Chapter 20 Chapter 20

The Gu family arrived early. When they arrived at the Jiang family, the banquet had not started yet and the guests had not arrived yet.

Today's banquet was held in the back garden, with flowing wine cups and winding water, which was quite elegant.

Jiang Jinghui, who was found, was surrounded by people. She was no longer wearing the clothes she wore that day. She had changed into a gorgeous dress. Although her dress was gorgeous, it did not look extravagant. She looked simple and elegant.

She was hugged by someone, with only a faint smile on her face from beginning to end. She looked a little shy, but also decent enough not to make others think she was petty.

Everyone can see that Jiang Nan loves Jiang Jinghui very much.

After all, she was his biological child, so who would favor an outsider? Now they all gathered around her to talk, while Jiang Jingchun sat in the corner without saying a word, with her head down.

This was the first time that Mrs. Gu met Jiang Jinghui. She had heard that she had a hard time outside during those years, and she thought that she would not be brought up in a pleasing way. But she did not expect that she would be so well-behaved and sensible. It was really a surprise.

When the Gu family arrived, Jiang Nan happily pulled Jiang Jinghui over to them and said, "This is your uncle and aunt."

Jiang Jinghui smiled at them both and called them politely, "Uncle, Aunt."

Jiang Nan pointed at Gu Huaisheng next to him and introduced him, "Hey, this is your cousin."

Jiang Jinghui looked at Gu Huaisheng and said, "I had heard of my cousin's reputation when I came to the capital, but I didn't expect to have the chance to meet him."

The way she looked at Gu Huaisheng was different from the way she looked at other people. She seemed to have a bit of admiration in her eyes. Yes, girls of their age almost all looked at him like this. Besides, Jiang Jinghui came from a small place, where could she meet such a person? It was normal for her to blush when she saw him for the first time.

However, Gu Huaisheng remained silent, his eyes fixed on a corner.

He is looking at Jiang Jingchun.

Jiang Jingchun didn't look in their direction. He kept his head down, not knowing what he was thinking about.

Gu Huaisheng pursed his lips tightly. Looking at her like this, he couldn't even tell whether she had cried or not.

She didn't even seem to make a fuss, as if she accepted everything calmly.

He was thinking too much and was absent-minded without realizing it, so much so that he didn't even realize that Jiang Jinghui was talking to him.

It was not until Mrs. Gu beside him pulled his sleeve that he came back to his senses.

He looked at Jiang Jinghui in front of him and called out, "Cousin."

It was a very common name, but for some reason it sounded a bit strange when it came out of his mouth now.

He seemed to be only used to calling Jiang Jingchun like this, and he didn't even often call his other sisters, such as Jiang Jingfang, like this.

After Gu Huaisheng finished speaking, he just said hello and had no intention of continuing.

Jiang Nan was not unaware of Jiang Jinghui's thoughts, but Gu Huaisheng's aloof look made the atmosphere a little awkward.

Fortunately, at this moment, a servant came running outside and said, "Master, Madam, the guests are here now."

When the guests arrive, the banquet will begin.

Jiang Nan and Li wanted to take Jiang Jinghui to meet the guests first, so the conversation didn't go on any further.

Jiang Runchu walked to Gu Huaisheng's side and asked him, "What were you thinking about just now? Why were you so absent-minded?"

Gu Huaisheng shook his head, "Nothing."

Jiang Runchu didn't take what happened just now to heart.

He said to Gu Huaisheng: "She seems to like you very much."

Jiang Jinghui seemed to like Gu Huaisheng very much.

But Gu Huaisheng didn't want to continue the conversation and said calmly, "You're wrong."

Jiang Runchu still refused to let her go. He said, "She has had a hard time these years. Since she thinks you are nice, you should pay more attention to her. Just think of it as a favor to me. You don't have to do anything. Just smile at her. Besides, she is just your cousin. Why are you so cold to her?"

Gu Huaisheng looked at Jiang Runchu and stared at him for a long time. He frowned slightly and said, "You are too partial to one and unfair to the other."

When Jiang Jingchun liked him in the past, Jiang Runchu never said such words, and even asked him to pay less attention to her.

Now that it's a different person, ask him to greet you with a smile.

Even if she wasn't his biological sister, he was being a little harsh.

Jiang Runchu was stunned for a moment when he heard Gu Huaisheng's words.

He really didn't like Jiang Jingchun, and even hated her.

He didn't like her ever since she was brought to the Jiang family.

Perhaps after so many years, he would even feel that Jiang Jingchun had taken Jiang Jinghui's position and enjoyed everything from her.

