67. Extra 1: Earlier Than Expected

Back then, Zhan Tianxiong had taken precautions against Ji Qiuchi. In the first year, Zhan Tianxiong forced her to take drugs.

She spent a month overcoming the physical addiction and another three months breaking the psychological dependence, becoming incredibly thin.

She was ill.

She didn’t want to see anyone, especially Jiang Yi.

Later, Jiang Yi moved downstairs from her apartment. She could stay at home for a month without going out. After graduation, she cut off contact with all her former classmates and friends. During the years she spent with Zhan Tianxiong, she only knew mistresses and kept women; no one would remember her.

Lin Xingzi, watching her with concern, found her a psychologist.

Slowly, she started to improve. She began to talk and communicate, spending less time in a daze, and even started cooking for herself.

Lin Xingzi’s due date was approaching. On the day of the Winter Solstice, Ji Qiuchi planned to buy some baby supplies. Although she knew Lin Xingzi wasn’t lacking these things and her home was already overflowing, she still wanted to show her thoughtfulness. Lin Xingzi and Jiang Yan had helped her too much.

Before she left, the doorbell rang. She thought it was Jiang Yi.

“So you really live here,” Ji’s father grinned widely, disregarding the stiff Ji Qiuchi, and swaggered into the house, looking around. “I can’t even get a meal every day, and you’re living in such a good house in the big city! No wonder you haven’t been home for five or six years, not even a phone call. I guess I gave birth to a useless money pit.”

“I already gave you living expenses.”

“What do you mean? I worked so hard to raise you for over ten years, gave you food, clothes, sent you to school. Oh, now you’ve grown up and don’t want to acknowledge me as your father?”

If she could, Ji Qiuchi would rather not have this father.

“No way!” He plopped down on the sofa, with no intention of leaving. “If you don’t take care of me, I’ll sue you in court and let the country judge.”

Ji Qiuchi didn’t want to look at him. “I don’t have money. Go ahead and sue me.”

He clearly didn’t believe her. “No money and you live in such a nice house?”

“The house belongs to a friend. Get out now.”

“Get out? I went to great lengths to find you, and you’re kicking me out without even a sip of water? Ouch!” He shrieked, throwing a tantrum. “What sin did I commit in my past life to give birth to such an unfilial daughter, who hasn’t cared about her family for five or six years?”

Ji Qiuchi suppressed the urge to storm out.

Although there was nothing valuable in the house, it was Lin Xingzi’s. He would undoubtedly cause damage just to get money.

“Get out, or I’m calling the police.”

“What?! You want to call the police to arrest me? Fine, I’d like to see what you can do to me. A little quieter? What, afraid your neighbors will hear how you treat your own father? Today I... Jiang, Jiang Yi?” Ji’s father’s shouting suddenly stopped. He widened his eyes, pointing disbelievingly at the person who entered, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

Jiang Yi shielded Ji Qiuchi behind him. “Are you alright?”

Ji Qiuchi shook her head.

Jiang Yi had seen worse embarrassments than this. When her mother was still alive, her father would come home drunk or after losing money and beat and scold them. Once, she was taking a bath, stark naked, and was beaten until her skin broke. It was Jiang Yi who brought clothes to cover her and carried her to the clinic. She was six years old that year.

Ji’s father was relentless. Jiang Yi was taller than him, and the father, a chronic alcoholic and old, was somewhat timid in front of Jiang Yi but was determined to get money and didn’t want to leave empty-handed. Unable to fight, he resorted to throwing a tantrum.

When Lin Xingzi arrived, he was still crying and howling on the floor.

“Who are you again?”

Last year, when Lin Xingzi and Jiang Yan returned to their hometown, Ji’s father, drunk, showed up at their door early in the morning. Jiang Yan didn’t let him see Lin Xingzi.

The assistant brought a chair, and Lin Xingzi sat down, supporting her waist. Her due date was approaching, and Ji Qiuchi was afraid her father’s outburst would harm her.

Lin Xingzi patted Ji Qiuchi’s hand, reassuring her.

“Me?” She smiled faintly. “I’m the rich landlady here to collect rent.”

A driver and an assistant, dressed in suits and overcoats with sunglasses, stood respectfully behind her, looking like hidden bodyguards.

Ji’s father paused, then burst into laughter. He didn’t care who she was, as long as she was rich.

Lin Xingzi disliked wasting time. Such a person was easy to deal with. “Fine, I’ll pay for Qiuchi, but I have conditions.”

He asked what the conditions were.

“Take the money, sign the papers, and once you walk out that door, you and Ji Qiuchi will have no relationship whatsoever. You’ll walk around her, you’re not allowed to mention her name, you’re not allowed to harass her again, and there are other conditions, which I won’t detail one by one. It’s all clearly written in black and white. If you breach any clause, you must return the amount proportionally. If you agree, sign and take the money. If not... then I can only resort to violence and solve the problem the way you prefer. Medical expenses are much cheaper than dissolving your father-daughter relationship with Qiuchi.”

Ji’s father picked up the bank card. “How much money is in this card?”

“One hundred thousand.”

“That little? Are you trying to get rid of a beggar?”

“I usually only use ten yuan to get rid of beggars,” Lin Xingzi said unhurriedly. “A reminder to you, that blue vase with flowers you smashed is an antique, worth eighty million. You wouldn’t be able to pay for it even if you sold your kidneys for your next life. The evidence is right here, and your fingerprints are on it. I’ve also brought my lawyer.”

“Choose between taking one hundred thousand and severing your father-daughter relationship with Ji Qiuchi, or being eighty million in debt.”

Ji’s father, though unreasonable, knew who not to provoke. He took the good deal when he saw it, still grumbling as he left, muttering about ‘unfilial daughter’ and ‘ungrateful wretch,’ but Ji Qiuchi simply pretended not to hear him.

Jiang Yan rushed over after receiving the call. In the bitter cold of winter, he was drenched in sweat. Lin Xingzi, emboldened, knew that even if he was angry, he wouldn’t bring himself to speak harshly to her.

Ji Qiuchi felt guilty. “Xingzi, that vase...”

“It’s worth dozens of yuan. If it’s broken, it’s broken,” Lin Xingzi waved her hand nonchalantly. “I tricked him. It’s not an antique.”

“...”

Jiang Yan pinched her chin, turning her to face him. She had gained a little weight, and her cheeks felt wonderfully soft to the touch. Jiang Yan had intended to lecture her, but as soon as he spoke, his tone involuntarily softened. “You promised me last week that you’d rest well at home. How many times have I told you to leave such matters to men? He’s unreasonable; what if he hurt you?”

“I wasn’t alone.”

“Still arguing? You...”

“Jiang Yan,” she suddenly gripped his arm, clutching her belly, her brows furrowed. “Husband... my stomach hurts, it hurts so much...”

Ji Qiuchi and Jiang Yi watched from the side, thinking that Lin Xingzi’s acting had reached a pinnacle of perfection, appearing so naturally flawless.

Only Jiang Yan froze for a few seconds. After reacting, he immediately told Jiang Yi to call 120. He picked up Lin Xingzi and carried her downstairs.

It was half a month earlier than her due date.