12. The Person I Least Wish to See

The air seemed to freeze, heavy and suffocating.

Lu Tingyuan clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging. After a moment, he regained his composure.

“Ranran,” his voice hoarse, tinged with exhaustion and helplessness, “don’t be like this. Yiyi is not like you. You still have me, but she... she has nothing...”

Ji Qingran didn’t want to hear any of it. She buried herself under the blanket and tried to sleep.

After a while, she heard the sound of a door closing.

The hospital room returned to a deathly silence.

Ji Qingran peeked out from under the blanket, her gaze fixed on the empty doorway. Her fingers had somehow loosened their grip on the bedsheet, leaving red marks from her nails on her palm.

She picked up her phone to check the time.

Exactly two hours. Lu Tingyuan's timing was precise.

When the time was up, he immediately withdrew to find Su Yiyi.

She couldn't help but think that perhaps when Lu Tingyuan held her and kissed her earlier, the person on his mind was actually Su Yiyi.

The thought made her sick to her stomach. She fought off dizziness, got out of bed, and went to the bathroom to wash her face and neck. Only then did she feel somewhat refreshed.

Just then, Jiang Yao called to tell her that she would come to pick her up early the next morning for a hospital transfer.

The transfer was scheduled for when Lu Tingyuan left for the company.

The next day, the caregiver Lu Tingyuan promised to find for her arrived.

Ji Qingran did not dismiss the caregiver but instructed her to stay in the ward every day and turn away anyone who came to visit.

She feared Lu Tingyuan discovering her transfer; with his abilities, tracing where she had gone would be easy.

She was genuinely afraid of seeing him now.

Yet, her fears proved unfounded. Lu Tingyuan did not appear again, not even once, until she was discharged a week later.

It was clear she had truly angered him that night.

But she had no regrets.

After discharge, Ji Qingran went with Jiang Yao to meet several investors.

Since they were discussing cooperation, meals and drinks were inevitable. Both being women, they were at a disadvantage at the banquet table. Getting drunk was common, and worse, they had to constantly guard against sleazy advances during business talks.

Once, an investor offered her a room card in front of everyone while hiccuping drunkenly: “Miss Ji, if you’re willing, I’ll invest a million.”

Before he finished, Jiang Yao slammed her high heel hard on his head.

The scene immediately spiraled out of control. The man, humiliated, ordered his men to block the exits.

Fearing for Jiang Yao, Ji Qingran took off her own heels and joined the fray.

In the end, both parties were taken to the police station.

Jiang Yao called for bail and asked a friend to find someone for Ji Qingran as well.

Ji Qingran never imagined that her reunion with Lu Wei’an would happen under such circumstances.

The refined and handsome young master appeared at the station, his calm demeanor undiminished. Standing in the bright light, his gaze immediately settled on her in the corner.

Lu Wei’an’s lips curved slightly as he called her affectionately, “Ranran, long time no see.”

The color drained from Ji Qingran’s face; even her fingertips grew cold.

He was one of the last people she wanted to see.

At this moment, her hair was disheveled, her face bore a few small scrapes, and her lips were faintly swollen and red.

She exuded a weary and pitiful aura.

Ashamed, she instinctively wanted to flee.

But Lu Wei’an gave her no chance to escape.

He reached out, his long, clean fingers stopping before her, signaling his intention to help her up.

“I was with some friends at a bar and heard your name mentioned, so I came over.”

Her clothes were stained with remnants of food and drink from the fight, her shirt clinging tight, two buttons popped.

He showed no disdain, taking off his jacket to drape over her shoulders, continuing gently, “I thought I misheard, but it really is you. Ranran, after all these years, how have you been?”

His concern was clear, yet Ji Qingran only felt disgust.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yao had arranged the bail and approached with her friends. Upon seeing Lu Wei’an, her expression darkened as she turned to her friend, “Why did you bring him here?”

The friend looked innocent. “You said to bring an extra person. Mr. Lu volunteered. Besides, who else in Jiang City has as much face as the Lu family?”

Jiang Yao wanted to punch her friend, thinking, “This is bad, really bad.”

And it was. Ji Qingran had just broken up with Lu Tingyuan, only to immediately run into his older brother.

Moreover, Ji Qingran had once been engaged to Lu Wei’an. Although the Ji family later canceled the engagement, the history between them made this reunion awkward.

Jiang Yao tried to pull Ji Qingran away.

But Lu Wei’an spoke gently and with concern, “I’ve always heard you went abroad. I wanted to find you, but no one knew where you had gone.”

Ji Qingran had no interest in catching up. She nodded faintly and replied flatly, “When I left, hadn’t you just gotten engaged to that fake little sister of mine? What do you want from me now? Aren’t you afraid your fiancée will be angry?”

Lu Wei’an’s face stiffened before he said sincerely, “Ranran, how long will you hold this grudge? Uncle and Auntie care about you; we all hope you’ll come back.”

“No need,” Ji Qingran said without looking at him, walking on. “You can consider me dead.”

After all, she had already died once.

So-called family—she didn’t want them.

That was what she thought, but meeting Lu Wei’an again meant her past was catching up with her.

Sure enough, a few days later, the Ji family’s driver blocked her at the company entrance.

What was meant to come could not be avoided.

She didn’t make it difficult for the driver. When getting in the car, she deliberately asked, “Are you the only one coming to pick me up? I thought at least one of my parents would come personally since I’m their biological daughter. They always said they missed me after all these years, didn’t they?”

The driver awkwardly explained, “Sorry, Miss, Miss Wanrou has an important performance today.”

“Oh,” she said with a calm realization, “so my parents have gone to support the fake daughter?”

She sneered, unafraid to acknowledge Ji Wanrou’s awkward position in the family.

The driver apologized profusely and kindly warned, “Miss, it’s best not to call her the fake daughter. Sir and Madam don’t like that.”

Ji Qingran sneered quietly but said nothing more.

She went to the Ji family home. The large villa was empty; the owners were not home, and the servants went about their duties, pretending not to see her.

She sat on the sofa and waited a long time, until dusk fell, when finally there was movement at the front gate.

Her biological parents returned home with their adopted daughter, the three of them warmly reunited.

Ji Qingran heard Ji Huali ask the butler, “Has she been brought back?”

“Sir, Miss is sitting in the living room.”

Ji Huali sounded displeased. “If she’s in the living room and hears her parents come back but doesn’t greet them, she’s becoming more and more ill-mannered.”

Ji Wanrou softly comforted him, “Dad, sister hasn’t been home for a long time. Forgetting the rules is understandable. The doctor told you not to get angry because of your heart condition.”

Ji Huali snorted heavily and strode toward the living room.

Ji Qingran sat still on the sofa, slightly raising her head to meet the gaze of the family of three who had just entered.