May There Be An Echo - Chapter 4

Yu Zhi paused for a few seconds, then smiled. “Let’s not mention her name. It was a painful thing, after all. Maybe the girl has already come to terms with it now, so we shouldn’t keep digging into it behind her back.”

She reflected on herself. “I originally just wanted to say that young people shouldn’t get too trapped in their own thoughts, but now I sound like I’m gossiping too.”

Ji Linqing wasn’t particularly fixated on getting an answer. Since Yu Zhi had put it that way, she didn’t press further.

“Aunt Yu Zhi, the pool at home was just renovated a few days ago. You can come try it whenever you have time.”

Yu Zhi’s eyes lit up. “But wouldn’t that be too much of an intrusion?”

“Don’t be so polite. Just give me a call beforehand.”

Yu Zhi had been in Yuncheng for some time. Because of Aunt Yu, she and Ji Linqing had long since exchanged contact information, though they rarely contacted each other directly.

The Ji family had its own rules. Until the day Aunt Yu formally left the household, she still couldn’t completely move out and live with her younger sister. Whenever Ji Linqing had time, she would accompany her over, so gatherings like today’s weren’t a first.

Qu Yingzi rarely joined the conversation, but she never missed these meals. She had been close to Ji Linqing since high school, so naturally, she was also quite attached to Aunt Yu.

After they finished eating, the group chatted for a while longer before finally getting ready to leave.

Yu Zhi walked them out, and Ji Linqing didn’t forget to emphasize, “Aunt Yu Zhi, you can come swim whenever you like.”

Just as she finished speaking, Ji Linqing’s phone rang. The person on the other end hurriedly rattled off a report, making her brows knit slightly.

After ending the call, Ji Linqing said gently, “Aunt Yu, I’ll take you back first.”

“You need to go work?”

Ji Linqing nodded. “There’s an emergency meeting.”

After all these years, Yu Xian had long grown accustomed to how busy she was. She only said, “Don’t overwork yourself.”

The elevator doors opened, and both the people inside and outside froze for a moment.

Shao Yuci hadn’t expected to see Ji Linqing here, but one thing was true: she looked even better in person than in photographs. Shao Yuci had seen Ji Linqing online plenty of times, while the Ji Linqing in the original character’s memories had always seemed somewhat shadowed, her image perpetually gray and dim.

Now that Shao Yuci was seeing her with her own eyes, her first impression was that she was dazzling.

She was so strikingly beautiful that looking at her for too long almost made one’s eyes water. Shao Yuci instinctively lowered her gaze, easing the force of that overwhelming visual impact.

Ji Linqing also hadn’t expected Shao Yuci to appear here, much less for her to voluntarily lower her eyes and step aside. In the past, that would have been impossible.

She was used to Shao Yuci’s appearance inevitably being accompanied by a string of inexplicable arguments. Ji Linqing had never figured out where that hostility came from, but she didn’t care enough to debate with her.

This abnormal version of Shao Yuci, however, caught Ji Linqing’s attention. Especially since there was no one else living on this floor besides Yu Zhi.

Did she press the wrong floor? Or…

After a brief moment of distraction, Shao Yuci quickly adjusted herself. Running into Ji Linqing here was purely an accident, but anything that helped her achieve her goal counted as an opportunity.

She couldn’t let it slip away! Shao Yuci immediately put on a smile and greeted her enthusiastically. “What a coincidence, President Ji.”

The original Shao Yuci had often called her “President Ji” too, but the tone she used always made it sound like she was asking to be punched.

Ji Linqing showed no reaction, but Qu Yingzi behind her raised an eyebrow slightly. The way Shao Yuci said “President Ji” sounded very similar to the tone used by ordinary employees at the company—if anything, even livelier.

But coming from Shao Yuci, it seemed suspicious. Qu Yingzi thought, Is this some new trick?

Most of the occasions when Shao Yuci used to pick fights had been at business receptions and social gatherings, where Aunt Yu was never present. Ji Linqing had also forbidden Qu Yingzi from telling Aunt Yu about those things. So right now, Qu Yingzi wasn’t most worried about whatever new trick Shao Yuci might be trying. She was more worried Aunt Yu would see Ji Linqing being targeted.

Shao Yuci didn’t care about the awkward silence. The bright smile on her face didn’t change at all. “I came to thank the person who saved my life. I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

Ji Linqing remembered the person Yu Zhi had mentioned at the dining table and almost laughed at how accurate her intuition had been. So the person she had saved really was Shao Yuci.

