Read Novel Full Chapter 138 – Do You Hate Me?
Chapter 138 – Do You Hate Me?
Jiang Li didn’t tell Tong Yi she was going to find Jiang Ruo, knowing that the guy would surely figure out her intention for his sake and secretly gloat. So instead, she went to Feng Bai and asked him to help find Jiang Ruo’s current address.
Feng Bai asked in surprise, “Why are you looking for her?”
“You probably know about Tong Xu investigating the kidney case and trying to set up Big Nephew, right?” Jiang Li asked back.
Feng Bai nodded. “Yeah, Grandpa mentioned it. But that was clearly Third Uncle’s doing… what does that have to do with Jiang Ruo?”
Jiang Li smiled. “Tong Xu suddenly decided to investigate because of Jiang Ruo’s instigation. You didn’t know that, did you?”
Feng Bai shook his head. “I really didn’t. But if that’s true, it makes perfect sense why Big Nephew sent people after her.” He had never believed Tong Yi would target Jiang Ruo without a reason. Now everything clicked. Jiang Ruo was simply facing the consequences of her own actions.
Seeing his misunderstanding, Jiang Li quickly corrected, “Tong Yi didn’t know about this before. There’s no way he would’ve sent people to mess with her. I just found out myself—it was Tong Xu who arranged for those people to harass her.”
“Huh?” Feng Bai looked confused, but soon figured it out and laughed. “Talk about dog eat dog! Serves them right!”
“Not at all. Jiang Ruo thinks it was Tong Yi targeting her and doesn’t even consider it might be Tong Xu. Don’t you think we should help her a bit?”
Feng Bai’s eyes lit up. “You want to tell her the truth and make her go after Tong Xu instead?”
Jiang Li nodded immediately. “Tong Xu pulled all those stunts—I can’t stand him. So, I just want to sit back and watch them tear each other apart.”
Feng Bai fully agreed and nodded. “I think you’re absolutely right. I’ll have someone check Jiang Ruo’s address right now.”
Jiang Li tugged on his sleeve, acting playfully. “But you can’t tell anyone else in the family. I only told you. If anyone else finds out, it has to be because you blabbed.”
Feng Bai looked puzzled. “Is this really something that needs to be kept secret?”
Jiang Li huffed and let go of his sleeve. “Fine, if you won’t agree, I’ll go ask Second Brother for help instead.”
Feng Bai immediately grabbed the hood of her down jacket and pulled her back. “Wait, wait, who said I wouldn’t help? I just think it’s weird—why are you hiding it from the rest of the family?”
“I just don’t want them to know. It’ll be our secret, okay?” Jiang Li grinned. After all, she couldn’t tell him that if their Third Uncle found out, he’d definitely realize she was doing this for Tong Yi’s sake.
The moment he heard the words “our secret,” Feng Bai completely lost his stance. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. But… if your sister-in-law asks, I might have to tell her—but I’ll make sure she keeps the secret too.”
Jiang Li teased, “Are you feeding me dog food right now, Third Brother?”
Feng Bai laughed and ruffled her hair. “How could I dare give our Xiao Jiang Li dog food? I’ll have someone check Jiang Ruo’s address right now, then I’ll go with you to find her.”
Feng Bai’s efficiency was impressive. In less than half a day, he found Jiang Ruo’s current residence and also dug up what she had been through since returning to Minjiang.
After returning to Minjiang, Jiang Ruo had changed places several times, settling down only after renting a room from a seventy-year-old woman.
The elderly lady’s son and daughter-in-law were both police officers, often away from home on duty. After getting older, the woman felt lonely, and renting out a room was partly a way to have someone to talk to and accompany her.
Jiang Ruo probably chose to live with the old lady precisely because she was a police family member. Staying there, she was safe from Tong Xu’s harassment.
Feng Bai remarked, “Tong Xu really is crazy. Every time Jiang Ruo found a new place and moved in, he’d send people to mess things up. If she stayed at a hotel, he’d send people there too. Only after she rented this place from the old lady did he finally stop.”
Given that, it was clear Jiang Ruo hadn’t lied when she came to him—if Tong Xu kept this up, it was only a matter of time before she hit a dead end.
“Let’s go find Jiang Ruo now. Once she knows the truth, Tong Xu probably won’t have peace anymore,” Jiang Li said.
The room Jiang Ruo rented was in an old neighborhood near the police station. When Jiang Li and Feng Bai arrived, the security guard at the gate was dozing in a chair and didn’t even question them before letting them in.
Following the address, they found that the door had no doorbell, so Jiang Li reached out and knocked. After about ten seconds, Jiang Ruo opened the door, looking at the two of them in confusion. “Why… why are you here? Is something wrong?”
Jiang Ruo didn’t believe for a second that Feng Bai had suddenly changed his mind and was here to help her.
Jiang Li looked at the visibly thinner Jiang Ruo in front of her and realized she looked even more haggard than the last time they met. “Can we find somewhere to talk?” she asked.
“Of course. But I need to let Grandma Zhao know first, then I’ll come with you.” Jiang Ruo nodded immediately. She knew that, no matter what Jiang Li’s purpose was, she had no right to refuse—and she hadn’t planned to refuse, anyway.
After informing her landlady, Jiang Ruo changed her shoes and followed the cousins downstairs. She led them to a pavilion inside the complex and then looked at Jiang Li, silently waiting for her to speak first.
