Sitting in the car returning to the city, watching the familiar yet unfamiliar scenery flashing by on the side of the road, the expression on Jian Xi's face remains unusually calm. However, if one were to look closely, they would see that her clenched hands resting on her knee have crumpled the skirt into folds.
After three years, she has returned to this place that once brought her endless happiness and joy. Yet, her heart aches as if it were being sliced by a knife.
Because it went years without being cleaned, signs of decay are now evident here. The seals on the door have yellowed due to long exposure to the wind and sun.
With a light touch to every inch of the door, a single tear falls down without any warning. Her lips move continuously, yet she never makes a sound.
The events of three years ago had come unexpectedly - her father was reported for embezzlement and committed suicide in his office soon after, her brother disappeared without a trace, and she was thrown into prison for a murder plot she didn't understand, serving a three-year sentence. Her mother couldn't bear the blow and eventually succumbed to depression.
It was as if an invisible net had been cast three years ago, aimed at ensnaring them all in the end.
Standing there for a long while, Jian Xi eventually falls to her knees with a thud, wiping the tears off her face with force.
“Dad, Mom, I swear I will uncover the truth behind what happened three years ago, clear my father's name, find my brother and restore the glory of our Jian family."
After bowing respectfully three times, she lifts her head, her gaze unbearably determined.
Recording everything she sees into her heart, Jian Xi rises to her feet. But as she turns around, she sees the last person she would want to see.
Looking at her, guilt is barely concealed on Ji Heng's face.
Her gaze lingers on him for only a second before Jian Xi turns her head away and continues walking. Yet, as she passes by his side, he suddenly grabs her arm.
"Let go." Jian Xi's expression instantly darkens, her voice icy cold as if soaked in freezing water.
"Xi, let's talk." Ji Heng hurriedly says.
With barely noticeable furrow in her brows, Jian Xi laughs sarcastically: "Ji Heng, do you really think there's anything left for us to talk about?"
The hand holding onto her arm tightened. Ji Heng tried to swallow, his lips moving constantly, and after a long while, he finally managed to force out these words—
“Xiaoxi, we...”
But before he could finish, Jian Xi coldly cut him off. “What now? Three years have passed, and I’m still alive and well. Disappointed, aren't you?”
“Xiaoxi, that's not true. I had my reasons for what happened back then.” Ji Heng muttered.
“Really? What kind of excuses could possibly justify you so willingly to send your own girlfriend to jail in such an underhanded way?”
Jian Xi's expression remained calm. But it was this very calmness that gave her words an icy, cutting edge.
Frowning deeply, a pained look appeared on Ji Heng's face. “Back then, I…”
“Heng.” A soft feminine voice interrupted at that moment, and a woman gracefully approached them.
Jian Xi didn’t look at her, just wearing a cold smirk on her lips.
Xiang Shanshan, one of her best friends, who had betrayed her and rolled in the sheets with her boyfriend behind her back.
They say one should guard against fire, theft, and treacherous friends. She really was blind back then.
As for Jian Xi's dismissal, Xiang Shanshan didn’t mind. After all, she had an ulterior motive when she approached Jian Xi from the very beginning.
Heaven rewards the diligent. Three years ago, she successfully trampled Jian Xi into the mud.