Jin Jingxiu returned to the Jin household. He had already made a clean break with Jiang Mengyue and vowed that they would have nothing more to do with each other from this day forward.
Jiang Mengyue's appearance had cast a shadow over his mood, but he quickly put the thought out of his mind and refused to dwell on it any longer.
He felt the box tucked inside his robes.
He wanted to gift the white jade hairpin to Jiang Ning.
The last time Jiang Ning saved his life, he had wanted to repay her, but in the end, she only took a whip and refused everything else, telling him to take all the rest back.
He wanted to repay her—or at least... present this white jade hairpin to her.
Jin Jingxiu was utterly tormented, racking his brain over how to gift the white jade hairpin. If it came directly from him, Miss Jiang would undoubtedly refuse to accept it...
Just then, Jin Weilan happened to walk past.
Hearing that Jin Jingxiu had left the house first thing in the morning—and assuming he had gone to see Jiang Mengyue yet again—a furious Jin Weilan had rushed right over.
"Brother!"
Hearing the loud shout from inside the room, Jin Jingxiu gave a start. He hurriedly tucked the box back into his robes, terrified that Jin Weilan might catch sight of it.
Seeing Jin Jingxiu's furtive demeanor, Jin Weilan frowned and demanded, "Where have you been?"
Stammering, Jin Jingxiu faltered, "Where... where else could I possibly go?"
"What are you hiding?"
"I didn't..." Jin Jingxiu feigned nonchalance, but his expression was actually so peculiar that anyone could tell at a glance something was off.
Jin Jingxiu dreaded this younger sister above all else. He couldn't hit her and he couldn't scold her, yet she refused to listen to him and kept him wrapped entirely around her little finger.
Being sharp-eyed, Jin Weilan had caught Jin Jingxiu tucking something into his robes the moment she stepped into the room. She held out her hand and declared, "I saw everything—stop trying to hide it!"
"Are you going to give it to Jiang Mengyue again?" Jin Weilan scoffed coldly, her expression thoroughly displeased.
Jin Jingxiu hurriedly shook his head. "No, I'm already through with Jiang Mengyue."
Taken aback, Jin Weilan stared at Jin Jingxiu in astonishment. What had he just said? He had actually addressed Jiang Mengyue directly by her full name! He used to refer to her tenderly as 'Yue'er' every other breath—how had he suddenly changed so drastically? Had the sun risen from the west?
Casting his gaze downward, Jin Jingxiu said, "I'm through with Jiang Mengyue. Don't ever mention her in front of me again."
"Older brother?"
Jin Weilan stood there dumbfounded; it was the single most shocking thing she had heard all year.
Everyone knows how Jin Jingxiu feels about Jiang Mengyue!
All Jiang Mengyue had to do was call out, and he would rush to her side immediately, dying to lay everything good in the world at her feet.
"You've really cut ties? It's not just a fight?" Jin Weilan remained skeptical, torn between doubt and belief. No, wait—how could my brother ever fight with Jiang Mengyue...? Yet judging by his current demeanor, he genuinely seemed to have broken things off with her completely.
Thank goodness! Brother has finally come to his senses!
Jin Weilan felt like rushing right out to burn incense and pray to the Buddha in sheer gratitude.
Jin Jingxiu patted the box tucked inside his robes, when it suddenly occurred to him: he could just have his sister deliver it!
His sister gets along well with Miss Jiang. If Jin Weilan is the one to deliver it, Jiang Ning will definitely accept it.
With this thought in mind, Jin Jingxiu took the box out from inside his robes.
"What's this?" Jin Weilan asked curiously as she looked over and opened the box. Inside lay an exquisite white jade hairpin, adorned with delicate silver carvings and a bright, full moon perched upon one end. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
"This..."
Jin Weilan looked up. "Is this for me?"
A slight blush crept across Jin Jingxiu's face as he said awkwardly, "This is for Miss Jiang. Since you two are close, could you take it and deliver it to her on my behalf...?"
Jin Weilan rolled her eyes. This brother of hers never once thought of his own flesh-and-blood sister.
"You want to give this to A'Ning?"
"Yes," Jin Jingxiu nodded. "Miss Jiang saved my life, and I wanted to repay her... I happened to see this hairpin and thought it would suit her, so I bought it."
Jin Weilan stared intently at Jin Jingxiu's face. Jin Jingxiu's eyes darted away, looking thoroughly uneasy."
