Dating Myself - Chapter 28

An Mu first called the adoptive parents, pretending to be Jian Yixi’s friend asking if they had gotten home. They hadn’t, but they were at the provincial capital, waiting for another train to get back to Shunyi.

This wasn’t the first time An Mu had spoken to them since she was reborn. She had called them from France, pretending to be Jian Yixi’s classmate. When she returned to China, she had detoured to Shunyi to see them from a distance. Just seeing them, alive and well, after they had been dead for so many years, was enough for her, even though they walked past her like a stranger. As long as they were alive, it didn’t matter if they didn’t recognize her. Although she felt a little sad, it was nothing compared to the joy of them being alive again.

An Mu confirmed with the adoptive parents that they had already taken the high-speed train. Jian Yixi should have been back in the city by then. She should have contacted her, as they had planned to go to the hospital together for the IV. Why was her phone turned off? Was it lost? Was the battery dead? Or was there another reason?

An Mu immediately ruled out the Jian family. Jian Yixi would not have gone back to the Jian family without contacting her first. The most likely reason was that her phone was dead. There were no convenient quick-charge services in the area. Jian Yixi didn’t have any cash to get back to the city, and she didn’t remember her family’s phone numbers, so she couldn’t contact anyone.

Even though she thought Jian Yixi wasn’t stupid enough to walk home without getting a taxi first and paying when she got there, what if she didn’t want to ask her family for money and was too embarrassed to ask her? An Mu took a taxi to the high-speed train station, keeping a lookout for Jian Yixi walking home. She couldn’t find her at the station or any of the nearby shops. She called Jian Yixi again, but her phone was still off.

Was she taken back by her family? That was probably it. If her phone was on, she would have called. The fact that she didn’t call meant her phone was off. An Mu rubbed her temple and looked at the vast night sky, the bright moon, the brightly lit station, and the tall grass by the side of the road. She suddenly felt ridiculous. She was trying to teach Jian Yixi to grow up, but she panicked when she couldn’t reach her. What could have happened to Jian Yixi? At most, she would have gotten hit or yelled at, or had to walk a few steps if she had no money for a taxi. What was that compared to what she had gone through in her last life?

Jian Yixi wanted to solve these problems herself, so she should be allowed to. If she didn’t trust Jian Yixi, who would? She stopped looking and went home. She believed Jian Yixi could handle herself.

An Mu took a taxi home. She walked through the quiet neighborhood, took the elevator up to the ninth floor, and reached her door. The hallway was empty. The cold white light of the hallway made the beige tile floor look even colder.

Click. She unlocked the door and closed it behind her, leaving the hallway behind. She calmly walked into the bathroom, showered, blow-dried her hair, got into bed, and took out her laptop.

She could edit the surveillance video of Wen Qiaoyun and use it later. She found the video file and watched the arrogant Wen Qiaoyun. An Mu found it hilarious. Wen Qiaoyun’s guess was what she had expected. They probably thought her family was down on their luck, and she was no match for the Jian family, so they didn’t have to worry about her. But what they didn’t know was that she was doing this on purpose. She could have hired a PR team to easily ruin Jian Yihu’s life. But she chose not to. She wanted them to think she was weak and that they still had a chance. She wanted to watch them struggle, exhaust themselves, and then realize that they were just fish on a cutting board, and all their efforts were futile. All their struggles were a joke to her. The pain of being toyed with and helpless was what she wanted to see. Of course, maximizing profit was not just a pursuit for business people; it was her belief, too. While taking revenge, it was more important to her to use them as material to teach Jian Yixi to grow.

She found the video and dragged it to the editing software. It wasn’t very long, and she didn’t need to add special effects. She just needed to cut out the part she wanted, which was very simple and didn’t take much time. She saved the edited video and uploaded it to the cloud. An Mu casually clicked on the rest of the surveillance video to see if there was anything else. Everything was normal…

An Mu narrowed her eyes, rewound the video, and watched it again. Why was the doorbell lit up? An Mu’s doorbell had a small light that changed colors when someone rang it. Someone came to visit her while she was gone? Who could it be? She had just moved to Weicheng. Other than Jian Yixi, no one knew where she lived. The property manager wouldn’t come to see her this late. It couldn’t be the Jian family trying to bribe her. They would have called her if she hadn’t been home. It could only be Jian Yixi.

