Volume One, Chapter Two: The Only Troublemaker Is This Lady

Jiang Chenyu walked over to the man and grabbed his wrist. “You’re still conscious, right?”

The man was too weak to speak; he only clutched his own wrist tightly.

“Don’t move. I can save you,” Jiang Chenyu said coldly, though her words were halting, and the cold sweat on her forehead drained them of any conviction.

Still, the man no longer struggled.

“You’ve been cursed with a voodoo doll. I’ll ease your pain first. I’m allergic to peanuts, so after this, you have to take me to the hospital for gastric lavage. When I wake up, I’ll save you,” she said, unable to trust human nature at the moment and needing to keep a backup plan.

She looked at the man. “If you understand, hold my wrist.”

The man gritted his teeth and returned her grip.

Good. He didn’t want to die either.

Jiang Chenyu bit her lower lip and leaned forward to kiss the man’s mouth.

The kiss was clumsy, devoid of any passion, more like a solemn ritual.

Within a few breaths, the man stopped convulsing, and strength returned to his body.

Having cultivated since childhood, Jiang Chenyu’s daily exercises had enriched her vital energy, enough to nourish another’s body and help wrest control from whatever held him captive.

She withdrew and saw the dark aura clinging to the man had receded. Only then did she rise weakly. “Don’t forget our promise.”

“I won’t,” came the man’s hoarse voice faintly.

She felt herself being embraced, shielded from the biting wind.

Such warmth.

With that final thought, she slipped into unconsciousness.

...

When she awoke again, she was lying in a hospital bed.

Though called a ward, the room’s luxury rivaled a five-star hotel. The air lacked the usual antiseptic sting, instead carrying a faint scent of pine.

It was only six o’clock, yet outside, darkness had fully settled. The room was deathly silent, and suddenly memories flooded her mind.

In truth, Jiang Xue’er was her father’s illegitimate daughter. By cruel fate, Jiang Xue’er’s mother died in a car accident trying to save her own mother. On her deathbed, the mother entrusted Jiang Xue’er to the Jiang family, making her a lady of the household.

Her own mother, fearful of seeming unaccepting, often told her as a child, “Let your sister have her way. You have your mother to protect you, but your sister has nothing left.”

Over time, Jiang Xue’er took everything from her—her clothes, her bag, her room, her friends, her brother… and even—

Her mother…

“Exclusive ward? My daughter is in there! If you stop me again, I’ll file a complaint!”

A familiar voice rang from outside.

Jiang Chenyu’s eyes flickered with hope—it was her mother.

Perhaps her mother’s harsh words were just a fleeting temper, not true disdain.

She pulled out the IV needle and got out of bed, hurrying out.

Opening the door, she saw her mother, Chen Ping, being blocked at the ward entrance by two nurses.

The once dignified and aloof Chen Ping now acted like a shrew, bullying the nurses.

When Chen Ping saw Jiang Chenyu, she froze briefly, then tucked stray hair behind her ear and cast a distant look. “What are you doing here?”

Jiang Chenyu was momentarily stunned, then let out a helpless, bitter laugh—Jiang Xue’er’s mother was dead, yet the motherless child was herself.

She had understood this truth from a very young age but had stubbornly refused to believe it, hadn’t she?

Chen Ping’s eyes flickered uneasily at Jiang Chenyu’s smile but quickly knitted into a frown. “Did you bully Xue’er again?”

“I didn’t. I just happened to be hospitalized,” Jiang Chenyu replied calmly, no longer softening her tone with any coaxing.

Chen Ping hesitated, having rushed back from abroad upon hearing Jiang Xue’er was hospitalized, unaware that Jiang Chenyu was also there.

An awkward moment passed. “What happened to you?”

Jiang Chenyu tilted her head, about to answer, when Jiang Xue’er’s voice came from behind.

“Mom? Didn’t you say I was fine? Why did you really come back from abroad?” Jiang Xue’er glanced at her second brother, Jiang Mu, who was supporting her.

Chen Ping turned and saw Jiang Xue’er in a hospital gown. Her heart shattered.

Pushing past the nurses, she embraced Jiang Xue’er tightly. “Sweetheart, who hurt you? Why are you hospitalized?”

“I’m fine. Chenyu didn’t mean it,” Jiang Xue’er said, nuzzling her mother’s neck like a spoiled child.

Chen Ping’s anger flared. “You, don’t keep suffering just to spare me embarrassment. Some ungrateful hearts can never be warmed.”

Despite beginning to accept certain truths, Jiang Chenyu couldn’t help but shiver.

“Chenyu, you’re just like before. Whenever I get sick, you end up hospitalized too,” Jiang Xue’er said, glancing at Jiang Chenyu beside her.

Jiang Mu rolled his eyes and retorted sarcastically, “Always pretending to be sick just to get attention since childhood. Still haven’t learned.”

“Does anyone else not know why I’m hospitalized? Even my brother who forced me to drink peanut water doesn’t?” Jiang Chenyu lowered her gaze, fists clenched tight.

Jiang Mu recalled Jiang Chenyu’s vomiting blood incident but seeing her now running and jumping around, he assumed it wasn’t serious.

He immediately justified himself. “You’re just a little allergic. Why are you staying in such a nice ward? No matter how rich the Jiang family is, they shouldn’t waste money like this on you.”

“When have I ever spent a single cent of the Jiang family’s money?” Jiang Chenyu lost her patience.

Then a scolding voice rang nearby. “Jiang Chenyu, why are you shouting in the public corridor? Is this how the Jiang family raised you?”

It was her eldest brother, Jiang Chao.

He carried a food container, standing beside a tall, slender man.

The same man who had collapsed outside the Jiang family’s gate.

Now, impeccably dressed in a suit, his face pale as if he might faint again at any moment.

Was that warm embrace really his? Jiang Chenyu couldn’t help but doubt.

The man looked indifferent but raised an eyebrow slightly upon seeing Jiang Chenyu, as if confirming she hadn’t mistaken him.

Jiang Chao failed to notice their subtle exchange and continued to curry favor with the man. “President Gu, sorry for the spectacle. My sister was never properly raised by our family, so she’s a little rude…”

“No big deal. No need to be so harsh,” Gu Jinyan’s voice was calm but carried unwavering authority.

He glanced at Jiang Chenyu, then turned to the nurse beside her, asking coldly, “What happened just now?”

The nurse, perceptive, immediately sided with Jiang Chenyu and explained the situation.

Pointing firmly at Chen Ping, she said, “From start to finish, the only one causing trouble was this lady. Your friend did nothing inappropriate.”

“Is that so?” Gu Jinyan gave Jiang Chao a meaningful look.

Jiang Chao’s face flushed, and he glared resentfully at Chen Ping.

“I asked the front desk. Xue’er is staying here, so I just wanted to see my daughter. They refused me,” Chen Ping argued vehemently.

The nurse sighed and repeated, “I’ve told you, this is a private ward. No one may enter without the patient’s consent.”

“Then how did she get in?” Chen Ping grasped at Jiang Chenyu, as if pulling her under the water would cleanse her own guilt.

She seemed to have forgotten—Jiang Chenyu was her own flesh and blood.