The Byoukidere Is Her Sweetie

Chapter 104: 104: Jiang Zhi elopes with Fang Bao to get married and have children.
 

The moon was still hidden behind the dark clouds, gusts of cold wind chilling to the bone.

The burly figure hidden in the driver’s seat poked his head out now, looking cautiously around. “Boss.”

Jiang Zhi continued to stare off into the distance, ignoring him.

Ah Wan felt a bit spooked, hugging herself tightly while clutching the steering wheel and extending her head a bit further to ask her employer, “Do you believe in ghosts?”

Jiang Zhi, standing in the wind, coughed, “I don’t.”

Ah Wan felt even colder, hugging herself tighter, “I didn’t either.” She glanced at Jin Song’s car in the rearview mirror, “Just at that moment, I started to believe.”

Jiang Zhi couldn’t be bothered to engage in this nonsense with him.

Ah Wan’s spooky story was becoming more convincing as he spoke; pinching two fingers together, he mimed a flying motion and added a sound effect, “Whoosh—” He dragged the ‘whoosh’ out especially long, “with that sound, a person just appeared, as if falling from the sky—I didn’t even see clearly where she drilled out from with a person in tow.”

He got himself worked up, finding it unbelievable.

He speculated, “Could she have emerged from the ground?” He grew more certain, “Boss, she might really be Lord Black Impermanence.”

Jiang Zhi coldly threw two words at him, “Idiot.”

“…”

You’re the idiot!

“Boss,” He really shouldn’t speak when the employer is in a bad mood, but he couldn’t help it, “Is Lord Black Impermanence truly that errand runner?”

The employer treated him as an idiot, not answering any of his questions.

It didn’t matter.

He could deduce it himself using his sharp wits, “Then she definitely isn’t Miss Zhou, who does the film application. Miss Zhou isn’t that violent; Miss Zhou is gentle, kind, pure, adorable, and of noble character—”

Jiang Zhi got into the back seat and slammed the car door shut, “Shut up and drive.”

“Oh.”

Ah Wan closed his mouth for all of about fifteen seconds.

“Eh, where did Third Young Master go?” Third Young Master left too quickly, missing that terrifying scene, otherwise, Ah Wan could ask if he believed in ghosts, “Did he go to the police station already? That was fast indeed, truly a man swift as the wind—”

“Annoying.”

“… then I’ll stop talking.”

Outside the police station, the lights were on, and a person stood straight, smoking a cigarette.

Xue Bingxue walked over from the distant streetlight.

“Mr. Xiao.”

Xiao Linsu turned around, saw him approaching, and then put out his cigarette.

The air was thick with the scent of tobacco; nearby, a trash can was filled with many cigarette butts. Xue Bingxue glanced at it, then withdrew his gaze, “Wei’er’s mother is still on the way, shall we talk in the meantime?”

Xiao Linsu tossed his extinguished cigarette into the trash can, “Talk about what?”

Xue Bingxue cut to the chase, “About Wei’er.”

Twenty minutes later, Old Lady Jiang also made her way to the police station.

Jiang Wei’er wasn’t released; she was detained. It was clear that Old Lady Jiang meant that troubles were brewing; she wanted Wei’er to stay inside as a cautionary measure, to also calm down and reflect.

Jiang Zhi made a trip to the Xue Family and by the time he got back to the hospital, it was already nine o’clock. He could see from a distance that there was a dark figure squatting at the hospital entrance, head drooping while playing with the pebbles on the ground.

It was Lord Black Impermanence.

Jiang Zhi got out of the car and walked over, standing and looking down at the figure, “What are you squatting here for?”

She forced a not-very-natural smile, “Waiting for you.”

Nice words to say.

This girl wasn’t good at flattering, yet sometimes her dull and dazed words hit right in the heart.

Jiang Zhi squatted down, took her hand, and pulled her up. She was docile at that moment, not withdrawing her hand but letting him lead her away instead.

She asked, “Aren’t we going back to the ward?”

Jiang Zhi didn’t answer her, “Lin Wanwan, no need to follow any longer.”

Ah Wan, who was closely trailing behind, “… Oh.” He always felt his employer was about to do something bad with Miss Zhou; it was a pity, really. Now out of earshot, he couldn’t constantly remind or urge his employer. All he could do was pray to the heavens, hoping his employer would be decent.

Jiang Zhi led her away to the park behind the hospital, and because it was night, there was no one else in the park, only the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves.

