Amnesia Trap (GL) - Chapter 16
Sheng Zhi got into the passenger seat and heard Jiang Wanyin’s words. She awkwardly brushed her hair back.
She mumbled a reply but turned her head away, feeling a subtle burning sensation in her cheeks.
…She felt fine inside just a moment ago, but now that she was out, all those memories rushing back made her feel inexplicably ashamed.
Especially now that she saw Jiang Wanyin.
Even though Jiang Wanyin was sitting right beside her and talking, Sheng Zhi couldn’t concentrate. All she could think about was how Ji Qingfan’s high heel had brushed against her skin under the table when Jiang Wanyin called her earlier.
She couldn’t stop thinking about her every movement.
She thought about her every look.
She thought about that ambiguous and alluring smile that curved from the corner of her eye to her lips, fleeting yet suggestive.
Jiang Wanyin sighed upon hearing her. She looked at Sheng Zhi twice, then leaned closer, staring intently: “Zhi Zhi, are you sure nothing happened?”
“I keep feeling like you’re hiding something from me. Your reaction is different from usual, and you keep getting distracted…”
All the thoughts, both appropriate and inappropriate, were interrupted. Sheng Zhi snapped back to reality. Hearing Jiang Wanyin say this, the feeling of shame intensified, as if she had been caught red-handed. She coughed and retorted: “Didn’t I tell you nothing happened?”
Afraid of sounding guilty, she deliberately looked into Jiang Wanyin’s eyes as she said it.
Jiang Wanyin’s expression softened. She parted her lips, but before she could speak, she noticed something and her expression instantly darkened.
Sheng Zhi had fair skin, so any mark was easily visible. Jiang Wanyin stared intently at the small, ambiguous mark near the back of Sheng Zhi’s neck. A mix of emotions twisted her voice, which she barely managed to keep steady: “What is this?”
Even though she quickly adjusted her expression after saying it, the forced smile on her face was incredibly stiff.
“Zhi Zhi, tell me the truth, did Ji Qingfan bully you…”
It was the first time Sheng Zhi had seen Jiang Wanyin look like this. She didn’t know how to describe it; she only felt an odd sense of dissonance. She frowned, batted Jiang Wanyin’s hand away, and shifted sideways, feeling confused: “What’s wrong with you? What are you even talking about?”
Noticing the way Sheng Zhi avoided her, Jiang Wanyin calmed down a little.
…Indeed, as a friend, she shouldn’t have reacted so strongly.
Thinking this, Jiang Wanyin did her best to suppress her emotions. She took a photo with her phone and showed it to Sheng Zhi, reverting her tone to her usual informal way, even gesturing exaggeratedly: “My dear lady, don’t blame me for losing control just now. Take a look yourself. Don’t tell me that mark on your neck is a mosquito bite—you didn’t have it before you went to find Ji Qingfan.”
Sheng Zhi’s gaze froze when it landed on the screen.
To be honest, she was so preoccupied with Ji Qingfan at the time that she couldn’t remember when this mark was left.
But it could only have been left by Ji Qingfan.
So, she had been walking around with this mark the whole time? And Jiang Wanyin saw it?
Sheng Zhi looked at the photo, which showed an angle clearly near the back of her neck that she couldn’t see herself, and knew instantly and without a doubt that Ji Qingfan had deliberately left it there.
She stared at the photo, silently gritting her teeth.
Good.
Very good.
She was kissed into that state and still had the presence of mind to dig a trap for her.
Sheng Zhi raised her finger, deleted the photo, and smiled even brighter.
“It’s nothing, I just got into a fight with her and accidentally bumped myself.”
Jiang Wanyin’s gaze paused at her words.
A fight?
Accidentally bumped herself?
This was the most perfunctory excuse she could have possibly given.
—Something had changed between Sheng Zhi and Ji Qingfan.
She felt this point very clearly, but she also knew clearly that Sheng Zhi would not explain anything further.
She had no standing or valid reason, yet the emotional imbalance she felt at this moment made it difficult to control her feelings, causing the mood she had just managed to suppress to completely collapse.
She clenched her hand, lowered her eyes, and her tone gradually lost control: “A fight? Sheng Zhi, are you trying to fool a child?”
Sheng Zhi looked at Jiang Wanyin.
The unfamiliar tone of the question made her look at her as if she were a stranger.
Sheng Zhi had always been less sensitive to others’ emotions, but in this moment, she distinctly felt that Jiang Wanyin was angry.
Calling her by her full name—Jiang Wanyin rarely, rarely called her that.
This realization made her a little confused, and then a little wronged.
“Jiang Wanyin, what is wrong with you?” Being called out so directly, Sheng Zhi didn’t feel guilty at all. Instead, she asked back self-righteously, “Yes, I was deliberately fooling you, but why are you getting mad at me?”
After all, in her world, speaking even slightly loudly to her meant yelling at her.
She was spoiled and willful, never reasonable.
