CH 67

The faucet gushed with hot water.

Cheng Suran bent down, standing in front of the sink, cupping her hands and gently splashing water on her face, rinsing off the cleanser foam, rubbing her eyelids, and then lifting her head.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the person in the mirror.

It was a weary face, with dull eyes and faint dark circles underneath. There were faint marks of two or three fingers on her left cheek.

She hadn't slept at all last night.

Tears streamed down, making her eyes sore and painful. Her head felt heavy and muddled, and washing her face at this moment brought some relief. She looked at herself in the mirror, let out a soft sigh, and covered her left cheek with her palm.

It doesn't hurt anymore.

That slap didn't use all of Jiang Yu's strength, but even after the whole night had passed, she could still vividly feel Jiang Yu's emotions at that moment—there was panic, embarrassment, and fear... It was a side of Jiang Yu she had never seen before.

But she had never thought she would be slapped.

As she watched Jiang Yu's expression change, although she was afraid, she held on to a glimmer of hope, thinking that her sister doted on her. Even if angry, at most, Jiang Yu would scold her or teach her a lesson by pinning her down on the bed. So when the slap came unexpectedly, she was stunned, unable to believe it.

Perhaps over these days, her sister had shown her too much tenderness, too much love, to the point that she forgot about their relationship, forgot about her own identity, and became blinded by the affection, losing her senses.

Her sister was a generous benefactor with a good temper, while she was a spoiled canary.

Although she knew she was at fault, being slapped still made her feel a bit wronged. She thought that she held a different position in her sister's heart, even if just a small one…

Cheng Suran forced a bitter smile, lifting the corners of her mouth.

This time, she truly touched a sensitive nerve. She didn't dare to delve into it deeply. Instead of waiting for her sister to pass judgment, she decided to be obedient and leave on her own.

She would never see her sister again.

Her swollen eyes gradually turned red, and tears uncontrollably streamed down her face. Cheng Suran sniffed and hurriedly wiped them away, closing the tap.

After quickly applying some cream, she walked out of the bathroom. She looked at the bed where they had both slept and couldn't help but reach out and touch it.

The scent on her sister's pillow had faded.

During the past few days of being apart, she had hugged her sister's pillow every night, inhaling the lingering fragrance, longing and longing. Finally, she had longed for her sister's return, but she never expected it to be a farewell...

Cheng Suran reluctantly rubbed her face against the pillow and turned around to start packing.

Her class is at 10 a.m., so she still have enough time. She didn't have many belongings—just a few sets of clothes that she rotated, unchanged daily necessities, a couple of books, and a laptop. It could all fit in a small suitcase.

Was there a more destitute canary than her?

Her sister gave her more money, but she didn't want it. Her sister told her to buy things, but she refused. Aside from staying in luxurious suites at five-star hotels, having a chauffeur to take her to school, and eating a few meals prepared by a private chef, her life remained the same. There was hardly any change.

Perhaps compared to other canaries, she was indeed quite destitute. However, this kind of life was something she had never dared to imagine before. She cherished the contentment she had and, moreover, being able to be with the person she loved was happiness for her.

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=4738582

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But she was becoming more and more greedy, wanting her sister, wanting more...

"Miss Cheng, are you alright?" Tian Lin's voice came from outside.

Footsteps approached from afar.

Cheng Suran snapped back to reality, pushing the suitcase and walking outside. She ran into Tian Lin's astonished gaze and paused, taking out a card from her pocket and handing it over. "I'm done packing, Assistant Tian. This is a card my sister gave me before. I haven't used it. Could you please pass it on to her?"

Tian Lin took the card, looked at it, and furrowed her brows. It was a platinum credit card with a minimum limit of at least two hundred thousand.

Given to a little lover?

Was this really the same boss who used to be so stingy and only gave out gold cards at most?

—Tsk tsk.

Tian Lin hurriedly grabbed her. "Miss Cheng, you can't leave."

"?"

"I just spoke to the boss on the phone. She said she's on her way, so you can't leave now."

"..."

Cheng Suran's eyelashes trembled, and she pressed her lips without saying a word.

Her sister was coming.

Was she coming to settle the score with her?

"You haven't had breakfast yet. Let me take your order, and the waiter will bring it up to your room," Tian Lin said as she picked up the tablet from the table and handed it to Cheng Suran.

Cheng Suran shook her head and whispered, "I'm not very hungry, I don't want to eat." She pulled the suit case around and sat down the sofa.

Tian Lin didn't insist.

The sunlight in the early winter morning was pale and gentle, like cold water, streaming through the octagonal window and casting a soft glow on the floor.

Cheng Suran lowered her head and repeatedly looked at the phone's contact list, focusing on the familiar number she had memorized so well, silently reciting each digit in her mind. Tian Lin sat at the dining table, occasionally glancing at her, her gossiping heart itching to know more.

