Chapter 234 Two months of hard work, exchanged for a single fire
After Jiang Xingyao and Jin Qingyu parted on bad terms, Jin Qingyu actually didn't contact her again.
Life seemed to return to normal all of a sudden, and Jin Qingyu didn't seem to cause any trouble for Shen Mingsu. Everything was so quiet that Jiang Xingyao felt that her worries were just an illusion.
Jin Qingyu was still the same as always, spending most of his time outside tending to the flowerbeds. Occasionally, Jiang Xingyao could feel a cold gaze falling on her back, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, carrying a chilling intent and possessiveness to devour its prey.
She knew whose gaze belonged to, yet in the end, Jin Qingyu never bothered her.
A week passed uneventfully like this, and even when Jin Qingyu went to the hospital to have his cast removed, he didn't disturb Jiang Xingyao.
But the day after his cast was removed, while Jiang Xingyao was practicing the piano that evening, he pushed open the door to the music room himself.
The light from the incandescent bulb shone on his face, highlighting his increasingly gaunt frame. Jiang Xingyao's fingers froze, causing the melody to falter slightly. Her gaze involuntarily fell on Jin Qingyu: "What are you doing here?"
With a creak, the door to the music room closed with Jin Qingyu. Jiang Xingyao's heart skipped a beat, and she questioned again, "After pretending for so long, Mr. Jin, can't you keep up the act anymore?"
"Yaoyao, I'm going back to China." Jin Qingyu seemed not to hear Jiang Xingyao's barbed words. He walked to Jiang Xingyao's side and casually helped her turn the pages of the sheet music.
Jiang Xingyao was slightly stunned and looked at Jin Qingyu in disbelief. She had just played the piece that was about to turn the page, how did Jin Qingyu know that? And how did he turn the page so quickly?
Although she was curious, Jiang Xingyao didn't ask. She said calmly, "That's good. You've been here for so long, it's time for you to go back."
Jin Qingyu said, "I'd like to give you a gift before I leave."
"No need. I can't accept a gift without having done anything right. I can't accept Mr. Jin's gift." Jiang Xingyao refused in a cold voice.
Her reaction was somewhat expected by Jin Qingyu. Jin Qingyu's expression did not change much. He stood quietly beside Jiang Xingyao and waited until Jiang Xingyao finished singing before reaching out to support her arm: "Yaoyao, come with me for a moment."
He had a bit of strength in his hands, and quite forcefully led Jiang Xingyao toward the window.
He had been busy in front of the flowerbed all this time, and Jiang Xingyao already had some guesses about what he was doing.
But when the blackout curtain was actually opened and she saw clusters of roses under the wall, and the swing set surrounded by flowers, Jiang Xingyao's heart still ached silently.
"Yaoyao, it was my fault before. I listened to Jiang Cancan's nonsense and unintentionally hurt you and tainted your place."
Since you no longer wish to set foot in Wangshan Manor, all I can do now is to do my best to give you a new Wangshan Manor.
"The rose bushes and the swing are all replicas of the Wangshan Manor, one-to-one. And this house, I've already bought it in your name." Jin Qingyu introduced them to Jiang Xingyao while taking out a property deed from his pocket and placing it in front of her.
Jiang Xingyao glanced at it and a sarcastic smile appeared on her lips. She waved her hand and knocked the property certificate to the ground: "Jin Qingyu, you don't think that just because you did these things, I should forgive you without any resentment, do you?"
Even if the roses you planted look just like them, they weren't planted by my grandfather.
Not every mistake in this world deserves to be forgiven.
Roses, swings, what good is it if you recreate Wangshan Manor one-to-one?
This doesn't offer me any comfort; instead, it reminds me again and again of how you, along with Jiang Cancan, gradually defiled my pure land.
Jin Qingyu, stop being so self-righteous. You're disgusting.
The sharp sound was like a knife, piercing Jin Qingyu's eardrum bit by bit, seeping into his heart, as if trying to stab his heart until it was bloody and mangled.
Jin Qingyu moved his lips, first noticing the lingering cold smile on Jiang Xingyao's lips. His curled-up palms were covered with bloodstains from the flower branches, silently throbbing with pain. But compared to the heartache at this moment, the physical pain seemed pale.
Jin Qingyu finally spoke: "Yaoyao, I know that what I'm doing now is insignificant compared to the harm I caused you in the past, but please believe me, I will try my best to make up for every mistake I made in the past. These roses are just the beginning, and in the future..."
"Make amends? After you make amends, will all the previous things be erased? Will the harm you caused me be forgotten?"
"Jin Qingyu, it can't be smoothed over unless I forget all that," Jiang Xingyao said.
Jin Qingyu felt once again that everything he did seemed utterly ineffective.
But he still stubbornly said, "It's okay, Yao Yao, I won't give up. If one thing doesn't work, I'll do two. I will prove my determination."
