Shen Yaoyao didn’t dare to continue thinking. The more she thought, the more distressed she became.
Her gaze also flickered slightly, not daring to look at Bai Jinghong.
But as she looked, her eyes fell again on the jadeite bracelet on her wrist.
She couldn’t help reaching out to touch it, yet it felt so ironic.
“Come, Yaoyao, try this. It’s Chef Yuan’s signature dish, tastes wonderful!”
At this moment, Ji Qiuwan interrupted Shen Yaoyao’s distraction.
“Ah, okay, thank you, Auntie.” Shen Yaoyao smiled sweetly.
“We’re family, why be so polite.”
“Mm…”
Throughout the meal, Ji Qiuwan showered her with all kinds of care, putting various dishes on her plate.
She even prepared dishes that needed peeling, arranging them neatly on her plate.
It could be said that the care was meticulous.
Even Bai Jinghong didn’t receive this kind of treatment.
It was clear that Ji Qiuwan really liked Shen Yaoyao very much.
The longer Shen Yaoyao stayed, the more tormented she felt.
It wasn’t dislike, but inner torment.
The guilt welling up inside made her feel terrible.
After a long while, Shen Yaoyao said somewhat apologetically: “Uncle, Auntie, Sister… I… I’m full. I want to go back and rest…”
Shen Yaoyao stammered slightly.
Although leaving early was very impolite, if she continued listening, she feared she might give herself away.
“Yaoyao, are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
“You’ve been a bit absent-minded since earlier. What’s wrong?”
Ji Qiuwan’s eyes were full of concern as she stood up and took Shen Yaoyao’s hand.
“No… nothing. Just feeling a bit tired.”
Ji Qiuwan nodded: “Then you might be tired from going out this afternoon. I’ll have someone make you some tonic later. Go back and rest first!”
“Jinghong, take Yaoyao back to rest!”
“Alright!” Bai Jinghong smiled and stood up.
How could he not know why Shen Yaoyao was acting so abnormal?
But for Bai Jinghong, he was quite pleased.
This girl was a cold-hearted killer before, but at least these behaviors showed she was struggling with her own conscience.
If Shen Yaoyao were truly a woman who acted indifferent and solely focused on executing the plan…
Then Bai Jinghong would actually need to be wary.
And this further indicated that Shen Yaoyao was being assimilated.
Under the influence of his parents and his sister, she should have already started having other thoughts.
Bai Jinghong stood up, and in front of his family, took Shen Yaoyao’s slender hand.
His voice was also especially gentle: “I’ll take you back. Really, why didn’t you say earlier if you were tired? If you got worn out, wouldn’t I be worried sick.”
“Tsk tsk… truly warm!” Bai Ruoxi muttered.
“I…” Shen Yaoyao’s face flushed slightly. She bit her lip but still didn’t speak her mind.
Bai Jinghong led Shen Yaoyao out of the dining room.
Once outside, Shen Yaoyao said softly: “I… I can go back myself. You go back and eat.”
Bai Jinghong sneered: “I’m already out, I have to see you back now.”
“And if I go back now, you want me to get scolded, right? My mother gave me orders.”
“Then… fine then.”
Shen Yaoyao said no more, letting Bai Jinghong hold her slender hand.
The distance from the dining room to Bai Jinghong’s villa wasn’t very far.
They arrived shortly.
“Alright, go upstairs and rest. After I finish eating, I still need to go to the club. If you get hungry, just ask someone to make you a late-night snack.”
Hearing Bai Jinghong say he was going out again, Shen Yaoyao’s heart clenched once more.
She opened her mouth, but ultimately closed it again.
Seeing this, Bai Jinghong smiled mischievously in his heart.
He very gently pulled Shen Yaoyao into his embrace.
Shen Yaoyao struggled twice, couldn’t break free, and stopped moving.
But Bai Jinghong seemed to want far more than this. After holding her for a while, he actually cupped Shen Yaoyao’s beautiful face.
He lightly kissed her on the forehead.
Before Shen Yaoyao could snap out of it, he had already turned and walked away.
Only after Bai Jinghong’s figure disappeared did Shen Yaoyao rush into the villa, plunging straight into a gym inside.
She tied her hair up high, put on headphones, and got on the treadmill.
Right now, her heart was a tangled mess, restless and anxious. She could only vent in this way.
For people like Shen Yaoyao, who had suffered immense trauma from a young age and transformed overnight from a little princess to an orphan…
Bai Jinghong knew how to handle them.
