Jingxia Rose

Chapter 147: A Lifeline

When Wen Qi saw her buying these things, he had already guessed what was going on, but he was still stunned when he saw the tombstone.

“My father passed away unexpectedly when I was five years old, and my mother remarried that year. I lived with my grandparents. Later, after my grandfather passed away, I went to live with my grandmother at my second uncle and aunt’s house until I graduated from high school.”

Her voice was calm, and her emotions showed no fluctuations.

It's as if they're talking about something that has nothing to do with them.

Wen Qi took her hand without saying a word, just quietly stayed with her. After a long while, he solemnly said to the tombstone, "I will take good care of Aning."

A simple promise is worth more than anything.

Ji Xuan smiled, "My dad must have heard it, and he'll be very pleased with you as his son-in-law."

Wen Qi chuckled and tightened his grip on her hand. "It's windy up here, aren't you cold?"

"It's alright." Ji Xuan sighed. "I don't like my aunt's family. To put it bluntly, they're very materialistic. I don't want to deal with them. If we go back in half an hour, my second aunt definitely won't invite them to lunch."

Wen Qi nodded. He didn't ask about her mother's affairs. He remembered that when she went to Canglanju to return the lunchbox and visit Aunt Zhao in the spring, she received a phone call.

Her attitude at the time was cold, and there was a hint of anger in it.

If he wasn't mistaken, it must have been her mother calling.

Ji Xian hadn't thought of Jiao Yan at all when he came back this time. Seeing her again was purely accidental, just like last year before the Lunar New Year.

On the 6th, Ji Xuan and Wen Qi went to the hospital to get medicine for their second uncle, and also planned to see a movie.

But after getting the medicine, Ji Xian was looking down at the prescription and didn't pay attention to where she was going, and accidentally bumped into someone.

That person was Jiao Yan.

To be honest, Ji Xian didn't recognize her at first glance. Compared to her glamorous appearance last time, Jiao Yan looked haggard now, and the arrogant and domineering look in her eyes was gone, replaced by exhaustion and weariness.

Her face, which was originally well-maintained to look young, now appears somewhat sallow, with five or six wrinkles around the corners of her eyes.

She was wearing a rather worn-out high-end brand cardigan, holding several lists in her hand, her face full of worry. When Ji Xian bumped into her, she seemed dazed.

She stared blankly at Ji Xian, and gradually, a light slowly returned to her eyes.

It was as if they had grasped at a lifeline.

"A-Ning?" she called tentatively, licking her lips. Suddenly, she became excited and grabbed Ji Xian's arm. "It really is you, A-Ning! You're back! Mom knew it! I knew you wouldn't be so heartless as to abandon me and your sister. A-Ning, please help Mom! Mom really has no other choice... Xiao Xiao was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia three months ago. Chemotherapy is so expensive, we already owe the hospital..."

"You got the wrong person."

Ji Xian's expression turned cold. Without any hesitation, she pulled her arm out of her hand, her tone icy and sharp. She didn't even bother to look at her again and turned to leave.

Jiao Yan grabbed her arm tightly. "I didn't mistake you for someone else. You're my daughter, how could I mistake you? Aning, Mom really knows she was wrong. Please forgive Mom, okay? Mom will apologize to you, kneel down, kowtow, I'll do anything. I just beg you to help me. You don't have to pay those debts, but Xiao Xiao is your sister. You can't just stand by and watch her die. Please help her, save her, okay?"

As she spoke, two lines of clear tears streamed down her cheeks. She knelt down in front of everyone, begging humbly and pitifully.

This scene immediately attracted the attention of many passersby, who all turned to look.

Ji Xian was only surprised by her kneeling for a few seconds before recovering as usual. "You were wrong? What did you do wrong? If the You family hadn't gone bankrupt and been burdened with tens of millions in debt, if You Xiaoxiao hadn't gotten sick now, if I hadn't run into you taking You Xiaoxiao shopping for clothes at the mall last year, would you still remember the daughter you abandoned when she was only five years old?" "You know you were wrong now, it's just that you lost your privileged life and now that you know I have the ability, you want to find yourself and You Xiaoxiao another long-term meal ticket."

"Jiao Yan, how can you have all the good things in the world? Do you really think everyone else is stupid and only you are smart? From the moment my father passed away and you abandoned me to remarry, we had nothing to do with each other anymore!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Wen Qi arrived, pulling Ji Xian from Jiao Yan's arms and frowning as he looked down at her, "Are you hurt?"

"No."

Ji Xian was pulled into a tight embrace, and when he smelled the familiar woody scent on him, the coldness and anger on his face vanished instantly.

Jiao Yan stared blankly at the young man embracing Ji Xian. She recognized the watch on Wen Qi's wrist as a limited edition from Van Cleef & Arpels from two years ago, of which only twelve were made worldwide.

This watch is worth five or six million.

The dial is entirely made of diamonds, with a South African sapphire set in the center.

She gasped. She had thought Ji Xian had really made it big, but she never expected that she had hooked up with such a rich and handsome man.

Her mind raced, and she forgot all about her disheveled state. She quickly got up from the ground and wiped away her tears.

She forced a smile. "You're Aning's boyfriend, right? I'm her mother. Don't misunderstand. Just now... just now I accidentally fell, and Aning tried to help me up. She's usually a very sensible and filial girl. Please don't misunderstand her."

Upon hearing this, Ji Xian suddenly laughed in anger.

Jiao Yan's shamelessness and thick-skinnedness kept refreshing her understanding.

"I hope you have more money than you have acting skills," she replied casually. "If all else fails, just install a GPS and find out your location."

"How...how could you do this..."

Jiao Yan didn't expect Ji Xian to be so sharp-tongued. Her face turned red with anger. When she saw the man beside her looking at her with a doting expression and a slight smile on his lips, her heart sank.

She knew that she could no longer count on this daughter.

Regret?
Of course I regret it. I regret that when she came to me, I only gave her eight hundred yuan. If I had given her more, taken her out for a meal, and bought her some clothes, she wouldn't be acting this way now.

Ji Xuan ignored Jiao Yan's pestering and grabbed Wen Qi's hand. "Let's go, isn't the movie about to start?"

"it is good."

Wen Qi held her hand in return, and after they left the hospital, he said, "I saw quite a few people taking videos with their phones just now. To prevent her from editing the videos and using them to morally blackmail you, I'll have the PR department keep an eye on things online."

Ji Xian paused, then nodded slightly, "Mm."

Wen Qi couldn't help but laugh when he recalled her two sentences. "I didn't realize you were so good with words, leaving people speechless."

Ji Xuan smiled, quite proudly, and said, "Don't you even know who my friends are?"

Wen Qi was stunned for a moment, then realized what was going on a few seconds later.

Oh, Shi Wan!
That makes sense. After being friends with her for so long, I'm bound to pick up some things from what I see and hear.