Jiang Huai’s eyes widened in disbelief. It’s all over—everything’s over! To him, Feng Yun had always been the most naïve and kind-hearted woman. She would believe whatever he said and never doubted him. That’s why he had never imagined that Feng Yun would deceive him and secretly take samples from A’Zhou and Ruoruo to perform a sibling DNA test behind his back.
Jiang Huai turned to his son, his expression anxious, “You need to send Ruoruo away immediately, as far as possible. We’ll figure everything else out later.”
Jiang Zhou frowned, “But…”
“No buts. We’ll deal with the future when it comes. Let’s solve the immediate problem first, okay?” Jiang Huai’s voice was full of urgency.
Jiang Zhou could only nod, “Okay, I’ll send Ruoruo away first.” Even if Ruoruo was his biological sister, even if they could never be together, he couldn’t just stand by and watch as she became the target of retaliation by the Feng family.
Jiang Zhou and Jiang Ruo left Jiang Huai’s hospital room together and quickly exited the hospital. Along the way, neither of them spoke, and the distance between them was wide as if they were two strangers. Just as they walked out of the hospital’s main entrance, Jiang Zhou spotted a familiar car parked outside—it was their family’s car.
Jiang Zhou grabbed Jiang Ruo’s arm, pulling her behind a nearby pillar to hide. From there, they watched as Feng Yun stepped out of the car. She was elegantly dressed, wearing high heels that clicked sharply on the pavement, the sound echoing painfully in their hearts.
After a long while, Feng Yun’s figure finally disappeared into the hospital. The two slowly emerged from behind the pillar. Jiang Zhou noticed his hand was still grabbing Jiang Ruo’s arm and quickly withdrew it as if he had touched something burning. The two of them then headed to where Jiang Zhou had parked his car. As usual, Jiang Zhou opened the car door for Jiang Ruo, but this time, instead of sitting in the front passenger seat, she quietly moved to the rear seat.
After a period of silence, Jiang Zhou eventually made his way to the driver’s seat. Yet, as he started the car, he quickly realized he had no idea where to take her. He drove aimlessly for a while before pulling over to the side of the road and turning to Jiang Ruo, “Where do you want to go?”
Jiang Ruo shook her head, “I… I don’t know.”
Jiang Zhou paused briefly before saying again, “There must be somewhere.”
Jiang Ruo smiled bitterly, “Yes, there must be… but brother… I really don’t know where to go.”
When she first learned she had chronic kidney failure, she felt like the earth was crumbling, but at least she still had a place to go home. Now, however, she had lost even her home and truly didn’t know where to turn.
Jiang Zhou clenched his fists, trying to control his emotions. “While Mom is still at the hospital, let’s go home and pack your things. You’ve never traveled far alone; you’ll need to take some things with you.”
Jiang Ruo slowly nodded, like an obedient puppet.
Jiang Zhou drove them back to the Jiang family’s villa, and the two of them went straight to Jiang Ruo’s room. Jiang Zhou took out the suitcase she had used before and began packing her things.
As he packed, Jiang Zhou felt like everything should be taken, but suddenly Jiang Ruo said, “Brother… you should go out. I can pack on my own.”
Jiang Zhou nodded, “Alright, I also have something to give you. Wait here while I go to my room to get it.”
After Jiang Zhou left, Jiang Ruo began taking the clothes and makeup out of the suitcase and instead packed the stuffed animals from her bedside. Every year on her birthday, her brother had given her a stuffed animal—seventeen in total. On her eighteenth birthday, he gave her a ring, which she still wore around her neck.
After packing the stuffed animals, Jiang Ruo sat in a daze for a while before opening the drawer of her bedside table and taking out a tin box. Inside were two bracelets—one intact, the other broken—and a bank card. Jiang Ruo put the bracelets along with the card into her pocket and sat on the bed, waiting for Jiang Zhou to return.
When Jiang Zhou came back, he immediately noticed that all the stuffed animals were gone, and the clothes and makeup he had packed earlier were scattered across the floor. His throat tightened, and his eyes became misty.
“This is the money I’ve saved over the years. I’m giving it to you now.” He handed Jiang Ruo a card.
Jiang Ruo shook her head, “I don’t want it.”
Jiang Zhou pressed it into her hand, “You’ll need money for food, clothes, shelter, and medical treatment in the future. Listen to me and keep it, please.” By the end of his sentence, his voice was choked with emotion.
After a long silence, Jiang Ruo finally put the card into her pocket.
Jiang Zhou pulled the suitcase downstairs and drove Jiang Ruo out of the gated neighborhood they had been living in for years. Once she got into a taxi, he reminded her, “Go wherever you want, but make sure to keep your phone on. I… I’m going to the hospital now. I’m worried Mom won’t be able to handle it. I need to check on her.”
After saying this, Jiang Zhou walked away without looking back. He couldn’t bear to say too much to Jiang Ruo, fearing that if he did, his reluctance might lead him down an irreversible path.
In the taxi, Jiang Ruo sat with a distant expression, her eyes fixed on Jiang Zhou’s fading figure, but her brother never turned around.
After a while, the taxi driver glanced at Jiang Ruo and asked, “Where to?”
Jiang Ruo was silent for a long time before replying, “Take me to the place where the Minjiang River’s currents are the swiftest.”
The driver paused, clearly surprised, but then quickly started the car and headed towards the Minjiang River.
By the roadside near the Jiang family residence, Bai Guolin spotted Jiang Ruo sitting in the front passenger seat of a taxi. He immediately called out, “Miss Ruoruo!” but neither the driver nor Jiang Ruo heard him, and the car quickly drove past. Bai Guolin hurried back to the taxi that had brought him and urged, “Please follow that car in front.”
The taxi driver gave him a dubious look, “Young man, it’s really inappropriate to tail a girl.”
“I’ll pay double the fare,” Bai Guolin said frantically.
“Deal.” The driver quickly hit the gas, and the car shot forward like an arrow.
…
When Jiang Li returned home, she immediately noticed that her grandfather’s mood was off. When she called out to him, he responded listlessly. She glanced suspiciously at the housekeeper, who only shrugged with a helpless expression.
A feeling of unease settled in Jiang Li’s heart. She walked over, gently massaged her grandfather’s back, and asked, “Grandpa, are you feeling down?”
Old Master Feng sighed and replied with a question, “Did you pass your driving exam?”
Jiang Li nodded, “Of course I passed.”
“That’s good,” her grandfather said, but his spirit still seemed low.
Seeing him like this, Jiang Li knew that Feng Qi had unintentionally hit the mark. As she continued massaging her grandfather’s back, she carefully said, “Grandpa, there are many things we can’t control. Please don’t punish yourself for someone else’s mistakes, okay?”
Old Master Feng nodded and changed the subject, “Let’s not talk about that now. What plans do you have for tomorrow?”
“The Qin family is hosting a graduation banquet for Qin Zheng tomorrow. He invited me, so I’ll be attending,” Jiang Li replied honestly.
“Alright, go ahead. Your eldest uncle and aunt will be there too; you can go with them,” he said.
Seeing her grandfather deliberately trying to act nonchalant, Jiang Li wasn’t sure how to comfort him, knowing that this situation had deeply impacted him.
She just hoped that Ms. Feng wouldn’t remain stubborn and add to her grandfather’s distress.
< Previous | TOC | Advanced TOC | Next >
Wants more chapters?
Click this page for the status of sponsored chapters.
Click this page for advanced chapters TOC.