Chapter 6: No One Should Disturb Her

The sky was dark gray, the moon dim, and the wind chilly like silk.

The girl’s dark eyes were colder and darker than this chilly night.

Later, when Lu Huaiyan thought back on this night, recalling those two pale, almost sickly fingers and the pair of cold, starry eyes behind the thin mist, he suddenly realized that some of his bad habits were somehow connected to this night.

For example, knowing it would anger her but still lightly nibbling on his fingertips, as if peeling a scallion.

For example, when she was silent, he would lower his head and search for her gaze, using his almost violent stare to pierce through her eyes, trying to probe the emotions she hid deeply.

But at this moment, Lu Huaiyan only thought she was just throwing a tantrum, and didn’t show any irritation at her words.

He still kept his pale eyelids lowered, silently watching her, his expression indifferent.

The air hung in a deathly stillness. In the tense silence, the light in the courtyard suddenly brightened.

Someone else had entered.

“Second Sister!” It was Jiang Ye.

The young man walked toward her with a stern face, then straightened his back, blocking her in front. He subtly blocked Lu Huaiyan’s gaze from watching her.

“Nothing happened, right?”

Jiang Ye asked the question, but his eyes were fixed firmly on Lu Huaiyan.

His stance looked just like a cat about to puff up in fury.

Jiang Se looked at the young man’s rigid back, her expression paused for a moment. After a while, she stepped forward and patted his shoulder, speaking softly, “It’s fine. I just chatted with an old acquaintance from Beicheng. It’s already over, let’s go.”

Jiang Ye’s expression eased.

He had noticed when he entered that the atmosphere between the man and his second sister wasn’t right.

Originally, he wanted to come and help Jiang Se assert some presence, but when he approached, he realized how much taller the man was. Even when he lazily leaned against the wall, he was a few centimeters taller than him.

Probably because he was shorter, his own presence seemed much weaker than the man’s.

Jiang Ye inexplicably felt a bit annoyed.

He lazily replied, “Next time someone comes to chat with you, remember to change the place. Dad hasn’t installed surveillance in the back courtyard.”

Jiang Se’s eyes flashed with something. She nodded and smiled, saying, “Okay, let’s go back. I’m tired.”

After taking a couple of steps, she thought of something and pointed to a wooden door behind the paulownia tree. She said to Lu Huaiyan, “There’s another door there. If Mr. Lu doesn’t want to return to the bar, you can leave through that way.”

Her tone was extremely gentle, her voice always soft and elegant.

Not the slightest trace of the aggressive words she had spoken earlier could be found.

Lu Huaiyan watched Jiang Se’s retreating figure and slowly put the cigarette she had extinguished back into the cigarette case.

His expression remained indifferent. Her earlier almost offensive gesture and words didn’t stir any emotion in him.

At that moment, his phone suddenly vibrated, and a new message popped up in WeChat.

Cen Li: [Ah Yan, did you see Se Se on the plane? Her flight to Tongcheng was the same as yours.]

Lu Huaiyan scanned it indifferently, his finger moved slightly, and he replied: [No.]

He exited the chat window, about to press the power button, when his eyes caught a message from Han Yin that had been sent not long ago: [Se Se is also in Tongcheng. You and Ah Xiao help keep an eye on her. The girl isn’t having it easy.]

Not Easy?

Thinking of Jiang Se’s cold, indifferent eyes when she extinguished the cigarette earlier, Lu Huaiyan sneered lightly, putting the cigarette case back into his pocket. He replied to Han Yin: [She’s fine, you don’t need to worry.]

---

Jiang Se returned to the bar and sat back down at her previous spot.

Jiang Ye brought her a glass of water, looking at her face and asking, “Didn’t anyone bully you just now?”

Jiang Se curved the corners of her lips into a small smile, “No.”

Jiang Ye moved his lips as if he wanted to say something, but just then, he heard Jiang Chuan calling for him from behind, so he swallowed the words he was about to speak.

“If you don’t want to stay at the bar, let me know. I’ll take you home.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Ye glanced at her again. Seeing that her expression was normal, he didn’t say anything further. Once he left, Jiang Se immediately took a tissue from the paper box beside the table, dabbed a bit of water from her cup, and slowly wiped her right hand.

Jiang Se’s dislike of the smell of smoke was something even Cen Li didn’t know.

She had once been in a sealed space, lighting dozens of cigarettes at once, repeatedly desensitizing herself to the smell of smoke. In the end, she really did become desensitized. Even in places thick with smoke, she could sit for a long time without changing her expression.

She allowed herself to dislike things, but she didn’t allow herself to be afraid, nor would she use dislike as an excuse.