Sheng Zhi’s tone carried a hint of resentment, but before she could finish speaking, she felt Jiang Wanyin suddenly lean close and forcefully pull down her collar: “So what? Did you do it with her?”
The suddenness of the action left Sheng Zhi momentarily stunned. She pushed Jiang Wanyin away in disbelief, too shocked to speak.
She didn’t hold back her strength when she pushed, and Jiang Wanyin’s head hit the car window behind her.
By the sound of it, it wasn’t a light bump.
Sheng Zhi adjusted her clothes. She didn’t miss the sound of the bump, but what did that matter? The only reason she wasn’t blowing up at her now was because of their long-standing friendship.
After hitting her head, Jiang Wanyin seemed to snap back to reality and began apologizing frantically: “I’m sorry, Zhi Zhi, I don’t know what I was thinking. I was just too worried about you. Ji Qingfan is so manipulative, I’m afraid you’ll get taken advantage of…”
Hearing her say this, Sheng Zhi’s mood soured even more.
“Forget it, forget it, I really don’t know what’s going on with you.” She didn’t want to deal with her anymore. After sending a message to her driver, she directly opened the car door and got out, thinking Jiang Wanyin was utterly insane.
…Pulling her collar like that just now—she definitely wanted to find other marks, right?
But so what if she really had done it with Ji Qingfan? Was Jiang Wanyin suggesting that she thought Sheng Zhi would lose to Ji Qingfan, just as her words implied?
Sheng Zhi thought about the mark Ji Qingfan had left on her neck and felt even more suffocated with resentment.
It might have been competitive pride and a desire for revenge, or some other inexplicable reason, but at this moment, the only thought in her mind was that if there were a next time, she would definitely leave even more marks on Ji Qingfan.
The day after the unpleasant parting, Sheng Zhi received many apologetic messages and gifts from Jiang Wanyin.
Sheng Zhi unwrapped a few gifts. She really liked a pink diamond necklace, so she put it on, took a selfie, and posted it on her social circle.
Her anger flared quickly and dissipated just as quickly. She wasn’t too mad at Jiang Wanyin anymore. After all, Jiang Wanyin had looked after her like a little sister since they were young… Well, the main reason was actually that Jiang Wanyin’s apology had flattered her. So, she thought about it and decided Jiang Wanyin’s unpleasant actions were understandable. Posting the selfie with the necklace was a way of grudgingly accepting the peace offering.
But this didn’t mean she would immediately talk to Jiang Wanyin. She still needed a few more days of cajoling until her ego was fully stroked before she would officially make up with her.
However, before the issue with Jiang Wanyin was completely resolved, Sheng Zhi was summoned to the company by her mother.
The number of times Sheng Zhi voluntarily went to the company was extremely few.
She genuinely wasn’t interested in that area. Every time she went, it was only because she was called, like being pressured into it, and she would leave after a quick appearance.
She was used to this and thought this time would be similar to usual; at most, there was some event that required her presence.
Thinking this, she wasn’t in a hurry. She drove around for a bit and only leisurely sauntered into the company just in time.
But the moment she stepped into the Chairman’s office, Sheng Zhi sensed that something was wrong.
Her mother was definitely there, but Ji Qingfan was also present, and the atmosphere was subtle.
Sheng Zhi immediately had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, Ms. Sheng Xiyi immediately brought up the matter of her messing up the company’s cooperation the day before.
Her secret was out, but Sheng Zhi instead widened her overly beautiful cat eyes and glared at Ji Qingfan, her voice full of aggression: “You big liar, didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t tell?”
“…Nan Nan, it really wasn’t Xiao Ji who told me.” Ms. Sheng Xiyi couldn’t help but cough, covering her lips with her fist, before Ji Qingfan could speak.
Facing this situation, she sighed. But this was still the daughter she had always pampered, so she couldn’t bear to say anything harsh.
Her tone was helpless, but her words carried an unyielding implication: “Xiao Ji even tried to keep it from me. To be honest, losing a single cooperation project isn’t important, but you’re not a child anymore, and you can’t keep being so unreliable. Nan Nan, you’ll start following Xiao Ji to learn this afternoon.”
“Xiao Ji is definitely qualified to be your teacher in this area. Plus, spending more time together might even help you recall some things between you two.”
“…!”
The two of them spoke one after the other, having clearly planned it out beforehand, leaving no room for objection.
Sheng Zhi was genuinely stunned this time, almost losing control of her expression, but she managed to control her face while the words of refusal still tumbled out: “I don’t want to!”
…What the hell?
Make her follow Ji Qingfan to learn?
And Ji Qingfan is definitely qualified to be her teacher?
The mere thought of being placed under Ji Qingfan’s supervision and having to listen to her made her feel suffocated.
In contrast to Sheng Zhi’s world-shattering mindset, Ji Qingfan looked to be in a very good mood, the curve of her smiling eyes clearly visible.
Ji Qingfan walked over to Sheng Zhi, very naturally took her hand, and smiled at Ms. Sheng Xiyi: “I will take good care of Zhi Zhi. Mom, please don’t worry.”
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