Chapter 396: Chapter 396 - 390: Jing Jihan, Let Go of Me First...

On the way back, even though Wei Sinan wanted to send Shi Su home, seeing that Jing Jihan was there, he ultimately didn’t insist on sending her just to avoid trouble. Only after confirming that she would be fine and safe in Zhou He’s car did he bid her farewell.

Shi Su originally didn’t plan to take Zhou He’s car back, especially since Jing Jihan was also in the car.

But to get Wei Sinan to leave first, she casually said she’d take Zhou He’s car, and finally, she had no choice but to get in.

The movie ended past midnight. On the way back, Zhou He was driving while holding back yawns, mostly afraid of disturbing the two big shots in the back.

If Shi Su hadn’t seen Jing Jihan’s wound herself, she would have doubted whether this man dared to come out at such a time and stay up so late without resting, just pretending to be sick.

But she had seen how deep the wound was and how much blood it had lost.

The man was resting with his eyes closed at the moment, though he probably wasn’t asleep.

The car was too quiet, so Shi Su broke the silence, "Zhou He, give me a movie review. Do you think it deserves such high box office numbers right now?"

"Deserves it! Definitely deserves it! It was amazing!"

Then, as Shi Su was waiting to hear more praises from her fan, Zhou He didn’t continue after one comment—partly because he was too tired, partly because he was driving, and mostly because Mr. Jing was also in the car. Even though Mr. Jing wasn’t paying attention to them, his mere presence was like a lighthouse, and Zhou He dared not say too much.

The car returned to its awkwardly silent and tense atmosphere.

On the way back from the cinema, they passed by Kaixing Mansion first. When they got there, seeing that Shi Su didn’t plan to get off, presumably wanting to return to her own home, Zhou He suddenly let out a big yawn: "I can’t do it anymore, I’m too tired. My house is nearby too. Shi Su, you’ve stayed at Kaixing Mansion before; the apartment below Mr. Jing’s also accommodates people. Do you want to stay there for the night? I’m afraid driving tired is not too safe."

"It’s okay, you go back and rest early. I’ll just hail a cab." Shi Su gave Zhou He a smile as she got out of the car.

Driven off guard by her smile, Zhou He yawned again and said, "Mr. Jing has also been out for a while now; I don’t know if his wound got affected. You check it out for him; I’m leaving now."

Without waiting for Shi Su to respond, Zhou He floored the pedal and drove away.

Shi Su stood next to Jing Jihan, both sprayed by the exhaust from Zhou He’s car. The man was clearly unaffected, only casting a glance at her under the streetlights near Kaixing Mansion in the night, but he didn’t ask her to go upstairs to help check his wound. He just slipped a hand into his pocket and turned coldly to walk back.

Shi Su looked around. At this hour, there truly weren’t many cars, and it was already nearing 1 a.m.

Hailing a cab at this time really couldn’t guarantee safety.

Seeing the man walking back without a glance, she hurried to catch up, asking as she walked beside him, "How’s the injury?"

Jing Jihan continued forward, "Not dying."

While walking, Shi Su lowered her head to send a message to the small group chat with Jun, Miss Chen, and Chuju: [Who’s still awake?]

It was too late now, and everyone had been busy all day; they were probably asleep. She could only ask with a bit of hope that if someone was still awake, they could come and pick her up, as it was indeed unsafe to take a cab now.

But if there was no response, it meant they were all asleep. She didn’t want to wake them with a call either.

They walked all the way back to the building of Kaixing Mansion, and there was still no response in the group chat.

Shi Su had no choice but to give up.

It was almost one o’clock, and she had a shoot early tomorrow, needing to leave by around five. At five, she could have Miss Chen and Chuju drive here to pick her up—waiting four more hours wasn’t much.

Although it wasn’t appropriate.

But compared to the potential danger of a young woman hailing a cab at this hour versus facing an entire night of awkwardness with Jing Jihan, she chose the latter.

When the elevator passed the 31st floor, her eyes paused on the number 31. Still, after she moved out, there probably wasn’t anything in there. It wasn’t really suitable for her to go back specifically to sleep on the 31st floor.

Even if she went to the 32nd floor, it didn’t matter since Jing Jihan needed sleep too. She could make do on the sofa for a few hours.

She had just been mentally preparing herself; now that she was inside, her thoughts were entirely on Jing Jihan’s wound.

She pushed the man to sit on the sofa. After helping him bathe these past couple of days, she was already used to it. Naturally, she habitually unbuttoned a few buttons of his top. Then, she pulled down the shirt on his shoulder to carefully check the wound, confirming there was no redness or inflammation, and that it hadn’t been pulled open by any major motion or seeped blood. Only then did she feel relieved to pull his shirt back up.

While she lowered her head to button him up again, she said, "Zhou He is quite bold. Your assistant knew you were injured and still came over in the middle of the night to get you to see a movie. Is it Zhou He’s big heart, or Mr. Jing’s confidence that he doesn’t even bother to logically consider lying?"

Finishing her words with a smile and about to straighten up, she suddenly found Jing Jihan raising a hand to press down on the back of her neck, pushing her downward. Shi Su, caught off guard, nearly bumped into him, barely managing to steady herself but still almost hitting his face.

Startled, she lifted her eyes to see the man’s cold and distant eyes just inches away, wanting to retreat but failing as he held her neck in a tight grip without regard for the wound on his shoulder and back. His eyes were dark, deeply compelling, with a biting chill and forcefulness: "I thought habitual liars automatically lower their intelligence, but you do know that lying should match logic?"

Shi Su immediately looked down, focusing on the half-buttoned shirt in front of him. After a moment of silence, she said, "The doctor told you to rest more; you’ve been out long enough, you should rest early now."

As she spoke and was about to pull away, the man still held her firmly without letting go.

Their proximity was too close.

So close that if she lifted her eyes, her nose would almost touch his, even closer would be out of control.

Shi Su continued to avoid him, lowering her eyes, "Jing Jihan, let go of me first."

He didn’t release her, so she resolved to break free, carefully avoiding eye contact with him as she lifted her head, but inevitably met his gaze.

"You think the walls standing before you are too high to reach and never care if others can cross them. Yet, you personally add bricks to these walls to sever all you deem impossible," the man spoke with a force as if to crush her neck. His gaze landed on her, cold enough to feel the arctic chill: "To put it nicely, you’re direct and decisive, no fussing around. But in reality, you simply have no heart."