After Redeeming the Cold, Aloof Heroine, I Ran Away - Chapter 6

Smart people could see the bigger picture from the smallest signs.

Jiang Xian suppressed the urge to check Jing Lian’s temperature. Her fingertips curled slightly before she slowly withdrew her hand.

Jing Lian watched her retract her hand, but she did not relax her guard. Instead, she pulled the velvet blanket upward, covering her shoulders, her neck, and even her chin, leaving only a pair of stubborn eyes exposed. Her eyes were dark as lacquer, as if they wanted to suck Jiang Xian in.

Facing the other woman’s careful vigilance, Jiang Xian suddenly felt a hint of playfulness rise in her. Of course, this playfulness would not actually hurt Jing Lian, but it could once again stabilize her character setting.

Through the thin goose-down quilt, she grabbed Jing Lian’s thigh with one hand. Jing Lian’s thigh was so slender that even with the quilt adding thickness, Jiang Xian could barely fill one hand with it.

Jing Lian was clearly frightened. She took a deep breath and raised her hand to strike Jiang Xian.

Jiang Xian lifted her other hand and clamped down on Jing Lian’s wrist. Jing Lian was receiving an IV. When her palm, white as a tender bamboo shoot, was raised, a streak of bright red flowed backward through the infusion tube, gorgeous and sickly.

Jiang Xian’s pupils tightened. She immediately pressed Jing Lian’s small hand back down. Only then did that red thread, like a strand of affection, flow back into her body.

“Don’t move.” Jiang Xian looked straight into her eyes, her gaze full of royal dominance. “I’ve already seen you from head to toe. As things are right now, those two ounces of flesh on your chest can’t stir even the slightest emotion in me. You’re all skin and bones, like a refugee. Do you really think I’m that interested in you? Also, the smell of blood and medicine on you makes me sick. It’s utterly disgusting. I can’t even eat when I look at you, let alone have any sexual interest in you. Recover properly. As for the rest, we’ll talk slowly.”

As she spoke, her palm rubbed over Jing Lian’s small hand. Her skin was so smooth, cold, and delicate. Even though it was the height of summer, Jiang Xian could not feel any warmth from her.

Jiang Xian felt pity in her heart and could not help rubbing the back of Jing Lian’s hand, trying to warm it.

That hand, like a piece of icy jade, trembled a few times in her palm before slipping away like a loach.

Jing Lian hated skin contact with her. This pervert said one thing with her mouth, yet seized every chance to handle her.

She leaned toward the other side of the bed in disgust and threw Jiang Xian a glance. “There’s nothing for you and me to talk about.”

Jiang Xian’s hand froze in the air. Awkwardly, she grasped at empty air a few times before standing up. She flicked her shoulder-length hair with her fingers and said with a smile, “Sooner or later, you’ll be mine.”

She turned around, one hand on her waist, then remembered something and looked back. “I had the kitchen prepare some food for you. Enjoy it properly.”

After saying that, she slammed the door and left.

The room fell silent. Only after Jing Lian heard the footsteps disappear down the corridor did her tense heart slowly relax, and her limbs softened as well. How strange. Why had Jiang Xian not taken advantage of her illness and utter inability to resist to force her?

Could it be… that she wanted to drug the food?

Because Jiang Xian knew that even if Jing Lian had only one breath left, she would never submit, so she had thought of such a low and dirty method.

The more Jing Lian thought about it, the more certain she became. It had to be this. After all, she vaguely remembered hearing Jiang Xian’s two housekeepers sneaking around and discussing something.

As she thought this, there was a knock at the door.

“Ninth Miss, we’re here to deliver your meal. If it’s convenient, we’ll come in.”

It is not convenient.

Jing Lian thought this, but she did not say it aloud. The two pushed open the door and entered. On the small dining cart was a round, half-transparent lace food cover. Through it, one could vaguely see the exquisite dishes arranged beneath.

However, those exquisite dishes instantly distorted. The steak turned into a bloody mess of flesh. Hands stretched out from the tomato soup, and even the pasta twisted its body toward her, binding her limbs and making her unable to move.

Her mind was probably unwell. Otherwise, why would such terrifying things appear in her head?

The two laid out the food, softly gave a few reminders, and then both withdrew.

Jing Lian stared blankly at the ceiling, with no heart to think about food. Scenes even more frightening than Jiang Xian kept surfacing in her mind.

