“I’ve done everything I promised you. It’s okay if I leave now, right?”
Although Jiang Lai’s words were framed as a question, she had already made up her mind. No matter how the person before her answered, she was going back with her sister-in-law.
Si Yina looked pitiful right now—her face was a mess of blood and various bruises thanks to the sister-in-law—but Jiang Lai only gave a slight nod of apology. When facing someone she loathed, no matter how miserable they looked, she couldn’t summon much pity in her heart.
Besides… what right did Jiang Lai have to pity this bastard? She couldn’t get away fast enough.
As Jiang Lai turned to leave, Si Yina stood behind her with her long hair disheveled. Her expression was terrifying, like a starving beast that had just spotted its prey. She glared at the departing Jiang Lai with eyes full of resentment, looking as if she might snap at any moment to drag Jiang Lai back and swallow her whole.
But currently, she was more like a lion with broken teeth; no matter how much she bared her claws, she posed no real threat.
“Yingyu, let’s go back!”
After bidding farewell to Si Yina, Jiang Lai took her sister-in-law’s hand and left that den of trouble. Jiang Lai didn’t know where she should go next; she hadn’t even figured out a place to stay.
However, regardless of where they went, she had to tend to her sister-in-law first. Even though Chi Yingyu had the complete upper hand during the fight, she had been dragged to the ground and rolled around. It was inevitable that her skin had been scraped and bruised by the pavement.
Jiang Lai held Chi Yingyu’s hand tightly. Catching a glimpse of the scraped skin on her sister-in-law’s palm, her heart ached terribly.
She quickly found the front desk of a hotel on the resort island to ask for alcohol wipes and similar supplies. Once she received them, Jiang Lai, Chi Yingyu, and Shen Ruxue sat down on the chairs in the lobby.
Looking at the sister-in-law who had fought someone for her sake, Jiang Lai’s face was full of worry. “You must never be this impulsive again.”
Jiang Lai wasn’t just saying empty words or claiming that fighting was “wrong” or that “violence doesn’t solve anything in today’s society.” She could never say such things. She knew her sister-in-law had fought for her, to stand up for her, and to protect her. Just knowing that her sister-in-law felt this way made Jiang Lai feel incredibly happy.
“Whether you can win is one thing, but what matters is that you’ll get hurt…”
Jiang Lai’s beautiful brows furrowed as she gently stroked Chi Yingyu’s hand. Her gaze revealed deep concern, tinged with a hint of gloom and gravity.
“You must remember that no matter what happens, your own safety is the most important thing.”
In Jiang Lai’s heart, it didn’t matter if she herself was bullied. The most important people to her now were the sister-in-law in front of her and her daughter. If anyone dared to lay a hand on them, Jiang Lai would put her life on the line to make sure they didn’t get away with it.
Her sister-in-law and daughter were more precious than her own life. She would rather be hurt herself, rather be cut into a thousand pieces, than see a single scratch on either of them.
“Does it hurt? You got scraped in so many places on the ground.”
Thinking about her sister-in-law’s smooth, soft skin suffering such an ordeal, a tear slid down Jiang Lai’s elegant cheek. Her eyes grew red with a touch of moving sorrow, and her slight frown made one instinctively want to cherish her.
The tears wetting her long eyelashes added a sense of frailty and helplessness, yet they only highlighted her beauty and sincerity.
“It doesn’t hurt at all. If you hadn’t stopped me, I probably would have hit her a few more times to show her what I’m capable of, so she’d never dare bully you again.”
Seeing Jiang Lai cry, Chi Yingyu’s heart throbbed with pain. She had decided a long, long time ago that no matter what happened, she would protect Jiang Lai.
“But I care more about you. I only wish for you not to be hurt.”
The most important people in Jiang Lai’s heart were her sister-in-law and her daughter; meanwhile, the most important person to Chi Yingyu was Jiang Lai. Both were willing to give everything for the other. Jiang Lai knew this well, which is why she realized there was no point in arguing about it further.
As Chi Yingyu reached out to gently wipe the tears from the corner of Jiang Lai’s eye, Shen Ruxue, who had been observing from the side, placed the alcohol wipes and iodine from the front desk before them.
Jiang Lai intended to clean the wounds herself, but Shen Ruxue took the alcohol cotton first. “Leave this to me. You should take care of yourself first.”
While trying to break up the fight, Jiang Lai had used her own body to block the two women, so she had inevitably taken some of the hits.
Jiang Lai’s skin was even more delicate than Chi Yingyu’s. Sometimes a simple slap would leave a vivid mark. Si Yina had pinched her waist hard enough to leave a bruise.
Jiang Lai looked somewhat disheveled now, with slap marks on her body. Even on her exposed neck, the distinct bite mark from the previous night was still visible.
With such obvious signs of infidelity, why does my sister act like she can’t see them?
Watching her sister stand between them, Chi Yingyu couldn’t help but clench her fists. Her mood plummeted visibly. If she had a choice, she really wanted her “brother-in-law” (Jiang Lai) to tend to her wounds.
As she saw her sister approach with the alcohol cotton, she rejected her. “I still want her to do it…”
Shen Ruxue looked at the raised alcohol cotton, caught in an awkward position, unsure whether to continue or put it down. This was the first time she had heard her sister use such a tone of rejection toward her.
“…”
Shen Ruxue whispered her sister’s name. The light faded from her eyes, leaving them hollow and distant as if carrying endless thoughts. Her expression went blank, the corners of her mouth drooping slightly in a trace of barely perceptible sorrow. A melancholy aura radiated from her. Was she being pushed away by her own sister?
“Do you really like her that much?”
In Shen Ruxue’s view, her sister had spent the last few days squandering her own health and doing things that…
“But as I see it, these past few days haven’t been worth it at all.”
Provoked by her emotions, Shen Ruxue’s voice suddenly grew louder. “She’s involved in a messy relationship with that woman. Aren’t you afraid of being cheated on?”