Chapter 12
Xie Yan pulled her younger brother back a step, silently rejecting Jiang Minghua's kindness. Jiang Minghua, however, didn't care at all. Instead, she smiled and took the little mute boy's hand, heading straight for the brightly lit Yunting Pavilion not far away.
The enormous floor-to-ceiling windows reflected the exquisite crystal chandeliers and elegant booths inside, while impeccably dressed waiters politely led the guests in. Just as 00X had said, to enhance her transmigration experience, the real-life Yun Ting Xuan had been moved inside. In her previous life, she and Jiang Mingjia had spent two months' salary just to enjoy themselves at Yun Ting Xuan, an unprecedented sum. Now that she had transmigrated into the daughter of a billionaire, she was naturally going to indulge herself happily.
Xie Yan watched their retreating figures, pursed his thin lips, and finally followed in silence.
Upon arriving at the front desk, Jiang Minghua merely showed her black card briefly, and the waiter respectfully led them to the VIP seating area. Jiang Minghua took the menu, her gaze calmly sweeping over the names she had longed to order but dared not in her previous life: black truffle foie gras, blue lobster sashimi, Wagyu ribeye…
This time she was determined to enjoy herself, so she deftly ordered several signature dishes, her voice steady and without the slightest hesitation or restraint.
The dishes were served one after another, and Jiang Minghua felt the aroma of the food dancing on her taste buds. Sure enough, every bite was the ultimate enjoyment that money could buy. It wasn't until the dessert was served that she paused almost imperceptibly. The dessert was an exquisite chocolate garden, exactly the same as the one she had seen when she came here with Jiang Mingjia in her previous life.
She lowered her gaze, silently took a bite, and savored the sweetness with a hint of raspberry tartness—a taste she had remembered for a long time. Back then, she and Jiang Mingjia had almost come to blows over the last bite; thinking of Jiang Mingjia, a smile crept onto Jiang Minghua's lips.
Her smile made Xie Yan pause. He just watched Jiang Minghua eat without moving himself. The little mute girl kept swallowing as she looked at the food in front of her. She glanced cautiously at her brother. After receiving a warning look from Xie Yan, the little mute girl could only force herself not to look at the small cake in front of her.
However, just as Xie Yan was looking at his younger brother, Jiang Minghua swiftly stuffed a tuna hand roll into his mouth. The aroma of the food made Xie Yan's body stiffen, as if he had been put on pause. He looked at Jiang Minghua with wariness and confusion.
"Eat up. If you don't eat, your little brother won't dare to eat either. He's so young, he's at the age where he's growing." Jiang Minghua's eyes inadvertently glanced at his pink hair, trying to keep her tone gentle.
The little mute boy stared pitifully at Xie Yan with wide, yearning eyes. Xie Yan's fingers twitched slightly, and he nodded gently. Having received his brother's permission, the little mute boy's face instantly lit up with a happy smile. He turned to look at the food before him, somewhat bewildered, unsure which to eat first.
Xie Yan lowered his head and mechanically chewed the hand-rolled pastie that Jiang Minghua had just stuffed into his mouth. The boy's head was bowed, his messy pink hair obscuring his eyes, and from Jiang Minghua's angle, only his overly sharp chin was visible. Under the light, the sickly pallor and fragility on his face were even more pronounced.
Is it because his skin is fair that the pink color looks different? Jiang Minghua's focus was on Xie Yan's pink hair. How could she ask him for pink hair without making herself seem like a pervert?
"He who eats another's food is bound to him; he who takes another's gift is bound to him." She treated him to a meal and even helped him bandage his wounds, so asking for a little hair isn't unreasonable, is it?
Just as Jiang Minghua was about to speak, Xie Yan finished his hand roll, looked up at her again, his dark pupils unfathomable, and pulled up his sleeve, asking in a hoarse voice:
"You invited us to dinner, are you after my blood? Take it!"
He spoke each word slowly and deliberately, as if drawing blood was as natural to him as breathing.
