It was already past two o’clock in the wee hours when Shang Jinshen walked out of his study. He pressed the space between his eyebrows and walked towards the bedroom. When he passed by the guest room, he hesitated slightly.
The door of the guest room was tightly closed, but it couldn’t suppress the weak moans coming from the room. Shang Jinshen’s eyes darkened, and then he walked away.
Ji Yan’s whole body was numb when she woke up. Due to her trying her best to suppress her pained groans in the middle of the night, she bit her lips so hard that they bled.
The sun shone through the frilly window, but she couldn’t feel any warmth. Ji Yan sat up stiffly and felt a sudden pain in her back. She hissed and slowly calmed down her trembling body.
After a while, she pulled back the quilt and got up in pain. If she kept lying on the bed, the consequences would not be as simple as being thrown into the guest room. She was afraid that she would be tossed out the door!
It was rare that she was still in the mood to mock herself. Ji Yan did not dare to wear any close-fitting clothes, nor did she dare to go back to take her clothes in the bedroom. After thinking about it, she put on a thin sweater.
As soon as the rough sweater touched the whip marks on her back, Ji Yan broke out in cold sweat.
“Madam Ji Yan, you’re awake? Are you feeling better?” Madam Zhang looked at Ji Yan, who looked haggard after the day before.
Ji Yan nodded and gave a comforting smile to Madam Zhang, who was the only person in the family who had treated her well.
“Madam Ji Yan, I’ve left you some lotus seed soup. Please have some.” Madam Zhang looked concerned. She looked outside and said, “Mrs. Shang has gone out.”
After knowing this, Ji Yan was slightly relieved. She genuinely had no strength left to deal with Mrs. Shang.
Her body was too weak, but even if she had no appetite, Ji Yan still forced herself to drink two small bowls of lotus seed soup. She was thinking about the design exhibition. The opportunity was too important to her.
When Madam Zhang saw that Ji Yan was about to go out, she hurriedly stopped her. “Madam Ji Yan, you can’t go out. If you go out at this time, you will fall ill.”
Ji Yan felt warm from the bottom of her heart. “Madam Zhang, don’t worry. Even if I rest at home, it’s hard to recover in peace.”
Hearing this, Madam Zhang became silent. Thinking of Mrs. Shang’s crazy actions last night, she might not let Ji Yan rest quietly when she comes home. She might even make things worse.
Ji Yan pulled up her coat, walked out of the luxurious manor, and called Li Wenjing. She didn’t know if Wenjing was sober. She wouldn’t have left Li Wenjing, a girl, in the hotel casually if not for her disastrous situation.
“Ji Yan, what’s up?”
Li Wenjing’s drowsy voice came from the phone. Ji Yan immediately felt relieved and said softly, “Wenjing, get up. Don’t forget that I have to take you to our company for the interview today.”
Li Wenjing was shocked and quickly got up to find her clothes. “Oh, yes. I almost forgot if you didn’t mention it. Drinking is a mistake. Wait for me to come down.”
“Okay, don’t worry. I’ll wait for you in the company. Come straight to me.” After that, Ji Yan put away her phone and took a bus to the company. Although the manager seemed to flatter her recently, she would not be indiscreet. If she was late, there might be someone telling on her.
“Mr. Shang, Madam Ji Yan went out to work early in the morning.” The cold-faced assistant looked up at Shang Jinshen and reported Ji Yan’s whereabouts.
Shang Jinshen gave a bland hum without any expression on his face. No one could tell how he was feeling.
After the assistant went out, he suddenly put down the fountain pen. He was not in the mood to work and his mind was full of Ji Yan’s painful groans. That stupid woman!
“Hello, please help me find Ji Yan,” Li Wenjing smiled and said. Her round face looked pleasant.
The receptionist glanced at her and asked, “Miss Ji, right?”
Li Wenjing thought for a moment and nodded.
The lady at the front desk coldly turned around to make a phone call. Recently, Ji Yan was the most popular person in the company. Many people fawned on her but some were secretly unconvinced and jealous.
When Ji Yan heard that Li Wenjing was here, she walked out with a smile. When Li Wenjing saw her, her eyes widened, and she asked, “Ji Yan, why do you look so bad?”
Ji Yan opened her mouth slightly but did not say anything. She pulled Li Wenjing inside and changed the subject. “You came just in time. I’ll take you to the manager’s office.”
Ji Yan’s luck in her career was too good recently. When the manager saw Li Wenjing, he only asked a few questions before he decided to let Li Wenjing be Ji Yan’s assistant.
Ji Yan’s eyes were obviously filled with joy. Although Li Wenjing was also happy, she couldn’t help but look at Ji Yan with concern.
Ji Yan did not look right and the way she walked seemed unusual. She grabbed Ji Yan’s arm and said, “Ji Yan, what’s wrong with you?”
Ji Yan hissed and quickly pulled away from Li Wenjing’s sudden grip.
Li Wenjing’s face changed. She pushed Ji Yan’s sleeve up when she saw that there was no one around them. She gasped at the blooming red and blue bruises on Ji Yan’s arm.
Ji Yan quickly pulled down her sleeves and looked at Li Wenjing in embarrassment, hoping that she would not ask about it.
Although Li Wenjing was carefree, there were times she was observant. She was mad when she saw Ji Yan’s aggrieved look, but she followed Ji Yan’s unsaid words and did not about it.
Ji Yan breathed out a sigh of relief and smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Just help me prepare my design drafts for GN, please.”
Ji Yan, who loved designing very much, could not control herself once she was involved in it, so much so that she even forgot all the wounds on her body.
When it was time to get off work, most of the people in the office had left in a hurry. Only then did Ji Yan and Li Wenjing raise their heads from the design draft.
Even though Li Wenjing didn’t have much talent in design, she knew a lot due to her interest in it. Therefore, it was not difficult for her to familiarize herself with the job.
“Come on, let’s grab something to eat. I’ll buy you some medicine when we pass by the pharmacy.” Li Wenjing turned off the computer. Ji Yan thought for a while and went out with her.
If she went back to the Shang family at this time, she might have to starve again, according to Mrs. Shang’s attitude. She couldn’t leave the wounds on her body unattended as well.
When the pharmacists saw the injury on Ji Yan’s arm, they couldn’t help but be shocked. The wounds looked like they were from a whip. Was the elegant young lady in front of them being abused?
“Miss, you have to apply medicine to your wounds. It will be serious if they get inflamed.” The pharmacist took some medicine and enthusiastically reminded, “If you don’t treat them well, they might cause a fever and other ailments.”
Ji Yan nodded. She was fine before the pharmacist said anything. Now that the pharmacist said so, she really felt a little dizzy.
After going out of the pharmacy, Li Wenjing looked at Ji Yan’s indifferent face and couldn’t help saying, “Ji Yan, I don’t know what happened, but you must take care of yourself.”
Ji Yan listened to Li Wenjing’s care and revealed a faint smile. She liked how it felt to have someone care for her.
All the grievances she had suffered in the Shang family seemed to have been soothed a little.