After leading Jiang Yin inside, Jiang Zhen’s heart began to race uncontrollably. Tension flooded her chest, causing her voice to tremble slightly when she finally spoke.
“Is there something wrong?”
She pulled out a chair, gesturing for Jiang Yin to sit and chat. However, the other girl gave a polite “Thank you” and leaned against the edge of the desk instead.
Seeing this, Jiang Zhen did not sit either. Instead, she leaned against the back of her chair. Even though it was her own room, she was the one who appeared restless and ill at ease.
“Regarding Li Xiuning,” Jiang Yin said, getting straight to the point, “she has already returned to Shanyuan County.”
Fearing Jiang Zhen had never heard of this obscure little county, Jiang Yin added, “It is in the province next to the one over, quite far from here.” It was a thirty-five-hour trip by hard-seat train. Back then, Li Xiuning could not afford the travel expenses to send her to university, so Jiang Yin had saved up the money herself through part-time work and could not bring herself to buy a sleeper berth.
Jiang Zhen pursed her lips and nodded, her gaze falling on the fluffy wool carpet on the floor. She asked softly, “Did I… cause any trouble for you the other day?”
“No, none of that was your fault.” Jiang Yin followed her gaze to the carpet; it seemed that avoiding eye contact made speaking much easier. “Even though… even though she is your biological mother, if you do not want to acknowledge her, it is okay.”
Surprised that she would say this, Jiang Zhen looked up. The person across from her continued, “The Jiang family has not kicked you out, and life back with Li Xiuning would not be easy. I think staying here is probably better for you.”
She did not intend to tell Jiang Zhen about Li Xiuning’s financial struggles or the fact that she supported her brother, Li Weilong. Aside from that useless blood connection, Jiang Zhen had no ties to them and did not need to know about those messy affairs.
The girl leaning against the chair remained silent for a long time. Jiang Yin could not guess her thoughts, but she could sense her heavy mood. She wanted to offer comfort but felt she lacked the right to do so.
Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere grew heavy and stagnant.
“Do you hate me?”
Suddenly, Jiang Zhen asked the question out of nowhere.
Jiang Yin froze for a second, answering instinctively, “Of course not.” She could tell Jiang Zhen was a sensitive and observant person, otherwise, she would not have asked such a thing.
“These things had nothing to do with you in the first place,” Jiang Yin said. She had actually said this to Jiang Zhen once before, but out of a desire to be comforting, she repeated it. “I will not blame you for any of this.”
“Really?” Jiang Zhen looked up at Jiang Yin.
There was a hint of disbelief in her eyes, mixed with expectation—like the expression of the stray cats Jiang Yin fed on campus while they waited for food.
Under that gaze, Jiang Yin unconsciously uncrossed her arms and repeated seriously with a smile, “Really.”
After saying it, she could not help but ask back, “Why would you think that?”
Jiang Zhen awkwardly shifted her gaze away, murmuring vaguely, “Just… just an intuition.”
The room’s lighting was soft but bright enough for Jiang Yin to see a faint blush creeping across Jiang Zhen’s face, like bright, delicate petals.
In that imperceptible moment, a tiny tremor shook the tip of Jiang Yin’s heart.
“You have to keep your word then,” Jiang Zhen suddenly stood up and walked over to Jiang Yin. “You said it; you do not hate me.”
“Mm,” Jiang Yin could not help but curl her lips into a smile. “I keep my word.”
“If you do not believe me,” she held out her hand, “do you want to pinky swear?”
Seeing her take the initiative to make a promise, Jiang Zhen happily agreed. She reached out and hooked her pinky with Jiang Yin’s. “Pinky swear, hang yourself, no changes for a hundred years. If you change… you are a puppy!”
The bright moonlight filtered through the half-open window, softly spilling into the room and illuminating the girls’ precious innocence.
After returning to her room, Jiang Yin felt inexplicably cheerful, which gave her a lot more energy for her studies. Only when the night grew very deep did she cap her pen and prepare for bed.
It was not until she was lying in bed that Jiang Yin remembered something she had forgotten to tell Jiang Zhen.
She scrambled up and checked the time. Fearing Jiang Zhen might already be asleep, she lay back down and opened their chat.
You Ran: If my mother, Li Xiuning, looks for you, you must tell me. I will handle it.
After sending the message, she turned off her phone and quickly drifted into a dreamless sleep.
In the room across the hall, Jiang Zhen was still immersed in joy, too excited to sleep.
She lay in bed clutching her phone, scrolling through Weibo on an anonymous account to check the public opinion on her currently airing drama. Song Xi usually forbade her from reading comments because they were inevitably a mix of good and bad, and Song Xi feared the negative reviews would affect her.
This drama had been filmed over a year ago. Song Xi had chosen an ensemble campus drama for her that did not have a clear male lead. Because it was a light comedy with interesting character designs, the response so far had been quite good.
After seeing several positive or neutral comments, Jiang Zhen nodded contentedly. Just as she was about to scroll more, Jiang Yin’s message popped up at the top of the screen.
After reading it, she stared blankly at her phone. She felt that Jiang Yin was much more mature than her. Whether it was dealing with the stalker or the encounter with Li Xiuning, Jiang Yin always seemed much calmer.
