“Police,” a strong, authoritative voice responded from outside.
The man’s expression instantly shifted to panic as Jiang Ruo immediately screamed for help.
He hadn’t anticipated anyone intervening, let alone the police showing up so swiftly. With no courage to confront the police directly, he had no choice but to open the door.
When the door opened, Jiang Ruo saw a plainclothes officer in a black trench coat standing outside. She immediately covered her disheveled clothes and rushed out, grabbing the officer’s sleeve.
With tears in her eyes, she accused the man of trying to assault her.
The man hurriedly defended himself, “No, it’s all misunderstanding—she seduced me first! She moved her luggage to my house and asked me to give her 5,000 yuan a month. I didn’t have that much money to give her, so she started yelling, but I didn’t do anything to her. If you don’t believe me, officer, you can take her to the hospital!”
The man was very confident—since he hadn’t actually done anything yet, it would be useless no matter how much she tried to accuse him.
Jiang Ruo, sobbing, refuted, “No! It’s not like that! He tricked me into coming in under the pretense of moving my stuff, and then he tried to… he tried to…” Her sobs grew louder. “If you arrived even a bit later, sir, I would have been… would have been…”
The middle-aged man in the trench coat rubbed his temples in annoyance, “I’m not actually a police officer. If you two want to sort this out, just call the real police and wait for them to get here.”
The neighborhood man froze for a moment, then flew into a rage. He cursed loudly and lunged at the trench coat man, but was immediately kicked several meters away.
The man in the trench coat glanced at him with disdain and muttered, “Trash.”
The neighborhood man lay sprawled on the ground, trying several times to get up but failing, glaring at the trench coat man with eyes full of fury.
The trench coat man didn’t even spare him another glance and turned to leave.
Jiang Ruo picked up the bag filled with her documents and cards and hurriedly followed the man in the trench coat. Wiping her tears, she said, “Sir, I haven’t had the chance to thank you.”
The man in the trench coat turned his head and gave her a meaningful look. “No need to thank me. I only saved you because I was following orders.”
Jiang Ruo froze. “Orders? Whose… whose orders?”
The few people who genuinely cared about her were currently locked behind bars. She couldn’t imagine who could have given this man the order to save her.
The man in the trench coat spoke. “The one who ordered me to give you trouble these past few days, and the one who just ordered me to save you, is the same person.”
Jiang Ruo: “…”
“That person told me to tell you that everything you suffered these days was just a warning. If you continue to provoke people you shouldn’t, it won’t end so simply next time.”
The man’s voice was calm, but Jiang Ruo was so terrified that she took a few steps back subconsciously, her voice trembled, “Just now… that man… was he arranged by you?”
The man’s mouth twitched. “My employer’s methods aren’t that filthy. He only saved you because he wanted to accumulate some good karma for the person he cares about, but if you think he’s a pushover, feel free to try.”
Noticing Jiang Ruo paralyzed with fear, the man in the trench coat went on, “This isn’t the end. You have to face the consequences of your actions.”
After saying that, he left without looking back.
Recalling everything that had just happened, Jiang Ruo couldn’t stop herself from trembling all over. Only after a long while did she take out her phone and call 110 to report the incident. She wanted that scum to be punished by law!
As for the mysterious person who had been targeting her these past few days, she no longer had the energy to dwell on it. Whether he was sent by the Feng family or by Tong Yi made no real difference. The past few days had worn her down, body and soul, and yet, the one who tormented her had also become her savior in the end…
She wasn’t even sure whether to hate the person or not. But either way, this ordeal had crushed the last of her will to fight. From now on, wherever Jiang Li was, she would go far out of her way—because she couldn’t afford to cross anyone associated with Jiang Li.
Especially when she recalled the trench coat man’s parting words—”it’s not over yet”—she was filled with deep regret.
As for her brother… no matter what the final judgment turned out to be, she could only accept it and visit him regularly from now on.
…
After Jiang Li visited Feng Qi in Minjiang, she bought a ticket the next day and flew back to Beijing. Back on campus, Wen Wan looked at her with concern and asked if her family matters had been resolved.
Jiang Li answered truthfully, “Actually, there wasn’t much to deal with. It’s just that Grandpa and Third Uncle had an argument, and Grandpa ended up injuring my uncle. I was worried, so I had to go back and check on them.”
The argument between Third Uncle and Grandpa had entirely been because of her. Even though the matter had passed, Jiang Li still felt very complicated inside. From her perspective, Jiang Zhou deserved what he got. But from Grandpa’s perspective, Jiang Zhou was still his grandson; of course he would want to guide him back onto the right path.