Her mother. Something must have happened to her mother.

Her mother had met with disaster, and Jing Lian herself had encountered something like this. She was living a life worse than death. How could she still have the mood to eat?

Through the long night, she stared at the moon rising above the coconut trees outside the window. The moonlight was heavy and dim. She did not know when she finally fell asleep.

Early the next morning, Jiang Xian woke from the two-meter-wide bed. She stretched lazily and sat up. Sunlight spilled over her hair and cheeks, coating them in a layer of golden light.

While awakening her sleepiness, it also awakened her taste buds.

She was a little hungry. She got up, washed up, and changed into everyday home clothes: a white shirt and a long, loose pair of light-blue jeans. Wearing canvas shoes like slippers, she walked out of the room and came gracefully down the spiral staircase.

The dining table was a rectangular round-edged table three meters long and one meter wide. A gilded brocade tablecloth was spread across it, and it was filled with scented candles. Twelve cashmere chairs surrounded it tightly.

Seeing Jiang Xian come downstairs, the housekeepers immediately pushed the dining cart forward. Some pulled out her chair, some handed her a hot towel, and knives and forks were laid out in front of her with clear, crisp sounds. Everything was so comfortable and natural.

So she sat down boldly, enjoying the moment of being surrounded and served by everyone.

A dish was placed before her, covered by a tempered glass dome. Steam rose from it like crystal, making it impossible to see what kind of food was inside.

She did not know what the original owner usually ate in the morning. She smelled a hint of black pepper drifting over, and inwardly, she was already rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

“Boss, please be careful.”

The glass cover was lifted. A surge of hot steam rose before her, mist curling over with an ominous smell. Jiang Xian sniffed, fixed her eyes on it, and saw that a bloody steak was sitting in front of her.

…

So early in the morning, and they were already making things this exciting!

She swallowed, raised her hand, and loosened her collar. “Why is it steak again?”

The row of housekeepers in front of her was utterly silent, because this was part of Boss’s usual daily diet and routine. None of them dared change it.

Seeing that those people were confused but did not dare speak, Jiang Xian knew everything was under control.

So she waved her hand grandly. “Take it away. Change it to morning tea pastries.”

She gave all her orders casually, as if she had been born and raised to be surrounded by attendants.

In her mind, she asked the system, “What kind of person was I before?”

System: “Once you complete the mission and escape this body, you’ll understand.”

Jiang Xian only felt bored and did not ask again.

A short while later, the new morning tea had already been placed before her. Jiang Xian also did not forget to instruct the kitchen to send a portion to the patient on the second floor. She had just bitten into a custard bun when she saw Auntie Wang hurry over.

“Miss Jiang, something bad happened. Ninth Miss is refusing to eat.”

“Refusing to eat?”

“Yes, refusing to eat. The meal sent over last night, and the meals sent over this morning—she didn’t take a single bite. If this continues, she’ll starve herself to death.”

This kind of thing could not be rushed. Jiang Xian did not get up. Pretending to be calm, she continued drinking water. After drinking for a long time, she realized not a single drop had touched her lips. Her throat dry, she said, “Let her be. Do you really think she can starve herself to death?”

She set down the wine glass and swirled the plain water inside. Jiang Xian lowered her eyes, as if she could see that face as plain as boiled water reflected in it.

After breakfast, while no one was paying attention, she quietly slipped close to the door of the bedroom where Jing Lian was staying. She cleared her throat and knocked three times.

“What kind of tantrum are you throwing now? I’m coming in.”

If Jing Lian was not eating, Jiang Xian had to think of some way to persuade her.

After saying that, she did not wait for the person inside to respond. She placed her hand on the door handle and pressed down. A cold touch came through. The bolt inside had been locked, separating the two of them—one inside, one outside.

Jiang Xian’s pupils shrank. She thought that this was not the first time something like this had happened. Suddenly, a scene of the original owner being shut out before flashed through her mind.

Jing Lian had refused to eat. The original owner kicked the door open, picked up an uncut medium-rare steak with a fork, grabbed Jing Lian’s mouth with one hand, forced it open, and stuffed the bloody steak into her mouth.

“Eat. Why aren’t you eating? This is my favorite food. Why don’t you like it?”

