do you like me?
"You treat everyone else the same way you treat me." Xie Zhijin stared at Zhao Xu with a blank expression and icy eyes.
“Go ask around on the street, which child speaks to their mother like that?” Zhao Xu sat upright on the sofa, not even glancing at Xie Zhijin. “I’ve spent so much money and energy raising you, and this is how you repay my kindness?”
Xie Zhijin chuckled self-deprecatingly, "You can say these things to other people, but is it really necessary to tell me? Can you stop being so hypocritical with me?"
Zhao Xu's gaze shifted to Xie Zhijin's face, and he slapped him across the face. "Kneel down."
Xie Zhijin remained unmoved.
Zhao Xu leaned closer and patted Xie Zhijin's face. "Do you know how much better my life would be if it weren't for you?"
“But your pain has nothing to do with me.” Xie Zhijin took a step back. “You can do whatever you want to me, I’m your son, but why did you bully someone else’s child in public?”
“I told you she came to complain. What, are you protecting others just like your father?” As if she had suddenly touched a nerve with Zhao Xu, she pointed at Xie Zhijin with her finger, “You really are just like your father.”
"Don't compare me to him, it's disgusting, you know?" Xie Zhijin stood in front of Zhao Xu. "As an adult, how could you lay a hand on a little girl in public? Is that acceptable?"
"She stole my beloved son, so what if I slapped her!" Zhao Xu became hysterical. "Xie Zhijin, you are really unfilial, disobeying your mother here for this woman."
"When will you finally realize that you don't love me at all? You just want to take from me, you just like the control I give you. Stop using love to blackmail me. This is your fault, and I need you to go and apologize to Jiang Jingshu in person."
After Xie Zhijin finished speaking, he prepared to leave. Before leaving, he said to Zhao Xu, "This matter is not over. I will persuade her to call the police."
"Fine, fine, I adopted a thankless wretch from the orphanage." Zhao Xu knelt on the ground, watching Xie Zhijin slam the door and leave.
—
Jiang Jingshu lay on the table when Xie Zhijin's message came through: "I'm downstairs at your place."
Jiang Jingshu tidied herself up quickly, and looking at her swollen face in the mirror, she couldn't help but sigh.
She put on a mask. "System, tell me, how did things get like this?"
"Your Highness, I'm sorry."
The system voice came through, sounding somewhat guilty, "What happened? Why are you apologizing?"
"Your Highness, what do you plan to do?"
"I'm still thinking about it." Jiang Jingshu replied to the system as she went downstairs. As she spoke, she looked up and saw Xie Zhijin standing at the entrance of the building.
"Jiang Jingshu." Xie Zhijin spoke first, breaking the silence in the air.
Jiang Jingshu simply stared at Xie Zhijin without saying a word.
She knew this had nothing to do with Xie Zhijin, but a nameless anger was burning within her. She didn't speak first; instead, Jiang Jingshu was very curious about how Xie Zhijin would resolve the matter.
"I bought some anti-swelling medicine on the way." Xie Zhijin handed the medicine he had bought on the way to Jiang Jingshu.
Jiang Jingshu didn't reach out to take it. "I've already applied it." She looked at Xie Zhijin. "You haven't been staying at home lately. Where have you been staying?"
Xie Zhijin answered honestly, "At the hotel."
"Then why do you come home with me every day?" Jiang Jingshu stared at Xie Zhijin. "You drive me home every day and then take a detour back to the hotel?"
Seeing that Jiang Jingshu had guessed most of it correctly, Xie Zhijin could only nod.
"Why did you do this, Xie Zhijin?" Jiang Jingshu's suspicions were confirmed. Confused, she asked Xie Zhijin, "Xie Zhijin, do you like me?"
Xie Zhijin was momentarily at a loss for how to react. A gust of wind blew by, and he felt his thoughts were all jumbled up. Did he like it? He thought he might.
I don't like why I have to take such a long detour home every day.
I think I don't like it, but I also think I do.
Xie Zhijin's mind was in complete chaos; he didn't know what to say.
"If you like me? I'm sorry, I only see you as a friend." Jiang Jingshu remained standing in front of Xie Zhijin, without saying anything extreme, as if she were simply stating a fact, the fact that Jiang Jingshu would never like Xie Zhijin.
"I'm sorry, I respect your opinion." Xie Zhijin lowered his head. "You don't need to worry about me how you want to resolve this matter."
"What do you mean by that?" Jiang Jingshu asked him.
“I guess you’re struggling with whether or not to call the police. Please don’t worry about me, and as your friend, I support you in calling the police.”
"Why? Isn't that your mother? I called the police, what will you do now?" Jiang Jingshu stared at Xie Zhijin, trying to see something in his eyes.
But she saw nothing. There was no extra emotion in the boy's eyes; all she could see was Xie Zhijin's guilt towards her.
“Everyone has to pay the price for what they do,” Xie Zhijin said. “I will ask her to publicly apologize to you and make up for the damage. After you call the police, I will cooperate with all the statements you make.”
This seemed to be an unexpected outcome. Jiang Jingshu hadn't expected Xie Zhijin to say such a thing to her. "Xie Zhijin, you don't need to say anything more."
