This man carried himself with the demeanor of a king. Every word he spoke exuded nobility.
Seeing him take away the disgraced Ji Yunhuan so resolutely, Gu Xinran was infuriated. Looking around, she realized Qi Cheng's intervention made everyone too intimidated to mock her.
She began to regret her excessive behavior just now, which gave Ji Yunhuan the chance to play the victim.
Although Ji Yunhuan was currently down and out, she was still quite attractive. If not for everyone knowing her fiancé was Gu Yubai and aware of the relationship between the Gu Family Residence and Qi Cheng, countless men would have wanted to keep her.
Men have always liked fragile women, so Gu Xinran felt it was her fault for making Qi Cheng feel sympathetic towards Ji Yunhuan.
Had she known this would move Qi Cheng, she would rather have been splashed a few more times by Ji Yunhuan.
The narrow bedroom seemed a bit old because it hadn't been renovated for a long time. Ji Yunhuan stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the clothes she had just changed into.
Her face looked somewhat pale. Thinking back on the Gu Family's reaction, she could still feel a shiver down her spine. However, for the now penniless Ji Yunhuan, she had no support, let alone any desire to confront the Gu Family.
Her brother needed to pay his hospital fees next week. Thinking of the five thousand she had thrown away in a fit of anger, her heart ached.
She finished adjusting her clothes and walked out of the bedroom. Qi Cheng, who had brought her back, was still standing in the living room.
This small apartment was rented by Ji Yunhuan. She usually lived here. The Ji Family's former house had been sold when her father had his accident. The rest, some of her own branded clothes and accessories, were all sold to pay for her brother's surgery.
Thinking of what the doctor had said, "It's better to give up. This won't cure him. It's just a waste of money."
Her heart ached repeatedly. But her brother, now her only family, she really didn't want to give up on him.
With her parents gone, she was already grieving enough. She didn't want to lose her only relative, so even at great expense, she wanted to do everything she could to let her brother live one more day.
Qi Cheng's tall frame made the entire house feel cramped. His regal presence made the place seem even more dilapidated. Ji Yunhuan glanced at the Armani custom-made suit jacket she had thrown on the sofa, picked it up, and examined it. She knew that a man like him would never wear it again after it had been dirtied by her. The wet marks on it made her frown.
She said, "Leave your number. I'll return the cleaned clothes to you."
Qi Cheng, observing her calm demeanor, thought she would ask why he helped her, but she showed no interest in such a question.
He glanced at the suit she held in her hands. He had little concern for the fate of the clothing. Having surveyed the room earlier, he now looked at Ji Yunhuan, who had changed into fresh clothes. Though he had never met her before, he knew she had once been the most distinguished princess of City A. Now...
Her current outfit was embarrassingly cheap.
A sarcastic smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, "I knew the Ji Family fell, but I didn't expect Ms. Ji to be living in such hardship, in a place like this."
Ji Yunhuan raised her face to look at him. She had already been ridiculed enough today. She didn't need reminding of how pathetic she was, "Just because Mr. Qi helped me doesn't mean you have the right to mock me!"
"Not telling others suggests that you care deeply. Ms. Ji, you're very dissatisfied with your current life, aren't you?" Qi Cheng's calm tone defused her aggression. However, he didn't stop mocking her.
Before the Ji Family went bankrupt, Ji Yunhuan was very famous in City A: arrogant, cold, and haughty!
"Kind, gentle" were words far from her.
Many had suffered because of her, so there were plenty of people who laughed at her downfall.
With her personality, she would never want to be ridiculed. But it was obvious that at this moment, she had no strength to rebut.
"If Mr. Qi is here just to mock me, you can leave now!" Ji Yunhuan said coldly, a surge of anger rising within her.
Indeed, she was useless. Before her father's death, she lived a lavish life, even neglecting her responsibilities. Back then, she naïvely thought that as long as her father was around, she didn't need to worry about anything.
Unfortunately, fate is unpredictable. After her father's death, she realized how foolish she had been.
If she had worked a bit harder and learned more skills back then, she wouldn't be so pitiful now.
Regretfully, she grew up too late and fell from grace too quickly!
Qi Cheng looked indifferently into her eyes, which revealed her current suffering. But he didn't comfort her. Instead, he smiled, "Ms. Ji, someone as proud as yourself would surely despise owing favors. You owe me a favor for saving you today. Remember to repay me!"
"Of course, I will repay you!" Ji Yunhuan instinctively replied.
She didn't want to owe a favor. However, she had heard about Qi Cheng. Men like him, what could they possibly need her help with?
After thinking for a while, she looked at Qi Cheng. "Why did you save me?"
Since he mentioned favor, it meant he had planned it from the start.
He didn't save her on a whim. Seeing his sarcastic demeanor now, she doubted he had good intentions.
"It was just a convenient move."
"If you owe something, you should repay it. Mr. Qi, if there's anything you want, just say it. No need to be polite!" Repaying a favor was his idea. There was no need to beat around the bush.
Qi Cheng frowned, showing a look of appreciation, "Ms. Ji is indeed a smart person. So I believe you can guess what I want."
"Are you playing games with me?" Ji Yunhuan frowned in displeasure. "You know I have nothing now. I really don't know what someone like Mr. Qi would want from me."
In the past, people fawned over her because of her family's status. Compared to her family back then, Qi Cheng was much more influential. He lacked nothing.
Qi Cheng examined her. Indeed, she had nothing now. He just wanted to make things difficult for her. He smiled, "Ms. Ji, don't belittle yourself. You have something others don't."
"What I have that others don't? Do you mean my temper?" Ji Yunhuan's biggest trait was her temper. As for anything else, there was nothing!
Qi Cheng couldn't help but laugh, "Ms. Ji is truly interesting."