Chapter 216 Untitled
It was only at eight in the evening that a delayed dinner finally began. Meng Huai had restrained himself a lot this time, and that previously very bad habit of using chopsticks had changed somewhat.
However, the atmosphere during this dinner was a bit strange, with three people hardly speaking.
Jiang Yan brought her “boyfriend” home for the first time, which made Jiang Yao feel both frustrated and helpless. What made her feel awkward was that Jiang Yan’s changes seemed to carry some sort of intentional purpose.
Since childhood, Jiang Yao had naturally enjoyed Jiang Yan’s care in life, but she hadn’t felt anything out of place; Jiang Yan had always been good at taking care of herself.
The life of women after the blood invasion had lasted nearly a year now, and the image of Jiang Yan busy in the kitchen in her apron often reminded Jiang Yao of the words “virtuous wife and good mother.”
Nowadays, that feeling still lingered strongly, but there was a growing sense of detachment that inexplicably made Jiang Yao anxious.
Not long after dinner, Meng Huai was sent off, showing the same clumsy and rigid demeanor in his departure as he had upon arrival.
“Why are all the clothes still piled on the sofa? Didn’t I tell you to put them in the washing machine?”
When Jiang Yan returned, she saw Jiang Yao still sitting dazed on the sofa and frowned.
“It’s not that… I have to go to Sister Xiaomeng’s place for a check-up tomorrow, and I was thinking whether to go in the morning or afternoon.”
Jiang Yao quickly picked up a pile of newly bought clothes with the tags cut off and headed towards the bathroom.
“Xiao Yao, confirm that we’re moving next weekend, right?”
Back in her own room, Jiang Yan started to take off her dress. Seemingly recalling something, she hurriedly yelled toward the living room, “Make sure to tidy up your bedroom in advance. Pack what needs to be packed, and don’t leave anything behind.”
“Just bringing some clothes is enough. It’s a furnished place; the computer and appliances are all new.”
Jiang Yao was puzzled, not understanding why Jiang Yan suddenly brought up moving at this time.
“What I mean is, clear out your room for Meng Huai to live in. This way, you won’t have to go through the trouble of finding a rental, and it will save on rent. Anyway, the rental contract with Sister Xiaomin doesn’t expire until the end of this year.”
As soon as Jiang Yan finished speaking, Jiang Yao almost dropped her jaw.
“Meng Huai is going to live in our house?”
A sense of foreboding rose in Jiang Yao’s heart. She glanced at her own room and quickly walked to the door of Jiang Yan’s bedroom, lowering her voice cautiously. “Then… Sister, what about you? Aren’t you moving over too?”
“I’m used to staying here for now… Well, we can talk about it when this lease expires.”
Behind Jiang Yao’s back, Jiang Yan took off her bra and put on a nightgown, turning around with a faint smile.
“You’re going to live with him!?”
Jiang Yao was taken aback and jumped up a few seconds later.
“What nonsense… Sister Wan mentioned before that I should help him reinvent himself. His withdrawn personality, if not guided, could lead him down the wrong path.”
“Since the room is just empty anyway, letting him stay for a while wouldn’t hurt. Besides, suitable housing doesn’t come by that quickly.”
Jiang Yan casually grabbed a towel from the bedside and said the lines she had already prepared.
“Sister, didn’t you say this nightgown was too revealing before? You never wore it; why did you take it out today…”
The low-necked camisole style had been a prank thoughtlessly picked out for Jiang Yan by Jiang Yao, resulting in it sitting unused until now it was actually worn.
“I washed yesterday’s things, and there are two pieces I forgot to bring back from Myanmar. This one you bought is quite expensive; it would be a waste not to wear it…”
Looking down at her cleavage and the half-translucent silk fabric, Jiang Yan blushed and quickly tightened her grip on the towel, hurrying towards the bathroom.
“She’s clearly trying to push me to the new house, wanting to be with him, and now starts wearing this kind of nightgown… She keeps mentioning Sister Wan as if everything she says is the absolute truth…”
“I just don’t understand why Sister Wan trusts you with men so much, but treats me differently, as if I have no right to be a woman…”
Watching Jiang Yan’s graceful silhouette walk away, Jiang Yao made a slight grimace, whispering to herself in sarcasm, as the outline of Zhong Jing slowly emerged in her mind.
On the other side, Jiang Yan locked the bathroom door, standing in front of the large mirror, slowly turning around, her face slightly flushed as she began examining herself from different angles.
Jiang Yan suddenly felt like she might be overreacting, interpreting Wan Yue’s stance too much, leading her to exhibit a series of extremely unnatural behaviors.
But thinking about the kiss that was clearly meant to cover something up in front of the 110 patrol, Jiang Yan’s heart was filled with exhilaration.
“If the police hadn’t shown up then, what would he have done… No, I was so angry I could have killed him then…”
Jiang Yan touched her face, still reminiscing about that hypnotic scene.
