Ji Man felt that Ji Yang had truly been driven insane by today’s blow. She had even started speaking in such a sarcastic, mocking manner.
Ji Man gave a soft snort. “Brother Zhiyuan would never like you, so stop dreaming!”
If Jiang Zhiyuan had really liked Ji Yang, he wouldn’t have gotten together with her in their previous life.
Ji Yang tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. “Well, you never know. After all, home-cooked food can never compete with the novelty of something wild. Brother Zhiyuan might not like me, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t want to find a wildflower to spice things up. Men are naturally flirtatious. What’s wrong with that? It’s perfectly normal, right?”
The moment those words came out, Ji Man’s heart gave a sudden lurch.
It really was hard to say. In their previous life, Jiang Zhiyuan had gone back and forth between her and Ji Yang.
She stared at Ji Yang with uncertainty and suspicion.
Because Ji Yang had cried for so long earlier, the corners of her eyes were still red, and even the tip of her nose had taken on a rosy hue. Her skin was so fair and delicate that it resembled a peeled egg, without a visible pore. Her hair was thick, black, and glossy. At first glance, she was clearly a natural beauty.
Although Ji Yang’s looks weren’t the mainstream beauty standard of the current era, Ji Man knew very well that in another ten or twenty years, everyone would recognize Ji Yang as a great beauty.
If Ji Yang really decided to make a move on Jiang Zhiyuan, Ji Man couldn’t be certain that he wouldn’t cheat on her.
However… it wasn’t as though the problem couldn’t be solved.
They would soon be sent to the countryside. After several years of rural life, even the most beautiful woman would be worn down until she looked like a weathered, middle-aged housewife.
Her face would become dry and cracked from the sun, and her hands would swell and turn red from the cold.
If she couldn’t endure the hardships of rural life and married a local man instead, that would be even better. Even if she eventually returned to the city, who would want a worn-out woman who had already been married once?
Heh.
Of course, all of that was still in the future.
Ji Man wasn’t going to let today’s humiliation slide so easily. She looked at Ji Yang’s face, then touched her own cheek, which was still swollen.
In her previous life, apart from not being the legitimate wife, she could say that she had lived a very comfortable life. Who would have dared to hit her?
Now that there was no one else around, she didn’t feel like holding back anymore.
Without even bothering to come up with an excuse, she smiled and suddenly swung her hand toward Ji Yang’s face.
Having filmed action scenes in her previous life, Ji Yang had exceptionally quick reflexes. She swiftly dodged to the side and kicked out with her foot.
Then, with a loud wail, she began crying first, clenching her fists and pounding Ji Man on the chest as she sobbed.
It was easy for bruises in other places to be noticed, but pain in this particular area was both uncomfortable and embarrassing to talk about.
Her little fists kept pounding as she shouted, “Manman, stop! Don’t hit me! Ah! My hair! Be gentle, be gentle! Stop hitting me! Hurry up and stop, Manman! Please, stop!”
When she judged that enough time had passed, Ji Yang stopped fighting. The bedroom wasn’t soundproof, so everyone must have heard the commotion by now, whether they wanted to or not.
She withdrew her hands, deliberately messed up her own hair, and rubbed her face a few times until she looked utterly pitiful.
Ji Man was curled up from being beaten, both hands shielding her chest. When she saw Ji Yang stop, her first instinct was to hit her back.
But before her hand could even touch Ji Yang, the door opened.
Ji Yang, however, didn’t care about any of that.
She turned her head in the direction of Ji Man’s hand, making it look as though she had just been struck. Then she covered her face with one hand, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
She looked exactly like a poor, helpless girl who had been bullied so badly that she couldn’t stop crying.
And that was precisely what the three people standing at the doorway saw.
Ji Man’s face was twisted with anger as she raised her hand to slap Ji Yang.
Ji Yang’s hair was disheveled, one hand covered her injured cheek, and tears continued to fall from her eyes. She looked both wronged and pitiful.
Ji Yang’s father frowned, his face stern as he called Ji Man by her full name.
