The Rolls-Royce passed through a bustling intersection, the noise of the street snapping Fang ng out of her thoughts.
She put away her phone. “Qianqian, the eldest miss said she’s coming ho for dinner tonight.”
Jiang Qian, who had been expressionless, turned her head.
“My sister is coming back? It’s been a while.”
Over the past year, she knew that her sister had started a new company. The business was sizable, and from what little she had gathered, it seed to have so connection to Lin Zhengran.
But exactly what had transpired between her sister and Lin Zhengran remained a mystery. Not even Fang ng could uncover the details.
Tonight was a good chance to ask.
“Alright, I got it. I actually do want to see her.”
Fang ng stared at Jiang Qian’s face for a mont before asking, “Qianqian, about your university choices—do you want to go to the sa school as Lin Zhengran?”
Jiang Qian didn’t deny it. She nodded.
“Yes. I don’t have any other motives. I just think it’s the right choice. Soone with his talent deserves a better platform. He shouldn’t be held back just because of other people.”
“Qianqian, it’s been years since you’ve cared about soone this much, since you’ve wanted to help soone.”
Jiang Qian imdiately responded, “That’s because most people are ungrateful. But Lin Zhengran…”
She and Fang ng locked eyes, both pausing as childhood mories surfaced.
Jiang Qian turned to look out the window. “He’s different. He’s a good person.”
She recalled the mont in the piano room during their first year of high school. “He shouldn’t let others affect his future.”
After a mont of silence, she added, “And just to be clear, when I ntioned ‘ungrateful people’ earlier, I wasn’t including you. Don’t misunderstand. Also, you don’t need to stay in the sa school as just because of . What happened back then—I really don’t care about it anymore.”
Fang ng, who had been calm, suddenly clenched her fists slightly.
The driver, drenched in sweat, could already sense the tension in the car. Although the second miss and Fang ng had exchanged only a few words, the atmosphere was unmistakably off.
All he could think about now was driving as fast as possible to the villa—because if he didn’t, sothing terrifying might happen inside the car.
In the backseat, Fang ng took a deep breath and spoke clearly to Jiang Qian.
“Qianqian, I’m going to be honest with you. Based on my observations, Lin Zhengran isn’t like you. He’s much better at judging people. The people he cares about are all genuinely good to him.”
Before she could even finish, Jiang Qian cut her off.
“That’s impossible. It’s just that nothing has happened yet. The mont sothing goes wrong, he’ll realize that no one will truly help him except himself.”
“Why do you always think like that?!” Fang ng clenched her fists tighter, raising her voice slightly before she even realized it.
The mont the words left her mouth, she froze, her expression shifting as she tried to calm herself.
Jiang Qian stared at her, surprised yet still cold.
The driver swallowed nervously.
Jiang Qian asked, “What are you so angry about?”
Fang ng quickly explained, “I’m not angry. You’re my best friend—why would I be angry with you? I just…”
She tried to steady her emotions, but when she saw Jiang Qian looking at her with that unreadable, detached gaze, she finally asked, baffled,
“Fine. I am a little angry. Forget about Lin Zhengran. Let’s talk about this past year. Why have you been giving so much ti off? I’ve been aning to ask you about this for a while!”
Jiang Qian remained calm. “What’s there to ask? More ti off is a good thing, isn’t it? You get more personal ti, and I’ve been busy lately.”
“No, it’s not good!” Fang ng shot back imdiately.
“You’ve been attending tutoring and training courses. I know I can’t help with those, but I could still be there for you every day. Instead, you keep giving days off—why?!
"And I’m not just talking about this year. Last year alone, out of 365 days, I had 143 and a half days off!”
"And what was that you just said about not wanting to follow you to university? That you don’t care about what happened back then? What’s that supposed to an?!"
Jiang Qian answered flatly, "I ant exactly what I said."
Fang ng stared at her, cutting her off, enunciating each word clearly:
"So what you’re saying is that all these years I’ve spent by your side, us growing up together—was just making up for what I owed you? Now that my ‘debt’ is repaid, there’s no reason for us to stay together anymore? Is that what you think?"
Jiang Qian looked at Fang ng—soone who had almost never lost her temper in all these years.
"I just think your life shouldn’t always be tied to mine…"
"So you do think I beca your assistant out of guilt," Fang ng said, her voice trembling, disbelief flashing across her eyes.