Her gaze unintentionally shifted, and she noticed, hanging on the side wall, a damp piece of Jiang Yao’s underwear that seemed to have been there for many days, already smelling musty.
“Still not cleaning up!”
Jiang Yan’s thoughts were disrupted, the ripples in her heart evaporating instantly, and at this moment, she gritted her teeth.
After eleven, at the Jinhua Club.
“I’m back; I spent the whole day out with Xiaoyan. Did you find a place?”
In the dim hall, Liang Tai appeared, casting a glance at Meng Huai’s brand new suit and smiling while handing him a can of beer.
“Brother Liang, is our new identity really okay?”
Meng Huai took the beer, hesitating before revealing what happened when he met the 110 patrol at the East Suburban Martyrs’ Cemetery and had his ID checked.
“If we delve deeper, there inevitably will be loopholes, but it’s genuine information. As long as we don’t deliberately expose it, who would bother to check someone’s background among billions of people?”
As he spoke, Liang Tai tapped his chest: “Don’t worry, our group is following the Wang family’s method; these old turtles have been around for millennia and have long understood the ins and outs of society.”
So, there are still loopholes…
Meng Huai remained noncommittal and smiled as he walked towards the bathroom, preparing to return to his room.
As he entered, Meng Huai looked at his watch and finally sighed in resignation. The twenty-four-hour limit had passed, and the query permissions he had applied for had expired.
He opened his notebook and browsed through the information Han Jie Li had provided, gently shaking his head.
In truth, without asking Liang Wei, he knew that everyone in the group, including himself, had a false identity in the civil affairs department, a so-called “black under the lamp.”
Under the protection of the Wang family, everyone in the group had severed ties with their past selves.
He once again pulled out the list he had filtered through of rare blood type individuals missing in the past twenty years and suddenly had a feeling that Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao were not on those records.
“No, I seem to have fallen into a misunderstanding… the information Han Jie Li provided has excluded the missing persons due to blood invasion… Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, why couldn’t they be the individuals from the past that were affected?”
Meng Huai suddenly stood up, staring intently at the laptop screen, feeling like he had found a new thread.
“No… she was so sad… Is it meaningful for me to figure out who she was? What is wrong with me…”
“No, she must be connected to the Wang family and my mission; I just need to find the clues, I won’t harm her…”
“No way, you promised her not to check! Xia Yan and Gu Yao must be with the Wang family; the group is just helping them; why pursue her past privacy!”
Meng Huai mumbled a bunch of conflicting thoughts he couldn’t even understand, slowly sitting on the edge of the bed, bowing his head with his hands cradling his head, nearly digging his fingers into his scalp.
He didn’t know how long it had been when he looked up, his eyes bloodshot, his gaze drifting to a corner where a locked wardrobe stood.
He felt a clawing silhouette in his mind, constantly howling and gesturing, as if wanting to tell him some monumental secret.
“Hello, this is the Special Secret Operations Group Strategic Support Center, verifying identity code…”
……
……
In the deep of night, spring rain fell again.
Hedani Seira, dressed in a nightgown, was playing games in the study with Zhong Jing, chattering continuously about her trip to Europe, just like a first love girl eagerly wanting to share her feelings with her boyfriend after not seeing him for an entire week.
“Jing-kun, you look tired. Are you still taking the special medication?”
Noticing that Zhong Jing seemed a bit sluggish, Hedani Seira paused her topic and shifted her focus to his condition.
“I’m alright; I probably just overworked these days… I’ve been taking the medication every day; the previous symptoms have rarely appeared, which is a good thing.”
Zhong Jing smiled awkwardly, placing his hot phone aside, leaning back against the sofa, staring at the ceiling.
“Jing-kun, there are rumors within the family that the head of the family scolded Fujihara Katayama. It seems he was discovered by the other family elders for leaking the Frankenstein drug trade to the Engel family. Now he’s desperately trying to leverage our collaboration with the EVN Group to clear himself.”
Hedani Seira’s mood brightened, with a hint of pride and barely perceptible malice in her eyes as she spoke of Fujihara Katayama.
Sitting with a gentle smile, her body leaned closer into his embrace.
After such a long flight, aren’t you planning to adjust your biological clock?
Zhong Jing was taken aback, looking down to see a rare sly expression on Hedani Seira’s face.
“Jing-kun, when the Engel family gave me the special medication, they mentioned it might have some impulsive side effects, especially for young people… If you can’t handle it, you can tell me, don’t handle it on your own…”
As she spoke, Hedani Seira blushed with shyness.
“Really? Why are you only telling me now!?”
Zhong Jing was startled, sitting upright immediately, almost shaking Hedani Seira away.
Hedani Seira lowered her head, a bit shy: “They informed me, and I didn’t think it was a big problem; I was afraid you might refuse to take it, so I didn’t tell you.”
Zhong Jing exhaled, leaned back against the sofa, and the characteristic frivolous smile appeared on his face: “Alright, I’ll strive to get the production patent for this drug in the future.”
