The next morning, sunlight spilled into the room through the gaps in the curtains.
Jiang Youli stretched lazily, sat up from the bed, and after a quick wash, went downstairs to have breakfast.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she instinctively glanced toward the door, only to find that Jiang Xing was already nowhere to be seen. She had no idea how he had finally left last night.
But however he left had nothing to do with her.
She didn't care.
At that moment, Nanny Wang was walking out of the kitchen carrying a steaming hot breakfast. She gently placed it on the dining table and, seeing Jiang Youli coming down, greeted her with a smile, "Miss."
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she added, "Oh, right, Second Master Jiang just sent someone over with an item, saying it must be given to you."
With that, Nanny Wang turned and walked into the living room, retrieved a vermilion wooden box from the coffee table, and carefully placed it in front of Jiang Youli.
Jiang Youli pulled out a chair, sat down, and opened the wooden box.
Inside lay a bloody severed finger, adorned with a diamond ring.
"Ah!" Nanny Wang, standing to the side, couldn't help but scream at the sight. Terrified, her face as pale as a sheet, she frantically tried to take the wooden box away and close the lid, muttering incessantly, "Miss, don't be afraid! I'll take this dreadful thing away and dispose of it immediately, so it doesn't dirty your eyes..."
However, in stark contrast to the panicked Nanny Wang, Jiang Youli appeared unusually calm.
She looked quietly at the wooden box before her and slowly spoke, "Nanny Wang, there's no need to be nervous. It's nothing to be afraid of." It was as if this horrific scene was just an everyday occurrence to her.
Just as Nanny Wang was looking on in bewilderment, Jiang Youli's phone rang.
She answered it, and Jiang Yangxu's hoarse and weak voice came through the line. "Have you seen the gift I had someone send you?"
Thinking about how Jiang Yangxu was making this call after being stabbed by her handsome new dad, Jiang Youli wanted to laugh. "I saw it. What, is it your finger? If it's your finger, then I absolutely love this gift."
The person on the other end sneered, "Look closely at whose finger it is. You've acknowledged your aunt for so long; even if you can't recognize her finger, surely you recognize the ring she wears?"
If she wasn't deliberately putting on an act, Jiang Youli probably would have laughed out loud.
The finger in the box obviously belonged to a man, and the ring wasn't the one her beautiful new mom wore. Jiang Yangxu was questioning her, but it seemed he hadn't even looked at this finger himself before having it sent to her.
Jiang Youli played along, deliberately using a panicked tone. "Jiang Yangxu, what did you do to my mom?"
The other end laughed triumphantly, "Nothing much, just a finger. You don't need to make such a fuss. Her life is not in danger."
"Jiang Yangxu, what exactly do you want by taking my mom?" Jiang Youli feigned an angry interrogation, while in reality, she was happily munching on a piece of toast.
Nanny Wang, looking fearful beside her, wanted to say something, but Jiang Youli placed a finger to her lips and made a "shh" gesture.
Only then did Nanny Wang calm down.
"What I plan to do to your mom depends on your attitude," Jiang Yangxu said viciously.
Jiang Youli continued her performance, "Just tell me what kind of attitude you want, as long as you don't hurt my mom."
Jiang Yangxu snorted coldly and replied icily, "First, you need to cure Jiang Xing's poison, and then find a way to wake up the comatose Jiang Zhao. As long as you accomplish these two things, your mom will be safe and sound! Otherwise, the next gift you receive won't be as simple as a finger!"
As he spoke the last few words, he deliberately emphasized his tone, his threatening intent palpable.
"Also, you'd better drop any idea of complaining to the Old Master. If you dare tell him about this, then don't blame me for being ruthless and doing your mom wrong. If you think you have the guts to gamble with me, let's see who ends up suffering in the end!"
Before Jiang Youli could say anything else, the other party mercilessly hung up the phone.
Nanny Wang had also heard the words from the phone and said in shock, "Second Master Jiang must be crazy! How dare he, actually daring to touch Madame!"
Jiang Youli gently placed her phone on the table and sneered, "This is what they call a desperate dog jumping over a wall. Because he knows that if he just sits and waits for death, he'll definitely lose everything, so he might as well take a gamble."
Nanny Wang's face was still pale as paper, her hands unconsciously gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, and she asked anxiously, "Then what do we do now, Miss? I saw that Madame and Sir didn't come back all night, and just assumed they were out having fun, so I didn't think about anything bad happening..."
Jiang Youli comforted her, "Nanny Wang, don't worry. My mom is fine. My dad is out there with her, and they'll be back soon."
Seeing her so calm, Nanny Wang's heart, which had been in her throat, finally settled back into her chest a little. She let out a long sigh of relief and said, "That's good then."
After breakfast, Jiang Youli received a message from Qi Huan.
[Little Li'er, I'm heading over now.]
Jiang Youli replied.
[Okay. Jiang Yangxu just called to threaten me. I played along with him for a bit, making him all smug. I really want to know what his reaction will be when he finds out he was played by me.]
The other party replied with a few words.
[Incompetent rage.]
Jiang Youli's eyes fell on the words Qi Huan had replied—"Incompetent rage."
That's right, incompetent rage.
Today, she was going to let Jiang Yangxu taste true defeat and make him fully experience the feeling of incompetent rage.
...
City Hospital.
"Big Brother." In the hospital room, Jiang Yonghe quickly stood up when she saw Jiang Xing enter. "Why did you come to the hospital to see Second Brother so early today?"
Jiang Xing glanced at the comatose Jiang Zhao on the hospital bed and explained, "I'm taking Jiang Zhao back today."
Jiang Yonghe was taken aback. "Today? But hasn't Second Brother still not woken up yet? Why are you taking him back so suddenly?"
Jiang Xing explained, "Jiang Youli said she can wake Jiang Zhao up. Dad has already figured out a way to make Jiang Youli obediently cure my poison and wake Jiang Zhao up. This way, you won't have to leave the Jiang family either, so you'll come back to the Jiang family with me later."
Jiang Zhao, who was on the hospital bed, was actually already awake. Hearing his older brother's words, his heart surged with emotion.
Was he finally going to wake up?
That was great!
He would finally be able to expose Jiang Yonghe's true colors!
"Really? That's wonderful!" Jiang Yonghe excitedly grabbed Jiang Xing's arm. Suddenly, she noticed the bruise on Jiang Xing's forehead, and worry filled her eyes. "Big Brother, what happened to your forehead?"
Looking at the worry in his adopted sister Jiang Yonghe's eyes, Jiang Xing's heart softened. He had never seen this kind of look in Jiang Youli's eyes.
This was the contrast.
He had already admitted his mistakes and expressed that he would try his best to make up for them, but Jiang Youli simply refused to give him a chance.
Even last night, when he was in such agony right in front of Jiang Youli, she had simply turned a blind eye. Leaving him to fend for himself had completely chilled his heart.
He recalled Jiang Youli telling him that he would regret choosing to give the cure to Little He.
He didn't understand. What made Jiang Youli think he would ever regret it?
Even if he did, it would only be because the poison was torturing him to the point of wishing for death. It would absolutely never be because he regretted giving the opportunity to Little He so she could restore her appearance.
