Chapter 24

Early Monday morning, Ji Anning noticed that Sun Yaxian was looking at her with a strange gaze, mixed with jealousy, a hint of resentment, and a touch of unwillingness.

Meng Xinyu whispered in her ear, “What’s wrong with her today?”

Ji Anning shook her head, “I don’t know.”

Just as they were speaking, Sun Yaxian shot another resentful glance at her.

Ji Anning remained calm, bowing her head to take notes. She could easily guess what had happened, probably yesterday, Sun Yaxian must have had some contact with Wen Yu.

That guy, Wen Yu, was not only a thug but also lacked any gentlemanly manners. If he was unhappy, he would not hesitate to humiliate others.

In her past life, Sun Yaxian repeatedly brought humiliation upon herself and then turned around to vent her anger on Ji Anning. She spread malicious rumors about Ji Anning, attempting to portray her as a poor and materialistic girl driven by vanity.

Ji Anning didn’t know how Wen Yu was in society, but at least within the school, she could see that he was an exceptionally self-centered person.

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“I’ve prepared your meal.” He shamelessly grabbed Ji Anning’s arm and pulled her towards the food.

Ji Anning didn’t want to argue with him in the cafeteria, so she quietly followed him, pulling her arm back.

Wen Yu glanced at her, a satisfied smile in his eyes.

Wen Yu had an enormous appetite that could easily overwhelm Ji Anning.

Ji Anning didn’t bother arguing with him about splitting the bill or reimbursement for the meal.

Originally, she had hoped to draw clear boundaries with Wen Yu regarding money, just as she did in her past life.

But now, as she reflected on it, she felt that she had been too stubborn and extreme with Wen Yu in her past life, leading to his unrequited love and his unwillingness, which resulted in his excessive obsession. In this life, Ji Anning wanted to treat Wen Yu with moderate gentleness.

Since she had become more moderate, it was impossible for Ji Anning to meticulously calculate every penny with Wen Yu’s dominance.

Even several thousand or tens of thousands of dollars were small amounts to him, falling into the category of “Don’t bother me with that.”

“Slow down while eating,” Wen Yu said, “Why are you eating so fast?”

He noticed that Ji Anning was eating quite quickly. It wasn’t that she ate in an uncivilized manner, but she ate genuinely fast.

Ji Anning swallowed the food in her mouth and replied, “Practice.”

Wen Yu recalled how busy she was running around the school on a regular basis, and he understood somewhat.

Wen Yu had always been taught to chew slowly and savor the food, as eating too quickly was bad for the stomach. However, if Ji Anning had the opportunity, why should she give up being composed and busy?

“After eating, are you going home?” Wen Yu asked.

“En,” Jia Ning replied without raising her head.

Wen Yu felt somewhat helpless. But Ji Anning couldn’t talk to him while eating; she had to finish first. He had no choice but to wait for her.

Ji Anning wiped her mouth after finishing and said, “I’m going home.”

Finally able to speak, Wen Yu mumbled to himself and stood up, saying, “I’ll accompany you.”

Wen Yu said, “Aren’t you going to take your grandmother to sunbathe? I’ll go with you guys for a stroll, it’ll be a good way to digest our food.”

Ji Anning hesitated for a moment. Wen Yu noticed and said, “I won’t go upstairs, I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

In fact, he had noticed last time that Ji Anning didn’t want him to enter her house.

The residential building was so old, resembling a dilapidated house, and now only a few households lived there. Most had moved to the new welfare building on campus. The remaining ones were struggling in the school. They heard that even the young teachers who were newly recruited would rather rent a place outside than live there.

Ji Anning was in a similar situation, and one could imagine the condition of her home. Everyone had a bit of self-esteem, especially girls. It was understandable that she didn’t want him to see it.

The two of them left the school together, crossed the street, and talked as they walked.

Wen Yu asked, “Tomorrow is a day off. How are you planning your holiday?”

