When a "Sea King" is Bound to a System [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 24

Jiang Yan felt like she was having a heart attack during this meal.

She listened to the adults loudly discussing her and Yuan Zhao’s marriage, and her urge to flip the table grew stronger.

Jiang Zhen sat across from her, holding a wine cup, her eyes dark.

Her status was different now, so the Yuan family naturally couldn’t neglect her.

Yuan Hao held up his wine cup and said to Jiang Zhen, “Zhen’er, I haven’t congratulated you on your generalship yet.”

Jiang Zhen raised her wine cup and clinked it against Yuan Hao’s. “It should be me toasting you, Uncle. I was in a hurry just now and didn’t prepare a birthday gift for you. It’s my fault, so I’ll punish myself with three cups.”

She drank three cups of wine in a row, full of sincerity.

Yuan Hao smiled at Jiang Chengsha and said, “Zhen’er has a straightforward personality. She’s very much like you. No wonder she could inherit your legacy and earn the Emperor’s favor.”

Jiang Chengsha, being a straightforward man, took Yuan Hao’s words as praise for Jiang Zhen and replied with a smile, “The Prince is right. This child’s personality is indeed like mine.”

Yuan Hao said nothing more and clinked his cup with Jiang Chengsha’s again.

Jiang Yan didn’t care what her uncle meant, nor what they were talking about. Her eyes were fixed on Jiang Zhen from the moment she entered the room and never left.

Unfortunately, Jiang Zhen never looked at her. Other than occasionally saying a few words to Jiang Chengsha and Yuan Hao, she just poured and drank wine by herself.

Jiang Yan looked at her eagerly for half an hour, watching her finish a pot of aged wine. Even though her eyes were getting misty with drunkenness, her face remained unusually calm.

Yuan Zhao noticed the unusual atmosphere between the two of them. He leaned closer to Jiang Yan and asked in a low voice, “Did you two have a fight?”

Jiang Yan was so annoyed that she didn’t give him a good look.

“Stay away from me. Don’t bother me!”

A hint of slyness flashed in Yuan Zhao’s eyes. He didn’t move away but instead moved closer. Their arms were touching, without a single gap.

Jiang Zhen’s hand, which was holding the cup, tightened. Her fingertips turned white, and the mockery in her eyes grew stronger.

She stood up and said to the two of them, “I haven’t had a chance to congratulate you, Cousin and younger sister. I wish you a happy and long life together.”

Jiang Yan couldn’t stand her passive-aggressive behavior anymore. She stood up from her seat without a second thought, walked up to her, grabbed her wrist, and said in a low voice, “Come outside with me. I have something to say to you.”

Jiang Zhen didn’t resist and followed her out. Yuan Feng’s expression suddenly changed, and she was about to go after them, but Yuan Zhao stopped her.

“Aunt, you don’t need to trouble yourself. If you’re worried about my cousin, I’ll go keep an eye on them for you.”

After saying that, he fanned himself and walked out, not forgetting to close the door behind him.

Jiang Yan dragged Jiang Zhen to a corner on the second floor. She looked at her eagerly and, in her old obedient manner, explained, “Elder Sister, it’s not what you think. My cousin and I, we’re innocent. Nothing is going on between us.”

Jiang Zhen let out a cold laugh, her eyes full of mockery. “Talking about marriage, acting intimately. What do you mean ‘nothing is going on’? If I hadn’t come today, you two would probably be getting married soon, right? My younger sister is truly interesting. It’s your good fortune to be able to marry into the Prince of Xiangyang’s Manor, so why are you trying so hard to explain it to me? I’ve already told you that your affairs have nothing to do with me. No matter whom you want to marry, it’s your freedom. You don’t need to tell me.”

Jiang Yan’s breath caught in her throat, and her heart began to ache. But she still had hope for Jiang Zhen. She thought that if she just explained herself, everything would be fine. She knew that Jiang Zhen wasn’t completely indifferent to her. Otherwise, what was this behavior now?

“Elder Sister, it’s really not what you think. I don’t like my cousin at all. How could I be with him?”

“I said, you don’t need to explain to me!”

Jiang Zhen seemed to be afraid of hearing what she was going to say next. She shook off Jiang Yan’s hand and walked away quickly.

Jiang Yan had already made up her mind to make things clear to her. She would not let her leave.

She chased after her and hugged Jiang Zhen from behind, burying her face in her back. “Elder Sister, don’t go. What will I do if you leave?”

‘What will happen to my heart that I gave to you?’

Jiang Zhen struggled out of her grasp, turned around to look at her, and sneered, “You will naturally marry into the Prince of Xiangyang’s Manor and become the Crown Princess. What, a Crown Princess isn’t enough for you?”

Jiang Yan quickly shook her head. “I don’t want to be a Crown Princess. I just want to be with you, Elder Sister!”

Jiang Zhen’s eyes instantly became cold. She grabbed Jiang Yan’s chin, her voice sinister. “Stop acting. I’m sick of your ‘good sister’ mask! Since I have no more use to you, how long are you going to keep up the act?”

Jiang Yan was confused. She opened her big, clear eyes and asked, “Elder Sister, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

Jiang Zhen’s eyes grew colder. She stared at Jiang Yan for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

“You really are dedicated. You must have suffered a lot of grievances all these years to make me believe you, right? What are you going to do next? Are you going to use your act of pretending to be weak and pitiful to deceive me again?!”

Jiang Yan didn’t know why Jiang Zhen had suddenly become like this, but she had already fallen into a spiral of paranoia. Jiang Yan could only try her best to appease her.

“I never lied to you. I love being with you. As long as you need me, I will always be by your side.”

Jiang Zhen looked at her with a sarcastic smile. With every word Jiang Yan said, her smile deepened.

“You love me?” She leaned closer to Jiang Yan. The distance between them was no more than a finger. “What kind of love? Hmm?”

Jiang Yan’s face turned red all the way to her neck. She couldn’t even speak properly.

“It’s… the kind of love between lovers. I love you, Elder Sister, so I will never be with anyone else!”

Jiang Yan was so busy professing her feelings that she didn’t see the fleeting look of disdain in Jiang Zhen’s eyes.

“Does Yan’er really love me?”

Because of the wine, Jiang Zhen’s voice was slightly hoarse, carrying a fatal seduction that made Jiang Yan fly into the fire like a moth.

“Yes.”

As soon as Jiang Yan said the word, her lips were met with a kiss. The faint scent of wine swirled in her nose, making her even more dizzy.

‘Does this mean that Elder Sister loves me, too?’

Her heart was leaping with joy. She let Jiang Zhen do what she wanted, allowing her to be rough and forceful.

Jiang Zhen kept her eyes open the entire time. In contrast to the passionately involved Jiang Yan, she was terrifyingly calm.

Feeling a gaze on her face, Jiang Yan opened her eyes, only to see the coldness and mockery in Jiang Zhen’s eyes.

She was stunned. She pushed Jiang Zhen away, and her brows slowly furrowed.

Jiang Zhen’s voice came from above, making her feel as if she had fallen into a frozen abyss.

“Is this what you wanted? To make me submit this way? Jiang Yan, you’ve miscalculated. I’m not a man. Your seduction won’t work on me. You sacrificed your dignity to please me. You know what it was for. To be honest, the way you looked just now was truly… disgusting.”

Jiang Yan took a step back, her shoulder blades hitting a pillar. Pain spread through her body.

Jiang Zhen flicked her sleeve and left, not seeing the tears that were about to fall from Jiang Yan’s eyes.