Jiang Youli was instantly fired up.
So that meant she would be allowed to personally torture and interrogate Qi Tianxiang, right?
That was wonderful!
She loved nothing more than tormenting scumbags.
The moment she thought about all the disgusting things Qi Tianxiang had done to Qi Huan, Jiang Youli could barely contain her urge to act.
“Huanhuan, leave tomorrow to me. I never even blink when I’m torturing scumbags. I’ll definitely get your brother’s whereabouts out of Qi Tianxiang. Just don’t let yourself lose your nerve and go soft when you see it,” Jiang Youli warned him in advance.
“I won’t. I’ve already given up on Qi Tianxiang completely. Besides, I quite enjoy watching you torment scumbags.”
Qi Huan wasn’t lying.
If seeing her in the village had been what first made him take a liking to her, then the scene at the abandoned factory, where he had watched her brutalize Jiang Xing, was what had truly made him fall hopelessly for her.
It had been such a stunning and beautiful sight, overflowing with the aesthetics of violence.
Qi Huan gathered his thoughts and continued, “How did things go on your end tonight? Why did your grandfather ask Jiang Yangxu’s family to come back to the Jiang residence for dinner?”
“Grandpa wanted me to detoxify Jiang Xing,” Jiang Youli explained. “As you know, there’s only one way to cure this poison, so I didn’t actually detoxify him. But as long as Jiang Xing stops looking for trouble, I guarantee the poison in his body won’t flare up again.”
Qi Huan understood. “That’s good, too. Let Jiang Xing think the poison has been cured. He probably won’t come bothering you anymore.”
“That was what I had in mind. I’ve tormented him enough already. If I keep going, he might actually kill himself.” Jiang Youli wasn’t being softhearted; Jiang Xing truly didn’t deserve to die.
Besides, Jiang Xing was her grandfather’s own grandson. If she really caused Jiang Xing’s death indirectly, there was no telling whether her grandfather would harbor resentment and fall into depression because of it, perhaps even to the point of dying.
Qi Huan asked, “Little Li’er, your birthday is only half a month away. How are you planning to celebrate this year? It’s your first year back at the Jiang residence.”
Jiang Youli’s birthday was November 21.
And today was already November 2.
Time really did fly. In the blink of an eye, two months had passed.
Mentioning her birthday, Jiang Youli smiled. “My parents have been preparing my birthday banquet lately. Mom even designed my evening gown herself. It’s really beautiful—not inferior to the one I wore at the welcome banquet last time.”
“As for how I’m going to celebrate, I’ve already discussed it with my parents.”
“Back when I was still in Sharp Mountain Village, the uncles and aunties there would celebrate my birthday for me, too. But they didn’t give me gifts. Every year, each of them taught me one survival skill.”
“Some taught me how to identify medicinal herbs, some taught me foreign languages, and some taught me how to recognize insects… There were so many different things. They taught me from the time I was six until I turned twenty.”
“So although I can’t study the traditional arts like Jiang Yonghe at the Jiang family’s Xinyi Pavilion, I know just as many skills as she does—if not more.”
Qi Huan listened attentively as she chatted on. Whenever she mentioned the uncles and aunties from the village, her whole face lit up. That was completely different from the way she looked when she talked about Jiang Xing and his family—either wearing a mocking expression or completely devoid of emotion.
It was precisely because those people who genuinely cared about Little Li’er had protected and loved her that she had grown into the dazzling person she was now.
Qi Huan agreed. “It’s better to teach someone how to fish than to simply give them fish. Your uncles and aunties truly want you to have a safe and smooth future.”
After a pause, he teased her, “So, Little Li’er, that means you’ve learned at least fourteen skills.”
Jiang Youli nodded. “Mm. Some of those skills may seem insignificant and might not even be popular anymore, but I find them fascinating. Paper cutting, for example, and shadow puppetry.”
Hearing those terms, which had become relatively uncommon in modern fast-food society, Qi Huan couldn’t help sighing with emotion. “It seems your uncles and aunties are all old-school artists.”
