Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Keep Being Stubborn and I Won't Care About You Anymore! Jia Qingcheng found his question utterly ridiculous. Why couldn't she be here? Seeing her remain silent with that ugly, sullen face, Pei Wuliang grew furious. He strode up to her and demanded, "Are you stupid? I'm asking you a question—didn't you hear me?" "Master Pei, what do you think you're doing? Why can't my young lady be here?" "Impudent girl, how dare you talk back! Guards, seize her!" Hu Ba was about to make a move when Jia Qingcheng reached out and stopped him. "Pei Wuliang, that's enough. This is my home, and Chunyan is my maid. It's not your place to come here and act so presumptuously!" "Qingcheng, what did you just call me?" Pei Wuliang—how dare she speak his name so brazenly? In her past life, hadn't she always called him affectionately by "Pei Lang" or "husband"? How dare she address him by his full name now? "Pei Wuliang. Is there something wrong with that?" "You—!" "Master, something's not right. Didn't you say the injured person was Miss Jia? Since she's fine, then the one who was hurt... could it be..." "Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Pei Wuliang refused to believe the injured woman was Song Jiaojiao. How could Jiaojiao possibly be hurt? In the past life, it was Jia Qingcheng who had been injured. Why was she perfectly fine in this life? Unless... "Qingcheng, where's your sister? Has she returned yet?" Jia Qingcheng pretended not to hear Pei Wuliang's words, continuing to stare at him coldly. Seeing her looking at him like that, Pei Wuliang decided not to ask further—why not just go inside and see for himself? "You'd better pray that Jiaojiao is unharmed, or else..." Pei Wuliang paused, then strode purposefully toward the Jia residence. As she watched him rush inside, Jia Qingcheng turned and shot him a cold glance, a meaningful smile curling at the corner of her lips. "Young lady, Pei Wuliang is terribly rude. Surely he doesn't think you're the one who was injured?" "That's exactly what he thinks!" In her past life, she had indeed been injured during the Cuju match, and Pei Wuliang knew about it. Now, he must believe she was the one hurt this time as well. Unfortunately, she wouldn't fall in the same place twice. "Let's go!" Jia Qingcheng was about to board the carriage to visit the gold shop when Pei Wuliang caught up from behind and called out, "Qingcheng, wait! I'll go with you to the Princess's residence to pick up Jiaojiao." With that, he moved to board her carriage, but Jia Qingcheng coldly instructed the coachman, "Go!" The coachman cracked his whip hard across the horse's hindquarters. Instantly, the startled horse bolted forward at full speed. Pei Wuliang watched in utter disbelief as Jia Qingcheng abandoned him... After all, in her past life, she had never once left him behind like this! "Master, Miss Jia didn't wait for us!" "Qingcheng, I'm truly angry now!" Pei Wuliang shouted hysterically at Jia Qingcheng's departing carriage, but no one paid him any mind. Seeing Jia Qingcheng leave, Hu Ba asked, "Master, what should we do now? Should we still go pick up the Second Miss?" "Of course we should. Go back to the Pei residence and fetch a carriage!" When he had arrived, he hadn't known Song Jiaojiao hadn't returned yet, so he'd sent his carriage away. Just as Pei Wuliang was about to make arrangements to pick up Song Jiaojiao, a carriage suddenly appeared in the distance, heading toward them... And the lead coachman was none other than Jia Qingcheng's own driver. "Master, the First Miss of the Jia family has come back! You're truly formidable—she must have heard you were angry and rushed back." Seeing Jia Qingcheng return, Pei Wuliang naturally assumed she was afraid of his anger and had hurried back to appease him. Unfortunately, he was genuinely furious now. Unless she properly apologized, he wouldn't forgive her easily this time. When Jia Qingcheng's carriage came to a stop before the Jia residence, before she even stepped down, she heard Pei Wuliang bellowing below, "Qingcheng, weren't you leaving? Why have you come back?" Halfway to her destination, Jia Qingcheng had realized she'd forgotten the Yellow Talisman for blessings and had come back personally to retrieve it. She hadn't expected Pei Wuliang to still be here, flattering himself. The moment she stepped down, Pei Wuliang began nagging again, "Why did you even come down? You should be taking me to bring Jiaojiao back! Who knows how badly she's injured? How can you be so heartless as her sister? Don't you care whether Jiaojiao lives or dies?" These words nearly made Jia Qingcheng laugh in anger. Why should she care about Song Jiaojiao's affairs? Jia Qingcheng said nothing, walking toward the Jia residence on her own. Seeing her dare to go back inside, he shouted even louder, "Qingcheng, stop right there! Did you hear me talking to you?" Jia Qingcheng paused in her steps but didn't turn around. Seeing her still doing as she pleased, Pei Wuliang grew even more frantic. "Qingcheng, you've successfully provoked me! I'm telling you, if anything happens to Jiaojiao, it'll be because of your delay. Can you bear that responsibility?" Delayed by her? What did that have to do with her? Jia Qingcheng turned and cast a cold glance at Pei Wuliang, then strode inside without another word. Seeing her ignore him completely, Pei Wuliang issued his final ultimatum, "If you don't take me to pick up Jiaojiao this time, I won't easily forgive you!" Forgive? Who needed his forgiveness? Jia Qingcheng went inside on her own, leaving Pei Wuliang even more furious. "Fine, very well. Let's see how long you can keep up that stubbornness!" With those words, Pei Wuliang strode off to find a carriage to pick up Song Jiaojiao. But he hadn't taken more than a few steps when he saw a carriage racing toward him, pulling to a stop directly in front of the Jia residence. The next moment, Song Jiaojiao was tossed out of the carriage... Yes, tossed! "Ouch! How dare you! My leg..." "Jiaojiao, are you alright?" The moment Song Jiaojiao saw Pei Wuliang, a wave of grievance washed over her. She buried herself in his arms, sobbing heart-wrenchingly. "Wuwu, Wuliang-gege, why wouldn't you pay attention to me? It's me, not that ugly girl! Why did you ignore me and abandon me?" Song Jiaojiao had injured her leg today and been sent to the back alley to rest. She had wanted to call out to Pei Wuliang for help, but she couldn't speak at the time. Unfortunately, he had mistaken her for Jia Qingcheng, scolded her, and left... She was so wronged—not only had she lost to that ugly woman Jia Qingcheng, but she'd also injured her leg. "I'm sorry, Jiaojiao. I didn't know it was you who was hurt. What happened? How did you get injured?" "Second Miss, you're finally back! This servant has been looking for you everywhere!" The maidservant had returned as well. Naturally, she too had believed the injured person was Jia Qingcheng—after all, her own mistress's Cuju skills were second to none; how could she possibly get hurt? But now, seeing her mistress's leg bandaged, she knew her mistress had lost. "Useless waste! Can't you even think to look for me when I go missing?" "Jiaojiao, tell me what happened. How did you..." "I don't know what happened. I was about to score a goal when someone suddenly pushed me from behind. That's how I fell. It hurts so much, Wuliang-gege. Am I going to become a cripple?" Pei Wuliang held the injured Song Jiaojiao in his arms, his face full of distress. "Who did this? She must have a leopard's guts!"