Chapter 44
For a moment, Jiang Yi wondered whether she had misheard.
“Aunt Zhong, I don’t understand what you mean. I’m already married.”
“I know. It’s a fake marriage.”
Zhong Yanling sounded entirely unconcerned.
“You haven’t registered it, which means you haven’t truly considered your future together.”
She smiled.
“You young people have your own ideas, but I can tell you with certainty that I liked you the moment I saw you.
“I would very much like you to become my daughter-in-law. I just don’t understand how Siyun managed to push you away. What a pity. Even I feel sorry for her.”
Jiang Yi pressed her lips together and fell silent.
“Aunt Zhong, please don’t make fun of me.”
“What joke? I’m telling you exactly what I think.”
Zhong Yanling stepped forward without noticing the puddle of water that had somehow appeared on the floor.
The moment she stepped on it, her foot slipped.
“Careful!”
Jiang Yi instinctively reached out to support her, but Zhong Yanling still dragged her down to the floor with her.
“Aunt Zhong, are you all right?”
Jiang Yi was uncomfortable too.
When she had been pulled down, she had twisted her ankle in her high heels, and Zhong Yanling was now half lying against her.
“Oh, my poor back…”
Zhong Yanling supported her waist and groaned.
“Are you all right, Jiang Yi?”
Jiang Yi shook her head.
“I’m fine.”
“Do you have my daughter’s contact information? Call her over. I don’t think I can walk. Oh…”
Seeing the pain on her face, Jiang Yi did not dare take a fall involving an older woman’s back lightly.
She hurriedly took out her phone.
But when she saw the word Sister in her contact list, she paused briefly.
Suppressing the emotions in her eyes, she called with a composed expression.
Shen Siyun’s light, commanding voice entered her ear.
“What happened?”
Jiang Yi stared absently at the pearl necklace around Zhong Yanling’s neck.
“Aunt Zhong fell in the restroom. She asked you to come over.”
“I understand. I’ll be there immediately.”
After ending the call, Jiang Yi was helping Aunt Zhong stand when Shen Siyun hurried over.
Jiang Yi met her gaze for several seconds before looking away.
“Aunt Zhong slipped on some water and fell.”
Zhong Yanling leaned against half of Shen Siyun’s body, one hand pressed to her lower back.
“Fortunately, Jiang Yi caught me. Otherwise, it could’ve been much worse.”
Shen Siyun looked at Jiang Yi once more, then pressed her red lips together and carried Ms. Zhong on her back to the car.
Just as she was about to get in and drive to the hospital, Zhong Yanling stopped her.
“Jiang Yi twisted her ankle while catching me. Tell her to come along and see a doctor.”
Shen Siyun stood beside the car door, one graceful hand still resting on the handle.
At those words, her gaze paused and shifted toward her mother.
“Mom, what do you mean by that?”
She could not help questioning the implication behind Zhong Yanling’s words.
Even the motive behind her fall now seemed worth considering.
“Hurry up. Why are you standing there? She helped me.”
Zhong Yanling frowned, her tone reproachful.
The corner of Shen Siyun’s red lips lifted faintly.
“All right, Mom. I’ll go now.”
Meanwhile, Jiang Yi was holding onto the door, unable to put any weight on her foot.
Worse, she was wearing thin high heels.
She slowly crouched and prepared to take them off, intending to walk out barefoot.
She planned to skip returning to the private room and wait for Song Rao in the car instead, so the people from Zhuorui Pharmaceutical would not see her in such an embarrassing state.
But the next moment, a familiar pair of high heels entered her vision.
Above the slender, beautiful ankles were white, custom-tailored trousers made of exquisite fabric.
Then a delicate wrist wearing a reddish-brown quartz watch reached into view, and long fingers slid beneath her knees.
By the time Jiang Yi reacted, Shen Siyun had already lifted her into her arms.
Jiang Yi gave a startled cry.
The loss of control from suddenly leaving the ground made her instinctively wrap her arms around the woman’s neck.
“Shen Siyun, put me down.”
Once she realized who was holding her, Jiang Yi’s gaze chilled.
The moment she spoke, she felt Shen Siyun squeeze the soft flesh behind her knee.
Jiang Yi frowned and looked up.
Shen Siyun’s lips seemed paler than they had when they met earlier.
They opened and closed as she said, “Jiang Yi, you twisted your ankle while helping my mother. I came to take you to a doctor.”
“I can go by myself.”
Jiang Yi tried to release her arms from around Shen Siyun’s neck.
Without warning, however, Shen Siyun lifted her higher.
Her dark eyes looked at Jiang Yi quietly, and her voice carried a trace of helplessness.