Her little aunt said she was harsh on others, but even harsher on herself.

The reason she chose to “desensitize” herself at that particular time had something to do with Lu Huaiyan.

Lu Huaiyan smoked.

It wasn’t so much a smoking habit. He was cold and self-controlled, never seen addicted to anything.

Whether he smoked or not depended on the occasion and his mood.

If it was a cigarette offered by an elder, he would mostly accept it. Even when he didn’t smoke, he would take it and loosely hold it between his fingers.

When he was bored or uninterested, he would smoke.

Everyone knew that when he was smoking, he didn’t like to talk. If someone saw him with a cigarette in his mouth, they would wait for him to finish it before bringing up anything urgent. If he finished one cigarette and still didn’t stop, it meant there was no need to speak—he wasn’t interested and wouldn’t bother to engage.

The cigarette Lu Huaiyan had just smoked was out of boredom.

It seemed that for him, Jiang Se leaving the Cen family and leaving Beicheng was just a boring, utterly uninteresting drama.

When Jiang Se extinguished his cigarette, her thoughts were simple.

Since she found it boring, then damn it, just don’t smoke.

---

Later that night, after returning to the yard on Liyuan Street, Jiang Se took a shower and went to bed.

Although she took a sleeping pill before bed, she still woke up in the middle of the night. She lay there for half an hour in the dark, finally deciding to get up and take more medicine.

As she went out to the living room to get some water, she bumped into Jiang Tang, who was rehearsing lines.

Jiang Tang glanced at the pill bottle in her hand and asked, “Can’t sleep?”

“Yeah, just not used to the bed.” Jiang Se grabbed a bottle of purified water from the fridge. “Aren’t you flying early tomorrow?”

Both Jiang Tang and Jiang Ye only had one day off and had to leave Tongcheng early the next morning.

“I’m leaving tomorrow, but Xiao Ye took an extra day off to help you move,” Jiang Tang glanced towards the utility room, lowered her voice, and laughed, “He’s used to doing rough work at home, so don’t feel bad about asking him to help.”

Jiang Se paused for a moment while twisting the cap of the water bottle, and in her mind, she saw the image of the young man standing in front of her.

After swallowing the sleeping pill, she smiled, “Okay.”

---

The next day, Jiang Ye really did wake up early to help Jiang Se move.

Her rented apartment was in an old building with only stairs. Jiang Ye quickly carried all the luggage up to the sixth floor.

As always, the boy was sharp-tongued, “Don’t think that just because you were a young lady before, you can act all high and mighty in front of us. Let me tell you, even if Jiang Yu was here, she wouldn’t dare give me attitude.”

While he rambled on, he carefully checked the windows and gas, and even fixed a leaking faucet on the balcony.

He worked up a sweat all morning and only after ensuring the apartment was safe did he lock the balcony windows with satisfaction.

Turning around, he met Jiang Se’s gaze, which had a hint of a smile, and for some reason, felt a little uneasy.

He deliberately looked disdainful and said to Jiang Se, “You’d better eat more and gain some weight. Next time, when you move, you’ll have to carry your own luggage. I don’t have that much time.”

“Got it, Xiao Ye.”

The way she called him “Xiao Ye” made Jiang Ye even more uncomfortable.

Before Jiang Se came, he had disliked her quite a bit.

When the DNA test results between her and Cen Yu came out, the Cen family immediately called.

At the time, Jiang Ye was right next to his mom. The person on the other end of the phone acted all high and mighty, implying that the Jiang family couldn’t provide the life Jiang Se wanted, nor could they afford her.

As soon as the call ended, his mom started crying.

It had been years since Jiang Ye had seen his mother cry.

It was precisely because of this troublesome matter that his usually low-key older sister accepted Director Cui’s invitation to act in a movie, and why he delayed his college admission for a year to play esports.

At the end of the day, it was all to earn more money so that this “ancestor” from Beicheng wouldn’t feel too much of a gap.

Originally, he thought this “ancestor” would be a difficult, spoiled person to deal with.

But after spending two days together, Jiang Ye realized that his “high maintenance second sister” was actually… pretty easygoing.

As he was about to leave, the boy turned around and said the words he had wanted to say last night at the bar.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make a lot of money in the future so that you and Big Sister can spend it. I’ll work hard to let you live the life you had before. So, don’t be too upset.”

Probably thinking it sounded a little cheesy, Jiang Ye quickened his pace toward the stairs. A few steps later, a soft voice called out from behind.

“Okay, it’s a promise.”

Jiang Ye’s ears turned a little red. He didn’t turn around but raised his hand to wave back and said, “Dinner’s at 5:30 in the afternoon. If you want something, remember to message Dad. He’ll cook for you.”

