Jiang Yan was stunned for a moment before he cursed, "Fuck."
"You fucking think I'm someone who needs your respect? Do I, as a brother, need your approval?"
"When I was revered in the Capital back in the day, you were still in diapers!"
Yet ten minutes later, he still showed up at the hotel entrance.
"Hey, let me tell you, my agreeing to go home with you isn't because I care about you."
"I care about my own reputation, so, you better quickly delete that video you took!"
Jiang Li didn't respond to him, only glanced at his shirt, which was buttoned crookedly, and his wrinkled suit jacket draped over his shoulder.
Jiang Yan furrowed his brows.
He had been doing things his own way for over a dozen years, not caring about others' glances, especially from his sister who was almost like his archenemy.
But now, for some reason, he actually started to feel uncomfortable just from her gaze.
It was like being stripped naked and poked on the spine with a ruler.
So, he cleared his throat and pretended to casually rebutton his shirt, then neatly put on his jacket.
Only then did Jiang Li look away.
Instantly, Jiang Yan also let out a breath.
But then he realized something wasn't right.
—Why the hell did he care about this brat's opinion?!
Yet he thought of how his arm was almost crippled in the hotel room just earlier, so he could only swallow his anger back down and change the subject with a dark face.
"Hey, weren't we supposed to go home? Where's your car?"
Jiang Li looked straight ahead and said indifferently, "I took the bus here."
Jiang Yan: ???
The young lady who wouldn't leave the house without eight drivers was taking the bus today?
"Wait, you're not thinking of making me take the bus back, are you???"
Jiang Li looked at him, her eyes showing a hint of strangeness, "Otherwise?"
Jiang Yan blew up, "Me, the Eldest Young Master Jiang, take the bus? Do you want me to be laughed to death by others?!"
"Thrift is a traditional virtue."
Jiang Yan laughed angrily, "Jiang Li, what's gotten into you today? You're not trying to win Shaojing's favor again like Yinwan, are you? I'm telling you—"
Before he could finish talking, a green bus stopped in front of them.
Jiang Li, not even giving him a second glance, got straight onto the bus, her twirling skirt whisking a trace of fragrance past him.
Jiang Yan was dumbfounded.
She really took the bus.
The bus driver saw that he didn't move and couldn't help but honk the horn several times, "Hey, are you getting on or not? If you're getting on, hurry up, don't waste everyone's time!"
Helpless, Jiang Yan had to step on board.
However, just as he was about to head toward where Jiang Li was sitting, the driver called out from behind him.
"Hey, pay the fare, you think you can get away without paying?!"
Jiang Yan's gaze landed on the machine in front of him with the words "Pay two yuan," his expression instantly choked.
He was screwed.
His bank cards had been frozen, and when he went to the hotel he had used a friend's membership card; where would he get the money to pay?
So, Jiang Yan had to darkly cast a look at Jiang Li sitting by the window.
But she acted as though she didn't see him, deliberately turning her head away.
Jiang Yan: !
Great!
People around them had already begun to whisper.
"This guy looks pretty handsome, how come he doesn't even have two yuan?"
"Wearing all brand names but can't even afford the bus fare, is it for real?"
"All dolled up and fresh-faced, coming out from a hotel, could it be he's in that kind of profession?"
The driver, running out of patience, issued an ultimatum, "If you don't have money, get off, don't hold up everyone else on the bus!"
Jiang Yan's face turned so dark it was near dripping with anger.
This was the first time in his life being scolded three times in a row by a bus driver, and being unable to talk back.
All because of this Jiang Li!
He took a deep breath, walked over to Jiang Li, and through gritted teeth said, "Just consider it as me begging you! Lend me two yuan!"
Jiang Li seemed to be waiting for just that sentence, not only turning her head towards him but her bright eyes also sparkled with a bit more laughter.
"Sure, but apologize to me first."
"Why should I?!"
Jiang Li turned her head away again.
Jiang Yan: "...."
Dammit, when did this girl become so stubborn?
"Fine fine fine, sorry okay? I'm begging you, granny, lend me two yuan; I'm about to be spiritually stabbed to death by the glares of everyone in the car."
"Clang!" Two coins landed in his palm.
What followed was the girl's clear voice entering his ears:
"Don't forget to pay me back."
Jiang Yan: "..."
Is it really necessary to make such a fuss over two yuan?!
He didn't have time to dwell on it anymore, taking quick strides up front to stuff the two coins into the fare box.
The bus driver started driving with a string of grumbles, "Really shameless, a grown man riding the bus and still needs to ask a little girl for money, and yet he's dressed all prim and proper."
Jiang Yan: "..." Dammit, he'd have someone deal with this driver sooner or later!
After returning to his seat with a face full of anger, Jiang Yan glared back at every strange look he received from the other passengers.
"What are you looking at? Do I have gold on my face or something?"
The people around finally withdrew their gazes reluctantly, but the scornful expression on their faces deepened.
Jiang Li was somewhat tired of this.
It looked like reforming her brother had a long way to go.
From the moment she returned to the Jiang Family, she had plans. In her previous life, the Jiang Family ended up fractured because of her.
Now that she had a second chance at life, she would save the family at all costs and ensure her discordant relatives walked the right path.
And Jiang Yan was the most urgent cancerous tumor that needed to be dealt with.
Thinking this, she took out her phone and opened the chat with Xiang Hao.
"Xiang, I need a favor from you.....this is for your troubles."
She then transferred ten thousand yuan to him.
Jiang Yan, who saw her texting, couldn't help but crane his neck to look.
At the sight of that money transfer, his eyes widened:
"Holy shit, you're not harassing Shang Shaojing again, are you? Even transferring money to the guy? You can't bear to give your own brother two yuan but send a man ten thousand without blinking, right?"
"They think Shang Shaojing needs your ten thousand yuan? Be a person, Jiang Li!"
Jiang Li replied indifferently, "Do not look; do not listen; do not speak; do not act inappropriately; this is the cultivation of a gentleman."
Jiang Yan: "..."
Was she indirectly calling him petty-minded?
But these words didn't sound like something she would say.
He knew his sister well enough; she hadn't even attended a real university, so how had she suddenly started quoting literary phrases?
Not just that, she had undergone a complete transformation.
He couldn't tell much in the dim light of the hotel before, but now, sitting in the well-lit bus, he could clearly see the changes in Jiang Li.
She wore only a plain beige dress, which looked as ordinary as could be, yet she exuded a refined and gentle temperament from within.
From his angle, he could see her long eyelashes fluttering softly, and her smooth cheek, which even shone with a faint luster.
Her glossy black hair rested softly on her shoulders, swaying gently in the summer breeze.
As serene as a maiden, her beauty seemed not of this world.
Since when had his non-mainstream, tacky little sister become so attractive?
"Hey, Jiang Li, did something happen to you?" Jiang Yan said coldly, "Even if it's for that Shaojing, you don't have to make such a sacrifice, right?"
"Even though you look much better than before, as a girl, you don't need to go to these lengths for a man, right?"
"The Jiang Family doesn't deprive you of food or clothing. Do you really need to hang yourself on Shaojing's crooked tree?"
Jiang Li turned off her phone, looking into his eyes.
Her butterfly-like lashes blinked once, and a smooth voice flowed from her cherry lips—
"Jiang Yan, have you always talked this much?"
Jiang Yan: "...."
Dammit, he tried to be kind, and she took it for granted!
If he wasted another half-word on this brat, he'd write his name backward!