“I have nothing in the morning,” Ji Anning said, “I’ll go to the coffee shop in the afternoon and to South Bridge Road at night.”

On holidays like this, the coffee shop would have more customers than usual. Several girls who worked part-time together had planned activities, and they couldn’t take turns during the holiday. Ji Anning had made arrangements with Shu Chen, saying that she had time and could work more to earn extra money.

During holidays like this, regular shifts didn’t pay extra, but overtime wages were tripled.

“Then come to the training center tomorrow morning,” Wen Yu directly arranged for Ji Anning.

Ji Anning: “…”

“Look at that kick you made the other day, so weak and powerless,” Wen Yu glanced at her and said, “You should come to training earlier, it won’t do you any harm.”

Ji Anning’s footsteps paused, and she turned to look at Wen Yu.

They hadn’t had a chance to talk about that incident yet.

As soon as Wen Yu saw the complex look in her dark eyes, he immediately raised a finger and said, “Enough! Don’t lecture me!”

Ji Anning closed her mouth, turned her head, and continued walking forward.

Wen Yu followed along.

“I think you understand it pretty well in your heart. Otherwise, why would a girl like you come to my combat club?” he said with a hint of confusion, “Why is it that as soon as you come to me, you transform into a teacher of morals and ethics?”

“Is it that serious?” Ji Anning asked, “What about those two people?”

Wen Yu said, “I just kicked them a few times. How serious could it be? I’ve received professional training, and I have control over my strength.”

“Wouldn’t they report you? Even for a minor injury, there should be legal consequences, right?” Ji Anning asked while walking. Her head was slightly lowered, looking at the ground. In the photos from that day, both of those people were lying on the ground. It didn’t feel as trivial as he described.

“Am I that stupid?” Wen Yu sneered, “I chose a secluded path without surveillance cameras to make my move. Those two idiots didn’t see my license plate or recognize my face. Even if they called the police, they wouldn’t find me.”

Wen Yu sounded full of confidence.

Ji Anning realized that she didn’t know enough about Wen Yu. In her memory, she only had the impression of him being adored by girls and surrounded by boys at school. The rest was just his ruffian and shameless behavior, his persistent pestering.

She knew he came from a wealthy family, but she didn’t know the details, and she had no idea about his background, connections, or methods outside of the campus.

“What about murder?” Ji Anning suddenly asked in a soft voice.

Wen Yu didn’t understand, “Huh?”

Ji Anning stopped walking and looked into his eyes as she asked, “If you were to kill someone, could you escape legal punishment? Could you avoid being caught and sentenced to death?”

Wen Yu blinked.

Ji Anning tried to clarify, “I mean hypothetically.”

Wen Yu chuckled, “Your mind jumps too far. You went from one extreme to another, from a kick to murder and arson?”

But since it was hypothetical, he imagined for a moment and still spoke with full confidence, “If I really wanted to kill someone, I would plan it carefully. Timing, location, method, everything would be crucial. I definitely wouldn’t be foolish enough to let anyone find evidence.”

Ji Anning looked slightly bewildered.

That night, he dragged Zhao Chen to the edge of the rooftop and smiled coolly, saying, “You too.”

Zhao Chen turned her death into a “suicide,” erasing all traces of his existence and washing herself clean.

Wen Yu… Could Wen Yu do the same?

But Wen Yu got caught, sentenced, and executed.

Ji Anning vividly remembered a scene she saw in the vortex of time:

In the meeting room, a young man held a telephone receiver behind the glass, smiling and saying, “What grudge did you have against Zhao that you suddenly went and killed him? Luckily, you went crazy all of a sudden, giving us leverage. Otherwise, you almost turned the tables. Is it worth it for a girl?”

In these days of her rebirth, Ji Anning repeatedly recalled the scenes she saw in her past life and pondered over the words they had spoken.

Wen Yu and that young man were clearly opponents or even enemies. Wen Yu killed Zhao Chen, and the other party caught him in a compromising position, leading to his imprisonment and defeat.

