Quite direct.
Ni Zijing chuckled softly without getting upset. She simply stood up and pushed Qiao Qiao directly into a wind-free indoor area. The top floor was rarely visited, and it was so quiet that only Qiao Qiao’s occasional muffled sobs could be heard.
She bent down, staring straight into Qiao Qiao’s eyes.
“The unwritten rules?”
“Do I look like that kind of person?”
“Who was it that said they had someone important backing them up at the top, hmm?”
As she spoke, she squinted slightly with a smile still lingering at the corners of her lips, though the profound depth in her eyes made Qiao Qiao afraid to look her directly in the eye.
If she had known back then that this Sister Can Can was actually her new boss, she wouldn’t have dared to say such things even if you gave her a hundred chunks of courage.
Distracted by Ni Zijing’s twist of words, most of Qiao Qiao’s distress dissipated as her sobbing gradually subsided.
“Stop crying for a moment.” Ni Zijing reached out to help wipe away Qiao Qiao’s tears, and only then did Qiao Qiao feel how chilled Ni Zijing’s hands were from the wind. Ni Zijing had spent the entire time protecting her, leaving her own hands bright red from the cold.
She could probably guess what Ni Zijing wanted to say, but Qiao Qiao had already told her before not to waste her feelings on her.
Ever since Qiao Qiao entered the entertainment industry, Luo Ying had told her that, to avoid affecting Qiao Yi’s life, she was forbidden from making her status as his older sister public.
Therefore, very few people knew that Qiao Qiao even had a younger brother.
Ironically, while Qiao Qiao’s relationship with her parents was poor, Qiao Yi was very close to Qiao Qiao. Because of this, when Qiao Yi made a request, it wasn’t so easy for Qiao Qiao to refuse.
Accustomed to being on her own, Qiao Qiao figured she didn’t need anyone’s company, let alone someone she had known for such a short time.
She didn’t need it.
Ni Zijing said, “Qiao Yi’s surgery is over. Are you going downstairs to check, or are you staying?”
“Let’s go down.” Qiao Qiao’s emotions slowly stabilized. She raised her eyes to glance at Ni Zijing and saw that the latter was also staring right back at her, her expression unreadable.
Qiao Qiao quickly turned her head away, refusing to look another glance.
In the quiet elevator, no one spoke as the floor numbers ticked upward.
Ni Zijing suddenly broke the silence.
“Qiao Qiao.”
“Although the timing really isn’t formal at all right now, I still want to tell you these words.” Ni Zijing’s tone carried helplessness and earnestness. “Will you try being with me?”
Ni Zijing knew she had approached a lonely little hedgehog and wanted to warm her. Even though the little hedgehog would use all her quills to wrap up her softness, it was only because someone had hurt her in the past.
What should she give Qiao Qiao?
Companion, patience, and love.
She didn’t want to come across as too abrupt, but she couldn’t help the words spilling out of her heart.
“I know you want to refuse me, so give me ten seconds to finish my thoughts.” Estimating the downward speed of the elevator, Ni Zijing struggled to organize her phrasing. Normally someone who could speak effortlessly in front of two thousand people without stage fright, she felt as flustered in front of Qiao Qiao as if she had returned to her teens.
Qiao Qiao remained completely motionless, refusing to look up. Even her palms hidden beneath the blanket were lightly sweating; surprisingly, she was nervous too.
“I don’t know how to convince you that I’m serious. I came in a rush and only brought my household register. Maybe others think a marriage certificate is just a piece of paper, but to me, it is a lifetime commitment and the direct sense of security I want to give you.” Ni Zijing’s voice was soft, melodic, and smooth, carrying an unhidden hint of nervousness. “As long as you are willing, I can register our marriage with you right now.”
Ding.
As she finished speaking, the elevator doors slid open right on cue.
Qiao Qiao was completely stunned inside, but she knew she couldn’t let it show. She had assumed Ni Zijing was at most expressing an urge to be together, just a passing whim of a privileged heiress, and that once she kept rejecting her, it would naturally fizzle out.