Jiang Minghua: ! Goodness, now I know why he has so many scars. But she doesn't want blood, she just wants his hair.
Xie Yan was an orphan adopted by the Xie family, who researched biological genes and therefore frequently used him for experiments. In essence, he was the Xie family's experimental subject; in his mind, being kind to him meant he was being used for experiments.
She was given an explanation when the repaired system suddenly came online.
When asked about thanking Xie Yan for his hair, Jiang Minghua suddenly couldn't bring herself to say it. He was an orphan, too; he had been one once, only his situation was far worse than hers.
"I don't want your blood, I just want to be good to you."
Upon hearing this, Xie Yan's eyes showed even greater confusion. Why should she want to be kind to him? He was an omen of bad luck.
Xie Yan lowered his eyes, thinking about how the Xie family used him for experiments. The experiments were really painful, but he couldn't cry. If he cried, he and his younger brother wouldn't be given food, and the Xie family would prevent his brother from going to school. Before, nothing happened after the experiments ended, but he didn't know when it started, but whenever the Xie family made him suffer, something bad would happen to a member of the Xie family the next day. Over time, he became an omen of misfortune.
The Xie family had considered killing him, and even threw him into a meat grinder, but no matter how they tried to kill him, he would always reappear unharmed the next day, and the person who did the killing would suffer an even worse fate.
So the Xie family dared not touch him, and instead set their sights on his younger brother. For his brother's sake, Xie Yan would only threaten the Xie family with a knife. But the Xie family was genuinely afraid that if something happened to him, it would implicate the family, so they could only treat him and his brother as if they were invisible.
When he heard that Jiang Minghua wanted to be nice to him, he froze on the spot, not knowing how to respond.
After dinner, Jiang Minghua thoughtfully drove them back to the desolate old house on the outskirts of the Xie family, based on the address Xie Yan had given them. As the rusty iron gate creaked open, Xie Yan and his younger brother appeared inside. However, they didn't rush in but stood there watching Jiang Minghua's car drive far, far away.
On the way back, Jiang Mingjia's phone screen suddenly lit up; it was a message from her older brother.
[Resolved.]
Below those three words, several photos popped up in quick succession. In the pictures, the Li family members, disheveled and looking panicked, were frantically dragging their suitcases through the crowd at the station, appearing utterly disheveled.
Jiang Minghua's fingertip hovered above the screen.
She truly hated those three faces in the photo.
Jiang Minghua's breath hitched slightly. Rationally, she knew all too well that the Li family of three before her were not her true enemies. Yet her heart still pounded violently, and a burning hatred surged uncontrollably throughout her body.
Since they have such damned faces and yet they still insist on running into her trap, then she shouldn't blame her. She'll take this opportunity to settle all the pent-up resentment and hatred from two lifetimes.
After paying the remaining balance to her older brother and the others, Jiang Minghua took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, all that remained was a cold, clear gaze.
They deserved it. And she, finally, felt a sense of relief.
Jiang Minghua did not go directly back to the Jiang family.
Instead, she went to the hospital where Wen Chuqing's grandmother was. After parking the car at the hospital entrance, she carried the Chocolate Garden treat that had been packed up after her meal and went straight to Wen Chuqing's grandmother's ward. Sure enough, in that room filled with the smell of disinfectant, she saw Wen Chuqing carefully wiping the old woman's fingers.
Hearing footsteps, Wen Chuqing looked up.
At that moment, Jiang Minghua's heart almost stopped.
The light from the hospital room fell on Wen Chuqing's face, outlining features that were exactly the same as Jiang Mingjia's in her memory. They really were identical. She steadied her breathing and handed her the dessert.
"I brought it along the way, here you go."
Wen Chuqing was slightly taken aback. She took the box, opened it, and when she saw the dessert, a surprised and warm smile instantly bloomed on her face: "Minghua, thank you!"
That smile was pure and bright, without a trace of gloom.
Jiang Minghua stared blankly.
As if time had turned back and the dust had settled, Jiang Mingjia stood vividly before her once again, smiling at her.
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