After returning to the living room, Jiang Lai appeared to sit calmly on the sofa, but inside she was in a storm of turmoil.
Her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes, her gaze blankly fixed ahead, her mind replaying Shen Ruxue’s unsettling actions. Shen Ruxue’s gentle yet inexplicably persistent eyes, and her intimate words, wrapped around Jiang Lai’s heart like vines, making it hard for her to breathe.
Jiang Leyi was chatting with Shen Ruxue, occasionally letting out clear laughter, but Jiang Lai felt as if she were in another world, oblivious to everything around her.
Chi Yingyu noticed Jiang Lai’s strange behavior. She quietly walked over and sat beside her, gently holding her hand.
“Jiang Jiang, it’s okay. You can tell me anything.”
“It’s nothing, just a small matter. Today we won’t sleep together. The child is still here, so we should be careful.”
Jiang Lai lifted her head slightly and forced a smile. Seeing Chi Yingyu’s concerned gaze, a warm current surged in her heart.
Time slowly passed in this tense atmosphere, and finally it was time to sleep.
Jiang Lai returned to her room, carefully closed the door, and specifically checked that the windows were locked. She lay on the bed, eyes wide open, staring at the dark ceiling, her ears highly alert to every sound outside the room.
Shen Ruxue’s figure kept appearing in her mind, and she even began to imagine that she might suddenly appear in her room, like her sister-in-law had done before. It must be noted that at that time, sister-in-law Ruobing, as well as Shen Ruxue—these three people had all appeared in her room.
She didn’t know if someone would enter her room again this time. Jiang Lai had locked the door, but now she felt that locking or not locking didn’t matter anymore. No matter how much she guarded, it seemed someone would eventually open it.
Jiang Lai now even absurdly hoped that her sister-in-law would “night raid” her in the middle of the night—if so, Shen Ruxue probably wouldn’t come.
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but smile bitterly, feeling that she was simply crazy. This thought made her heart race involuntarily, and her hands tightly clutched the quilt.
After who knows how long, just as Jiang Lai was about to fall asleep in her tangled thoughts, a slight noise suddenly came from the room.
The sound was extremely subtle, like the soft friction of a shoe sole against the floor, but in the silent night, it was exceptionally clear.
Her nerves instantly tensed up, her body stiff as she lay on the bed, not daring to breathe. By the faint moonlight outside the window, she saw a blurry figure slowly approaching the bedside. The figure moved extremely slowly, each step as if testing, making Jiang Lai’s heart pound violently with each footstep.
Her heart suddenly raced, because she couldn’t determine whether the person coming was her sister-in-law or Shen Ruxue.
The figure drew closer and finally stood by the bed. Jiang Lai could feel the other person’s breath, a warm breeze gently brushing her face, carrying a strange and unsettling feeling.
Then, she felt a hand gently land on her face, softly caressing it. The hand felt delicate but strange, nails trimmed round, fingers lightly gliding over her cheek, with a hint of subtle perfume scent.
Feeling the familiar yet unfamiliar presence, Jiang Lai immediately understood—the visitor was definitely not her sister-in-law, but Shen Ruxue.
A surge of intense anger and fear rose in Jiang Lai’s heart. The other person had actually come to “night raid” her in the middle of the night. If she had truly fallen asleep, what would she have done? These thoughts made her shiver, fear flooding over her like a tide, while anger burned fiercely in her heart.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she snapped her eyes open, grabbed Shen Ruxue’s hand, and tried to push her away.
“Shen Ruxue, what exactly do you think you’re doing? Breaking into my room in the middle of the night, do you know what kind of behavior this is? This is a serious violation! I let it go during the day and didn’t take offense, but now what are you doing?”
Her voice trembled slightly with anger, but she kept her volume low, not wanting to disturb the others sleeping in other rooms.
Jiang Lai’s chest heaved violently as she stared intently at Shen Ruxue, as if to vent all the anger in her heart.
“I always thought you were Le Yi’s friend. Even if your previous actions made me uncomfortable, I endured them and always treated you with courtesy.”
Jiang Lai tightly gripped Shen Ruxue’s hand, her lips pressed together, as if only this could suppress the surging emotions inside.
“But look at yourself now. Do you have any bit of a normal person’s reason? You claim to like me, and this is how you express it? Is this how your liking causes trouble for others?”
Jiang Lai wanted to say more, even wanted to pull this misguided girl back from this undeserved feeling. But just then, Shen Ruxue’s phone suddenly rang.
That shrill ringtone was especially abrupt in the room, instantly breaking the tension that had reached its peak.
Shen Ruxue seemed to seize a reason to escape. She quickly withdrew her hand and hurriedly left the room to answer the phone.
Jiang Lai sat on the bed, panting heavily, anger and fear interwoven in her heart. She didn’t know who had called Shen Ruxue so late, and she didn’t care. Right now, she only cared about one thing—how to make Shen Ruxue stop bothering her.
Jiang Lai was very clear that she had been restrained enough and had considered Shen Ruxue’s feelings and face enough. But if the other party still refused to wake up, she might actually tell her daughter about this.
She understood that for a newly adult child, face was often the most important. They were sensitive, shy, and cared a lot about others’ evaluations.
At least in Jiang Lai’s view, most children of this age were like that. She had tried her best to consider these feelings, but if she told her daughter about Shen Ruxue’s confession to her, once others found out, Shen Ruxue might truly realize how wrong this liking was.
Even speaking this feeling out loud would become an extremely shameful thing.
Although it was cruel to Shen Ruxue, Jiang Lai had no choice—she had to make Shen Ruxue turn back.