Chapter 200: Chapter 200: Meeting Again, Jiang Nanshu
So she didn’t want to hear what Cheng An was saying,
but she didn’t want to dampen his spirits either, so she forced a smile and said, “Anzi, I’ll take your good wishes.”
Chu Muxi felt much more at ease when she saw that Jiang Nanshu and the others did not look at her with the same hostility as everyone else.
She softly said to Liang Ciqiu, “You guys go ahead and wait for me at the foot of the mountain. I’ll be there in a moment.”
After they all left,
Chu Muxi smiled and invited, “Sister Nanshu, would you like to come and play with us? We set up tents at the foot of the mountain and plan to camp out here for the night.”
Jiang Nanshu, looking at her flawless smile, declined, “No thank you, Sister Xixi. I’m staying in a house with Brother Qingyan.”
After saying this, she showed a timely look of concern on her face, “You should be careful staying outside. I’ve heard that at night, wild animals like wolves and bears come down from the mountains. Don’t sleep too soundly.”
Chu Muxi’s expression stiffened for a moment, but seeing Jiang Nanshu’s concerned face, she put on a smile again, “All right, thank you for your concern, Sister Nanshu. We’ll be careful.”
“Oh, right.” Her delicate face was adorned with a shallow smile, “Is your third brother also here?”
[Heh, I knew your intentions weren’t sincere. My third brother’s tragic fate still depends on you.]
Jiang Nanshu nodded without hesitation, “Yes, my third brother is here with us. Sister Xixi, if you want to find him, you can come to the Ji Family by the village’s largest old pagoda tree. We are staying there temporarily.”
Chu Muxi’s eyes lit up, “Mhm mhm, thank you, Sister Nanshu, I’m going to meet up with them now.”
[Knowing she can’t count on Lu Qingyan, she turns to my third brother as a backup plan. Chu Muxi is the most concealed and ruthless among everyone. Capable of cruelly destroying Jian Hemian out of unrequited love, she’s truly vicious.]
Lu Qingyan’s eyebrows raised slightly.
Such a pity.
“Nannan.” Behind her came the voice of Jian Hemian laced with laughter.
She turned around, only to feel a chill enveloping her.
Jian Hemian, even with a smile on his face, had eyes that were too cold.
He lowered his gaze, pointing at Shang Xu, whose eyes were red from crying, “This little guy couldn’t find you all and has been crying nonstop. I brought him out, and luckily, we ran into you.”
“Wuwuwu, little uncle, I thought you didn’t want me anymore.” Shang Xu let go of Jian Hemian and hugged Lu Qingyan’s leg, sobbing with a nasal voice.
Jian Hemian looked into the distance, “Nannan, was that Chu Muxi just now?”
Jiang Nanshu obediently nodded, “Mhm mhm, it was Sister Xixi. She even asked if you were around. She’s really nice, always thinking of you wherever she goes. Third Brother, you aren’t getting any younger. I think Sister Xixi is pretty great.”
[You have to end up with someone, be it her or Fifth Brother. I’m busier than a matchmaker.]
The smile in Jian Hemian’s eyes was absent, his beautiful eyes drifting towards the stream, “I only think of her as a sister, just like Yiyi.”
[You see her as a sister, yet she sees you as a fool. If you agreed, you’d be stuck with a bloodsucker, but by refusing you, your hands were ruined. At some point, you were going to conduct a dangerous experiment; she bribed someone to enter, threw a spark into your lab, and although you were lucky to survive, your hands were damaged. How terrible.]
Jian Hemian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The corners of his mouth curled into a very faint, cold smile.
Case closed.
Jiang Nanshu expressed her regret, “Then all right, I’ll go and let Sister Xixi know. I can tell she likes you, and since you have no interest in her, it’s better to be clear about it, so she doesn’t delay looking for a new love.”
[I’m just speeding up your doomed fate!]
With a gentle breeze blowing through his slightly long hair, a shadow fell across his forehead, concealing the intense darkness in his eyes, and he laughed softly, “Then I’ll trouble you to run this errand for me.”
