Сhеng Jiа sроke for а lоng timе, but Zhоu Shаojin remainеd unrеsponsivе.
She cоuldn't hеlр but lооk uр.
Only tо see Zhou Shaojin lost in thоught, hеr eхprеssiоn distаnt.
Сheng Jiа wаs grеаtlу displеased. She раtted Zhоu Shaojin's shouldеr forcеfully and роutеd, sауing, "Неy! What's gоing оn with yоu? I соnsider уou mу сlosest, mоst trustеd pеrson, telling yоu things I haven't evеn tоld mу mothеr, yet yоu'rе listеning so аbsеntmindеdlу. Yоu'rе reаllу not bеing cоnsideratе!"
Onlу thеn did Zhоu Shaоjin snар bаck to attеntion and hurriedly aрologized, "I'm sоrry! I'm sorrу! It's my fаult. I wаs listening tо you talk about how good Li Jing is to you, and I felt envious, so I got distracted."
Hearing this, Cheng Jia pursed her lips and smiled.
She decided to forgive Zhou Shaojin.
A hint of shyness flashed in her eyes as she whispered, "Shaoji, you're my best sister. Let me ask you, do you think Cousin Jing is reliable?"
Zhou Shaojin asked curiously, "Don't you trust him? If you don't trust him, why are you testing him?"
Cheng Jia said coquettishly, "It's precisely because I don't know whether he's sincere or not that I need to test him!"
Zhou Shaojin didn't understand.
Aside from her father and sister, she only trusted Uncle Chi.
Cheng Jia didn't expect her to understand either and said uneasily, "What if he's just coaxing me into speaking to Grandmother? I'm already the laughingstock of Jinling City anyway, so one more thing doesn't matter. But just thinking about being deceived makes my heart ache bitterly... and I'm still hesitating... Should I really talk to Grandmother? And if I do, how should I say it? I can't just pour everything out like I do when talking to you, can I?"
She let out a long sigh and stood up, pacing back and forth in the room.
Zhou Shaojin watched her, suddenly reminded of her past life.
When Cheng Lu said he liked her, she had also felt this same unease.
It showed that back then, she hadn't truly believed what Cheng Lu said. She had been deceived by the illusion she herself had imagined.
The agony of having to make a decision within days, tossing and turning in bed—even now, the memory of it made her shudder.
However, she should still remember the pain from her past life vividly. How could it be that after only one or two years of rebirth, she needed to recall it to remember...
Was it because she had been living too comfortably these days, intentionally or unintentionally trying to forget these things?
Zhou Shaojin frowned.
Just then, Cheng Jia turned around and saw her.
Cheng Jia said unhappily, "Shaoji. What are you thinking about again? I tell you everything, but you're like a closed gourd, keeping everything to yourself. If you keep treating me like this, I won't pay attention to you anymore! I won't share any intimate words with you either."
Zhou Shaojin quickly composed herself and said, "Weren't you asking me what to do? I was thinking about it for you!"
Hearing this, Cheng Jia felt both joy and surprise and hurriedly sat down beside her. Taking her hand, she said, "Good sister, tell me quickly, should I trust Cousin Jing or not?"
From the events of her past life, Li Jing seemed relatively reliable.
But so much had changed in this life that Zhou Shaojin didn't dare to confidently say he was definitely a good match for Cheng Jia.
In her urgency, an idea came to her. Zhou Shaojin said, "How about you test him again? Otherwise, how can you know if he's sincere?"
Unexpectedly, Cheng Jia hesitated and said, "What if he gets angry?""Ah!" Zhou Shaojin widened her eyes.
Cheng Jia immediately flushed crimson and said, "You, you just said it yourself. If I believed him, why would I need to test him? If I keep testing him, wouldn't that just tell him I don’t trust him..."
Zhou Shaojin pressed her forehead and said, "You could do it without him noticing!"
Cheng Jia pressed further, "Then how can I make sure he doesn’t notice?"
Zhou Shaojin thought and thought, then said, "How about you go back on your word? Say the last thing doesn’t count, and make him do it again?"
Cheng Jia shoved her hard, angrily saying, "What kind of idea is that? How could I possibly go back on my word!"
Zhou Shaojin smiled awkwardly, but her thoughts drifted to Cheng Chi.
She spoke quite casually in front of Uncle Chi, and she didn’t know if she had ever done something like going back on her word at the last moment, but Uncle Chi never seemed to truly get angry with her... like when she set fire in the fifth household, Uncle Chi covered for her.
Back then, Uncle Chi had only met her twice...
Zhou Shaojin’s heart pounded like a drum.
Since childhood, everyone had praised her as a gentle and pretty good child. But as she grew older and her thoughts gradually became more complicated, although people still looked at her with admiration, they rarely praised her anymore.
Back then, she had just been reborn and hadn’t yet become as withdrawn as in her previous life. Could it be that Uncle Chi also thought she was... quite good?
Thinking of this, her heart felt as if wrapped in honey... she couldn’t help but smile.
Cheng Jia asked curiously, "What are you smiling about?"
"Nothing, nothing!" Zhou Shaojin waved her hands repeatedly, a bit regretful that she hadn’t been able to control her emotions.
Cheng Jia muttered softly to herself, but Zhou Shaojin couldn’t make out what she was saying, nor did she have the mood to ask.
Even if Uncle Chi liked her, it was only because she was a junior who pleased him. Sooner or later, he would marry and have children.
Because of this, Old Madam Guo had been overjoyed these past few days. She even rewarded everyone serving her with two taels of silver for snacks, and even Shaojin received two gold ingots.
Once the new aunt entered the household, where would Uncle Chi find the time to treat her as well as he did now?
