Li Wenjing called to ask Ji Yan if she would return to the hotel. Ji Yan consciously found a guest bedroom and replied, “I have to take care of Mr. Shang so I won’t go back.” Her tone was full of helplessness.
“Be careful,” Li Wenjing reminded her and hung up the phone. She did not pester further. When Ji Yan did not take the initiative to speak, she would not ask anything.
Ji Yan was left befuddled. Careful? What’s there to be careful of? Is Wenjing reminding her to be wary of Shang Jinshen?
She inexplicably smiled. Shang Jinshen would never have any thoughts about her. Ji Yan suddenly thought of that photo and felt a little jealous.
Jealous? She was shocked. Did she fall in love with Shang Jinshen? No, it was impossible. That man was so mean to her. How could she fall in love with him and look for torture?
It must be her possessiveness. She just didn’t like her husband in name to have another love. It must be.
After Ji Yan spoke to herself, she calmed down. She rationally told herself that she must not fall in love with Shang Jinshen. It was absolutely a road of no return.
Disregarding those messy thoughts, Ji Yan soon fell asleep on the bed.
Shang Jinshen opened the door to her room in the middle of the night, but she didn’t notice it. He looked at her quiet sleeping face and his face darkened. Then he closed the door and went out.
Early in the morning, Ji Yan was humming a song in a good mood. After she made breakfast, she left a note and ran out of the apartment.
Anyway, she had a week of vacation, and she didn’t want to face Shang Jinshen all the time.
As a result, after Shang Jinshen woke up, his face was gloomy for a whole day. How much was that woman afraid of him? She left after a night of sleep. Did she think she was in a hotel?
After Ji Yan tidied herself up, she went to GN with Li Wenjing and Shao Kai. They came to an agreement on their plans for the future.
After that, Ji Yan felt relaxed. The manager was overjoyed and called them. He gave all of them two days off in excitement.
Li Wenjing seemed to be more intimate with Shao Kai. Shao Kai held Li Wenjing in his arms and said to Ji Yan, “We’re going to climb the mountains at Gameo. Will you come with us?”
Ji Yan looked at Li Wenjing, who had a sweet look on her face, and shook her head with a smile. “Go ahead. I only want to find a place to sleep for a few days.”
Li Wenjing had wanted to pull Ji Yan along with her, but seeing that she seemed a little tired, she gave up and went straight to the airport with Shao Kai. She agreed to meet Ji Yan in North River City two days later.
Ji Yan took her luggage and went straight back to North River City by plane. She did not return to the Shang family manor, nor did she go to the Ji family villa. Instead, she took a taxi back to a town. It was a quiet and peaceful place, and the people living there were mostly the elderly.
An elderly was sitting at the door basking in the sun. She squinted at Ji Yan for a long time before she recognized her. “Are you… Ji Yan?”
A warm smile appeared on Ji Yan’s face as she politely replied, “It’s me, Madam San.”
The old woman, Madam San, had a bright smile on her face. “Ji Yan, why don’t you stay at my place for dinner?”
Ji Yan shook her head. “Madam San, I’m not hungry. I’ll go home first and take a look.”
She walked along the river to a more remote area, where a dilapidated building stood. Looking at the house in her memory, she could not help but shed a tear.
Ji Yan slowly stepped forward and opened the wooden door. With a creak, she could smell a musty scent coming from inside.
She put down her bag and luggage, checked every room, and then adjusted the smile on her face. She opened the window one by one, letting the afternoon sunshine into the house that was dark all year round.
This place contained all her childhood memories. Her mother raised her here until she was nine.
In her memory, her gentle mother often held her in her arms and sang songs in her yard, making osmanthus cakes for her to eat. She couldn’t understand why a wonderful woman like her mother was willing to be a mistress of her father.
Later, she learned that her beautiful and gentle mother was deceived by Mr. Ji. When she was pregnant with Ji Yan, she did not know that Mr. Ji already had a family.
If it weren’t for the child in her belly, Ji Yan’s mother wouldn’t have held on alone for so many years. Later, she was even sent to a psychiatric hospital because of Mrs. Ji’s jealousy.
When she thought of her mother, Ji Yan’s face darkened. Her mother was perfectly healthy, but years in the psychiatric hospital have truly damaged her mental health.
Ji Yan nestled on the little bed where her mother would often sleep with her in her arms, hugged herself, and slept until dawn.
It was her last day of freedom. After that day, she would return to North River City and the cold Shang family. However, Ji Yan did not want to think so much.
Carrying a bamboo basket on her back, she went to the woods to pick up some firewood and then went home to start a fire. The people in the town did not have much in terms of civilization. In recent years, they had slowly accepted the use of gas stoves, but her house was already secluded for so many years. There was nothing modern at all.
She boiled some water and picked some osmanthus branches. Ji Yan then dried the osmanthus with a stick, intending to make the osmanthus cake from her memory.
It was near the Mid-Autumn Festival, many people who worked outstation had returned to the town to reunite with their families. However, she was the only one in her house.
Sitting in the yard until the sunset, Ji Yan put down the osmanthus tea and looked back at the dilapidated building. She pulled out her suitcase and turned to leave.
When she arrived in North River City, Madam Zhang called, “Madam Ji Yan, it’s the Mid-Autumn Festival today. Why haven’t you come back yet?”
“Madam Zhang, I’ll be there right away.” Ji Yan didn’t know what was waiting for her in the Shang family. No matter how reluctant she was, she still went back to the magnificent manor.
When she entered, Madam Zhang quickly came forward and took her luggage, reminding her, “Madam Ji Yan, Mrs. Shang’s family have come to visit. You have to be careful later.”
“Mrs. Shang’s family? Isn’t that the famous Han family of North River City? The Han family didn’t meddle in business, but they had power. A political family has always enjoyed a high status. The people from the Han family must be as arrogant and proud as Mrs. Shang.
Ji Yan adjusted her mood and showed the most suitable appearance. She walked into the living room gracefully and greeted Mrs. Shang with a faint smile. “Mom, I’m back. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.”
When Mrs. Shang heard Ji Yan’s voice, she turned around unhappily. She was full of anger for this daughter-in-law who had disappeared for a week, but she couldn’t be mad because her family was there.
But even if she didn’t lose her temper, she still didn’t hide her hatred for Ji Yan. She said sharply, “Don’t you know to come back early to prepare for the reunion dinner?”
Ji Yan nodded and planned to change into her domestic clothes and help in the kitchen.
Han Lin, Mrs. Han’s niece, asked while enjoying a dessert, “Is this my cousin’s wife?”
“Han Lin, be polite. She is your sister-in-law.” Han Lin’s mother looked stern. She had always been strict when it came to educating children.
Han Lin curled her lips, but she did not greet Ji Yan. Instead, she looked at Ji Yan up and down impolitely as if she was judging her.
Mrs. Shang glanced at Han Lin’s mother and said, “It’s okay. Don’t bind Han Lin with the formalities.”