An Mu looked at the time. It was 10:36 PM, which was two hours ago. Jian Yixi came to see her this late, probably to get her IV. Since she couldn’t find her, she must have gone to the hospital by herself. Jian Yixi had thin veins, and the IV was slow. Yesterday, it took her almost four hours to finish. If she had gone to the hospital, she probably wasn’t done yet.

An Mu had already showered and was ready to go to bed. She hesitated, got up, changed her clothes, grabbed her phone and keys, and went out. She couldn’t sleep anyway. She might as well go check on her and see how she was doing. She wasn’t… really stupid enough to walk from the train station, was she?

Jian Yixi didn’t stay long in front of An Mu’s door. The second time she tried to check her phone, she remembered she had muted it because Jian Xiangwei kept harassing her. He must have called so many times that the battery died. Jian Xiangwei couldn’t find her, so he might come to An Mu’s place. Wouldn’t she be causing her trouble by staying here?

Jian Yixi struggled to get up and walked down the stairs. She walked under two rows of plane trees. The dense branches blocked out the sky, so she couldn’t see the stars. Only a few patches of moonlight fell on her. A chilly wind blew, and her thin cotton T-shirt clung to her. She pushed her messy hair away from her face and looked at the neighborhood entrance, which seemed so far away. Her head was still spinning. Her steps were heavy and unsteady. The moment she raised her hand to push her hair away, she stumbled, and a strong wave of nausea almost made her throw up. It was so uncomfortable. Mom, Dad… I’m not feeling well…

Jian Yixi didn’t dare to squat, fearing she wouldn’t be able to stand up. She staggered a few steps and held onto a rough tree trunk. The more uncomfortable she was, the faster her mind worked. How could she get out of this situation? She felt a physical discomfort and a suffocating emotional discomfort. She wanted to leave the Jian family! She wanted to so badly.

What should she do? Yesterday, she was so confident that she could solve the problem herself, but today she was in such a miserable state. Jian Yixi, can you be any more useless?!

She held onto the tree trunk, clutching her chest, and dry-heaved a few times. She threw up a little bit of sour water. Her mouth was sour, and she had no water to rinse it. The sourness was followed by a bitter taste. She held it in and dry-heaved a few more times. She suddenly smiled. She was too weak to laugh out loud, but she laughed silently. She was so ridiculous. The Jian family treated her adoptive parents like monkeys. They summoned them and dismissed them at will, and said such terrible things to them. As their daughter, she could only watch! She couldn’t even call them Mom and Dad openly! Why?! Her adoptive parents had rushed over all night, but she had to send them away again. Was there nothing she could do?!

She thought of An Mu. In just three days, An Mu had turned the Jian family upside down. She had even cleared Qi Liran’s name. Could she not even do something as small as leaving the Jian family? She could. There had to be a way. She had to think. She leaned against the tree. The high fever made her head pound. The more she thought, the more it felt like her head was going to explode. She wanted to throw up… Why couldn’t she leave the Jian family? Why… Jian Yixi suddenly opened her eyes. A deep, determined look appeared in her red eyes. There was a way!

Half an hour later, Jian Yixi entered the house. Jian Xiangwei and Wen Qiaoyun were still up, arguing about Jian Yihu. Jian Yihu had just been discharged from the hospital and was already asleep. All her worries had disappeared since Wen Qiaoyun got involved. Why should she worry when her parents were taking care of everything? She should just eat, sleep, and continue taking sick days. She wouldn’t go back to school to be mocked. Jian Yihu was sleeping soundly, and her parents were arguing loudly. Jian Yixi staggered in, and the couple’s anger immediately turned on her.

“Where have you been?! What time is it?!” Jian Xiangwei was furious. He slammed the table repeatedly, not caring about the pain.

“I have a fever. I don’t feel well. Can we talk about this tomorrow?” Jian Yixi could barely keep her eyes open. Her hands were weak as she changed her shoes.

Jian Xiangwei sneered, “Didn’t you say you were getting an IV this afternoon?! Where did you go?! Don’t give me that nonsense! Post on Weibo first.”

