Chapter 72: The One Who Should Be Laughed At Is Your Young Master
Jian An hadn’t anticipated that the man would suddenly block the blow for him, especially under such circumstances. He couldn’t help but freeze. No matter how much he thought about it, this abrupt action seemed superfluous and alien, completely devoid of any touching sentiment.
He simply couldn’t comprehend what kind of psychological state drove Ji Songting to do something so pointless.
After all… that person didn’t care whether he lived or died.
Just like at the underground casino, Ji Songting had humiliated him in public, forced him to kneel and kowtow, used his mother’s life to threaten him, and used the name of marriage to imprison him. Nothing about that suggested he would go to the lengths of taking a blow for him.
It was nothing more than self-indulgent sentimentality.
He, Jian An, would never believe it again, nor would his heart soften in the slightest.
Seeing that she had hit the wrong person, Zhou Manxiang frantically tossed the glass cup aside. Terrified of provoking the powerful man before her, she could only huddle trembling in the corner of the bed.
She hugged her knees tightly, stealing anxious glances at the man’s expression. Her previous arrogance and fury instantly vanished by half, her voice brimming with unease and tension:
“I… I didn’t mean it…! You… you came over to block it yourself! That cheap wretch deserved it, deserved to be hit! President Ji… why… why are you paying attention to him!”
The air in the hospital room seemed to solidify for a few seconds.
Ji Songting’s face showed not a ripple of emotion. He merely cast a downward glance at the bright red spot on the back of his hand, a cold luster gleaming in those dark, ink-like eyes.
Terrified by this gaze, Zhou Manxiang didn’t dare breathe too loudly. She didn’t even have the courage to sneak another peek at him now.
It wasn’t her fault; the person she wanted to teach a lesson was Jian An. Who told Ji Songting to meddle in other people’s business and insist on coming up to block it!
Seeing his boss get hit by the water cup, Xiao Wang rushed forward in a panic, asking, “President Ji! Are you alright?”
As he spoke, he looked toward the manic woman on the bed, scolding angrily: “If President Ji and Mr. Jian hadn’t rescued you from those people, you’d be dead by now! And you still dare to make a scene here?!”
Being reprimanded by a mere driver for the first time in her life, Zhou Manxiang couldn’t stand the indignity. Several times she wanted to curse back, but mindful of Ji Songting’s untouchable presence, she had to swallow her anger and just glare fiercely.
“Your mother is fine now. Come back to the Ji family with me.”
With that, Ji Songting hoisted the unmoving youth from the floor, pulling him toward the door of the hospital room.
Jian An no longer put up a futile resistance as he had before. As if devoid of a soul, a tide of despair swept over his heart. He asked dejectedly, “Are you in such a hurry to lock me up so soon?”
The other party let out a cold snort, declaring his sovereignty like a victor, enunciating every word: “Where else can you go besides the Ji family? You better recognize your status. We aren’t divorced. Would Shen Yunheng even dare take you?”
Hearing this, a flicker of emotion finally appeared in Jian An’s dimmed eyes. Yet, he continued walking without uttering a single word. He wasn’t stupid; of course he knew what this meant.
It meant he would never be able to leave the Ji family in this lifetime. He would never make it to the Jiangnan that haunted his dreams, and he had permanently missed out on the artistic dreams he had once passionately pursued.
It might seem like he was merely confined in a house, losing his freedom, but every passing day from now on would be a living hell. Not only would he be tortured by illness, but he would also bear immense mental and emotional agony. Either way, it was a nightmare.
He didn’t want this… he was truly terrified…
But Ji Songting wouldn’t let him go.
…
The Ji Villa.
Jian An was forcefully shoved directly into the room, tumbling to the floor. His eyes were filled with unhideable terror and a sense of helpless bitterness.
Ji Songting stood at the doorway, a burning cigarette between his fingers. Amidst the swirling smoke, his handsome face appeared somewhat obscure. He looked down at Jian An collapsed on the floor, a faint coldness surfacing deep within his eyes.
He then lifted his gaze to scan the clean, tidy room. With a slight frown, he grabbed the door handle and warned:
“Stay here and behave. You aren’t allowed to go anywhere. I won’t lock the door; you can still move freely within this villa. But if you try to escape, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
With that, the bedroom door was slammed shut with a heavy “bang,” isolating him inside.
Jian An hurriedly picked himself up from the floor, standing quietly in place. He stared unblinkingly at the tightly shut door, listening to a phone ringing outside.
He held his breath and inadvertently heard the words: “Xiao Yan? Wait, I’m coming over to find you right now.”
Then, the sound of the man’s footsteps gradually fading away.
For some reason, hearing those words now, Jian An felt no emotional ripples whatsoever in his heart. He wouldn’t feel sad over Ji Songting going to find someone else anymore.
Did this mean that he had finally let go…?
Outside the window, the sky darkened as the setting sun sank in the west. The entire city was bathed in a pale golden glow, lending it a hazy beauty.