“Jiang Yi, taking one person is no different from taking two. My mother said she wants to thank you properly in person.”
“…”
When Jiang Yi remained silent, Shen Siyun carried her outside without allowing further argument and placed her in the back seat.
Seeing Zhong Yanling again made Jiang Yi slightly uncomfortable, especially under the teasing look she had worn while watching Shen Siyun carry her over.
Jiang Yi politely greeted her.
“Aunt Zhong.”
Zhong Yanling responded warmly and immediately found something to discuss.
“How is your ankle, Jiang Yi? Does it hurt? Have the doctor examine it when we arrive.”
Before Jiang Yi could answer, Ms. Zhong suddenly changed topics, her voice full of disgust.
“How can the hygiene at Hexianguan Private Club be so terrible? There was a puddle on the floor and no one cleaned it.
“What a disgrace, and they call themselves an upscale club. Siyun, we’re never coming here again.”
Driving, Shen Siyun agreed with a soft sound.
From the corner of her eye, she glanced into the rearview mirror.
At that exact moment, Jiang Yi raised her head.
Their eyes met.
Jiang Yi frowned, looked away, then lowered her head and messaged Song Rao to tell her that something had happened and she was going to the hospital.
Ms. Zhong’s voice sounded intermittently through the car.
Shen Siyun’s long fingers rested on the steering wheel, her porcelain-white fingertips tapping the cover with quiet pleasure.
At the hospital, a nurse took Ms. Zhong inside for a CT scan.
Shen Siyun walked over to Jiang Yi.
A doctor looked up from behind the desk and glanced at her ankle.
“How did you injure it?”
Jiang Yi was about to answer when the woman before her spoke first.
“She twisted it.”
After speaking, Shen Siyun crouched and reached toward the buckle of Jiang Yi’s high heel.
Realizing what she intended, Jiang Yi moved her foot aside and avoided her hand.
“I’ll do it myself.”
A cool warmth closed around her ankle.
The fine white cuff of Shen Siyun’s suit brushed over the top of Jiang Yi’s exposed foot.
Ignoring her refusal, Shen Siyun held her ankle firmly.
Her left hand slid along the inside of Jiang Yi’s ankle, and her fingertips brushed over her skin until they found the buckle.
Jiang Yi pressed her lips together and watched with a complicated expression as Shen Siyun unfastened it with one hand and removed the shoe as delicately as peeling an egg.
The doctor glanced over.
“Does it hurt? Can you put weight on it?”
“I can’t,” Jiang Yi answered.
The doctor walked over and pressed the bone around her ankle.
Jiang Yi sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.
“It’s dislocated.”
The doctor told her to endure it.
Before Jiang Yi could even nod, the doctor used a precise movement to push the joint back into place as casually as shifting a cabbage.
Only Jiang Yi’s face went white from the pain.
“Done.”
Expressionless, the doctor returned to the seat and quickly filled in the medical record.
“Next.”
Shen Siyun supported Jiang Yi outside and asked in her clear voice, “Are you all right?”
The moment the joint was manipulated had been extremely painful, but after half a minute, it had nearly returned to normal.
“Mm.”
Jiang Yi took the high heel from Shen Siyun and put it on herself, giving her no opportunity to help again.
The moment she stood, a nurse brought Ms. Zhong over and handed the CT scan to Shen Siyun.
“There’s no problem with the patient’s lumbar spine, but she should still be more careful in the future. Try not to let her fall again.”
After the nurse left, Zhong Yanling asked about Jiang Yi.
Jiang Yi explained that her ankle had been dislocated but the doctor had already put it back into place.
“That’s good. Otherwise, I would’ve felt terribly guilty.”
Zhong Yanling took both Jiang Yi’s hands and rubbed her thumb over the soft, fair skin on the backs of them.
“Look how beautiful your hands are. Your eyes are lovely too, like stars, full of light and elegance.
“I wonder when we’ll meet again…”
Shen Siyun stood beside them without speaking, quietly watching.
Jiang Yi felt as though she was being examined like a prospective daughter-in-law.
Uncomfortable, she pulled her hands free.
“Aunt Zhong, my wife is coming to pick me up. I’ll leave first.”
“Wait.”
As though suddenly remembering something, Zhong Yanling caught her again.
“Are you free next Sunday? It’s my birthday. I’d like to invite you over so we can gather and make it lively.”
If Jiang Yi still failed to understand Aunt Zhong’s intentions, she would have to be a fool.
She steadied herself and looked calmly at Shen Siyun.
This woman had actually asked her mother to act as a mediator.
No wonder Aunt Zhong had suddenly asked whether Jiang Yi wanted to become her daughter’s wife.
