Shi Ning’s face was a mask of thunderous disgust. “Jiang Huaijing! What are you doing here?” Her voice, sharp and cold, sliced through the air. Jiang Huaijing, the very mention of his name a bitter taste on her tongue, was the adopted son her father had brought into the Shi family, her nominal elder brother. This man, with his elegant gold-rimmed glasses and polite demeanor, was nothing but a vile memory; he had molested her seven years ago. The secret, a festering wound, which had never left her heart , fueling a burning hatred that made her stomach churn at the mere sight of him.
“Young Miss,” Jiang Huaijing stammered, his surprise evident, quickly replaced by a panicked, lost expression. “I… I didn’t know you were coming to see Mr. Shi. I’ll leave immediately.”
Shi Ning’s face remained etched in stone as she pointed a trembling finger toward the door, her voice a low snarl. “Get out now! I don’t want to see you!”
Shi Guoqiang, her father, started to interject, “Ningning…”
But Shi Ning cut him off, her anger blazing. “It’s either him or me! Mr. Shi needs to decide who he wants here!” The shift from “father” to “Mr. Shi” was a stark declaration of her fury, a clear sign that her biological daughter was infinitely more important than any godson.
Defeated, Shi Guoqiang hung his head and, with a sigh of resignation, told Jiang Huaijing, “You… you should go first.”
Jiang Huaijing’s gaze flickered to Shi Ning, meeting the unadulterated disgust and near- murderous intent in her eyes. His own held a confused hurt, devoid of resentment, as he silently turned and walked towards the ward door. He dared not utter another word to Shi Guoqiang.
Just as he reached the threshold, he collided with Shi Qingyin and her mother, Tao Bichun.
“Xiao Jiang, you’re here! Why are you leaving so soon?” Tao Bichun’s voice was overly enthusiastic, laced with a feigned warmth. “Why don’t you stay and help your godfather get discharged?”
Shi Qingyin, ever so gentle, added, “Brother Jiang, why leave just as you’ve arrived? Come with us to take Uncle home. He missed you terribly, you haven’t been home in ages.”
“Second Madam, Second Miss.” Jiang Huaijing managed a polite, strained smile. “I have company matters to attend to. I must leave now. Please take care of Mr. Shi.”
Tao Bichun glanced pointedly at Shi Ning inside the ward, then feigned a loving smile. “Don’t rush off, dear. How’s your father’s health? Have you seen his medical report?” Their voices, sickeningly sweet, continued to drift from outside the ward.
Shi Guoqiang, meanwhile, kept stealing anxious glances at Shi Ning, silently pleading with his eyes for her to keep Jiang Huaijing. His unspoken plea only fueled Shi Ning’s rage. She felt a furious urge to storm out, to abandon her father entirely.
Then, as if from thin air, a new wave of comments, unseen by others, scrolled across her vision.
[“Wow! Jiang Huaijing, the child adoptive husband of the vicious female supporting role, is so gentle and refined, and has good temperament.]”
[“This damn girl, the vicious female supporting role, is truly blind. She doesn’t want her cold and abstinent husband Qin Heye, and she doesn’t want even such a gentle and refined child adoptive husband Jiang Huaijing, but she falls for the likes of Shen Xizhou an illegitimate son.”]
Shi Ning’s brow furrowed. Do these comments even know he molested me? she fumed internally. Are they so superficial that they only care about his looks, abandoning all sense of right and wrong? Her father’s original intention for Jiang Huaijing had been to have him marry into the Shi family as her future husband. But molestation was an unforgivable sin, a crime worthy of death!
[“Shi Ning hates Jiang Huaijing because she mistakenly thought that she was molested by him seven years ago! In fact, this is a misunderstanding!”]
[“Seven years ago, Shi Qingyin accidentally saw her parents’ adult discs. She had a desire to explore sex, so she took off her clothes and took advantage of Shi Ning’s nap to take off her clothes to observe and imitate the movements of adults.”]
[“As a result, when Shi Ning woke up, she ran away in a panic and bumped into Jiang Huaijing who had just returned. He saw her without clothes.”]
[“The boy had never seen a girl who had just grown up and was still naked. He was dumbfounded at the time, his face was red and his heart was beating, and his mind was blank.”]
[“Shi Qingyin, who had done something bad, ran away, leaving Jiang Huaijing blushing and at a loss. Afterwords with Shi Qingyin’s hint, she concluded that Jiang Huaijing had molested her!”]
