TRWSB – Chapter 198 I Like You

Jiang Family.

“Brother, are you saying that Qi Heng did all that because Jiang Heng died, and he’s trying to get revenge for Jiang Heng?” Jiang Qinxin asked with wide eyes.

Jiang He nodded and said, “You could say that.”

“What he’s doing is so unreasonable. Jiang Heng died from an illness—what does that have to do with the Jiang family guards?” Jiang Qinxin said.

Jiang He shook his head and replied, “It’s not completely unreasonable. Jiang Heng got sick because Jiang Yuan pushed him into the lake. If Jiang Jin had inherited the assets his father left behind, they wouldn’t have lacked money for treatment. But…”

Jiang He closed his eyes. Cases of powerful families seizing the assets meant for the children of fallen relatives weren’t uncommon. However, Jiang Xingdong had gone too far—he not only seized his brother’s inheritance but also allowed the man’s children to suffer: one dead, the other sold off.

Jiang He took a deep breath. That idiot Jiang Xingdong was still stubbornly refusing to come clean even at this point, causing Jiang He to completely lose face in front of Zuo Yunfei earlier.

His relationship with Zuo Yunfei had been decent—he now worried that this incident might have soured it.

“That bastard Jiang Xingdong! He hid such an important matter and dragged the entire Jiang family down with him!” Jiang Qinxin said angrily.

Jiang He looked at her and said, “He stirred up this mess—let him clean it up himself.”

Jiang Qinxin lowered her head, took a deep breath, then looked up at her brother. “Brother, did you see Zuo Yunfei today?”

Jiang He paused for a moment and nodded. “Yes, I did.”

“He looked like… he really likes Qi Heng, doesn’t he?” Jiang Qinxin asked hesitantly.

Jiang He gave a bitter smile, his face darkening slightly.

He patted Jiang Qinxin on the shoulder and said, “Little sister, some people in this world just aren’t fated to be with us. You can’t force it.”

Jiang He had a sense of Jiang Qinxin’s feelings toward Zuo Yunfei, but after spending time with him, it was clear that Zuo Yunfei had absolutely no interest in her.

Jiang Qinxin closed her eyes and forced a smile. “I understand, Brother.”

Meanwhile…

Jiang Yuan rushed into Jiang Xingdong’s study. “Father, I heard some of the elders are discussing handing us over to appease Qi Heng’s wrath. What are we going to do?”

Jiang Yuan paced back and forth anxiously. He had lived a life of privilege and had never faced such a thorny situation.

“Hmph, a bunch of cowards! Just a little brat and they’re all scared stiff. What’s so great about Qi Heng?” Jiang Xingdong cursed in anger.

Jiang Yuan clenched his fists and said regretfully, “If only we had just killed him and that doomed little brother of his back then…”

He barely remembered Jiang Jin and Jiang Heng—only after someone reminded him did he recall them vaguely.

He remembered Jiang Heng as always being filthy, like a lump of coal—utterly dull and boring.

Jiang Yuan never imagined that killing Jiang Heng back then would lead to his current predicament—isolated and with no support.

Jiang Xingdong muttered irritably, “That bastard really has some tricks—he’s won over both Qi Shaorong and even managed to charm Zuo Yunfei from the Zuo family.”

Jiang Yuan’s eyes lit up. “Father, didn’t you say you know one of the elders from the Zuo family? Go talk to him! I don’t think we can rely on anyone from our own family.”

Jiang Xingdong frowned. “I know.”

But he also knew that the elder he knew didn’t hold much power within the Zuo family. If Qi Heng really had gotten close to Zuo Yunfei, that elder would never risk offending Zuo Yunfei for his sake. Still, at this point, he had no other choice but to try.

“Father… we’re not actually going to be killed by that bastard, are we?” Jiang Yuan said nervously.

Jiang Xingdong glanced at him. “Of course not. That brat doesn’t have that kind of power.”
But even as he said it, his heart was filled with uncertainty.

Zuo Yunfei turned into a corridor and saw Jiang Xingdong and Jiang Yuan leaving from afar.

He frowned and pulled over a nearby servant. “Are those people from the Jiang family?”

The servant, recognizing Zuo Yunfei, quickly and respectfully replied, “Yes, young master. That was Elder Jiang Xingdong from the Jiang family, and his son, Jiang Yuan.”

Zuo Yunfei’s eyes narrowed. Jiang Xingdong? Isn’t that… Qi Heng’s uncle? The one he absolutely hates?

“What were those two doing here?” he asked.

“They came to visit Elder Zuo Shanchi,” the servant said.

“Zuo Shanchi? Are they close?” Zuo Yunfei asked.

Seeing Zuo Yunfei’s displeased expression, the servant replied carefully, “Elder Zuo Shanchi and Elder Jiang Xingdong have been acquainted for over ten years. They seem to be on good terms.”

Zuo Yunfei narrowed his eyes. “That long, huh?”

He left the servant behind and strode into Zuo Shanchi’s private courtyard.

Seeing him arrive, Zuo Shanchi greeted him warmly. “Yunfei, you’re here! Is something the matter?”

Zuo Yunfei glanced at the table piled with gifts and said, “Elder Chi, today’s harvest seems pretty good.”

