Although Jiang Li exerted very little strength, Jiang Yan instantly felt as if his entire shinbone had split apart.
The pain twisted his face grotesquely as he dove headfirst into the sofa.
"Damn, Jiang Li, are you the spawn of a donkey?! My leg is gonna break!"
Jiang Li passed by him expressionlessly and headed straight into the kitchen.
Half an hour later, she came out carrying a bowl of noodles.
The scent made Jiang Yan flip over and sit up from the sofa.
"What smells so good?"
When he realized that the source was the noodles in Jiang Li's hands, his eyes widened in astonishment.
"You can actually cook?!"
What shocked him even more was that she had cooked the dish even better than their family's maid.
Jiang Li glanced at him, "Is being able to cook such a novelty? Isn't it just following a recipe?"
Jiang Yan: ?
Who reads recipes like they're books!
But the perfectly seasoned plain noodles still triggered the craving in his stomach.
After all, he had been bustling around all night, and with nothing in his stomach but alcohol, he was starving.
However, Jiang Li turned away coldly and headed for the stairs.
"There's only one bowl, and it's for Shi Xu. If you want some, make it yourself."
Jiang Yan: ?
He gets nothing as her actual brother, yet that kid who doesn't even speak gets to taste the noodles made by his sister?
Why?
Jiang Li carried the bowl up to the fifth floor.
As she reached Jiang Shixu's room, she raised her hand and gently knocked on the door.
By the time Jiang Shixu came out, there was only a bowl of noodles left at the door.
Looking at the steaming noodles, he was stunned.
So she walked away on purpose, fearing he would be scared?
But.
He wasn't afraid of her at all.
-
The next day, Jiang Li awoke early as usual and was about to head out when she caught sight of a piece of drawing paper on the floor.
She picked it up, flipped it over, and saw the sketch on the back.
—It was a lifelike drawing of her practicing with the spear, drawn with such care that it reflected the artist's dedication.
In the bottom right corner of the paper were two words penciled in: Thank you.
Jiang Li pursed her lips.
It appeared not all of the Jiang family were cold and indifferent.
Could this also mean that her efforts were worthwhile?
But after just a couple of days of peace, Jiang Yan began to make excuses to go out and gallivant, disappearing for days on end.
Jiang Li wasn't in a rush, though. She went about her routine of early to bed, early to rise and spent time reading in the study, occasionally cooking for Jiang Shixu.
His condition had improved considerably; his routine had become regular, and he even began to draw closer to her.
But Jiang Li knew this wasn't a long-term solution.
She couldn't possibly stay at home 24 hours a day, and dealing with Jiang Yan was an even bigger headache.
If she let him continue his reckless ways outside and the bond with the female protagonist strengthened, the tragedy might well unfold in another form.
Furthermore, she still hadn't figured out why Su Yinwan's life pattern had split.
However, just as she buried herself in the study, pouring over mysticism books bought from the market, Jiang Yan made a call to her.
His voice sounded somewhat anxious and annoyed on the other end.
"Jiang Li, what are you doing?"
"Reading a book," Jiang Li replied casually.
"Miss, I'm begging you, can you stop burying your head in books all day? Don't you care at all about the mess that's online right now?"
Jiang Li furrowed her brows.
Was there trouble online?
About her?
After some thought, she opened Weibo, and the first pop-up was a news article related to her.
[The Eldest Miss Jiang repeatedly confronts Su Yinwan publicly, the reason behind it is—]
Jiang Li's eyebrows raised slightly as she clicked on the Weibo post.
Inside were all kinds of evidence showing her making life difficult for Su Yinwan on various occasions.
Something about mocking her deliberately during a charity gala.
Something about intentionally buying the same items as Su Yinwan to provoke her.
Something about spending a lot of money to sabotage her endorsement deal, causing her to pay a large sum in compensation.
While some of these exposures were indeed actions she was forced to take by the plot, a large part of them were completely fabricated.
However, what topped the trending searches and became the spotlight was the altercation outside the Rongguang Leisure Club a few days ago.
A famous news media V revealed that Su Yinwan was robbed near the Rongguang Club a few days ago, isolated and helpless, she tried to seek help in the club but was instead slandered by the Crown Prince for theft.
And all this was orchestrated by the Eldest Miss Jiang of the Jiang Family.
Although, in the end, Su Yinwan cleared her name with the intervention of the police and a certain big shot.
Miss Jiang still unrelentingly forced her to apologize publicly, her arrogance was infuriating.
The attached picture was precisely the one of Su Yinwan bowing to apologize to Xiang Hao.
Jiang Yan's voice came again through the phone:
"Hello, have you seen it? Aren't you reacting at all?"
Jiang Li pondered for a moment, "The article is well written, with highlighted key points, and the use of words is precise and professional."
Jiang Yan: ????
"Miss, isn't your focus a bit off? Look at the comment section, see what you're being called? I, your brother, am surrounded by reporters outside to the point that I dare not leave the hotel. Hurry up and get someone to handle the PR and clarify this, otherwise—"
Jiang Li didn't listen to his rambling anymore; she hung up and opened the comment section.
The comment section under this Weibo post had been conquered by Su Yinwan's fans.
[Damn, isn't Jiang Li going too far? My Wenwen has been slandered like this and in the end is still forced to apologize? Why? Because she's rich and she thinks she's incredible?]
[Jiang Li is shameless, despite being a wealthy heiress, she lacks any human decency. Why didn't the police arrest her then?]
[As expected, none of these wealthy families can bring up good people. Now it has been revealed. None of the Jiang Family are good, Jiang Li's brother is even worse than her.]
[Wuwuwu, I feel so sorry for my Wenwen, thank goodness she has President Shang supporting her, I'm dead.]
[The comment above accidentally revealed a secret. As I know it, Jiang Li's targeting of Su Yinwan is all because of this President Shang, because Jiang Li has her eye on him, aiming for the top! I have insider information, all exposed by people from their circle, saying that Jiang Li knew President Shang liked Wenwen, yet she still shamelessly entangled herself with him.]
In the early years when Su Yinwan started acting, there were exposes that she debuted using a big shot's resources.
But since they were the male and female leads of this novel, the scandal didn't lead to much backlash from netizens, instead, fans pieced together hints and started shipping the couple.
In their eyes, the enigmatic and powerful President Shang was the perfect match for the equally excellent Su Yinwan.
After all, the playboys of the Capital's elite circles are many, but very few like President Shang, who has silently supported Su Yinwan for years, watching her transform from an unknown extra into the Golden Flower Award's Best Actress.
This "tycoon and starlet" romance became a hot topic in the circle, and thus, a significant portion of Su Yinwan's fans were also fans of their couple.
So the moment the news broke that Jiang Li was entangling with Shang Shaojing and making life difficult for Su Yinwan, those righteously indignant couple fans started cursing her into oblivion.