Being his sister, how could she possibly fail to see right through what he was really up to?
With a sharp thwack, she slammed the box down onto the table.
"I'm not helping you bridge the gap! If you want to give it to her, go deliver it yourself!"
She knew her brother's temperament all too well. On top of the awful things he had done to A'Ning in the past, A'Ning was simply too wonderful... How could a guy like her brother ever be worthy of someone like A'Ning?
Jin Jingxiu immediately hurried over to coax her. "Sister, sweet sister, please just help me out this one time..."
"I know I've done many wrong things in the past, and now I want to sincerely apologize to Miss Jiang and repay her for saving my life..."
Jin Weilan's resolve began to waver slightly.
If Jiang Ning were to become her sister-in-law, she would naturally be overjoyed.
If Jiang Ning were to marry into the Jin family, she would never have to suffer any mistreatment. Their mother would treat her just like a real daughter of her own, and she herself would always take A'Ning's side. If her brother ever dared to bully A'Ning, she'd step right in and teach him a lesson herself!
A subtle flicker crossed her eyes. "Just this once," she said. "I'm only helping you this one time."
Jin Jingxiu broke into a smile. "Alright."
.........
Jin Weilan headed over to the Marquis's estate.
Jiang Ning put down her medical book and went out to welcome her.
"What brings you over for a visit so suddenly today?"
Jin Weilan walked over and linked her arm through Jiang Ning's. "I had some free time and nothing going on, so I came over to see you. I hope I'm not disturbing you?"
"It's nothing, I just happened to be free."
Jiang Ning led Jin Weilan into the room and instructed Chunlan to bring over some tea and pastries.
Jin Weilan held Jiang Ning's hand and chatted with her for a little while before pulling a small box out from her sleeve.
"A'Ning, this is for you."
"What is this?"
Jiang Ning looked down at the box, missing the slightly peculiar look on Jin Weilan's face.
Jiang Ning opened the box and saw an exquisite white jade hairpin inside. It was snow-white all over with intricate workmanship, and the carved patterns were so lifelike that you could tell at a glance it was worth a small fortune.
"Why are you suddenly giving me a hairpin?" Jiang Ning asked.
Jin Weilan smiled. "I just happened to see it when I was passing by and thought it would suit you, so I bought it. Come on, A'Ning, don't stand on ceremony with me!"
Jiang Ning picked up the hairpin. It was exquisitely made and completely to her liking.
Besides, she and Weilan were on very good terms, and reciprocal gift-giving between friends only served to deepen their bond.
She put the hairpin in her hair and asked, "How does it look?"
"It looks gorgeous!" Jin Weilan nodded with a smile.
Wanting to give a return gift, Jiang Ning thought for a moment before walking over to retrieve a few porcelain bottles filled with the beauty-enhancing pills she had made herself.
"These are beauty-enhancing pills I bought from Divine Doctor Xue. I'm giving them to you—take one pill every day."
She didn't mention that she had made them herself. Very few people knew that she possessed medical skills, and Jin Weilan certainly didn't know either; explaining it all would be far too much of a hassle.
"Beauty-enhancing pills?" Jin Weilan looked over with curiosity. She picked up one of the porcelain bottles, removed the stopper, and caught a faint, captivating fragrance drifting from inside that left her quite mesmerized.
"Thank you, A'Ning."
"Oh, that reminds me—let's go boating on the lake tomorrow! The weather has been just perfect lately, ideal for a boat ride... A lot of young ladies from noble families are going."
Jiang Ning thought about it for a moment. She didn't have anything urgent to take care of, so she agreed. "Sure."
Jin Weilan cheered, "That's wonderful! I'll head back and get ready then!"
Jin Weilan departed from the Marquis's estate, but right before leaving, she made sure to remind Jiang Ning, "Don't forget about our boat ride tomorrow... I'll come pick you up!"
🐇♡🐇♡🐇♡🐇
Jin Jingxiu: “I bought A'Ning a beautiful hairpin. Do you think she'll like it?”
Jin Weilan: “Brother, you bought it, but I'm the one who gets to give it?”
Jin Jingxiu: “Well... you two are close.”
Jin Weilan: “And what do I get for being your delivery girl?”
Jin Jingxiu: “A wonderful future sister-in-law?”
Jin Weilan: “Keep dreaming. Even the hairpin has better chances with her than you do!”
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