"You think I’m only with you because I feel guilty. That we were never truly friends."
This ti, she was truly angry.
"Yes, I hesitated when you asked that question back then. That’s because I didn’t want to lie to you! As a child, I never thought about whether friendships could be tied to family matters. I never imagined you’d be the one to help my family get through that crisis.
"Qianqian, you were more mature than . But that doesn’t an that if your family had been in trouble, I would’ve stood by and done nothing. I just hadn’t thought about it at the ti. But if you had asked, I definitely would’ve helped you!
"Because to , you’re my best friend. I’m not like those other people!"
Fang ng clenched her fists tightly.
"I regret hesitating back then. If I could go back, I wouldn’t even pause for a second—I would’ve told you imdiately. But I know that no matter what I say now, you won’t believe . What happened happened.
"But all these years by your side? That wasn’t out of guilt! I wanted to be with you. I chose to stay. I see you as my best and closest friend—that’s why I did everything I could as your assistant!"
Jiang Qian slightly parted her lips but said nothing.
Fang ng’s eyes glistened, her teeth clenched.
"I don’t like this version of you, Qianqian. You’re so much worse than Lin Zhengran. No wonder you can’t asure up to him in anything."
She suddenly changed her tone.
"Second Miss, I quit. I’m resigning."
Then she turned to the driver.
"Stop the car."
The driver, who had been listening to everything, imdiately tensed. He slamd on the brakes and turned around, his voice shaking.
"F-Fang ng, don’t fight with Second Miss. You two have always been best friends, haven’t you?"
Fang ng ignored him. She opened the door, got out, and flagged down a taxi going in the opposite direction.
"Fang ng!" The driver called after her.
He sat there in stunned silence as the taxi disappeared into the distance. Then he turned back to Jiang Qian.
"Second Miss… did it have to co to this? Fang ng truly cares about you. And after all these years, I know you care about her too, so—"
"Shut up."
"Y-Yes!" The driver straightened his back imdiately.
"Drive ho."
"Understood…" The driver swallowed nervously and continued the journey, his nerves stretched taut.
Jiang Qian closed her eyes, remaining silent for a long ti before finally letting out a slow breath.
She stared at the road in the car’s rearview mirror, watching the empty street where Fang ng had disappeared. She had no idea where she had gone.
Then, she turned her head and, as if nothing had happened, continued watching the scenery outside the window.
She wiped the corner of her reddened eyes with the back of her hand.
When she arrived at the villa, Jiang Jingshi was already sitting on the sofa, elegantly dressed in a full won’s business suit. Her long legs were crossed, and she held a cup of steaming tea, sipping it slowly while waiting for her sister and Fang ng.
But when the car stopped, only Jiang Qian walked in with a cold expression.
Jiang Jingshi raised an eyebrow. "Qianqian, you’re back? Where’s Xiaong?"
Jiang Qian didn’t respond.
Jiang Jingshi frowned. "Why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t tell you gave her another day off? Let remind you—if you keep doing that, she won’t be grateful. She’ll just get mad at you."
Jiang Qian stopped in her tracks, turning to face her sister.
"You sure talk a lot. You haven’t been ho in a while—what have you been up to?"
Jiang Jingshi chuckled and took another sip of tea. "Busy with work."
After a short pause, Jiang Qian scoffed. "Fine. If you don’t want to talk, I’m going upstairs."
"Huh?!" Jiang Jingshi watched as her sister actually headed upstairs.
What the hell? I just told her, didn’t I?
Sothing was definitely off.
She casually called out, "Aren’t you curious about who I’ve been spending ti with lately?"
Jiang Qian halted mid-step. "Who?"
Jiang Jingshi smirked. "Not telling."
BANG!
Jiang Qian slamd the door to her bedroom shut.
Jiang Jingshi let out a long sigh.
"Looks like sothing really happened. And it doesn’t seem to be because of Zhengran. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have reacted to my comnt just now."
She twirled her teacup between her fingers and murmured to herself, "It must have been a fight with Xiaong. If that’s the case… well, it’s about ti. After all these years, they finally had a real argunt."
She took another slow sip of tea, deep in thought.
"A fight isn’t necessarily a bad thing. So things fester when left unsaid for too long.
"Certain words… should’ve been spoken a long ti ago."
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