Translated by: Queen Dei Mos
Novel Update Schedule: Sporadic
[dropdown title = Characters:]
Ji Bai – MC
Ji Feifei – MC’s older sister
Ji Mingzhi – MC’s father
Tao Jiazhi – MC’s mother
Old lady Ji – paternal grandmother – Ji Mingzhi’s mother
Xie Sui – ML
Cong Yuzhou – ML friend
Jiang Zhongning – ML friend
Ai Xiaoxiao – MC’s close friend
Xu Huan – MC’s close friend
Yin Xiaxia – MC’s close friend
Madam Cheng – ML’s birth mother
Chen Zheyang – Childhood friend of MC and Ji Feifei
Chen Zhenheng – Principal of Dexin High School, Father of Chen Zheyang
Director Qin – Director of Academic Affairs
Lu Weiwei – Ex-girlfriend of Jiang Zhongning
Assistant Qin – Assistant of Old Lady Ji
Ji Jing – Cousin from Eldest Uncle (Brother of Ji Mingzhi)
Li Chen – Young master of the Li Group
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you[mfn](Original Text): 您 – nín. (English): you – formal, courteous you.[/mfn] = formal speech
*Some words that are in bold were English in the original text
The atmosphere in Ji Feifei’s hospital room was exceptionally lively that night.
Ji Mingzhi and Tao Jiazhi took turns interrogating Ji Bai. However, Ji Bai sat on the sofa, completely silent.
“It appears all the lessons I taught you as a child were completely lost on you.” Tao Jiazhi said, her voice laced with anger. “To think you would become like this! You’re a complete disappointment!”
Ji Mingzhi declared, “If you refuse to give your older sister blood, you’re no longer our daughter! We’ll disown you!”
Hearing that, a flicker of emotion finally crossed Ji Bai’s face. She stood up and said, “I’ll go home and pack my things right now. From now on, you guys and I…have nothing to do with each other.”
Tao Jiazhi and Ji Mingzhi immediately regretted their words when they saw that she was determined to cut ties with them. Ji Mingzhi took a step forward and seized Ji Bai’s wrist: “You’re not going anywhere!”
Ji Bai spun around, her voice filled with fury, and said word by word, “Are you going to lock me up again?!”
“What are you talking about? When did we ever lock you up?!”
Just as the people in the room were locked in a heated argument, Old Lady Ji suddenly walked in and shouted, “Release her!”
“Mother, what are you doing here?” Ji Mingzhi released Ji Bai, looking a bit surprised, “Are you here to see Fei Fei?”
Ji Bai ran to her grandmother’s side, and Assistant Qin instantly moved to protect her, placing her behind him.
“Didn’t sleep a wink last night, did you?” Old Lady Ji looked towards Tao Jiazhi and Ji Mingzhi, “Stayed up all night watching over your child, and you still have the energy to make a fuss?”
“Mother, Fei Fei almost…last night…”
Tao Jiazhi’s composure finally crumbled, and she covered her mouth, sobbing. “She almost didn’t live to see you. Please, go check on her right away.”
Turning to Ji Feifei, Old Lady Ji asked with gentle concern, “Fei Fei, how are you feeling now?”
Ji Feifei’s tears came rushing out like water from an opened floodgate, and she cried, her voice choked with sobs, “Grandma, wuwuwu, I almost died.”
“Frightened, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I heard you cut your wrist with a knife.” Grandmother said. The loving smile on her face gradually faded as she coldly questioned, “So afraid of death, yet you dare attempt to take your own life?”
Fiercely protective of her daughter, Tao Jiazhi quickly jumped in, “It’s all Ji Bai’s fault. If she hadn’t driven her to this, Fei Fei wouldn’t have had such thoughts.”
Grandmother Ji accepted the cup from Assistant Qin, took a sip of tea, and then nodded, “Ah, so Ji Bai put the knife in Fei Fei’s hand and forced her to slit her wrist.”
Ji Mingzhi hesitated, “Well…not precisely, but she’s not blameless in this.”
Suddenly, a loud “bang” echoed as grandmother slammed the cup down on the bedside table, making the three in the room jump.
“In my life, there are two kinds of people I can’t stand.”
Old Lady Ji said coldly, “The first are weak people, because they never examine their own faults, blaming everyone else for their mistakes. Second are those who exploit their weakness to bully others. These types are especially despicable. They use their one or two weaknesses as an excuse to demand that everyone kowtow to their needs, and if they don’t get their way, they create a ruckus, broadcasting their grievances to anyone who will listen. What does that ultimately earn them? Nothing but the disdain and cold shoulders of others.”
The old lady glanced at the couple, “The good daughter you raised has managed to embody both perfectly.”
