Chapter 9: You Bitch! You Dare Hit Me

The three of them hadn’t expected Jian Ruo Ci to fight back. The usual Jian Ruo Ci was a little white mouse they could manipulate, after all, they held her weaknesses in their hands.

Liang Jin Yu was stunned. She straightened up, her eyes red-rimmed, and she glared fiercely at Jian Ruo Ci, her eyes filled with bloodshot veins. “You bitch! You dare hit me.”

Jian Ruo Ci: “You deserve it.”

She had endured their bullying for too long. Jian Xu never had a name in their eyes, they called him a bastard every time. She had endured for so long, but the three of them never intended to truly let her and Jian Xu go.

Seeing her mother being hit, Jian Ying stepped forward, her eyes fierce, her face full of malice and cruelty. She raised her hand, but Jian Ruo Ci grabbed her wrist and slammed it to the ground.

A pampered young lady, her strength was no match for Jian Ruo Ci. Jian Ying cried out in pain and fell to the ground in a clumsy posture.

Jian Sen Ran walked towards them, but Jian Ruo Ci gave him a sharp look, and he dared not move. That look made him feel apprehensive.

Liang Jin Yu pointed at her, her hand trembling. “She’s gone wild, she’s gone wild.”

“Just wait until Jian Xu gets expelled from school tomorrow.”

“Is that so?” Jian Ruo Ci sneered, her lips curling. “If you touch him, I’ll get close to Pei Yan Zhou. Not only will I get close, I’ll do whatever it takes, by any means necessary, to make him my boyfriend. By then, your precious daughter’s dream man will be gone. Besides, your goals are not that simple.”

Their ultimate goal was to climb onto the back of the big Buddha, Pei Yan Zhou. They only cared about the power, status, and money behind him.

She knew their faces very well.

“Where do you get your confidence? Don’t be delusional.” Liang Jin Yu said. “The CEO of Jing Che Group has seen all kinds of women. You’re not even on his radar.”

“You could climb into Jian Sen Ran’s bed from being a bar singer, I can also get close to Pei Yan Zhou by any means necessary.” Jian Ruo Ci didn’t bother arguing with her and left the Jian family’s house.

Liang Jin Yu, to put it nicely, was a bar singer. To put it bluntly, she did some shady things in the bar. But Jian Sen Ran was completely smitten with her, ignoring his grandfather’s objections and marrying her.

Liang Jin Yu glared fiercely at Jian Ruo Ci’s retreating back.

She gritted her teeth. “Jian Ruo Ci! I’ll make you die.”

——

Jian Ruo Ci sat in the taxi, the window open, letting the evening breeze blow through her hair. The April evening breeze was cool.

She thought, maybe there was a way to help her escape the dirty Jian family.

Back home, Jian Ruo Ci took a shower and lay in bed. She was prepared for Jian Xu to be expelled tomorrow. Liang Jin Yu wouldn’t take her words about getting close to Pei Yan Zhou to heart.

She was a little annoyed. She shouldn’t have acted impulsively. She had endured for so many years, but today she couldn’t take it anymore and exploded.

Jian Xu wouldn’t blame her, she knew that, but she still felt guilty towards him.

She didn’t sleep all night, and the next day she was listless. At ten o’clock, Xie Qingyun came to help her with her medicine.

Xie Qingyun finished applying the medicine and saw that her face was pale and she looked listless. She said with concern, “Are you feeling unwell?”

Jian Ruo Ci shook her head, indicating that she was fine, and thanked Xie Qingyun.

To thank her for coming to apply medicine for her every day, Jian Ruo Ci invited her to stay for lunch. She made a few of her best dishes. During the meal, Xie Qingyun kept praising her.

“Ruo Ci, you’re such a good cook.”

“Ruo Ci, your cooking is amazing. Even the chefs at Michelin-starred restaurants can’t cook as well as you.”

She thought of something and asked, “Ruo Ci, has Pei Yan Zhou ever eaten your cooking?”

Jian Ruo Ci: “…”

She shook her head. “I’ve only met him twice.”

Xie Qingyun: “Once at the banquet. I was there that day. I saw him carry you away. Where was the other time?”

