None of them expected Jian Jinci to strike, especially since they held leverage over her. Liang Jinyu was stunned by the slap.
She straightened up, glaring fiercely at Jian Jinci. “Bitch! How dare you hit me.”
Jian Jinci replied, “You deserved it.”
Seeing her mother struck, Jian Ying stepped forward and raised her hand, only for Jian Jinci to seize her wrist and shove her aside.
Jian Senran began moving toward them, but a sharp glare from Jian Jinci froze him in place—that look sent a chill down his spine.
Liang Jinyu pointed a trembling finger at her. “This is rebellion, outright rebellion!”
“Just wait until tomorrow when Jian Xu gets expelled from school.”
“Is that so?” Jian Jinci curled her lips into a cold smile. “If you touch him, I’ll get close to Pei Yanzhou. Not just close—I’ll make him my boyfriend. By then, your precious daughter’s ideal husband will be gone. Besides, your goals aren’t that simple, are they?”
Their ultimate aim was nothing more than climbing onto Pei Yanzhou’s coattails.
“Where do you get such confidence? Stop deluding yourself,” Liang Jinyu retorted. “The CEO of Jingche Group has reached heights where he’s seen all kinds of women. You wouldn’t even catch his eye.”
“Then go ahead and try.” Jian Jinci had no patience for further argument and left the Jian family.
Sitting in a taxi with the window open, Jian Jinci let the evening breeze wash over her. The April night wind carried a slight chill.
She thought perhaps there was a way to escape the filth of the Jian family.
Back home, Jian Jinci took a shower and lay in bed. She had already prepared herself for Jian Xu’s expulsion tomorrow—Liang Jinyu wouldn’t take her words seriously.
She felt a pang of regret. After enduring so much for so many years, why had she lost control today?
Jian Xu wouldn’t blame her; she knew that. Yet she still felt guilty toward him.
She didn’t sleep all night and remained distracted the next day. At ten o’clock, Xie Qingyun came to help apply her medicine.
After finishing, Xie Qingyun noticed Jian Jinci’s pale complexion and absent-minded demeanor. “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?” she asked.
Jian Jinci shook her head, indicating she was fine, and thanked Xie Qingyun.
To express gratitude for Xie Qingyun’s daily visits to tend her wounds, Jian Jinci invited her to stay for lunch, preparing several of her best dishes. Throughout the meal, Xie Qingyun couldn’t stop praising.
“Jinci, your cooking is amazing.”
“Jinci, your dishes are exceptionally delicious—even five-star hotel chefs can’t compare.”
Then, as if remembering something, she asked, “Jinci, has Pei Yanzhou ever tasted your cooking?”
Jian Jinci: “…”
She shook her head. “I’ve only met him twice.”
Xie Qingyun: “Once at the banquet—I was there too, and I saw him carry you away. Where was the other time?”
Jian Jinci: “…”
The other time…
The first encounter was a memory she’d rather forget…
She shifted uncomfortably. “At a bar.”
Xie Qingyun blinked. “The Dark Elf?”
Jian Jinci nodded.
“I know about that night,” Xie Qingyun said. “He went there looking for someone.”
“Also, I heard from a few of my guy friends that Pei Yanzhou returned to the country for someone. Who that person is, no one knows—or what their relationship is.”
Jian Jinci fell silent, lost in thought as she ate.
After lunch, once Xie Qingyun had left, Jian Jinci returned to her room. She tried sketching designs, but her mind wasn’t in it. Inspiration eluded her.
She took a can of beer from the fridge, opened it, drank it, then went back to her room for a nap. When she woke up, it was already evening. Having not slept at all the night before, this nap had lasted a bit longer.
There was still no news from the school. She waited until school was out before calling Jian Xu.
The call connected quickly, and Jian Xu’s indifferent voice came through: “What is it?”
“Can’t I just miss you?” Jian Jinci tried to keep her tone light. “Did anything happen today?”
Jian Xu: “The school wants me to participate in a cybersecurity competition.”
Jian Jinci was taken aback: “That’s it?”
Jian Xu: “What else?”
He added: “The school just sent the notice.”
“Well, good luck then.” Jian Jinci suppressed the confusion in her heart. “If you win, your big sister will give you a reward.”
After reminding him a few more times to take care of himself and eat on time, she hung up.
Jian Jinci couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.
Living room of the Jian family.
Liang Jinyu swept the cups off the coffee table with a wave of her hand, her face filled with rage.
Jian Senran tried to soothe her from the side: “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Liang Jinyu’s chest heaved with anger: “That bastard has someone backing him. Even the Jian family’s influence in the capital can’t touch him.”
When she went to the school today, the principal, knowing why she was there, had directly kicked her out without any regard for her face. This made it clear that the person protecting Jian Xu had considerable power—far beyond what the Jian family could match.
Jian Senran was shocked. Aside from Jian Jinci protecting him, Jian Xu had no one else in the capital to rely on. Who could be backing him?
“Don’t worry, dear,” he said. “I’ll send someone to investigate who’s behind Jian Xu.”
Jian Ying’s expression was grim. If they couldn’t touch Jian Xu, that meant they could no longer threaten Jian Jinci. How could she watch Jian Jinci suffer and grovel in the dirt then? She couldn’t accept it.
Jian Ying: “Dad, you’ll always stand by Mom and me, right?”
Jian Senran: “Of course. Your mother is the love of my life, and you’re my precious daughter.”
Jian Ying’s gaze turned sinister and malicious: “Dad, let’s imprison Jian Xu and use him to threaten Jian Jinci. That way, she’ll never dare to oppose you again.”
Jian Senran hesitated. After all, both of them carried his blood: “Yingying, there’s no need. We’re still family, after all.”
“Dad, you saw Jian Jinci’s attitude today. She dared to lay hands on Mom. Aren’t you afraid she’ll retaliate one day and turn on you?” Jian Ying continued: “If she really manages to latch onto someone with more power than the Jian family, we’ll be the ones who suffer.”
Jian Jinci made her uneasy. She was a ticking time bomb, a wolf ready to strike back at any moment. One misstep, and they would be doomed.
Frowning, she called out again: “Dad.”
“Our daughter makes a good point,” Liang Jinyu said. “The look in her eyes is unnerving, as if she’s ready to fight to the death at any moment.”
Jian Senran thought for a moment, recalling the look in her eyes last night. An inexplicable fear stirred in his heart.
He said: “Don’t rush. Let’s plan this carefully. Give me time to think of a strategy.”
Perhaps they were right. She would become a disaster in the future.