All of this was for her.

Was it worth it?

Wen Yu stared at Ji Anning without turning his gaze.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, “Feeling unwell?”

Ji Anning’s face was too pale, devoid of color. Wen Yu was always quick with his hands, eyes, mind, and mouth. Even as he asked, his hand had already touched Ji Anning’s cheek.

He didn’t care about her warning not to touch.

Ji Anning was emotionally fluctuating and didn’t realize that Wen Yu was once again touching her.

Wen Yu’s palm was dry and warm, and it felt inexplicably comforting against her cheek.

Ji Anning was dazed and remembered leaning down to kiss him in the dark, cold prison cell. Her soul was intangible and couldn’t touch his lips… At that time, she felt so heartbroken.

But as she raised her eyes and saw Wen Yu standing before her in broad daylight, his gaze shimmering, cunning, and even a bit greedy, Ji Anning suddenly snapped back to reality.

She pushed his hand away. “Don’t touch me randomly,” she said, turning around and walking forward.

Wen Yu cheerfully followed her.

They entered the courtyard, and Ji Anning took her grandmother downstairs.

The courtyard of the family building was a small garden with vine trellises. At this time of noon, there weren’t many people in the family courtyard. Some elderly men and women had just finished their lunch and were digesting at home. No one was going downstairs for a stroll in the middle of the day. There were only Ji Anning and the two others in the courtyard.

Grandmother also enjoyed basking in the sun. She leisurely strolled around the courtyard with her hands behind her back.

Ji Anning and Wen Yu followed behind her, taking a slow walk.

“It seems quite normal,” Wen Yu commented.

When grandmother came downstairs earlier, she asked Wen Yu who he was, and Ji Anning introduced him to her. Grandmother even smiled and said, “Come to our house to play with Ningning?”

She seemed like a normal person.

Ji Anning forced a bitter smile and said, “It takes time to see.”

But as Wen Yu strolled around for a while, he gradually realized that grandmother had indeed lost her sanity. He said, “Is it… that the older you get, the more you become unable to leave people?”

Ji Anning said, “Yes.” Eventually, she would completely lose her ability to take care of herself.

Wen Yu pursed his lips and asked, “Then what do we do in the future?”

Ji Anning lowered her eyes and said, “We’ll talk about the future later. For now, I’ll take care of the present.”

“There should be nursing homes specifically for taking care of elderly people like her, right?” Wen Yu asked again.

Ji Anning responded with a noncommittal “Hmm.”

Wen Yu realized her hesitation. He took out his phone and checked, then flipped it around to show Ji Anning. “Look, it’s only a little over a hundred thousand yuan per year, not much money.”

“Ji Anning, actually…” He smiled mischievously, his gaze intense and invasive.

“Shut up,” Ji Anning said.

Wen Yu wasn’t so easily deterred. He smiled and told her, “There’s nothing money can’t solve in this world.”

Yes, why not?

Life.

Once a person dies, everything becomes meaningless, and all the regrets are futile. What use is money?

Money can’t buy life.

Ji Anning glanced sideways.

Wen Yu saw her gaze burning like fire. Whether it was for love or desire, he really wanted to have her.

In his past life, he didn’t get her, and this obsession drove him to kill for her, ruining his entire life.

People say that men, when fixated on something they can’t have, become infatuated, but once they obtain it, they discard it like an old shoe.

Especially when it comes to women.

Wen Yu smiled as he looked at Ji Anning.

She suddenly stopped and turned her head to look at him. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and even when she wasn’t smiling, she was stunningly beautiful.

Wen Yu’s mouth curled up, giving her a wicked and mischievous smile. He was about to say something to tease her when Ji Anning suddenly took a step forward, grabbed his collar, and pulled him down…

Under the clear sky, Ji Anning tiptoed and kissed Wen Yu.

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Sansukini: Awww… this is the start of their ambiguous relationship.

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