Jing Lian clenched her teeth, her face covered in cow’s blood, and looked at her stubbornly. She looked at her, stared at her tightly. That gaze was like a sharp blade, piercing through time and space to stab Jiang Xian, an innocent person.

…

Jiang Xian shuddered. She stopped pressing the lock. Her hand slowly lowered, and she returned to her own room to secretly watch the surveillance.

On the large bed, Jing Lian lay on her back expressionlessly, both eyes facing the ceiling in a daze, who knew what she was thinking. On the small dining table to her left was a dazzling spread of fragrant, colorful morning tea dishes. There seemed to still be heat rising from them, the fragrance curling in the air, but she did not even look at them. Her desire to live was extremely low.

Give her a little time. She would get up and eat on her own.

She was the heroine. The heroine would not die.

Jiang Xian did not forcefully think of a way to make her eat. However, because she could not bear seeing Jing Lian’s pitiful state, she pressed the power button on the computer and turned off the surveillance.

She hoped that the next time she turned it on, Jing Lian would already have eaten.

During the afternoon rest period, Jiang Xian communicated with the system in her mind about the original owner’s basic situation. In terms of her career, she was currently on vacation, and her manager was negotiating her next variety show. In terms of her love life, she had just broken things off with the fiery eighth miss, Xu Wan.

So at present, she was idle at home with nothing to do. After briefly understanding the basics, she went swimming at the beach in the afternoon. When she came back, she sat in the first-floor living room and watched the news being broadcast on TV.

By sheer coincidence, the news was currently broadcasting a missing person notice. On a certain day in a certain month of 2025, a luxury cruise ship bound for Jeju Island encountered wind and waves along the way. One person had died, a forty-five-year-old middle-aged woman. One person was missing, a young woman of twenty-five.

Jiang Xian glanced at the screen and saw a familiar figure in the cruise ship’s surveillance footage. She was wearing a white chiffon dress, thin as a sheet, as if the wind might blow her over.

Needless to say, that missing young woman was Jing Lian.

The news broadcast also stated that the two were mother and daughter.

Immediately after, the screen showed a man in a dark Tang suit, rolling sandalwood Buddhist beads between his fingers. He looked refined and elegant, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and his eyes were red as he wiped away tears that did not exist with a Hermès handkerchief.

“The one who died was my wife… The one missing is my child. I hope you can find her as soon as possible.”

Choking sobs, pain, and inner conflict were displayed vividly on him.

Jiang Xian looked at him and snorted. His performance could not be called flawless, but it was enough to deceive the world.

She watched for a moment and really could not continue, so she picked up the remote and turned off the TV.

Silence fell all around. A wave of sympathy suddenly rose in her heart. She did not know how Jing Lian would react if she found out.

How heartbroken would she be?

Just as Jiang Xian was thinking this, dinner time arrived.

The housekeepers once again began arranging the dining table, lighting scented candles, spreading out luxurious brocade, setting down exquisite plates, and playing British rock music. After everything inside and out had been properly prepared, they invited Jiang Xian to the table for dinner.

She was not hungry at all. She did not look at the dining table, but instead gazed toward the west side of the second floor from afar.

“What’s her situation?”

Xiao Ya knew what she was asking. The master upstairs had not eaten or drunk anything since yesterday, through breakfast, lunch, and dinner today. Afraid, she bent forward and glanced up timidly.

“Boss, she still hasn’t eaten.”

“Still?”

Jiang Xian’s pupils abruptly tightened. She did not know how long the human body could survive without food or water, but she knew Jing Lian’s limit. With her sick and injured body, if she did not eat or drink, she definitely would not make it through the night.

“System, isn’t she the heroine? Is she planning to starve herself to death?”

“Although that is technically true, at present, she indeed has almost no will to live. Her life value has also dropped to 0.01 at one point.”

In other words, she was currently a dead person with only the slightest bit of life left?

That would not do. If the heroine died, wouldn’t Jiang Xian be doomed too?

Her mind was a mess, but she pretended to be calm. Suddenly, she glanced at the television, then looked toward the second floor again, her brows and eyes firm.

“Bring the food. Come upstairs with me.”

“Yes, Boss!”

Jiang Xian took three steps at a time, charging furiously toward the west wing on the second floor. She stopped in front of the door, drew back her leg, and kicked the door open.

With a bang, the door was torn from the frame, and a ring of white dust fell all around.