Ji Linqing had seen Shao Yuci while she was hospitalized and guessed that she had probably come to her senses, but she hadn’t expected her to bring flowers and gifts and personally come to express her thanks so formally.

Yu Zhi recognized her and exclaimed, “Girl, you’re all better?!”

Only then did Shao Yuci finally get a clear look at the face that had been blurry in her memories. A natural sense of closeness toward Yu Zhi immediately rose inside her.

“Thank you, Aunt Yu, for saving me.” As she spoke, she bowed slightly, very politely.

Shao Yuci’s gratitude came sincerely from the bottom of her heart, without the slightest stiffness or awkwardness. A simple sentence paired with a simple gesture conveyed immense sincerity.

Ji Linqing and Qu Yingzi could naturally both see that she meant it, and they exchanged a tacit glance.

Yu Zhi’s straightforward personality made her a little uncomfortable with such emotional scenes, but seeing that Shao Yuci’s complexion was clearly much better now, she nodded with relief.

“Good, good. You look much better like this.”

Compared with the person she had pulled out of the river that day, Shao Yuci seemed like a completely different person. In her eyes, Yu Zhi could see the light of life. That made her happier than any gift ever could.

Yu Xian looked confused, so Yu Zhi took her hand. “Sis, this is the girl I told you about before.”

Yu Xian immediately understood and deliberately avoided mentioning the words “jumped into the river.”

She looked at Shao Yuci affectionately. “Such a beautiful young woman—you’ve still got such a long road ahead of you. You’ll definitely find happiness.”

Ji Linqing had always been indifferent to Shao Yuci’s provocations in the past, yet hearing Aunt Yu praise her so gently somehow made her uncomfortable.

She turned and pulled Aunt Yu a little closer to herself. “Aunt Yu, let’s go.”

Since Shao Yuci’s reason for being here made sense, Ji Linqing naturally couldn’t say much. As for how Shao Yuci had gotten into this residential complex, she would have someone investigate it.

Hearing that Ji Linqing was leaving, Shao Yuci didn’t want to miss such a rare opportunity.

Still full of enthusiasm, she proactively asked, “President Ji, is there anything I can help you with?”

Ji Linqing, who had originally intended to ignore her, felt her brow twitch. Only then did she truly look at Shao Yuci.

“No need to trouble yourself. Thank you.”

Shao Yuci sighed inwardly. You’d better have something I can trouble myself with! Otherwise, where am I supposed to get my two million?

Calling on the resilience she had cultivated in the workplace, she didn’t retreat easily.

“Anything at all. I sincerely want to help.”

Shao Yuci silently compared what the two of them were carrying. Both her hands were full, while Ji Linqing was elegantly holding a limited-edition Hermès bag. So the option of offering to carry her bag was out. She would have to find another angle.

She noticed that Ji Linqing seemed to care a great deal about Aunt Yu, Yu Zhi’s older sister. But Aunt Yu didn’t appear to need any help either, so Shao Yuci could only turn her attention toward Qu Yingzi.

Secretary Qu was the same as always—precise, quiet, reserved, with few words and few expressions. The original Shao Yuci used to mock the two of them as a double-door refrigerator, both doors equally cold.

Ji Linqing’s icy voice sounded. “Finished looking?”

Shao Yuci’s smile stiffened slightly, but she remained calm. “What a shame I couldn’t help with anything today.”

Ji Linqing had no interest in watching Shao Yuci’s new tricks, and even less desire for Aunt Yu to notice the tension between them.

“Just take care of yourself.” After saying that, Ji Linqing helped Aunt Yu into the elevator.

Shao Yuci stood outside the elevator, looking rather reluctant to see Ji Linqing leave.

Until the elevator doors closed completely, Ji Linqing maintained the same icy expression, barely even lifting her eyelids.

Yu Zhi looked at Shao Yuci. “Girl, you know President Ji?”

Yu Zhi had learned from the police that her name was Shao Yuci, but she was still used to calling her “girl.” Today was effectively the first time they had truly met, so in Yu Zhi’s subconscious, the two of them still weren’t familiar.

Shao Yuci understood that this chance encounter was over. She would simply have to wait for the next opportunity.

She adjusted her mood and once again put on a sincere smile. “Aunt Yu, President Ji and I have known each other for quite a long time.”

