"Who did you give it to?" the man asked casually.
“He was a foreigner. I had sold two of my works before, and one of them was collected by his uncle. He said he appreciated my work, so I gave him a painting I had casually drawn.”
"..."
Since Ji Zhinan had already said that, Gu Yibei naturally had nothing to say.
“Yi Bei,” Ji Zhinan suddenly spoke.
"Um?"
"Walk with me on the beach."
She held his hand tightly, her beautiful eyes shining brightly, which softened Gu Yibei's heart, making him reluctant to refuse.
"Okay." He nodded.
Ji Zhinan smiled beautifully as they walked side by side on the beach.
It's almost evening now, the sun is setting, and its reflection on the sea turns the water golden—it's a different kind of beauty.
Ji Zhinan walked along, staring at the sea, when he suddenly spoke.
"Although I have painted the sea before, I have never actually seen the sea before. Today is the first time."
Gu Yibei looked down at her without saying a word, quietly becoming her most loyal listener.
Ji Zhinan had a smile on his lips, but his eyes were somewhat unfocused, as if he was recalling something.
Gradually, I discovered that there was a hint of bitterness in her smile.
"You may not know this, but I wasn't always like this."
In her past life, Ji Zhinan was not as wise, calm, and ruthless as she is now; she was quiet and gentle.
She is a very typical obedient girl, with little temper, so much so that she is so well-behaved that she is almost invisible.
Perhaps that's why she didn't know how to fight back against Ji Zhixia's bullying and Madam Ji's sarcastic remarks.
“I remember when I was in middle school, Mrs. Ji wanted to send me to a private school, the kind where I could only come home once a year.”
“My grandfather disagreed at the time, but Mrs. Ji and Ji Pengfei said that sending me to a private school was for my own good. They said that private schools were better than public schools in terms of teaching quality and other aspects. The teachers there were very responsible, and I could learn in a good environment while also developing my independence. They went to great lengths to explain that they were doing it for my own good.”
“They all said that, and Grandpa couldn’t find a reason to refute it. The only thing he disagreed with was that we could only come home once a year. Later, we changed it to come home once a month, and Grandpa reluctantly agreed.”
"Back then, I was naive and easily fooled. I really thought they were doing it for my own good. Only now, looking back on those things, do I realize that they were just trying to appease Grandpa and find a legitimate reason to temporarily kick me out of the Ji family."
"Madam Ji threw me into a private school for no other reason than that private schools are more restrictive and I only come home once a year, unlike regular schools where I can come home every day. They just don't want to see me."
Ji Zhinan gave a sarcastic grin, as if she were recounting someone else's story, completely detached from the pain she felt.
Perhaps because she no longer cared, mentioning the past didn't stir any emotion in her heart.
"And then?" Gu Yibei asked.
Ji Zhinan paused for a moment, then continued, "I remember once when I came back from school, Ji Zhixia, who rarely takes the initiative to approach me, boasted to me that Ji Pengfei and his wife had taken her to the beach. The three of them left footprints on the sand, caught crabs, built sandcastles, and Ji Pengfei even carried her around on the beach."
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