Chapter 55: Trust

Chapter 55: Trust

That day, Ji Mingxiu was unusually not very busy.

Despite having already been late for over half an hour in the morning, he finished his work ahead of schedule, didn’t need to stay overtime, and even managed to leave work early.

However, upon returning home early, Ji Mingxiu found Ji Linze in the "study" prepared for Shi Ling but couldn’t find Shi Ling anywhere in the villa.

After searching the villa, Ji Mingxiu returned to the study and asked Ji Linze, "Where's Shi Ling?"

Ji Linze didn’t even look up, "He just received a phone call. It seems there was an issue with the birthday gift that was meant for you. After the call, he left and hasn’t come back since."

Ji Mingxiu blinked, belatedly realizing that his birthday was indeed approaching.

About two months ago, he and Shi Ling had made a promise that Shi Ling would personally make him a cake for his birthday. He just wasn’t sure if Shi Ling still remembered.

He also wondered what kind of birthday gift Shi Ling had prepared for him.

Ji Mingxiu felt a strange sense of joy welling up inside him.

After finishing a round of his game, Ji Linze looked up and saw his brother smiling inexplicably. He clicked his tongue inwardly, cursing the "lovebirds," but still spoke up to remind him, "There are some small cakes that Shi Ling baked today in the kitchen. They’re just practice cakes, but they taste pretty good."

Ji Mingxiu immediately thought of the last cake Shi Ling had made at his house—edible but overly sweet, with a rather unappetizing appearance. He asked Ji Linze, "Do they look good? And have you already eaten them?"

Ji Linze blinked, belatedly sensing some competitive spirit in his brother, and quickly defended himself, "I only had one piece, really."

Knowing that Shi Ling wasn’t home, Ji Mingxiu didn’t bother looking for him. He sat down at the desk and asked, "Don’t they taste good?"

Ji Linze pondered his words, "They taste really good, but, well, games hold my heart more, so I only tried one piece. You can have more, brother."

Ji Mingxiu shifted his gaze away from Ji Linze and asked, "How long has Shi Ling been gone?"

Ji Linze thought for a moment and replied, "He got the call around three o'clock. It’s been a while, but he should be back soon, right?"

Even though Ji Linze said so, Ji Mingxiu waited for two hours but still didn’t see Shi Ling.

Ji Mingxiu: ...

He even began to wonder if Shi Ling regretted being with the Ji family and had run off.

Otherwise, why hadn’t he sent any message?

Just as Ji Mingxiu started overthinking, Shi Ling’s message finally arrived.

Shi Ling: [I probably won’t be home for dinner tonight. On the way back, I ran into Senior Jiang and her sister, oh, and Jiang Sicong too.]

Ji Mingxiu stared at the message for a while, feeling a bit wronged: [Why can’t you come home just because you ran into them?]

Shi Ling: [Because Jiang Sicong looked like he was in a bad mood earlier. I didn’t think it was appropriate for Senior Jiang and her sister to go home with him, so I followed along.]

[Or, do you want to come over? I feel like I might be a bit out of my depth here… metaphorically speaking.]

Ji Mingxiu frowned as he read Shi Ling’s message.

It seemed like Senior Jiang was in some trouble, which was actually brought on by Jiang Sicong. Shi Ling had been dragged into it, but he still didn’t know exactly what had happened between them.

Since the issue stemmed from Jiang Sicong, it probably wasn’t a big deal. Ji Mingxiu knew Jiang Sicong well enough to know that he just wanted to bring Jiang Sijie back to the Jiang family. Even if she didn’t want to go back, Jiang Sicong would just sulk and wouldn’t actually do anything to force her.

Still, he was puzzled by the message.

He asked Shi Ling: [Why are there two girls? Besides Jiang Sijie, who else is there?]

Shi Ling replied: [There’s also Jiang Sisi. Apparently, the two of them had planned to go shopping together today, but then they ran into Jiang Sicong, things escalated, and now we’re here. That’s what Senior Jiang Sisi said.]

Ji Mingxiu: ...

How did Jiang Sisi get involved in this?

But no matter what, he had to bring Shi Ling back first.

He sighed, scratched his head, and asked Shi Ling for the address, intending to drive over.

Meanwhile, Shi Ling was also feeling helpless.

He placed the box he was holding on the coffee table, far from both Jiang Sicong and Jiang Sijie, then quietly moved next to Jiang Sisi and asked in a low voice, "Senior Jiang Sisi, do you know what the conflict between them is?"

Jiang Sisi shrugged, "I don’t know the specifics. All I know is that my brother has been upset that Sijie suddenly stopped going home. He’s been trying to bring her back, but lately…"

Jiang Sisi looked a bit embarrassed, "Lately, since I’ve been staying with my sister, my brother has been even more upset. But I still go home frequently."

This left Shi Ling even more confused, "Even though this seems like a Jiang family matter… why does Jiang Sicong insist on bringing Jiang Sijie back home? If she’s uncomfortable there, why not let her leave?"

Although Shi Ling asked in a hushed tone, the space was so quiet that Jiang Sicong overheard every word.

