Chapter 11 Asking for Help

More than half an hour passed quietly.

Jiang Tingwan gently pushed open the heavy gilded door of the club, and instantly, the cool night breeze blew in her face.

Half an hour of card game made her feel a little tired, and at this moment, she just wanted to come out and get some fresh air.

She took a deep breath, and the fresh air rushed into her lungs.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lu Zhaoye leaning quietly against the Roman column next to her, holding a cigarette between his fingertips but not lighting it.

Seeing her appear, Lu Zhaoye said calmly: "Why, Shen Guan can't satisfy Miss Jiang?"

Jiang Tingwan looked calm, and slowly tidied up her hair that was messed up by the wind, "When did Master Lu become so concerned about my nightlife?"

After saying that, she took two steps forward, and the familiar scent of jasmine drifted into his breath along with the night breeze.

She raised her head slightly, her eyes challenging: "Or... do you want to queue too?"

When Lu Zhaoye heard this, his eyes darkened. He raised his hand to throw away the unlit cigarette, and then grabbed her wrist.

Just as he was about to speak, he was abruptly interrupted by a shrill cell phone ring.

Lu Zhaoye subconsciously let go of his hand.

Jiang Tingwan frowned and lowered her head to answer the phone.

There was a panicked sobbing sound from the other end of the phone: "Ms. Jiang, Ms. Jiang... I accidentally dropped a customer's watch... They, they said they wanted me..."

The vulgar teasing in the background made Jiang Tingwan's eyes instantly turn cold as ice: "Location."

"VIP3 on the third floor of Jinting Club..."

Hearing this address, Jiang Tingwan couldn't help but frown, thinking to herself: Why would this girl come here to work?

She hung up the phone and turned to meet Lu Zhaoye's indifferent gaze: "Mr. Lu, can you do me a favor?"

Before Lu Zhaoye could respond, she grabbed him and walked quickly towards the elevator.

The mirror in the elevator clearly reflected the overlapping figures of the two people, and the atmosphere was somewhat subtle.

The elevator door slowly opened, and Jiang Tingwan rushed out in a hurry in her high heels.

There was a frightening coldness and indifference on her face.

Finally, they found the VIP3 box.

Before the door was opened, Ruan Yue's crying voice said "No", followed by the greasy and disgusting voices of several men.

Lu Zhaoye kicked the door of the box open hard.

At this moment, Jiang Tingwan quickly passed him and rushed into the box——

I saw Ruan Yue being pressed on the sofa by a bald man. Several buttons of her shirt had been torn open, revealing a large area of skin. She looked extremely pitiful.

Jiang Tingwan's eyes flashed with anger, and without hesitation, he picked up the ice bucket on the table and poured it on the man's face. Then he smashed the ice bucket on his head and shouted, "If you don't want your hands, I'll chop them off for you."

In an instant, the room fell into deathly silence.

The bald man wiped the ice water off his face, his face flushed with anger, and he stood up angrily, cursing: "You fucking——"

However, before he finished speaking, Lu Zhaoye stepped forward and tied his hands behind his back, pressed him hard on the coffee table, and asked coldly: "Do you know me?"

When the bald man saw Lu Zhaoye's face clearly, his face turned pale and he stammered in fear: "Lu, Mr. Lu..."

At this time, Jiang Tingwan had quickly taken the coat handed by Lu Zhaoye and gently wrapped Ruan Yue. The girl in his arms had already cried and her eyes were red. Her body was trembling, and she looked like she was frightened.

Lu Zhaoye rolled up his sleeves slowly, his eyes shot at the bald man like a blade, and asked coldly, "How much is the watch?"

"No, you don't have to pay..." the man replied tremblingly, his voice full of fear.

"I'll transfer the money for the watch to you." Jiang Tingwan stood up and looked down at the man condescendingly, her voice devoid of any warmth.

"I'll call the police later." Her cold gaze was like a sharp blade, piercing the bald man. "You'd better explain it to the Jiang family's lawyer afterwards."

Although the man in front of him did not know Jiang Tingwan, he was well aware of the Jiang family's reputation.

He never expected that this seemingly weak little girl could actually call on the Jiang and Lu families to support her. He was so frightened that his face turned pale as paper and he collapsed to the ground.

