Chapter 18 The Necklace
The next day, there was only one day left until the midterm exams.
There was a tense atmosphere in the class, with students cramming before the exam. The break time was much quieter, with most students still engrossed in doing practice problems, discussing their mistakes with their deskmates, and even shortening their lunch break to come to school early to review.
Jiang Jizhou never had the concept of reviewing before exams; he just played as usual.
After school at noon, Jiang Jizhou and Aze went to play billiards, and Aze brought a girl with him.
"My girlfriend," he introduced to Jiang Jizhou.
The girl was in her early twenties, dressed in a way that accentuated her figure, with alluring eyes and a soft voice, "Hello, little brother."
Jiang Jizhou replied indifferently, "Hello."
"Still keeping things cold between you and Aya," Aze asked.
Jiang Jizhou aimed at the target ball and made a clean shot.
"So handsome!" the girl screamed and clapped. Aze glanced at her.
Jiang Jizhou straightened up and said coldly, "Hmm."
"He asked me to give this to you." Aze handed Jiang Jizhou a beautifully wrapped pink gift box, which Yu Bai had given to Chen Ye in front of the KTV room that day.
Jiang Jizhou frowned slightly.
“Ah Ye said the gift was from your sister. He was angry because you punched him, so he lied to you,” Ah Ze added.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Jizhou smiled coldly, licked his lips, and his eyes flashed with hostility. He barely suppressed the urge to swear, took the gift box from Aze, put down the cue stick, and left the billiard room without saying a word.
On his way back to school, Jiang Jizhou opened the gift box.
Inside the gift box was a lighter. He held it in his hand and played with it. It had a frosted texture. With a "click," he opened the lighter's cap, pressed it gently, and a flame shot out.
Like a swaying, fiery heart.
Jiang Jizhou felt his heart pounding in his chest.
When Jiang Jizhou arrived at the school, there were still about ten minutes before the first class in the afternoon.
In the classroom, Mingjing was asking Yu Bai a math question. Yu Bai patiently explained it once, but she still didn't understand. Yu Bai explained it again, but she still didn't understand. Yu Bai's gentle expression showed a hint of breakdown.
"Let me do it." Jiang Jizhou walked over, took the pen from Yu Bai's hand, glanced at the question, and quickly wrote out the detailed steps on the draft paper.
"I understand!" Mingjing exclaimed, suddenly realizing the significance of his steps.
Yu Bai pursed her lips, looking somewhat defeated.
"You're taking too many jumps," Jiang Jizhou said to Yu Bai with a shrug and a smile.
Yu Bai has a high aptitude for mathematics, so what seems like a super simple step that others cannot understand is actually a step that she can omit.
"Oh." Yu Bai took back his pen.
“The lighter is very nice,” Jiang Jizhou suddenly said.
Yu Bai looked up and stared at him intently, her face slightly flushed.
"I'm glad you like it." She looked a little awkward.
Jiang Jizhou smiled, opened his palm, and a sparkling necklace dangled down. "It's for you."
It was cool to the touch and placed in Yu Bai's palm.
He gave a casual smile. "I bought it on the way."
"Wow, Yu Bai, your brother is so good to you!" Ming Jing exclaimed, looking envious.
Jiang Jizhou glanced at her, and although he was replying to Mingjing's words, his eyes were fixed on Yu Bai, and he said softly, "She is not my sister."
Yu Bai blushed, her eyelashes trembled, and she immediately lowered her eyes in embarrassment to avoid his alluring gaze.
"Yu Bai, what exactly happened? Why did Jiang Jizhou say you're not his sister?"
After Jiang Jizhou left, Mingjing's gossipy nature awakened, and she kept pestering Yu Bai with questions, determined to get to the bottom of everything.
Yu Bai pursed her lips and slowly explained, "My mother and Jiang Jizhou's father are close friends. Because my mother was sent to work abroad and there was no one to take care of me, I stayed at his house."
"Ahhh!" Mingjing frantically tugged at Yu Bai's clothes, then lowered her voice, "So you two are dating?"
Yu Bai's eyes widened, and he immediately shook his head violently, "No, no."
"Really?" Mingjing looked at the necklace in Yu Bai's hand, somewhat incredulous.
"Really." Yu Bai said earnestly, not like he was lying.
"Does Jiang Jizhou like you?" Mingjing asked again.
"No...no." Yu Bai bit her lip, somewhat at a loss. She blushed as she carefully put the necklace away, just as the school bell rang.
"Class is about to start." Yu Bai breathed a sigh of relief, quickly pulled out his textbook, and reminded Ming Jing.
Although Mingjing still found it suspicious and had many questions for Yu Bai, the teacher had already entered the classroom, so she had no choice but to give up.
Yu Bai usually listens attentively in class, but she was distracted in this class. It was rare for her to be absent-minded in class. All she could think about was Mingjing's question—Does Jiang Jizhou like you?
How could that be? He only ever treated me like a younger sister.
But on that rainy evening, as they were riding home, their eyes met in a knowing glance, and he whispered something in her ear that she didn't quite catch. The ambiguous atmosphere was as blurry and indistinct as the raindrops falling on the car window that day.
And today, he said she is not his sister.
Yu Bai's cheeks grew redder and redder. She lowered her head, fiddling with the ballpoint pen in her hand, forcing herself to calm down.
Yu Bai was distracted all day because of this matter.
After school that evening, Yu Bai and Jiang Jizhou rode home together. She sat close to the car door, cautiously stealing glances at Jiang Jizhou.
"Hmm?" Jiang Jizhou noticed, and a slight smile appeared in his eyes.
Yu Bai gripped the edge of the car seat with his right hand, blinked, and lied, saying, "I'm a little carsick."