The two of them kept their thoughts to themselves, not uttering a word.

Until the front door suddenly swung open...

They both looked up simultaneously.

Jiang Yu stood at the doorway, her face bare, her hair slightly disheveled, her expression somewhat dazed. Her gaze fell directly on Cheng Suran.

Cheng Suran met that gaze, and her heart leaped involuntarily, feeling nervous without realizing it.

"Tian Lin, you can leave first." Jiang Yu said calmly.

Tian Lin silently stood up and, as she passed by Jiang Yu, handed over the car keys and credit card in her hand. "Miss Cheng gave these to me." Then, she tilted her head and whispered in Jiang Yu's ear, "Sister Yu, don't be too harsh, talk things out properly."

After speaking, she slipped out and closed the door behind her.

The air fell into silence.

Jiang Yu silently stared at the girl, clutching her palms tightly. The sharp edges of the keys and cards caused a stinging pain. Step by step, she approached with a dignified and imposing figure.

As she watched her slowly approach, her gaze dull, Cheng Suran felt the familiar burning pain on her face, and a sense of fear washed over her for a moment.

She cautiously moved backward, encountering the armrest of the sofa, with no more room to retreat.

Jiang Yu tossed the keys and cards onto the coffee table.

—Pang!

Cheng Suran was startled by the sound, her heart pounding. She looked up at Jiang Yu, and her lips moved, "Sister..."

"When did I say that I wanted to terminate our contract?" Jiang Yu stood before the girl, looking down at her from a higher vantage point, her voice slightly hoarse.

"..."

Huh?

Wasn't she here to settle the score?

Cheng Suran was absent-minded, and suddenly, Jiang Yu bent down and reached out her hands. Cheng Suran instinctively dodged to the side. Jiang Yu paused for a moment, took a step forward, and embraced her.

"I know I was wrong, Sister... Please don't hit me..." Cheng Suran trembled in panic, but her hands honestly wrapped around Jiang Yu's neck as she buried her face in her hair.

Just like she had done for a long time.

Jiang Yu didn't say anything, only holding her quietly, gently patting her back with the palm of her hand, offering comfort, and finding solace herself.

The panic and restlessness in both of them gradually subsided.

The kid was her tranquilizer.

"So now you've learned to act on your own without permission?"

"..."

"The contract is not over yet, so you're not allowed to leave." Her voice was cold and low. One of her hands supported Cheng Suran's bent leg, resting it on her own knee, and then she lightly patted her buttocks.

Cheng Suran was startled and murmured, "But I have violated..."

"Shut up."

"..."

She had already angered her sister so much, yet she was still able to stay. Why? She couldn't help being sentimental.

Jiang Yu's gaze swept over the small suitcase next to them, her brows furrowing. She commanded, "Put everything back."

This kid...

She packed up so quickly like she wants to slip away.

Just a little later, just—

Jiang Yu suddenly felt a dull pain in her chest, as if someone had grabbed it, but it quickly subsided. She grew a bit annoyed when she saw Cheng Suran standing still.

"Can't you hear me? Can't wait to leave?

"No..." Cheng Suran snapped back to reality, released her grip, and stood up sluggishly.

Without waiting for her to fetch the suitcase, Jiang Yu was already a step ahead, saying, "If you don't want to do it, then I'll do it." Her slender and fair fingers tightly grasped the handle, as if they were about to crush it, and she strode towards the guest bedroom.

The suitcase was small, just the right size to carry on a plane, and it wasn't heavy when lifted. Clearly, there were only a few things inside.

When it was opened, as expected...

A computer, a few clothes, a pile of items from the supermarket shelves, two or three books.

The kid's entire belongings.

Shabby.

So shabby that it tugs at one's heartstrings.

Jiang Yu sat by the side of the box, lost in thought. Suddenly, she recalled the year when she ran away from home, carrying only a few belongings. But her situation was even worse than this; she didn't have a computer, bottles and jars from the supermarket shelves, or even a small box.

She had even stuffed her high school uniform into a cloth bag.

Movie-like scenes flashed through her mind, frame by frame, vivid and profound. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, swallowing the bitterness back down.

However, she was stronger than her, more determined.

At least, Cheng Suran was a prestigious "985"* university student.

*refers to the "Project 985," (launched on May 1998) which is an initiative launched by the Chinese government in 1998. It aims to develop a group of elite universities in China to enhance their research and academic excellence. Jiangnan University– Cheng Suran's school is one of them

Jiang Yu slowly opened her eyes, smiling as she looked at the items in the box. One by one, she took them out, neatly folding the clothes and placing them back in the wardrobe, putting the bottles and jars on the bathroom sink...

