrow.
[Ji Yuheng: Oho, so concerned?]
Although they didn’t know what was going on between Qi Siyan and Li Zhenmian, judging by the way things were going, it was definitely not simple.
That day, Qi Siyan had just said Li Zhenmian wasn’t a stand-in, and then the next moment he carried her off.
Who wouldn’t be curious about that?
Ji Yuheng sent the address and waited for the show to unfold.
He figured his earlier cold reception was definitely Qi Siyan’s fault.
…
Half an hour later, Qi Siyan rushed over and happened to run into Li Zhenmian and Wen Yang as they were leaving the restaurant.
He called out to her.
“Amian.”
Li Zhenmian stopped and turned, her face cold.
“Qi Siyan, I think I made myself very clear that day.”
Qi Siyan’s heart ached. He gave a bitter smile.
“Amian, I just wanted to see you.”
“Now that you’ve seen me, you can go, right?”
Wen Yang, standing nearby, didn’t feel it was her place to interject in their affairs. Everyone in their circle knew that Qi Siyan had once had a girlfriend he doted on like crazy—Jiang Zhi.
In their eyes, with Li Zhenmian’s face bearing a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Jiang Zhi, Qi Siyan’s intentions were obvious.
Ji Yuheng came downstairs and saw the scene by the roadside through the glass door.
Qi Siyan looked like an abandoned puppy, his figure forlorn, staring longingly in the direction Li Zhenmian had gone.
“Oho, Yan-ge, look who’s got a taste of his own medicine today.”
Ji Yuheng made no effort to hide his schadenfreude.
“Scram.”
Ji Yuheng kept grinning.
“Not gonna talk about it?”
Qi Siyan habitually pinched the bridge of his nose.
Ji Yuheng brought Qi Siyan to the private room he had booked, and also called Jiang Huai over.
Qi Siyan lowered his lashes, looking at the ring on his hand.
“Amian is Zhizhi.”
Ji Yuheng and Jiang Huai exchanged a surprised glance.
“Yan Ge, are you sure?”
“Didn’t Jiang Zhi die?”
Qi Siyan lowered his brows and pressed a hand to his forehead.
“I don’t know either, but I’m certain she’s Zhizhi.”
Back then, in that explosion, there was no way Jiang Zhi could have survived. The island had sunk along with it, and everyone on it had been buried at sea.
Ji Yuheng and Jiang Huai still found it hard to believe. How… how was that possible?