After Redeeming the Cold, Aloof Heroine, I Ran Away - Chapter 5

Jiang Xian had never seen someone so stubborn. Although Jing Lian looked so small and thin, her temper was the kind that even nine bulls could not drag back. With that kind of temperament, she would succeed at anything she did in the future.

Jiang Xian sat in front of the surveillance monitor and stared at it for a full ten hours. Ten hours! Even her butt hurt from sitting, yet there was not the slightest movement on Jing Lian’s side.

She was still covered in injuries, squeezed into a space so tight it hurt both her chest and back until she could barely breathe.

She had some ability. Jiang Xian thought that in her heart.

But what was too rigid would easily break. Did Jing Lian not understand that principle?

She should have.

The sky gradually darkened. The weather by the sea was unpredictable. Dark clouds covered the sky like the lid of a pot, leaving only a single crack for people to catch a brief breath.

It started raining.

Dense rain fell like needles, each one piercing the ground. Soon, the glass windows were soaked, the rain forming one small circle after another on the panes.

Jiang Xian’s eyes stared fixedly at the monitor. She swallowed lightly, then squeezed the joints of her right hand with her left, making them crack. Immediately after, she stood up, grabbed a black umbrella, and rushed out.

Fine rain struck the umbrella, the bricks, the leaves, making a steady pattering sound. It was broken, delicate. The faint breeze carried a chill, causing her to shiver.

Even with something to shield her from the wind and rain, it was already like this. How much worse must it be for that lonely crane in the corner between the walls?

She could not help quickening her pace and arrived in front of Jing Lian in the blink of an eye.

The bright light shone inside. In the gap between the two walls, Jing Lian still maintained the posture of looking upward. The fine rain was like needles, piercing through her clothes, into her skin, and into her bones.

Her entire body was soaked through. She stood there in a defeated, lonely state, so incomparable and yet so pitiful. But at this moment, for some reason, a burst of irritation rose in Jiang Xian’s heart.

How long was she going to keep making trouble? How long was she going to stay this stubborn?

“I said, do you not want your life anymore?”

Her words carried fierceness, her voice drilling into the space between the two walls, the echo lingering.

Jing Lian did not react.

Jiang Xian reached her hand out from under the umbrella and into the gap, trying to receive her. The fine rain quickly drenched her hand.

“Come out. I promise that this time, I absolutely won’t force you again.”

Jing Lian turned her face to the side. Her pale complexion had been flushed red by the rain, and the fine droplets gathered on her eyelashes, slowly forming two tiny waterfalls that dripped downward.

At this moment, she could not see anything clearly. Hearing someone call her, she sighed. The few wisps of mist she breathed out were all extinguished by the fine rain.

“You… you… are… dreaming!”

After forcing out the final word through clenched teeth, her chest tightened, her limbs went loose, and she fell like a light sheet of paper blown down by the wind.

Jiang Xian reached out to catch her, just in time to catch her thin shoulders. The skin on Jing Lian’s body was as hot as a branding iron. When Jiang Xian reached toward her forehead, she was instinctively burned enough to pull her fingers away.

She had a fever.

Jiang Xian slid one hand behind her back and hooked the other under the bend of her knees, lifting her in a princess carry. Jing Lian was light as air, her bones so distinct that they hurt Jiang Xian.

Jiang Xian strode into the villa. The floor, smooth as a mirror, reflected her figure. She lowered her head and looked down. Jing Lian’s wet hair clung to her fiery red cheeks, white steam rising from her black hair and drifting upward, carrying a faint chill of illness.

Xiao Ya, Auntie Wang, and the other servants gathered around. Jiang Xian immediately instructed the people beside her, “Xiao Ya, go invite the family doctor. Auntie Wang, prepare hot water.”

After saying that, she looked straight ahead and carried Jing Lian upstairs.

Because no one was watching, she also did not need to show a sharp and mean personality in front of the system. Instead, she gently placed the person in her arms on the velvet sheets. Her hands fell in front of Jing Lian’s neck as she lightly undid the row of round mother-of-pearl buttons. Just as she loosened the second one, the back of her finger accidentally brushed the skin along Jing Lian’s jaw. It was cold. The person beneath her could not help letting out a soft hum. Jiang Xian’s fingers trembled, and she lifted her eyes to glance at her. Jing Lian’s lashes were soaked, like black rain butterflies flapping in a sorry state.

In the next instant, a cold object lifted and grasped Jiang Xian’s wrist. Jing Lian’s fingers were slender and white as wax, with a faint purplish blood color visible on them. There was also a red mark on the back of her hand, probably left by the whip.