Maybe it is because of the environment she grew up in? Jiang Zhen guessed while picking at her hand. Imagining the hard life Jiang Yin might have lived, a wave of pity surged in her heart.
Since she had made it clear she did not hate her, then… Jiang Zhen plotted silently. Why not get closer to her and let her feel the warmth of a family?
“Little Angel” Jiang Zhen nodded confidently to herself. Having made her decision, she opened Weibo again to continue browsing topics related to the new drama.
Suddenly, a post caught her eye.
“Is no one shipping the female lead and the second female lead? Their characters are best friends in the drama, but the way the second lead looks at the lead is really not innocent at all!”
The post included several screenshots of the two characters alone together.
The second female lead in this drama was none other than Shen Ningzhao, the person Jiang Zhen was desperate to avoid. When they were filming, Jiang Zhen had not yet left her original company and they were indeed good friends at the time.
Jiang Zhen zoomed in on the stills, carefully observing Shen Ningzhao’s gaze and thinking back to the things she had said. Jiang Zhen suddenly felt that Shen Ningzhao might have slipped some “personal feelings” into her acting during the shoot.
Feeling a bit frustrated, she clicked on the comment section, intending to post a rebuttal with her anonymous account. Unexpectedly, she was hit with another “critical strike.” Someone had secretly photographed their meeting the other day and captioned it as “A picture of the ‘xql’ in the same frame, they match so well.”
What was “xql”? Jiang Zhen searched for the slang term. After seeing the result—”xiao qing lv” (little couple)—she let out a wail and tossed her phone aside.
Despite all her efforts to avoid it, netizens were actually starting to ship them. This was the result Jiang Zhen wanted to see the least.
She rolled over, buried her face in her pillow, and let out a long sigh.
She had promised to have dinner with Shen Ningzhao this weekend. It seemed she would have to make her stance clear again to prevent people from using the opportunity to stir up ship rumors. If they were truly tied together by the public, it would be even harder to avoid Shen Ningzhao in the future.
Carrying a heart full of frustration, Jiang Zhen turned off the light and fell asleep.
The next morning at breakfast, Jiang Ling clearly sensed that both of her sisters were in a good mood.
Jiang Yin had finally stopped dwelling on Li Xiuning. Combined with the fact that she was closer to Jiang Zhen now, she even took the initiative to greet everyone when she woke up. This startled Jiang Ling, who had assumed she was introverted; she thought her newly found sister had studied herself into a frenzy last night. As a graduate of the same major at Jingda, Jiang Ling knew exactly how difficult those courses were.
As for Jiang Zhen, although she had to meet Shen Ningzhao on Sunday, her frustration was outweighed by the joy of knowing Jiang Yin did not hate her. After waking up, she happily acted spoiled with Jiang Ling and Xue Hua, asking her grandmother and sister to help her choose a dress for Wednesday’s banquet.
After lunch, Jiang Zhen received a call from Song Xi, saying she had picked up a temporary job for her. Jiang Zhen packed her things, prepared to leave.
As she was leaving, Jiang Ling and Jiang Yin stood by the door to see her off.
Their sister was nagging Jiang Zhen to eat well, rambling about things like “if work is too tiring and you do not want to act, just come home.” Meanwhile, Jiang Yin leaned against the doorframe, watching them with a gentle gaze.
The afternoon sun spilled down without reservation. When it fell on the girl, it seemed to coat her in a golden glow. Jiang Yin’s features were clear and cool, a faint smile playing on her lips. Her gentle expression was like a tranquil pond or the fresh air after rain, making one feel refreshed and at peace.
Jiang Zhen’s eyes dazed for a moment. In Jiang Yin, she felt an indescribable quality—like a gemstone that, after being polished, still retained its pure clarity and transparency.
“Did you hear everything I said?” Jiang Ling saw that she was distracted and playfully tapped Jiang Zhen’s forehead, pretending to be angry.
Jiang Zhen hurriedly retracted her gaze, avoiding Jiang Ling’s scrutinizing look with a guilty conscience. She rubbed her forehead and muttered softly, “I remember, Sister. You say it every time I leave; I will be able to recite it next time.”
“So now you are complaining that I am nagging?” Jiang Ling crossed her arms in dissatisfaction. “Fine, I will not look after you next time.”
“Oh, my dear sister,” Jiang Zhen hugged her arm and shook it playfully. “I would never complain about you. I am just moved.”
“Fine, fine,” Jiang Ling said, unable to stand her fawning act. She waved her hand to send her off. “Go to work.”
Jiang Zhen chirped a “Bye-bye” with a grin. She walked a few steps, then stopped and turned back to look at Jiang Yin, saying sweetly, “A-Yin, goodbye!”
With that, she flew into the car like a happy bird. Once seated, she rolled down the window and waved at the two of them.
Jiang Ling watched the car drive away with a doting look, then turned to Jiang Yin. “A-Yin, let’s go back.” She stopped halfway and looked Jiang Yin up and down.
“What is it, Sister?” Jiang Yin looked at her in confusion.
“Let’s go,” Jiang Ling grabbed her hand. “Sister is going to buy you some clothes!”