Standing by the wall, Tao Jiazhi muttered under her breath, “Mother, aren’t you too biased?”
“I’m biased?” Old Lady Ji repeated the question twice, as if she’d heard the most ridiculous joke, “You’re saying I’m biased?”
“Exactly! Last night, Ji Bai disappeared to who knows where and almost let Fei Fei bleed to death! And now, instead of punishing that awful girl, you’re finding fault with Fei Fei…isn’t that biased?”
Ji Mingzhi repeatedly tugged at his wife’s hand, trying to shut her up. It was clear that the old lady was already furious.
Old Lady Ji nodded and said, “Fine, fine, call me biased if you wish. From now on, whether Ji Feifei lives or dies has absolutely nothing to do with Ji Bai. I forbid Ji Bai from ever giving her another drop of blood!”
“Mother! Why are you doing this?!” Tao Jiazhi screamed at the top of her lungs, “This will kill Feifei!”
“She didn’t die yesterday, so she’s not necessarily going to die anytime soon.”
Old Lady Ji said, “Find a person with a matching blood type. I, from the Ji family, will foot the bill, no matter the cost. But I won’t let you touch my granddaughter, not even with a single finger, ever again!”
As Old Lady Ji swept her sleeves and turned to leave, she glanced back at Ji Bai, her eyes holding a hint of reluctance. She spoke solemnly, “Xiao Bai, hurry and grow up. Grandma has placed a heavy responsibility on you.”
Ji Bai understood the weight of those words. The way her grandma was protecting her now, it was clear she no longer saw her as just a granddaughter. Like her cousin Ji Jing, she had become an ideal candidate for being a successor in the old lady’s eyes.
Ji Feifei, overcome with emotion, pounded the quilt, unleashing a torrent of shouts and screams, while Ji Mingzhi and Tao Jiazhi fell silent simultaneously.
It dawned on them that Ji Bai wasn’t just their daughter anymore, they could no longer lay a single finger on her ever again.
The atmosphere in the hospital room suddenly became strange.
Ji Mingzhi was the first to speak, coldly reprimanding Ji Feifei, “From now on, you are forbidden from causing any more trouble with your younger sister.”
Ji Feifei looked at her father incredulously, “Dad! What are you…?”
Ji Mingzhi said, forcing the words out, his face devoid of emotion, “Family harmony…is the key to success. We are a family, and we must stand together.”
Yes, in the Ji family, the family’s interests always came first. And even though Ji Mingzhi’s business was struggling, he could see that their Ji Bai, in the future, could very well have……
a promising future.
If Ji Bai rose to success, their family would prosper as well.
Ji Feifei grasped her father’s intent, and a sudden, incredulous laugh escaped her.
What love, what bias…in the face of interests, nothing else mattered!
“What family harmony, what prosperity…” Ji Feifei laughed like a madwoman, “I get it now, I finally get it! Hahahaha!”
Ji Mingzhi’s tone was frigid as he said, “Just focus on recovering. Our family has already made enough of a laughingstock of ourselves. From now on…”
He turned to Tao Jiazhi and said in a low voice, “From now on, focus on raising Xiao Bai well.”
Tao Jiazhi gazed at Ji Feifei. Though unwilling, she could not deny that her husband’s decision was correct.
“I’m going home.” Ji Bai said wearily. “I still have homework to finish.”
Ji Mingzhi said, “I’ll call the driver to take you home.”
“No need, I want to walk by myself.”
“That works too. I’ll have Auntie Zhou prepare dinner, so go home and eat. When you’re done, study hard and don’t think too much. From now on, mom and dad will give you our full support.”
Ji Bai quickened her pace and walked out of the hospital room. She couldn’t bear to stay there for another second, she felt like she was about to vomit.
If a person is to become corrupt, it always starts from the inside. Like a walking corpse, that sickening stench begins by spreading from the inside out.
Although disgusted, Ji Bai had to hold her nose and keep going.
Her position in the Ji family will likely improve significantly going forward. At the very least, Ji Feifei could no longer pose any threat to her.
But…once she went down on this path, it would be hard to turn back. It was a one-way street, filled with open attacks and hidden schemes, making it impossible to guard against.
In her previous life, her older cousin Ji Jing became the successor to the Ji Group, paving her way to the top with blood.
Ji Bai hadn’t paid much attention to the family power struggles back then because she was too busy trying to stay alive herself. She only vaguely heard that among her male and female relatives, some were caught using drugs and ended up in a detention center, some went abroad, never to be seen again, and one lost a leg in a car accident…The long and short of it was, none of them had a good ending.
These incidents, in one way or another, all stemmed from the battle for succession.