The nighttime temperature was very low, a thin layer of ice had formed over the pond, and the light from the streetlamps fell upon it, casting a halo.

“Why come here?”

Jiang Zhi placed his hands on her shoulders, making her sit on a wooden chair, “I have something to tell you.”

Zhou Xufang looked up at him, “Jiang Zhi—”

Jiang Zhi suddenly bent down, calling out her name, “You know, I really like you.”

“…”

Zhou Xufang was baffled by this sudden confession; she had thought he was going to interrogate her.

“As for how much,” he furrowed his beautiful brows, pondering for a moment, “I even doubt if I’m sick, a bit inseparable from you.”

It was probably more than just a bit.

Jiang Zhi sat down next to her, took her hand, and played with it in his, sounding quite casual, as if he was resigned to his fate, “If nothing unexpected happens, we will get married in the future, and you will become my wife.”

Married… Wife…

Zhou Xufang’s eyelashes fluttered in shock.

He continued in the same undisturbed tone, speaking slowly, “There won’t be any accidents. If you’re willing, it’ll all come naturally. If you’re not, I’ll be persistent.”

“We won’t have kids for now, I’m sterile, but if you want, I can get treated, and we can have as many as you like; I can afford to support them.”

A blush started to creep onto Zhou Xufang’s face.

“It’s fine if you’re afraid of people, I can move out with you. Anywhere is fine, those people from the Jiang family, you can see them if you want or I can hide you from them.”

He also said, “You like money, I can give it all to you, however much you want I can earn for you.”

His tone was neither light nor heavy, as if he was talking about the most ordinary things.

But to Zhou Xufang’s ears, it sounded like a storm surge.

He leaned against the back of the chair, spreading one hand behind her, entwining a little tuft of her hair around his finger, “I will live for a long time, I can’t give you a guarantee now, but don’t worry, misfortunes endure for a thousand years, someone as bad as me will surely outlive you.”

Her eyes stung, and she sniffled.

By her ear, Jiang Zhi’s voice was especially tender, devoid of his usual arrogance, “It doesn’t matter that you’re different from others, I’m not a good person either, I’ve done so many bad things, I’ve grown bold. You can’t scare me.”

“Zhou Xufang,”

She tilted her head, looking at him seriously,

Jiang Zhi reached out, cupping her head, stroking it gently, “Think about it carefully. This Jiang Zhi, do you want him or not?”

After asking, he didn’t wait for her answer. He simply laid down all his words, tearing open his thoughts and attitude and laying them bare before her.

“If you don’t want me,” he pressed harder, ruffling her hair into a mess before letting go, “I’ll have to resort to tricks on you.”

Force and might, he could play that game too.

But with her, he preferred to persuade and to coax. He had never liked someone this much, nor had he ever said such cheesy things. He was resigned to falling for her.

He was getting impatient, afraid ‘Lord Black Impermanence’ would run away again.

“I am a bit anxious now; I can’t take it slow.”

His face was also very red, even his neck blushed with a touch of spring, his beautiful eyes brimming with emotion, yet he pushed forward recklessly.

“We can’t be just good friends, we have to be lovers.” He lowered his head, and kissed her trembling eyelid, “Because I like you too much.”

Zhou Xufang’s face turned into a bright red Fuji apple.

After Jiang Zhi finished speaking, he stood up, tilting her drooping head back up, “I won’t give you much time to think. If you agree to be with me, come kiss me. I won’t wait too long. If you don’t come, I’ll come to get you.” He poked her face with his finger, “Do you understand?”

Zhou Xufang nodded slowly.

His home’s slow one probably needed some time to react. Jiang Zhi didn’t press her further, lifting her up and dusting off the snowflakes that had just settled on her shoulder.

“It’s snowing.”

Tiny snowflakes, blown by the wind, drifted down.

“Oh.” Zhou Xufang was still burning up, her mind full of Jiang Zhi’s words, echoing over and over, bombarding her until she felt her head was about to explode with fireworks.

Jiang Zhi put the hood of her sweatshirt on her head, tightening it so the wind wouldn’t blow inside her collar, “Are you cold?”

“Not cold.”

She was so hot.

She felt as if her blood was boiling.

Jiang Zhi was very pleased with the tumultuous look in her eyes, smiling with a lifted corner of his mouth, “I’m cold.” After saying that, he extended his hand, “Hold it, warm me up.”

