Moonlight Allure - Chapter 27.2

A few days later, Jiang Tingshuo and Jiang Jue finally returned home in the evening. Jiang Xueyin ran downstairs the moment she heard them.

Jiang Tingshuo’s expression softened slightly seeing her rush to greet them. Their relationship had been at freezing point since the cruise.

“Why are you running?” he asked.

“Dad, was Lin Shan sentenced?” Jiang Xueyin asked, her voice trembling. She hadn’t seen any news of it.

Jiang Tingshuo’s face darkened. “You ask this the moment I walk in? Have you learned nothing? How could she be sentenced? She walked out of the station perfectly fine. It was just a lovers’ quarrel; why did you have to meddle?”

“What.” Jiang Xueyin turned pale. “So, Lin Xi is still in the country?”

“You really do care about everyone except your own family,” Jiang Tingshuo sat on the sofa. “Your brother and I have been busy cleaning up your mess. To get Xiao Nianru to agree to the divorce, we promised to send Lin Xi abroad. Once we fulfilled that, the Lin family came for us.”

Jiang Jue handed his father a cup of tea. “Lin Shan is a lunatic, and Lin Xi is her weakness. Of course she’s lashing out. But we aren’t pushovers, Dad. Don’t worry. With me here, they won’t cause any real trouble.”

“Anyway, thank you,” Jiang Xueyin said, feeling dazed. Even if she didn’t like the Jiangs’ methods, they had kept their word about Xiao Qingyu.

“Don’t meddle in such things again. I’ll take you to a banquet in two days. You will apologize properly then,” Jiang Jue added.

Jiang Xueyin lowered her eyes, hiding the cynicism within, and nodded obediently.

That night, she knocked on Jiang Jue’s door.

“Come in.”

Jiang Jue looked up. “It’s late. What is it?”

“Something important.” Jiang Xueyin closed the door and sat across from him. “I was wondering if you could help me, Brother.”

“If it’s anything like the cruise, the answer is no,” he said flatly.

“This should be a good thing for you,” she said calmly.

Jiang Jue closed his laptop, his eyes searching hers. “What is it?”

“I want to leave the Jiang family. Truly and completely. I’m renouncing my identity.”

Jiang Jue tapped his fingers on the desk. “What benefit is there for me? If they find out I helped you, they’ll turn their anger on me.”

“No one needs to know but us. As for the benefit.” Jiang Xueyin let out a soft laugh. “Dear brother, do you really not know? You know that as long as I remain here, I could enter the company at any moment. You fought so hard to prove yourself, while I only have to open my mouth. That must feel incredibly unfair, doesn’t it?”

Jiang Jue’s gaze darkened, his lips thinning into a cold, hard line.

“Give me a new identity, a new bank card, and make sure everyone knows that the Jiang family’s Jiang Xueyin has been disowned and left to fend for herself. That way, you’ve given the Lin and Li families the accountability they want, haven’t you?” Jiang Xueyin said slowly.

“Have you really thought this through?” Jiang Jue looked at his sister, a trace of doubt flickering in his eyes.

“As long as I stay here, I will always be under someone else’s thumb. And if I’m under your thumb, it will be impossible for me to be with Xiao Nianru,” Jiang Xueyin added, providing a reason she knew he would find believable.

Jiang Jue let out a light chuckle. “After all this, it’s still for Xiao Nianru. Then why did you bother coming back at all?”

“At that time, my eyes were blinded by illusions of warmth. Now I see clearly, so I’ve decided to leave. Surely, you’ll help me, Brother?”

Jiang Xueyin, who grew up in a loveless home, had initially indulged in the Jiang family’s care. But the cruise incident had acted like a bucket of ice water. Some things simply didn’t belong to her.

Jiang Jue asked, “What about the photography studio you just started? What about your directing career? I know you offended an investor before, but after returning to the Jiang family, that obstacle vanished. If you leave, you’ll likely fall back into that same predicament.”

