BDB Chapter 26

The tone from the other end was commanding, but Jiang Rao was about to leave, so she didn’t bother arguing with the male lead, nor did she care to mentally criticize him any further.

After ending the call, she placed the phone into her bag and handed it to Jiang Tang.

As she put on the black knitted hat that Jiang Tang passed her, Jiang Rao noticed the gold bracelet on her wrist—the one she had been trying to remove for a long time but couldn’t.

“This bracelet was given by Grandma Ma. I don’t know what kind of mechanism it uses, but I’ve been to several jewelry stores and none of them could take it off.” After explaining, she thought for a moment and added, “But don’t worry. I’ll find a way to remove it within a month and mail it back to you.”

Just as she was about to turn and leave, Jiang Tang’s voice came from behind.

“Has he not treated you well?”

There was no need to clarify who “he” referred to—they both knew.

“Isn’t being a rich wife satisfying?”

Jiang Tang’s voice was slightly rough, not much different from what Jiang Rao had observed in the interviews she’d watched online to better mimic her. Though her tone was calm, there was a coldness in it that was unmistakable.

Jiang Rao recalled the original novel’s description of this girl’s character.

—She was supposed to be a famous second-generation, but due to slander, she became depressed.

—She was supposed to be with her own fiancé, but due to her illness, she had to let a stand-in marry in her place.

—She was supposed to return home once she recovered and set everything right, but because the male and female leads fell in love with each other through emotional and physical torment, she became the third wheel.

—She could have forgotten the male lead, that jerk, but under Madam Bai’s manipulative guidance, she gradually became a vicious supporting character.

With Madam Bai’s cautionary tale in mind, Jiang Rao knew how rigid this antagonist’s character was in the novel.

So, although none of those bad things had happened yet, she felt it was necessary to explain herself, lest the supporting character misunderstand her and act out of malice. “He only moved back recently. We haven’t had much contact. Besides, this position rightfully belongs to you. I know my place. I’m not interested in him, so you can rest assured.”

By now, Jiang Rao was fully dressed, with only her hands and eyes exposed.

Hearing this, Jiang Tang’s low spirits eased slightly. Yet, facing the identical face in front of her, she still felt a wave of disgust. “There’s no need to return the bracelet.”

With that, she opened the stall door and walked out first, leaving Jiang Rao momentarily stunned.

As Jiang Rao followed Jiang Tang’s footsteps outside, she noticed that both the sinks and the hallway were crowded with people.

Naturally, Jiang Rao had no intention of keeping the bracelet.

She had already prepared to withdraw the account balance from the sale of two houses on the real estate website. By that time, her dealings with Madam Bai would be settled, with neither owing the other anything. Even if the bracelet wasn’t worth much, its fine craftsmanship and genuine materials would still fetch at least a hundred thousand. She had no reason to take even a penny more than she deserved.

Moreover, the bracelet was something Grandma Ma had left for the women of the Li family as an heirloom. If she kept it, it would constantly remind her that, in the original story, her character was a runaway wife. Since she had already decided to avoid any further interactions with the male lead, accepting such an item didn’t make any sense.

However, when she considered that explaining all the reasons and consequences to Jiang Tang would undoubtedly require a lot of time and energy, and that her current actions could also be interpreted as running away and acting like a runaway wife if she tried to justify them, she couldn’t help but lose her interest in explaining.

Never mind, she would simply mail the bracelet back later. For now, it was better not to stir up more trouble.

With an unbothered expression, she walked past Madam Bai. Once outside, she saw the driver who had brought her here parked by the roadside, smoking by a trash bin. Quickly, she flagged down a taxi with a glowing “empty” sign.

Once in the car, she said, “To the train station, please.”

The rule that “the most dangerous place is the safest place” didn’t apply to runaway wife stories. Generally speaking, no matter where the female lead hid, the male lead would always manage to find her. The closer she stayed, the quicker her ‘end’ would come.

She wasn’t sure if Jiang Tang’s arrival would help her break free from the plot, but even if it didn’t, she didn’t want to meet her ‘end’ so soon.

At the very least, in a place where the male lead had less power, she could still put up a bit of a “struggle”. But if she stayed in City A, the male lead’s base, all she could do was wait for her demise.

Although her life’s ambition had been to someday eat and wait for death, she didn’t actually want to die.

Day turned to night, and evening came as expected.

Jiang Rao bought a train ticket to Province H, the country’s most populous province. Because her delicate body couldn’t endure the more than ten-hour journey, she had to purchase a sleeper ticket.

The earliest sleeper train departed at 6:00 PM. While waiting, she rented a room in a nearby motel that didn’t require an ID, took off the makeup belonging to Jiang Tang, applied foundation two shades darker than her natural skin tone, and drew on thick, rough eyebrows.

If “pale skin hides a thousand flaws”, then “bad eyebrows ruin everything”.