Jian Yixi said feebly, “Post what?”

“Post that what happened to your sister was a misunderstanding and that An Mu instigated it!”

“I can’t lie. I won’t do it.”

“You b*tch, say that again!” Jian Xiangwei had just picked up his teacup to soothe his throat. In a fit of rage, he threw the cup on the floor. It shattered, and water and tea leaves spilled everywhere.

“I won’t.” Jian Yixi’s voice was soft, but she was firm. Compared to Jian Xiangwei’s yelling, it was more infuriating.

Before Jian Xiangwei could react, Wen Qiaoyun ran over and started hitting her. “You ungrateful little brat! I’ll beat you to death! I wish I had never given birth to you!”

Jian Yihu came out of her room, went to the balcony, and watched for a while before slowly walking downstairs. She went over to her mother, crying. “Mom, stop hitting her. It’s okay. I’m the one who made a mistake. I’ll go to a juvenile detention center. I’ll accept it. She’s my sister. What if you hurt her?”

“You still think of her as your sister, but she has forgotten that you’re her sister!” Jian Xiangwei was annoyed by all the crying and yelling. He pulled Wen Qiaoyun away and kicked Jian Yixi. Now it was more than just a Weibo post. Their authority was being challenged.

At work, all their employees bowed to them. Their eldest daughter, no matter how arrogant, never talked back to them. Why was this girl so disobedient?!

“Are you going to post or not?! It’s just a Weibo post! Is it that hard?! You didn’t even hesitate when I bought you a phone and clothes!”

Jian Yixi hit the door with a thud. She was already weak, and now she saw stars. She tried to argue, saying she would never do anything against her conscience. “Since I annoy you so much, why did you bring me back? I don’t want to live with you. I miss my adoptive parents. I want to go to them.”

Jian Xiangwei was furious. “Don’t you dare! You’re a Jian. You will die a Jian!”

Wen Qiaoyun was also furious. If Jian Xiangwei hadn’t been in front of her, she would have slapped her again. “I gave birth to you and suffered to have you, only for you to annoy me?! If you dare to go to them, I will break your legs!”

Jian Xiangwei suddenly had an idea. “If you don’t post on Weibo, I’ll make sure they can’t live a normal life!”

Jian Yixi trembled on the floor. “That’s illegal.”

Jian Xiangwei scoffed, “What illegal?! If I can’t deal with those two poor people, then I’ll quit my job! Hurry up and post! Or I won’t be so nice!”

Jian Yixi grabbed the doorknob, struggled to her feet, and, when they weren’t looking, opened the door and ran. Jian Xiangwei was stunned. He tried to grab her but missed. He ran after her.

“You b*tch, get back here! Where do you think you’re going?!”

As she ran, Jian Yixi took out her phone. The phone was connected to a new power bank. She was still recording the video. She didn’t turn it off. Instead, she switched to the dial pad and called 110. The dispatcher answered immediately.

“I’m at Mingzhu Shijia, Building 6, Row 3! I’m being chased and beaten! My name is Jian Yixi. Please help me! Ah!”

Jian Xiangwei caught up to her. He was shocked that she had called the police. He tried to snatch her phone away. Jian Yixi looked at Jian Yihu, who had come out to watch. She bit her lip and started crying, “Dad! Don’t hit me! I was wrong! I won’t make my sister angry again! I’m sorry! Stop hitting me!”

A neighbor heard the noise and looked out the window. They saw Jian Yixi hunched over and Jian Xiangwei angrily waving his hand. The people in this area were all from the Weicheng business community. They weren’t close, but they knew each other for their own benefit. The neighbor yelled, “Old Jian, what are you doing?”

Jian Xiangwei’s face turned ugly. He couldn’t let his family’s secrets get out. He stopped trying to get her phone and started dragging her back inside. “It’s nothing. The child is being disobedient. I’m just teaching her a lesson.”

Jian Yixi struggled and held onto the fence at the gate. “Help! Help me! He’s going to kill me! Help!!!” The night was quiet, so everyone nearby could hear her. Jian Xiangwei’s face was ashen. He was about to lose his temper. Wen Qiaoyun came to help him drag her. Jian Yixi was already weak from her fever. She couldn’t fight both of them and was dragged into the house. The neighbor clicked his tongue and closed his window. They didn’t want to get involved.

