Chapter 372

Chapter 372

◎Her Thread Is Also Tangled◎

Even though Ji Nanxing was looking at Deng Zhiyan, she couldn’t fully see the problem with him. Since his Matrimonial Thread had gone awry, the next step was to check the other person involved.

Ji Nanxing: "Who is the girl making you second-guess your feelings?"

Ji Yanting narrowed her eyes at him.

Deng Zhiyan didn’t dare hide anything: "Her name is Jin Tian. She’s the daughter of an old friend of my mother’s. She’d just come back from overseas recently and wanted a temporary job in case she ended up going back abroad."

Ji Yanting scoffed: "Your company’s standards are really lax. No wonder it’ll never grow beyond a small-time operation—anyone can get hired here."

Deng Zhiyan took the jab in silence. By nature, he never let family interfere with his business. Even when his aunt’s son wanted a job, he made him go through the proper hiring process—no special treatment.

But that day, he’d inexplicably agreed. And after meeting Jin Tian just once, he’d dreamed of her that night. No matter what he did, thoughts of her kept surfacing.

He’d never dealt with anything supernatural before and didn’t overthink it, assuming he’d just fallen for Jin Tian at first sight.

He resisted, but couldn’t stop himself from wanting to be near her. These feelings left him distracted, his head full of nothing but emotions—completely unable to focus on work.

Jin Tian had been in a car accident and was in the hospital, though she wasn’t badly hurt—just some scrapes and a concussion.

Ji Yanting went along to the hospital too. She was determined to find out who was pulling the strings!

The hospital room held only Jin Tian—a strikingly pretty woman with long, wavy hair, soft eyes, and an artsy, elegant vibe.

When she saw Deng Zhiyan, her face lit up, clearly thrilled.

Ji Yanting narrowed her eyes slightly and tugged at her brother’s sleeve: "Is she the one messing with things?"

She wasn’t bad-looking—surely she could’ve had her pick of guys. Why go after someone else’s fiancé?

Ji Nanxing studied Jin Tian carefully and noticed her Matrimonial Thread was also tangled—a snarled knot twisted together with Deng Zhiyan’s.

If this was intentional binding meant to bring them together, the thread shouldn’t be this knotted. A Matrimonial Thread is a single line—it shouldn’t be tangled into a ball.

Unless, like Deng Zhiyan, this girl also had another destined love—someone who was truly meant for her—but had been forcibly tied to Deng Zhiyan, forcing feelings she fought against, which caused the chaos.

Jin Tian looked at the two who came with Deng Zhiyan, puzzled: "And they are…?"

Deng Zhiyan: "My friends."

Jin Tian smiled at them, showing off a cute dimple: "Hello."

Ji Nanxing: "Hello. There’s something we need to ask you."

Jin Tian seemed confused—why were strangers questioning her?—but remained polite: "What is it?"

Ji Nanxing: "Did you have a lover before?"

Jin Tian instinctively glanced at Deng Zhiyan, then lowered her eyes and nodded: "Yes, but we broke up."

Ji Nanxing: "Why did you break up?"

A flash of confusion and hesitation flickered across Jin Tian’s face before she said calmly: "Our families objected. Over time, we drifted apart. Why? Why do you care?"

Ji Nanxing raised his hand, pressing a fingertip to her forehead. A faint glow emanated from his touch as he asked again: "Why did you break up?"

The intense emotions erupted all at once, breaking through an invisible barrier. Almost instantly, Jin Tian—who had been smiling just moments ago—burst into tears, sobbing: “No, we didn’t break up. I clearly never…”

Ji Nanxing let go of her, but Jin Tian was left panicked and bewildered. “What’s going on? Why am I… why…?”

Deng Zhiyan cut in, “Suddenly fell in love with me?”

Jin Tian looked at Deng Zhiyan, still overwhelmed by sudden love, even though she knew she deeply loved her boyfriend.