Jiang Xueyin caught the underlying truth, the investor’s “blacklisting” was likely facilitated by the Jiang family to force her home. She flashed a cynical smile. “Is Brother asking for a guarantee that I won’t change my mind and try to crawl back to the Jiang family later?”

“I didn’t say that. I just don’t want to bring unnecessary risk upon myself,” Jiang Jue replied.

“Then how about this: Jiang Xueyin dies in a fire. The dead cannot return to life. Will that satisfy you?” she asked nonchalantly, her fingertips trailing over the armrest of her chair.

Jiang Jue suddenly smiled. “The way you put it makes it sound as though I’m the one forcing you.”

“It is my own choice,” Jiang Xueyin said flatly.

Jiang Jue nodded. “Fine. I’ll arrange it in a few days.”

“A few more things,” Jiang Xueyin continued. “If these aren’t finished, I won’t be able to ‘rest in peace.’”

“Speak. As long as it’s within my power, I’ll satisfy you.”

“Xiao Nianru has an assistant named Xu Wei. Find a way to make her leave voluntarily,” Jiang Xueyin paused. “But don’t threaten her. Give her some benefits, and make sure Xiao Nianru doesn’t find out the Jiang family was involved.”

“Just that?” Jiang Jue chuckled. “You’re so good to her, yet I heard that when she submitted the divorce papers at the Civil Affairs Bureau, she didn’t hesitate for a second.”

Jiang Xueyin’s lashes fluttered, but she didn’t answer. “If Dad tries to make things difficult for Xiao Nianru, please stop him. Also, my new assistant, Zhao Shu, arrange a new job for her. That’s all.”

“Understood.” Jiang Jue agreed decisively. He had worried she would want company shares; now he saw his sister was just a hopeless romantic.

“I’ll leave it to you then.” Jiang Xueyin stood to leave, but Jiang Jue called her back.

“Wait.” He stood up, his eyes deep and searching. “I can’t help but feel that you are a completely different person from before.”

The old Jiang Xueyin, even at her most romantic, was never the type to give selflessly. She would make sure the other person knew the exact price she had paid. She had what the internet called a “predatory romantic brain.”

Jiang Xueyin stiffened. She didn’t turn around. “People change.”

“Indeed, they do,” Jiang Jue laughed. As long as his goal was achieved, the details didn’t matter.

Three days later, the sky was a leaden gray.

Following Jiang Jue’s arrangements, Jiang Xueyin sat in a car containing her new documents: ID, passport, bank card, and a thick file of background info. Her name was now Jiang Xueci, only one character different. Her face was the same, but her history was entirely new.

According to the file, Jiang Xueci was a child from a mountain village who had been lost and adopted by a couple. They had put her through school, but before she could repay them, they died in a house fire. She was now a fresh university graduate looking for work.

Jiang Xueyin’s eyes shifted. Jiang Jue had left her a backdoor, if she ever wanted to return, she could claim to be the original’s long-lost twin.

As the engine started, she looked back at the villa she had lived in for a month. Her bedroom window was already flickering with fire. A pity about those cameras, she thought.

The driver dropped her at a rental agency and left. Jiang Xueyin stood at the curb, and five minutes later, a cold autumn rain began to fall, soaking the shoulders of her chiffon dress. She boarded the 906 bus; there was a stop near Xiao Nianru’s apartment. She didn’t know the exact unit, but she decided to wait at the gate and try her luck.

Xiao Nianru finished a scene and checked her phone. Two weeks. No reply from Jiang Xueyin. A sliver of worry appeared in her eyes.

“Sister Nianru, have some water.” Xu Wei handed her a thermos.

“Thank you.” As she drank, Xiao Nianru looked at the sky. Dark clouds were gathering.

“The crew is going out for barbecue tonight. Are you coming?” Xu Wei knew Xiao Nianru hated going out in the rain.

“Tell them I’m watching my weight and have to pass.”

As she packed up to leave, the rain intensified. Xu Wei helped her into a coat. “Sister Nianru.”

