Chapter 4

This was the first time Zhu Shilang had been turned down by the "nice guy," especially since the request was nothing more than a small favor for Ji Linyu and hardly any trouble.
"Alright, then I guess I'll have to take her back to Qingyang," Zhu Shilang said, understanding the situation. After all, he had witnessed just how difficult Zhu Xinyue could be when she was being stubborn.
Hearing this, Ji Linyu felt a slight stir of emotion, but he quickly suppressed it and silently followed Zhu Shilang back.
Zhu Shilang returned to Zhu Xinyue and said, "Little sister, it's not that I don't want to let you make your own choices, but your credibility with me is pretty low. How long have you been away from home? You’ve already landed yourself in the hospital. Wouldn’t it be better to go back and live as the carefree young lady you are?
"With Dad and me around, no one can make you suffer."
Zhu Xinyue frowned. With her legs still unsteady and her vision blurry, she couldn’t use soft tactics effectively, nor did she have the means to resort to force.
In the novel, the original host had said many harsh things to her family in order to stay in Tianze City and be closer to Ji Qingyuan, even threatening to cut ties with them, which broke their hearts.
So one of the original host’s wishes was to reconcile with her family.
Whether for the original host’s wish or for her own future, Zhu Xinyue wasn’t going to burn bridges with Zhu Shilang at this point.
It was better to retreat temporarily, stabilize the Zhu family’s side first, and then take things step by step.
"...Can you take me back to my rental place first so I can pack my things?" Zhu Xinyue was afraid that Zhu Shilang wouldn’t even agree to this small request and would instead head straight to the airport after she got in the car. So she turned to the bodyguard behind her, who was holding her wheelchair, and made her plea.
The bodyguard glanced at his boss, who nodded in agreement.
Zhu Xinyue rode in the same car as Ji Linyu, with Zhu Shilang’s car following behind.
"Here’s the address. Just use the GPS," Zhu Xinyue said, pulling up an address on her phone and handing it to the driver.
The longer she stayed in this world, the clearer the original host’s memories became.
The original host had run away from home to Tianze City, staying in a hotel apartment for a while. After the Zhu family froze her cards, she had to sell the luxury items she’d brought from home and rent a cheaper place.
The card freeze had happened just last week, and the original host hadn’t lived there long before Zhu Xinyue took over.
The luxury car drove away from the city center, heading further into the outskirts. The surroundings were no longer filled with towering skyscrapers but ordinary residential houses.
"The car can't go in from here. You can just park at the entrance of the alley," Zhu Xinyue signaled for the car to stop at the mouth of the alley. She pushed the door open, stood on one foot, and swayed slightly while holding onto the car door.
Ji Linyu watched her frail, unsteady figure and lifted his gaze to the depths of the alley behind her. The streetlights there were dim, flickering on and off, and the areas shrouded in darkness seemed to be concealing some kind of danger.
"Mr. Ji, thank you for bringing me back." Unable to clearly see Ji Linyu's expression, Zhu Xinyue thanked him in his direction, waved her hand, closed the car door, and turned to walk deeper into the alley.
Limping forward into the darkness, Zhu Xinyue had only taken a few steps when a sharp pain shot through her ankle. She took a sharp breath and reached out to steady herself against the wall beside her.
From behind, there was the sound of a car door opening and closing, followed by approaching footsteps.
Thinking it was Zhu Shilang, Zhu Xinyue stopped fumbling for the wall, not wanting him to notice her poor eyesight.
Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, a firm grip caught her wrist, guiding her hand to rest on his arm, silently allowing her to lean on him for support.
The moment he took hold of her wrist, Zhu Xinyue’s body trembled uncontrollably, startled by his action.
The cold moonlight scattered down, but the narrow alley was obstructed by window ledges, outdoor air conditioning units, and other fixtures between the buildings, leaving only a thin, winding ribbon of light. The streetlamp ahead cast a faint, almost negligible glow.
In the dim light, Ji Linyu saw her shiver uncontrollably, like a frightened little animal.