Zuo Shanchi laughed awkwardly, “It’s nothing.”

Zuo Yunfei suddenly kicked out, his foot pressing tightly against Zuo Shanchi’s throat.

“Zuo Yunfei, you little brat, what the hell are you doing?! Don’t think that just because—”

Zuo Yunfei increased the pressure with his foot, instantly cutting off Zuo Shanchi’s angry rant.

Zuo Yunfei stared at Zuo Shanchi and leaned down. “What kind of dealings do you have with Jiang Xingdong? Did you help him with something?”

Zuo Shanchi’s face flushed red as he looked at Zuo Yunfei. “Let go! Let go!”

Zuo Yunjing rushed over and widened her eyes at the scene. “Yunfei, what are you doing?! Let go of the Elder right now!”

Zuo Yunfei ignored her. “Speak.”

Zuo Yunjing looked at the purple-faced Zuo Shanchi and said, “Yunfei, with your foot on his throat, even if he wanted to speak, he couldn’t!”

Zuo Yunfei reluctantly let go, glaring at Zuo Shanchi. “You better explain yourself.”

Zuo Yunjing stared at Zuo Yunfei. “Yunfei, what are you doing?”

“None of your business. Shut up,” Zuo Yunfei snapped impatiently, glaring at her.

Zuo Yunjing took a deep breath, feeling helpless at his attitude.

Qi Heng sat in a lakeside pavilion sipping tea when Zuo Yunfei approached from a distance.

“What’s wrong? You don’t look too good,” Qi Heng asked, glancing at him.

Zuo Yunfei stared at Qi Heng for a while, then suddenly grabbed his shoulders and shoved him against a nearby pillar. “Did you treat me like that back then just because I’m from the Zuo family?”

“Why do you ask that?” Qi Heng replied.

“Because I found out that your uncle was able to seize your father’s inheritance smoothly thanks to help from Elder Zuo Shanchi,” Zuo Yunfei said.

Qi Heng tilted his head, looked at him, and smiled. “That’s right. Back then, I hated the Jiang family most, but next was the Zuo family. When I first saw you, I noticed the Zuo family crest on you.”

Zuo Yunfei stared at Qi Heng. “Really? So I was dragged into this because of Zuo Shanchi?”

“In a way, yes. But if I hadn’t used such extreme methods back then, maybe you wouldn’t have recovered. Even though my intentions weren’t pure, the result wasn’t too bad,” Qi Heng said calmly.

Zuo Yunfei glared. “You never intended to cure me, did you?”

Qi Heng looked at him and said plainly, “Of course not. Why would I want to help you? You’re from the Zuo family. Back then, I had so much hatred bottled up—I just needed someone to vent it on.”

“You… you treated me like what? Your punching bag?” Zuo Yunfei shouted, enraged.

“Yes. So what? Bad luck for you,” Qi Heng said indifferently.

Furious, Zuo Yunfei threw Qi Heng into the pond. As Qi Heng struggled to surface, Zuo Yunfei pushed his head back under.

“You lunatic! What the hell am I to you?!” Zuo Yunfei roared, trembling with rage.

“Zuo Yunfei, you bastard! Trash!” Qi Heng shouted from under the water.

“You still dare to say that?! Even now?!” Zuo Yunfei snarled.

Qi Heng gradually stopped struggling under the water.

Realizing something was wrong, Zuo Yunfei pulled him out—Qi Heng was unconscious.

Panicking, Zuo Yunfei shouted, “Qi Heng! Qi Heng! Wake up!”

He leaned in and gave him mouth-to-mouth. As their lips touched, Qi Heng’s eyes suddenly opened.

Seeing him awake, Zuo Yunfei let out a breath of relief—but suspicion immediately crept in. “Were you faking?”

“Zuo Yunfei, did you cry just now?” Qi Heng sneered.

Zuo Yunfei stared at him. “So you really were pretending.”

Qi Heng smiled. “I just held my breath. Zuo Yunfei, do you like me? You couldn’t bear to see me die, huh? You really do like people like me. You pervert.”

He chuckled mockingly.

Zuo Yunfei coldly looked at him, then leaned down and kissed him hard on the lips.

Qi Heng shoved him away forcefully. “Zuo Yunfei, what the hell are you doing?!”

Zuo Yunfei grabbed his arms and stole his breath again, cutting him off.

Qi Heng struggled and finally managed to push him away. “What’s wrong with you?!”

“You guessed it—I’m crazy. And yes, I like you. I really like you,” Zuo Yunfei said.

Qi Heng closed his eyes, his mind going blank.

Zuo Yunjing, watching from afar, said to her maid, “Let’s go.”

“Miss, just now it looked like Young Master Zuo was trying to drown Qi Heng,” the maid whispered.

Zuo Yunjing took a deep breath and thought: It did look like he was trying to drown him… but then they kissed afterward.

“Miss, what exactly is going on between Young Master Zuo and Qi Heng?”

Zuo Yunjing shook her head. “I don’t know either.” But she was certain of one thing—her younger brother cared deeply about Qi Heng. Earlier, when he went to confront Zuo Shanchi, it had definitely been because of him.