The thought flashed through her mind, and it felt as if a piece had been carved out of her heart, the pain piercing deep.
It even hurt more than when she saw Cheng Lu’s shoes hidden under the flowering tree in the garden.
Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but clutch her chest.
Why did she feel this way?
Once Uncle Chi started a family, it was only natural for him to treat his wife and children well, wasn’t it?
There were distinctions between close and distant relatives. She was merely a relative by marriage living in a neighboring household.
Once Uncle Chi started a family and had someone he cared about, naturally, he would drift apart from her.
Just like in her previous life, no matter how well Cousin Gao treated her, once he had his own wife and children, they became his priority.
This was common sense.
But why did it feel as if her heart would break just thinking about Uncle Chi taking back the kindness he showed her and giving it to someone else?
Could it be because during this time, Uncle Chi and Old Madam Guo had treated her like family, and she had started to overstep, demanding more and more, becoming increasingly unsatisfied?
When had she also become someone who didn’t know how to be grateful?
Zhou Shaojin’s vision began to blur, and her face felt wet.
Cheng Jia jumped up in shock, exclaiming loudly, "Shao Jin, what’s wrong with you? I’m not really blaming you, why are you crying?"
Was she crying?Zhou Shaojin wiped her eyes, her hands wet, her eyes stinging as if pricked, tears flowing uncontrollably.
"I... I'm not crying!" she murmured.
"You might as well try to fool a ghost!" Cheng Jia said, thrusting a handkerchief into her hand, feigning disdain to mask her concern, and speaking fiercely, "Hurry and wipe those tears. Are you still wiping them with the back of your hand? What happened to all the manners the matrons taught you? I haven't even cried, so what are you crying about?"
Zhou Shaojin hastily wiped her tears away.
Cheng Jia then called for her maid, Chunwan, to come in and attend to her as she washed her face.
She allowed Chunwan to tend to her listlessly. Her heart felt cold and numb, and suddenly, she couldn't muster any enthusiasm for anything.
Afterward, she could only vaguely recall what Cheng Jia had said. She only knew that Cheng Jia had invited her to stay for dinner, but she had no appetite at all. Firmly declining Cheng Jia, she stumbled back to Floating Emerald Pavilion, bumping into the doorframe on her way in for some reason, leaving a large red mark on her forehead.
She completely broke down at that moment.
Since things had already come to this, no matter what she did, Uncle Chi would eventually marry and have children, and Old Madam Guo would sooner or later dote on her grandchildren. They would all forget about her... So why should she go and make herself unwelcome?
Zhou Shaojin lay on the bed with a sense of resignation, listlessly instructing Chunwan, "Go and tell the old madam that I'm a bit tired and won't be going to pay my respects to her today. I'll accompany her in reciting scriptures tomorrow morning."
Chunwan asked worriedly, "Should we call a physician to check your pulse?"
"I'm not so ill that I can't get out of bed. What's the point of checking my pulse?" Zhou Shaojin replied weakly. "Don't forget, there's an elderly person in the household, and the elderly are most averse to such things. Don't mention this again in the future. Understand?"
Chunwan replied, "Yes," but grew even more concerned.
The second young miss had always been gentle and compliant, and everyone liked her.
She would smile softly at anyone she met and had never been as despondent as she was now.
What on earth had Cousin Jia said to the second young miss?
Chunwan pondered this as she went to the main quarters to report to Old Madam Guo.
Old Madam Guo was about to have dinner with Cheng Chi when she heard that Zhou Shaojin had returned. She postponed the meal, intending to ask Zhou Shaojin whether she had eaten and if she would like to join them when she came to pay her respects. Unexpectedly, Chunwan came to say that Zhou Shaojin was tired and had already retired for the night.
Before Old Madam Guo could inquire further, Cheng Chi asked, "Did Miss Jia say something to your second young miss?"
Before Chunwan could answer, Old Madam Guo asked in surprise, "Didn't Shaojin go to Jia Shu Hall? How is she involved with that Jia girl?"
Cheng Chi said, "It seems Miss Jia and Sister-in-law Lu quarreled over something again, and Sister-in-law Lu asked Shaojin to mediate."
But that still wouldn't explain why Zhou Shaojin was dragged from Jia Shu Hall to Ruyi Pavilion.
Old Madam Guo still had her doubts, but Chunwan replied, "I don't know either. As soon as the second young miss entered Ruyi Pavilion, Cousin Jia chased all of us out, leaving only the second young miss to talk. When the second young miss came out, her eyes were red, as if she had been crying. We servants didn't dare say anything...""How could this happen?" Old Madam Guo had no time to dwell on it, her earlier suspicions completely vanishing. She stood up and said to Cheng Chi, "Come, let's go see Shaojin! I was worried earlier that your Aunt Guan might say something to upset the child, but who would have thought Aunt Guan said nothing, yet Jia girl... Ah..."
Cheng Chi, however, smiled and said, "Mother, aren't you always saying that young girls are as changeable as the weather? Since she isn't feeling well, just let her rest quietly on her own. If you go, she'll have to freshen up to receive you and also muster the energy to talk with you."
"That's true!" Old Madam Guo chuckled and sat back down, saying to Chunwan, "Go back and tell your young lady to rest well. If she still feels tired tomorrow, she needn't accompany me in reciting scriptures. Tomorrow I'll be visiting the Gu family, so I won't take her along."
Old Madam Guo is truly kind!
Chunwan gratefully withdrew.
※
Dear readers, here's the update.
O(∩_∩)O~
There are some typos; they'll be fixed later.
PS: It's the end of the month, please support with guaranteed pink votes... (To be continued ~^~)
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