“Oh.”

Still in a whirlwind of emotions, Zhou Xufang dumbly wrapped her hands around Jiang Zhi’s hand, holding his with her two little hands in an extremely awkward and stiff ’embrace’.

Ah Wan saw that and became more convinced of her own thought, Miss Zhou’s employer must not be a human.

Returning to the sickroom, Zhou Xufang dared not look at Jiang Zhi anymore, a single glance would make her eyes moist and her ears turn red, like… like she had taken a stimulant.

Moreover, her footsteps seemed a bit floaty, giving Jiang Zhi the illusion that she might leap into the sky at any moment and stand shoulder to shoulder with the moon.

Seeing her dazed, Jiang Zhi helped her take off her coat and hang it on the coat rack, “Why is your face still so red?”

Zhou Xufang covered her face, “I might have a fever.”

And the symptoms were quite severe.

She really wanted to jump up and down, to roll around and splash in the sea, for some reason, she was so excited, so boiling, so full of hot blood, so restless…

Jiang Zhi asked her to sit down, touched her forehead, and sure enough, she had a high fever again.

“Lin Wanwan, go call the doctor over.”

Ah Wan: “Oh.”

Afraid that she would catch cold, Jiang Zhi turned up the air conditioning a few degrees and put her coat back on her, “Why do you always get fevers?”

“I don’t know.” She pushed the clothes away, “Don’t wear it, so hot.”

“Just bear with it for a moment, you’ll catch cold without it.” Jiang Zhi insisted on dressing her and zipped up all the way, “Did it happen like this before?”

Zhou Xufang shook her head.

Her health used to be very good, and she hardly ever got sick,

Jiang Zhi asked again, “When did it start then?”

She pondered for a moment.

Oh, it started from the first time he kissed the palm of her hand.

She was too embarrassed to say it and lowered her head to secretly exhale a big breath, as if it didn’t feel so hot anymore, then she exhaled another big breath, with her tongue out like she was breathing, like a… dog.

“Do you often get fevers when I’m not here?”

Zhou Xufang felt a bit dizzy and blurted out, “No, it only happens when you’re here.” After saying that she felt it wasn’t quite right, she explained, “I’m not blaming you.”

Jiang Zhi did not press further, looking at the little girl’s rosy cheeks, he seemed to be thinking about something.

“Boss, the doctor is here.”

Ah Wan brought in a male doctor in his thirties.

Although Jiang Zhi was not pleased, he didn’t say anything, “Have a look at her.”

The male doctor took a thermometer and asked Zhou Xufang to put it inside her clothes.

Zhou Xufang hesitated and did not move, “Can we not take my temperature?” Her temperature was not the same as normal people, afraid that it might frighten someone.

“Ah?”

Without taking the temperature, how to proceed?

The male doctor thought for a moment, reached out to touch the patient’s forehead to make a rough estimate, but his hand hadn’t even reached halfway—

“Where are you touching?”

This voice was eerie and weird, chilling.

The male doctor shuddered, withdrew his hand, and stuttered, “T-t-take the temperature.”

In front of him, touching his person, was he considered dead? Jiang Zhi glared coldly, stood up, and blocked Zhou Xufang firmly behind him, completely disregarding the demeanor and pride of a family scion, ferociously protective like a mother wolf guarding her cubs, “Back off, stay away from her.”

Doctor: “…”

Ah Wan: “…”

Crazy!

‘Crazy’ Jiang Zhi even put Zhou Xufang’s hat on, not willing to let anyone catch a glimpse of her, he squatted down and touched her forehead.

Hmm?

He touched her forehead again, “You don’t seem to have a fever anymore.” He looked back, “Both of you, get out.”

Doctor: “…”

Ah Wan: “…”

Crazy!

Ah Wan led the doctor out again, slamming the door shut with great force, then apologetically smiled at the doctor, pointed to the sickroom, pointed to his own head, and shook his head.

The doctor instantly understood, giving him a sympathetic look.

In the end—

The doctor left, and Ah Wan pressed her ear against the door.

Jiang Zhi crouched in front of Zhou Xufang, carefully examining her face. He reached out a finger and poked a dimple into her cheek: “What is this body made of?”

Her face wasn’t very fleshy, but it was soft, creating a small dimple with every poke, turning a bunch of them bright red.

Zhou Xufang felt embarrassed and dodged backward, replying, “Blood and flesh.” After pausing, she added seriously, “And bones too.”

