On the phone, Uncle Zhou said, “He’s come to Jianshan Village.”
Jiang Youli: “…”
What on earth was Jiang Xing thinking? He had actually gone to Jianshan Village?!
“Uncle Qin, Aunt Meng, and I have been busy lately, so at first we didn’t notice that a stranger had appeared in the village. Jiang Xing didn’t say who he was, either. He simply settled down there. I only realized it just now.”
“I don’t know what he’s up to. Anyway, I sent you a video. Take a look.”
Jiang Youli nodded. “All right.”
She turned on the speaker and placed her phone on the desk, then picked up the mouse, opened WeChat on her computer, and clicked on the video Uncle Zhou had sent her.
The video was a full minute long.
In it, Jiang Xing stood outside the small house where Jiang Youli had once lived. His gaze rested on the withered medicinal herb hanging beside the door. Slowly, he reached out and gently stroked it, as though reminiscing about something.
Uncle Zhou’s voice continued from the phone. “Girl Li, you’ve finished watching the video, right? What exactly is Jiang Xing doing here? Is he feeling sentimental because the place brings back memories?”
Watching Jiang Xing in the video, Jiang Youli was filled with confusion as well.
She truly couldn’t understand why Jiang Xing had appeared there at this particular moment, much less why he had made such a gesture.
Uncle Zhou continued, “How do you want to handle this? Should I get the whole village together and drive him out?”
“No need, Uncle Zhou,” Jiang Youli replied. “I’ll have his family come and take him away.”
“All right. It’s better than having to look at that pretentious face of his and feel sick to our stomachs.”
Uncle Zhou sneered, “Wasn’t he unwilling to come get you before? And now he’s run all the way to the village to put on an act. Who exactly is he performing for?”
After venting enough, he said, “All right, Girl Li. I won’t disturb your work any longer.”
“All right, Uncle Zhou. You get back to work too.”
After hanging up, Jiang Youli rubbed her temples.
Now that Jiang Xing no longer had to manage Starlight Entertainment, he really did have far too much free time!
Half an hour later—
Jiang Zhao hurriedly arrived at Starlight Entertainment.
He glanced at his mother, Qin Yulian, who was still asleep in the waiting room. Instead of waking her immediately, he went to Jiang Youli’s office first.
He knocked on the door, then pushed it open without waiting.
“Xiao Li, I’m here.”
Jiang Youli looked up and said coldly, “Your mother’s in the waiting room next door. She should be waking up soon.”
At that, she grew somewhat impatient. “Do you know that Jiang Xing went to Jianshan Village?”
Jiang Zhao froze. An awkward expression appeared on his face, but he didn’t answer.
Seeing his reaction, it was obvious that he knew. Jiang Youli became even more annoyed.
“What is Jiang Xing trying to do? What, did getting rid of the poison leave him resentful toward me, but since he can’t do anything to me, he’s planning to take his anger out on the villagers?”
Afraid his elder brother would be misunderstood, Jiang Zhao hurriedly explained, “No, Xiao Li… Big Brother doesn’t have any malicious intentions. After the poison was removed, he came to a different realization and wanted to visit the place where you used to live.”
“Visit the place where I used to live?” Jiang Youli sounded as though she had heard a joke. “Is he feeling moved by his own near-death experience? He can spare me. It only makes me irritated.”
Jiang Zhao quickly said, “Xiao Li, in any case, you can rest assured that Big Brother never intended to hurt anyone in the village.”
“Jiang Xing doesn’t have the ability to hurt them, either,” Jiang Youli sneered. “Enough. Your mother has already come to bother me over this. Tell her immediately that Jiang Xing is in Jianshan Village. If she comes to annoy me again, I won’t just make her lose consciousness next time.”
Jiang Zhao lowered his eyes. “…All right.”
He left the office and returned to the waiting room. His mother, Qin Yulian, had indeed just woken up.