“Ji Man! Can’t you behave yourself? Just look at what you’ve done to your older sister!”
“I didn’t, Dad! Ji Yang was the one bullying me…”
Seeing that Ji Man refused to admit it, her father’s expression darkened even further.
“Ji Man, what has gotten into you? Not only are you bullying your older sister, but you’re also lying! You’ve truly disappointed me!”
“I really didn’t, Dad! You didn’t see what happened! Ji Yang”
“Enough!” Her father interrupted her. “I only believe what I’ve seen with my own eyes. Now, apologize to your older sister immediately!”
Ji Man stared at her father without saying anything for a long time. The atmosphere suddenly became tense, as though even the air had stopped moving.
“Apologize to your older sister,” her father repeated.
“No! I did nothing wrong! I’m the one who was bullied, so why should I apologize to her?”
Ji Yang, naturally, wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to make things worse.
“Dad, please don’t blame Manman. It’s all my fault. My mistake was sitting across from her. My mistake was offending her just by being in her sight. My mistake was trying to dodge when she hit me. And my mistake was being so frightened that I cried out loud and attracted everyone’s attention. It’s all my fault…”
“Shut up!” Ji Man gritted her teeth in fury. This woman had truly gone crazy today!
“You’re the one who should shut up!” Ji Man had done something wrong and still refused to apologize. Furious, their father turned around, went outside, grabbed the broom, and began striking Ji Man with it.
Ji Man screamed things like, “I did nothing wrong!” and “Dad, you’re biased!”
The more she shouted, the harder her father hit her.
Ji Yang cried while pretending to intervene, putting on a show of magnanimity while secretly fanning the flames.
“Dad, please stop hitting Manman! She’s still young and doesn’t know any better. She hasn’t really done anything wrong. She only hit me and told a few lies. It’s not a big deal. Even though she beat me and it really hurt, I’ve already forgiven her. After all, she’s my younger sister!”
“I don’t need you interfering! Get lost!”
Ji Man shoved Ji Yang, who was trying to intervene beside her.
Ji Yang conveniently fell to the floor, but she didn’t forget to shout a few more words.
“Dad, please don’t get angry! Manman pushed me again, but it’s okay! It doesn’t hurt, really! Hiss… It really doesn’t hurt!”
The more Ji Yang spoke, the angrier her father became.
“Your older sister was only trying to help you! How could you push her? You’re going to drive me crazy! How did I end up with a daughter like you? I’ll beat you to death today!”
Ji Yang happily watched the spectacle for a while before getting up. As though afraid of being pushed over again, she timidly retreated to the side.
Although Ji Man’s mother felt that her daughter had behaved badly today, she was still her own flesh and blood. How could she not feel sorry for her?
Seeing that Ji Yang’s father was hitting Ji Man so harshly, she hurried over to stop him.
“Old Ji, Old Ji, that’s enough! Stop! Manman is still young. She’s just a child. Whatever the problem is, talk to her calmly. She’ll understand. I’ll speak to her later and ask her to apologize to Yangyang, all right?”
Panting heavily, Ji Yang’s father finally stopped.
“Ji Man, think carefully about what you’ve done today. If you refuse to apologize to your older sister, then get out of this house! Our Ji family has no place for a daughter like you!”
“All right, Old Ji. I’ll talk to her later. She’ll definitely realize her mistake and apologize to Yangyang.”
Ji Yang’s father gave Ji Man one last look before leaving the room.
Seeing that Ji Man’s mother wanted to talk to her daughter privately, Ji Yang spoke in an especially considerate manner.
“Mom, please talk things through with Manman. She’s a good girl. I’m sure she’ll understand. I’ll go outside for now.”
Ji Man was just about to say something when her mother interrupted her.
“All right, Yangyang. Go sit in the living room with your younger brother for a while. I’ll have a proper talk with Manman.”
Ji Yang nodded, smiled warmly at both Ji Man and her mother, and then turned around and left the bedroom.
Heh, heh. You want to compete with me? My acting career will outlast my own life!