Jin Shengshi's reply came as a surprise to Jiang Lai.
Seizing the opportunity, she decided to play the spoiled girl to the hilt: "Waaah, hubby, I got hit, please comfort me."
"Hubby": ?
Jiang Lai: The left side of my face is swollen like a steamed bun.
Jiang Lai: [Image]
The injury on her face was too severe and conspicuous; even in the selfie, faint red fingerprint marks were visible, showing just how hard the person who slapped her had struck. "Who hit you?"
Jiang Lai: Jiang Qianfeng.
"Hubby": Where are you right now?
Jiang Lai: Yuese.
"Hubby": Exact location.
Jiang Lai briefly recalled the route Qi Yuzhen had led her along. "The second lounge on the right as you go inward from the main hall of Lanyue Pavilion."
Right now, Elder Gao had invited Jiang Qianfeng and the others over, most likely to discuss her marriage to Gao Zhan.
But how could she not know? What sounded nicely like discussing a marriage was, bluntly put, negotiating the price for her to be played with to death.
Gao Zhan had set his sights on her for a long time.
He simply hadn't dared to be flagrant because of her status as the publicly known "beloved" adopted daughter of the Jiang Family.
Back then, in order to pay for her younger brother's medical expenses, Yunjia had been sold by her stepmother to the Gao Family. The pretext sounded nice—taking care of Gao Zhan's daily life—but in reality, she was treated by Gao Zhan like a plaything.
Not only did he play with her himself, but he even gave her away for his drinking buddies to play with.
Once the Jiang Family and the Gao Family reached some sort of agreement, everything Yunjia had endured in that perilous situation would happen to Jiang Lai all over again.
The Gao Family's influence covered the sky, and the Jiang Family had adopted her precisely to shield them from disaster. With the two families joining forces, they would inevitably drive her to a dead end.
Right now, the only person who could save her was Jin Shengshi.
Her sent message received no reply, so she had no choice but to continue acting cute and pestering him: "Hubby, are you coming to pick me up? / Cute"
Still no reply; her message sank into the vast sea.
Jiang Lai slumped into the sofa, her thoughts drifting uncontrollably.
If Jin Shengshi didn't come tonight, how was she going to save herself?
Once she imagined this scenario, she quickly had her answer. She was utterly helpless, and the Gao Family was immensely powerful. Her self-rescue would be nothing more than an egg striking a stone.
By then, her only remaining means of self-rescue would be suicide, just like Yunjia back then—the only way out was a dead end.
At this thought, the corners of her eyes grew hot.
Yunjia's passing had left her with no one to rely on. The world was so vast, yet she didn't have a single family member or friend, her loneliness taking on a tangible form.
Staring at the crescent moon outside the window, her sense of helplessness spread like the moonlight—heavy, profound, yet understood by no one.
Tears swirled in her eyes when a sudden knocking on the door rang out. Outside the door, a man's crisp, sexy voice sounded, "Jiang Lai, are you in there?"
For a split second, Jiang Lai suspected she was hearing things.
Was it really Jin Shengshi?
He had come this fast?
Just as she found it unbelievable, the rhythmic knocking continued, "Jiang Lai, open the door."
Now certain it really was Jin Shengshi, Jiang Lai sprang up from the sofa with a "swoosh," rushing anxiously to open the door. However, right as she was about to open it, her hand paused.
Just getting slapped in the face wasn't enough.
As her brain raced, she decided to go all out. Moving both hands at once, she deliberately messed up her neatly pinned hair.
Then, after taking a moment to brew her emotions and get fully into character, she opened the door. The door opened, and their eyes met. The man was dressed in a pure black suit, his striking, dazzling face darkening abruptly when he saw her disheveled state.
Seeing this, Jiang Lai's long-prepared tears spilled over her face in a perfect slide. In a mere two seconds, her helplessness and vulnerability were exposed beyond doubt.
She sobbed, "You got here so fast."
