Chapter 299 Side Story (1) Modern Era
"Jianjian! Why are you running so fast!" Tang Ruan gasped for breath, supporting herself on the door frame with one hand. "The doctor said you need to rest properly."
The woman rushed into the rented room without stopping, went straight to the bedside, picked up a book and began to read.
Tang Ruan slowed her pace and walked to her side, exclaiming in surprise, "Isn't this the book I lent you?"
"Mmm," Mu Jianjian responded softly, quickly turning the page to the end of the book.
The red and black rift in the sky slowly closed. Without the parasitic flesh and blood and the supply of life force, the black liquid gradually dissipated in the air. A few illusory butterfly shadows remained, fluttering and scattering onto each cultivator at the bottom of the valley. Endless true energy surged within them, completely healing their wounds.
But the girl who brought endless vitality never returned.
"The ending has changed... No one died..."
Except for her.
Tears gradually fell from her eyes, slowly dripping onto the book and forming clear tear stains.
Tang Ruan was startled by her best friend's lifeless eyes. "What are you talking about? It's always been this ending. Except for the female supporting character Mu Jianjian, everyone has a happy ending."
"Are you crazy?" She moved closer to Mu Jianjian and pinched her cheek. "Why have you been acting so strangely lately? Even this morning you were chasing after that comatose person who had just woken up. Do you even know him?"
"I don't know him." Mu Jianjian lowered her eyes, recalling the man who looked similar to her senior brother that she met before leaving the hospital this morning. Her last memory was of the man's indifferent expression as he was being led away by the doctor.
She gave a bitter smile.
Even if you can imagine his temperament and appearance, it's still not him.
——
"You've been thinking about the company's year-end bonus for so long, why aren't you excited at all?" Tang Ruan looked at the woman wrapped up in a cotton-padded coat by the door, and finally touched her blush. "There's a party tonight! As a 'model employee,' you shouldn't be dressed nicely to receive your award."
For some reason, she always felt that Jianjian was drowsy and didn't feel fully awake after waking up in the hospital.
Although her life is much the same as before, she smiles much less.
"It doesn't matter," Mu Jianjian shrugged and pointed to the short skirt the woman was wearing. "It would be very cold if we went over like that."
In fact, she had been talking about her year-end bonus for a long time after transmigrating into the book, so naturally she didn't feel anything about it now that she was back.
"There's definitely heating at the party venue!" Tang Ruan said with exasperation, staring at the lifeless woman. After thinking it over, she finally reached out her hand. "No way! Come here, I'll dress you up nicely."
Mu Jianjian refused to accept the offer, but her best friend ended up giving her a full face of makeup and stuffing a long skirt under her cotton-padded jacket.
"That's more like it," Tang Ruan nodded in satisfaction when she saw the woman's flushed face. "Let's go."
——
The hotel's fifth floor was brightly lit, with large glass chandeliers refracting colorful light. The lobby, filled with round tables, was already packed with elegantly dressed people, while in a corner, two women were pulling and tugging at each other.
"I'll just have some dessert here, you go ahead." Mu Jianjian smiled and glanced at the man who had invited Tang Ruan to dance.
Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Tang Ruan said helplessly, "I'll come find you after I finish dancing."
"Okay." She took a small sip of her drink, watching a man and a woman gradually walk onto the dance floor.
Things that were once something to look forward to have become incredibly boring, and even the desserts in my mouth taste slightly bitter.
"Hello, is this seat taken?"
Until a pair of men in black suits walked up to her, the familiar, gentle male voice made Mu Jianjian feel a little dazed.
She looked up in a daze and saw a handsome man with black hair, whose deep black eyes reflected her image.
It was the man I had met at the hospital earlier.
In a daze, Mu Jianjian remembered Tang Ruan saying that the son of a director who had been bedridden for many years would also be attending the company's annual meeting... Could it be such a coincidence...?
She lowered her head silently. "Nobody's here."
The other party probably doesn't remember the woman who hurriedly grabbed him in the hospital; she was in terrible condition at the time.
Sure enough, whether it was appearance, temperament, or voice... she was almost identical to her senior brother.
However, compared to Chi Wenqing in ancient costume, the man in front of him, dressed in a suit, lacked the harmless air of a pale-faced scholar. He was tall and slender, and despite the bustling and chaotic background, he appeared relaxed, with a hint of gentleness beneath his long eyelashes.
"You didn't have this expression when you grabbed my clothes at the hospital a few days ago," the man said, his voice teasing as he sat down.
Mu Jianjian thought to herself, "What a small world." She looked slightly embarrassed and said, "I'm sorry, I mistook you for someone else..."
Whom did you mistake me for?
A male voice suddenly approached, and as she turned around, she saw the other person leaning down and looking at her with particularly focused eyes.
Mu Jianjian looked away, her heart suddenly clenching with pain, each throb almost tearing her chest apart.
It looks so much like him... but it's not him after all.
"It's nothing," she said, putting on a kind smile as she composed herself. "I was sick for so long back then that I misjudged you. I'm really sorry for holding your hand and talking nonsense. I hope you don't mind, sir?"
Mu Jianjian wanted to end the conversation with the man in front of her immediately; chatting with someone who looked like her lover was just too painful.
She thought that abruptly ending the conversation would be the end of the chat, but to her surprise, the other person didn't leave out of boredom. Instead, they stared at her for a long time, so long that she began to wonder if she had said something wrong.
Until the other person said something she thought she had misheard.
"Huh?" Mu Jianjian's heart clenched. She stared blankly at the man's thin lips as they opened and closed, her clear, rising tone sounding as if she hadn't heard him clearly.
“I said,” the man said, seeing the woman’s stunned expression, a look of heartache flashing in his eyes, before finally letting out a soft sigh, “Jianjian, I’ve come to find you.”
——
After Tang Ruan finished dancing, she was afraid that Mu Jianjian would be bored, so she rushed back. But when she got to the side, she saw a man and a woman leaning against each other.
Her gaze swept around the room before finally settling on their clasped hands, and she cursed under her breath.
Although we hoped Jianjian could relax before the party started, they touched hands after only a few words?
"This—" Tang Ruan stormed up to the two of them, about to pull them apart, but then she saw her best friend smiling at her, tears glistening in her eyes. "Ruan Ruan, he's my lover, his name is—"
Mu Jianjian then realized that after talking for so long, she still didn't know her senior brother's modern name, and turned her head with a pleading look.
"Chi Wenqing".
Lover? Chi Wenqing?
They fell in love after just one meeting? Isn't Chi Wenqing the director's son who recently woke up?
Tang Ruan was speechless for a moment. Countless complaints swirled in her mind, but she didn't know how to start them.
Looking at the woman's questioning expression, Mu Jianjian blinked and explained, "You think we're moving too fast? But Ruan Ruan, we've actually known each other for a long time."
Well, if you think about it carefully, it's actually been three lifetimes.
"Jianjian, we've known each other for so long, and you still just leave like that." Chi Wenqing said meaningfully, his tone resentful, his deep eyes filled with the reflection of the woman's beautiful face.
Despite harboring resentment towards her for leaving without saying goodbye, and intending to learn about the new world after her rebirth and not seek her out, he couldn't help but observe her every word and action. Seeing that her smile was no longer as bright as before, he ultimately gave in first.
Mu Jianjian felt the warmth on her hand and smiled, "It won't happen again."
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