Jing Yuanxi looked up in confusion, and the next second, she indeed saw them carrying a kidnapped young man out of the car.
Meeting the driver’s resentful gaze, she walked up to him with an almost amused expression and remarked, “Tsk, so you’re a kidnapper. Did I accidentally ruin your plan?”
“But even if you manage to get out of prison, judging by your appearance, you probably can’t afford to pay for my car, can you?”
Her tone lingered, drawn out and melodious, as if tinged with a hint of triumphant pleasure.
The driver struggled violently, his eyes venomous, but before he could utter a word, an officer gagged him and escorted him into the police car.
“Miss Jing, do you know this person?” Officer Xue asked softly.
The ambulance hadn’t arrived yet, and a female officer accompanying them was helping the person on the ground stop the bleeding.
Jing Yuanxi walked over and stood in front of the young man’s head, sparing only a brief glance.
Pei Jize slowly opened his eyes, only to see someone standing above him. She didn’t bend down or lower her head—only her eyes looked down from start to finish.
The dim light illuminated the girl’s face, making it breathtakingly beautiful. Her raven-feather-like eyelashes cast shadows, completely obscuring the light that should have fallen on her pupils.
It was the first time Pei Jize had been looked down upon in such a condescending manner.
Their gazes met completely in the air, allowing him to clearly see the scene reflected in her eyes: a bloodied, weak young man in fine clothing.
“I don’t know him,” he heard her say.
Then, the girl’s red lips curled slightly as she looked up at Officer Xue beside her and remarked with a hint of sarcasm, “Why would you think I’d know such a boring rich person who could be kidnapped so easily?”
After saying this, Jing Yuanxi turned and walked away without looking back, paying no further attention to anyone else.
“Who are you calling…”
Pei Jize behind her was infuriated by her sharp, mocking words and wished he could immediately get up to argue with her. But as soon as he moved, his wound began bleeding again, and the female officer firmly pressed him back down.
The red sports car soon sped away from the scene.
Officer Xue, who hadn’t managed to get a word in, awkwardly rubbed the tip of his nose and could only instruct his subordinates to take good care of this young master, who appeared to be only in his teens.
Triumph Club—
With a loud “bang,” the person in the swimming pool violently threw the wine bottle in her hand, shattering it into pieces in the distance.
The people laughing and chatting above turned their heads, only to see a tear-streaked face. “What more do you want from me, Jin Mingzhu? I’ve already said I won’t compete with you!”
The girl named Jin Mingzhu stared at her and suddenly laughed, swaying the red wine in her hand as she slowly walked to the edge of the pool.
“Jin Mingzhen, if you really didn’t want to compete with me, you and your mother shouldn’t have shown up in the first place.”
Jin Mingzhen clutched her soaked clothes, tears falling in large drops. “My mother is already dead. Isn’t that enough?”
“Exactly. So after that, you changed your surname to Jin and moved into my home! That’s my father, the place I’ve lived since I was a child. You don’t deserve it!”
Jin Mingzhu’s face turned cold as she poured the red wine over Jin Mingzhen’s head. “This is what you owe me from the moment you were born. You’ll never be able to repay it.”
Jin Mingzhen stubbornly looked up, only to see the men and women above gathered in small groups, dressed glamorously, their expressions mocking.
“Bai Huina.”
A familiar voice came from behind. Everyone immediately stood up. Jin Mingzhen quickly wiped her tears, and someone beside her draped a towel over her head, pulling her out of the water.
“Yuanxi, you’re here.”
The girl who had called earlier walked over with a smile. “Didn’t you say you weren’t coming tonight? Did you miss us?”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes right now. When did Han Shixu leave?”
Bai Huina was afraid of saying something wrong that might cause a rift between them, and also worried about making her angry. She weighed her words carefully. “Yuanxi, Shixu definitely didn’t mean to…”
Seeing the unpleasant expression on the other side, she could only reluctantly close her mouth.
“He left the day before yesterday and sent me a message.” This came from Li Chengshuo beside them.
“Did he say what he was going to do?”
They shook their heads.
“Yuanxi, don’t be angry. Shixu has been in a bad mood these past few days. Maybe he just wanted to go out alone to clear his head.” Bai Huina tried to comfort her.
Jing Yuanxi was displeased. “What could possibly be bothering him?”
Li Chengshuo coughed at the others and leaned close to her ear, whispering, “Chairman Han has caused another scandal. His mother is threatening to divorce.”
“I didn’t deliberately pry, by the way. I just accidentally saw it on his phone.”
Chairman Han had been involved in numerous romantic scandals before, but the Han family always suppressed the news quickly. Moreover, with the Han family’s influence growing stronger in recent years, fewer people dared to offend them.
It was unclear why this scandal had surfaced again and even reached Mrs. Han.
“Why can’t adults handle their own affairs? Divorce isn’t the end of the world. I really don’t get it.”
Jing Yuanxi rolled her eyes and glanced past them, locking eyes with the person sitting by the poolside.
Jin Mingzhen quickly averted her gaze, tightening her grip on the towel around her. Though her body was shivering from the cold, her palms were drenched in sweat.
She couldn’t hear their conversation clearly, but she hoped Jing Yuanxi would stay tonight.
She always prayed for this during such times, because sometimes Jing Yuanxi would grow tired of these people’s smug expressions.
“Is that your family’s illegitimate daughter?” Jing Yuanxi asked.
“Yes. Are you staying to hang out, Yuanxi?” Jin Mingzhu flashed a wide smile.
“I don’t play with leftovers. Can’t you remember that?”
As soon as Jing Yuanxi said this, the atmosphere instantly turned cold.
Jin Mingzhu’s smile froze abruptly. She opened her mouth but hadn’t yet figured out how to respond when the other girl had already turned and walked away.
“Hey, Yuanxi, wait for me. I’ll go back with you…”
Bai Huina hurriedly put on her shoes and chased after her.
The two left one after the other, leaving the remaining people in an awkward atmosphere.
Not long after, someone spoke up.
“Maybe we should call it a night. My dad doesn’t want me staying out too late.”
As he spoke, Li Chengshuo picked up his jacket and headed out, clearly not intending to discuss it further.
Once he made a move, the others also began gathering their belongings.
“I’m done playing too. I just remembered I have homework to finish.”
“Me too. I’ll go back with you.”
“Alright, let’s meet up another day.”
“Sure, bye.”
The room gradually emptied.
Jin Mingzhu turned to look at the person sitting by the pool, angrily kicked the nearby table, and grabbed her bag to leave.
Jin Mingzhen, still sitting by the pool, stared at the chaotic water surface for a long while. Then, she forcefully wiped away her tear stains, wrapped herself in a towel, and walked out.
Jiangcheng Airport—
Han Shixu had just parked the car when his phone rang beside him.
“Hello, did Yuanxi give you trouble?”
“No, not at all.” Li Chengshuo on the other end of the call quickly denied it.
He didn’t want to speak ill of Jing Yuanxi in front of Han Shixu.
“She’s just a little upset. You’ve already bought the ticket, right? I think you should have told her before you left.”
“This is my own business. Why should I tell her? I’m not her servant. Don’t I even have this little bit of freedom?”
The other end of the phone fell silent for a moment. Perhaps realizing he was getting too worked up, Han Shixu irritably rolled down the car window.
The cold wind mercilessly slapped his face, sobering him up a little.
“I just wanted to go out for a walk alone. Tell her it has nothing to do with her.”
Li Chengshuo gave a dry laugh. “Maybe you should come back and tell her yourself. After all, you’re coming back tonight, aren’t you?”