The barrage continued, detailing the horrific misunderstanding, the insidious threat Shi Qingyin had used to cement Shi Ning’s false belief.
Shi Ning froze, as if struck by lightning, the truth hitting her with the force of a physical blow. Jiang Huaijing hadn’t molested her! It was Shi Qingyin who had done this, all because of some twisted, perverse curiosity, and then she had cunningly shifted the blame onto Jiang Huaijing!
[“If Shi Ning had not fallen in love with Shen Xizhou and then married Qin Heye, Jiang Huaijing, the child husband, would have to marry into the Shi family and become Shi Ning’s husband. What a pity.”]
[“Jiang Huaijing’s character is a gentle, affectionate, and loyal male second. Whoever marries him will be very happy. Unfortunately, Shi Ning does not have this blessing.”]
[“Although Jiang Huaijing was misunderstood and hated by Shi Ning and was driven out of the Shi family, he encountered many things but was redeemed by Shi Qingyin. He will be Shi Qingyin’s number one dog licker in the future.”]
[“He licked the dog until he had nothing left. He gave his property to Shi Qingyin. In the end, he didn’t even know how he died, let alone that the enemy he was looking for to avenge Shi Guoqiang and Shi Ning was Shi Qingyin’s family!”]
[“Tsk! The affectionate male second is also pitiful. His original goal was to find the murderer for revenge, but he ended up falling in love with the murderer. If he knew the truth, wouldn’t he go crazy?”]
[“The author knows how to hurt people. Just thinking about it makes me feel sad and sad!”]
Shi Ning devoured the comments, extracting crucial information. Jiang Huaijing was the loyal, affectionate second male lead. He would become Shi Qingyin’s devoted follower, her unwitting accomplice! And more shockingly, he had been seeking revenge for the very people Shi Qingyin’s family had destroyed – her and her father! Jiang Huaijing had never molested her, nor had he sought to exploit the Shi family’s wealth. He wasn’t the ungrateful wretch she had believed him to be. It was all a monstrous web of deceit spun by Shi Qingyin’s family, a calculated act of framing and discord!
Outside the door, Tao Bichun’s voice, cloyingly sweet, continued her attempts to detain Jiang Huaijing. “Xiao Jiang, just a little longer. Xiao Ning should be here soon. You two should cultivate your relationship and take your dad home from the hospital.”
“Second Madam, Second Miss, I truly must go,” Jiang Huaijing replied, his voice laced with a bitter politeness.
Tao Bichun, still trying to pull him back, gushed, “You’re my eldest brother’s son! The Shi family’s property will be yours one day. We’re all family here. Why are you so distant and polite? Just stay and come home with us.”
Shi Ning, arms crossed, emerged from the ward, her gaze fixed on Tao Bichun. “Second Aunt enjoys being ‘family’ so much, why don’t you change your surname to Jiang and move out of the Shi family yourself?”
Tao Bichun gasped in surprise at the sight of Shi Ning, then quickly composed herself with a saccharine smile. “Xiao Ning, dear, you’re here too! I haven’t seen you in three years.”
Shi Qingyin, ever the picture of gentle concern, subtly guided Jiang Huaijing. “Brother Jiang, my sister is here, and she seems upset. You should leave first. She’ll definitely do something to hurt you if she’s acting like this.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Please leave quickly. I’ll comfort sister. I can’t bear to see you hurt.”
Shi Ning and Jiang Huaijing absolutely could not reconcile! If they did, the Shi family’s fortune would never be hers!
But then, Shi Ning’s clear, resonant voice cut through the strained pleasantries, a stark contrast to her previous anger. “Brother, stay. Come home with Dad and me.”
The single word, “brother,” hung in the air, like a clap of thunder in the silent hospital corridor. Everyone in the ward was stunned, their eyes wide with disbelief as they turned to Shi Ning. Jiang Huaijing froze, rooted to the spot, as if he were dreaming, hallucinating. He was terrified that any movement would shatter the fragile illusion, that Shi Ning’s heartfelt “brother” would vanish like the moon’s reflection in water.
Shi Qingyin’s eyes widened in shock, a frantic anxiety seizing her. She pushed Jiang Huaijing, whispering urgently, “Brother Jiang, please leave! Sister has been acting strangely these days. She’ll definitely do something to hurt you if she’s suddenly like this. You leave quickly, I will comfort sister, I can’t bear to see you get hurt.”