Though her features were still striking, the dark, exaggerated brows made her look far less noticeable compared to her bare-faced self.

At exactly 6:00 PM, the train’s engine roared to life, and she heard the sound of departure in her ears.

Feeling the train carriage beneath her begin to move, she let out a long sigh of relief.

Goodbye, male lead.

To hell with your 9,999-rose wedding!

…

Jiang Rao left in a hurry, something Bai Yurou noticed.

But she couldn’t be bothered to care.

The West District project was urgently in need of the Jiang family’s acquisition. Only by securing that project could the Jiang family borrow more money from the bank. With those loans, they could address the issues stemming from the substandard materials used in the East District renovation, which had caused casualties. Only then could the Jiang family avoid being squeezed out of the real estate industry.

So, she instructed Jiang Tang, “Tangtang, when you return to the old residence, remember to listen to Young Master Li. Please him, and our family’s business might be saved.”

Jiang Tang stared at her blankly.

Bai Yurou glared at her. “Answer me! Did you understand?”

Jiang Tang turned and walked away.

Seeing her behave this way, Bai Yurou felt a mouthful of blood stuck in her throat, unable to release or swallow.

However, no one knew her daughter better than she did. Tangtang had always been a well-behaved, obedient child, never defying her. Even now, despite her illness, Bai Yurou believed she wouldn’t rebel.

Jiang Rao’s earlier guess had been correct. The old story that needed to be told had already been recounted yesterday at the airport when Bai Yurou received Jiang Tang. And it had been anything but pleasant.

She had never imagined that depression could make someone more disobedient and unwilling to speak.

So, she had no desire to talk further with Jiang Tang. 

After she caught up to Jiang Tang, she inspected her appearance, confirming that her makeup and attire were almost identical to Jiang Rao’s. Relieved, she led her daughter to the car and headed for the ancient castle halfway up the mountain.

They arrived at the ancient castle around three in the afternoon. Outside, the plants and flowers seemed to be undergoing their annual major pruning. As the car approached the front of the ancient castle, she noticed the gardeners climbing ladders to trim the various shrubs and trees along the roadside.

Leading Jiang Tang into the ancient castle, they immediately ran into the ever-formal and businesslike Butler Gu, who never acknowledged her status as the mother-in-law of the ancient castle’s owner.

She hadn’t intended to engage with this unsociable old woman, but Butler Gu stopped her as she attempted to follow Jiang Tang upstairs. “Young Master Li instructed that if Madam returned, I should first escort her somewhere.”

Since it was on Young Master Li’s orders, Bai Yurou naturally had no objections.

However, when she attempted to follow behind Jiang Tang to go along with her, Butler Gu spoke up, “Young Master Li knew that Madam would be meeting with you today, Madam Bai, and anticipated there was a good chance you’d come as well. So, he has arranged a place for you too, but it’s not the same location as where Madam is headed.”

“What place?”

“Please wait here. After I escort Madam upstairs, I’ll return to guide you.”

True to her word, after taking Jiang Tang to the second floor, Butler Gu soon returned and led her to an empty room on the first floor.

The room was completely bare, with no furniture, not even windows.

As she stepped inside, intending to ask what Young Master Li meant by this, there was a sudden click.

Turning around, she saw that at some point, Butler Gu had locked the door.

“Young Master Li has said that you should take your time in this room and carefully reflect on whether you’ve ever done anything to wrong him. If so, please also think about how you plan to make it up to him.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Yurou was stunned at first. “I haven’t done anything.”

“Young Master Li said you should think carefully.”

As the words faded, the sound of high heels clicking against the floor echoed from outside the room.

She pounded on the door relentlessly, but as expected, there was no reply from the other side.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, her legs began trembling uncontrollably.

This setup from Young Master Li…

Had she done anything to wrong him? And how was she supposed to make amends?

She wouldn’t dare do anything against him! If there was anything, it might only be the fact that she had hired Jiang Rao to marry in place of Tangtang.

Could Young Master Li have actually… found out?

There was nothing in the room, but the ceiling light illuminated it as brightly as if it were daytime.

Yet she would have preferred the darkness. At least in the dark, she wouldn’t have to see the pitiful and wretched shadow of herself beneath her feet.

She spent a fearful and agonizing amount of time in that room.

When her phone battery was almost drained from her repeatedly checking the time, she finally heard movement by the door.

It was close to eight o’clock by then.

As the door opened, she lifted her head to look toward the entrance.

It was March, early spring, and the weather wasn’t as cold anymore. Moreover, in such a sealed space, she shouldn’t have felt even a hint of chill.

But seeing the way the person at the door was dressed, she felt as if her whole body had been plunged into ice, a bone-chilling cold seeping through her.

After a long moment, her lips trembled, “Tangtang, you… why are you dressed like this?”

——