“I know you’re afraid of Xiang Qi. She’s always been spoiled and has bullied you a lot. Don’t worry, she doesn’t know about my meeting with you.”
Jingjing nodded: "I'm not afraid that Miss Aqi will find out, I just..."
"You're just afraid of implicating your mother, aren't you?" Xiang Jin looked at her quietly.
"I'm sorry." Jingjing lowered her head.
Although she didn't dislike Xiang Jin, she didn't dare to go against Li Shuhui's wishes. If Li Shuhui found out that she had secretly met with Xiang Jin, she would definitely vent her anger on her and her mother. She herself was fine, thick-skinned and resilient, but her mother was old and had many ailments, and she would feel so sorry for her.
“Jingjing, I remember when we were at the Xiang family’s house, Aunt Jiang was very kind to you. She would always share any good food with you, and she would do as much housework as she could. When you got chilblains from going into cold water, she bought medicine for you and rubbed it on you every day.”
"You had a high fever once, and it was Aunt Jiang who bought you the medicine and stayed with you all night. When you still weren't better the next day, it was she who took you to the hospital. Have you forgotten all of this?"
"No, no, I haven't forgotten." As she spoke, Jingjing lowered her head.
She could never forget Aunt Jiang's kindness to her, but...
She clenched her hands, momentarily at a loss for words.
"I'm telling you this not to take advantage of your kindness or ask you to do anything. It's just that Aunt Jiang's life is hanging in the balance, and we don't know what she'll go through. We're her children, and I believe you'll understand our feelings, right?"
Jingjing nodded.
"Good that you understand. I won't ask you to do anything, so you can rest assured."
Xiang Jin took out a jade bracelet from her bag and put it on Jingjing's wrist: "Over the years, I have never given you anything nice. Today I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you properly."
"This is too valuable, I can't accept it," Jingjing quickly declined.
"If you don't accept it, I'll get angry."
Jingjing hesitated for a moment, then nodded, holding the bracelet in her hand with a bright light in her eyes. It was clear that she really liked the bracelet.
Xiang Jin understood.
The two chatted casually, mostly about their childhood. Neither of them mentioned Jiang Anqing, only discussing unimportant topics. After a while, once Jingjing finished her pastries, Xiangjin paid the bill, and they parted ways.
After watching Jingjing walk away, Xiang Jin took a taxi to see Bai Ningshuang.
After having dinner together, Xiang Jin leisurely took a car back to the villa.
When they arrived at the villa, it was almost 12 o'clock. Feeling a chill, Xiang Jin instinctively wrapped her clothes tighter.
"You still know how to come back?"
As I approached the door, a cold, eerie voice echoed from the dark living room, accompanied by a strong smell of alcohol.
Xiang Jin subconsciously stopped in his tracks. The next moment, the wine bottle crashed to the ground, and his imposing figure slowly walked over: "Where have you been so late?"
"It's just a meal."
Xiang Jin calmly turned around and went upstairs.
One hand held her wrist firmly, and Xiang Jin tried to struggle, but to no avail.
"Who are you having dinner with?" The tone was accusatory.
Xiang Jin's temper flared up instantly, and she became somewhat reckless: "Murong Xiao, I have never interfered in your affairs, and you'd better not interfere in mine either. Can we at least give each other some respect and space?"
Why could he choose Fang Xinman and Xiang Qi, while she was questioned even when having dinner with friends? Perhaps they were never equals after he became Murong Xiao.
Deep down, they were from different worlds. He was outstanding, decisive, and ruthless, and therefore attempted to control everything. She liked him, so she always subconsciously obeyed him, but there were times when she was annoyed and when she broke down.
"Murong Xiao, can you please leave me alone?"
The living room was so dark you could hear a pin drop. Murong Xiao stared intently at Xiang Jin, his cold eyes flashing with icy light.
"Xiang Jin, don't forget that you are still my wife, Murong Xiao's wife. Just do your duty."
"Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. Mr. Murong, you should first do your own duty before talking about mine." After saying that, Xiang Jin turned around and went upstairs.
The moment she closed the door, she heard the sound of shattering glass downstairs, followed by the exclamation of Butler Feng and the voice of Xiang Qi. The noise lasted for a long time before it finally subsided.
Xiang Jin lay on the bed, feeling a sharp pain in her chest.
It turns out the saying "harming others by eight hundred harms oneself by a thousand" is true.
Nothing is more heartbreaking than hurting the one you love, but she was really tired. She didn't want to be tormented by being caught between Murong Xiao and Xiang Qi. She was really worried about Jiang Anqing, so worried that she couldn't control her emotions.
After lying in bed lost in thought for a while, Xiang Jin went to wash up.
When she came out, Aunt Yang knocked on the door with a bowl of porridge: "Madam, please eat something before you go to sleep, otherwise you'll feel uncomfortable if you get hungry in the middle of the night."
"I'm not eating anymore, Aunt Yang. I'm going to rest now."
"But this porridge was made by the young master..."
Xiang Jin had already closed the door.
Aunt Yang sighed outside the door. The young master had ordered the porridge to be made that afternoon; after all, a miscarriage is bad for her health, and she needs to rest properly. The young master was angry because he was worried that her not coming home late at night would harm her. Why can't these young people communicate properly?
After a long silence, Aunt Yang took the porridge downstairs again.
After lying in bed for half a day, unable to sleep, Xiang Jin simply got up and started painting.
She didn't know what to draw, so she just drew whatever came to mind. When she finished adding the last touch of color to the last spot, the pent-up frustration in her heart finally dissipated, and it was already broad daylight.
A ray of light shines on the canvas.
In the dark, damp house, a little girl, covered in dirt, sat in a corner, hugging her knees, tears welling in her eyes. A beam of light slanted down from the window, shining with intense hope before her.
The little girl stretched out a hand and carefully touched the beam of light.
The morning sun was bright and warm.
She was like someone afraid of being burned; she wanted to possess it, yet dared not; she wanted to escape the darkness, yet feared escaping it.
She gazed at the little girl for a long time, and finally slowly picked up her pen and wrote a word in the upper left corner: light.
Then she took down the painting, carefully put it in a corner, and spent a long time scrolling through WeChat to find the contact information of the organizing committee where she had submitted the painting last time. She asked them if they accepted paintings.
It is understood that the organizing committees of these competitions have a lot of resources behind them. Many companies or entrepreneurs will ask them to buy some famous paintings. They have no shortage of buyers and sellers, but the premise is that the painting can meet their standards.
Xiang Jin had never tried this path before, but now she wanted to give it a shot.
The other party replied quickly, saying they wanted to see the painting first.
Xiang Jin quickly took a picture and sent it over.
Half an hour passed, and no one replied.
Another half hour passed, and still no one replied.
It seems my painting didn't meet your standards.
Just as Xiang Jin was about to give up, she suddenly received a message notification on WeChat. She quickly opened it, and the other party only sent a brief message: One million, is that okay?
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