Jiang Zhi laughed, “I want to try it.”

“Try what?”

He leaned in and pecked her on the left cheek.

She froze.

Then he pecked the right cheek as well.

Her face flushed red, followed by her ears, her neck… even the back of her hands turned red.

Her whole body heated up; the temperature that just went down surged back. She was about to stick out her tongue and pant like a dog when a refreshingly cool hand covered her head.

“I guessed right, your temperature isn’t rising because of a fever, it’s because of my kisses.”

“…”

At two in the morning, after Jiang Zhi fell asleep.

Zhou Xufang tiptoed stealthily out of the sickroom, went outside, found a spot without people or surveillance, and then began to jump up and down.

She wanted to bounce off to the moon and roll around.

Occasionally at night, passersby would witness this. Suddenly, a child exclaimed: “Mom, Mom, there’s an alien!”

The young woman smiled and asked, “Where?”

The child looked up at the sky: “It jumped to the moon.”

In the sky, a blob of darkness flitted from east to west and then from west back to east… After numerous repetitions, it plunged into a pond…

The next day, light snow fell.

With Winter Solstice approaching, the cold air nipped sharply.

An attendant at Fusheng Inn led the way ahead: “Third Young Master, this way please.”

Xue Bingxue entered a private room in Bamboo Garden.

Inside, Jin Song had been waiting, and seeing his guest arrive, stood up: “Would Third Young Master like tea or wine?” He still had bandages wrapped around his head and several cuts on his face.

Xue Bingxue took a seat: “Tea,” scrutinizing the time. Thanks to his naturally babyish face, his age wasn’t apparent, and even with a stern expression, he seemed harmless, “I have patients waiting, so I can only spare ten minutes.”

Jin Song personally poured him a cup of tea; his eyes were surrounded by dark circles, and he looked haggard: “Then I’ll get straight to the point.” He approached the topic directly, “I heard that Third Young Master and Fifth Miss of the Jiang Family share a childhood friendship.”

Xue Bingxue, aware of why he was invited today, simply said, “Speak your terms.”

Jin Song set down the teapot: “The Xue Family has an investment case that I am very interested in.”

This investment case had been specially authorized to Xue Bingxue by Old Sir Xue; it was a high-investment, key project. The old man showed his partiality by intentionally handing the lucrative opportunity to his beloved youngest son, aiming to empower him to gain influence and authority.

Not only Jin Song but also his older brother Jin Lei was very interested in this project and had already contacted Xue Bingxue in private.

“I wonder if Third Young Master is interested in cooperation?”

Xue Bingxue picked up his teacup, took a sip, and stated, “Get her out as soon as possible.”

Jin Song raised his cup, “Pleasure doing business.”

Jiang Wei’er was released that afternoon.

Jin Song withdrew his lawsuit, and in less than half an hour, rumors began to circulate that the new product development of the Xue Family would cooperate with Tang Heng.

As everyone knew, the Jiang and Xue families were old friends. Third Young Master Xue’s decision was most likely also the intent of Old Lady Jiang, hence rumors started to spread in the circles that the vendetta between Old Lady Jiang and the Jin brothers had thawed.

When Jiang Wei’er arrived at the old mansion, Old Lady Jiang had just awoken from her nap and was being assisted by servants in washing up. Charcoal burned in the room, crackling softly.

Old Lady Jiang took a mouthful of warm water to rinse her mouth, spitting it into a porcelain cup, and glanced over: “You’ve come.”

Jiang Wei’er had just returned from the police station, looking disheveled.

“Having spent a day inside, have you sobered up yet?” Old Lady Jiang inquired.

Her eyes were bloodshot, her complexion pale, and she looked unwell: “Apart from breaking up, I’ll do whatever you want.”

You’re still muddled,” Old Lady Jiang washed her hands and dried them, “If that’s the case, there’s nothing more to say. From now on, you don’t need to enter the Jiang’s doors ever again. I’ll give you the video of Xiao Linsu. As a token of motherly affection, let this be my final gesture of dignity for you.”

Jiang Wei’er immediately knelt down, eyes reddening, “Mother—”

“No need to call me mother anymore. I’m not worthy to be a mother to someone who resents the matchmaker. From today onwards, you and the Jiang Family have no relationship.” After a moment’s pause, Old Lady Jiang said in a stern voice, “Ah Gui, show the guest out.”