Jiang Tingwan had waited until Bo Xubai went out that night before coming over.
The two had had a huge argument during the day. If the child hadn't burst into frightened tears, they probably would have come to blows on the spot.
This had never happened in her previous life.
In her previous life, no matter how badly provoked Bo Xubai was, he would never lay a hand on her or their daughter.
Jiang Tingwan didn't understand what had changed in this life to make Bo Xubai stop acting like himself. Only a few short days after her rebirth, she found she no longer knew him...
Distressed by all this, Jiang Tingwan had spent the day hiding in her bedroom, silently crying. By the time she remembered that Bo Yan had been drugged, it was almost noon.
Berating herself for being so wounded by love that she had forgotten her most important task, she hurried over to Bo Yan's place.
The annex looked just as it had before, with no apparent changes. Nor had Jiang Tingwan heard any servants mention Bo Yan being drugged on her way there. She found this baffling, and an inexplicable unease rose in her heart.
What if Bo Yan hadn't been drugged?
Wouldn't showing up like this make him suspicious?
That lunatic Bo Yan was already suspicious of everything all day long...
Jiang Tingwan possessed a little cleverness, especially when dealing with the male leads and supporting male characters surrounding her. At times, her little tricks were comparable to a golden finger, capable of lowering their IQs.
By the time she reached the basement door, Jiang Tingwan had made up her mind. She would pretend she was bringing Bo Yan medicine. He had been hurt so badly last night that bringing him medicine was perfectly reasonable.
If she happened to find Bo Yan in the throes of the drug's effects, she-
Looking at that cold door and thinking of Bo Yan's world-weary face, Jiang Tingwan actually felt her face grow a little warm, and her heartbeat quickened.
Blushing, she bit her lower lip. If that happened, she could only help ease this lunatic's suffering.
Humiliating as it was, things had come to this. She could only throw caution to the wind!
She thought A-Xu would surely understand once he knew the truth. She would be giving herself to Bo Yan entirely so that their family of three could stay together longer.
In just a few minutes, Jiang Tingwan had already staged an entire drama of tormented, profound love in her mind.
She took several deep breaths, bit her lip, and raised her hand to knock, nervous and carrying a hint of excitement that even she didn't understand.
The next second, a familiar voice came from inside.
"Who is it?"
Jiang Tingwan froze for a moment. Before she could react, the door in front of her was pulled open.
Seeing the drowsiness covering Xie Luping's face, Jiang Tingwan stood rooted to the spot.
"Oh, Miss Jiang. Looking for Bo Yan?" Xie Luping straightened his rumpled clothes and glanced back. "He's still asleep. If you need anything, tell me. I'll pass it on when he wakes."
But Jiang Tingwan simply stood there, dumbstruck, unable to utter a word for a long time.
A while later, she drifted out of the annex like a wandering ghost. Her mind was filled with Xie Luping's disheveled shirt, his sleepy face, and that declaration of ownership: "He's still asleep. If you need anything, tell me."
At that moment, Jiang Tingwan felt that not only her sky but her entire worldview had collapsed...
It took the whole afternoon for Jiang Tingwan to regain her reason.
Xie Luping was the Bo Family's private doctor, and his medical expertise went without saying. She remembered that in her previous life, Bo Xubai's father seemed to have been drugged too, and Xie Luping had come late at night to treat him.
She made a few inquiries, and sure enough, it was just as she had guessed. Xie Luping had gone to treat Bo Yan.
Only, the person who had called Xie Luping over was actually Wen Ning...
Unlike in her previous life, Wen Ning hadn't found some random woman to disgust Bo Yan after failing to scheme against her. She had even called him a doctor!
Jiang Tingwan felt she understood Wen Ning less and less.
And there was that string of Buddhist prayer beads on Wen Ning's wrist...
Too many things had differed from her previous life since her rebirth, leaving Jiang Tingwan deeply anxious and unsettled.
She told herself it was fine. Wasn't this perfect? Now she didn't have to endure humiliation at Bo Yan's hands or suppress her disgust to relieve the drug's effects for him!
What she ought to do now was offer Bo Yan some timely concern. His injuries were the perfect excuse to deliver charcoal in the snow and build up his favor in the short term!
So, after finding out that Wen Ning had returned to her parents' home that day, and taking advantage of Bo Xubai going out drinking with his friends that evening, Jiang Tingwan immediately brought various medicines for injuries and a late-night meal she had made herself to the annex.
The moment she heard Bo Yan's wary "Who?", Jiang Tingwan inexplicably felt as though he had thrown her into that sea of flames again. Her hair stood on end, and her body instinctively shuddered twice.
She forced down the urge to flee and said gently, "It's me, A-Yan."
Half a minute later, the door opened.
