Chapter Four: The Failed Plan to Scale the Wall

Old Zhang was momentarily speechless. He had tried every possible persuasion, and the young master had finally agreed to see her—only for her to leave of her own accord.

“Let it be, let it be.”

Shaking his head, Old Zhang returned to report to Jiang Ce.

Inside the luxurious and elegantly furnished villa suite, Jiang Ce lay quietly against the pillows, his eyes closed. Despite the injuries on his body, nothing could conceal the sharply defined muscles rippling beneath his skin.

Jiang Ce’s features contrasted starkly with Jian Yanzhi’s open and straightforward handsomeness; his was a kind of seductive, almost demonic allure. His long, narrow eyes veiled an endless charm. Beneath a straight, prominent nose, his lips were thin and cold. Paired with those clear, frosty eyes, he gave off the chilling beauty of a winter frost—one glance and it was as if you were lost in a flurry of snow.

“Young master, Miss Ruan… has already left.”

Jiang Ce’s lashes trembled slightly, and a cold smile flickered across his lips. “As expected, her patience with me has always been pitifully thin.”

Old Zhang was moved to pity and was about to say something more when Jiang Ce spoke again:

“It’s fine, I’m used to it. You may go.”

With that, Old Zhang held his tongue and quietly withdrew.

Meanwhile, Ruan Mianmian found herself mired in frustration. The villa’s perimeter fence was not high, so she’d planned to climb in. After much effort, she finally made it to the top of the wall—only to realize that getting down would be much trickier.

Outside, she’d stacked some bricks to gain a foothold, and the lattice of the fence made it easy to climb up. Inside the grounds, however, there were no bricks to help her down.

“No matter. I’m already covered in bruises—a few more won’t make a difference. Just grit your teeth and get it over with!”

She tried to encourage herself—at worst, she’d be unable to walk for ten days or so. That couldn’t be much worse than her current predicament.

Ruan Mianmian closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and prepared to leap down, when suddenly a shout rang out ahead.

“Hey, hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

Damn! She’d been discovered. Her wall-climbing scheme was forced to an abrupt halt.

…

The next time Old Zhang saw Ruan Mianmian, she had already been helped down with a ladder and was now sitting quietly on the ground—this time, inside the wall.

“You silly girl, why climb the wall when the front door is right there? If anything happened to you, we couldn’t bear the responsibility!”

Old Zhang thought of someone sulking in his room. If he knew Miss Ruan had gotten hurt climbing the wall, who knew what kind of fury he might unleash!

When he’d first heard Shen Qing’s report, Old Zhang had thought he’d misheard. He hadn’t expected this girl to be so stubborn. According to Shen Qing, when he found her, she was just about to jump down, which had scared Old Zhang half to death.

If she’d gotten hurt, their young master would be beside himself with worry. Despite Jiang Ce’s strict orders forbidding anyone from interfering in Miss Ruan’s affairs, Old Zhang knew in his heart that the young master had never truly let her go.

“All right, everyone else can leave. I’ll handle this young lady myself.”

Having dismissed the others, Old Zhang turned to Ruan Mianmian. “Come with me.”

A faint spark of hope flickered in her heart, and she managed a wan smile. She scrambled to her feet, but before she could steady herself, the world spun around her.

Just before she lost consciousness, her final thought was: Heaven, I’ve already been punished enough. Please, no new injuries.

…

In another suite at Starfish Bay—

Ruan Mianmian lay dazed and unmoving on the bed, the voices of Old Zhang and the family doctor drifting to her ears.

“Xiao Li, is the young lady all right?”

The one called Xiao Li replied, “She’s fine, just a bit sunstruck. Plus, she’s already injured and completely exhausted, which is why she passed out. A little rest and she’ll be well.”

Ruan Mianmian’s lashes fluttered, but she dared not open her eyes, listening quietly to the sounds outside.

From what they said, she was already inside Starfish Bay—one step closer to her goal.

Then came the sound of footsteps, accompanied by the faint whir of wheels—presumably a wheelchair.

“Young master, why did you come in person? You mustn’t move with your wounds like this!” Old Zhang said anxiously.

Jiang Ce had come to see her himself?!

Ruan Mianmian’s heart leapt, but she could only feign sleep.

Jiang Ce looked no better than she did, especially with the bandages wound tightly around him—a startling sight.

Yet his expression was utterly calm, as if he felt no pain at all; not even a furrow crossed his brow.

But when his gaze fell upon Ruan Mianmian’s bloodless face, his brow knitted at once.

Old Zhang interjected at just the right moment, “Miss Ruan is fine, she just needs some rest.”

Jiang Ce averted his gaze, his brow relaxing ever so slightly. The room fell into silence—he said not a word more, simply signaling Shen Qing behind him to wheel him out.

Of course, these nuances were lost on Ruan Mianmian. She only knew that Jiang Ce, despite his injuries, had come in a wheelchair to see her—but only for a moment, and then he left.

Her heart sank inexplicably, a wave of irritation flooding her entire being.

Soon the room was quiet again. The soft click of the door closing prompted Ruan Mianmian to open her eyes.

The room was empty save for herself. She sat up, glancing around. The interior decor matched the style she’d seen outside.

She lowered her gaze, her mood undeniably low.

“Both of you, stand guard here and look after Miss Ruan,” came a voice from outside.

“Yes, sir!”

The clear response from the corridor made her heart quiver.

Just what was Jiang Ce thinking?

If he didn’t care, why would he come see her despite his pain and assign special guards to watch over her? But if he did care, why did he only glance at her and leave?

Ruan Mianmian didn’t know whether she had immersed herself too deeply in her emotions or what exactly was wrong, but she was left restless and uneasy.

“What do you think the boss is up to? One moment he says to leave her be, the next he’s looking after her so devotedly.”

The muffled grumbling of the guards drifted in from outside, making Ruan Mianmian perk up. She tiptoed over to the door, pressing her ear against it to eavesdrop openly.

Another replied, “Who can fathom the boss’s mind? Still, it’s not his fault—this whole mess is because of Miss Ruan.”

Ruan Mianmian blinked innocently. This…

Another chimed in, “Exactly! The boss treats her so well, attentive in every way, even assigning people to protect her in secret. If not for the boss, Ruan Mianmian would probably have been meeting her maker by now!”

“Too bad this woman’s head is all muddled—her heart’s set on that pretty boy from the Jian family! I really don’t get it—what’s so special about him? How could he possibly compare to our boss?”