Cheng Suran followed behind her, watching as she arranged everything, seemingly able to sense a subtle mix of emotions.

A hint of sourness and bitterness, a touch of heaviness.

She couldn't help but recall yesterday evening.

Jiang Wanyin...

Such a beautiful former name, why did she change it? Could there be hidden, unknown stories about her sister in the contents of that resume-like document? Otherwise, why would she panic like that if it was seen?

She had so many questions, but she also understood that she absolutely couldn't ask them now.

After Jiang Yu finished packing her things and placed the suitcase aside, she turned around and collided with the girl's vacant gaze.

The girl's face looked weary, her eyes swollen, and there was a faint bruise on her left cheek.

"Sister..." Cheng Suran hesitantly called out to her. "I always make you angry. Actually, you don't have to endure me. I'm disobedient..." Her throat choked up.

She couldn't say it.

Those three words were scorching on her lips.

"So, why?" she asked.

Why did she choose to keep her, why did she endure her?

Jiang Yu fell silent for a moment, complex emotions surfacing in her deep, dark eyes. She took a slow step forward and embraced her. In that instant, an impulse rose within her, wanting to say three words.

—Can't bear it.

As long as they maintained a stable lover relationship, she couldn't bear to let her go.

"Because..." Jiang Yu's lips moved.

Cheng Suran held her breath.

"My sleep quality hasn't recovered yet, and you're more effective than melatonin."

"..."

"Moreover, if you unilaterally terminate the contract, there's a fivefold compensation, one million. If you can't afford it, I don't want to use that to pressure you," Jiang Yu said calmly, her voice devoid of any fluctuation, like an indifferent machine.

That was the answer.

The contract had no legal effect, so even if Cheng Suran couldn't come up with the money and simply ran away, Jiang Yu couldn't do anything.

She knew she should apologize and say sorry to Ranran.

But her pride as the benefactor wouldn't allow it.

"..."

The chilling words echoed in her ears as Cheng Suran buried her face in Jiang Yu's hair, biting her lip tightly. Her fingers dared not grasp her clothes and only trembled in mid-air.

It felt as if she was standing on a cloud, slowly exhaling the breath trapped in her body, falling from heaven to hell.

That's how it was, just like this.

Because of its sedative effect, because she couldn't afford one million, it wasn't for Jiang Yu. Cheng Suran consoled herself.

The frigid air became solidified.

The two of them embraced, feeling each other's warmth, each other's scent, like tightly entwined threads of a spiderweb, as time stood still in that moment.

After a long time, Jiang Yu cupped the girl's face and gently kissed her left cheek.

I'm sorry.

She said in her heart.

….

Outside the main gate, Tian Lin sat on a chair, waiting.

After about half an hour, the door opened, and Jiang Yu came out from inside. Tian Lin quickly stood up and greeted her, "Sister Yu..."

The gossip in her heart began to stir again.

"Why didn't you put it in a document bag yesterday? Or couldn't you just leave it in a drawer or a cabinet? Why did you put it on the bed, afraid that Ranran wouldn't see it?" Jiang Yu furrowed her brow, her tone serious.

Tian Lin was taken aback.

Yesterday afternoon, Jiang Yu instructed her on WeChat to send the old bilingual resume to the hotel. At that time, Jiang Yu was on a flight back to the country, with about forty minutes left until landing. Tian Lin calculated the time and sent it around six o'clock.

Before leaving, she even made sure to close the door to the master bedroom.

How could this...

"Miss Cheng returned before you?"

"Mm."

"..."

That former name...

Tian Lin suddenly realized and immediately felt regretful. She said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Sister Yu. I will pay attention next time."

The two of them entered the elevator, one after the other.

Jiang Yu rubbed her temples with a headache and sighed, "Forget it."

….

Throughout the day, Cheng Suran was restless during her three classes.

She couldn't remember when it started, but her mind was filled with thoughts of Jiang Yu. Every frown, every smile, every word and sentence of hers kept disturbing Cheng Suran's peace of mind. She was constantly plagued by doubts and worries, and attending classes felt like sleepwalking.

However, she couldn't control herself...

As the sun set in the west, the sky was dyed with a faint orange color. Cheng Suran walked out of the school's side gate, and her shadow stretched long and lonely on the ground, imbued with a sense of desolation.

Approaching the familiar white car, she instinctively took out the key, pressed it, and the car's headlights flashed twice, opening the door.

The woman sitting in the driver's seat startled her.

"Sister? How... how did you..." Cheng Suran's eyes widened as she stared at her in a daze.

Jiang Yu leaned back in her seat, arms crossed, and slightly tilted her head, revealing the sharp and cold profile of her face. She smiled at the girl and said, "I came to pick you up from school."

There was a hint of apology in her eyes.

Like a silent apology.