At the hospital, by coincidence, while waiting for the elevator, Jiang Youli ran into Jiang Yonghe again, though today Qin Yulian and Jiang Li were also present.
The three of them approached, their eyes sweeping over Jiang Youli in unison, each gaze revealing a different emotion.
Qin Yulian broke the silence first, asking Jiang Li beside her, "Third Sister, didn't you also see Jiang Youli this morning? What do you think of her?"
Jiang Li shot a sidelong glance at Jiang Youli and sneered mercilessly, "Hmph! She's exactly as you described, Second Sister-in-law. A wild girl with no respect, no sense of her place, and utterly lacking in manners."
She finished with a disdainful snort, expressing her extreme displeasure.
Watching Qin Yulian and Jiang Li give Jiang Youli such a hard time, Jiang Yonghe just stood quietly to the side, a hint of barely concealed schadenfreude in the depths of her eyes.
Jiang Youli leisurely pulled a silver needle from her sleeve and began to toy with it in her hand. "My hand's a bit itchy. I feel like testing it on a few beasts."
Seeing this, Qin Yulian remembered her own previous encounter with the needle. Her body stiffened, and she immediately fell silent.
Jiang Li was about to say something more, but Qin Yulian tugged at her sleeve, whispering a warning, "Third Sister, this wild girl is really strange. If you get pricked by that silver needle, you'll foam at the mouth, convulse, and have a fit."
Jiang Li, however, snorted coldly, "She wouldn't dare touch me! My husband would never let her get away with it!"
Jiang Youli looked at Jiang Li. "Third Aunt, your husband is just the second son in the Long family, not the heir. He doesn't have much say even within the Long family, and yet you think you can throw your weight around in front of me? If he really dared to move against me, he'd be the one in serious trouble."
Jiang Li's face turned cold. "You really dare to spout such nonsense! You don't actually think you're secure just because you're engaged to that Qi Huan brat, do you? You're working so hard to suck up to the Qi family's eldest young master, that cripple. Don't tell me you actually believe a cripple can still become the Qi family heir!"
"Third Aunt, mind your language. What do you mean by 'suck up'? Just because you're an expert at it yourself, having worked so hard to latch onto the Long family's Second Master, doesn't mean you see everyone else doing the same. You probably don't understand what a mutual, two-way relationship is." Jiang Youli retorted sharply.
Jiang Li snapped, "Shut up! My husband pursued me actively!"
Jiang Youli replied dismissively, "Yes, yes, the Long family's Second Master pursued you actively. You never used any tactics at all."
Her attitude made Jiang Li increasingly irritated.
Jiang Youli continued, "Also, Qi Huan will definitely be the Qi family heir. That's none of your concern. You should worry about whether your husband can help Second Uncle secure a meeting with Director Zhou tomorrow. Otherwise, you'll still have to kneel and apologize to me. At your age, having to kneel and apologize to a junior like me would be quite a blow to your pride."
Jiang Li trembled with rage. "Just you wait! The one kneeling and apologizing will definitely be you!"
The elevator doors opened, and Jiang Li strode in first.
Jiang Youli followed nonchalantly. Inside the elevator, she proactively asked Qin Yulian beside her, "Second Aunt, what did the doctor say? Is there any possibility of Jiang Zhao regaining consciousness?"
She actually dared to bring up her son's condition right to her face! Qin Yulian gritted her teeth. "None of your business!"
Jiang Youli glanced at Jiang Yonghe, who had remained silent, and smiled. "No reason. I was just thinking maybe I should play the good person this time and examine Jiang Zhao. With my medical skills, I might actually be able to wake him up."
Hearing this, Jiang Yonghe's expression stiffened slightly.
But she quickly returned to normal. So what if Jiang Zhao did wake up? The people sent to investigate her had already been dealt with.
Besides, she had injected him with that solution. It was impossible for him to wake up!
Qin Yulian was taken aback. She looked at Jiang Youli, unsure how much truth there was in her words.
"Leaving aside whether you actually have the skill, since when are you so kind-hearted?"
"Of course it's not out of kindness. There's a condition." Jiang Youli had noticed that when she mentioned being able to wake Jiang Zhao, Jiang Yonghe had visibly stiffened, clearly not wanting him to wake up.
Interesting.
She continued to observe Jiang Yonghe's expression, then asked Qin Yulian, "Well, Second Aunt? Interested?"
Jiang Li, standing nearby, interrupted, "Second Sister-in-law, how can you believe a little chit like her?"
Qin Yulian then remembered that her son's condition was Jiang Youli's fault in the first place. How could she possibly be so kind? Besides, was her medical skill really that exceptional?
This was the best hospital in the capital, and Jiang Zhao was being treated by the most authoritative doctors.
Even the doctors said whether he woke up depended entirely on Zhao'er's own will. How dare Jiang Youli claim she could make him wake up?
"Don't try to scheme anything else. I won't fall for it!" Qin Yulian refused outright.
"Suit yourself." Jiang Youli shrugged indifferently. "After all, Jiang Zhao isn't my son. Whether he wakes up or not has nothing to do with me. I'm not the one who's anxious or heartbroken."
With that, the elevator doors opened on the sixth floor, and she walked out.
After the doors closed again, Qin Yulian's heart couldn't help but stir with a flicker of hope.
If...
Just hypothetically, if Jiang Zhao really couldn't wake up... perhaps she really could let Jiang Youli try.
She just didn't know what impossibly difficult condition Jiang Youli would seize the chance to demand.
...
As Jiang Youli approached Qi Huan's hospital room, she ran into Qi Yue, who had just come out.
His face was dark, radiating intense, frightening murderous energy.
Qi Yue turned and saw Jiang Youli. He was momentarily startled, but the gloom on his face quickly vanished, replaced by a seemingly friendly smile. "Miss Jiang Youli, here to treat big brother's legs again?"
Jiang Youli looked at Qi Yue. He was also holding a lunchbox, but it seemed his "kind gesture" hadn't been accepted by Qi Huan, otherwise his expression wouldn't have been so foul moments before.
She teased with a smile, "Yes. And you? Did you come to make a fool of yourself in front of Qi Huan again today?"
He hadn't expected the Jiang family's true heiress to speak to him so rudely on their first interaction. The smile on Qi Yue's face froze.
He looked thoughtfully at the woman before him. "It seems big brother has told Miss Jiang Youli quite a lot about our Qi family affairs."
"Of course. After all, we'll be husband and wife soon. We have to be open with each other. So I have a general understanding of everyone in your Qi family, especially the affairs of you and Qi Yu siblings. I know all about it." At this point, Jiang Youli immediately corrected herself. "Wait, that's not right. Qi Yu was kicked out of the Qi family by Grandpa Qi for her mistakes. She doesn't count as part of your Qi family anymore."
Qi Yue's smile disappeared completely, his friendly facade dropping. A murderous glint resurfaced in his eyes. "It seems big brother really trusts Miss Jiang Youli a great deal, sharing all sorts of family matters with you."
Jiang Youli smiled. "Can't be helped. In your big brother's eyes, I'm more trustworthy. Not like a certain ungrateful snake raised in one's own bosom, like Qi Yu was."
Listening to her undisguised mockery, Qi Yue tightened his grip on the lunchbox. "Does Miss Jiang Youli always speak so bluntly? Aren't you afraid that being too sharp-tongued will make you enemies?"
Jiang Youli said nonchalantly, "If all I've offended are people like you, what's there to be afraid of?"
Qi Yue: "..."
"Oh? People like me?" Qi Yue narrowed his eyes, his voice laced with threat.
Without a second thought, Jiang Youli blurted out, "The incompetent kind, of course."
