Chapter 18

Editor: Atlas Studios

Ji Tongtong was locked up on the rooftop for an entire night.

The next day, she was directly sent to the hospital and Father Ji had rushed back home to visit her. Luckily, she only had a fever and it was not very serious. After her fever had subsided, she could go home to recuperate.

It had only been a few days and Ji Tongtong had lost a lot of weight, making her look especially pitiful.

“Tongtong, quickly sit down.” Chuzheng’s stepmother helped Ji Tongtong to the sofa.

Father Ji was the last to come in. He threw the things he was holding onto the sofa and turned around to ask the maid, “Where’s Ji Chuzheng?”

The maid was frightened by Father Ji’s anger and immediately pointed upstairs. “Missy has just come home.”

“Ji Chuzheng, come down now!”

“Sigh, Old Ji, do you have to flare up? You will scare the kids,” persuaded Stepmother in a kind manner.

“If I don’t teach her a lesson today, she will not learn her lesson and will only get worse!”

Ji Tongtong gave a pitiful look with her face looking sickly pale.

Chuzheng heard her father and came downstairs. She was wearing her casual wear with her two hands stuffed in her pockets as she took her time to walk down the stairs.

Father Ji almost did not recognize his daughter.

That hot-headed daughter of his who always wore thick makeup and dressed weirdly had actually returned back to normal?

Chuzheng’s stepmother saw that Father Ji had calmed down and immediately said, “Old Ji, the kids are still young. You don’t have to be so angry, after all, it’s just a small misunderstanding between the two sisters. Tongtong is already fine, you don’t have to make such a big deal out of it.”

Indeed, her words immediately ignited the fury within Father Ji.

“Small misunderstanding? She locked Tongtong on the rooftop for one night! If anything were to happen, it’s a life we are talking about!” Father Ji berated, “Ji Chuzheng, why did you lock Tongtong on the rooftop?”

“Do you have any evidence?” Chuzheng threw the question back to Father Ji with an expressionless face.

Chuzheng’s reaction was different from how Father Ji had imagined her to be.

She was calm and cool as her eyes were filled with aloofness and calmness.

It was not that Father Ji did not love Ji Chuzheng. It was just that under Ji Tongtong and her stepmother’s silent instigations coupled with Ji Chuzheng’s hot-headed personality, both of them could not communicate with each other peacefully. This eventually led to Father Ji being more and more disappointed with her.

“Tongtong…” Father Ji took a look at Ji Tongtong. “Tongtong said that she saw the person who locked her up on the rooftop. It was the person who always fooled around with you, San Mao.”

‘They were indeed a bunch of idiots.’

‘They couldn’t even settle such a small matter.’

‘They were even seen by Ji Tongtong!’

‘What an idiot!’

‘How stupid can they be?’

“She said it’s me so it’s me?” Chuzheng stood at the staircase and looked down in a condescending manner. “Do you have any pictures or surveillance camera recordings as proof?”

Ji Tongtong obviously did not have any evidence.

“If you don’t have any evidence, it is considered slander. Dad, you are a businessman, I don’t have to teach you that.”

Father Ji was speechless. “…”

Ji Tongtong indeed had not said that it was done by her and had only mentioned San Mao.

San Mao had always fooled around with her and judging from past events, Father Ji naturally thought that it was done by Ji Chuzheng.

Chuzheng’s stepmother looked at her calm demeanor and had a bad feeling about it.

Something was not right… with this damned girl.

“Old Ji, I told you to cool down first. We have not even got the situation right and yet you flared up at her. What happens if we wronged her?”

“Daddy, maybe… I have seen wrongly.” Ji Tongtong added, “Big Sister wouldn’t do such a thing.”

Upon hearing Ji Tongtong’s words, Chuzheng confessed honestly and magnanimously, “Hmm, yes, I wouldn’t.”

Ji Tongtong almost bit her tongue off.

She looked towards her mother in a panic.

Chuzheng’s stepmother was also stumped by Chuzheng’s words. It was understandable that her appearance had changed, but why did her personality change so much as well?