Ji Nanxing explained, “You two have been bound by a Matrimonial Thread. This is probably tied to your families. You’ve been affected more deeply—you’re starting to forget your feelings for your boyfriend. But Deng Zhiyan, because his loved one is nearby, gets pulled back by his own feelings whenever they shift, so the effect isn’t as strong on him.”

Though spoken in Chinese, the words made no sense to Jin Tian—yet it was true. She *was* forgetting her last relationship.

No, it wasn’t even over yet. She had never wanted to end things.

Ji Yanting pulled up a chair and sat beside Jin Tian. “Did your family oppose your relationship with your boyfriend?”

Jin Tian nodded. “They thought he wasn’t good enough.”

Her boyfriend wasn’t bad by most standards. He’d saved up several ten-thousand to study abroad, covering tuition and living expenses entirely on his own. Now, he earned extra income, making around €4,000–5,000 a month. After expenses, he could still save over €1,000.

Being able to support yourself overseas like that wasn’t easy—but to her family, it was nowhere near enough. He couldn’t offer any real help to them.

Jin Tian continued, “My family isn’t wealthy either. We run a small business scraping by. My parents saw me as an investment. From childhood, they poured everything into my artistic training—dancing, piano, painting—they never held back. They always told me, ‘We’ve given everything to raise you into someone outstanding. No average guy deserves you. You need to aim for the best.’”

Hearing this, Ji Yanting shot Deng Zhiyan a look, barely hiding her disdain.

Deng Zhiyan caught the meaning behind her glance and sighed inwardly, reminding himself that few men escape the disapproval of their girlfriend’s best friend.

Jin Tian added, “They always wanted me to move up in society, but some things aren’t that simple.”

Other socialites might also grow up studying the arts, but their world—their circles, environment—naturally shaped their perspective, social skills, and ability to navigate relationships and resources. Without that kind of upbringing and guidance, you were just a trophy wife. And she wasn’t even drop-dead gorgeous.

Beyond her family’s unrealistic expectations, being raised like a prize to be auctioned off had always made her want to escape.

After graduation, she stayed abroad, making ends meet teaching piano and painting. With enough to get by each month, she and her boyfriend lived well together.

But her version of "well" was unacceptable to her family. They’d expected a return on investment after pouring everything into her.

Ji Yanting asked, “Then why did you come back? If you stayed overseas, they couldn’t have forced you.”

Jin Tian replied, “They said the family business was in trouble, and my dad worked himself sick and got hospitalized. Even though I resented how they controlled me, they really had invested everything in me. No matter what, they’re still my parents. I couldn’t ignore it if something happened back home.”

But coming back turned her life upside down. After just one glance at Deng Zhiyan, she was head over heels for him—even agreeing to work at his company and trying every way she could to spend time with him.

She could only be thankful she hadn’t broken up with her boyfriend yet. If she had, there’d be no going back.

Thinking of him, she quickly opened her phone. Since returning, they’d talked less and less—her texts got shorter and colder. He noticed, asking again and again if something was wrong at home. He’d even booked a flight back, planning to return right after his exams.

Ji Yanting asked, “Are you an only child?”

Jin Tian shook her head. “I have a younger brother, two years younger.”

Ji Yanting immediately understood, sighing and shaking her head.

Jin Tian looked at them, confused. “What’s really going on? What’s this Matrimonial Thread?”

She understood the concept of the Matrimonial Thread, but you either believed in it or you didn’t—it wasn’t something visible or tangible. She had never put stock in astrology, palmistry, or fortune-telling, yet now she seemed bewitched, inexplicably falling for someone else.

Ji Nanxing: "Then you’ll have to ask your parents what they’ve been doing behind your backs with your birth details and personal items. Righteous gods don’t randomly bind red threads. If you’ve fallen for each other like you’re under a spell, then either you’ve worshipped malevolent spirits or made a pact with one."

As soon as Ji Nanxing finished speaking, the curtains billowed from a sudden gust of wind outside, startling Jin Tian and Deng Zhiyan.

