Transmigrated As The Villainous Scumbag Wife Of A Disabled Tycoon - Chapter 14
14
Cheng Xing didn’t ask for Jiang Ciyi’s opinion and directly replied, “Not going.”
Xu Zhaozhao knocked on the door twice more. “Sister Xing, Grandmother traveled a thousand miles for your marriage. Father Cheng is downstairs keeping her company. Even if you don’t care about me, at least consider her. I spoke harshly earlier, but it wasn’t intentional. For Grandmother’s sake, please forgive me this once.”
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear enough to reach Cheng Xing’s ears.
“No need.” Cheng Xing replied, unmoved. “With my parents and brother there, Grandmother will be well entertained. After all, I’m used to being the unfilial granddaughter. Go tell Grandmother we’re not hungry and will leave later.”
Xu Zhaozhao: “…You.”
There was no further sound from the door.
Jiang Ciyi closed her eyes briefly as the sunset faded and the sky darkened.
Lowering her voice, she asked, “Aren’t you afraid of offending your grandmother?”
“Are you afraid?” Cheng Xing didn’t answer directly, turning the question back on her.
Jiang Ciyi’s lips curved slightly. “Your grandmother? Why should I be afraid?”
“My mom says she’s formidable.” Cheng Xing said, crossing her arms. “And she cares a lot about our marriage. To be precise, she cares about you.”
“What’s the use of caring about me?” Jiang Ciyi’s smile faded, her voice faint, tinged with desolation. “I have no family, no money—Miss Cheng, don’t you already know that? Living in this world is just surviving, one day at a time. If someone decides to kill me one day, I’ll disappear like duckweed, silently swept away.”
Cheng Xing was momentarily speechless.
Those words inexplicably made her feel guilty. After a pause, she said gently, “Jiang Ciyi, you don’t need to belittle yourself.”
Cheng Xing propped her arms on the windowsill, half-turning to stare intently at Jiang Ciyi. “We live in a society governed by law now. Even if you’re like duckweed, you won’t just vanish without a trace.”
“But I know families like yours have their ways.” Jiang Ciyi said.
Her expression was blank, her voice flat, as if she were discussing something as trivial as the weather, not her own life and death.
“Everyone knows merchants chase profit, but behind profit lie hidden arrows and open blades, impossible to guard against.” Jiang Ciyi gave a small laugh. “The first body I handled was a businessman’s. Highly educated, very smart, but he was hacked seven times in the street and died from bl00d loss.”
Though Jiang Ciyi was smiling, the room’s atmosphere grew heavy.
Cheng Xing paused, then asked, “Did he offend someone?”
“No.” Jiang Ciyi said. “The police investigation found his own brother was the mastermind.”
“Was he caught?” Cheng Xing asked.
Jiang Ciyi froze for a moment. “Caught? Impossible.”
“Why not?” Cheng Xing frowned. “No evidence?”
“His family hired the best lawyer to defend him. He paid a mentally ill person with a candied haw stick to commit the murder in the street.”
Jiang Ciyi’s gaze was cold as she stared at the nearly set sun in the distance. The orange light fell into her light-colored pupils, briefly giving her a hint of warmth.
But it vanished quickly, so fast it seemed like Cheng Xing’s imagination.
Jiang Ciyi continued, “There wasn’t enough evidence, so he was released.”
“That…” Cheng Xing felt a pang just hearing it. “They really let him go?”
“The police investigated for over three months but couldn’t find any evidence proving he orchestrated the murder. No proof, no crime.” Jiang Ciyi smiled faintly. “He walked free.”
“Then why are you so sure he was the mastermind?” Cheng Xing asked.
Jiang Ciyi’s speech quickened inexplicably. “Of course, because he told me to my face…”
She stopped abruptly, sighing lightly. “Never mind. Why am I telling you this?”
Cheng Xing: “…?”
Hearing half a story without an ending was maddening!
Especially such a tragic one.
Cheng Xing crouched in front of her. “Tell me about it. Maybe I can help you analyze it. Or perhaps talking it out will give you a breakthrough.”
“You don’t understand anything. How could you help me analyze?” Jiang Ciyi raised an eyebrow. “Just because of those books you bought me?”
