While Zhou Yining waited at a red light, her phone pushed several news notifications. She glanced at them casually and saw Ji Dongyang’s name.

She picked up her phone and opened them.

It was about Ji Dongyang’s interview program, containing both text and video.

The light turned green. Zhou Yining put down her phone and stepped on the gas, recalling the text she had just seen.

Host: “Fans are worried you might be secretly married. Do you want to clarify this?”

Ji Dongyang: “I am not secretly married.”

Host: “So do you have plans to marry? If you do, will you make it public?”

Ji Dongyang: “I do have plans. Whether or not to make it public will depend on the situation.”

Zhou Yining’s lips curved slightly. Getting married… to whom? Did he ask her?

After parking, Zhou Yining wasn’t in a hurry to go home. Sitting in the car, she clicked on the video. It was an edited clip, only five minutes and twenty-six seconds long, likely focusing on the key questions.

Finally, the host asked, “Regarding the rumors about your parents’ drug use, it’s been circulating for years. Do you want to take this opportunity to clarify?”

The entire venue fell silent for a few seconds. The camera panned to the audience; everyone’s expression froze, and even the air seemed still.

Ji Dongyang looked up and smiled faintly. “No need to clarify.”

It was an ambiguous answer. The host paused but reacted quickly, smiling. “True. If every rumor had to be clarified, the entertainment industry would be issuing countless announcements every day.”

Ji Dongyang’s expression remained indifferent. The host changed the subject, circling back to his personal life.

Zhou Yining finished watching the video and opened the car door to get out.

She scrolled through the comments as she walked.

“Thank goodness Dong-ge isn’t secretly married. I still have a chance!”

“No secret marriage doesn’t mean no secret relationship. If news suddenly breaks that Dong-ge has a girlfriend, I’ll need some time alone.”

“Did the host do that on purpose? Wasn’t that matter clarified long ago? It’s all because Dong-ge has no black spots that they’re digging up years-old stuff.”

“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Honestly, I’m scared some explosive news will break one day…”

…

Zhou Yining stuffed her phone into her pocket. Who cares what his parents are like? Ji Dongyang is still Ji Dongyang, and that’s enough.

Suddenly, someone called out to her from behind.

“Big Sister.”

The elevator doors opened. Zhou Yining walked in without even glancing back and pressed the close button. Zhou JiaHui panicked and quickly followed her in. “Zhou Yining, I’m calling you. Why won’t you answer?”

Zhou Yining gave her a cold glance. “I’m not your big sister.”

Since there was no one else around, Zhou JiaHui dropped the act and stopped calling her sister. “Yanjun-ge went to find you, didn’t he? Did he say something to you?”

Ever since she said those things to Shen Yanjun last time, she hadn’t seen him again. She only knew he went to B City, and she guessed he must have gone to find Zhou Yining. Her calls were cut off, and her texts sank like stones in the sea. Shen Yanjun was ignoring her.

Zhou Yining laughed. “Why should I tell you what he said to me?”

Zhou JiaHui was momentarily speechless. When it came to sharp tongues, she had never been a match for Zhou Yining since childhood. She quickly retorted, “You must have said something to make him ignore me.”

The elevator arrived. Zhou Yining walked out, ignoring her.

Zhou JiaHui followed. Seeing her take out her keys to open the door, she tried to follow her inside. Zhou Yining blocked her. “This is my house. Did I let you in?”

Zhou JiaHui: “Didn’t Dad give you this house?”

Zhou Yining looked at her coldly. A few seconds later, she turned and went inside, doing her own thing without giving her another glance. It was the same in the past. Zhou JiaHui would come looking for trouble, and she would ignore her. After a while, Zhou JiaHui would leave, or they would fight. If Zhou JiaHui got beaten too badly, she would run back crying to tattle.

They hadn’t fought in years. If she refused to leave, Zhou Yining didn’t mind fighting again.

Zhou JiaHui firmly believed that Zhou Yining had said something to Shen Yanjun to make him ignore her. It was the same when they were kids. Because Zhou Yining said she didn’t like her, Shen Yanjun sometimes avoided her. She couldn’t understand what was so good about Zhou Yining. As a child, she had a weird personality, a bad temper, and was violent.

Occasionally she became obedient, but her fawning attitude was disgusting. For so many years, no one discovered her abnormality. It turned out she was mentally ill. Even if she’s crazy, does Shen Yanjun still like her? Thinking of this, Zhou JiaHui’s face turned ugly.

Zhou Yining sat on the sofa, peeling an apple and looked at her. “Why are you still here? Shen Yanjun isn’t here.”

Zhou JiaHui stared at her and suddenly said, “Yanjun-ge knows about your illness. Even if he likes you, so what? Uncle Shen and Auntie won’t accept you.”

Zhou Yining’s body stiffened. The apple in her hand dropped. She whipped her head around to look at Zhou JiaHui, her eyes fixed on her. “Who told you…”

Aside from her friends in the UK, only Zhou Lihui and Qin Yuan knew about her illness. She suddenly remembered running into Zhou JiaHui when leaving the study after talking to Zhou Lihui last time.

