The Sick and Gloomy Bamboo Horse Was Stunned by My Kiss Chapter 3

Unable to resist, he chased after her and grab her shoulder.

“Hey, Jiang Ning, stop being like this! If you don’t say a word, how am I supposed to know what you’re angry about?”

Jiang Ning quickly moved away, feeling extremely displeased.

“Xu Mingyi, I warn you, don’t casually touch me or hold my hand in the future!”

Xu Mingyi was already upset because he missed the basketball shot out of concern for Jiang Ning’s safety. Now, hearing her words, he got even more frustrated.

“Who cares? If Aunt Zheng hadn’t asked me to take care of you, do you think I would even bother with you?”

Saying that, Xu Mingyi wiped the sweat from his forehead and angrily turned around to walk back.

In no time, he reached the corner of the street.

He didn’t hear any footsteps from Jiang Ning behind him.

Jiang Ning was probably stunned by his outburst, still standing in the same spot, feeling perplexed.

It was already dark, and lingering on the street could be dangerous.

“I really can’t figure out what’s going on in her mindl,”

Xu Mingyi muttered in annoyance, but he still furrowed his brows and turned back.

As he turned, he saw Jiang Ning walking without looking back, taking the opposite road and deliberately keeping a distance of eight zhang (a Chinese measurement unit) away from him.

Xu Mingyi: “…”

At that moment, Xu’s mother happened to ride her bike back from work and witnessed the scene.

She glared at Xu Mingyi, then stopped her bike in front of Jiang Ning and said,

“Xiao Jiang Ning, you’ve cut your hair, and you look even more beautiful! Did my little Yi bully you? Tell Auntie, I’ll teach him a lesson.”

The Xu family was well-educated. Xu’s father was a university professor, and Xu’s mother worked at the hospital. They had always been kind to Jiang’s family. When Jiang Ning’s mother passed away, it was Xu’s mother who helped with the funeral arrangements and informed Jiang Ning.

Although Jiang Ning was upset with Xu Mingyi, she couldn’t possibly hold any grudges against the Xu family.

“Hello, Auntie,” Jiang Ning could only stop and greet her politely.

Xu’s mother whispered to her, “Don’t argue with little Yi. He’s just too proud and stubborn to bow down.”

Jiang Ning remained silent.

Xu’s mother then glared at Xu Mingyi again, wondering what he had done to make Jiang Ning ignore him completely.

Xu Mingyi looked utterly puzzled.

Xu’s mother tried to ease the tension between the two kids and smiled at Jiang Ning,

“Tomorrow morning, I and Xu Mingyi’s dad will take him to participate in a city competition. Do you want to come along? His dad bought some Lego sets, and you can play with them in the car for a while. After dropping him off, I’ll take you to school.”

“Mum,” Xu Mingyi protested, “I’m going for a competition. Why are you bringing this clingy girl along?”

However, he involuntarily pricked up his ears to listen to Jiang Ning’s response.

As a result, Jiang Ning politely declined, “I’m sorry, Auntie, I already made plans with Lan Zhenzhen to have breakfast together at the newly opened KFC.”

Xu Mingyi: “……”

Xu’s mother could only say, “Alright then, you two girls take care and stay safe.”

Jiang Ning nodded without even glancing at Xu Mingyi and left directly.

After she left, Xu’s mother glared at Xu Mingyi again.

“Did you upset Jiang Ning again? Apologize to her quickly.”

“I just didn’t take her fishing a few days ago. Is it that serious?” Xu Mingyi retorted.

Or maybe it was because she saw him with Hu Qiqi and the others playing basketball today. But that was because Si Xiangming wanted to pursue Hu Qiqi, what did it have to do with him?

Xu Mingyi waved his hand dismissively, not taking the matter too seriously. “She clings to me all the time. Wherever I go, she follows, and those guys who play basketball with me always make fun of me, saying I have a tail. It’s good to have some peace and quiet for a few days.”

Xu’s mother shook her head. “Jiang Ning doesn’t want to play Lego with you anymore.”

Xu Mingyi didn’t seem bothered. “She already said she made plans with her best friend. If she didn’t have plans, why wouldn’t she come to see me off like she did every year? Don’t worry, she’ll be fine in a few days.”

…

Meanwhile, back at Jiang Ning’s home, she ignored her father in the living room reading the newspaper and went straight upstairs to find her brother, Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan had become even more rebellious in the past two years. His school bag lay on the floor, empty except for game cards and coins. His neck was bruised and purple. He was leaning against the door, with both legs propped up on the table, applying purple ointment to his knees, probably from getting into a fight again.

Jiang Ning pushed the door open without hesitation.

When Jiang Fan saw Jiang Ning with her short hair, he froze for a moment. But once he reacted, he straightened up, afraid that Jiang Ning would hit him on the head with a dictionary.