She was afraid of him, or perhaps afraid of danger. Ji Linyu released her hand and took a step to the side, creating distance between them.
"Mr. Ji?" Zhu Xinyue asked softly, as if confirming her guess or questioning why he was there.
Ji Linyu’s gaze fell on her hand, which was merely resting lightly on his arm without transferring any of her weight to him.
"Shilang’s car got lost. I sent the driver to pick him up, and the bodyguards are waiting at the alley entrance." Ji Linyu paused, adding an extra explanation, "It’s not safe to walk alone at night."
Oh? The way he said it... as if he excluded everyone else but placed himself in the "safe" category. It seemed he had no intentions toward her at all, to consider himself safe in her eyes.
Zhu Xinyue laughed and said, "Mr. Ji, you’re such a good person."
This was already the second time she had said this.
Ji Linyu felt uneasy. After all, they had just met, and he had publicly rejected her confession. Later, he had also refused her brother’s request for her to stay at his house.
If he had agreed, she wouldn’t have had to go against her own wishes and return with her brother to meet a potential match. And yet, she still called him a good person?
"I'm not as good as you imagine. This is just basic courtesy, if it were someone else, they would do the same." Ji Linyu didn’t want to give her the wrong impression, making her think he had feelings for her or that there was a chance for them to develop something. So his rejection was clear, this was his consistent attitude toward all his pursuers.
Zhu Xinyue understood his meaning, and her smile grew even brighter.
"Mr. Ji, if it were anyone else, they would enjoy the ambiguity with their pursuers. Besides, my conditions aren’t bad, right? Setting aside family background, I’m young and beautiful. Having someone like me pursuing them would make most people overjoyed.
Mr. Ji treats even an unfamiliar person like me this way, so I imagine you treat others the same. This just goes to show that Mr. Ji is a kind and well-mannered person."
Ji Linyu glanced at her. She wasn’t looking at him, seemingly indifferent to his thoughts, merely expressing her own opinion.
She was different from those with ulterior motives who deliberately flattered him to win his favor.
Ji Linyu didn’t respond to her words, but he slowed his pace and walked alongside her.
Zhu Xinyue had lived in a similar rental unit when she was working before, so she was already accustomed to this kind of environment.
"The road here isn’t very even. You have to avoid the loose bricks, or you never know which one might splash water all over you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Ji Linyu stepped on a loose brick, and the muddy water splashed onto his leather shoes and onto the exposed top of Zhu Xinyue’s foot in her sandals.
"Sorry." Ji Linyu felt a bit annoyed as he looked down at the scattered stains on her fair skin.
Zhu Xinyue didn’t mind much. "It’s fine. The road hasn’t been repaired in years, it’s always like this. We’re almost there."
The rental unit from the original owner’s memory was just around the corner.
The two finally stopped in front of a residential building at the corner.
Ji Linyu looked up. The walls were mottled and old, with peeling paint revealing the red bricks underneath, giving it a strong sense of character.
Calling it "vintage charm" might be putting it nicely, it looked more like a dilapidated building.
She gave up her comfortable living conditions, ran away from home to Tianze City, and lived in a place like this?
"Let’s wait here for my brother." Zhu Xinyue didn’t go inside. Instead, she gave Ji Linyu a sly smile and explained, "I need to show my brother that what I said earlier wasn’t just empty words. I’ve truly made up my mind to live on my own in Tianze City, walk my own path, and choose the person I want to be with. If I can live here, I can live anywhere. I’m not as helpless as he thinks, with no ability to take care of myself."
She didn’t hesitate to reveal her little scheme in front of him, as if the two of them had become trusted comrades.
Ji Linyu caught her lighthearted smile, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
Although he didn’t think her brother would change his opinion of her the way she hoped after seeing these living conditions, on the contrary, her brother might just take her away immediately.
She was just a naive kid, eager to prove herself. Ji Linyu turned around and stood with the "kid" at the entrance of the residential building.
The motion-sensor light above them stayed on, casting its glow over her. Zhu Xinyue leaned against the doorframe, shifting her weight onto her left foot.