But inside the empty bedroom, the lighting was dim. A suffocating, oppressive atmosphere filled the air, along with a bone-chilling cold, as if radiating the terror of death.
Jian An sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly out the window. There was no light in his eyes. It was as if everything in his sight, his entire world, had turned grey.
He hadn’t expected to wander in circles only to end up back here. The originally disheveled bedroom had also been restored to its former state.
All of this felt like a long, long dream. He dreamt of his painstakingly created portrait being stolen, of enduring insults from all sides center stage, of walking onto the highway in despair, and of getting into a car accident.
Perhaps the real Jian An had already died in that car crash. The one living now was merely a corpse.
In his daze, a faint glimmer of light suddenly blinked in the corner where his paintings used to be kept.
Jian An’s gaze happened to fall on that spot. He blinked involuntarily, then, as if guided by spirits, stood up and walked over, his footsteps almost completely silent.
By the light of the floor lamp, he carefully crouched down and picked up a bracelet from the corner.
After gently dusting it off, the few four-leaf clovers embedded around the bracelet revealed themselves.
Dark green four-leaf clovers, with incomplete, broken heart-shaped leaves.
Jian An’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Then, he repeatedly confirmed it under the light several times before finally assuring himself that this was the very same bracelet he had lost four years ago while saving Ji Songting.
What was going on?!
He had always thought the four-leaf clover bracelet was washed away by the sea. How could it appear in his room?!
Moreover, this bracelet was a graduation gift given to him by Lin Qiuwan back in university. She told him that wearing it would bring good luck. He believed her and had worn it ever since.
The day he lost it, he searched for a long, long time but couldn’t find it. He had even thought about diving into the sea to retrieve it.
If Shen Yunheng hadn’t desperately stopped him back then, he really would have foolishly jumped back into the ocean.
But now, the bracelet had returned.
Jian An pressed this lucky bracelet—a source of regret for four years—tightly against his warm chest. His mind was filled entirely with the gentle-smiling Professor Lin, who had been so good to him.
But… she had been dead for three years… the only woman who had made him feel familial love.
“Professor Lin, I miss you so much. Who exactly killed you? You clearly didn’t do anything wrong! I’m sorry… perhaps it won’t be long before I can come see you.”
Jian An murmured softly, his voice carrying an endless sorrow. Warm tears fell from his eyes, first one by one, and then pouring down like a torrential rain.
The water stains on the floor dried and then dampened again, dampening and then drying.
He covered his eyes with his hands, his shoulders shaking violently, and began to weep aloud. In the next second, torrential tears spilled through his fingers. He looked exceptionally shattered.
The entire room echoed with his heart-wrenching sobs.
“Knock, knock, knock!”
At that moment, the bedroom door was knocked from the outside, and Chen Ma’s voice drifted in:
“Mr. Jian, it’s time to come downstairs for dinner.”
Hearing someone’s voice, Jian An immediately wiped his tears away hastily with his sleeve. He stood up, panting, and took a long while to force his grief-stricken emotions down.
He put the bracelet away, walked to the door, and opened it. He didn’t dare raise his damp, red eyes to look at her, only replying softly, “Okay.”
Chen Ma instantly noticed something was wrong. She grabbed his wrist, stared straight at his face, and asked: “What’s wrong with you? Are you alright?”
Jian An immediately shook his head. “I’m fine.”
“Tsk, no matter how I look at it, you look like something’s wrong.”
Chen Ma looked him up and down, putting a hand on her hip. Lifting her chin slightly, she asked: “I heard you were hit by a car. How is your health now?”
“Much better. Chen Ma, how did you know I was in a car accident?” Jian An forced himself to look up at her.
The other party let out a meaningful hum and removed her apron as she spoke: “The Young Master said you were in a car accident and your health hasn’t fully recovered, so he told me to make you some nourishing soup.”
Hearing these words, Jian An lowered his brows. His eyes held a complex, indecipherable emotion. He pressed the corners of his lips together and remained silent. Only after a long pause did he ask softly:
“Where is he?”
“The Young Master probably went back to the company, right?”
Chen Ma’s answer was hesitant and uncertain.
Jian An understood instantly. His brows furrowed slightly, and his smile was somewhat forced as he said helplessly:
“He went to accompany Shen Chuyan, didn’t he?”
These words felt surprisingly abrupt coming from his mouth, yet they were entirely factual. Still, it felt somehow off. Chen Ma couldn’t shake the feeling that Jian An had changed a bit since returning from the car accident; even his tone was abnormal.
The corner of her mouth twitched awkwardly as she said: “Since you already know, why ask? Aren’t you afraid us servants will laugh at you for speaking so bluntly?”
To this, Jian An no longer deceived himself as he had before, nor did he believe he could ever walk into that man’s heart.
A gentle aura suddenly spread across his face, and he said flatly:
“Laugh then. Perhaps the one who should be laughed at is your Young Master. A married man, yet still looking for a mistress on the outside. I was loyal, but his excuses for cheating are all the same old tune.”
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