He quickly spoke up, “Don’t lecture me. You’re no better! I just saw you following Xu Mingyi again. Besides chasing Xu Mingyi all the time, what else do you do? You can’t even win a fight against Jiang Rourou!”

Evidently, he knew about Jiang Ning being chased around by Wang Sufen in the courtyard during the day.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Ning suddenly rushed forward and hugged him tightly!

Jiang Fan was taller than Jiang Ning, but at this moment, he looked like a frightened little quail, his expression filled with fear.

After a moment, Jiang Ning let go of him, and her eyes seemed a bit red.

This made Jiang Fan even more frightened, and he raised his hand to touch Jiang Ning’s forehead.

“You don’t have a fever, so did you go to the psychiatric hospital?”

“Get lost,” Jiang Ning swatted her brother’s hand away.

Seeing that Jiang Ning was still herself, Jiang Fan finally felt relieved.

He was about to sit back down and continue applying the ointment when Jiang Ning unexpectedly took the medicine bottle from his hand. She pressed both her hands on his shoulders, making him sit down, and then crouched down to apply the medicine on his neck with a cotton swab. “Stop talking nonsense. I don’t like Xu Mingyi.”

Jiang Fan replied sarcastically, “I believe you, sure thing.”

He felt like he was either dreaming or his sister had gone crazy.

As Jiang Fan was lost in thought, Jiang Ning suddenly said, “I want you to transfer schools.”

Jiang Fan was even more startled. “Transfer schools? Where to?”

Jiang Ning raised her eyes, looking into his eyes. “Hengchu has the best teachers, and all the top students are there. If you finish Hengchu, you can directly enter Henggao (high school), and then I’ll make sure you get into Tsinghua University.”

Jiang Fan chuckled, “Sis, are you talking in your sleep? With my grades? Tsinghua? Hahaha…”

He laughed, but when he saw Jiang Ning’s cold gaze, he shut his mouth.

Jiang Fan shrugged, nonchalantly pulling out a few end-of-term exam papers from the drawer and placing them in front of Jiang Ning. He wasn’t afraid of her hitting him. “To be honest, this is the best I’ve ever done in exams.”

Jiang Ning saw the scores on the exam papers – 18 in math and 5 in English – and her heart sank.

“No one cares whether I do well or not,” Jiang Fan tried to comfort her, seeing her in a low mood.

“Mom is always busy, and Dad treats that daughter of his comrade like a treasure. So what if I do better? Sis, you don’t need to bother about me; just do whatever you want.”

Jiang Fan was thirteen years old at the moment, still a half-grown boy who didn’t grasp the importance of education.

In the previous life, he couldn’t get into the top-notch Hengchu during the critical primary school transition. Instead, he attended South Meng Private School, which was chaotic. The family had discussed finding connections to transfer him, but various reasons kept delaying it.

With no one supervising him at home and influenced by the bad environment, he became more and more rebellious, causing trouble.

By the time everyone realized it, his grades had plummeted in the chaotic school, and he ended up attending a vocational school.

Coincidentally, during those high school years, his mother’s company reached its peak of profitability, making Jiang Fan somewhat of a rich kid. He was constantly invited by his group of friends to treat them, and he hung out in bars. Eventually, he strayed further and couldn’t be brought back.

Jiang Ning felt regret and resentment. Jiang Fan had been clever and cute from a young age, showing sympathy for animals. But in the end, he got himself into jail because of Jiang Rourou.

However, when she heard her thirteen-year-old little brother calmly saying that nobody cared about him at home, her heart ached, and she couldn’t help but blame herself.

In the previous life, she didn’t know how to handle many things. But in this life, as long as she was around, Jiang Fan had to become a person with a strong backbone.

First of all, he couldn’t continue wasting his days at the chaotic South Meng Private School.

“I care,” Jiang Ning said each word deliberately.

Jiang Fan stared at Jiang Ning, frozen.

“You can’t turn bad,” Jiang Ning hurriedly lowered her head, dipped the cotton swab in the medicine, and applied it to Jiang Fan’s knee.

Jiang Fan felt a drop of burning moisture on his knee.

‘…Was Jiang Ning crying? The fearless Jiang Ning was crying because of him?’

For some reason, Jiang Fan, who usually wasn’t afraid of being beaten, scolded, or punished, felt at a loss. He felt like he had done something terribly wrong and was the biggest sinner in the world.

Jiang Fan didn’t know where to put his hands.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Ning still hadn’t lifted her head, and Jiang Fan wasn’t sure if she was still crying. He felt extremely uneasy.

Suddenly, Jiang Ning, who was previously composed like a rock, turned into a crying little bundle, leaving him unsure of what to do.