After Jiang Tingwan finished speaking, he gently hugged Ruan Yue and slowly walked out of the box.

She raised her hand, gently wiped the tears from the girl's face, and asked softly: "Now, do you want to go home with me?"

The girl sobbed for a long time. Apparently at this moment, she realized that she could no longer live in fear. So she nodded gently with a choked sound.

Jiang Tingwan turned to look at Lu Zhaoye and said seriously, "Please tell him that I have something to do and I'm leaving first."

"Okay." In this tense situation, Lu Zhaoye no longer confronted her as he did in the past, and responded lightly.

He looked at the girl in his arms thoughtfully, then watched the two people's backs as they left, as if he was thinking about something in his heart.

-------------------------------------------

As the night deepened, a black Maybach slowly drove into Jiang Tingwan's private villa like a ghost.

As the wheels rolled over the smooth road, the sensor lights in the courtyard lit up one by one, and the warm light instantly dispelled the darkness around them.

Ruan Yue huddled in the back seat, clutching the torn hem of her skirt tightly with both hands, as if that was her only support at the moment.

Jiang Tingwan gently opened the car refrigerator, took out an ice pack, and gently applied it to Ruan Yue's red and swollen wrist.

"I'll do it myself..." Ruan Yue shrank back with a hint of fear, trying to hide away.

"Don't move." Jiang Tingwan reached out and firmly held her trembling fingertips. Only then did he realize that there was still dried blood between her nails. She must have scratched the bald man while struggling.

Arriving at the guest bedroom, Jiang Tingwan took out a set of silk pajamas from the closet, handed it to Ruan Yue, and said softly, "The bathroom is on the left."

Seeing Ruan Yue just standing there blankly without any movement, Jiang Tingwan raised his eyebrows slightly and said half-jokingly: "Why, do you need me to help you run the bath water?"

"No, no need..." Ruan Yue was like a frightened rabbit, and quickly hugged the clothes in her hands.

However, just as she closed the door, she suddenly turned around and said timidly: "Um...thank you..."

Jiang Tingwan nodded gently and said softly: "I will ask Chen Guan for a day off for you tomorrow, and you can come back to the Jiang family with me."

After a while, the sound of water dripping came from the bathroom. Jiang Tingwan stood in front of the French window and took out his mobile phone to send a message to Shen Guan:

"I'm taking your secretary with me. I'll give her a day off tomorrow."

Shortly after the message was sent, Jiang Tingwan sat on the sofa in the living room, elbows on his knees, head supported by his hands, and fell into thought.

The light shone on her, and her reflected back revealed a sense of loneliness.

At this moment, a timid voice called out from behind: "Miss Jiang... Miss Jiang?"

Jiang Tingwan looked back and saw Ruan Yue wearing her pajamas, standing quietly at the junction of light and shadow. Her wet hair was still dripping with water droplets, which slid down her collar, leaving dark marks.

Looking at this scene, Jiang Tingwan's thoughts involuntarily drifted back to twenty years ago. At that time, she was also wearing pajamas that did not belong to her, standing in the strange and huge house of the Jiang family, feeling overwhelmed.

"You need to blow dry your hair." Jiang Tingwan came back to her senses, picked up a towel, and slowly walked over. Her movements were even gentler than she had imagined, as if she was afraid of disturbing the fragile girl in front of her. "After you return to the Jiang family, no one will bully you anymore."

Ruan Yue seemed to be touched by these words. She reached out and tightly grasped the corner of Jiang Tingwan's clothes, her eyes full of expectation and confusion: "You...are you my sister?"

The buzzing sound of the hair dryer stopped abruptly, and the whole room fell into a brief silence.

Jiang Tingwan quietly looked at the two completely different faces in the mirror, and suddenly smiled softly, with a hint of helplessness and relief in her smile.

"I am just the adopted daughter of the Jiang family."

As she spoke, she stretched out her fingertips and gently brushed the unique birthmark on Ruan Yue's neck. Her tone was soft but firm: "You have the blood of the Jiang family flowing in your body."

In this silent night, Ruan Yue clearly captured the loneliness that flashed across Jiang Tingwan's eyes through the mirror.