After Jiang Zhou committed a crime, Grandpa never tried to help him escape punishment. However, if he had known about Jiang Zhou’s intentions beforehand, he certainly would have stopped him.
Only Third Uncle had been thinking purely of her. Worried that Grandpa would blame her for the incident, he shouldered everything himself.
Her Third Uncle had always been pampered, and Grandpa had never even spoken harshly to him before. Yet for her sake, he ended up getting hurt by Grandpa.
Thinking about the wound on Feng Qi’s forehead, Jiang Li felt especially guilty. She still couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t let her reveal the truth to Grandpa herself. Grandpa was reasonable—at most, he would just be angry for a little while.
Wen Wan, unaware of the full story, thought Jiang Li was simply worried that her grandfather and uncle would continue fighting. She softly comforted her, “There’s no overnight grudge between father and son. Your Grandpa might be angry now, but he’ll calm down soon. Parents are always like that. Don’t worry.”
Jiang Li nodded. “Yeah, I won’t overthink it.”
That night, Jiang Li received a call from her grandfather. After a bit of casual conversation, the old master awkwardly said, “Xiao Jiang Li, are you upset with Grandpa?”
Jiang Li went silent for a few seconds, “I’m not upset with you, Grandpa. Even though you couldn’t help but care for Jiang Zhou, you didn’t do anything you shouldn’t have for his sake. I can understand how you feel.”
“You can understand my feelings, but you can’t accept that I hurt your Third Uncle,” Old Master Feng’s voice sounded a bit sorrowful.
Before Jiang Li could respond, he continued, “I heard from your second brother that A’Qi seems calm, but this child has always been good at hiding his emotions. Even if he’s feeling bad, your second brother might not notice. I know he didn’t do anything wrong this time. Please help Grandpa keep in touch with him more often. In this family, your Third Uncle only listens to you.”
“I’ll keep in touch with Uncle often. But Grandpa, you can also reach out to him yourself. He’s not actually mad at you,” Jiang Li persuaded.
Old Master Feng was silent for a while, then suddenly said, “I just remembered the flowers in the yard need watering, and the parrot probably needs feeding too. See you later!”
Jiang Li: “…”
‘Grandpa’s personality really is as awkward as ever! Clearly, he already regretted hitting Third Uncle, but he still refused to take the initiative to reach out to him.’
After ending the call, Jiang Li suddenly realized why Feng Qi had been so adamant about stopping her from telling her grandfather the truth.
That’s how much he cared for her—he simply didn’t want her to face an uncomfortable conversation or feel even the slightest trace of sorrow.
Jiang Li picked up a pen and began absentmindedly doodling on a sheet of paper, silently vowing to be more filial to him from now on.
Wen Wan noticed Jiang Li still looked troubled and secretly sent a text to Tong Yi, telling him to take Jiang Li out to have some fun over the weekend.
After receiving the message, Tong Yi pondered for a few seconds before deciding to invite Jiang Xiao Li to go skiing. After skiing, they could soak in a hot spring to relax and melt away any lingering unhappiness. It was okay if she didn’t know how to ski—he could teach her personally!
When Jiang Li received the invitation, she agreed almost immediately. She also wanted to get out and relax, and she had never gone skiing before, so it would be a new experience.
When Wen Wan heard they were going skiing, she immediately asked to join the trip and strongly ‘suggested’ inviting Lin Zhao as well.
Jiang Li naturally had no objections. However, when Tong Yi heard Wen Wan was coming along, he muttered under his breath, “That kid is like your tail, always tagging along!”
Jiang Li chuckled. “Really? Where would you find a tail as cute as Wen Wan? Doesn’t seeing her make you just want to pat her head?”
Tong Yi shook his head, “Not cute, let alone adorable.”
Jiang Li was puzzled. “You have an issue with Wen Wan?”
“…” Tong Yi fell silent. That was not the case—not to mention that Wen Wan was Jiang Xiao Li’s best friend, she occasionally also provided him with little updates about her. He couldn’t thank the girl enough!
But this and that were a different matter. When he saw Wen Wan, he simply couldn’t associate her with words like ‘cute’ or ‘adorable.’
“Jiang Xiao Li, Wen Wan is not a little kid anymore, you know?” With a sigh, he said to Jiang Li.
Jiang Li immediately understood what he meant. “Got it. Our Big Nephew is now a grown-up who understands that boys and girls are different. Very good, very good.”
Tong Yi: “…”
If Jiang Xiao Li could devote even 10% of the energy she spent on academics toward romances, he wouldn’t have to suffer this long!
Oh well. This is the girl he had set his heart on—if she was a bit slow to catch on, so be it.
He could wait.
For Jiang Xiao Li’s sake, he was willing to wait, no matter how long!
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