“What is it?”

Xu Wei bit her lip. “I just saw a news report, they say there’s a fire at the Jiang estate. Jiang Xueyin is trapped inside. There’s no news on her being rescued yet.”

CLATTER.

The thermos hit the floor, leaving a deep dent in the casing.

“How.” Xiao Nianru turned deathly pale. “How could the Jiang house catch fire?”

She had finally found someone from her own world. Regardless of the complicated feelings between them, she didn’t want her to die.

“Drive to the Jiang estate! Now!” Xiao Nianru sprinted toward the van, but Xu Wei held her back.

“Sister Li told me to stop you! Reporters are already blocking the roads. If you go, they’ll catch you on camera. You just divorced her! Do you want to be on the trending searches with her again?”

“To the public, we are amicably divorced. If something happened to her, I should at least look,” Xiao Nianru said, getting into the back seat.

When she arrived at the neighborhood, it was swarming with reporters. Xiao Nianru used the access card Jiang Xueyin had given her to slip past the gates, leaving the “zombies” in colorful raincoats behind.

“Is that Xiao Nianru?” someone screamed, followed by the frantic click-click of shutters.

The air near the villa was thick with the smell of smoke. Fire trucks were still parked there. “Mr. Jiang, is she out?” Xiao Nianru ignored everything else and ran toward Jiang Tingshuo.

He turned, his face exhausted. When he saw her, his expression curdled into ice. “Get out.”

“I just want to know if she’s safe. If she is, I’ll leave immediately.” Xiao Nianru saw the -10% favorability above his head and felt a chill.

“She hasn’t been pulled out yet. You have nothing to do with her anymore. Leave,” Jiang Tingshuo hissed. “And how did you get in? You have a card? Did Xueyin give it to you?”

Xiao Nianru looked at the windows billowing thick gray smoke, her heart sinking. She gave a small nod.

“Hand it over. And don’t come back.” He held out his hand. She gave him the card. “Now leave, unless you want to be seen being kicked out by my bodyguards.”

As she left the gate, reporters surrounded her again.

“Xiao Nianru! They say she set the fire herself! Is it because you forced the divorce?”

“How is her condition?”

“Will you feel guilty if she dies?”

Xiao Nianru’s face was frozen, the rain wetting her lashes. She didn’t look like her usual gentle self. Fortunately, Li Han arrived with bodyguards to shield her.

Inside the car, Li Han sighed. “If she’s dead, it’ll be on the news. If she’s fine, she has the Jiangs to pamper her. Nianru, let go. No matter how you answer these reporters, they’ll find a way to twist it.”

“I have let go, Sister Li,” Xiao Nianru said, forcing a smile.

By the time she reached her own apartment, it was dark. She told the driver to stop at the gate instead of the underground garage. She wanted to walk.

Li Han followed her gaze and saw a familiar figure huddled by a signpost near the entrance. The girl had no umbrella; her hair was soaked, and her dress was plastered to her body. Li Han sighed and handed Xiao Nianru an umbrella. “Go on then. Don’t be silly and stand in the rain yourself.”

Xiao Nianru took the umbrella and walked toward Jiang Xueyin. As the girl looked up, Xiao Nianru stopped in her tracks.

Rain streamed down the girl’s face, wetting her lashes. She looked like a drenched, homeless puppy. Above her head, the Favorability meter had climbed to a staggering 90%.

“What are you doing crouching here?” Xiao Nianru asked softly, her gaze tender. “Come here.”

“Niannian, I’m not like them. Please don’t leave me behind, okay? I don’t have a home anymore.” Jiang Xueyin’s voice was thick with tears, piteous and broken. “On the cruise, I said I’d tell you a story. I’ll write it for you later, okay?”

“I’m cold, can I stay at your place to hide from the rain?”

A strange emotion fluttered in Xiao Nianru’s heart. Before, Jiang Xueyin’s love had been restrained. Now, she was laying it completely bare.

Is this really just the love of a fan for an idol?