It was precisely because of this that, in just a few short days, he could completely shift Shen Yaoyao’s mindset from that of a cold-blooded killer.
Attack the heart first, then the person. This was always Bai Jinghong’s way.
Returning to the dining room, Bai Jinghong found his family members acting a bit strange, all looking at him.
“What’s wrong?” Bai Jinghong asked, puzzled.
“Ahem… Jinghong, since Yaoyao isn’t here now, there’s something we must discuss with you.”
Ji Qiuwan said something, then looked at Bai Zhennan: “You tell him!”
Bai Zhennan nodded and said: “The Jiang family’s girl is coming back to the country soon. This matter needs some resolution.”
“Jiang Yueying!” Bai Jinghong paused for a moment, sat back in his seat, and lit a cigarette.
Bai Zhennan continued: “Our two families are old family friends. Since your grandfather’s generation, we’ve been like one family!”
“Your old man and your Uncle Jiang grew up together, bare-bottomed since childhood.”
“You and Yueying were born on the same day of the same month in the same year—childhood sweethearts. That’s why the betrothal agreement was made, with the intention of double kinship!”
Ji Qiuwan also said with a stern face: “Back then, seeing you constantly avoiding this matter, Yueying even set aside her pride and took the initiative to propose marriage to you!”
“And what did you do? You left behind a note with ‘Bai Bai’ written on it and disappeared. You sure are carefree!”
At this point, the three Bai family members all looked at Bai Jinghong, seemingly waiting for his answer.
Speaking of Jiang Yueying, Bai Jinghong was deeply moved.
The relationship between the Bai and Jiang families was truly excellent. Even Bai Jinghong and Jiang Yueying’s names were chosen through joint discussion by both families.
Taken from the poem line “Once a startled swan casts its reflection to the water’s edge.”
In the original story, Jiang Yueying’s ending was extremely tragic.
Because of a small incident, she developed deep feelings for Bai Jinghong.
At the age of five, Bai Zhennan took Bai Jinghong to visit the Jiang family. The two kids played Gomoku in the garden.
But no matter what, Bai Jinghong couldn’t beat Jiang Yueying. In a fit of anger, he directly pinned Jiang Yueying down on the grass and pecked her on the mouth.
From then on, Jiang Yueying seemed like a changed person.
Ballet? Piano? She quit them all and switched directly to close-quarters combat training.
And her talent was incredibly high. Coupled with her family’s martial arts cultivation, she progressed at an astonishing speed.
At ten years old, she beat Bai Jinghong up, successfully avenging the stolen-kiss grudge.
From then on, whenever she saw Bai Jinghong chatting with or flirting with other girls, she couldn’t help but beat him up.
Gradually, her grudge turned into affection; she had long fallen hopelessly in love with Bai Jinghong.
And Bai Jinghong? The reason he ran away when Jiang Yueying took the initiative to propose was precisely because he was scared of being beaten.
A prodigal young master’s nemesis was actually a woman—it would be a laughingstock if word got out.
He had once imagined: if they really got married, wouldn’t their wedding night be a fight from dusk till dawn? And he’d still be the one getting beaten.
Under such fear, he increasingly favored gentle girls. This was how he mistakenly became Fan Ning’er’s lapdog.
And when Jiang Yueying took the initiative to propose marriage, Bai Jinghong ran away. Heartbroken, she also left Dragon Sea to study abroad.
Jiang Yueying was also one of Dragon Sea’s Goddesses!
Because of her superb martial skills and fiery temper, she was hailed as Dragon Sea’s Most Beautiful Devil Woman.
The most precious thing was, she was devoted to Bai Jinghong alone her entire life, faithful unto death.
Upon learning Bai Jinghong was crippled, she cast aside everything to return to the country, staying by Bai Jinghong’s side without leaving, always taking care of him.
And she mobilized all resources, joining forces with the Bai family to avenge Bai Jinghong.
It was a pity that two great families naturally couldn’t defeat the Chosen One, Chen Lin. Both families suffered disaster together.
And Jiang Yueying ultimately chose to fight to the death, vowing to kill Chen Lin, but still lost, ending up drowned in Dragon Sea.
Thinking about everything concerning Jiang Yueying in the original story, Bai Jinghong’s blood boiled, his fury climbing to the extreme.
He wished he could fiercely slap himself.
Because of excessive anger, his body even began to tremble.
