BDB Chapter 44

Jiang Pei was momentarily stunned.

Unlike his future self, who would deftly argue with shareholders and clients, he was still a student at that moment, and had never encountered such shameless capitalists before.

Although the man’s statements were suffocating, they were indeed true.

Breach of contract = need for compensation.

Since the man was willing to pay, it was not about not honoring the contract, but rather about being shameless and untrustworthy!

He glanced at the man and then strode forward. When he reached Jiang Rao’s side, he asked, “Why aren’t you going home? You came to Hangcheng and didn’t even notify me? Does Mom know you’re here?”

Jiang Rao’s steps faltered for a moment. After a while, she resumed walking and said, “Big brother, I’m twenty years old this year.”

Li Jueyan caught up with them at this point.

Hearing this, he smiled.

Six years younger than him—no wonder she was so willful.

“So?” Jiang Pei frowned.

Jiang Rao replied, “In the first half of this year, I used my freedom to repay all the gambling debts Mom owed. I don’t owe her anything anymore.”

It should be said that the original owner no longer owed her so-called mother anything.

The debt of gratitude and the nurturing were significant, but the original owner’s dropping out of school was largely due to that so-called mother, and becoming a substitute wife was also her doing.

In the original novel, the female lead’s tragic end was rooted in her ‘good mother.’

She sighed and said, “I’m an adult now. Where I live is my home. I can go anywhere I want without needing to notify anyone or have anyone know where I am.”

Jiang Pei’s frown deepened. “So you don’t want to keep in touch with Mom anymore? And you don’t want to stay in contact with me?”

Jiang Rao had no intention of rebuking an elder.

However, as a stranger who had transmigrated into this book, she didn’t feel the need to accommodate such an elder, especially since her memories told her that the female lead had tried multiple times to pull her mother out of the gambling den, only to face increased demands for money.

As for the second male lead…

This is a transmigration novel. The second male lead’s role was generally to stimulate the male lead. Thus, scenes where the female lead met the second male lead were often interrupted by the male lead.

She just wanted to live her own peaceful life and avoid unnecessary trouble, preferably not encountering the second male lead.

She pursed her lips and remained silent, making her stance clear.

Then she heard the second male lead say, “Jiang Rao, if I had known you’d turn out like this, I wouldn’t have come looking for you.”

Jiang Rao did not think there was anything wrong with how she was. However, she understood Jiang Pei’s perspective.

In old-fashioned novels, female leads were often portrayed as kind-hearted. The male lead and second male lead were attracted not only by the female lead’s beauty but also by her pure and kind nature.

Jiang Rao was not kind, and her reality was rooted in such a family background, which made her unable to remain pure.

She murmured an acknowledgment and continued walking toward her rented apartment, not engaging further with Jiang Pei.

As expected, her peripheral vision showed Jiang Pei standing still, seemingly utterly disappointed in her.

In stark contrast to Jiang Pei, the male lead, who had maintained a certain distance from her earlier, had now caught up with her steps.

Jiang Rao quickened her pace, and he did as well.

Jiang Rao slowed her pace, and he did too.

In this back-and-forth, they soon arrived at her rented community, and then at her building unit.

At this point, she could no longer ignore the man following closely behind her. “Li Jueyan, what are you doing?”

He smiled, “I missed you.”

Although she understood that these were just sweet words and tactics, Jiang Rao couldn’t help but feel her ears burn with a flush.

She had endless admiration for the male lead, but she had anticipated this kind of situation; so she had kept the contract with her.

Taking the contract out of her bag, she pointed to a line of black text and said, “Didn’t you promise not to bother me anymore?” She then tapped on the signature section at the bottom, “You even signed it!”

From Li Jueyan’s perspective, she looked serious and solemn.

Her voice was soft but carried a hint of irritation.

He felt as if he had been holding his breath, and finally, he said, “Is it okay if I regret it?”

As he spoke, he took out a prepared check from his pocket. “22 million, the breach of contract compensation for you. Give me the contract so I can tear it up.”

Regret was permissible; everyone had the right to regret.

However, Jiang Rao did not want to pay for his regret. She shook her head. “I don’t want your compensation. So, I won’t give you the contract.”

The man on the opposite side did not get angry upon hearing this. Instead, he casually said, “Don’t you want to get rich? Welfare lottery tickets are only worth around five million, but with these 22 million, you’ve achieved your little dream. I’m practically a dream-maker for you. Why don’t you want it?”