Jin Shengshi casually pulled the door shut behind him, his tone flat.
"Isn't that what you wanted?"
Hearing this, Jiang Lai's impending sob hitched in her throat.
Was her acting really that terrible?
Once the two of them were seated on the sofa, he lightly pinched her chin, examining the injury on her face with meticulous detail.
During this, he asked in a deep, magnetic voice, "Does it hurt much?"
Jiang Lai pouting, "It hurts."
She wasn't lying; it really did hurt.
After all, Jiang Qianfeng had never treated her like a daughter.
Naturally, he hadn't held back when striking her.
Right now, her face was severely swollen, her eyes held tears, and her red lips were pouting. She looked rather pitiful indeed, and Jin Shengshi's heart softened. He made a phone call to Jian Yue.
Upon learning that he had asked Jian Yue to prepare ice packs and medicine, Jiang Lai fawned over him eagerly, "Thank you so much, hubby~"
Jin Shengshi wasn't buying her act. "This place is run by the Gao Family. Why are you here?"
His question hit the nail right on the head. Jiang Lai went to report her grievances, "Gao Zhan has taken a liking to me, and the Jiang Family is planning to sell me to the Gao Family. I wouldn't agree, so Jiang Qianfeng lost his temper and slapped me."
This was entirely something the Jiang Family would do. Jin Shengshi casually helped her tidy the messy strands of hair across her forehead, asking nonchalantly:
"Didn't you tell them you're married?"
Calculating the time, the Jiang Family members should be returning soon. Jiang Lai took the opportunity to lean closer to him, acting spoiled as she complained, "I told them, but they didn't believe me."
Just as she finished speaking, someone pushed the door open, and a familiar voice entered their ears, "Mom, Grandpa Gao was very sincere, and Gao Zhan also..."
It was Jiang Yi and the others returning.
With Jin Shengshi helping her arrange her hair, Jiang Lai stretched out her slender arms, gracefully wrapping them around his neck and offering her red lips. In an instant, the muffled, delicate sounds between their lips and teeth were intensely alluring.
Upon entering and seeing this scene, the family of three turned ashen-faced and fell silent.
A moment later, Jiang Yi widened her eyes in disbelief.
"Jiang Lai, have you lost your mind?!"
A sister-in-law seducing her sister's fiancé was absolute scandal material for the Jiang Family. Qi Yuzhen immediately rushed to close the door.
In their field of vision, Jiang Lai had her eyes closed, kissing with deep passion and devotion. But how could Jin Shengshi not know that she was using him to put on a show for revenge?
If it were anyone else, he would have mercilessly kicked them away with his foot, but she was his newly wedded wife whom he had just registered his marriage with today, so he couldn't help but indulge her a little and let her throw her small tantrums.
By the time the lingering kiss ended, two full minutes had passed. When it finally concluded, Jiang Lai was still deep in character. Catching sight of the three people not far away with exceptionally unsightly expressions out of the corner of her eye, she feigned bewilderment, "Oh, Dad, Mom, Sis, you're back."
Hearing this, the three of them erupted with rage.
Jiang Yi was the first to fly off the handle, "Jiang Lai, if you have no shame, at least have some limits! Shengshi is my fiancé; you can't just seduce him simply because you don't want to marry Gao Zhan!"
Her words were cleverly phrased.
They completely implied to Jin Shengshi that Jiang Lai kissing him was nothing more than exploitation.
At this point, Jiang Qianfeng and Qi Yuzhen also spoke up one after another.
"Jiang Lai, apologize to your sister!"
"Xiaolai, this time you offended your brother-in-law. Next month, your sister is getting engaged to him. How can your father and I show our faces after you pull a stunt like this? Listen to Mom's advice and apologize to your sister and brother-in-law right now."
Faced with yet another lecture of this tone, Jiang Lai leaned against Jin Shengshi's shoulder and sighed softly. "Hubby, aren't you going to back me up?"