Watching the boy’s hurried figure leave, Jiang Se smiled and began unpacking her things.

The apartment was only about eighty square meters—small, but it was enough for her at the moment. Plus, it had been renovated, making it bright and clean, which Jiang Se found quite nice.

Just as she finished tidying up, a video call from Guo Qian came through, and she eagerly asked to see her new place.

Jiang Se casually gave her a quick tour. Guo Qian couldn’t help but exclaim, “My poor baby has been wronged! When I come back to the country, I’ll immediately get you a bigger place.”

Miss Guo clearly wasn’t satisfied with the apartment. She had studied architecture at Rice University and also took interior design courses, so her standards were high.

Jiang Se remained expressionless as she replied, “First, graduate smoothly. You should calculate how many years you’ve delayed your graduation.”

Just like the Cen family, the Guo family had already prepared a “match” for Guo Qian, planning to arrange her engagement banquet the year she was supposed to graduate.

Guo Qian agreed readily, but she kept delaying her graduation, mastering the art of “procrastination.”

Later, the Guo family got tough, cutting off her credit cards and forcing her to graduate and return to the country.

Guo Qian: “I’ve turned over a new leaf! I guarantee I’ll graduate this year and rush back to rescue you.” She was joking, but if her beautiful big sister was suffering, she would definitely work hard to get that graduation certificate, even if it meant “hanging herself by the beam” to get it.

“You could tolerate living in the basement, so why can’t I live here?” Jiang Se put on her headphones, took a bottle of plum tea from the fridge, opened it, and took a sip. “If you’re really concerned, maybe you should worry about yourself. From now on, you’ll have to be independent.”

When Guo Qian had moved into the basement, Jiang Se didn’t know that she had been cut off financially. Once she found out, she immediately sent money to rescue her from the dark, damp basement.

Guo Qian spent money like water. When Jiang Se was still Cen Se, supporting her was easy.

But now, she couldn’t afford to pamper the spoiled Guo Qian.

“You don’t need to say it. I’ve already sent an email to my grandfather for help. Once he transfers the money to me, I’ll share half with you. By the way, I ran into someone familiar the other day. Guess who… never mind, don’t guess. Fu Jun is dead, there’s nothing to guess about.” Guo Qian yawned, then changed the subject. “How’s everything over there?”

Jiang Se lifted her eyes and glanced out the window. The street sign for Liyuan Street was hidden among the crisscrossing wires.

She smiled slightly. “It’s not bad.”

“Not bad?” Guo Qian became interested and asked, “How is it not bad?”

“You’ll know if you come stay here for a few days,” Jiang Se said slowly, “It’s actually quite interesting.”

Guo Qian, who had been half asleep, suddenly woke up and asked in surprise, “What do you mean, Se Se? I thought after you saw them, you would go back to Beicheng. Even if you’re leaving the Cen family, you’re not going to stay away from Beicheng, right?”

Jiang Se put down the plum tea in her hand and replied calmly, “I still have things to do in Tongcheng. As for whether I’ll return to Beicheng… I’ll talk about it after I finish what I’m doing here.”

Guo Qian furrowed her brows. “What could you possibly have to do in Tongcheng, other than seeing the Jiang family?”

Jiang Se stared silently out the window at the gloomy sky, her mind flashing with an image of a thunderstorm engulfing the rain.

She squinted her eyes and said slowly, “I’m looking for someone.”

After finishing the video call with Guo Qian, Jiang Se noticed several WeChat messages from Cen Li.

Brother: [Why haven’t you been answering me since you went to Tongcheng? Even if you’re mad at Father and them, you don’t need to take it out on me.]

Brother: [Ah Yan is in Tongcheng. You haven’t met him yet, have you?]

Brother: [The Han family’s film and television city project needs him to oversee it. He’ll be in Tongcheng for a week. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask him for help. Don’t worry about bothering him. I’ll repay the favor for you.]

Cen Li was a brother who really liked to worry about things.

She had left decisively, and from what she knew about Cen Minghong and Ji Yunyi, from the day she unilaterally decided to change her surname back, the Cen family had already started their “kill order” against her.

They were probably still waiting for her to be battered by reality enough to return and admit her mistakes.

Cen Li couldn’t help her directly, so he had to find someone else.

But Jiang Se didn’t need anyone’s help.

She didn’t want anyone to disturb her.

Her fingers quickly typed a reply on the screen: [No. No need.]

After a moment’s thought, she added, afraid Cen Li might meddle: [I don’t want to meet anyone from Beicheng here, including you, brother.]

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