“Aunt Zhong, I’m married. Whether or not we officially registered, I’m still considered married.”
Going to her former patron’s home to celebrate her mother’s birthday while publicly carrying the title of a married woman—
Even Jiang Yi found the explanation absurd.
Zhong Yanling saw her concern and waved it away.
“I’m not celebrating at the Shen residence.
“I own a villa at Wuning Resort, where I usually live alone. I only invited a few friends for this birthday.
“For personal reasons, I greatly dislike having her family interfere in my affairs. So apart from me, there won’t be any other elders at the celebration. Even Siyun’s father won’t attend.”
After speaking, Zhong Yanling glanced back at Shen Siyun and patted Jiang Yi’s hand.
“If you mind, I’ll tell her not to come either. Her company already keeps her busy enough, and this way she won’t be there to irritate you.”
Seeing Jiang Yi fall into thought, Zhong Yanling assumed she had been moved and continued.
“If you’re worried, you can also invite Professor Song and bring her with you.”
At around four or five that afternoon, Song Rao arrived at the hospital to pick up Jiang Yi.
While driving, she asked, “Why did you suddenly end up at the hospital? Are you feeling unwell?”
Jiang Yi explained everything from beginning to end, concluding with Aunt Zhong’s invitation for them to attend her birthday celebration.
“Did you agree?” Song Rao asked.
“No.”
Jiang Yi rubbed her brow.
Ms. Zhong was so persuasive that she had nearly been unable to resist.
“I only said I’d consider it.”
“There’s no harm in going. We can treat it as expanding our social circle.”
Song Rao smiled.
One of them had always been buried in the laboratory, while the other had become Shen Siyun’s caged canary immediately after university.
Forget making new friends—even their former classmates rarely remained in contact.
Jiang Yi did not want to continue discussing the matter.
Her soft, apricot-pink lips pressed together before she changed the subject.
“Did you agree to join Zhuorui Pharmaceutical’s team?”
“No. I’m still considering it too.”
Song Rao smiled.
“But I signed the patent contract. Let’s look at houses sometime.
“The school-district apartment where your parents live is old. Whenever the wind blows or it rains, the place becomes damp. That isn’t good for their health. It’s time to replace it.”
“Song Rao, are you serious?”
Jiang Yi was overwhelmed by the kindness.
“You’re far too good to me.”
“No. Let’s buy one for your parents instead. My family still has the apartment Shen Siyun gave us.”
If they bought a home only for Jiang Yi’s parents, Song Rao’s parents might feel she was biased.
Song Rao laughed at her for worrying too much.
“Two units, one above the other. Then no one is favored.
“The four elderly people can visit each other, talk, and help one another.
“Besides, when my experiment needed funding, you handed over hundreds of thousands in savings without even blinking. How could I forget that?”
“That was because—”
Jiang Yi wanted to say it had happened because of her.
Shen Siyun had withdrawn Song Rao’s research funding because of Jiang Yi, so she had felt guilty and handed over all her savings.
Before she could finish, Song Rao interrupted her.
Her gaze flickered.
“That was between Shen Siyun and me. It wasn’t your fault.
“Treat it as an investment. Now that the experiment has succeeded, this is what you deserve.”
With the matter put that way, Jiang Yi helplessly rubbed her forehead.
After a long moment, she suddenly smiled.
“Song Rao, meeting you was the most worthwhile thing that ever happened to me.”
“Then shall we look at houses this weekend?”
“Yes.”
The weekend arrived in the blink of an eye.
The property sales center in Haizhe City was quite crowded.
Under the salesperson’s introduction, Jiang Yi and Song Rao examined several residential development models.
“This community faces the Min River to the east and borders Dongpo Lake to the west. It’s surrounded by a wetland park, making life peaceful and comfortable.
“All the necessary facilities are available downstairs. The subway is only two hundred meters from the entrance, and the largest comprehensive shopping center is merely eight hundred meters away.”
Jiang Yi thought the location was excellent and was about to speak when a man’s voice interrupted from nearby.
“This apartment costs twelve million?”
His tone carried hesitation.
Another saleswoman smiled.
“Yes, sir. It’s in a school district, so the price is relatively high.
“May I ask what your budget is? I can recommend something based on that.”
Hearing the voice, Jiang Yi looked over.
Beside another development model stood a refined, bespectacled man with an unmistakably scholarly air.
The thoughtful way he pressed his lips together looked strikingly similar to someone she knew.
An older woman stood beside him.
They appeared to be a middle-aged married couple discussing the purchase of a home.
After considering it, the man answered, “Eight million.”
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