Hedani Seira wrapped her arms around Zhong Jing’s neck, resting her head against his chest, and smiled again: “The longer I stay with you, the more I realize you’re actually very conservative and disciplined, quite different from those wealthy young people from Hua country. Is this the persona you are trying to cultivate for yourself?”
“Jing-kun, your heartbeat is racing. You weren’t like this before…”
As she spoke, Hedani Seira lightly poked Zhong Jing in the chest.
Soft in his arms, exuding a fragrant scent after bathing, Zhong Jing felt his body react a bit uncontrollably, as if something had been unlocked, stirring with new vigor. This was the biggest physical and mental change since his impetuous night with Jiang Yao.
Whether it’s the side effect of the special drug, Zhong Jing couldn’t confirm, but that night he once again felt the elusive, intoxicating fragrance lingering on Jiang Yao, making it hard to resist.
This body scent was unique to Jiang Yao, and even ordinary people could catch a trace of it. Even Jiang Yan had a slight difference. As for Hedani Seira, there was none at all.
However, although Hedani Seira was shorter, older, and smaller in chest size, she still possessed a unique charm… Zhong Jing was getting dizzy, as thoughts began to swirl chaotically in his mind.
As he continued thinking, Zhong Jing’s hand, through Hedani Seira’s nightgown, began gently caressing her body.
“I’m sorry, Jing-kun… I didn’t mean to entice you.”
Upon realizing that the young man beside her had truly reacted, Hedani Seira knew well what it meant and quickly withdrew her hand, blushing and repeatedly apologizing, while secretly observing his expression.
“You should go rest; you’ll have to return to school tomorrow. I’ll handle some matters.”
Zhong Jing suddenly snapped back to reality, quickly standing up, pretending to straighten his clothes, and hurried towards his computer desk.
“Hi…”
Hedani Seira’s face was still flushed, but her eyes held a trace of disappointment and regret as she stood up slightly bowed and quietly exited the study.
Back in her bedroom, Hedani Seira sat by the bed for a long time, still unable to fall asleep.
When the clock struck midnight, she finally came to her senses, habitually grabbing a folding fan, directly stepping out in her thin silk nightgown onto the balcony, facing the chilly, damp breeze of the rainy night, sitting down in a chair.
Glancing at the villa wall window more than ten meters away, where the light was still on, Zhong Jing was either working or gaming inside. Hedani Seira’s eyes dimmed somewhat.
With a meow, her filthy pet cat, Xunjiang, appeared out of nowhere, attempting to rub against Hedani Seira but was immediately met with a cold aura, so it cautiously squatted aside.
“Bai Yu-kun!”
Without looking at her cat, Hedani Seira turned her head towards the dark direction.
Moments later, a black-clad masked girl half-knelt beside her. From the aura she emitted, she appeared to be a lower-tier knight.
“Yuzi, why are you here? Where’s Bai Yu-kun?”
Hedani Seira frowned, standing up, a frost gradually settling on her face.
“Hi… Bai Yu-dono found that other family members appeared nearby and has gone to investigate!” The girl spoke with her head lowered, clearly fearful.
“Is it from Fujihara Uncle’s side?”
Hedani Seira’s brow twitched as she walked slowly towards the girl, inquiring with a straight face: “When I went to Europe, did you ensure Jing-kun’s protection and ensure no suspicious individuals approached him?”
The girl trembled slightly, deeply bowing. “Most of the time, I was with Miss Jiang Yao and did not encounter any strangers. However, some people from the Wang family are also protecting Miss Jiang Yao, so to avoid misunderstandings, we didn’t dare to get too close.”
Hedani Seira tightened her grip on the folding fan, finally returning to her chair after a long pause. After much hesitation, she asked again, “Most of the time? You spent every day with Jiang Yao?”
“Hi, Lord Zhong Jing stayed over at Miss Jiang Yao’s house for several days; her aura has also changed, suggesting she is quite close to Lord Zhong Jing…”
As the girl spoke, she began to lower her voice, sounding increasingly shy.
The folding fan snapped, and moments later, Hedani Seira stood up again and walked towards the girl. While her blood didn’t boil, the intensity of her aura began to rise. With a slap, she struck the girl’s face, causing her to quickly switch to a kneeling position.
“Since Jing-kun is unwell after taking the medication, why didn’t you attend to him? Let that vulgar woman easily get close to him!”
Hedani Seira bit her silver teeth, her face a mix of red and white, filled with murderous intent.
“The lady ordered that we are not to disturb Lord Zhong Jing’s life…”
The girl cautiously raised her head, her body trembling uncontrollably. As one of Hedani Seira’s closest confidantes, she was deeply aware of the near-obsessive affection Hedani Seira bore for Zhong Jing.
“Did I ask you to defend yourself!?”
With another slap, Hedani Seira directly knocked the girl down to the ground, gritting her teeth.
“Hi…”
The girl no longer dared to speak, trembling all over, nearly prostrating herself on the balcony.
Taking a deep breath, Hedani Seira walked back into her bedroom with a lonely expression, not looking back.
