Perhaps due to exhaustion, Su Nuannuan lay awake all night.
The sky had brightened, the scorching sun baking the earth, the air shimmering with heat.
The room, with only one small window, was dark and stifling.
She woke from the heat, her hair damp with sweat, strands clinging to her face.
Her stomach growled, and a wave of nausea and irritation washed over her. Su Nuannuan opened her eyes, staring at the mottled ceiling, and pushed herself up, her body feeling as if it had been crushed by a stone roller.
She couldn’t stay here any longer.
This body’s blood sugar had plummeted to rock bottom. Without food, it could trigger dizziness, fainting, heart attacks, temporary blindness, and other complications.
After gulping down some water, Su Nuannuan leaned against the wall and walked out of the room.
As she emerged, the chatter and laughter in the living room abruptly ceased.
Su Nuannuan’s gaze immediately fell on the tall, straight-backed figure sitting on the sofa. His broad shoulders were constrained within a military-green shirt, exuding an overwhelming sense of authority.
It was Ji Xiao, the adoptive older brother of this body, the eldest son of the Ji family.
At just twenty-six, he had become the commander of a military regiment.
With sharp brows and piercing eyes, a high-bridged nose, and deep, well-defined features, his skin was a bronze hue from years of training under the sun. His gaze was as sharp as a hawk soaring proudly through the sky.
A regiment commander in his twenties, his future was limitless, making him the dream match for countless unmarried women.
Sitting on either side of him were Mother Ji and Ji Xue.
The mother and daughter exchanged a glance, and Mother Ji forced a smile as she stood up, breaking the silence.
“Nuannuan, you’re awake. Come over quickly. I was just about to call you.”
As she spoke, she took Su Nuannuan’s hand, her demeanor warm and affectionate.
“Your eldest brother is back, and he brought lots of delicious food. Here, this portion is for you.”
In front of Ji Xiao and Father Ji, Mother Ji always appeared kind and generous.
A net bag filled with food was handed over.
In the past, Su Nuannuan would never have dared to accept it, but now, there was no reason to refuse.
She accepted it graciously. “Then I won’t stand on ceremony. Thank you.”
Mother Ji’s smile stiffened, her grip on the net bag tightening, reluctant to let go.
These were all fine things—canned fruit was expensive, and even she couldn’t bear to eat it. How could she let an outsider have it so easily?
Su Nuannuan yanked the net bag with force, ignoring the stunned expressions of the others, and walked straight to the sofa farthest from Ji Xiao before sitting down.
The fan creaked as it spun, bringing a wave of cool air.
Su Nuannuan opened a can of orange preserves and began eating with relish.
The sweet juice soothed her stifled chest, and she narrowed her eyes in comfort.
A sharp gaze shot toward her from across the room. Ji Xiao’s eyes unconsciously fell on her lips—full, cherry-like lips, stained by the canned juice, appearing even more swollen and moist.
For some reason, the madness of last night suddenly flashed through his mind.
The woman’s cat-like whimpers and struggles, her soft, damp lips pressed against…
Ji Xiao clenched his hands on his knees, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He leaned forward awkwardly, picked up a nearby cushion, and quickly held it against his chest.
“Mom said you’re signing up to go to the countryside?”
His voice was cold and hoarse, like a clear mountain stream flowing over stones, devoid of any emotion.
Su Nuannuan paused mid-chew and responded indifferently with a single word, “Yes.”
Ji Xiao’s brows furrowed even tighter. “Life in the countryside is hard. Are you sure you can endure it?”
In the eyes of Ji Xiao and Father Ji, she was a spoiled, willful, and useless person who couldn’t tell one grain from another, was lazy, and only liked clinging to Ji Xiao.
Su Nuannuan swallowed the last piece of orange. The once hazy, timid eyes now shone with clarity and brightness.
She wiped the corner of her mouth and curled her lips faintly. “From the very first day I entered the Ji family, Mother Ji taught me many things.”
As she spoke, she lifted her eyes and cast a cold, piercing gaze at the stiff-faced mother and daughter, her smile not reaching her eyes.
“By the age of ten, I had learned how to steam buns, light fires, and cook.”