Cheng Xing: “…”
At the mention of the books, Cheng Xing rubbed the back of her neck and gave an awkward smile. “You saw them, huh.”
“I saw them.” Jiang Ciyi nodded. “And read them.”
Otherwise, why would she have pushed her wheelchair to the bathroom that day to bring water to a vomiting, disoriented Cheng Xing?
“What did you think of the books?” Cheng Xing looked at her expectantly. “Did you like them? I browsed for ages at Fusheng Bookstore. Those seemed like they’d suit your taste. Did I guess right?”
“Self-righteous.” Jiang Ciyi scolded her.
“Then I guessed right.” Cheng Xing said with a smug smile, crossing her arms. “You smiled earlier.”
“Did I?” Jiang Ciyi asked.
Cheng Xing nodded. “You did. You look beautiful when you smile. Has anyone told you that?”
“Yes.” Jiang Ciyi answered without hesitation.
Cheng Xing frowned, then quickly praised, “Didn’t expect someone to have the same taste as me.”
“Indeed.” Jiang Ciyi looked at her. “Miss Cheng said the same thing a few months ago, not long after we met.”
Cheng Xing: “…”
Jiang Ciyi’s gaze seemed to see right through her, making Cheng Xing’s breath catch mid-laugh, tightening briefly. “Looks like my taste…”
“Just kidding.” Jiang Ciyi interrupted abruptly, cutting off her clumsy attempt to cover.
Cheng Xing paused.
Jiang Ciyi shrugged. “My master was right. I really don’t have a knack for jokes. Not funny at all.”
“It was funny.” Cheng Xing said, crouching beside her, her earlier wariness from Jiang Ciyi’s probing gone, replaced by ease. “When someone wants to turn bad, there’s always someone blindly supporting them. But when a bad person wants to turn good, they’re tested endlessly.”
“Because people naturally trust good people more, but bad people have already burned through others’ trust.” Jiang Ciyi said.
Cheng Xing nodded, then suddenly shifted the topic. “Jiang Ciyi, is there any chance that case could be reopened?”
The topic jumped so fast that even Jiang Ciyi couldn’t keep up.
After a moment’s pause, Jiang Ciyi said, “If I become rich one day.”
“Why?” Cheng Xing asked. “Would being rich help you find evidence?”
“Not necessarily.” Jiang Ciyi said with a faint smile. “Maybe I’d fight evil with evil.”
Cheng Xing: “…That’s dangerous.”
“So, I was just kidding.” Jiang Ciyi shrugged, feigning helplessness.
“But what if you really were rich?” Cheng Xing asked, suddenly serious.
“How rich?”
“Really rich, powerful, and favored.”
“More powerful than you are now?”
“Much more.”
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment. Jiang Ciyi turned her wheelchair, her smile gone, her voice cold. “Let’s go. Your grandmother’s waiting downstairs.”
As if the warmth from moments ago had never existed.
Cheng Xing hurried after her, asking why she didn’t respond. Jiang Ciyi’s wheelchair stopped at the door. Without turning, she said softly, “Because what you said doesn’t exist.”
“And if I don’t go downstairs now, your whole family will see me as a thorn in their side. They might not do anything to you, but they’d have no problem coming after me.” Jiang Ciyi opened the door. “I don’t have the strength to fight back.”
Hearing this, Cheng Xing immediately placed a hand on her shoulder. “But I’ll protect you. I promise.”
Jiang Ciyi looked up, and their eyes met inexplicably.
“How long can you protect me?” Jiang Ciyi asked.
Cheng Xing froze.
She had her own matters to attend to, wanting to resolve the current situation and leave this world.
But what about after she left? Would the original owner return?
What would happen to Jiang Ciyi then?
A flurry of thoughts raced through Cheng Xing’s mind, but she followed her heart. “As long as I’m here, I’ll protect you.”
Jiang Ciyi lowered her head, smiling faintly. “I thought you’d say something unrealistic like you used to, promising to protect me for life.”
“A lifetime is too long,” Cheng Xing said, gently touching her hair. “Seize the day.”
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