When Jiang Jiang returned to school, it was still early. She went to the library, found a seat, and sent out the third chapter she had finished writing.
This novel had already reached over nine thousand words. After writing one more chapter, Jiang Jiang would be able to apply for a contract. A trace of anticipation rose in her heart. When she closed her laptop, there was still a smile on her face.
A new message popped up on her phone. Ji Heyuan was asking where she was.
After Jiang Jiang replied, it did not take long before she saw Ji Heyuan at the entrance.
Carrying her laptop, she walked out of the library. Only then did she notice that Ji Heyuan's expression was somewhat anxious. Her steps paused. "What happened?"
Ji Heyuan looked her up and down. "Are you okay? I took a nap at noon and only just saw the message my sister sent."
Jiang Jiang shook her head. "Nothing serious."
She took a tissue from her bag and handed it to Ji Heyuan. While wiping the sweat from her forehead, Ji Heyuan muttered softly, "My sister said Zheng Zhouzhou seems to be in league with Arkle."
Hearing the way she referred to Zheng Zhouzhou, Jiang Jiang could not help but glance at her.
That glance was caught by Ji Heyuan, and she even understood what Jiang Jiang meant.
"What are you looking at me for!" Ji Heyuan felt a bit guilty. "I did have some good feelings toward Zheng Zhouzhou before, but she's mixed up with Arkle. That's something I absolutely cannot tolerate!"
This probably counted as hating the house and its crow as well.
Jiang Jiang pondered. "You really dislike Arkle?"
Ji Heyuan rolled her eyes. "Of course! Xie Jiang Jiang, you need to be more vigilant too. That man is truly bad!"
Seeing that Jiang Jiang did not seem to understand, Ji Heyuan leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Arkle has close ties with certain underworld organizations. If you don't want to be caught and fed to sharks, stay far away from him!"
She stared intently at Jiang Jiang. Jiang Jiang had no choice but to nod. "Alright, I understand."
She thought that Ji Heyuan's disgust toward Arkle had reached the level of turning pale at the mere mention of his name. Yet Zheng Zhouzhou had gotten involved with Arkle. Did that mean Zheng Zhouzhou had already placed herself on the opposite side of Ji Heyuan?
The two protagonists who should have been of one heart had now become enemies.
Jiang Jiang very much wanted to know whether the protagonist's halo on Ji Heyuan was stronger, or if Zheng Zhouzhou would prevail.
Ji Heyuan seemed to say something else, but Jiang Jiang was lost in her own thoughts and did not respond. Only after Ji Heyuan finished speaking did Jiang Jiang say, "By the way, little Yuan, did your sister tell you about going to Grandma's tonight for dinner?"
"Huh?"
Ji Heyuan stared blankly at Jiang Jiang. "Is something big happening?"
Jiang Jiang: …
She coughed lightly. " Sister Xu'an and I have settled our matter. The engagement banquet will be held before the New Year."
Ji Heyuan: ??!!
Ji Heyuan was dumbfounded. "When was it settled?? Why did no one notify me?!"
Jiang Jiang: "Aren't I notifying you right now?"
Ji Heyuan looked indignant. "What kind of notification is this!!"
She wanted to be a witness participating in it, not someone told afterward!
"You said we're a family. I wasn't even there, and you two just settled everything. Did you consider my feelings??"
Jiang Jiang thought for a moment. "What role would you have played if you were there?"
Ji Heyuan: …
Racking her brains, Ji Heyuan finally came up with her role.
"I could have cheered for you two!"
Jiang Jiang: "Oh."
It did not seem to make much difference whether she was there or not.
Ji Heyuan: How infuriating!
She kept chattering in Jiang Jiang's ear. Jiang Jiang was distracted listening to her and did not notice what was ahead. It was not until a girl passing by accidentally bumped into her shoulder that Jiang Jiang suddenly came back to her senses.
Ji Heyuan quickly fell silent and reached out to touch Jiang Jiang. "Are you okay?"
Jiang Jiang avoided her hand. "I'm fine."
Ji Heyuan did not think much of it. She looked at the girl, about to ask how she was walking, but the moment her gaze fell on the girl's face, Ji Heyuan suddenly lost her voice.
This girl was stunning! Like a perfectly rendered model.
Even Jiang Jiang was dazed for a few seconds.
But unlike Ji Heyuan, she was not stunned by the girl's striking beauty. Rather, Jiang Jiang felt that the other party gave her a very familiar feeling, as if they had met somewhere before.
The girl's gaze toward Jiang Jiang also carried a strange emotion.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Her voice was very soft, a sense of frailty rushing forward.
Seeing that her lips were pale, as if her health was not very good, Jiang Jiang did not pursue the matter of being bumped. "It's alright. Just be more careful in the future."
The girl covered her lips and coughed lightly. "Thank you for your concern."
Hearing this, a flash of realization suddenly crossed Jiang Jiang's mind. She seemed to know where that sense of familiarity came from.
The girl before her did not seem like someone from this era. Compared to others, she was more like a woman born in Great Zhao, her every word and action carrying a special restraint and gentleness.
Jiang Jiang stared at her intently for a while, then suddenly asked softly, "Can we exchange contact information?"
Ji Heyuan at the side was dumbfounded. "Xie Jiang Jiang, you…"
Before she could finish, the girl across from them curved her lips in a faint smile. "Alright."
Jiang Jiang took out her phone, and the two smoothly added each other on WeChat. Ji Heyuan stood beside them, wanting to speak but stopping herself, her face flushed red from holding back.