When he was nine years old, his father brought her, who was as small as a carrot, to him. He said, this is his sister.

He is nine years old and he is not a fool.

Is she his sister? Can't he recognize her?

He has a sister, but it's not her.

He just doesn't like Jiang Jingchun, so what? Isn't it natural?

It was rare for him to blush with Gu Huaisheng. He snorted coldly and said to Gu Huaisheng, "You don't have to think that I am biased. Jinghui has suffered so much, but she has been soaking in the honeypot all day long and acting like a heartless eldest daughter. How can I be considered biased by my current behavior? Besides, Jinghui is your real cousin now, not Jiang Jingchun."

Gu Huaisheng looked at Jiang Runchu without saying anything.

In this matter, he is indeed an outsider and is not in a position to say anything bad about anyone.

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Did she cry?"

Who else could be the "she" that Gu Huaisheng mentioned other than Jiang Jingchun.

Jiang Runchu became even angrier, thinking that what he had just said was like playing the lute to a cow.

He said angrily, "If you smile more and say nice things to Jinghui later, I will tell you."

Who made Gu Huaisheng so popular with girls? Even his biological sister who was found there liked him.

It was just a momentary angry remark, but I didn't expect that after a moment, Gu Huaisheng actually said "hmm".

Jiang Runchu looked as if he had seen a ghost. He said, "You..."

He kept saying "you" for a long time but couldn't say anything. He just said in a low voice, "I'm just curious."

He was really curious whether she cried or not.

Before he came, he thought she would cry, but when he saw her today, he felt that she would not cry. He was wavering, still wanting to know whether she cried or not.

Jiang Runchu didn't know what to say after hearing him say that, so she finally told him the truth for his promise: "I didn't cry."

I really didn't cry.

But when he heard that she didn't cry, he frowned.

How could that be?

He always thought that she was a crybaby who would get angry over the slightest thing, so his first reaction was that she would not be able to bear such a thing.

However, Jiang Runchu's answer was beyond his expectations.

He looked in the direction of Jiang Jingchun. She was still sitting there and then she raised her eyes in their direction.

The two people's eyes met.

This was the first time they looked into each other's eyes today. In the past, her eyes were always on him, and he could see her as long as he looked in her direction. However, today, he looked at her three times before she looked at him once.

Perhaps what he said that day was too harsh and hurtful to her self-esteem, so the look she gave him was dull and indifferent, completely devoid of her former spirit.

She just glanced at him, as if she was looking at an insignificant person, and then quickly looked away.

Gu Huaisheng shamelessly thought of the dream he had this morning. In the dream, her eyes were full of affection, completely different from the way they were now. He felt a dryness in his throat and a ball of cotton blocking his chest, making him feel indescribably stuffy.

After a while, he was pulled away by Jiang Runchu and left.

People were coming and going at the banquet. Today the banquet was held in the back garden, which was more relaxed than in the front hall. Everyone was walking back and forth, socializing, and the sound of joy was lingering around. But Jiang Jingchun was the only one sitting in the corner, not saying a word.

Song Xuan'an and Chen Muqing did not come today. Perhaps Jiang Nan was afraid that if they came, something might happen between them and her, so she simply did not invite them.

Jiang Nan took Jiang Jinghui around to introduce them. Jiang Jingchun could vaguely hear their cheerful voices. He said that was his biological child who was found after being lost.

She didn't know if it was her illusion, but she always felt that those people's eyes were on her. She always felt that they looked at her with mockery, as if they were saying, oh, it turns out that the arrogant eldest lady was not the biological daughter of the Jiang family.

Even though she was sitting in a corner, she felt like she was being mocked and had nowhere to hide.

Jiang Jingchun lowered his head and dared not raise it.

Now, she doesn't have the courage to face those looks.

She fiddled with her fingers, hoping that no one would talk to her or mention her.

But things didn't go as planned. Just as she finished thinking this, she saw someone standing in front of her and called her, "Hey, Jiang Jingchun."

Jiang Jingchun looked up and found that it was Lou Yanyan.

Lou Yanyan put her hands on her hips and teased maliciously, "Hey, Jiang Jingchun, you're not my biological child?"

Jiang Jingchun had had an argument with her in the past, and now that she was in such a situation, she would definitely make fun of her.

Jiang Jingchun didn't want to argue with her, so she stood up and wanted to go somewhere else, but Lou Yanyan still refused to give in.

She stood in front of her and suddenly pointed to a place not far away.

Jiang Jinghui had almost finished meeting everyone over there and was now talking with Gu Huaisheng and Jiang Runchu.