"This whole thing started because of me. It's my fault for leaving too early. Please, you absolutely must call the police. I don't want this to become a grudge between us, and I don't want you to get hurt for no reason." Xie Zhijin looked at Jiang Jingshu, as if trying to see the face hidden under the mask.
I want to see the scars I've inflicted because of myself.
"Xie Zhijin, is she good to you?" Jiang Jingshu suddenly asked another question. Before Xie Zhijin could answer, she immediately said, "She's not good to you, is she?"
Why do you ask that?
"Xie Zhijin, I will choose to call the police." Jiang Jingshu's eyes were resolute, and her words, spoken one by one, struck Xie Zhijin's heart.
“What your mother has done has seriously damaged my physical and mental health. I must protect my dignity and legal rights. This is my defense of my bottom line and my protection of myself. I know this will make your situation difficult, and I am sorry.” Jiang Jingshu looked at Xie Zhijin. “This is my choice.”
“I’m glad you think that way. My situation isn’t difficult at all. On the contrary, I’m glad you chose to protect yourself. I’m the one who should apologize, not you. If it weren’t for me, perhaps none of this would have happened. I will cooperate with all the follow-up work. I will always be behind you until you have protected your rights.”
Xie Zhijin suddenly felt a great sense of relief, his fingernails digging deep into his flesh as he gripped his back.
He breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the hotel.
—
In the evening, after reporting the incident, Jiang Jingshu lay on the table when Su Xiaoyue called.
"Jiang Jiang, does your face still hurt?" Su Xiaoyue's concerned voice came over.
"I'm much better now. I'm just sorry, Xiaoyue, I probably won't be able to go on the trip I promised you." Jiang Jingshu said with some guilt.
Su Xiaoyue expressed her understanding, saying to Jiang Jingshu, "It's okay, we can go when we have time, it's the same."
After chatting for a while, Su Xiaoyue told Jiang Jingshu that she would come to her house the next day. Then she hung up the phone.
Jiang Jingshu took a shower and lay on the bed, with the sachet embroidered by her nanny next to her pillow.
She picked up the sachet and placed it on her forehead, saying, "I never thought that even in modern society, my cheeks would still suffer like this. They've suffered because of me."
"Your Highness, you have been wronged today."
The most painful thing for a wronged person is for others to mention their grievances. Jiang Jingshu shook her head, "No way, haven't we had plenty of these kinds of things in the past? Don't you have my memories from ancient times? How can you be so confused? This is nothing to me."
"Your Highness, I don't want to hear you say that." This was the first time Jiang Jingshu had heard the words "I don't want to" from the system.
Jiang Jingshu found it rather strange. "Help, you're acting strangely."
"Your Highness, I have broken my promise."
"Where did you break your promise?"
"At first I told Your Highness that you would not encounter what happened in the palace before..." The system paused, "I broke my promise. I'm sorry."
Jiang Jingshu was both amused and exasperated. "Look at all of you, what are you apologizing for? It was Xie Zhijin's mother who slapped me, not you or Xie Zhijin. What are you all apologizing for?"
"Your Highness is likely to have another sleepless night tonight."
Jiang Jingshu sighed, "Only you know how hard I sleep." She finally got out of bed, "I wonder if Xie Zhijin will blame me."
"No, Your Highness."
The system's voice came again, and Jiang Jingshu laughed, "You seem very confident. Can the Golden Finger also guess Xie Zhijin's thoughts?"
“I can’t guess him,” the system said. “This is just my calculation. I also calculated that His Highness won’t be the only one having trouble sleeping tonight.”
"What do you mean?" Jiang Jingshu looked down from the window, but her eyes were blurred.
"His Highness is the one who is most distressed by this matter, and he will likely be the next one to suffer." Simultaneously with the system's voice came Xie Zhijin, standing beneath the glass window.
Xie Zhijin seemed surprised to see Jiang Jingshu through her window even though it was nearly midnight.
Xie Zhijin had intended to take a walk outside, but his legs had involuntarily led him here. He was just staring blankly at the closed curtains when they were suddenly pulled open, which made him a little flustered.
January 17, 23:57
Jiang Jiang Jiang Jiang: "Did you need something?"
The next second, Xie Zhijin's phone received a message from Jiang Jingshu.
Xie Zhijin turned his phone screen off, then back on, and typed something in the chat box.
Does your face still hurt?
Feeling uneasy, he deleted the messages in the chat box.
"I just happened to be passing by. Does your face still hurt?"
It seemed deliberate, so Xie Zhijin deleted it again.
"I'm sorry about what happened today. Does your face still hurt?"
Xie Zhijin shook his head. This was just making her recall what happened today, so he quickly deleted it again.
Upstairs, Jiang Jingshu stared at the chat box on her phone, noticing the intermittent "typing is in progress" message on the other end, and her mind drifted away.
After seeing those seven words repeat several times, I finally received a message from Xie Zhijin on my phone.
January 18, 0:07
Xie: Good night.
Jiang Jingshu stared at the goodnight message Xie Zhijin sent, and sighed, "Help, I think I'm not the only one who can't sleep."
After saying that, she replied, "My face doesn't hurt anymore. Goodnight."
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