“They are! Every one of them is amazing!” Jiang Youli said proudly. “So I told Mom that I plan to invite all those uncles and aunties from the village to the Jiang residence to celebrate my birthday. I didn’t invite everyone to the welcome banquet last time because I hadn’t firmly established myself in the Jiang family yet. This time, I want to bring them all here and let them know that I’m doing well at the Jiang residence in the capital. I also want them to meet you.”
Qi Huan smiled. “The last time I went to the village to find you, I was in such a hurry that I didn’t properly greet them.”
“Then you’d better think carefully about how you’re going to handle them,” Jiang Youli teased.
Qi Huan replied confidently, “Don’t worry. I won’t embarrass you.”
“After my birthday, your legs should be almost healed, too.” Jiang Youli suddenly remembered.
At that, Qi Huan lowered his head and glanced at his legs. “Yes.”
He would finally be better soon. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to walk normally.
To prevent his muscles from wasting away, he had followed Little Li’er’s instructions and tried every night to press his feet against the floor and apply force.
At first, the pain had been unbearable. But recently, it had gradually eased. Although he still couldn’t walk, he could now stand for a few seconds.
He couldn’t wait to meet Little Li’er again while standing normally—and to hold their wedding.
“By the way, Duan Jinghan hasn’t contacted you lately?” Qi Huan asked curiously.
Jiang Youli shrugged. “No. An An even messaged me the night before last to say that she hadn’t heard from Duan Jinghan in quite some time. It seems there’s a very good chance he’s finally come to his senses and decided to stop pursuing me.”
Qi Huan guessed, “He could be saving up some grand scheme and planning to give you a huge surprise at your birthday banquet.”
“Who cares?” Jiang Youli wasn’t worried that Duan Jinghan could do anything that would put her in a difficult or troublesome position.
His intelligence simply wasn’t up to the task.
At first, she had thought that although he was a little pretentious, he was actually a straightforward young man without much scheming. Perhaps they could give things a try.
But the facts had proven that she and Duan Jinghan were simply on entirely different wavelengths.
If Duan Jinghan weren’t so stubborn, he could genuinely find a wonderful girl with his current circumstances.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t keep acting foolish forever.
“All right, time to go to sleep,” Jiang Youli said with a yawn.
Qi Huan nodded. “Good night, Little Li’er.”
“Good night, Huanhuan~”
…
The next day, Jiang Youli arrived at the company and listened to the song the post-production department had prepared for her. After confirming that there were no problems, she followed up on several other projects besides Aiming for the Clouds.
Before the lunch break ended, she received a call from Qi Huan.
“Are you off work? I’m waiting for you outside your company.”
Jiang Youli glanced at the time in the lower-right corner of her computer screen and laughed. “I’m the boss. I can leave whenever I want. Since you’ve come to pick me up, I’ll head down now.”
“All right.”
After hanging up, Jiang Youli called her secretary, Xiao Yang, into the office. She handed over the unfinished work, then went downstairs.
Behind her, several female employees craned their necks to watch Jiang Youli’s departing figure and whispered among themselves.
“The car parked downstairs looks like the same one Qi Huan’s older brother drove when he came to our company last time!”
“Really? The Qi family’s eldest young master has come to pick up our CEO again!”
“Let me see! A man that handsome may be out of my league, but getting an extra look at him is still a win!”
The female employees rose from their desks and crowded around the windows to look down.
“But Young Master Qi is in the car—we can’t see him!”
“Ah… The window’s rolling down! Looks like President Jiang has arrived downstairs!”
The women chattered back and forth, their voices rising from hushed discussion to wild screams.
“How was that face even made? I can spend hours sculpting a face in a game and still couldn’t create one this perfect!”
“This is what it looks like when the Creator plays favorites.”
“I can tell even from this far away how deeply Young Master Qi looks at our President Jiang.”
After Jiang Youli went downstairs, she saw the car parked by the roadside. The window rolled down, revealing Qi Huan’s endlessly captivating handsome face.
She jogged over.
Cheng Jing had already gotten out and opened the door for her. He said respectfully, “Miss Jiang.”
Jiang Youli nodded at him and slipped into the car. “Looks like we’re going straight to the sanatorium to see Qi Tianxiang?”