Jiang Jingchun looked in the direction her finger was pointing. She didn't know what they were talking about, but from this direction, she could see Gu Huaisheng smiling at Jiang Jinghui. He was gentle and humble. Where was his usual stern look?

Seeing that she was distracted, Lou Yanyan came up to her with a smile and said, "Jiang Jingchun, who would like you? Look, it's only the first day she came, and he smiled so kindly at her, but what about you? You jump around beside him, except acting like a little clown, what else can you get?"

Anyway, there is no possibility for Gu Huaisheng and her sister. Now she feels happy to see him and Jiang Jinghui chatting and laughing. She will say something if it doesn't make Jiang Jingchun happy.

After hearing this, Jiang Jingchun no longer felt angry, but just found it funny.

Yes, what did she get from Gu Huaisheng? She got his word "shameless".

In the past, she wanted to see him smile so much, but it was a rare opportunity to make him smile. Now, they had only met once and he smiled so well.

Why hadn't she realized he was such a person before?

That’s too bad. Gu Huaisheng is really too bad.

Lou Yanyan was still chattering and making noises in front of her. If it were in the past, Jiang Jingchun would have pushed her away fiercely and made her shut up.

But today is Jiang Jinghui’s ancestral recognition banquet.

She couldn't make things look ugly, nor did she have the qualifications to do so.

But she really couldn't stay here any longer, she was going crazy, her chest was stuffy, and the suppressed breath made it difficult for her to breathe.

Jiang Jingchun couldn't stand it anymore in the end, and she fled away.

After leaving the backyard and without any guests, Jiang Jingchun could no longer hold back and ran. She didn't want to think about anything else and just wanted to leave this place of trouble. The emotions that had been suppressed for several days finally collapsed at this moment.

They didn't allow Song Xuan'an and Chen Muqing to come, but they allowed Lou Yanyan to come...

How could they not know what had happened to them?

When Lou Yanyan comes, she will definitely bully her.

She had no right to criticize their decision. It was good enough that they took her in and didn't chase her away. But because she had no position to vent her feelings, she felt so uncomfortable that she felt like she was being cooked by fire all the time. Her soul was flying in the fire and her life was like a chicken. She felt so uncomfortable that she wanted to die.

She didn't have the courage to face the way those people looked at her. Ever since she knew she was not her biological child, she seemed to have lost the confidence in everything she did. She didn't even have the guts to argue with Lou Yanyan.

The summer wind blew on her face, burning her. She ran without a purpose and without a way back. Her hair was blown out of shape and her body was covered with sweat.

She ran out of Jiang's house, not knowing where to go, but she kept running without stopping. She didn't feel tired. Instead, her body and mind relaxed after leaving that place.

Finally, she was tired of running and stopped when she passed a bridge with rushing water below and the surroundings refreshed.

She rested on the bridge railing, half hanging on it, head downward, emptying her mind.

The river was rushing past her eyes, and the sun was rising in the sky. The water surface was shimmering with light. It was shimmering and dreamlike. She saw her face projected on the water surface, and saw schools of small fish swimming past her face, and then swimming away in all directions along the river.

Jiang Jingchun looked at the water and laughed blankly. She murmured, "Little fish, swim faster, swim faster..."

Can you take her with you for a walk?

Damn it, God had to do this to her.

She wanted to escape, too.

After lying down for so long, Jiang Jingchun's head became a little congested and she felt dizzy. She began to see black spots in front of her eyes. She held onto the railing and tried to get up.

But at this moment, she heard a slightly angry voice coming from behind her.

"What are you doing?"

Gu Huaisheng was just pulled away by Jiang Runchu to talk to Jiang Jinghui. During the conversation, he noticed that Lou Yanyan seemed to have gone to find Jiang Jingchun. The two of them didn't say a few words, and he couldn't see any trace of Jiang Jingchun.

He felt a little uneasy, and thinking of her current condition, he finally felt worried and followed her out.

She ran so fast that he couldn't find her for a moment. He had to ask someone and then he found out that she was coming in this direction.

As soon as I arrived, I saw a person hanging on the railing with half of his body leaning out.

He thought she wanted to commit suicide.

Maybe she was in trouble with Lou Yanyan just now, or maybe she really couldn't stand all this waste... In the end, she ran out, determined to commit suicide.

When he saw this scene, his eyelids twitched violently and his voice unconsciously became a little anxious.

Jiang Jingchun suddenly heard a noise, stood up and looked back, and found that the person who came was Gu Huaisheng.

She didn't want to see him.

After seeing clearly that it was him, she turned around and ran away without saying a word.