[I have let go of my resentment, so in my eyes now, you are just irrelevant strangers. Strangers. I am going to block you.]
After replying, Jiang Youli blocked this new number as well.
"Let's keep eating."
Zhang Susu and Jiang Yehan exchanged a glance, tacitly choosing not to ask what Qin Yulian had called her about.
Qin Yulian and her family did not deserve a single word of extra concern.
...
In a guest room on the second floor of the Qin family home, the atmosphere was tense and oppressive.
"Mom, I told you not to bother Xiao Li anymore. She still hates us. We will figure out a way to save older brother ourselves."
Qin Yulian, having been blocked time and time again, felt her head pounding. Her voice unconsciously rose a few pitches. "Figure out a way ourselves? How? That's Qi Xiuyuan, a member of the Qi family! Even if he isn't the heir to the Qi family, given our current situation, can we afford to offend him?"
Jiang Zhao furrowed his brows and said, "What's there to be afraid of! Qi Xiuyuan doesn't get along with Qi Huan and Xiao Li. If we teach Qi Xiuyuan a lesson, we would be helping Xiao Li vent her anger!"
Qin Yulian grumbled irritably, "At the end of the day, it's still your sister being too heartless..."
"Enough!" Jiang Zhao shouted angrily, interrupting his mother's complaints. "We deserve this outcome, it has nothing to do with Xiao Li! Mom, I don't want to hear you say anything bad about Xiao Li again. We are the ones who let her down! Alright, I'm going to Qi Xiuyuan's house right now! Dad's injuries haven't healed yet, so stay here and take care of him!"
With that, Jiang Zhao opened the bedroom door and hurried downstairs.
As he reached the ground floor, he bumped right into his cousin Qin Xingcai, who immediately reminded him, "Jiang Zhao, didn't you say you were moving out tomorrow? Where are you going instead of packing up tonight?"
Jiang Zhao glanced at his uncle behind Qin Xingcai. His uncle guiltily averted his gaze.
His aunt, standing to the side, turned around with a cold face and walked toward the dining room. "Xingcai, it's time to eat. Just ignore him."
Qin Xingcai sneered, turned around, and followed her.
Once his wife and son had entered the dining room, the uncle finally breathed a slight sigh of relief. He lowered his voice and said to Jiang Zhao, "Xiaozhao, you must not blame your uncle for being cruel. If I let your whole family stay here, my wife and son will definitely be unhappy."
Hearing this, Jiang Zhao's hands involuntarily clenched into tight fists, his nails digging deeply into his palms. "Don't worry, Uncle. We will definitely move out tomorrow! We absolutely won't cause you any more trouble!"
A trace of awkwardness appeared on the uncle's face. He forced a smile and said sheepishly, "That's good... In that case, why don't you come and eat with us first?"
How could Jiang Zhao not see through his uncle's insincerity? It was obvious his uncle never intended to let their family of three sit at the dinner table.
So he decisively shook his head and replied coldly, "There's no need, Uncle. You guys go ahead and eat. I'll just go out and find something to eat."
Hearing this, the uncle hesitated and asked, "Then what about your parents..."
A wave of sorrow washed over Jiang Zhao. Taking a deep breath, he replied stiffly, "They will order takeout themselves."
At this very moment, the difficult situation before him made Jiang Zhao feel incredibly ashamed and embarrassed.
The last shred of dignity deep within his heart burned like a raging fire, driving him to escape this place as quickly as possible.
So he hurriedly dropped a sentence, "Uncle, I have some urgent matters to take care of, so I'll be heading out first."
After speaking, he strode out of the Qin family's front door without looking back, leaving his uncle standing alone in place, watching his retreating figure with a complex expression on his face.
Once in the car, Jiang Zhao ordered takeout on a food delivery app and called his mother. "Mom, you and Dad don't bother going downstairs to eat. Uncle and the others don't plan on calling you down anyway. I've already ordered takeout for you."
"How could your uncle be like this..."
Jiang Zhao was upset and frustrated, not wanting to hear his mother's complaints, so he simply hung up the phone.
He looked at the night scenery outside the car, sighed, started the engine, and stepped on the gas, speeding away.
...
After dinner, having seen off her grandparents and her uncles' families, Jiang Youli went to the medicinal garden to check on the condition of the Undying Grass.
Seeing that there was nothing unusual, she added some more poisonous powder around the area and returned to the house.
After coming out of the shower, Qi An'an sent her screenshots of her chat with Duan Jinghan.
Duan Jinghan: [Jiang Youli, I offended Long Yuan because of you. Now my dad won't let me go out to deliver takeout. He's locked me at home and won't let me leave. I really want to see you.]
Qi An'an: [What do you mean 'because of me'? Stop being so full of yourself. I wasn't even there that day.]
Duan Jinghan: [I really did it for you. That guy called Second Master Long called you a smelly bitch. I couldn't take it, so I taught him a lesson for you.]
Qi An'an: [So you're saying it's your doing that Second Master Long ended up in the police station?]
Duan Jinghan: [Well, not exactly...]
Qi An'an: [Then there you go! Your so-called 'venting my anger for me' ended up just offending Long Yuan yourself, to the point where you can't even leave your house. Aside from moving yourself to tears and trying to make me feel indebted to you, what use was it?]
Qi An'an: [To tell you the truth, Second Master Long going to the station was Huanhuan's doing. Could you have done that? That's the difference between you and Huanhuan!]
Duan Jinghan didn't reply after that.
Qi An'an sent another message.
[Cousin-in-law, that guy Duan Jinghan must be feeling ashamed after what I said!]
Jiang Youli replied to her:
[You're absolutely right. It's for the best to make him back off when he realizes the difficulties.]
Jiang Youli then opened the large group chat named "Capital Circle Winds and Clouds" and checked the messages tagging her.
It was the same ignorant young master who had tagged her before. He posted a news link about the Long family aggressively investing in and acquiring shares of the veteran entertainment company, Gale Entertainment.
[Jiang Youli, I heard the news. Young Master Long directly injected capital and took shares in the veteran Gale Entertainment. It's obviously to sanction your Jiang family's Starlight Entertainment~]
A few other familiar faces immediately chimed in:
[Wow, there's another good show to watch~]
[Why don't we place a bet on how long it will take for Starlight Entertainment to declare bankruptcy under Jiang Youli's management?]
[How long could it be? Once targeted by Young Master Long, half a year at most! Jiang Youli is just someone from the countryside with no management experience. Two months tops!]
[I dare say that all the artist resources under Starlight Entertainment will be cut off!]
Jiang Youli read the gossip about herself with great relish, then sent two messages to the group with keen interest.
[I say, what's the use of you people just talking big? When I bet with others, I do it for real. Last time I made a bet with my aunt Jiang Li, and she refused to accept her loss and kneel to apologize to me. So I personally went to the Long family to make her fulfill her promise and kneel in apology. During that time, I slapped Second Master Long a few times, which is how I offended the Long family.]
[So, if you really want to see me make a fool of myself, let's put down some real stakes. If you win, I'll get on my knees, call you mom and dad, and lick your shoes. But if you lose, you'll take turns being my dogs. I'll put a leash on one of you each day and walk you down the street. How about that?]