Yu Zhi remembered how Ji Linqing had suddenly asked for the jumper’s name earlier and couldn’t tell whether she had already known or not.

“Then does President Ji know you were hospitalized?”

Shao Yuci thought that the moment the original character jumped into the river, there must have been plenty of people rushing to report it to Ji Linqing. Who knew how exaggeratedly they had described the miserable scene? The fact that Ji Linqing could remain calm and refrain from laughing today was already quite impressive.

Shao Yuci answered a little cautiously, “She probably knows.”

Yu Zhi combined that cautious tone with Shao Yuci’s certain expression and concluded that she was feeling awkward.

She stopped asking and quickly ushered Shao Yuci inside.

After pouring her a cup of tea, Yu Zhi finally sat down. “You didn’t need to buy all these things. Young people have plenty of places where they need to spend money. Wouldn’t it be better to keep it for emergencies?”

Thinking of the balance in her bank account, Shao Yuci really couldn’t pretend to be wealthy.

“I’m honestly not doing very well financially right now, but no matter what, I couldn’t skimp on showing my gratitude. If you hadn’t saved me that day, no amount of money would have mattered to me in the future anyway.”

Hearing that she could joke about it now, Yu Zhi thought she really had come to terms with things.

“Treat yourself better from now on. Don’t throw your life away because of someone else. Other people are other people. Your life belongs to you.”

Shao Yuci didn’t know how to explain the real situation, so she only smiled and let the subject pass.

“Have you eaten yet? I’ve still got quite a lot of food left. If you don’t mind, I can heat some up for you.”

For the two days since leaving the hospital, Shao Yuci had mostly been eating takeout. She really shouldn’t have troubled Yu Zhi further, yet when she opened her mouth, she somehow found herself saying yes.

From the moment Ji Linqing stepped into the elevator until she got into the car, she never mentioned Shao Yuci again.

Aunt Yu didn’t ask either and instead chatted with her about trivial matters at home. After the car had been driving for a while, Aunt Yu realized something was off. “Qingqing, aren’t we going home?”

Ji Linqing explained gently, “We are. But the weather’s nice today, so it’s not bad to look at the scenery first.”

Aunt Yu smiled. “No wonder. I was wondering why we were taking such a roundabout route.”

Ji Linqing’s car continued taking detours for roughly another half hour before finally heading back to the Ji residence.

After dropping Aunt Yu off, Ji Linqing and Qu Yingzi got back into the car and headed for the company. With Aunt Yu no longer in the vehicle, Ji Linqing had no reason to hold back.

“Find out exactly how she got into the residential complex today.”

Qu Yingzi looked at the latest message on her phone. “The bodyguard says she just left Aunt Yu Zhi’s place.”

“She really stayed that long?”

Qu Yingzi confirmed, “Yes. The bodyguard said she never came out in between. And after our car left, there were no suspicious people or vehicles following us either.”

Ji Linqing’s expression turned serious. From time to time, she replayed the encounter with Shao Yuci outside the elevator in her mind.

She analyzed every detail one by one.

“She was very abnormal today.”

Qu Yingzi understood what she meant. “Yes. I thought it was strange too.”

Ji Linqing added, “It was like she had become a different person.”

She pointed out the details. “It wasn’t just that the way she spoke had changed. Her entire presence was different, and so were her eyes.”

Qu Yingzi also began recalling the scene.

“In the past, as long as she stood in front of me, I could feel hostility coming from her. Today, there was none.” Ji Linqing deliberately emphasized, “There was no hostility in her eyes either. Not even any hidden away.”

Qu Yingzi shared what she had noticed too. “I feel like her enthusiasm… might actually have been genuine?”

Ji Linqing was silent for two seconds. “You noticed that too?”

“She really seemed to want to do something for you.”

This kind of eager initiative wasn’t something Ji Linqing had never encountered before. But seeing it from Shao Yuci was deeply puzzling.

Ji Linqing remained silent.

Qu Yingzi assumed the discussion about Shao Yuci was over and was just about to report on work.

Ji Linqing suddenly instructed, “Investigate her.”

“What specifically should I look into?”

Once again remembering Shao Yuci’s smiling face in the elevator, Ji Linqing pressed her fingers to her brow.

“Look into her recent financial situation and who she’s been associating with.”

She paused for quite a while before adding, “And find out why she jumped into the river.”