She had not woken up. It was only her body instinctively resisting Jiang Xian, so she lifted her hand and tried to stop her. But she no longer had any strength. A few fingers merely gripped Jiang Xian’s wrist lightly, pressing four small round dents into her skin as they trembled.

Jiang Xian’s delicate brows rose like two willow-leaf blades. She turned her wrist lightly and, without using the slightest bit of effort, held Jing Lian’s hand in return and put it back down.

All around them was silence. Only the sound of buttons being undone one by one and fabric rubbing against fabric remained in the air. In Jiang Xian’s hands, that French-style dress was like withered flower petals, mercilessly torn open.

She swept her eyes lightly over Jing Lian and saw that her entire body was snow-white, with an hourglass figure. It was just that her sternum/ribs were clearly visible, as though they were about to pierce through her pale skin and break out.

Several whip marks stood out vividly before her eyes, worsening the already pitiful state of Jing Lian’s thin, bony body. Her back, chest, legs, and arms—large and small marks added together formed more than one line, some long and some short, some deep and some shallow. Jiang Xian’s heart tightened. Such a beautiful body would be ruined if scars were left behind.

A moment later, three knocks came from outside the door. The family doctor had arrived. Jiang Xian pulled the velvet blanket over and wrapped Jing Lian up before inviting the family doctor inside.

The doctor was a woman in her thirties, dressed in a black suit. Her shoulder-length hair was parted three-to-seven, neat and efficient. Her appearance was gentle and soft. When she entered the room, her steps were light. She quickly came to the bedside and looked at the person on the bed before looking back at Jiang Xian.

There was no expression on her face, as if she had long since grown used to such things. Jiang Xian was an S who liked to play rough, but not to the point of killing anyone. And these women were all here because they coveted money and her body, so not the slightest bit of sympathy or pity showed on the doctor’s face.

She waited calmly and coldly for the boss’s instructions.

In the past, the boss would always casually say, “Don’t let her die.”

Then she would leave gracefully.

However, this time, her boss immediately snapped, “Why are you so slow?”

Her tone was still as sharp and irritable as before.

“She has eleven whip marks on her body, and several cuts on the soles of her feet. After getting rained on, she probably has a fever. She also hasn’t eaten for almost a day.” As Jiang Xian spoke, she reached out to touch Jing Lian’s fever-flushed forehead, her expression seeming somewhat anxious. “She needs treatment as soon as possible.”

Doctor Dou was made a little dizzy by this string of instructions. Xiao Ya and Auntie Wang behind her also showed strange expressions.

When Jiang Xian saw their odd looks, she instinctively cleared her throat, squared her shoulders, and stood up straight. Her voice was fierce as she said, “What are you standing there for? Move.”

This sentence was directed at Xiao Ya and Auntie Wang, telling them to wipe Jing Lian’s body for her.

Wang Yi and Xiao Ya instantly dispelled the doubts in their hearts. They hurriedly lowered their heads and split up, using the prepared hot water to clean Jing Lian.

Jiang Xian looked straight ahead again and took two steps toward Doctor Dou, looking down at her.

“Don’t let her scar. Otherwise, I’ll hold you responsible.”

After saying that, she strode out of the room like the wind, leaving behind air that cooled rapidly.

After the door was closed, everyone inside let out a breath at the same time, feeling as if the air had become fresh again.

Auntie Wang in particular looked delighted as she winked at Xiao Ya.

But Xiao Ya remained quite clear-headed. “I still feel like boss is acting strange. I can’t explain it.”

Auntie Wang gave an “aiyo.” “What’s strange? She’s still as violent, willful, and inhuman as before.”

Doctor Dou was silent for a moment before changing the subject. “Let’s clean Ninth Miss first.”

Jiang Xian returned to her bedroom. The room was decorated in Gothic style, with a dark cashmere carpet covering the floor. Black brocade embroidered with gilded ripples was spread across the sofa. The windows had not been opened. Sunlight shone through the glass, warming half the sofa.

Outside the window stood coconut trees over ten meters tall, their branches lush and heavy with fruit. Jiang Xian walked over and pushed open the window. With a creak, dust fell from the window frame. When she breathed it into her lungs, her throat became a little hoarse.

Perhaps because of her body’s instinctive reaction, her awareness led her to find cigarettes on the coffee table. She lit one, inhaled it into her lungs, and breathed out smoke. The remaining smoke drifted slowly. She leaned against the window and felt the sunlight shine through her clothes, her body temperature gradually rising. She gained a brief moment of respite.

She wondered how Jing Lian was doing. Thinking this, she scanned the room and saw a laptop. The screen was moving, and there seemed to be sound coming from it.

