The hospital corridor was bustling with people.
The two stood there in plain sight of everyone—one looking up with tears in her eyes, the other looking down with reddened eyes—gazing at each other.
Finally, Jiang Zhuo reached out, pulling her into his embrace.
Cheng Sisi’s sobs were heartbreaking.
Jiang Zhuo remained silent for a long time before saying, “I’ll take you home.”
Then, he took her hand and led her out of the hospital.
On the way back, she remained sullen, shedding tears from time to time.
When they arrived home, Jiang Zhuo escorted her to her room. “The housekeeper will be here soon to cook. You’ll be alone for lunch today. I have to go to the office right away. You… eat your meal and get some rest.”
He allowed her time to grieve but wouldn’t tolerate it for too long.
What was losing a Jiang Si worth?
A relationship that hadn’t even begun didn’t deserve prolonged longing.
As he stepped out of the room, he added another instruction, “Tomorrow morning, you need to report to the company.”
“Understood?”
Cheng Sisi stared blankly for a long while before slowly nodding.
Jiang Zhuo frowned, his departure tinged with displeasure—displeasure at her sorrow over another man.
Downstairs, the car started.
Upstairs in her room, Cheng Sisi remained seated in a daze on the chair, unable to snap out of it.
She couldn’t help but feel ridiculous. She had thought that getting closer to Jiang Si might lead to something. Little did she know, he already had the woman he wanted by his side.
How foolish she had been!
Come to think of it, she had known Jiang Si for nearly a year. If something were to happen between them, it would have happened long ago.
Once she came to this realization, she stood up and walked to the wardrobe, taking out the clothes she had hung inside one by one and tossing them onto the bed.
She was going to pack her bags and leave this place!
Since there was no chance with Jiang Si, she couldn’t stay here any longer.
After packing, she dragged her luggage downstairs and glanced into the kitchen, noticing the housekeeper hadn’t arrived yet. That was just as well—she could slip away quietly without troubling anyone.
She would call Jiang Xin to explain the situation once she found a place to stay.
In the evening, Jiang Zhuo and Jiang Xin returned home one after the other.
As he entered, Jiang Zhuo saw Jiang Xin rushing down the stairs with an anxious expression.
“Brother, Sisi is gone! All her clothes and luggage are missing. She left!”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhuo’s face darkened.
Left?
Without a word, she just up and left?
“Brother, did you see her this morning? Did she mention where she was going?”
Jiang Zhuo remained silent, his heart filled with anger at Cheng Sisi’s abrupt departure.
After a long pause, he slowly spoke, the words grinding out from between his clenched teeth.
“No!”
“What should we do?” Jiang Xin paced anxiously. “Her money was stolen last time, and now she can’t even afford a month’s rent. That’s why I let her stay here.”
“Could she have been so devastated by not finding a job that she went back to her hometown?”
“Yesterday, she told me her parents wanted her to return home, saying they found her a job there. Could she really have gone back?”
She assumed Cheng Sisi had left because of work.
But Jiang Zhuo knew that work was only a minor issue. The real reason Cheng Sisi left was still because of Jiang Si.
She had come for Jiang Si, and now she was leaving for Jiang Si!
Hah!
She was truly something else!
What did she take him for, coming and going as she pleased, never even bothering to inform him!
Clenching his teeth, he pulled his phone from his suit pocket and called his assistant, instructing him to track down Cheng Sisi’s current whereabouts.
The assistant worked quickly, locating Cheng Sisi’s exact position within just over ten minutes.
She was at a youth hostel for singles!
“Brother, we can’t let Sisi stay alone in a place like that. Those hostels are full of troublemakers from the streets. It’s not safe for a girl like her to be there.”
Jiang Xin shook Jiang Zhuo’s arm, pleading with him.
“Brother, let’s go find her!”
Jiang Zhuo let out a long sigh, trying to ease the frustration in his heart, and finally replied, “Alright!”
The two immediately headed out, following the location to find her.
From the moment they realized Cheng Sisi was missing until now, on the drive to find her, Jiang Xin had called her countless times, but Cheng Sisi never answered. This only added to their worry, and Jiang Zhuo kept increasing the car’s speed.
Finally arriving at their destination, they got out of the car and wasted no time going inside to search for her.
After asking for the room number and reaching the room Cheng Sisi had checked into, they found she wasn’t inside.
The door was unlocked, her suitcase was open, her phone lay on the bed—all her belongings were there. The only thing missing was Cheng Sisi herself; there wasn’t even a trace of her.
But Jiang Zhuo’s sharp ears caught an unusual sound coming from outside. His heart tightened, and he immediately turned and rushed out.
“Brother, where are you going?”
Jiang Xin, not fully understanding the situation, followed him as he ran outside.
Finally, at the end of the hallway, near the public bathroom, a woman’s cries could be heard from one of the rooms.
Jiang Xin’s eyes widened, and her voice trembled with tears. “Brother, that’s Sisi’s voice!”
Jiang Zhuo naturally recognized it too. Along with Cheng Sisi’s cries came the lewd laughter of two men.
His eyelids twitched, and he kicked the door open.
In front of him were two shirtless men standing by the bed, blocking Cheng Sisi from view.
Hearing the door being kicked open, both men turned around at the same time.
Jiang Zhuo pushed Jiang Xin, who was behind him, farther away and said, “Stay back!”
Then, he charged into the room.
The sound of fists hitting flesh followed immediately. Jiang Xin leaned against the wall outside the door, her face tense—but not out of concern for Jiang Zhuo.
She knew Jiang Zhuo had trained in martial arts; even two more men wouldn’t be a match for him.
She was only worried about Cheng Sisi, hoping she hadn’t been violated by them!
Soon, the two men who had been laughing lewdly began to cry out in pain.
Seeing that the situation was under control, Jiang Xin entered the room again.
Inside, the two men were kneeling on the floor, both tied to the bed frame with their own clothes by Jiang Zhuo. Their faces and bodies bore various cuts and bruises.
Cheng Sisi was curled up in the corner of the bed, her clothes torn to shreds. She had to hold them tightly with both hands to avoid being completely exposed.
But Jiang Xin could tell—her clothes had been torn, but nothing irreversible had happened yet.
It could only be said that they had arrived just in time!
Before Jiang Xin could speak, Jiang Zhuo had already taken off his suit jacket and draped it over Cheng Sisi. He bent down, picked her up, and as he passed Jiang Xin, said, “Call the police!”
As they left, the hostel staff, having heard the commotion, rushed over. Not wanting any further trouble, they also called the police.
On the way back to the room, Jiang Zhuo held Cheng Sisi steadily in his arms. The person in his embrace had long since cried her face into a mess.
“Had a taste of hardship?” Jiang Zhuo’s tone carried a mix of anger and disappointment.
Cheng Sisi didn’t speak, nor did she dare to. She simply stared at him blankly.
She knew she was wrong!
Once again, she had troubled Jiang Zhuo to come and rescue her!
“Then remember this lesson. If you dare to leave without saying goodbye again and something happens, no one will come to save you!”
She carried the fragrance of having just bathed, and her hair was still wet.
Tears smeared across her face, clinging to a few strands of hair, exuding a sense of shattered beauty.
Jiang Zhuo’s throat tightened, a certain desire seemingly eager to pour forth.