The room was pitch-black. That lunatic Bo Yan hadn't even turned on a light. She could only make out the sharply defined contours of his face by the faint light from the stairway.
She instinctively put on a gentle smile. "A-Yan, I heard that last night, you and A-Xu..." She bit her lip, her voice full of apology and concern. "Are... are you all right?"
The person inside said nothing. Even his breathing was very faint as he quietly watched her in the darkness.
Jiang Tingwan's smile stiffened, sweat gathering on her back. "A-A-Yan, I'm sorry. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been hurt so badly. I'm sorry."
After saying this, she lowered her head, looking truly guilt-stricken.
If one ignored her faintly trembling body.
In the darkness, the corners of Bo Yan's mouth curled slightly. His voice was still hoarse from his injuries and illness.
He said slowly, "It's all right. It wasn't your fault."
Yet after he said this, the woman before him trembled even harder.
Bo Yan raised his right eyebrow. His impatience faded somewhat, and he asked with interest, "Xie Luping said you came looking for me during the day. Did you need something?"
Jiang Tingwan tightened her grip on the food container, raised her head, and forced a smile. "I was just worried about your injuries..."
Bo Yan watched her.
Jiang Tingwan couldn't make out his expression, but inexplicably felt as though a wild beast had fixed its sights on her. Her heart lurched uneasily.
She wanted to explain further, but then Bo Yan suddenly chuckled. "So that's why."
Jiang Tingwan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Bo Yan had believed her.
Thinking of the feelings Bo Yan had harbored for her but could never voice before his blackening in her previous life, Jiang Tingwan felt it was only natural that he believed her. Gradually relaxing, she handed him the medicine and food container. "This is medicine for your injuries. Remember to use it. It'll really help your body. I'm sorry you were hurt so badly because of me."
Jiang Tingwan's voice brimmed with guilt. "I... I made you a late-night meal. It's the plain noodle soup you like... If... if you like it, I can make it for you every night."
Watching the woman turn her head away a little shyly, Bo Yan's eyes filled with cold mockery, yet his words were exceedingly gentle. "Why are you so good to me?"
Jiang Tingwan drew a breath and delivered the lines she had prepared long ago. "Because we're friends."
Her tone was earnest and sincere. "A-Yan, you're my only friend in the Bo Family."
Bo Yan wasn't quite satisfied with this answer. He clicked his tongue softly, then smiled gently again. "Mm."
His lips smiled, but his pitch-black peach-blossom eyes held a penetrating chill as he said slowly, "Thank you, my... only friend."
Jiang Tingwan vaguely found his words a little creepy, but remembering his obsession with her, she decided she was overthinking it. She went on to tell him that from now on, whatever happened, whether it made him happy or sad, he could come to her. She would always stand unwaveringly on his side.
Her repeated insistence that she would stand on his side left Bo Yan thoughtful.
Only after leaving the annex again did Jiang Tingwan realize that the back of her clothes was soaked through.
But soon, a slightly smug smile lifted her lips.
Although tonight's visit had been nerve-racking, she had fortunately gained quite a lot.
At this rate, given time, she believed Bo Yan would surely fall hopelessly in love with her.
Didn't he already have an emotional obsession with her?
Thinking of it this way, she really had been so tense these past few days that she was mistaking the reflection of a bow for a snake in her cup.
Seeing Bo Yan tonight had also stirred memories of all the little moments between them in her previous life.
He was someone willing to take a knife for her.
With those feelings there, as long as she chose Bo Yan without hesitation during that later kidnapping, he wouldn't blacken!
Jiang Tingwan exhaled. She ought to be able to sleep well tonight.
Little did she know that as soon as she left, Bo Yan threw everything she had brought, including the food container, into the trash.
Bo Yan hadn't even opened the container.
Looking listless, he lay back on the sofa, his right arm behind his head, and stared blankly at the ceiling in the darkness.
Wen Ning wasn't like Wen Ning.
Jiang Tingwan wasn't like Jiang Tingwan either.
"Stand unwaveringly on your side..."
Bo Yan mulled those words over again and again, his peach-blossom eyes narrowing slightly.
It sounded as though she had once failed to stand on his side...
But when had that been?
A dull ache stirred in Bo Yan's head. He closed his eyes and stopped thinking.
Honestly, he could barely even remember his earlier encounter with Jiang Tingwan.
His failure to acknowledge their past acquaintance hadn't been deliberate. There simply hadn't been any such person in Bo Yan's memory.
Of course, none of that mattered now.
Bo Yan's breathing was steady.
What mattered now was that Jiang Tingwan seemed to be hiding a secret.
An enormous secret about him.
He was very interested.
In the darkness, the corners of Bo Yan's lips curled slightly.
So he could play along with her for a while.