After getting out of the car, Jiang Lai hailed a cab straight to Jingdu Cemetery.
The cemetery paths wound tortuously, with scattered fallen leaves resting on the ground. When a gust of wind blew, they swayed gently, as if guiding the way for her.
One step, two steps, three steps... one hundred and ninety-nine steps.
She turned a corner and reached the graveyard halfway up the mountainside. The plots here were arranged with absolute clarity, each person guarding their own patch of earth, nobody fearing that someone else would snatch what rightfully belonged to them.
It was truly a place suited for someone with Yunjia's temperament.
She placed the purchased peach blossom snow mountain pastry before the empty gravestone. Looking at the bright, smiling face on the stone, Jiang Lai curled her red lips into a smile.
"Yunjia, happy birthday."
The graveyard was quiet, with no answer.
Jiang Lai casually sat down beside the grave and began chatting idly, "You've been gone for a year now, and I've spent that entire year finally getting entangled with Jin Shengshi."
"Don't you find it ridiculous? On your birthday, which is also the anniversary of your death, I registered our marriage with him."
Still, no one answered whether it was ridiculous or not. She fell silent for a moment, deciding that it was indeed quite ridiculous.
She had once despised nepotism the most, but now, for revenge, she had ultimately chosen to walk an unsavory path.
When her vision grew blurry with mist, she raised her hand and gently stroked the serene, smiling face on the gravestone.
Her Yunjia should have been the prettiest girl in the world, yet a year ago, she had been forced to jump from a building to her death, leaving her beyond recognition.
With her gaze growing slightly out of focus, she said, "I know you didn't want me to avenge you, but I can't just stand by and watch those butchers walk around safely right in front of me. Why? Why should you, the most innocent person, have to bear undeserved slander even after death?"
Recalling the past events, she clenched her fists tightly. "Whether it's the Gao Family or the Jiang Family, I will make them pay the price for what they've done."
Choosing Jin Shengshi as her backing was, on one hand, to exact revenge on that despicable pair Jiang Yi and her mother. On the other hand, only someone as lawless and fearless as Jin Shengshi could keep the Gao Family in check. As long as she remained bound to him, the Gao Family could do nothing to her.
Having said this, she raised her hand to wipe away the falling tears.
With a sobbing tone, she continued, "Yunjia, you must, you must bless me. Bless me as I smoothly send them to prison."
Tears slid down her cheeks, striking her heart like cold hailstones. She buried her face helplessly in her knees, the grief and despair within her threatening to swallow her whole.
Yunjia, after you left, no one was ever there to wipe away my tears again.
Just as she always did, she accompanied Yunjia in the cemetery for the entire morning. When the midday sunlight poured relentlessly over the earth, she rubbed her numb legs and stood up. By the time she left, her expression had returned to normal.
"Yunjia, let me tell you a secret."
"I have cancer." Her brows relaxed, and the curve of her mouth held a sense of release. "It's early stage, but I don't want to treat it."
"Wait for me a little longer. Once I've finished dealing with everything, I'll come keep you company. Then, in our next life, we'll be true sisters."
When she arrived, the wind blew the fallen leaves as if guiding her way.
When she left, the wind brushed against her hair as if trying to make her stay.
Yet Jiang Lai's steps did not stop; she had to cherish every single minute.
Having boarded Jin Shengshi's boat, only by giving him what he wanted and showing him her capabilities could he grant her what she desired.
Not long after leaving the cemetery, she received a phone call from a contact labeled "Mom".
Of course, this wasn't her biological mother, but Jiang Yi's.
Before completely tearing off the facade, she still chose to remain calm, answering the call with a sweet, obedient voice, "Mom."
From the earpiece came the woman's gentle voice.
Only, it was a gentle blade.
"Xiaolai, the Gao Family is holding a small banquet at Yuese tonight and invited our family. Don't forget."
Just hearing the words "Gao Family" made Jiang Lai sick to her stomach, but on the surface, she showed no sign of it.
"I know."
Qi Yuzhen added, "Mm, remember to dress nicely. If you don't have this season's haute couture, you can borrow a dress from your sister."
After ending the call, Jiang Lai's eyes turned utterly cold.
Ha, wear Jiang Yi's clothes? She was afraid of catching something.
-
At eight o'clock in the evening, Jiang Lai arrived at Yuese.
Qi Yuzhen had called it a small banquet, but when she saw the bustling crowd and the lively scene, she instinctively felt that tonight was no simple gathering.
Events proved that a woman's sixth sense is rarely wrong.
Shortly after entering the main hall, she was led by Qi Yuzhen into a lounge. Sitting on the sofa inside were her father Jiang Qianfeng and Jiang Yi. Unlike usual, both of them wore smiles on their faces as they looked at her.
Jiang Qianfeng put on a rare pleasant expression. "Xiaolai is here."
Jiang Lai curved her lips and greeted, "Dad."
She then looked toward Jiang Yi. "Sister."
Qi Yuzhen affectionately pulled her down to sit beside her, her gaze soft and filled with maternal affection as she looked at her. "Your dad and I have something to tell you."
With this kind of setup, Jiang Lai wasn't an idiot.