Lu Qingyan lowered his dark gaze, his large hand stroking Shang Xu’s hair.
He felt that Jiang Nanshu’s inner thoughts could be less.
He had known for a long time that the entire Jiang Family could hear her inner voice.
“Let’s go.” Lu Qingyan took Jiang Nanshu’s hand, “Let’s go back and take some medicine. Don’t catch a cold.”
The group walked back,
leaving this interlude behind.
After Jiang Nanshu returned, Father Ji had prepared lunch.
A pile of crispy meat was placed in the center of the dining table, and Mrs. Ji sat on one side with some nervousness.
Only when she saw Jiang Nanshu eat with her chopsticks did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Since Jiang Nanshu had left, she hadn’t made this dish, which was previously made to coax Jiang Nanshu as a treat.
The small crispy meat here tasted completely different from what the master chefs outside prepared.
But Jiang Nanshu just felt that it had been a long time, causing her to sway unsteadily as she recalled her own tragic original family.
When she was four years old, she stole a bite of the small crispy meat and was beaten half to death.
That meat wasn’t even delicious, but she was just greedy and wanted it.
She wanted to experience the taste of “home.”
After just one bite, Jiang Nanshu never touched it again—it was truly an unpleasant memory. Thinking of those parents filled her with revulsion.
“I’m full, I want to go rest.”
Jiang Nanshu stood up.
She didn’t pay attention to Mrs. Ji, who also stood up with her and went straight upstairs.
Mrs. Ji’s lips quivered, but she eventually sat back down and picked up a piece of small crispy meat with her chopsticks.
It tasted bland in her mouth.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve cooked this, and it’s really not good, I’ll take it seriously next time.”
Ji Ze looked troubled, “Mom! This has nothing to do with you… Maybe, sister’s taste has changed.”
Mrs. Ji couldn’t hold back and her eyes reddened again.
She had grown old, but her memories remained forever young.
She had raised Jiang Nanshu from infancy all by herself.
She remembered every stage of her growth, every smile, and every tear, as clear as day.
She was pregnant with Ji Ze when Jiang Nanshu was just three years old.
Holding onto her stomach, refusing to let go, Nanshu said she didn’t want a brother—Mom should only have Nannan.
Both her eldest and second child were precious to her.
But she had always favored Jiang Nanshu just a little more.
In other families, the elder sister was supposed to give in to the younger brother.
In her case, it was the younger brother who must always protect the elder sister.
Sometimes Ji Ze even doubted whether he was really her own child.
But in reality… she had always known with unshakable certainty that Jiang Nanshu was not her biological daughter.
She curved her lips into a smile, “Go ahead and eat, the country food might not be as refined as the city’s, I don’t know if you’ll get used to it.”
Shang Xu was relishing his food, his baby voice never stopping, “Good food, good food, even better than the dishes the housekeeper makes at the villa.”
Mrs. Ji was amused by Shang Xu, “If it’s tasty, eat more, good baby.”
Shang Xu curved his grape-like eyes while smiling, “Thank you, grandma.”
Meanwhile, upstairs.
Jiang Nanshu arrived in her room.
Without even taking the time to look around, her headache was so severe that she collapsed into bed and went to sleep.
Even wrapped up in the blanket, she felt waves of coldness.
She curled up tightly, the chill by her side growing stronger.
It transported her back to when she was four years old in winter, nearly frozen to death in the snow, feeling that same kind of cold.
Surrounding her was darkness.
Jiang Nanshu only felt an excruciating pull on her body as she struggled to open her eyes.
Around her was an enclosed space.
“We meet again, Jiang Nanshu.”
A sinister voice came from behind her.
Jiang Nanshu turned around, facing her was an extremely ordinary-looking girl.
Her eyes were filled with resentment, reaching out to grasp Jiang Nanshu’s arm.
“Having occupied my body for so long, you should give it back to me now.”