Before she could voice her opinion, someone else moved faster.
Ji Heyuan did not even see where that person came from. By the time she reacted, a long-haired woman dressed in black had appeared behind the girl.
Without any attempt to hide it, the woman reached out and took the girl's hand, her voice low. "What are you doing?"
Jiang Jiang could tell they were a couple. But at the same time, she shared Ji Heyuan's confusion. Logically, her five senses were sharper than Ji Heyuan's. If someone suddenly appeared nearby, she could not possibly have been completely unaware.
Yet this person seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Before she approached, Jiang Jiang had not noticed her presence at all.
Moreover, the familiar feeling from her was even stronger. Jiang Jiang felt as if some blurry image surfaced in her mind. She frowned tightly, and her head suddenly began to ache faintly.
In the next second, the girl seemed to raise her hand and gently pat her shoulder. That uncomfortable feeling immediately disappeared.
Such an extraordinary method…
Jiang Jiang's body tensed slightly. She stared into the girl's eyes. "Have we met somewhere before?"
The girl smiled but did not say whether they had or not.
"We will have the chance to meet again in the future."
After saying that, she walked away hand in hand with the woman in black, leaving Jiang Jiang standing there, watching their backs for a long time without withdrawing her gaze.
After they had gone far enough, Ji Heyuan nudged Jiang Jiang's shoulder. "Xie Jiang Jiang, you weren't captivated by her beauty, were you? That's not allowed! Have you forgotten my sister by Daming Lake?"
Jiang Jiang came back to herself. "I haven't."
She had merely suddenly thought of her White Jade Linglong Mirror. If her guess was correct, then were these two also fated people who had come to this world through some method?
Ji Heyuan urged her to hurry up and leave. Jiang Jiang cast one last glance in the direction the two had gone, then walked off with Ji Heyuan in the opposite direction.
After their figures disappeared beyond the stone steps, the girl from earlier stepped out from behind a stone pillar, narrowing her eyes as she silently watched their retreating backs.
The woman beside her hooked an arm around her waist. "Stop looking, A Yun."
The girl curved her lips, her gaze still following Jiang Jiang's figure. "I was just a little surprised to suddenly see an old acquaintance."
"And I'm very curious. Why are the threads of fate on her so chaotic?"
"Even her marriage line is blurred. Two people who have once been tied by a red thread should have a very stable relationship."
Jiang Zhenyun pondered for a few seconds. "Don't you want to help them?"
The woman remained silent.
Jiang Zhenyun clasped her hands together and said with certainty, "It must be because they haven't had intimate contact yet."
"They've clearly been Dao companions in love for several hundred years, yet they're still this innocent. That's not right!"
"Tonight we'll arrange for the two of them…"
—
Ji Xu'an arrived at the reserved private room at exactly seven o'clock.
The people guarding the door were the same as at noon, but the bodyguards behind Ji Xu'an had more than doubled.
They all remained outside. Only Secretary Zhao and another woman followed Ji Xu'an inside.
Arkle stared at the unfamiliar woman beside Ji Xu'an for a few moments. "And this is…"
"My bodyguard." Ji Xu'an sat down across from Arkle. "Is there a problem?"
Arkle smiled. "No problem. You should be cautious. But President Ji, your caution is misplaced. You shouldn't be guarding against me."
"You should be guarding against your good fiancée."
Ji Xu'an treated it as mere provocation. "My fiancée is very good. Not like certain ruthless and vicious people."
Arkle clicked his tongue. "Are you sure?"
He pushed the document in front of him over. Ji Xu'an lowered her gaze and glanced at it. It was an injury assessment report.
"Your frail and kind fiancée was actually able to injure a professionally trained bodyguard under my command."
Arkle looked at Ji Xu'an leisurely. "Ji Xu'an, did you know about this?"
Ji Xu'an quickly lifted her eyes again to look at Arkle. "It's just an injury report of uncertain authenticity. If you want to see such things, I can find even more."
Even if it were real, what evidence did Arkle have to prove Jiang Jiang did it?
Of course Arkle knew this alone could not convince Ji Xu'an. He turned to Zheng Zhouzhou. "Miss Zheng, perhaps you should tell President Ji the truth."
Everyone's gaze gathered on Zheng Zhouzhou. She stared at Ji Xu'an's expressionless face, and a sudden urge for revenge surged in her heart.
"President Ji, do you know what kind of person your fiancée really is?"
She could not hide her hatred. Her tone was full of unwillingness.
"Everything she shows in front of you is fake. The real her is nothing like the kind person you imagine!"
Ji Xu'an had thought she might hear something interesting. Instead, Arkle and Zheng Zhouzhou were merely slandering Jiang Jiang in front of her. Listening to these words, she only felt bored.
She had eyes. She could see for herself what kind of person Jiang Jiang was. She did not need others to tell her.
Seeing that Ji Xu'an remained unmoved, Zheng Zhouzhou's hatred deepened. She gritted her teeth. "What if I say that Xie Xiao's destined person isn't you at all?"
Ji Xu'an's gaze instantly darkened.
Zheng Zhouzhou let out a cold laugh. "I don't believe you've never suspected it. You must have guessed, right?"
"The one fated by heaven to be with Xie Xiao is your younger sister Ji Heyuan. You're just a pitiful fool who's been deceived." Malice filled Zheng Zhouzhou's eyes.
"Ji Xu'an, being with your own younger sister's wife, isn't it exciting?"
—
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