Jiang Fan closed his eyes and made a decision. “I’ll transfer schools then. Sis, please don’t cry.”

“But the problem is, the transfer exam for Hengchu is difficult, and my grades are far from being good enough to get in,” Jiang Fan said.

After few minutes Jiang Ning replied, “I’ll tutor you.”

This was like moving a rock to hit her own foot. Jiang Fan’s expression showed how painful he found the idea, so he tried to salvage the situation. “And, for a mid-term transfer, you need the Education Bureau’s approval.”

Jiang Ning said, “Don’t worry about that. I’ll find a way. We not only have to transfer, but we have to do it as soon as possible.”

Jiang Fan looked at Jiang Ning, whose eyes were as red as a rabbit’s, but he couldn’t say anything. Their family ran a regular business, and they had no connections to help him transfer schools. He was afraid that if he said something, Jiang Ning would cry even harder.

After dealing with Jiang Fan, Jiang Ning tossed the cotton swab to him and told him to apply the ointment himself before leaving the room.

Once outside, Jiang Ning was satisfied and put the bottle of medicated oil into her pocket.

If she had known that being a crying bundle worked so well, then she wouldn’t have act like a punk in her previous life during her teenage years?

When Jiang Ning mentioned tutoring Jiang Fan, her grandmother poured cold water on the idea at the dinner table. She told Jiang Ning to stop fussing, mentioning that with her grades, even though she got into Hengchu, she was at the bottom of the class. She didn’t focus on her studies, was always hanging out with the boys from the Xu family, and her grades were not even a tenth as good as Xu Mingyi’s. She was better off letting Jiang Rourou tutor Jiang Fan.

In this life, even though Jiang Ning attended the Royal Dance Academy while abroad, she had studied calculus in university. There was no way she wouldn’t be able to outperform Jiang Rourou in tutoring.

However, Jiang Ning was secretly planning how to get her father and these two leeches out of her life, so she endured and didn’t say anything.

Jiang Rourou is Jiang Shan’s illegitimate daughter after his marriage, and that could be a favorable piece of evidence. However, since many years have passed, it might not guarantee a decisive outcome in the court of law. It would be best to hire a private detective to investigate whether there have been any signs of Jiang Shan’s infidelity in recent years.

Seeing Jiang Ning remaining silent, Jiang Rourou felt somewhat pleased but modestly said,

“I also make mistakes occasionally and fall out of the top thirty in the class. I’m not as amazing as Grandma described. Ning Ning is already working hard in her studies, Grandma, please don’t force her.”

Jiang Fan slammed the chopsticks down. “What nonsense are you talking about—”

Jiang Shan’s face turned dark quickly. “Finish your meal and go upstairs. How dare you speak like this to your sister?! You’re young but already not studying well, always hanging out with those hooligans. If I have time, I’ll teach you a lesson.”

Furious, Jiang Fan stormed upstairs.

Zheng Ruonan’s face also looked unpleasant, but she couldn’t say anything.

She felt a stabbing pain in her heart, knowing that Jiang Ning and Jiang Fan both had poor grades. Sometimes, she even wondered if there was something wrong with her genes, as both her children were so disappointing…

Jiang Shan turned to Jiang Ning and said, “It’s good that you have this intention. Daddy praises you. So, try to help your brother.”

He then remembered when he came home from work, Jiang Ning saw him in the living room but treated him like a stranger.

He couldn’t help but wonder if he had been away on business for too long, and he and his daughter had grown distant.

So, he reached out to pat Jiang Ning’s head.

Unexpectedly, before his hand could touch her, Jiang Ning’s eyes flashed with hatred, and she turned her head away.

Jiang Shan was taken aback, wondering if he had misjudged the situation.

“I’m full,” Jiang Ning said coldly, getting up and going upstairs.

Jiang Shan’s hand awkwardly remained suspended in mid-air and eventually withdrew stiffly.

“This child,” he muttered, feeling puzzled.

*********************

That night, Jiang Ning couldn’t sleep as she worried about her mother’s health and her brother’s future.

She had already discussed the medical check-up with Zheng Ruonan. Due to her serious tone and rare instances of acting like an adult while advising Zheng Ruonan, Zheng Ruonan had humorously agreed to go for the check-up soon.

Jiang Ning felt a bit relieved.

The most challenging problem now was Jiang Fan’s situation. While she could catch up with his academic performance, transferring to Haishu City this year wouldn’t be easy; many procedures were involved.

Last time, because of the complicated procedures and lack of connections, Jiang Fan’s transfer wasn’t successful.

‘Wait a minute!’

Jiang Ning suddenly sat up in bed, as she remembered something, and her eyes brightened.

She had a solution. She just needed to wait for the right opportunity.

The next day, members from both the Jiang and Xu families woke up early.