Jiang Rao: “…”

She could never keep up with the male lead’s train of thought. She decided not to engage further with him. Couldn’t she just leave?

Jiang Rao’s rented apartment was in a new commercial building. Due to the relatively low housing prices that year and her need for just a single room, the rent was not a significant burden for her.

She used her access card to unlock the building’s door and quickly shut it behind her.

The building’s door blocked their view of each other, and Jiang Rao let out a sigh of relief. Once she was back in her apartment and had double-locked the door, she finally felt completely relaxed.

After such a harrowing evening, she had to pretend to be strong when she was the one involved. But as a graduate in her twenties before transmigrating, she was still afraid of such a near-abduction incident.

Turning her anger into appetite, she ate two packets of spicy tomato ramen before finally feeling ready to sleep peacefully.

Just before falling asleep, she inexplicably looked down at the street.

The first thing that caught her attention was the well-maintained greenery of the community.

Then, she saw a man standing among the flowers and plants, his gaze directly fixed on her window.

Jiang Rao now knew that the male lead was aware of which floor and unit she lived in.

It made sense. There was no way he could just happen to be in that area where she had almost been abducted. He must have known where she lived.

Perhaps he knew everything she had done and everyone she had met in recent days. Maybe he had been staring at the photos of her taken by his subordinates, obsessively thinking about her, which was why he suddenly came to find her.

Realizing this, Jiang Rao quickly pulled the curtains shut.

Forget it, if he wanted to wait, he could wait. The mosquitoes were already out this month; he would be the one suffering!

She had only thought about the mosquitoes but forgot that this month also brought plenty of rain.

Around three or four in the morning, lightning and thunder appeared simultaneously. Soon, rain began to patter down.

The light rain turned into a torrential downpour in less than ten minutes.

Jiang Rao, a light sleeper, was quickly awakened by the noise.

She was dazed for a couple of seconds and was about to check if she had any clothes hanging on the balcony. At that moment, her phone rang with a chord ringtone.

Glancing at the caller ID, she pressed the hang-up button.

But as she was taking the first piece of clothing down from the balcony, the phone in her pajamas pocket rang again.

She took a deep breath, did not answer the call, but first looked down to see if the male lead was visible. Seeing no sign of him in her view, she finally answered the call, “What’s up?”

“Do you want to hear a bedtime story?”

“I don’t like ghost stories.”

“I only tell fairy tales; who told you I would tell you ghost stories? Listen!” He cleared his throat and continued, “Once upon a time, there was a rich second-generation heir who got married. The heir thought he would become a victim of a business and political marriage, but unexpectedly, his wife turned out to be someone with the same bad taste as him…”

“Shouldn’t it be ‘like-minded’?”

“It’s not much different. Continue listening. The like-minded couple soon had a son, but the son wasn’t the result of their love. He was merely an extra who came into the world due to some mishap. The couple continued to enjoy their sweet life together, but they forgot that even extras needed their care. Unfortunately, during the child’s formative years when he needed his mother’s love the most, even when he crawled into her lap asking for a hug, he might be tossed onto the sofa by his father, who yanked him by his clothes. The extra had a scar hidden among the stray hairs on his forehead, a scar from accidentally bumping into the corner of the sofa with no one caring for him. So, you see, some people are parents in name only and are not fit to be parents at all.”

There was no sound on the other end of the line. Jiang Rao was silent for a while before saying, “Is it over? I’m hanging up.”

“Not yet. Jiang Rao, I think you’re great the way you are. There are so many ridiculous parents in this world. The parents of that extra were like that, and your parents are the same. You don’t need to make yourself miserable for such ridiculous parents. Just ignore what your wild big brother said; treat it like nonsense!”

Her heart felt as if it had suddenly collided with something soft and couldn’t find a stable resting place for a long time.

After a while, she spoke softly, “Hmm. Is it over now?”

“Not yet. Jiang Rao, do you think that extra is pitiable?”

The so-called fairy tale story the male lead was telling was a common plot device in old-fashioned domineering CEO novels.

She suspected he was referring to his own childhood. Fearing he was setting a trap for her, she replied, “It’s not too bad, I suppose.”

Not too bad…?

Li Jueyan really wanted to strangle this little one with no conscience.

But when the words came out, they turned into, “Not too bad means it’s quite pitiful, right? Jiang Rao, given how pitiful I am while exposing my scars, could you come down and bring me an umbrella? Please?”

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