After being carried back to the room, Cheng Sisi remained lying face down on the bed.
Jiang Zhuo’s suit jacket covered her body, but only down to the tops of her thighs. The slightest movement would expose something improper.
Yet she didn’t seem to care about that right now, looking utterly despondent.
Jiang Zhuo didn’t speak either, standing over her by the bed, his gaze unable to leave her smooth, slender legs.
He was thinking: after taking her back tonight, should he just…
Take her!
Better to avoid any future mishaps. He hadn’t even tasted the sweetness yet—what if someone else got to her first?
She looked obedient and soft, but in reality, she was nothing but trouble.
If he hadn’t come today, or if he’d arrived a moment later, what would have happened?
Hah!
And she still had the nerve to cry?
“Alright, the police will be here soon. Put your clothes on.”
Jiang Zhuo found clothes from the suitcase on the floor and placed them by the bedside, but she remained lifeless, not even lifting her eyelids.
He gritted his teeth, genuinely angry now.
With one hand, he yanked the jacket off her back, grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her up.
“Ah!”
“Brother Jiang Zhuo?!”
As she was pulled up to kneel on the bed, the clothes covering her slipped off, revealing her entire bare back.
Instinctively, she covered her chest, her body trembling uncontrollably.
“If you won’t get dressed, I’ll help you,” Jiang Zhuo said coldly.
She quickly replied, meekly, “I’ll do it, I’ll dress myself!”
Then she heard Jiang Zhuo sigh as if disappointed in her, adding, “Then hurry up and get dressed. I’ll wait for you outside.”
With that, he turned and closed the door behind him.
Cheng Sisi slowly picked up the clothes from the bed, tears streaming down her face as she put them on one by one.
She cried because she knew she was wrong.
It was her own recklessness that had led to this situation.
In the distance, she heard the sound of police sirens approaching, which made her hurry to finish dressing.
When she opened the door, Jiang Zhuo and Jiang Xin were standing face-to-face outside, talking. Seeing her, Jiang Xin immediately looked on the verge of tears and rushed over to hug her.
“You scared me to death!”
Jiang Xin’s voice was thick with tears as she shook Cheng Sisi and continued, “If something had happened to you, how could I ever face your parents? I promised them I’d take good care of you while you’re staying with us!”
“I’m sorry!”
Seeing Jiang Xin like this, Cheng Sisi couldn’t hold back her tears again.
The two hugged and cried for a while until the police arrived.
Cheng Sisi explained the situation to the officers: since there was no bathroom in the hotel room, she had gone to the public shower. On her way back, the two thugs had dragged her into their room.
The two thugs confessed without hesitation, admitting to their crime, and were eventually taken away by the police.
Cheng Sisi also got into Jiang Zhuo’s car to return to the Jiang family home.
On the way, Jiang Xin explained what had happened at the hospital earlier that day.
“When we arrived, my eldest brother told me about what happened at the hospital, and I immediately asked my second brother about it. Actually, you misunderstood—my second brother has no interest in that woman whatsoever, and there’s no relationship between them.”
As she spoke, Jiang Xin slapped her thigh.
“Speaking of that, I’m so angry too. Do you know who that woman is? She’s the girlfriend of my second brother’s friend. After finding out my second brother is the younger brother of the Jiang Group’s CEO, she started clinging to him. She brought that meal just to curry favor with him.”
“My second brother isn’t that kind of person at all!”
However, upon hearing it was a misunderstanding, Cheng Sisi was surprised but not as elated as she should have been.
Even if today’s incident was a misunderstanding, there would always be someone by Jiang Si’s side in the future. Yet she was certain that person might not be her!
Back home, Jiang Xin took Cheng Sisi upstairs, and they took another shower.
“Shall I sleep with you tonight?” Jiang Xin asked Cheng Sisi, who was curled up under the covers.
Cheng Sisi shook her head. She might have trouble sleeping tonight and didn’t want to disturb Jiang Xin.
Knowing she was in low spirits, Jiang Xin didn’t press her.
As she was leaving, she ran into Jiang Zhuo at the door. Seeing what he was holding, she asked, “Brother, are you bringing Sisi some milk?”
“Mm,” Jiang Zhuo nodded without saying more.
Jiang Xin didn’t find anything odd about it. She pushed the door open wider to let him in.
“I’ll head back to my room then,” she said.
“Alright, you should get some rest early too.”
“Okay!”
Watching Jiang Xin walk away, Jiang Zhuo finally entered the room with the milk.
Cheng Sisi tried to sit up, but he stopped her. “Don’t move. I’ll leave right after giving you the milk.”
At the bedside, she carefully took the milk from him.
“Brother Jiang Zhuo, thank you. Really, thank you!”
“Let’s not talk about that. Don’t do this again. Since you’re staying with us, I’m responsible for you. From now on, wherever you go, you must tell me. Understand?”
His tone carried a hint of command.
Cheng Sisi obediently nodded, readily agreeing. “I understand. I’m sorry!”
“Alright, drink your milk. I’ll take the cup back down with me.”
“Okay!”
Cheng Sisi picked up the milk and drank it obediently, sip by sip.
She was the one drinking the milk, but Jiang Zhuo’s Adam’s apple bobbed incessantly along with her.
After finishing, she wiped her lips and handed him the empty cup. “Thank you, Brother Jiang Zhuo!”
“Mm, get some rest early.”
Taking the cup, Jiang Zhuo turned and walked out.
From closing the door to going downstairs, his expression remained completely blank the entire time.
Thank you?
Did she think a simple “thank you” was enough?
Far from it!
Placing the milk cup in the kitchen sink, Jiang Zhuo turned off all the lights downstairs after coming out.
Then he went upstairs and returned to his room.
A little past midnight.
Cheng Sisi woke up groggily. Her eyes weren’t fully open yet, but her nose caught an unpleasant smell.
Opening her eyes, she jolted in shock!
Before her was a large glass jar containing what looked like the internal organs of some animal.
Looking around further, she realized the entire room was filled with such glass jars, displayed on several shelves.
In her ears, there was an eerie “hissing” sound.
Turning toward the direction of the sound, she saw Jiang Zhuo standing by a Snake Box containing two snakes. He held a pair of tweezers, feeding a mouse to the snakes.
“Brother Jiang Zhuo!”
Hearing her voice, Jiang Zhuo turned to look at her.
He had taken off his glasses, and the usual gentleness in his eyes was gone, replaced by a deep gloom.
She felt a little afraid.
“Bro-Brother Jiang Zhuo, what is this place?”
But Jiang Zhuo replied, “That’s what I should be asking you. This is your dream. You shouldn’t be asking me.”
“It’s… it’s a dream again?”
She was stunned. Could it be that the stress from the incident with the two thugs had caused such a nightmare?
Snakes, animal carcasses—were they all manifestations of her inner fears?
As she was lost in thought, Jiang Zhuo had already quietly approached and crouched beside her.
She looked up and met his face, which was etched with a cold sneer.
He asked her, “I saved you today. How do you plan to repay me?”
“Repay… repay…”
“Brother Jiang Zhuo, how do you want me to repay you?”
Jiang Zhuo lifted her chin and gently pinched it. “If I say it, will you do it?”
“Brother Jiang… Jiang Zhuo, what… what do you want me to do?” she asked again, suppressing the palpitations in her heart.
“Kiss me!” he repeated firmly, “Kiss me!”
She froze for a moment, then shook her head and tried to step back.
But Jiang Zhuo immediately tightened his grip, firmly holding her chin to prevent her from retreating.
She could feel him using a lot of force, yet she felt no pain.
It really was a dream!
In dreams, there is no pain!