Xu Mingyi had taken a day off from school to participate in the city’s science competition, and his father drove him there. Xu Mingyi’s LEGO set was left on the backseat, but his father noticed that he seemed down throughout the journey, constantly lowering the car window and looking outside, not even bothering to open his new LEGO set.

Though the fifteen-year-old boy was handsome and academically outstanding, standing out among his peers, his emotions were still written all over his face.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t sleep well?” Xu Mingyi’s father asked.

“Nothing, it won’t affect the competition, I’m just a bit hungry,” Xu Mingyi mumbled.

“Didn’t you just eat at home?” His father inquired, getting no response. “Do you want to buy something to eat again?”

Only then did Xu Mingyi respond, “There’s a new KFC up ahead, let’s go there.”

“No problem.” Xu Mingyi’s father soon parked the car in front of the restaurant.

As Xu Mingyi got out of the car, he immediately saw Lan Zhenzhen sitting by the window, but after glancing around, he didn’t see Jiang Ning.

He found it strange and first took out his phone to order three cups of cola and a family bucket. Then, he casually asked Lan Zhenzhen, “Did Jiang Ning say she made plans to have breakfast here with you.”

Lan Zhenzhen was Jiang Ning’s desk mate from Class Three, and seeing Xu Mingyi, the captain of the Haichu High basketball team and school heartthrob, she couldn’t help but be a bit excited. She asked, “Xu Mingyi, why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to participate in the competition?”

Xu Mingyi furrowed his brow. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

Only then did Lan Zhenzhen realize and said, “Did Jiang Ning make plans with me? When? Let me check my phone.”

She quickly looked at her phone.

“Really nothing?” Lan Zhenzhen took a look at her phone and asked in bewilderment, “I didn’t receive any messages, and she didn’t call yesterday. Why are you suddenly asking this? If she’s not with you during the competition, why would she come to have breakfast with me?”

Xu Mingyi’s face suddenly turned ugly.

************

The villa occupied a large area on the other side of a small river. The surrounding grass was so dense that it almost covered the intricate fence. From a distance, it looked serene and isolated, especially shrouded in mist during the night.

The pointed chimneys resembled fangs piercing the sky, adding an element of horror to the castle-like mansion.

When Yan Yixie was brought here to recuperate by his family, they had sent people to clear the weeds and trees and renovate the villa. However, their efforts were halted by the pale and indifferent young man in a wheelchair.

Perhaps he felt that this castle, abandoned and exposed to wind and sun, was quite similar to his own situation. Since they both shared a common fate, there was no need to change its appearance.

As a result, the exterior of the villa remained secluded, while only the interior was renovated.

The butler woke up promptly at six in the morning and as soon as he put on his coat to go out, he saw the young master sitting alone on the wheelchair at the rooftop of the third floor.

His complexion was pale, and he neither listened to music nor held a book. He just sat quietly, motionlessly watching the birds flying over the trees.

A gentle breeze lifted the corners of his clothes.

The butler hesitated for a moment and approached him. “I called your class teacher. Your teacher said that she didn’t ask anyone to bring you a supplementary class schedule.”

Yan Yixie didn’t react, and the butler wasn’t sure if he had fallen asleep on the wheelchair.

Straightening his clothes, the butler approached a bit closer and said, “But that little girl… I don’t think she meant any harm. She probably just wanted to get to know you. She said she would come over and go to school with you. If she comes… why don’t you try making a friend?”

Only then did Yan Yixie move. He turned the wheelchair around and looked at the butler coldly. “She might not come.”

The butler asked, “What if she does?”

“If she comes?” Yan Yixie sneered, “What’s the point? Is she interested in a short-lived cripple like me?”

The butler was speechless for a moment then, asked,

“Do you want to go to school today?”

Yan Yixie remained silent for a moment before saying, “No, but I want to go to the seaside.”

The butler had no choice but to follow silently behind Yan Yixie as they walked towards the elevator.

The young master didn’t like others helping him, so the butler didn’t extend a hand to push the wheelchair. Instead, he waited for Yan Yixie to push it into the elevator himself before following inside.

When they reached the entrance of the villa, the butler couldn’t help but say, “Actually, that little girl…”

“Shut up! Since when did you become so talkative?” Yan Yixie sarcastically retorted, “These people are the most impulsive. The journey here is long and they have to cross a bridge. What she said yesterday was just empty words. She won’t actually come.”

As he finished speaking, he reached out and opened the door.

Unbeknownst to him, the girl was crouching at the entrance and unexpectedly tumbled inside. Today’s weather was slightly chilly, and she was wearing a tender yellow cap and gown, resembling a custard bun that had rolled in.

Jiang Ning lifted her face, feeling embarrassed. “Good morning, sorry, I woke up too early and accidentally took a nap at your doorstep.”

Yan Yixie: “…”