She wanted to marry her right out of the gate?
And she called that not following unwritten rules?
This was even more explosive than finding out Sister Can Can was President Ni.
As Ni Zijing pushed Qiao Qiao toward Qiao Yi’s ward, Qiao Qiao stated, “I refuse.”
Splendid.
Without lifting her head, Qiao Qiao looked calmly at the bustling crowd ahead, took a steadying breath, and continued, “President Ni, I still hope you won’t waste your feelings on me. I have no interest in you. I know you might just be acting on a temporary impulse, and it will pass soon enough. Please don’t say things like this to me again.”
An impulse? And calling her President Ni? Qiao Qiao was truly something else.
Qiao Qiao: “Did you hear me?”
Lowering her gaze to look at Qiao Qiao’s fluffy, soft long hair, Ni Zijing calmly replied, “Didn’t you promise to have a meal with me? I know the film crew no longer needs you, so let’s do it tomorrow. It’ll be just right for your recovery.”
Qiao Qiao: “…”
Flawless.
Ni Zijing was neither angry nor displeased; this matter wasn’t something to rush, and she needed to give Qiao Qiao time to accept it. However, the moment she pushed Qiao Qiao into Qiao Yi’s room, a wave of annoyance hit her.
Luo Ying was fussing over Qiao Yi with endless endearments while practically ignoring Qiao Qiao entirely standing off to the side.
Seeing Qiao Qiao arrive, Qiao Yi couldn’t care less that he had just woken up and wasn’t supposed to move. He opened his mouth to call out, “Sister, what’s wrong with you? Why are you sitting in a wheelchair, Sister?”
Only then did Luo Ying glance at Qiao Qiao. “Injured?”
Qiao Qiao gave a slight nod. “Nothing major.”
Qiao Yi: “You call that nothing major? You’re in a wheelchair! Sister, since you’re like this, why did you even come to see me? I didn’t even know I had a bone fracture and internal bleeding.”
Luo Ying handed Qiao Yi a cup of water. “Look at yourself first, why worry about so much? Does it hurt? Does Mom need to buy you something to eat?”
Standing nearby, Ji Qinglin exchanged an awkward glance with Ni Zijing and quietly stepped outside.
Ni Zijing furrowed her brows.
Watching Luo Ying finish feeding Qiao Yi water, Qiao Qiao saw the faint spark in her eyes fade away bit by bit. When she spoke again, her tone had turned somewhat cold: “Mom, I’m leaving then.”
Struggling to sit up, Qiao Yi pleaded, “Don’t go, Sister. It’s so hard for me to get to see you.”
Right now, Ni Zijing had a strong urge to toss this clueless punk out the window. Fortunately, Luo Ying wouldn’t let her precious son sit up, nor did she make any move to keep Qiao Qiao, so Ni Zijing wheeled her right back out.
Ji Qinglin followed closely behind the two of them.
Qiao Qiao appeared entirely emotionless until Ni Zijing pressed the button for the underground parking garage in the elevator, at which point she spoke up: “I want to go to the main entrance on the first floor.”
When Ni Zijing arrived, she had told Sister Zou to leave since she would take care of things, so she had automatically assumed full responsibility for Qiao Qiao’s transportation.
“What for? You’re in no condition right now. Why not come back to my place first?” Ni Zijing didn’t press the floor button.
“No need, I’ll call a ride home myself.”
Ni Zijing glanced down at Qiao Qiao’s foot. “Is there someone at home to take care of you?”
Qiao Qiao: “…”
Watching Qiao Qiao’s expression from the side, Ji Qinglin had a strong premonition of a brewing storm. Just as she wanted to nudge Ni Zijing and tell her to stop talking and just humor Qiao Qiao for now, she heard the voice beside her chime in.
“Come to my place first, okay? I’ll take care of you.” Ni Zijing had assumed all along that once they reached Beilin City, she would naturally bring Qiao Qiao to her own home. Let Qiao Qiao stay by herself? She certainly wouldn’t feel at ease.
