Yan Yiren was starving. That scum, Chu Huaijin, had shown no intention of letting her eat anything. He had starved her the entire time she was there.
She picked up her chopsticks and started to eat without worrying about anyone else. Ji Hanjiang's meal remained untouched as he fixed his gaze on her. He only voiced his thoughts after she had inhaled half of her noodles. "Yiren, you said just now that you caused this trouble for yourself. Who did you offend?"
She had been missing for two days and two nights. If he included the day she had visited the cemetery, it would be three days and two nights.
Where had she been for all that time? What exactly had happened, and how did she safely return?
These barrage of questions lingered on his mind, and they didn't seem to be going away any time soon. He desperately wanted to know the answers to these questions.
Who exactly had she offended?
Yan Yiren frowned slightly. She had no idea who the man was. She could vaguely sense, however, that he was definitely not someone to be trifled with.
Besides, she didn't wish to be embroiled in a confrontation with Ji Hanjiang either.
She lowered her head, trying to hide her flushed face and the fact she was lying. "I don't know who it was," she said softly. "I… I didn't see the master of the house."
"You didn't see the master of the house?" Ji Hanjiang immediately raised his brows. "Then how do you know that you're the one that stirred up trouble?"
Now that she'd told one lie, she'd need to cover it up with a series of lies. It would snowball.
Yan Yiren had brought this upon herself. Despite not wanting to lie to him, she had no choice but to continue to do so. "On the night of the anniversary of my mother's death, I awoke in a bedroom. It was pitch black, without a sliver of light. They played pranks on me to scare me."
Yan Yiren moistened her lips, lifting her gaze uneasily to look at him. Ji Hanjiang reached across the table, clasping her slightly cold hand. "Then? I want to know everything that happened."
Yan Yiren's eyes glistened slightly, her expression turning a little gloomy. "Actually, they didn't do anything much. They just locked me in a dark room to scare me and made me starve. It was all because I had offended someone, so they abducted me to exact revenge. Some men in black who had their faces covered told me."
It pained him to hear that. Ji Hanjiang strode to the other side of the table, bringing her into his embrace once more. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault for not protecting you. I made you suffer…"
"Hanjiang, don't blame yourself. I'm really ok."
Yan Yiren's words of comfort had no effect. Ji Hanjiang clenched his jaw tightly, trying to suppress his anger. "If I find out who is responsible for this, I will definitely not let him off the hook!"
Yan Yiren's heart ached. On one hand, she felt guilty for lying to him. On the other hand, she truly felt the love and concern that was pouring out of him.
While she felt moved, she also felt an undeniable tinge of guilt.
All of a sudden, she felt very unsettled. She was unable to settle on a single emotion.
Ji Hanjiang lowered his head, gazing at her as she nuzzled into his embrace. Her slender arms held him tightly. He suddenly realized that he could easily have scared her.
Patting her back, Ji Hanjiang concealed his emotions as he softened his voice. "Alright, let's not talk about it anymore. Didn't you say you were starving? Hurry up and dig in!"
Yan Yiren nodded as she took a seat, picking up her chopsticks as she continued eating her noodles.
Ji Hanjiang pushed his bowl of untouched noodles over to her. "Have this bowl too."
"You aren't eating?" Yan Yiren gazed at his thin and haggard face, sighing under her breath.
The sense of guilt weighed on her even more.
Yan Yiren, Yan Yiren, do you see how much this man cares for you?
Lying to someone who cares for you! It's despicable!
She didn't dare mention the times where Chu Huaijin had humiliated and molested her when she was being held captive.
She was afraid…