Accidentally provoking the spring tide

Chapter 88. He's going to find her.

Just one glance was enough to make my heart feel like it was being pricked by needles, a dense, throbbing pain.

But I never took those words seriously.

The man's pale face was faintly reflected on the phone screen.

Ji Yanci pursed his lips, his mind replaying the scene of Jiang Jixu coming to the Ji family to find him that day.

Why didn't he believe her?

She had never lied to him from childhood to adulthood.

She never casually said "break up" or "cut ties" just because she had a fight with him.

Why did my first reaction upon seeing this text message be that Jiang Jixu was angry?

She was so obedient and well-behaved.

Even when she flew abroad with durian pastries to find him, she didn't make a scene when she bumped into him with Lin Qingqing.

He simply put down the pastry box he was holding.

Then he turned and left without saying a word.

He silently continued scrolling up the chat history.

The higher you scroll up, the more messages you find.

Most of them were sent to him by Jiang Jixu, asking if he had eaten on time, sending him good morning and good night messages every day without fail, and interspersed with emojis and pictures.

These are the everyday moments she wants to share with him, from small things like photos of her lunch, cats and dogs she finds on the street, the clouds in the sky, what songs she listened to that day, what TV series she's been watching lately... to big things like participating in a design competition and what awards she's won...

The girl shared every little detail of her life with him.

Happy, joyful, healing.

It's all positive energy.

He would only give perfunctory replies like "hmm," "oh," or "not bad," or simply not reply at all.

The contrast is too stark.

Ji Yanci was stunned for a moment.

He tried hard to recall what he was thinking when he received these messages from Jiang Jixu.

Oh.

It's impatience, it's boredom.

He even wondered if she had nothing else to do all day except send him messages.
Jiang Jixu may have realized it later.

Their daily interactions gradually decreased, especially during the years he was abroad, when they hardly talked anymore.

The few words he occasionally exchanged were usually on behalf of his mother, inquiring about his situation over there.

It wasn't until recently, when their wedding was finalized, that news about them started to surface again.

Ji Yanci's hand paused when he scrolled to a photo.

His breathing tightened slightly, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he opened his mouth wide.

It's a selfie taken in front of a mirror.

The girl in the photo is wearing a red halter dress, her skin is as white as snow, her long black hair falls over her shoulders, and beneath her hair are her slender swan neck and delicate collarbone, her figure is graceful.

Her lips were tinged with red, and her eyebrows and eyes, usually adorned with makeup, were smudged, creating a charming and alluring look that was quite different from her usual style.

Jiang Jixu said that this dress was specially designed and commissioned by her mother for their engagement banquet.

Ji Yanci could imagine how many admiring glances would fall upon the girl if she actually wore this dress to the engagement party—

Just like the love letters that filled her desk in junior high.

But he didn't go, and neither did she.

Their engagement party turned into a joke, with both the bride and groom absent.

Ji Yanci suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked at the photo on the screen and long-pressed to save it, as if doing so would alleviate some of the heart pain.

But after a while, the fine pain did not lessen; instead, it became more severe.

Fine beads of sweat covered the man's forehead.

He got out of bed, didn't even have time to change his shoes, grabbed his coat and staggered outside.

He accidentally bumped his knee into Lin Feng, who was standing next to him.

The man woke up with a start, still disoriented: "W-what happened?"

A figure flashed past him, and after shaking his head to see clearly, he suddenly sat up: "Brother Ci, where are you going?!"

Ji Yanci was pale and was wearing slippers.

"I'm going to find Jiang Xiaoxu."

His throat was terribly dry and hoarse, as if he had been crying.

Lin Feng panicked: "Didn't Jiang Jixu move out of the Jiang family? We don't know her current address, how are you going to find her!"

Ji Yanci suddenly stopped, turned around, and stared intently at him.

Her once bright, peach-blossom eyes were now bloodshot, making her look somewhat frightening.

Lin Feng froze on the spot like a wooden stake, not daring to move. He swallowed hard, but then heard the person in front of him suddenly say in a hoarse voice, "Ask Jiang Wang."

Ji Yanci gasped for breath, as if he were a drowning man grasping at the last piece of driftwood.

"Ask Jiang Wang, he'll definitely know."

Lin Feng was speechless.

Looking at Ji Yanci's current state, he simply couldn't bring himself to say something like, "Jiang Wang knows, but he definitely won't tell us."

He could only soften his tone and try to coax the person back first.

"Okay, I'll call Jiang Wang. Ci-ge, why don't you go back to bed and lie down first? You look like you could play a mummy..."

The man stood still.

Lin Feng said with a blank face, "If you don't go back, I won't fight anymore."

Ji Yanci's fingers twitched slightly.

She pursed her lips and went back to her ward to lie down.

"Can we fight now?"

Lin Feng found it somewhat unbelievable.

When has Ji Yanci ever been so obedient?

But that's exactly what happened.

A bad feeling crept into his heart. Could it be that Ci Ge's reaction really meant he had fallen for Jiang Jixu?
Lin Feng swallowed.

That would be terrible.
-
Lin Feng dutifully dialed Jiang Wang's number, feeling a little uneasy, wondering if Jiang Wang had blocked him after the last time.

Fortunately, the call was eventually answered after ringing for a while.

"Hey, what are you trying to do now?"

Jiang Wang's voice was filled with drowsiness and impatience.

Before Lin Feng could even speak, Ji Yanci snatched his phone away.

"Hey Jiang Wang, where is she?"

Upon hearing Ji Yanci's voice, Jiang Wang on the other end immediately perked up.

"Oh, Mr. Ji, you're so busy, how come you have time to call me?"

Ji Yanci pursed her lips, not angry at his nonchalant reply, and simply asked the question again: "Where is she now?"

"Tsk."

"Mr. Ji, that's a vague question. Who is she?"

Lin Feng gritted his teeth: "Jiang Wang, do you need a beating?"

Jiang Wang said lazily, "What, you want to fight? Come on if you dare, do you really think I'm afraid of you?"

Ji Yanci said in a hoarse voice, "Jiang Wang, I'm not here to argue with you."

"I just want to know, where is Jiang Jixu now? She..." The man paused, the last few words almost squeezed out between clenched teeth, "...who did she marry?"

Lin Feng and he both asked around.

But no one in the industry knows who Jiang Jixu's marriage partner is.

Otherwise, Ji Yanci wouldn't have come to ask Jiang Wang in such a humble manner.

Jiang Wang was delighted upon hearing this.

"You think I have to tell you just because you ask? Who are you to my sister?"

"Alright, alright, it's so late and you're not sleeping, I'm sleepy too."

"Bye bye!"

Before Ji Yanci could speak, he hung up the phone.

Hearing the busy tone from the phone, Lin Feng cautiously looked at the man: "Brother Ci, don't be angry. I'll find someone to teach him a lesson later."

Ji Yanci lowered his eyes, his thoughts in disarray, and he couldn't care less about Jiang Wang.

"Is there no other place besides where she lives?"

Lin Feng had a sudden inspiration: "Brother Ci, didn't Jiang Jixu open a studio? We can go directly to the studio to find him!"

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Merry Christmas!! Love you all, muah!
(End of this chapter)