He looked at her with profound meaning in his eyes.
It seemed almost like a subtle hint.
Ji Yunhuan faintly felt that he was implying something.
After her family fell into decline, there were people who straightforwardly offered to keep her as a mistress. She refused them all decisively!
Even though Ji Yunhuan was down and out, she would never be someone's plaything.
Yet now, she found herself indebted to Qi Cheng. Did he want her to repay the favor in such a way?
Men were truly alike in this respect, even someone like Qi Cheng.
Although she understood his meaning, her pride would not let her submit so easily. She had always been proud and did not want to compromise because of this.
So, she pretended to not understand his implication. "Since Mr. Qi doesn't want to say, I will repay your favor when I think of it. I have other things to do, so I won't see you out."
Qi Cheng did not miss the emotion in her eyes. He knew she understood his meaning, and as clever as she was, she could see through it. Was she pretending not to understand, or was she temporarily unwilling to lower herself?
He glanced at the apartment, remembering the once-high-and-mighty Ji Yunhuan living in a place like this. He gave her a concerned look. "This apartment is really too shabby. It doesn't suit Ms. Ji's status at all."
If he were only guessing before, now his meaning was unmistakably clear.
Ji Yunhuan impatiently urged, "Mr. Qi, are you not planning to leave?"
"Are you asking me to leave?" Qi Cheng's tone sounded displeased.
"You're overthinking it!" Ji Yunhuan said, but her face showed no sign of being accommodating.
She didn't have to be nice to anyone who wanted to play with her.
Qi Cheng looked at her once more and did not make things difficult for her. "Goodbye."
After he left, Ji Yunhuan found a contact number on the table in the living room. It should have been left by him.
She stood by the window and saw Qi Cheng downstairs. His driver, who had been waiting there, opened the door respectfully to let him in the car.
Sensing her gaze, Qi Cheng looked up at her… their eyes met in the air, and he broke into a meaningful smile.
Ji Yunhuan was taken aback.
She never paid much attention to others, yet this man gave her a feeling she couldn't ignore.
She had heard of his name before, knew that in City A, he was a man of almost mythical status.
The crucial point was his relationship with the Gu Family.
Recalling Gu Xinran's humble attitude when speaking to him earlier, Ji Yunhuan suddenly felt that agreeing to him might not be a bad thing after all.
But if she lost her dignity, would she still be Ji Yunhuan?
In City A, in a secluded residence, the servants greeted Mr. Qi respectfully as he returned from outside.
Qi Cheng walked through with an air of nobility. The housekeeper approached. "Mr. Qi, Mrs. Gu just called."
Mrs. Gu's call must have been about him leaving with Ji Yunhuan.
He took the phone from the servant and sat down on the sofa, crossing his legs elegantly. "Hello, Mrs. Gu."
On the phone, Mrs. Gu inquired eagerly, "Is that Qi Cheng? I just heard from Xinran that you left. Why did you leave so early?"
She was concerned that Gu Xinran's attitude had offended Qi Cheng and worried that he might develop some pity for Ji Yunhuan, so she called to probe.
Thinking of that woman, Ji Yunhuan, who left on her own and even took Qi Cheng with her, Mrs. Gu clenched her fists, cursing inwardly. She regretted ever bringing her to the Gu Family Residence. Now, she had even caught Qi Cheng's attention.
Ji Yunhuan wasn't unattractive, so it was normal for her to catch someone's eye. But the thought of her possibly getting involved with Qi Cheng made Mrs. Gu extremely anxious.
Qi Cheng replied calmly, "I had some urgent work to attend to, Mrs. Gu. There's no need to worry."
He didn't like those kinds of gatherings where everyone fawned over him. He had planned to leave anyway, and sending Ji Yunhuan off was just a coincidence.
Mrs. Gu tried to appease him over the phone. "Today's matter was also because of our Xinran's fault. She's always been immature. I must have embarrassed you, Qi Cheng. Please don't mind it. I'll teach her better in the future."
"It's alright. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now." He was tired of dealing with this.
"Very well, you take care and rest!" Mrs. Gu dared not disturb him further.
Though they were relatives, they knew there wasn't much connection between their families. It wouldn't be worth provoking Qi Cheng.
Qi Cheng returned upstairs, unbuttoning his shirt as he sat at his desk and opened a diary hidden in the drawer.
The first page of the diary showed a photograph of Ji Yunhuan…
Though it was his first time meeting Ji Yunhuan in person, he had seen her image many years ago.
In the photo, Ji Yunhuan was just a teenager, a cold and aloof princess. That haughty gaze hadn't changed at all.
He remembered how Ji Yunhuan had reprimanded Gu Xinran today, like a natural ruler, and that defiant expression despite her downfall… Even though Ji Yunhuan had suffered the most in the end, it still made him smile.
…
A week later, Ji Yunhuan received a hospital bill reminder. It was another prompt to pay the hospital fees; if she didn't, her brother would be kicked out of the hospital.
Ji Yunhuan withdrew all the money from her bank account. It was the ten thousand yuan she had saved over three months by scrimping and saving. She had worked three months, but it wasn't enough for one month of her brother's hospital bills.
Thinking of the fifty thousand yuan she had thrown back to Mrs. Ji made her heartache.
What was dignity?
Ji Yunhuan was no longer Ms. Ji!
If life itself was a struggle, what was the use of dignity?
After paying the ten thousand yuan, she pleaded with the hospital. Facing a future month of instant noodles, she felt life's unprecedented difficulty.
This feeling of despair had occurred more than once in the past five years. If the Gu Family saw her miserable state, they would laugh at her.
She had a part-time job to do that night. As she left the hospital, her path was blocked by a black luxury car that had stopped domineeringly in front of her. The driver got out and respectfully said, "Ms. Ji, please get in the car."
She immediately recognized Qi Cheng's driver. She knew Qi Cheng's purpose, but she hadn't contacted him these past days. Yet, he was not someone she could avoid just because she wanted to. Even if he didn't have her phone number, seeing her was no difficult task for him.
She truly owed him a favor!
Opening the door, she got into the car. The driver had come specifically to pick her up.
She asked, "How did Qi Cheng know I was here?"
The driver politely replied, "Mr. Qi knows more than Ms. Ji can imagine. He also knows you have a younger brother and that today is the day you pay his hospital bills."