They had definitely dug some kind of pit for her.
Knowing this in her heart, however, she still had to play dumb on the surface. "Dad, Mom, what could possibly be so important that it couldn't be said at home?"
Qi Yuzhen took her hand, let out a light sigh, and finally got down to business. "Mrs. Lu came to tea with me yesterday and mentioned dissolving your engagement with Wenzhou."
Hearing this, Jiang Lai glanced unobtrusively at Jiang Yi, noticing her stroking her lower belly in a subtle manner. She sneered inwardly.
Well, well, they were waiting for her right here.
Since they wanted to act, Jiang Lai was willing to play along. Within a mere two or three seconds, her eyes turned alarmingly red, and she shook her head in disbelief. "How is that possible? Brother Wenzhou would never agree to this."
Perhaps the address "Brother Wenzhou" grated on Jiang Yi's nerves, as she suddenly spoke up from the opposite sofa.
"Xiaolai, although you and Wenzhou lack the affinity for marriage, you share a great destiny with Gao Zhan. Your true fortune lies with the Gao Family."
Gao Zhan?
The murderer of Yunjia!
Instantly, Jiang Lai's almond eyes widened in shock.
"What did you say?"
At that moment, Qi Yuzhen took her hand once more and began trying to persuade her earnestly, "Xiaolai, listen to me. Although the Lu Family wants to call off your engagement, the Gao Family is sincere about marrying you."
"In Jingbei City, only the Gao Family can rival the Jin Family. Look, your sister married into the Jin Family, and you will marry into the Gao Family. In the future, the two of you sisters can continue to support each other. With both of you making such good matches, your father and I can finally rest easy."
Just listen to how beautifully those words were phrased.
Yet how could she not know the selfish little calculations hiding in their hearts?
Jiang Yi marrying into the Jin Family was indeed a good match given the disparity in their statuses, but marrying her off to the Gao Family meant throwing her to Gao Zhan as a plaything; within two months, she would end up a corpse.
Looking across the entirety of Jingbei City, did any young woman willingly entangle herself with the Gao Family? Of course not.
Women walked around Gao Zhan with a wide berth.
They lived in mortal terror of catching his eye and being played to death by him.
Thinking of how Yunjia had once been sold to Gao Zhan by her stepmother, her anger became impossible to suppress. Her sharp gaze swept across the three of them.
She spat out the words coldly, "I am not marrying him!"
In front of them, she had always been extremely docile, but this time, her rebellion was terrifying enough to make her talk back.
The false facade shattered. Jiang Qianfeng's expression darkened abruptly, his thick brows furrowing as his eyes blazed like torches, and he roared.
"Say that again!"
Jiang Lai repeated herself, "I am not—"
Yet before she could finish, a heavy slap landed across her face. Jiang Qianfeng had struck with full force. Not only was Jiang Lai's face burning, but her ears were also ringing.
Yet, ridiculously enough, she heard Qi Yuzhen and Jiang Yi chiming in with fake persuasion, "What are you doing? Is there anything that can't be discussed properly with your daughter? Don't lose your temper like this, you'll scare Xiaolai..."
"That's right, Dad, hurry up and apologize to Xiaolai."
From the very first day Jiang Lai was sent to the Jiang Family, this family of three had practiced a clear division of labor: the man played the role of the murderous King of Hell, while the women played the merciful Goddess of Guanyin.
Back then, she was young and didn't understand the mechanics of it, but as she grew older, she had long since grown sick of their hypocrisy.
Thinking of the marriage certificate she had obtained that morning, she lowered the hand covering her face, smiling with a mix of sweetness and thorns. "Don't bother trying to send me to a crematorium. I might as well tell you all right now: I am already a married woman."
As soon as those words left her mouth, the three faces shifted like a palette of colors.
Jiang Qianfeng: "What nonsense are you spouting!"
Qi Yuzhen: "Xiaolai, don't throw tantrums with your father!"
Jiang Yi: "Xiaolai, jokes like this aren't funny."
This wasn't even an appetizer, yet the three of them were already reacting like this. Jiang Lai didn't dare imagine what kind of expressions they would wear if they knew whose name was written in the spouse column of her marriage certificate.
Perhaps... the sky would fall.
However, the scene she wished to see was interrupted by a knock on the door. A waiter's voice came from outside, "Mr. Jiang, Elder Gao invites you to bring your wife and daughter over for a small gathering."
A gathering at a time like this, to discuss what—the intent was all too obvious.
Qi Yuzhen opened the door a crack, responding with a warm smile that they would be right over. Then, turning back to see the heavily swollen half of Jiang Lai's face, a flicker of displeasure crossed the bottom of her eyes. "You stay here, don't come out yet."
Jiang Lai understood what she meant; she was simply afraid that Jiang Lai would go out and embarrass them. It was truly... quite ridiculous.
Before the three of them left, one pair of eyes displayed undisguised annoyance, while the other two wore hypocritical warmth.
After being warned not to leave the room, she listlessly sent a message to her pinned contact: [Husband / crying.]
To her utter surprise, the reply came back very quickly.
[Husband]: Hmm?