“By eleven, I could serve an entire family’s needs for food and clothing. I suppose I should thank Mother Ji for her upbringing.” Su Nuannuan extended her hand, her fingertips gently tracing the twisted and deformed joints, her voice as soft as a whisper.
Yet the words she spoke sent chills down the spines of everyone present.
“If it weren’t for having only one meal a day, I wouldn’t have known how resilient my own vitality could be.”
“Do you know what it feels like to wear thin clothes in the dead of winter and wash laundry with cold water? I endured that for eight years. Regiment Commander Ji, compared to all this, do you think life in the countryside is really that hard?”
The air in the living room grew heavy and still.
Ji Xiao looked at the girl before him, so different from the one he remembered, and ripples stirred within his calm eyes.
His fingers tightened, veins bulging on the back of his broad hand, his voice low and cold.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Mother Ji’s face changed drastically. She abruptly stood up, her voice sharp as she interrupted, “Su Nuannuan! You ungrateful wretch! I’ve always treated you well, regarded you as my own daughter. Whatever Xiao Xue had, did I ever shortchange you?”
As she spoke, her eyes reddened. Covering her face, she sobbed, “How could you say such things? It’s like stabbing a knife into my heart, wuwu… Last night, it was you who came to me and said you wanted to go to the countryside. I tried to stop you but couldn’t. How could you change your mind now?”
Her cries carried outside, drawing the attention of many curious neighbors.
A crowd gathered outside the Ji family’s door, pointing and whispering.
Seeing this, Mother Ji cried even more pitifully, clutching her chest and wailing.
“If word of this spreads, I’ll be labeled as a wicked woman who mistreated the widow of a martyr. After raising a daughter for eight years, how could she remain such an unfeeling stone?”
Ji Xue supported her, her delicate oval face filled with distress.
“Mom, don’t let this upset you so much. Nuannuan, how could you say such things about my mother? All these years, we’ve never treated you unfairly. Even the gifts my eldest brother brought back included a share for you. You can’t just turn your back on us after finishing a can of tangerines.”
Everyone followed Ji Xue’s gaze, landing on the empty can in front of Su Nuannuan.
For a moment, the onlookers wore varied expressions.
Over the past eight years, thanks to Mother Ji’s spreading of rumors, Su Nuannuan’s reputation had long been tarnished.
Truancy, stealing money, staying out all night, a chaotic personal life, lying through her teeth…
The original host was timid and fearful, afraid that angering Mother Ji would lead to her being driven out of the Ji family and left homeless as an orphan. She had endured silently, never daring to defend herself.
Over time, even Uncle Ji, who had been kindest to her, was left with nothing but disappointment.
The onlookers chimed in with advice:
“Sister Ji, it’s not worth ruining your health over someone like this.”
“Nuannuan, you can’t be so heartless. All these years, how Sister Ji has treated you—we’ve all seen it with our own eyes.”
“Even a dog wags its tail when it sees its owner. It’s a pity the Ji family raised such a thing.” An old woman shot Su Nuannuan a disdainful look.
Mother Ji clutched her chest and collapsed into Ji Xue’s arms.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” Ji Xue cried out in panic, her fair oval face filled with alarm.
Ji Xiao’s expression turned dark and cold. He strode forward and grabbed Su Nuannuan’s wrist.
The moment his hand closed around it, he froze for an instant.
So slender.
It felt as though with just a slight exertion, the wrist in his grasp could be easily snapped.
“Apologize.” He ordered coldly, his eyes filled with disgust.
Su Nuannuan looked up, her clear, bright eyes fixed directly on him, her voice steady and unruffled.
“Let go.”
Sunlight streamed down, making the freckles on her face more prominent, her skin sallow and dull.
She was still the same person, yet Ji Xiao felt something had changed.
His hand unconsciously tightened, his sharp brows slightly furrowed as his keen, hawk-like eyes scanned the person before him, as if trying to see through the flesh to the soul.
“Go apologize.”
He paused, his voice softening slightly. “Mom has a weak heart. Whatever the matter is, we can discuss it after she recovers.”
Su Nuannuan glanced sideways at the large hand gripping her wrist, a sharp pain seeping through the bones. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she issued another cold warning, “Let go.”