Deng Zhiyan couldn’t help but take a few steps closer to Ji Nanxing: "Nanxing, what should we do now? Do we just buy some charms to carry with us?"

Ji Nanxing shook his head: "Charms won’t work. You already have a protective charm on you, yet you still fell victim. Think—have your parents gone anywhere recently or done anything strange at home? Any shady or out-of-the-ordinary actions?"

Deng Zhiyan shook his head: "I don’t know. I’ve been living with Ling Ling and hardly ever go home."

Jin Tian also shook her head: "I don’t know either. I just came back from abroad and have been in a daze this whole time. It wasn’t until you snapped your fingers at me earlier that I felt somewhat clear-headed. I didn’t pay attention to what they were doing."

During this time, she had been plotting ways to pursue Deng Zhiyan.

The thought of how she had been obsessing over someone else’s fiancé made Jin Tian sick to her stomach. How could she do such a thing? Knowing he’s engaged but still chasing him—it was utterly disgusting.

Ji Yanting looked at her brother: "Can’t we just cut whatever Matrimonial Thread is binding them?"

Ji Nanxing: "It’s a formless thing to begin with, and right now, it’s likely being fed by their personal items. Even if we could cut it, we’d first need to find the object used in their deal or worship."

Jin Tian grew anxious: "Then what do we do? They’d never confess if we asked. I don’t know about Mr. Deng’s parents, but mine have been trying to get me to break up with my boyfriend for a long time. They even pretended to be sick to trick me into coming back. Lately, all I could think about was getting close to Mr. Deng, and my mom looked delighted, even buying me new clothes to dress up."

They were desperate to move up in society. The Deng family wasn’t some grand elite, but they were comfortably wealthy. Besides the family business, Deng Zhiyan had his own company, which seemed quite profitable. He wasn’t bad-looking either. If they could secure a son-in-law like him, her parents would never let go.

Ji Nanxing: "Don’t worry. You came at just the right time, being in this hospital. Just cooperate, and I’ll find a way to expose them."

...

Deng Zhiyan made a phone call, and Jin Tian’s mother rushed over with her son in a panic: "What’s going on? Xiao Yan, you said on the phone something happened to Tian Tian?"

Deng Zhiyan looked at Jin Tian’s mother coldly: "I don’t know. The doctor said she suddenly fell unconscious. Why did the hospital call me? I’m busy with work and don’t have time for this. Don’t contact me for things like this in the future. She means nothing to me—this is ridiculous."

With that, Deng Zhiyan turned and walked away.

Jin Tian’s mother was stunned, and her brother frowned: "What’s going on? He wasn’t like this before."

Before, Deng Zhiyan had been warm and friendly toward their family, laughing and chatting, the way he gazed at her sister smitten with love. Nothing like this icy indifference.

Jin Tian’s mother was equally baffled but hurried to check on her daughter.

She had been fine that morning, yet suddenly blacked out out of nowhere. The doctor even suggested transferring her to another department for further tests.

Jin Tian lay unconscious on the bed, unresponsive no matter how much they called her. The doctor reviewed the test results, frowning in confusion: "The earlier tests showed no issues. Strange how she suddenly collapsed. Relax—we’ll do deeper tests to figure it out."

Jin Tian’s mother nodded: "Doctor, please examine my daughter carefully."

How could a perfectly healthy person just black out out of the blue?

After calming the family, the doctor left the room. Once alone, Jin Tian’s brother tugged at his mother’s sleeve: "Could it be that thing malfunctioning? Otherwise, why would Deng Zhiyan’s attitude change so drastically, and why would Jie collapse?"

Jin Tian’s mother flinched: "No way. We’ve been maintaining the offerings correctly."

Jin Tian’s brother: "We should go back and check. This is way too suspicious."

Suspecting the coma might not be medical, Jin Tian’s mother left her son to watch over his sister while she went home to investigate.

In her haste to leave, she didn’t notice a Small Paper Figure quietly sticking to her purse.