Jiang Jizhou smiled slightly, as if he had expected it, and magically produced an orange, which he handed to Yu Bai.
Yu Bai felt a warm feeling in her heart. She peeled the orange and the refreshing fragrance of citrus relieved her motion sickness, and her dizzy head cleared up considerably.
"Is the necklace very expensive?" Yu Bai couldn't help but ask Jiang Jizhou. When she was sitting in her seat, she secretly buried her head in the desk drawer to look at the necklace that Jiang Jizhou had given her.
"It's not expensive." Jiang Jizhou smiled. "Do you like it?"
"I like it." Yu Bai nodded.
"That's good." Jiang Jizhou took out the lighter that Yu Bai had given him and played with it in his hand.
"Consider it a thank you gift." Jiang Jizhou suddenly turned his head to look at her. Yu Bai was always surprised by his handsome appearance. She turned her slightly flushed face away and saw the familiar street scene outside the car window. Soon they arrived at the villa area. Jiang Jizhou's bare courtyard came into view. Yu Bai's desire to plant flowers, which she had had since her first visit, became even stronger at this moment.
Pushing open the door, Chen Ma had already prepared dinner and invited them to wash their hands and eat.
"Jizhou, I've heard about your father's mistress being pregnant," Chen Ma said to Jiang Jizhou carefully.
Upon hearing this, Yu Bai paused in her chopsticks, which were picking up food. She glanced at Jiang Jizhou and saw that he remained indifferent, without the slightest fluctuation in his expression.
“Your dad told me today that they are all moving back in tomorrow.”
Jiang Jizhou raised his eyes, gritting his teeth, and said, "He dares."
"Aunt Chen, go and get someone to change the keys today. Neither of them are allowed in." Jiang Jizhou's lips curled into a smile, his eyes cold.
Chen's mother said with relief, "Good, you've grown up. This house was originally left to you by your mother."
Yu Bai looked at Jiang Jizhou with worry in her eyes. She was afraid that Jiang Jizhou would not be able to fight against Uncle Jiang and would end up getting hurt instead. After all, he was just a boy who would not turn eighteen for another month. But Jiang Jizhou gave her a reassuring look.
After dinner, Jiang Jizhou went upstairs and Chen Ma secretly told Yu Bai some old stories.
Jiang Jizhou's mother was a pampered young lady, but she was loyal to Uncle Jiang. Even though she knew he was cheating on her, she still refused to let go. Although she was love-struck, her favorite person was still Jiang Jizhou, her only biological son. Before she passed away, she left him a huge trust fund, as well as company shares and multiple properties. Moreover, Jiang Jizhou's maternal grandparents could support him.
Therefore, Jiang Jizhou was not afraid of Uncle Jiang at all.
Hearing Chen Ma tell her all this in a long, drawn-out way, Yu Bai was surprised but also relieved.
Then I couldn't help but think, no wonder Jiang Jizhou said his mother was stupid... she was a pitiful person who valued loyalty and righteousness.
Yu Bai felt more and more resentment and disgust towards Uncle Jiang, hating him for hurting such a good woman, as well as Jiang Jizhou.
She went upstairs to her bedroom, lost in thought, just as Jiang Jizhou came out.
He stared at Yu Bai for a while. After Yu Bai went home, she changed into a comfortable cotton dress, revealing her delicate collarbone, which looked rather bare.
Yu Bai felt uneasy under his gaze, and following his gaze, looked down at her chest, instinctively covering it with her hands.
Jiang Jizhou smiled casually, "Put the necklace on."
Yu Bai blinked, reluctant to part with it. She turned and pushed open the door to her bedroom. "I'll wear it on important occasions."
After saying that, she closed the door.
Like a startled rabbit, this scene amused Jiang Jizhou.
He said lazily, "Be good, wear it, and I'll buy you another one."
Inside the door, Yu Bai was shy and embarrassed. But when she heard Jiang Jizhou's words, her heart couldn't help but leap with joy, as if she had jumped to the clouds, feeling light and airy.
She bit her lip, pressed her face against the door, and asked in a muffled voice, "Jiang Jizhou, why are you so good to me?"
After waiting a moment, she heard Jiang Jizhou's lazy voice come from inside the door, "Aren't you my sister?"
Yu Bai pouted, a little disappointed, "Then why did you say during the day that you weren't my brother?"
"you guess."
Two casual words, and then silence.
Yu Bai waited and waited, and finally opened the door a crack to look out, but Jiang Jizhou was already gone. She closed the door in disappointment.
Back at his desk, Yu Bai pulled out his notebook of classical Chinese poems for Chinese class. He planned to review his basics before the first exam in Chinese class the next morning.
But then I received a message from Chen Ye.
Their chat window was still showing Chen asking Yu Bai if Jiang Jizhou was her brother.
I'm sorry, Yu Bai.
This abrupt and unrelated apology left Yu Bai completely baffled.
Why apologize?
I lied to your brother and said the gift was for me. He was really angry. Are you okay?
"It's true, the child died and you came to nurse him..." A flock of crows flew over Yu Bai's head.
No wonder Jiang Jizhou kept asking her if she liked Chen Ye.
I've already spoken to your brother and given him the gift. I'm sorry.
So that's why Jiang Jizhou suddenly told her today that the lighter was very pretty.
Yu Bai lowered her head and stared at the chat box for a long time. After a while, she replied to Chen Ye.
【I forgive you, but tell me, what is the relationship between Ruo'an and Jiang Jizhou?】
The question that Yu Bai didn't ask that day, Yu Bai finally had the chance to ask him today.
Come find me in the classroom after school tomorrow at noon, and I'll tell you.
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