plunder
"I can't answer you. I've only been married a short time. You can ask me again later." Zhou Ji'an tried his best to remain calm and make his tone sound nonchalant.
Because she sensed an ominous premonition, she suspected that she and Deng Yi had no future together.
Qin Xirang pouted, and the innocence in her dimples slowly spilled out, flowing into every inch of her face. "It seems that you, Ji'an, really believe in marriage. You are so sure that you and Director Deng will have a future together."
Zhou Ji'an loosened his legs, which had gone numb from being crossed, and looked at Qin Xirang's innocence, replying innocently, "I don't believe in marriage, I believe in myself."
"Do you really believe you can turn a blind eye to Deng Yi and his family's despicable behavior and enjoy wealth and luxury with a clear conscience?" Zhao Xingran asked angrily, gathering his strength.
She had probably been holding back for a long time, looking for an opportunity to vent, but Qin Xirang's endless build-up made her impatient, and the words she spoke sounded less than ordinary.
Zhou Ji'an felt guilty towards her and gave up trying to defend himself, saying, "I try my best not to become the kind of person you describe, and I don't want to become the kind of person you describe."
"You tried your best, you didn't want to, but you already are," Zhao Xingran said with a sneer.
Zhou Ji'an knew that no matter what she said, Zhao Xingran would not believe or agree. Moreover, when she saw Deng Wencheng, she was indeed afraid that what Deng Wencheng did would affect Deng Yi, so she could only remain silent and wait for the right time to leave.
"Did I miss something?" Lu Jianni felt increasingly that Qin and Zhao's words were sarcastic. "Did Ji'an do something wrong?"
Just as Zhou Ji'an was about to lie to Lu Jiani, Zhao Xingran picked up her handbag and stood up, leaving everyone sitting looking surprised.
"No, it's just that I'm bad at judging people." Zhao Xingran glanced at Zhou Ji'an, then tilted her head back and took a step to the side.
Wang Zhihui, who was not far from Zhao Xingran, was so frightened by the murderous aura on Zhao Xingran's face that he quickly withdrew his outstretched leg.
As the sound of the door closing reached the living room, Qin Xirang stood up and nodded, saying, "I'm leaving first too. I'll stay with Zhao Xingran to prevent her from doing anything foolish."
Qin Xirang's single sentence immediately brought Zhou Ji'an into the spotlight.
"What happened?"
"I have no idea."
"They seem to be targeting you."
"Really? I didn't notice."
"Zhao Xingran broke up with her boyfriend? The ring on her hand seems to be gone."
"I didn't notice."
...
Zhou Ji'an left Lu Jiani's house before telling any more lies.
Today, Deng Yi parked his car closer to Lu Jianni's house because he was afraid she would run around on the street again, as he felt it was very unsafe for her to do so.
But right now, he seems to be the most insecure person.
As Zhou Ji'an approached Deng Yi, he searched for Deng Yi's name on various websites but had not yet seen any breaking news that had gone viral.
"Why are you looking at your phone while walking?" Deng Yi pulled the person who was walking with their head down.
Zhou Ji'an snapped out of his daze, glanced at Deng Yi with tears in his eyes, and then hugged him. "I did something wrong."
Deng Yi lifted her face and asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Ji'an looked around and whispered, "I'll tell you once we get in the car."
The car was warm, and Zhou Ji'an, picking at his fingers, recounted the whole story.
After hearing this, Deng Yi ruffled her hair and laughed, "I thought it was something serious."
"Aren't you afraid?" Zhou Ji'an gripped his forearms tightly with both hands. "I want to explain to Zhao Xingran, but it seems like no matter how I explain, it will sound like I'm making excuses."
“Even if Zhao Xingran and Qin Xirang didn’t expose those things, Wei Jinglin would have. There’s no way to avoid it.” Deng Yi gently stroked her hair, one strand at a time. “It won’t affect me, don’t worry.”
Zhou Ji'an's gaze was like a flame blown by the wind, flickering and almost extinguished.
Once Deng Wencheng's affair is exposed, it will definitely affect Deng Yi's image, but the scale of the impact will be negligible for Deng Yi.
However, Zhao Xingran and Qin Xirang would most likely target her, after all, she had protected Deng Yi, disregarded Zhao Xingran's interests, and even put Zhao Xingran in danger. She was certain that she would be affected by this accusation for a long time.
The difference between her and Deng Yi is revealed through these details.
“If they attack you, I will issue a statement that will not affect you.” Deng Yi lowered his voice to reassure her. “You cannot abandon me again because of this.”
"Maybe in the end you'll be the one to abandon me." Zhou Ji'an felt uneasy, gripping his forearm tightly, unwilling to let go.
"I won't do such a thing." Deng Yi leaned down to her, cupped her face, and kissed her. "Even if someone tells you I would do that, don't believe them."
When Zhou Ji'an was taking a walk in the neighborhood and was suddenly stopped by Yu Xi, she didn't know whether to say that Deng Yi was a prophet or that his words had come true.
Yu Xi asked immediately, "Does it feel like you're soaking in a honey pot?"
Zhou Ji'an refused to respond to her intentions, only saying, "Deng Yi is not home."