Jian Ruo Ci: “…”

Where was the other time…

The first time was a memory she didn’t want to recall…

Her cheeks flushed, and she felt a little embarrassed. “A bar.”

Xie Qingyun blinked. “Was it the Night Elf?”

Jian Ruo Ci nodded.

“I know what happened that night,” Xie Qingyun said. “He was looking for someone that night.”

“And, I heard from my buddies that Pei Yan Zhou returned to China for personal reasons. I don’t know who it is.”

She had only heard her buddies gossip about it. As for who that person was and what their relationship with Pei Yan Zhou was, no one knew.

Jian Ruo Ci didn’t say anything else, lost in thought as she ate.

After lunch, Xie Qingyun left, and she went back to her room. She was drawing a design draft, but her mind wasn’t on it. She had no inspiration.

She took a can of beer from the refrigerator, opened it, and finished it. Then she went back to her room to take a nap. When she woke up, it was already evening. She hadn’t slept all night, so she slept a little longer this time.

There was still no news from the school. She called Jian Xu at the time he would be getting out of school.

The call was quickly answered. Jian Xu’s indifferent voice came from the other end. “What’s up?”

“I missed you, didn’t I?” Jian Ruo Ci tried to make her voice sound relaxed. “Did anything happen today?”

Jian Xu: “The school asked me to participate in a cybersecurity competition.”

Jian Ruo Ci was stunned. “That’s it?”

Jian Xu: “What else?”

He continued, “The school just sent out the notice.”

“Then good luck.” Jian Ruo Ci suppressed her doubts. “If you win, your big sister will give you a reward.”

She gave him a few more instructions to take care of himself and eat on time before hanging up the phone.

Jian Ruo Ci felt something was wrong, but she didn’t know what it was. Liang Jin Yu wouldn’t let Jian Xu go, but now Jian Xu was still in school, attending classes.

The Jian family’s living room.

Liang Jin Yu swept the cups on the coffee table to the floor, her face full of anger.

Jian Sen Ran was beside her, trying to soothe her. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Liang Jin Yu’s chest heaved with anger. “That bastard has someone backing him. Even the Jian family’s influence in the capital can’t touch him.”

She went to the school today. The principal knew why she was there and directly kicked her out, without any mercy. This also showed that the person protecting Jian Xu was powerful and influential. The Jian family was no match for the person behind him.

Jian Sen Ran was a little shocked. Jian Xu had no one in the capital except Jian Ruo Ci. Who was the person behind him?

“Wife, don’t worry.” He said. “I’ll send someone to investigate who’s behind Jian Xu.”

Jian Ying’s face was very ugly. If they couldn’t touch Jian Xu, it meant they could no longer threaten Jian Ruo Ci. How could she watch Jian Ruo Ci suffer, watch her be reduced to dust? She wasn’t willing to accept it.

Jian Ying: “Dad, you’ll always be on my side and Mom’s side, right?”

Jian Sen Ran: “Of course. Your mother is the person I love most, and you are my precious daughter.”

Jian Ying’s eyes were cold and vicious. “Dad, let’s imprison Jian Xu and use him to threaten Jian Ruo Ci. From then on, Jian Ruo Ci will never dare to go against you.”

Jian Sen Ran hesitated. After all, they both had his blood. “Yingying, there’s no need. We’re family after all.”

“Dad, you saw Jian Ruo Ci’s attitude today. She dared to hit Mom. Aren’t you afraid that she’ll retaliate and bite back one day?” Jian Ying continued. “If she really climbs onto someone with even higher power than the Jian family, we’ll be the ones who suffer.”

Jian Ruo Ci made her feel uneasy. She was a time bomb, a wolf ready to pounce at any moment. If they weren’t careful, they would be the ones who would suffer.

She frowned and called out again. “Dad.”

“My daughter makes a good point.” Liang Jin Yu said. “Her eyes, they make you feel inexplicably afraid, like she’s ready to die with you.”

Jian Sen Ran thought for a moment, remembering her eyes last night. He felt inexplicably apprehensive.

He said, “Don’t worry, we’ll think about it long-term. Let me think of a plan.”

Perhaps, they were right. She would be a disaster in the future.