When she saw her son, Jiang Zhao, Qin Yulian shook her head. Once she realized that Jiang Youli had gotten the better of her, she complained, “Zhao’er, your sister is absolutely hateful. She stuck needles in me again!”
“That’s enough, Mom,” Jiang Zhao said angrily. “Big Brother is missing, so why did you come looking for Xiao Li? Do you suspect she did something to him?”
Qin Yulian said aggrievedly, “Could it not have been her? You said you didn’t know where your big brother was. Who else could I ask? Of course, your sister was the most obvious person to ask!”
“Big Brother went to Jianshan Village! He was afraid you and Dad wouldn’t agree, so he specifically told me not to tell either of you. Now you know, so hurry up and leave! Don’t bother Xiao Li again in the future!”
Jiang Zhao didn’t even step forward to help Qin Yulian up. He left in anger, striding away.
Now that she knew where her son was, Qin Yulian stopped making a scene and immediately followed Jiang Zhao out of Starlight Entertainment.
Once they were in the car, Qin Yulian still couldn’t understand.
“What is your big brother doing in a poor, remote place like Jianshan Village? Is he there alone? Who knows whether the village is dangerous…”
Jiang Zhao had no desire to listen to her, but he couldn’t stand her endless chatter any longer. “Mom, Big Brother and I are both grown men. We know what we’re doing. Can you stop interfering?”
Qin Yulian immediately felt wronged again. “If I weren’t your mother, you could do whatever you wanted and I wouldn’t care. I’m only worried that something might happen to your big brother. He’s a pampered young master, and if he gets bullied in the village, there may not be anyone to hear him no matter how much he calls for help!”
Jiang Zhao simply put on his Bluetooth earphones and turned up the volume until the music completely drowned out his mother’s voice.
After taking his mother home, Jiang Zhao pulled out his phone and sent a text message to his elder brother, Jiang Xing.
[Mom went to Starlight Entertainment to cause trouble for Xiao Li today. She knows you went to Jianshan Village.]
…
Jianshan Village.
The place was quiet and remote, seemingly cut off from the outside world.
Jiang Xing stood in front of a crude mud house when his phone suddenly vibrated.
He took it out and saw a text message from Jiang Zhao on the screen.
Jiang Xing’s eyes darkened slightly when he read it.
Just then, he heard footsteps approaching from the path behind him. He turned around and recognized the middle-aged man walking toward him as Chairman Zhou, who had previously appeared at Jiang Youli and Qi Huan’s engagement banquet.
“Chairman Zhou…” Jiang Xing said, surprised yet respectful.
Zhou Wang’s expression was far from friendly, and his tone was openly hostile. “You’re Jiang Xing, right? What exactly are you plotting by coming here?”
Jiang Xing hurriedly explained, “No, Chairman Zhou, you’ve misunderstood. I just wanted to see the place where Xiao Li lived. I’ve always felt guilty that I didn’t personally come to bring her back to the Jiang family.”
Zhou Wang let out a cold laugh and refuted him without mercy. “If you hadn’t been thrown out of the Jiang family, you wouldn’t be feeling guilty about a damn thing!”
His words were like a sharp sword, stabbing straight into Jiang Xing’s heart. Jiang Xing was rendered speechless. He couldn’t refute Zhou Wang because the truth was, that was exactly how things stood.
“Stop polluting our eyes by hanging around here. Honestly! If you want to repent, then go do what other people do—crawl on your knees all the way up to a temple and repent there.”
After mercilessly mocking him, Zhou Wang hoisted his hoe onto his shoulder and walked away.
Before long, the other villagers who passed by also learned Jiang Xing’s identity.
“So he’s Girl Li’s own brother, huh? And back then, he wouldn’t even come to take her home!”
“This is just too hilarious. It’s not like our Girl Li was dying to acknowledge that family anyway.”
“What’s he doing here now? Don’t tell me he’s trying to butter us up so we’ll put in a good word for him?”
“Dream on!”