Jiang Sicong raised an eyebrow, "What kind of talk is that? Sijie is a child of the Jiang family. Of course, she should go back home!"

Shi Ling twitched at the corner of his mouth, "That sounds so uncomfortable, almost like the old man from the Zhou family’s rhetoric."

Jiang Sisi exclaimed, "Really?"

She had heard about the Zhou family but wasn’t the type to gossip, so she hadn’t paid much attention.

But now, hearing Shi Ling’s comparison, she became interested.

Shi Ling nodded, "Yes, the Zhou family’s moral-guilt-tripping is very similar."

"Senior Jiang is a child of the Jiang family, and the Jiang family gave her everything, so she should return to the Jiang family. If she leaves, it’s her fault." Shi Ling continued, "The Zhou family relies on blood relations, while Jiang Sicong relies on the relationship of upbringing. It’s really quite similar."

Hearing this, Jiang Sisi felt oddly convinced but still wanted to defend Jiang Sicong, "It’s probably not like that. My brother just doesn’t want Sijie to leave because they’ve lived together as siblings for so long."

To some extent, the relationship between Jiang Sicong and Jiang Sijie was probably deeper than his relationship with his own blood ties.

When Jiang Sisi had just returned to the Jiang family, she had even worried that she might not be able to fit in between the brother and sister and wouldn't be able to truly become a part of the Jiang family. Who would have thought that now she had become the catalyst between the two?

Jiang Sisi sighed.

But even as a catalyst, she didn’t seem to be doing a good job. Initially, it was just that Sijie didn’t return to the Jiang family, but now it looked like they were on the verge of a complete fallout.

Jiang Sisi looked at Shi Ling: “So, what do we do now? You have more experience with these kinds of situations. Do you have any suggestions?”

Shi Ling: ...

Experience? He only had experience with falling out with the Zhou family.

Shi Ling shook his head honestly, but then added, “I just spoke to Ji Mingxiu. He’s on his way and should be able to handle it, right?”

Hearing this, Jiang Sisi also felt relieved.

Although she had never met Ji Mingxiu before, she had heard a lot about him. Both Jiang Sicong and her parents in the Jiang family had mentioned him. At least in her impression, Ji Mingxiu should be a reliable person.

She asked Shi Ling, “When will Mr. Ji arrive?”

As soon as she finished speaking, the doorbell rang.

Shi Ling headed outside first, saying, “It should be Ji Mingxiu.”

Jiang Sisi hurriedly followed, saying as they walked, “It seems you really trust Mr. Ji.”

Shi Ling’s steps paused for a moment, but he quickly resumed his usual relaxed demeanor. He nodded, “Yes, Ji Mingxiu is very trustworthy.”

As expected, Ji Mingxiu was outside the door.

Upon seeing Shi Ling, Ji Mingxiu’s first reaction was to size him up, then he grabbed Shi Ling’s wrist, “Did you encounter any problems? Did Jiang Sicong give you a hard time?”

Shi Ling shook his head and pointed inside the house, “No one gave me a hard time, but Jiang Sicong and Senior Sister Sijie are still at a stalemate. Neither of them is willing to back down.”

Ji Mingxiu wasn’t too concerned about this, “It’s fine. They were bound to have this confrontation sooner or later.”

When Ji Mingxiu said this, both Shi Ling and Jiang Sisi looked at him.

Shi Ling blinked, “You knew?”

Ji Mingxiu took Shi Ling’s hand and led him inside as if he wasn’t a guest, explaining as they walked, “When Jiang Sijie first left, I told Jiang Sicong that trying to forcefully bring Jiang Sijie back home wouldn’t work. If she left once, she could leave again. Instead of spending time looking for her whereabouts, he should try to understand why she left.”

“He seemed to listen at the time, but until now, he still hasn’t figured out the reason. With the Lunar New Year approaching, he’s probably anxious now!”

Following his words, Shi Ling asked, “Then why did Senior Sister leave the Jiang family?”

Ji Mingxiu walked to the door and glanced at Jiang Sijie, who was sitting on the sofa inside, “I have no idea.”

“If Jiang Sicong, who has been with Jiang Sijie for twenty years, doesn’t know, how would I?”

Jiang Sicong in the room: ...

It felt like Ji Mingxiu’s words were meant to mock him.

But he really didn’t know.

Jiang Sicong looked at Jiang Sijie, “So, what’s the reason? Why won’t you tell us? Is it that you don’t trust our family?”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Sijie looked up at Jiang Sicong for a long time.

She suddenly smiled and took out her phone, playing a recording.

At the beginning of the recording, Jiang Sijie was arguing with someone. Perhaps due to the environment, Jiang Sijie’s voice remained low, but the other party was clearly very agitated. Halfway through the argument, the voices of a middle-aged man and woman suddenly interrupted.

It was these voices that seemed to give the other party confidence.

And these voices were very familiar to Jiang Sicong—the voices of his parents. However, the content of their conversation made Jiang Sicong’s expression increasingly grim.