Zhou JiaHui: “Did you think you could hide it? Cohabiting with lesbians in the UK, drinking, smoking, clubbing, hurting people during episodes… Dad went to the UK for a long time back then. Those days were so hard for Mom and me. Now I realize he went to clean up your mess. But you’re really bold. The Heart Knot isn’t you acting as yourself, is it? Tell me, if… others knew you were a mental case…”

“Get out!”

Zhou Yining stood up abruptly, her eyes staring quietly at Zhou JiaHui. “Get out of my house.”

Zhou JiaHui froze. Zhou Yining still held the fruit knife in her hand, walking towards her step by step. She panicked. “W-what are you doing?”

She backed away a few steps, staring in terror at the knife in her hand.

Zhou Yining said softly, “Didn’t you say I’m a mental case? Mentally ill people don’t go to jail for killing…”

Zhou JiaHui screamed and fled in panic. Running too fast, she bumped into a cabinet and fell, but quickly scrambled up. Glancing back at Zhou Yining, who still stood in place, she cursed, “Crazy!” and ran away.

…

Zhou Yining stood there for a long time, gripping the knife.

Until her phone rang.

She walked over and saw Ji Dongyang’s name. The next second, she immediately threw the knife away, wiped her hands, and picked up the phone. She didn’t speak.

Ji Dongyang: “Home?”

“Mm.” She cleared her slightly hoarse throat before asking, “Where are you?”

Ji Dongyang glanced at Lu Xiao across from him. “I’m out. Get some rest early. We have a big night shoot tomorrow.”

Zhou Yining said okay. They exchanged a few words and hung up.

A moment later, Zhou Lihui called. Zhou Yining didn’t answer. She guessed it was definitely about Zhou JiaHui.

Zhou Lihui called several times, but no one answered. Worried, he wanted to go see Zhou Yining. Zhou JiaHui quickly stopped him. “Dad, are you going to see her? Don’t go, it’s scary. What if she goes crazy and hurts you too?”

Zhou Lihui’s face darkened. “How do you know?”

Zhou JiaHui lowered her head. “I heard you talking to her last time.”

She had checked it out, and hadn’t expected the result. After the shock came disdain.

Zhou Lihui was silent for a few seconds, then warned coldly, “Don’t mention this again, and don’t spread rumors outside. Do you hear me?”

Growing up, aside from the time she lost Zhou Yining’s cat, Zhou Lihui had rarely spoken to her in such a tone. She froze. Xia Yun couldn’t help but say, “Yining threatened Huihui with a knife, why are you scolding Huihui? Yining is the one at fault, not her.”

Zhou Lihui glanced at her. “If she didn’t provoke Ningning, would anything have happened?”

Zhou JiaHui: “I didn’t provoke her! I just told the truth!”

Zhou Lihui said sternly, “Shut up. Don’t spread this around, and don’t mention it in front of Ningning.”

…

That night, Zhou Yining slept restlessly, drifting in and out of dreams. None were good dreams. Faces appeared before her indifferent, sympathetic, contemptuous, disgusted all staying far away from her. Finally, she dreamed she shot that man. Bang! A bloody hole appeared, gushing blood.

She woke with a start, gasping for breath, covered in sweat.

That gun was given to her by Ji Dongyang that night.

She had kept it.

She hadn’t expected to hurt someone with it. She didn’t mean to hurt anyone; that man tried to assault her, and she lost control and fired. But no one believed her. They said she was crazy, losing control of her emotions and hurting people with a gun.

Zhou Yining was stubborn. She would do anything she was willing to do, but if forced, it was a fight to the death.

Yes, that was how she was back then.

She didn’t know how Zhou Lihui and Qin Yuan resolved that matter. Perhaps they spent a lot of money; they didn’t care about money. So after that incident, no one mentioned it in front of her. She had almost forgotten, but Zhou JiaHui reminded her.

She spent years turning herself into the current Zhou Yining.

She liked her current self.

And she liked the Zhou Yining, who had Ji Dongyang.

Panting, she found her phone and checked the time: 4:30 AM.

Curling up on the bed, hugging the quilt, her mind was full of her past madness.

Suddenly, she threw off the quilt and ran barefoot to find the medicine Qin Yuan brought back last time. Her hands shaking, she poured pills into her palm, stuffed them into her mouth, and swallowed.

Leaning against the wall, sitting on the floor, she stared blankly at her toes.

She didn’t know how much time passed. She stood up, opened the closet to change clothes, and grabbed the car keys from the table.

…

At 5:10 AM, Ji Dongyang’s phone rang.

He reached for the phone impatiently, not even taking off his eye mask, his tone cold and deep. “Who?”

There was no sound on the other end. Ji Dongyang regained some consciousness, pulled up his eye mask to look at the screen, saw the time, and paused. “What’s wrong?”

Zhou Yining finally spoke, her voice very small. “Open the door.”

Ji Dongyang sensed something wrong with her mood and woke up instantly.

He threw off the quilt and walked quickly to open the door.

The door opened. Zhou Yining didn’t rush in immediately. Her phone was pressed to her ear. Ji Dongyang’s hand hung down, his phone screen still lit.

He looked at her, lips pressed tight.

The next second, he pulled her in, his hand protecting her waist, and closed the door.

Held by him, Zhou Yining was instantly enveloped in a sense of security.

Ji Dongyang rubbed her head, his tone lighter than ever before. “Missing me this late?”

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