Jiang Xingyao chuckled softly. She couldn't understand where Jin Qingyu got his confidence from. All she found in his confident pronouncements was trouble.
Yes, it is a problem.
She just wanted to get rid of Jin Qingyu.
A gentle breeze rustled the rose branches outside, and the swing set swayed slightly. It was late March, not yet the time for roses to be in full bloom, but on the rose vines outside, one rose after another had already begun to compete for beauty.
It goes without saying that it was a variety that Jin Qingyu had gone to great lengths to obtain, but Jiang Xingyao's eyes still didn't show much joy.
She missed her grandfather, and she had originally planned to plant roses in this flower garden herself, so that she could remember him by looking at the flowers.
But when this garden was planted by Jin Qingyu himself, it became a thorn that silently pierced her, forcing her to recall her past experiences again and again.
She didn't stop Jin Qingyu from making a fuss here, just to remind herself to stay clear-headed and not be deceived or swayed by such simple tricks.
Jin Qingyu made many promises to Jiang Xingyao, but all he received were her lukewarm sarcasm. In the end, Jin Qingyu's voice became softer and softer, and he almost pleaded, "Yaoyao, please listen to me this once and delete Shen Mingsu, okay?"
Jiang Xingyao naturally couldn't agree. She said, "Jin Qingyu, you keep saying you want to apologize, but everything you've done has a purpose."
I really don't understand where you get your confidence from. What makes you think you can influence my social life?
If there's nothing else, please leave.
"Yaoyao, do you really want to keep him?" Jin Qingyu asked again, and Jiang Xingyao gave him an affirmative answer. He finally stopped arguing and went out directly.
Qin Jiangnan was standing at the door. When he saw Jin Qingyu, he couldn't wait to catch up and question him: "What did you say to Jiang Xingyao just now? You weren't making things difficult for her, were you?"
Before Jin Qingyu could speak, a conversation came from behind him; it was the maid Lucy and the housekeeper.
Lucy said, "Such beautiful roses, planted by Mr. Jin himself, is it such a waste to burn them like this?"
The aunt said, "It's none of our business to worry about the owners. Let's go and clean up quickly."
As if to appease them, the smell of thick smoke filled the corridor and seeped into people's nostrils.
Jin Qingyu realized something, and without paying attention to Qin Jiangnan, he quickly ran into the courtyard.
Ten minutes ago, the rose bushes were in full bloom, but now they are engulfed in flames, and even the swing set is being consumed by the flames.
Flames and thick smoke seemed to illuminate half of the manor.
Jin Qingyu stood before the raging fire. He looked up at the window in front of him. The blackout curtains were still open, and a slender woman stood in front of the window, looking at him from afar, as if admiring her own masterpiece.
I admire how she managed to burn two months' worth of hard work to ashes in less than ten minutes.
Perhaps it was the thick smoke, or something else, but Jin Qingyu felt his throat was dry and itchy. The strange sensation seeped from his throat into his heart, making him almost suffocate.
Qin Jiangnan also chased after them. Looking at the flickering flames in front of him, his face was full of disbelief. He asked directly, "Jiang Xingyao, did you burn this?"
“It’s me,” Jiang Xingyao said, answering Qin Jiangnan’s question, but her gaze was fixed on Jin Qingyu. “See? Mr. Jin, your sincerity is worthless to me. I advise you to give up now and stop doing things that only move yourself.”
The firelight shone on the woman's face, making his usually aloof face seem warmer. The thick smoke, carrying a wave of heat, made Jin Qingyu feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
She's so heartless. Just to prove to herself that she doesn't care, she's even willing to set off a huge fire that seems capable of burning everything.
Jin Qingyu looked utterly dejected, and even Qin Jiangnan, who was watching from the sidelines, felt a pang of sympathy for him.
Although Jin Qingyu deserved it, considering how much effort he had put into restoring the rose bushes at Wangshan Manor for Jiang Xingyao over the past two months, only to end up with a pile of ashes, it was quite pitiful.
The flames continued to burn fiercely, but Jiang Xingyao had already turned her gaze away. She drew the blackout curtains, as if everything outside had nothing to do with her. Before long, soft piano music drifted over.
Qin Jiangnan glanced at the dejected Jin Qingyu beside him, and finally said in a cheeky tone, "Oh dear, look at you working day and night, all for the sake of a grand show to move yourself."
Jin Qingyu snorted coldly: "Qin Jiangnan, what's there to be proud of? You've been by her side every step of the way, but you still can't compare to that guy surnamed Chen coming over for two days?"
Qin Jiangnan's smile vanished after Jin Qingyu's two sentences. He said, "Why didn't I succeed? Isn't it because you're causing trouble here?"
If you hadn't interfered, how could I have let that guy surnamed Chen take advantage of the situation?
The gift I painstakingly prepared was destroyed by the person who intended to give it to me. How can you still have the nerve to stay? When are you leaving?
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