As soon as they were inside, Jian Xiangwei threw her to the floor in a fit of rage. She hit the ground with a thud. He didn’t care if she was hurt. He raised his hand to hit her, but he saw her flushed face and, for some reason, held back. He paced back and forth angrily. Wen Qiaoyun was also leaning against a cabinet, breathing heavily.

Jian Yixi tried to hold herself together and quickly turned off the video. Before Jian Xiangwei could say anything, she turned her phone and showed it to them. “I have recorded everything you’ve said, including your domestic violence and threats. It has all been uploaded to the cloud. I’m the only one who knows the password, and it’s not linked to my phone. You can think of this as a threat. I don’t want to make a big scene. I just want to leave the Jian family and change my Hukou.”

An Mu had registered and linked the Weibo and cloud accounts for her. Wen Qiaoyun angrily took the phone from her and tried to log into the cloud. She couldn’t.

“You think you can threaten us with this?! What parents don’t hit their kids?!”

Jian Yixi knew that this minor case of domestic violence was not enough to put them in jail. She struggled to stand up. No matter how dizzy she was, she forced herself to stand tall.

“What if I post it online?”

Jian Yihu couldn’t stay quiet anymore. “You wouldn’t dare!”

Jian Yixi looked up at them with her fever-red face and said, “You threatened me to post on Weibo and even resorted to physical violence. What would people say if the beloved long-lost daughter was treated like this? Do you think the netizens’ outrage would flood Jian Yihu’s Weibo?”

Jian Xiangwei was a businessman. He finally understood. “You did this on purpose! You deliberately provoked us to hit you!”

Jian Yixi wanted to shake her head, but she didn’t dare. She was so dizzy she was afraid she would fall if she did. “I didn’t. I just said what I wanted to say. And you reacted just as I expected, taking out your anger on me.”

Wen Qiaoyun had never been so angry in her life. She clutched her chest, her fingers trembling as she pointed at An Mu. Her voice was shaking. “How… how did I give birth to something like you?! I should have strangled you when you were born! Why did I keep you to anger me to death?!”

Jian Yihu held Wen Qiaoyun’s arm and comforted her. Her eyes darted back and forth. She wasn’t worried about Jian Yixi. She was worried that Jian Yixi would actually post the video. The old news hadn’t even been cleared yet, and Qi Liran was trying to sue her. Things couldn’t get any worse!

“Mom, if she doesn’t want to stay, just let her go. If the video gets out, it’s not just me who will be embarrassed. You will, too.”

Wen Qiaoyun was a little hesitant. She was about to let Jian Yixi go when Jian Xiangwei suddenly stopped pacing and yelled, “Our long-lost daughter just came back, and now we’re kicking her out, especially at a time like this. What will people say? They’ll say we favor the older one and treat the younger one badly! That’s the nice version. They’ll say we kicked out the younger one for the older one!”

They would never let Jian Yixi go back to her adoptive parents. Not for their reputation, not because of the current situation, and not because of the anger they felt. Jian Xiangwei and Wen Qiaoyun would never agree. However, Jian Yixi was firm. If she couldn’t leave, she would post the video online!

The sound of a police siren echoed from outside. The 110 call had been received. Jian Yixi looked at the phone in Wen Qiaoyun’s hand. “Do you want me to show the video to the police?”

Wen Qiaoyun was so angry she almost threw up blood. “Do you really want to kill me?!”

Jian Xiangwei looked out the window. His face was getting uglier. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Jian Yixi forced a smile. “You’ll find out if I’m kidding soon. You have… ten seconds to think about it.”

At one in the morning, An Mu closed her laptop, changed her clothes, and was about to go to the hospital to find Jian Yixi. When she opened the door, she saw Jian Yixi leaning against the door frame. Her hair was a mess, and her face was red. Her eyes were so red she could barely keep them open. She was raising her hand to ring the doorbell.

When she saw An Mu, Jian Yixi was a little slow to react. A confused smile appeared on her face. She looked weak and a little silly. “Hi, An Mu… Can I… can I be your roommate?”