Chapter 16: Meeting Yuki Chise

Ji Ruoling felt as if she were going blind. That person still had their back to her, but could that long hair be...?

Before the name could even form in her mind, her body began to move.

Without looking at the person again, she backed away and ran.

As Ji Ruoling was retreating, the person suddenly turned around; it was clearly Lin Muxi.

He quickly dressed himself, not even bothering with his face, and strode forward to open the door.

By the time Lin Muxi opened the door, Ji Ruoling had already run back to the front of her own room. Because she had been in such a hurry, she nearly tripped twice along the way.

Sitting in her room, Ji Ruoling replayed the scene in her mind, and her face couldn't help but flush.

That person... was Lin Muxi, right!

She had actually watched someone else bathe; would she grow a stye?

No, no, Lin Muxi also saw her. Looking back at him tonight, they would be even.

As Ji Ruoling thought this, she felt a sense of balance, and her face stopped feeling so hot.

A quarter of an hour later, Xiao Tao entered Ji Ruoling's room carrying a beautiful food box.

The moment the food box was opened, Ji Ruoling felt truly hungry. Casting the previous incident to the back of her mind, she began to eat heartily.

Afterward, Xiao Tao tidied up the things and left.

As soon as she stepped out, Lin Muxi arrived.

He walked straight in and sat down, and then his voice rang out in Ji Ruoling's mind.

"I will help you catch the person monitoring you, as well as the one pulling the strings from behind." Lin Muxi's emotionless voice rang out, leaving Ji Ruoling dazed.

"Why?" The image of Lin Muxi in the room just now surfaced in Ji Ruoling's mind again, and her face couldn't help but redden.

"You don't need to worry about it." Having said that, he left.

Ji Ruoling sat there stunned, wondering why Lin Muxi had suddenly changed his mind.

She didn't know that he had discovered her peeping just now. Connecting that to what he had said to Ji Ruoling today, he assumed that the person monitoring Ji Ruoling had begun monitoring him as well.

He felt that the person had begun to threaten him, so he decided to eliminate them.

If she knew that Lin Muxi had made this decision because of her actions, she would likely not know whether to laugh or cry.

Lost in thought, Lin Muxi suddenly turned back and asked her, "Why is your face so red?"

"Uh." Because she had just thought of a blood-spittingly embarrassing scene, her face was red and very hot.

Hearing his question, her face felt even hotter; she didn't even need to look to know she was as red as a ripe shrimp.

Lin Muxi still didn't know that she had seen him bathing, and now, being asked with what seemed like concern, she felt ashamed.

"What's wrong?" Lin Muxi walked closer to her, looked at her face, and immediately frowned.

"I..."

As Lin Muxi stepped closer, her body shifted slightly away.

"What?" Lin Muxi walked right up to her and reached out.

Ji Ruoling's body leaned back, her center of gravity became unstable, and she began to fall toward the ground.

"Ah!"

At the critical moment, Lin Muxi suddenly acted, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her back onto the stool.

Then, his other hand was placed against her face.

Before Ji Ruoling could recover from her fear, she felt a cool hand covering her face.

"Very hot. Are you sick?" Lin Muxi withdrew his hand from Ji Ruoling's face and muttered to himself.

Ji Ruoling's brain was frozen; she had no reaction.

In the end, Lin Muxi left, and Ji Ruoling continued to stare blankly at the table.

On the table sat an exquisite small bottle; that was what Lin Muxi had left before leaving, instructing her to take one.

Ji Ruoling didn't know what Lin Muxi meant by having no emotion at all—was that an instruction?

The next day, Ji Ruoling got up early for a morning run and unexpectedly encountered Lin Muxi.

"Did you take the medicine?" Lin Muxi asked.

"Uh, no..." She wasn't sick, so why would she take medicine?

He knew that his behavior last night had caused Lin Muxi to misunderstand, thinking she was ill.

Ji Ruoling felt that upon hearing her words, Lin Muxi's face seemed to darken, and then he coldly tossed out a sentence: "Whether you eat it or not is up to you." He turned and walked away.

"Uh..." Was he angry?

Ji Ruoling stared blankly at Lin Muxi's departing figure, feeling that something was strange.

Without thinking too much of it, Ji Ruoling continued her morning run; running was her habit.

When she reached a pond and wanted to rest for a moment, she stopped.

A voice laced with sarcasm rang in her ears: "Oh, Sixth Sister is up so early."

Ji Ruoling's body stiffened first, then she turned her head. "Good morning, Third Sister."

She recognized this voice and this person; it was the Third Miss of the Ji family, Ji Qianxue, who had essentially killed the original host.

Aside from Fourth Aunt, Ji Qianxue was the original host's greatest nightmare.

Everyone had witnessed how well Ji Yi had been treating her these past few days; perhaps Ji Qianxue was also worried that Ji Yi would protect her, which was why she hadn't come to bully her during this period.

It was just a coincidence that they met today, and Ji Qianxue... likely wouldn't let her off easily.

"What is Sixth Sister doing up so early?" Ji Qianxue walked up to Ji Ruoling and sized her up from head to toe.

"Running," Ji Ruoling answered truthfully.

As if suddenly realizing something, Ji Qianxue said, "Oh, running. That makes sense. Since Sixth Sister couldn't practice martial arts from a young age and was physically weak when she was little, she wants to run to exercise her body."

Ji Ruoling's eyes dimmed. How could she not hear the underlying meaning in Ji Qianxue's words? She was merely using the opportunity to mock her for being unable to practice martial arts and being a useless waste.

Ji Ruoling said nothing, so Ji Qianxue assumed she didn't dare to talk back and added, "Sixth Sister's skin is getting better and better. Have you been living quite well lately?"

As she spoke, she looked at her with a dark expression.

Ji Ruoling looked up, met Ji Qianxue's eyes directly, and grinned. "Thank you for your concern, Third Sister. If it weren't for you... I'm afraid I wouldn't be living this well. If Third Sister has nothing else to say, I'll be going."

With those words, Ji Ruoling ran back toward the Elegant Court.

Ji Qianxue stomped her feet in anger; Ji Ruoling's words had infuriated her.

That day, she had thought Ji Ruoling was dead, but she hadn't expected her to come back to life.

Furthermore, Father's attitude toward her had changed; he was no longer in a hurry to give her the Elegant Court, and he sent things over from time to time, which made her incredibly envious.

If she had known it would turn out like this, she should have thrown Ji Ruoling into the pond to soak for three days and three nights; she didn't believe she wouldn't die!

By the time Ji Ruoling returned to the Elegant Court, breakfast was already prepared.

While eating, Ji Ruoling couldn't help but think of Ji Qianxue. After this morning's incident, her peaceful days would likely end soon.

Thinking again about the person monitoring her, Ji Ruoling's eyes darkened. No matter who it was, she would find them and make them pay the price.

After breakfast, Ji Ruoling climbed onto her bed and sat cross-legged.

She took an exquisite small bottle from the small cabinet by the bed; that was what Lin Muxi had given her last night.

She wasn't sick, so she hadn't opened it yet.

Thinking of how the medicine Lin Muxi gave him that day had even saved the dying Hou Mochen, she couldn't help but feel excited, wondering what kind of miraculous pill was in the bottle.

Out of curiosity, Ji Ruoling slowly opened the bottle.

As soon as a fresh fragrance surged from the bottle, Ji Ruoling felt her breathing become easier.