Jiang Nanshu had been gone for only half a month.
Their relationship had undergone a qualitative change.
So they just spent an ordinary week.
There were five days left until Lu Qingyan’s birthday.
The closer it got, the more restless Jiang Nanshu became, perfectly masking her restlessness with a calm facade.
Other than talking a bit less and being somewhat less playful, she seemed fine.
She had always known her goal.
Now, she had an additional one.
That was to return to the original world without Zhou Yanxu and without Lu Qingyan.
She didn’t want either of them.
So, Lu Qingyan shouldn’t be nice to her.
She, this cold-hearted monster, wouldn’t possess warmth.
On Friday afternoon.
Jiang Nanshu didn’t want to frolic with them, so she left early.
Xu Xi, puzzled by Jiang Nanshu’s departure, asked Jiang Yunchuan, who was waiting for Yan Yidan to go car racing.
“Yun Chuan, have you noticed anything strange about Jiangjiang lately?”
Suddenly cued, Jiang Yunchuan replied, “Huh?”
He stroked his chin, thought carefully, and said with some uncertainty, “Isn’t she fine lately? She can eat, sleep, run, and jump, no one bothers her, her fiancé shows up on time every day to dine with her, goes for walks with her after meals, sends her little gifts daily, asks about her well-being more than my dad would… like she’s his daughter…”
At this point,
Jiang Yunchuan sighed, “This is the first time I’ve seen Brother Yan be so good to a girl, pampering her and holding her in the palm of his hand. My sister can’t be that strange. If there’s a mood issue, it must be that time of month every girl has, which has affected her mood.”
Jiang Yunchuan analyzed at length.
Xu Xi was led astray by his words.
Right.
They all witnessed how good Lu Qingyan was to Jiang Nanshu; barring any surprises, they should live happily ever after.
Yang Jiashu also sighed jokingly, “Love can make people lose their senses. For someone like Qingyan, if your sister were to change her heart, he’d be devastated.”
Jiang Yunchuan twitched the corner of his mouth, “My sister is the most devoted one!”
In any situation, defending his sister’s reputation was what he, as a brother, must do.
His sister’s heart had always been full of admiration for Lu Qingyan, right?
Only they were disliked by her, while Lu Qingyan had been her favored one from the start.
Thinking of this,
Jiang Yunchuan belatedly realized.
He, when he was in Port City, could still hear Jiang Nanshu’s inner thoughts; now, nearly a week had passed, and he hadn’t heard any more of Jiang Nanshu’s mental activity during this time.
He even stopped paying attention to the conversations of Xu Xi and the others.
The belated realization left him feeling somewhat lost and a little scared.
Jiang Leyi was the first to experience this, and Jiang Leyi had accepted it calmly. Was it really enough as Jiang Leyi had said?
“What are you daydreaming for? Are you going or not?” Yan Yidan’s voice rang out.
Jiang Yunchuan snapped back to reality and nodded, “I’m going…”
The car race was on a mountain, which had been bought by someone and was private. A racetrack had also been built on the mountain, winding and thrilling to look at.
Jiang Yunchuan had always enjoyed such things.
Only after meeting Yan Yidan had he felt like he had discovered a new world.
Because Yan Yidan wasn’t as docile as she seemed. On the contrary, she had a wild side, and she would unleash her true nature where no one knew her. Yan Yidan reveled in the rush that car racing brought her, that feeling of speeding through the wind — a thrill only racing could give them.
Because Jiang Yunchuan liked it too.
But this time, Jiang Yunchuan wasn’t in the mood.
“You race first; I’ll watch.”
Yan Yidan put on her leather jacket, raised an eyebrow at him, and asked, “You sure?”
“Yeah, not in the mood.”
“Suit yourself.” Yan Yidan put on her helmet and protective gear and got into her personal race car.
The car racing competition was organized by a tycoon who was passionate about the sport. He wanted to pick the top three racers out of a hundred and award them with substantial prize money.
The first place would receive five hundred thousand, the second place two hundred thousand, and the third place one hundred thousand.
There were only three places.
Yan Yidan aimed to take the first place.
Jiang Yunchuan was just there to accompany her for fun and didn’t care much about the ranking.
This round of the competition was about reducing fifty racers to twenty.
Fifty competitors who survived the gauntlet would be whittled down to only twenty who were qualified.
Then it would be twenty to ten.
Ten to eight.
Eight to six.
Six to four.
And finally, from these four individuals would emerge the first, second, and third places.
The tycoon would personally hand out the prize money.
There were also many people at the scene, including quite a few wealthy heirs. Many knew Jiang Yunchuan, but they didn’t recognize Yan Yidan.
After all, she had just come down from the mountains, so not many people had seen her.
Quite a few rich young masters came to hit on her.
Jiang Yunchuan at first managed to handle them with a few words, but eventually, irritated from the constant questioning, he snapped at them to go away and play on their own.
They left in disgruntlement.
Jiang Yunchuan then continued to find a quiet corner to contemplate life.
He looked up towards the corner and noticed a figure skulking about.
Jiang Yunchuan first frowned, then focused his gaze, his eyes widening in disbelief, and he rubbed them.
Goodness gracious!
How did he catch sight of Nannan’s foster brother, Ji Ze?
But that wasn’t right.
Ji Ze, a high school student, how could he possibly be in such a shady place?
He approached and indeed found it was Ji Ze.
The boy was wearing a cap, hiding in the crowd, watching the race, and cheering along with everyone else.
A racing fan?
Jiang Yunchuan was puzzled and curious.
Getting into this place required either going through selection rounds, pulling connections, or being a certified rich second generation.
The organizer’s surname was Ke, originally from Hua Country, then emigrated overseas, only to return in the past couple of years; they also had businesses in Beijing.
In principle, a kid from an ordinary family like Ji Ze shouldn’t be able to get into such a venue.
He didn’t approach Ji Ze to greet him, nor did he tell Jiang Nanshu about Ji Ze. Instead, he observed from the shadows.
When Yan Yidan finished this round, she stylishly snagged the first place of this race.
When she walked up to Jiang Yunchuan, he hadn’t even reacted yet.
Yan Yidan followed his gaze and also saw the kid.
Ji Ze was there under her arrangement. Later he would follow this group of rich second generations to some underground venue to record videos of their obscene drug use, which Yan Yidan planned to hand over to the police to nip this cancer in the bud.
Only it was a shame.
The Ke family, after the incident that year, had decisively emigrated, thus evading the laws of Hua Country.
Yan Yidan’s eyes lowered; even if they emigrated, they should pay a price. It was unjust for the wicked to roam free while the good suffered in silence below.
She exhaled softly and her smile returned to its gentle warmth, placing a hand on Jiang Yunchuan’s shoulder, “Yunchuan, what are you so engrossed in looking at?”
Jiang Yunchuan jumped, snapping back to reality. He looked around and then pulled Yan Yidan aside. In this place, she was the only person he trusted.
Tilting his chin, he pointed out Ji Ze to Yan Yidan, speaking in a hushed tone, “See that kid over there?”
Yan Yidan’s eyes flickered, “Yes, what about him? He’s quite young. He might be here with his parents to watch the race.”
“No.” Jiang Yunchuan’s eyes conveyed his growing concern, “He’s Nannan’s brother. I want to find out why he’s here! It’s too dangerous!”
Yan Yidan: “…”
Oh, crap!