“I’m not here to see him.” Yu Xi looked back and her gaze fell on a house. “My friend bought that house over there and had a small housewarming party today.”
Zhou Ji'an said "Oh" and then headed home.
“We invited Deng Yi, but he declined because he said you didn’t like those kinds of occasions,” Yu Xi added.
Zhou Ji'an had never heard Deng Yi mention it. She was indeed not interested in those kinds of social activities. She just felt that Deng Yi had done a good job of keeping her from being bothered by these trivial matters and creating a good living and working space for her.
At this moment, when Yu Xi mentioned it, she didn't care at all. She bent down and picked up a reddish-brown leaf from the ground, rubbing it between her fingers.
“He really spoils you, he always has, and he still does.” Yu Xi walked in front of her with her hands behind her back, blocking her way, and backed away step by step.
Zhou Ji'an, however, felt that she was moving forward step by step.
"Is that what you think?" Yu Xi raised her chin slightly, looking down.
Disdain flowed from Yu Xi's beautiful eyes and settled on Zhou Ji'an. Deng Yi's words to her beforehand became a tool for clearing away the silt, and Yu Xi's disdain became merely the river water flowing through her.
Zhou Ji'an smiled politely and casually asked, "Are you jealous of me?"
Yu Xi's slender body stiffened for a moment, and she said with a hint of sarcasm, "What do I have to be jealous of?"
“Then you must be jealous of Deng Yi.” Zhou Ji’an calmly pointed out the fact, a fact she had only almost figured out a couple of days ago. “I have nothing for you to be jealous of.”
Yu Xi was rooted to the spot, the winter sun burning her face, while the person opposite her remained expressionless, as if simply stating an obvious fact.
She's jealous of Deng Yi? How could she possibly be jealous of Deng Yi?
She was clearly happy...
The person opposite her saw through her inner doubts and replied, "Because you think Deng Yi has everything, and if he also has the humble, even subservient love of someone like me, he would be almost invincible."
"Hmph, you're overthinking it." Yu Xi turned her neck left and right, back and forth, as if trying to shake off the sunlight on her face.
Zhou Ji'an walked to the side, no longer letting Yu Xi block her way.
"Read it before you try to be clever." Yu Xi waved her hand, revealing a notebook, and left quickly before Zhou Ji'an could even get a good grip on it.
The notebook was old-fashioned, the paper was slightly yellowed, and the first blank page had a line of short black text in the center.
Purchased by Zhou Ji'an from Qingju Bookstore.
Zhou Ji'an gently turned the pages; every line on every sheet was her handwriting, which constructed a rich spiritual world.
The sounds that were originally stuck in the past suddenly became real.
"Jian, when did you write these things?"
"I wrote this when I was missing you a lot at school."
"Very impressive."
"What's so great about that? It's just because you've watched a lot of movies and read a lot of books with them, and suddenly you want to express something for no reason."
The wind turned the paper, exposing the slightly faded writing to the sunlight.
Zhao Haiyan asked on the phone, "How do you feel about becoming a college student?"
I glanced at the white beverage bottle beside my feet, raised my foot to stomp on it, but suddenly felt pity for the lifeless piece of plastic. I gently lowered my foot and lightly touched the bottle cap with my toe.
It was like shaking hands with one of their own kind.
"It's not great, but it seems more free, yet it doesn't seem as free as I imagined."
"Perhaps freedom is just an imagination."
My fellow human did not respond to my gesture of goodwill. I bent down, wrapped my fellow human in a tissue, picked it up, and said as I walked away, "Too much free imagination seems to become a constraint."
On the third-to-last line of the paper, there was a simplified smiley face, followed by a self-deprecating comment: Today's pointless whining is complete.
"Before you became famous, you gained attention by feigning illness; after you became famous, you made a fortune by feigning illness. What more do you want?" Wei Jinglin grabbed the photo frame containing the autographed movie ticket. "You are a born predator, just like your mother."
Deng Yi waited for Wei Jinglin to smash the photo frame on the ground, but Wei Jinglin didn't move for a long time. So he scanned the room, the room that had contained his pointless whining, but found nothing worth taking away.
"Since you know I'm a natural predator, you should have some self-awareness and not overestimate yourself by trying to take things from me."
Wei Jinglin lowered his raised hand to the ground, his gaze meticulously sweeping over the handwritten words on the movie ticket in the photo frame.
The ugly director's signature is followed by two smaller, pretty handwritten characters.
Presented by Zhou Ji'an.
I hope Deng Yi can get a good night's sleep every day and have a good appetite for the meals I cook.
Wei Jinglin's head was buzzing, and he wanted to knock on it to stop the noise.
He wanted to recall every detail of his first meeting with Zhou Ji'an, and he wanted to recall every post he had made on WeChat Moments about Zhou Ji'an.
He wanted to know when Deng Yi had targeted Zhou Ji'an for plunder.
Time passed too quickly, and apart from Zhou Ji'an's helplessness, Wei Jinglin couldn't remember anything else.
His fingertips brushed against the three characters "Zhou Ji'an," and he murmured, "You can't treat Zhou Ji'an as an object of plunder."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