After hearing that, Qiao Qiao remained silent for a long moment as the elevator display indicated they had reached the underground garage.
The second Ni Zijing pushed Qiao Qiao’s wheelchair out, Qiao Qiao spoke in an icy-cold voice:
“I already told you no. Are you incapable of understanding plain language?”
Lifting her gaze slightly to look at Ni Zijing, Qiao Qiao let loose the frustration she had bottled up inside: “I have a home of my own, so why would I go to your place? I’m not crippled, and I don’t need your care. I’ve already told you I have no interest, so would you please do me a favor and wipe those thoughts out of your head?”
Standing off to the side, Ji Qinglin thought: I am completely redundant here.
Trying to turn her wheelchair around, Qiao Qiao attempted to head back into the elevator.
Ni Zijing grabbed the handles, stepping right in front of Qiao Qiao with a deep frown. “Do you think I’d be acting like this if I weren’t worried about you?”
“I don’t need you to worry about me, alright?” Qiao Qiao shot her a sideways glance, her voice dropping low. “I can get back by myself.”
Ji Qinglin intervened: “Will you two stop arguing?” There was still another person standing right here!
She had no idea what was wrong with these two; Qiao Qiao was clearly being fiercely proud and trying not to burden anyone, while Ni Zijing was worried sick out of her mind.
“Fine! So you just don’t want me to care about you at all, right? I’ll leave. I won’t worry about you anymore!” Letting go of the handles, Ni Zijing marched briskly over to her car, yanked the door open, and slammed it shut with a heavy bang.
She was clearly furious too.
As Ni Zijing’s sports car sped away into the distance, Ji Qinglin’s phone buzzed with a text message from Ni Zijing.
Sender Ni Zijing: Send her home.
Ji Qinglin: Why must these two make things so difficult for themselves?
“Little Qiao, I’ll take you back. Where do you live?” Ji Qinglin pushed Qiao Qiao’s wheelchair, and Qiao Qiao offered no resistance.
“Yuehu, sorry to trouble you.” Sitting in the back seat and providing her address, Qiao Qiao turned to stare out the window in silence.
Once Qiao Qiao was safely dropped off at home, Ji Qinglin discovered it was a high-rise single-person apartment, clearly Qiao Qiao’s solo residence.
Ji Qinglin truly didn’t feel comfortable leaving Qiao Qiao home alone with an injured foot. Yet she didn’t dare ask whether Qiao Qiao wanted her to call Ni Zijing over, especially since the two of them had just finished quarreling.
Insisting on staying home alone, Qiao Qiao ushered Ji Qinglin out.
Wiggling her way to her bedroom in the wheelchair, she laboriously dragged out a storage box from beneath the bed and began rummaging through it frantically.
Where had she put it?
Qiao Qiao pulled out all the books and pamphlets, scattering them across the floor, until she finally discovered a square dark red booklet buried beneath a stack of notebooks.
It was her household register.
Flipping it open to her personal page:
Name: Qiao Qiao.
Marital Status: Unmarried.
Prompted by some stray thought, Qiao Qiao shook her head, a faint, subtle smile blossoming in the depths of her eyes.
Stepping heavily on the accelerator, Ni Zijing drove out of the hospital parking lot and headed straight toward her own home.
She felt somewhat irritated; after all, she had never treated anyone quite like this before, nor had she ever been treated this way by anyone.
Passing the upcoming intersection, she was almost near her neighborhood.
Staring at the red traffic light ahead, the more Ni Zijing thought about it, the more uneasy she felt.
There must be so many things Qiao Qiao couldn’t manage easily at home by herself. How would she change clothes? How would she cook? How would she use the bathroom?
How could she possibly leave Qiao Qiao all by herself?
How could she have lost her temper at Qiao Qiao in the first place?
She should have just shamelessly insisted that the woman come back to her place!
With that realization, Ni Zijing couldn’t sit still any longer and immediately dialed Ji Qinglin’s number.
“Where did you drop her off? I’m going to pick her up.”