The Ji Group had many industries under its name. It was no exaggeration to say that it held the economic lifeline of the entire Jiang City.
And everyone knew that the Ji Group’s successor could only be one person.
The temptation of such boundless power and wealth was enough to drive people crazy.
As the evening fell, Ji Bai wandered aimlessly through the wet streets.
Jiang City’s spring nights were met with a rain that drifted down like falling feathers, making the city appear as if it were shrouded in a thin mist.
Her phone “dinged” and a message from Xie Sui popped up on WeChat——
“I bought some frozen marbled steaks. Do you want tomato sauce or pepper sauce with it?”
寂A small smile touched Ji Bai’s lips as she called Xie Sui. On the other end, she could hear the sizzling sound of something frying.
“I’m busy.” The young man, wearing an apron, was cooking the steak in the kitchen.
“Xie Sui, I’m not coming over tonight.”
He paused——”Oh.”
“Xie Sui, it’s almost summer vacation, and next semester is our third year.”
Xie Sui continued to flip the steaks with a spatula, his tone tinged with slight dissatisfaction, “I know, I’ll do my best. Gotta hang up, the steaks are about to burn.”
Leaning against a street light, Ji Bai looked at the shallow puddles beside her, reflecting the neon signs from the street.
She uttered his name quietly, drawing it out, “Xie Sui…”
“What?”
“It’s nothing.”
It sounded like the young man on the call had his phone on speaker, and she could hear the steak being removed from the pan.
Suddenly, the other side went silent. He picked up the phone again and said softly, “If you miss me, come over. The steak smells really good.”
Ji Bai also really wanted to go, but she knew she couldn’t.
The reckless thing she did last night was a one time thing. It couldn’t happen again. She now had to tread carefully, because one wrong step could mean losing everything.
“Xie Sui, I might not come to your place often in the future.”
“……Oh.”
“But remember, don’t just toss your bottles anywhere, keep the place clean, and change your sheets often.”
“You’re not even coming, why do you care so much?” He rubbed his nose, feeling bitter, and mumbled, “And you said my bed was so comfortable…”
His disappointment made Ji Bai feel a pang of guilt as well.
“Why are you acting like this? You’re making it sound like we’re breaking up.”
He asked, “Strange, were we ever even together?”
“Ah!”
Ji Bai knew he was just being difficult.
“If I had known you were this kind of person, laozi would’ve had my way with you last night.”
“……”
Just what kind of person was she?!
“Why are you being so difficult?”
“How the fuck should I know?”
Xie Sui looked at the two portions of steak steaming on the table. He had also specifically bought fruit juice and milk.
Maybe he was just a bit lonely.
“Hanging up.”
“Xie Sui, don’t hang up.”
Although the young man had a hot temper, he always listened to what she said. Since she told him not to hang up, he wouldn’t hang up.
“Miss Bai, I’m going to eat the steak.”
“What Miss Bai?”
“Miss Bai is just Miss Bai, a white eyed wolf.[mfn](Original Text): 白眼狼 – white eyed wolf. Meaning/Purpose: ungrateful person.[/mfn]”
“……” She really wanted to beat him up. This guy, give him an inch and he’ll take a mile.
“Miss Bai, do you have anything else to say?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m all ears.”
“Xie Sui, come out to the balcony.”
With slow, sluggish steps, Xie Sui came out onto the balcony. Across the street, he saw the girl standing under the neon sign, wearing his oversized hoodie, phone in her left hand, gazing at him from afar.
Seeing her, the lonely beast that lurked in his heart instantly vanished without a trace. Xie Sui’s mood lifted, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his lips——
“Miss Bai, are you lost? You’ve even managed to get lost all the way to my doorstep.”
“Just passing by, I really have to go home now.”
With her hands in her pockets, Ji Bai turned and continued to walk forward at a slow pace.
“Xiao Bai.”
“What is it this time?”
“Are you…”
“Am I what?”
Xie Sui chuckled, and said, “Forget it, quickly get lost. Don’t bother with laozi’s dinner.”
Ji Bai forcefully hung up the phone, hid behind a banyan tree, and furiously cursed Xie Sui, calling him a hungry ghost…
“He’s the worst.”
She went out of her way to take a detour to his building, just to catch a glimpse of him. Was dinner really so important?
A few minutes later, she secretly looked back, looking towards the balcony of the apartment building across the street.
Sure enough, the young man was already gone.
Ji Bai took a deep breath. The air carried a faint scent of grass and soil. Just as she was about to walk away, a low, mellow voice sounded from her side——
“If you miss me, just say it. Come here and let me hold you.”
T/N:
Photo of a banyan tree
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