Chuzheng’s stepmother could only go with the flow at the moment, otherwise, she would be contradicting her image and thus pulled Father Ji’s arm. “At that time, Tongtong was frightened to death and could have seen wrongly. It must be a misunderstanding. Old Ji, please don’t blame Chuzheng. Tongtong had just been discharged and her body is still very weak, we should let Tongtong rest.”

Ji Tongtong immediately gave a look of discomfort.

“You can retire back to your room first, Tongtong.” Father Ji indeed stopped pursuing the matter.

Chuzheng’s stepmother quickly supported Ji Tongtong upstairs and brought her back to her room.

Father Ji’s face darkened. “Come with me to my study room.”

Chuzheng quietly followed Father Ji which was much to Father Ji’s surprise as he did not expect her to listen to him so obediently.

After the door closed, Father Ji massaged his temples as his tone turned calmer. “Chuzheng, tell me honestly, did you get people to do it?”

“No.”

Chuzheng wore a stern expression on her face and denied it quickly and calmly.

Father Ji examined her for a few minutes. “It’s for the best if you didn’t. Tongtong is your little sister. I don’t expect you to take care of her, but please don’t bump heads with her all the time.”

Chuzheng took a step forward and placed her phone on the study table before pressing the play button with her slender fingers.

“It was… It was Ji Tongtong… Ji Tongtong bribed me to rape you… she gave me money and… so… please don’t hit me. It was really Ji Tongtong. I only took the money and did as I was told.”

Upon hearing the voice on the recorder, Father Ji’s expression changed from confusion to dumbfoundedness and finally to anger.

“Ji Chuzheng, you are…”

Chuzheng took her phone back and addressed him calmly, “Dad. Ji Tongtong and her mother teamed up to make me waste… my life so that they could inherit the Ji Family’s assets.”

‘Why does the phrase ‘waste my life’ sound so awkward?’

‘There’s no way that I would waste my life!’

Father Ji furrowed his eyebrows as he seemed to be a little angry. “What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

“You should be aware of how a good mother would teach her kids to walk on the right path. But what has she done? Besides giving me money and stopping you from educating me, what else has she done?”

Father Ji furrowed his eyebrows and remained silent.

“Dad, when you first heard the recording, your first reaction was not whether anything had happened to me. Instead, you got mad and thought that I was defaming them.”

As Chuzheng had hit the bull’s-eye, Father Ji’s face turned black before he came back to his senses. “Chuzheng, are you alright?”

Chuzheng shook her head and kept her phone. “Goodnight, Dad.”

Father Ji was stumped. “…” ‘That’s it?’

Father Ji watched Chuzheng leave the room with his eyes wide-open as a glint of puzzlement flashed past his eyes before he fell back onto his seat.

Chuzheng’s cold and emotionless voice kept playing in his head like a recorder.

Back then, he was busy with his business and had indeed neglected his daughter. After that, he married his current wife because he wanted someone to take care of her.

Just how did it become like this?

Ji Tongtong’s room.

“Mum, what exactly happened to Ji Chuzheng?” Ji Tongtong tugged her mother’s hand with her face full of suspicion. “She’s like a changed person.”

“Has she grown close to anyone recently?”

“…She’s grown close to a guy named Ye Chen in our school.” Ji Tongtong said, “He does not have much of a background and was always bullied at school. I don’t even know why Chuzheng always hangs out with him?”

“Student?” Chuzheng’s stepmother furrowed her eyebrows.

Ji Tongtong nodded her head.

“Is there anyone else other than this student?”

Ji Tongtong tried her best to recall. “Nope.”

“She couldn’t have suddenly come to a realization herself. There must be someone who has told her something.” Stepmother held Ji Tongtong’s hands tightly. “I will investigate this matter. Don’t clash with her for now.”

Ji Tongtong could not accept this conclusion. “What about her locking me up on the rooftop?”

“Tongtong, being impatient would only spoil our great plans.”

“…I understand, mummy.”