Holding the cigarette between her fingers, Jiang Xian focused her eyes and looked carefully. It turned out that the scene on the screen was none other than Jing Lian’s room.

She was monitoring her!

What a pervert.

Jiang Xian walked forward and looked at the different angles displayed. One was a full wide shot, allowing her to see everyone in the room. Three people were busy helping Jing Lian clean and change clothes. Another angle looked down from the head of the bed, just enough to see the details of the person lying there.

At this moment, Auntie Wang happened to be wiping Jing Lian’s hips. The snow-white cotton cloth gently brushed across her skin. Her hips were slightly full and rose and fell faintly as she breathed. Jing Lian was lying on her front, half of her small face tilted against the pillow. Although she was unconscious, because someone was wiping her body, she showed a trace of reaction. Her delicate brows trembled lightly like a butterfly’s antennae, and every now and then, soft sounds escaped her mouth. Mm, mm—short and low.

Watching this image filled with desire, Jiang Xian could not help pinching her cigarette tighter. Inwardly, she cursed, What kind of cursed Japanese AV camera angle is this? What have they made her look like on camera!

As she cursed, she sobered up again. Right now, the person watching Jing Lian through the surveillance was none other than herself. So it turned out that the pervert was actually her.

Her face reddened awkwardly. Then she said, “I’m only concerned about how her injuries are. That doesn’t count as being a pervert.”

So she sat down in front of the computer and watched as they cleaned Jing Lian, applied medicine, and put her on an IV. Nearly an hour passed, and she finished smoking five cigarettes.

Seeing Doctor Dou leave the room, not long after, there was a knock on the bedroom door. Jiang Xian knew it was Doctor Dou, so she lightly pressed down the laptop screen.

“Come in.”

Dou Dou pushed open the door but did not enter. Holding a medical leather case with both hands, she respectfully reported Jing Lian’s physical condition.

“Miss Jing Lian has already been given fever-reducing medicine. Her external wounds have also been medicated and bandaged. The dressing needs to be changed every twenty-four hours. Also, her important issue is that she’s too thin. Once a person is too thin, their resistance weakens, and their injuries heal slowly. So boss can usually add more foods that nourish blood and flesh to her meals, such as…”

Doctor Dou listed some foods. Jiang Xian’s mind wandered. She only knew that Jing Lian’s physical problems also needed to be healed slowly on a psychological level. It was not something that could be fixed simply by eating a few things.

After Dou Dou finished speaking, Jiang Xian lightly tapped her fingers on the desk.

“I understand. You may go.”

But Doctor Dou did not move. Instead, her eyes swept over the space between Jiang Xian’s right thumb and index finger.

Jiang Xian followed her gaze downward and immediately understood what she meant. She said, “My injury is fine. I’ll deal with it myself.”

Only then did Doctor Dou let out a breath of relief. After bowing to her, she turned and left.

Jiang Xian did not have time to treat her own wound. Instead, she immediately went to Jing Lian’s room.

She sat before the bed, staring blankly at the liquid falling from the transparent glass bottle. Drip, drip. Quietly, it flowed into Jing Lian’s blood.

Visible to the naked eye, the flush on Jing Lian’s face faded like sand in an hourglass, retreating toward her limbs and leaving behind a waxy paleness. Her features were extremely faint and delicate: light double eyelids, soft brows and eyes, her nose bridge, and slightly upturned lips. That extreme elegance gave birth to a kind of beauty.

Her fever should be going down, right?

Jiang Xian did not know how long she had watched. Thinking this, she bent down and moved closer, raising her palm to check Jing Lian’s forehead.

She did not know what kind of expression she was showing. There was concern, pity, and a silent sigh.

Her palm was only millimeters away from Jing Lian’s forehead when, suddenly, the person on the bed lightly opened her autumn-like eyes and met Jiang Xian’s gaze.

Jing Lian woke from the pain. Her eyes rippled faintly. In her blurry vision, she seemed to see a pair of eyes. There was no desire in those eyes, no lewdness. They were like the light of waves shining across the sea, gentle to the extreme.

Seeing that Jing Lian had woken up, Jiang Xian immediately stirred up the performance instinct inside her body. Her gaze turned, and she stared at Jing Lian with an arrogant posture.

Was it an illusion?

Jing Lian blinked. Her vision went from blurry to clear. In the next instant, she saw clearly that the person in front of her still had that same sharp-tongued, mean face as always.

Utterly detestable.

“You’re awake?” Jiang Xian asked.

Jing Lian clenched her pearl-white teeth and weakly rolled her eyes at her, turning her small face away.