Jiang Li didn’t intend to beat around the bush. She took out her phone, opened the audio recording from earlier, and played it.
After listening, Jiang Ruo’s expression changed drastically. She opened her mouth with difficulty: “So… the person targeting me… it was Tong Xu all along?”
The “Mr. Tong” her roommates had mentioned wasn’t the Tong Yi she’d always assumed. And the reason Tong Xu went after her was, of course, because she had tried to use him to drive a wedge between Old Master Feng and Jiang Li. But her plan had failed, likely because the Feng family saw through Tong Xu’s intentions. Humiliated and angry, he had turned on her instead.
Jiang Li calmly told her, “I am telling you this so you know Tong Yi was not responsible. If you don’t want to be harassed, you should go deal with Tong Xu.”
With that, she turned to leave, but Jiang Ruo called out to her.
“Jiang Li, can I ask you one question? Will you tell me the truth?”
Before Jiang Li could answer, Feng Bai interjected, full of mockery and disdain, “You can ask, but whether she answers is another story. She’s got nothing to say to trash like you.”
Being called trash made Jiang Ruo look visibly uncomfortable. Just as she thought Jiang Li wouldn’t give her the chance to speak, Jiang Li suddenly said, “Go ahead and ask. Though I may not answer.”
Jiang Ruo hesitated for a few seconds before asking: “Do you… hate me?”
Jiang Li’s expression barely changed. She simply asked in return, “Why do you ask?”
Jiang Ruo’s voice was low as she muttered, “I just thought… you probably do. Otherwise, why would you have schemed against my brother and made Grandpa turn against him?”
Jiang Li shook her head. “I never schemed against Jiang Zhou. It was your whole family who planned to use my kidney. If I hadn’t returned to the Feng family early, you all would’ve used every method possible to force me into donating it. Isn’t that true?”
Jiang Ruo muttered, barely audible, “I never forced you.”
Jiang Li’s voice turned cold. “No, you didn’t. But when the people around you did, you never stopped them. So you don’t get to play the innocent in front of me.”
Jiang Ruo: “…”
It was true. Jiang Li wasn’t wrong. But all she had wanted… was to live. Was that so wrong?
Jiang Li saw right through her thoughts. “Everyone wants to live. But Jiang Zhou and Bai Guolin tried to give you life by taking someone else’s life. And you didn’t see anything wrong with that.”
Jiang Ruo’s lips parted, but she couldn’t say a word—because everything Jiang Li had just said ripped open the darkest parts of her heart and laid them bare in the sunlight. There was nowhere to hide.
“You just asked me if I hate you. But tell me—does that even matter to you?” Jiang Li asked.
Jiang Ruo: “…”
Right. Did it even matter? Whether Jiang Li hated her or not wouldn’t change anything. Her brother and Bai Guolin were still in the detention center and would remain there. Time couldn’t be turned back.
Feng Bai grabbed Jiang Li’s arm. “She has no shame. Don’t waste your breath on her—she’s not going to reflect on anything.”
With that, Feng Bai pulled Jiang Li away. Jiang Ruo stared after them, eyes filled with confusion.
She had already regretted it all. Regretted having coveted Jiang Li’s kidney. Regretted not stopping her brother from pressuring their mother. Regretted letting her mother try to persuade Jiang Li to donate.
But most of all, she regretted not stopping Bai Guolin from looking for a match at the blood donation center. If she had, she might still be “Ruoruo” with a brother and a friend, instead of being the lonely Jiang Ruo she was now.
After standing in silence for a long while, Jiang Ruo slowly walked back to her apartment.
What she should be focusing on now is to find a way to get Tong Xu to leave her alone. Otherwise, once the new semester began, she’d have to face the bullying from her roommates all over again.
…
After Jiang Li’s call, Tong Xu sat in a daze. Even long after the line had gone dead, he still hadn’t snapped out of it.
He suspected Jiang Ruo had gone to see Jiang Li, prompting her to call and question him about targeting Jiang Ruo. What puzzled him, though, was whether Jiang Li had meant for him to stop—she had hung up before he could say anything.
After hesitating for a long time, Tong Xu, hands trembling, tried to call Jiang Li back, only to find his number had been blocked.
He considered using a different number to call her, but quickly abandoned the idea. He was afraid Jiang Li would get angry and complain to Third Master Feng. If that happened, Third Master would surely think he was harassing Jiang Li and come after him.
After giving up the idea of contacting Jiang Li, Tong Xu thought of Jiang Ruo. That woman had gotten smarter recently, renting a place from a police officer’s family. If he kept using the same tactics, it would definitely attract police attention.
His whole reason for messing with Jiang Ruo was just to vent his anger. If it brought the police down on him, it wouldn’t be worth it.
But there was no need to rush. Eventually, Jiang Ruo would return to Beijing for school. Once the semester started, even if he did nothing, her roommates would definitely make her life hell.
Tong Xu didn’t think there was anything wrong with his thinking. Jiang Ruo had messed with him first, so making her pay was only fair.
But if Jiang Li wanted him to stop, he would.
Tong Xu kept obsessing over Jiang Li’s intention until the night of the third day of the new year, when Tong Bingran suddenly burst into his room and cursed him out like never before.
“I seriously don’t get it! How the hell did I end up with such a stupid son? I ought to get a DNA test and see if the hospital gave me the wrong baby!”
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