Having worked all day without eating, Jian Jinci’s stomach ached faintly from hunger. Returning to the banquet hall, she thought she wouldn’t run into Pei Yanzhou at this time. She headed to the dessert area in the center of the hall to grab some sweets to fill her stomach.
The table was laden with a variety of desserts and drinks. On the right side, champagne flutes were stacked in a pyramid shape, five layers high.
Scanning the desserts on the table, she was pleasantly surprised to find lychee-flavored treats. While banquets usually offered a wide selection of desserts, lychee flavor was rarely among them.
Lychee was her favorite flavor. The corners of her lips curved into a faint smile. Eating a dessert she loved might just be the highlight of her day today.
Just as she picked up a dessert and a glass of orange juice and turned to leave, a figure blocked her path.
Jian Jinci looked up. When she saw who it was, the lingering smile on her lips faded. Her gaze lingered on the other’s delicate, confident face for a few seconds before she spoke calmly, “What do you want?”
Jian Ying smiled sweetly and stepped forward to link arms with her, the one holding the dessert. “Sis.”
Jian Jinci subtly pulled away, her expression indifferent and her face devoid of emotion. “Our relationship doesn’t seem close enough for this. If you have something to say, just say it.”
“Nothing much, just wanted to chat with you casually, sis.” Jian Ying smiled innocently, but only Jian Jinci knew how much calculation lay behind that seemingly pure smile.
Jian Ying continued, “Sis, Dad intends to marry me off to Pei Yanzhou, the CEO of Jingche Group. I just wanted to ask you how to get his attention.”
Jian Jinci pursed her lips slightly, a flicker of something unreadable passing through her eyes. She smiled. “I think you should ask your mother about that. She might have some ideas.”
Jian Ying’s expression darkened for a moment before returning to normal. She understood perfectly well that Jian Jinci was subtly mocking her mother for using underhanded methods to reach her current status.
Jian Ying said, “Sis, I’ve never had a boyfriend and always kept my distance from men. You’ve had boyfriends and have many men around you. I thought you’d know better how to catch a man’s attention.”
Jian Jinci could hardly miss the veiled insult. She sneered, “No comment. And at least I don’t homewreck.”
Not wanting to waste any more words on her, Jian Jinci turned to leave.
A vicious glint flashed in Jian Ying’s eyes as she subtly but forcefully pushed Jian Jinci.
Caught off guard, Jian Jinci had assumed Jian Ying would restrain herself in such a crowded setting. But she’d forgotten—old habits die hard, and dark intentions don’t fade just because of the occasion.
Wearing high heels, she twisted her ankle, a sharp pain shooting through it. Stumbling backward, she lost her balance and crashed into the pyramid of champagne flutes. Instantly, hundreds of glasses shattered into pieces on the matte floor tiles, the crisp, loud sound echoing through the hall as wine splattered everywhere.
All eyes in the banquet hall turned toward the commotion.
But some malicious hearts never stop at just one act.
“Sis!” Jian Ying exclaimed, reaching out to pull her up. To outsiders, it looked like a display of sisterly affection. Little did they know she wasn’t trying to help—she gave Jian Jinci another push.
Jian Jinci fell backward onto the shards of broken glass scattered across the floor, landing hard on them. She was wearing a mermaid dress that exposed a good portion of her back. Glass fragments soaked in wine pierced the skin of her back.
She gasped sharply, her beautiful brows furrowing in pain.
Guests at the banquet gathered around to watch, but no one stepped forward to help.
Jian Jinci’s face and lips were pale with pain. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stand up from the ground despite the agony in her back.
Jian Ying stepped forward with a face full of guilt, tears welling in her eyes. “Sister, it’s all my fault for not holding onto you.”
Jian Jinci was long accustomed to this hypocritical facade. There was nothing she could do about it. If she exposed Jian Ying’s true nature today, she and Jian Xu would suffer a fate worse than death—a thousand times more miserable than their current situation. All she could do was endure it with clenched teeth.
One day, when Jian Xu grew strong enough that he could no longer be used as a tool to threaten her, she would repay every debt a thousandfold.
Liang Jinyu, arm in arm with Jian Senran, made her way through the crowd.
Jian Senran glanced at the wine stains covering Jian Jinci and the glaring blood on her white fishtail dress, his face filled with disdain.
Jian Jinci took in every trace of contempt on Jian Senran’s face and curled her lips in a faint, mocking smile. If he despised her so much, why had he brought her into this world? If he didn’t love her mother, why had he married her?
Jian Senran replaced his disdain with a look of concern and distress as he approached Jian Jinci. “Jinci, how did you end up covered in blood like this?”
Jian Jinci’s eyes held undisguised mockery. How do you think this happened? Don’t you know?
She didn’t answer Jian Senran’s question. Liang Jinyu also stepped forward, feigning concern.
Jian Senran leaned in and whispered, his voice low enough for only her to hear, “Stop embarrassing yourself here. Get out.”
He had brought her here to play the part of a harmonious family, yet now he found her disgraceful and wanted her gone. How laughable.
She was covered in wounds, yet her father showed no concern—only caring about his own reputation.
Her hands clenched at her sides, the pain from the wound on her back turning her face pale. Forcing herself to stay upright, she walked past Jian Senran and headed toward the hotel exit.
Jian Ying’s eyes were filled with smug satisfaction. Since childhood, she had always enjoyed seeing Jian Jinci in such a wretched state. The more disheveled she was, the more excited Jian Ying became.
Jian Senran apologized to the guests. “My daughter was careless and tripped, breaking a glass. I apologize for disturbing everyone’s enjoyment.”
The guests quickly assured him it was nothing. After all, in high society, the Jian family held status and influence that many could only dream of currying favor with.
Jian Jinci’s heart was filled with desolation. After taking only a few steps, the pain became unbearable, and she steadied herself by leaning against a nearby table.
When she looked up again, a familiar figure was making his way through the crowd, his gaze fixed intently on her, his entire presence radiating coldness.
For some reason, she didn’t want him to see her in such a pitiful state. She lowered her head.
When Jian Senran saw Pei Yanzhou, he stepped forward with an ingratiating smile.
Pei Yanzhou didn’t spare him a glance. Instead, he walked past him and approached Jian Jinci, taking off his suit jacket and draping it over her shoulders.
Jian Jinci was taken aback. Glancing at the jacket that still retained his warmth, she looked up at Pei Yanzhou’s face. She opened her mouth to say something but swallowed her words.
“Thank you.”
At first, everyone assumed Pei Yanzhou was merely fulfilling his duty as the host, since the incident had occurred at his venue.
But when Pei Yanzhou lifted Jian Jinci into his arms, everyone was stunned, and whispers began to spread about the relationship between the Jian family’s eldest daughter and the newly appointed CEO.
Jian Senran and Liang Jinyu frowned deeply, while Jian Ying clenched her fists at her sides, glaring intently at Jian Jinci.
Even Song Xuchen and Su Jingxuan, who had been watching from the crowd, wore expressions of shock and envy.
Jian Jinci panicked. “Pei Yanzhou, put me down!”
Pei Yanzhou lowered his gaze. “Didn’t you say you didn’t know me?”
Jian Jinci asked, “Where are you taking me?”
Unaccustomed to such closeness, she struggled a few times, pulling at the wound on her back. The pain twisted her delicate brows into a knot.
“Stay still,” Pei Yanzhou said, his thin lips parting slightly. “To the hospital.”
Perhaps due to the pain, or perhaps because of the oppressive aura emanating from him, she fell silent.
Jian Ying stood frozen in place, recalling the glance Pei Yanzhou had cast her way before leaving. An inexplicable unease stirred in her heart.