The evening breeze swept in, and Zhu Xinyue couldn't help but shiver. To look stunning at Ji Qingyuan's party, the original host had worn a red spaghetti strap dress today, with delicate straps tied into bows on her shoulders. The cold wind made her tremble.
Ji Linyu took a step forward, blocking the wind blowing from the alley entrance.
Most of the light in front of Zhu Xinyue was now obscured by him, but at least she wasn't as cold as when the wind hit her directly.
In the quiet of the night, the two stood one behind the other, with only the noise from the air conditioner unit upstairs breaking the silence.
Zhu Xinyue glanced in Ji Linyu's direction. He stood diagonally in front of her, his back to her, facing the alley entrance, just as he had promised, waiting with her for Zhu Shilang.
"Mr. Ji," Zhu Xinyue, unaccustomed to the silence, began making small talk.
Ji Linyu crossed his arms, keeping his distance. Hearing her voice, he turned slightly to look at her.
"When did you find out I was Zhu Shilang's sister?" she asked.
"Shortly after arriving at the hospital," Ji Linyu replied. He had only learned Zhu Xinyue was his sister when he ran into Zhu Shilang at the hospital.
Zhu Xinyue lowered her gaze, staring at the patch of floor between them. "I really can't afford the medical expenses right now. Mr. Ji, I'm not trying to win your sympathy or deceive you on purpose. I hadn't planned on going to the hospital in the first place."
"Mm, I know," Ji Linyu's tone was calm and indifferent. "There's no need for you to explain it to me."
Once she went back with her brother, they would have no further interactions.
Zhu Xinyue breathed a sigh of relief and looked up again. Though she couldn't clearly see Ji Linyu's expression, she still tried hard to gaze in his direction.
"That's good," she said, her eyes curving into a smile, her tone bright and cheerful. "But an explanation is still necessary. I was afraid you might think your kindness was being taken advantage of by someone with ulterior motives."
Ji Linyu felt as if his heart had been gently struck.
Her fondness for him was too obvious.
She couldn't hide it at all.
Perhaps that was just how young people behaved.
Ji Linyu turned to face Zhu Xinyue, his expression stern. "Miss Zhu, I currently have no plans to date or get married. I took you to the hospital, paid your medical expenses, brought you back to your rental, and am waiting here with you, all of this is simply because you're a friend of my brother and Shilang's sister. It's out of courtesy and a bit of consideration. Beyond that, I have no other intentions toward you."
Zhu Xinyue was taken aback, realizing that Ji Linyu had misunderstood.
Her kind words had purely been out of gratitude, after all, she was someone who knew how to be thankful.
Just imagine, if a kind stranger missed their scheduled flight, spent tens of thousands on her medical bills, accompanied her through her check-up, and then brought her home, wouldn't it make her an ungrateful wretch if she didn't express her thanks?
"...Oh, I know you have no other intentions toward me," Zhu Xinyue lowered her head, her tone dejected. "If you felt that what I said earlier caused you any trouble, I'm sorry. That wasn't my intention."
She retreated, her back pressing against the iron door.
The sensor light dimmed, all light vanished, and the surroundings fell into dim silence.
The two stood facing each other. Ji Linyu couldn’t clearly see her expression but was stung by the caution in her tone.
In truth, she hadn’t done anything wrong. She simply liked him, saw him through rose-tinted glasses, and wanted him to be happy, so she always praised him.
Ji Linyu pursed his lips, feeling inexplicably irritable.
So far, aside from the initial confession, she hadn’t caused him any trouble. It was he who had offered to take her to the hospital, he who insisted on paying the medical bills, and he who voluntarily brought her back and waited here with her.
Ji Linyu attributed all of this to “pity,” but this time, his “pity” had lingered a bit too long.
Not hearing Ji Linyu’s voice, Zhu Xinyue grew uneasy, afraid he still felt troubled, and added:
“I… I don’t like you anymore.”
Ji Linyu’s breath hitched.
Tch. He was even more irritated now.