Chapter 320: Ji Chen’s Bitterness, Heartache, and Helplessness
Ji Qingwan frowned and took two steps back, examining Ji Chen with a wary look. Her eyes were filled with vigilance, clearly indicating that she did not recognize Ji Chen immediately.
Just like Ji Chen, Ji Qingwan had thought her brother had long died in the family upheaval years ago. She never imagined that her brother was still alive in this world.
“Qingwan… I am your brother, Ji Chen…” Ji Chen took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, and said with a faint smile.
He wasn’t surprised that Ji Qingwan didn’t recognize him immediately. After all, it had been about ten years since they last saw each other.
When the Ji family was exterminated, Ji Chen was only twelve, and Ji Qingwan was just six. At such a young age, witnessing the sudden family tragedy, it was normal for Ji Qingwan not to remember him.
Now, in the blink of an eye, thirteen years had passed…
The once innocent and lovely child had grown into a graceful young woman. But her face no longer bore the smile of her childhood, and her brows were always marked with a cold aura, warning strangers to stay away.
Ji Chen saw this and felt a pang of heartache.
He could hardly imagine what Ji Qingwan had gone through over the years to transform from a lively, smiling little girl into the person she was now.
Hearing Ji Chen’s words, Ji Qingwan was visibly stunned. Her expression became a bit dazed as memories from deep within her heart were awakened, slowly recalling the name.
Ji Qingwan vaguely remembered this name—her brother, Ji Chen! Over the years, to avoid those painful memories, she had buried them deep in her heart.
Recalling them now, her face turned pained.
Her mind was filled with the scene of witnessing her mother die in front of her when she was a child. Ji Qingwan’s breathing became erratic, and her aura grew unstable.
She grabbed her hair and shook her head frantically, her face contorted in pain. Seeing this, Ji Chen was dumbfounded. He had envisioned countless scenarios of their reunion.
But he had never anticipated something happening.
“Qingwan… what’s wrong?” Ji Chen asked worriedly, noticing that Ji Qingwan’s condition was akin to a martial artist on the verge of going berserk.
Ji Qingwan didn’t respond, pulling at her hair desperately, her pretty face twisted as she tried to erase the memories from her mind.
Ji Chen grew anxious seeing this and was about to step forward to support her. Suddenly, he felt a chilling sense of impending death, making his heart tremble. He quickly shifted his position.
Moments after he moved, the ground where he stood caved in, forming a deep pit over ten centimeters deep.
Jiang Che slowly descended the stairs from the second floor, having been the one to act just now. He hadn’t expected Ji Chen to show up during the brief time he was in the restroom.
“Jiang Che… why… why are you here?” Seeing Jiang Che suddenly appear, Ji Chen was stunned.
Before coming, he had specifically asked Li Yuan to check the situation.
Wasn’t Jiang Che supposed to be away from Linjiang City at this time? So why was he here now?
As thoughts raced through his mind, Ji Chen’s first reaction was that Li Yuan had deceived him. But this thought only lasted for a second before he dismissed it. He still trusted Li Yuan, who was his close confidant.
Jiang Che ignored Ji Chen and walked over to Ji Qingwan instead. Seeing Ji Qingwan in this state, Jiang Che frowned slightly.
He had anticipated this, thinking Ji Qingwan’s reaction was due to Ji Chen’s arrival stirring up painful memories from deep within her heart.
Jiang Che took out a Calming Pill from his system space and fed it to Ji Qingwan. This was a pill he had exchanged from the system earlier, designed to calm the mind and prevent erratic thoughts, just for handling situations like Ji Qingwan’s sudden distress.
After consuming the Calming Pill, Ji Qingwan’s aura gradually stabilized, and the painful expression on her face faded. She just needed a few minutes to rest and recover from this state.
After handling everything, Jiang Che turned his attention to Ji Chen. A sinister smile appeared on Jiang Che’s face as he looked at Ji Chen with a mocking gaze, “I didn’t expect you to dare to come here.”
“Do you really think that your identity as the War God of the Northern Territory will protect you from me?” He didn’t reveal his connection with Li Yuan and didn’t plan to kill Ji Chen today.
After all, simply killing him would yield little benefit and wouldn’t explain things to those in the Northern Territory. Jiang Che had a perfect plan in mind.