Croak, croak.
Sunzi stubbornly defended herself.
"This is the kettle that the flower peacock used to drug you — that's the evidence you two-legged beasts call proof, got it?"
"What?"
Xie Jiajiao immediately grew excited. She hadn't thought to send Sunzi to find this before because she believed Jiang Xiu wasn't that foolish — why leave such obvious evidence like the kettle and not clean up the traces of the drug? Yet, unexpectedly, Jiang Xiu had simply thrown it away, and by sheer coincidence, Sunzi had found it.
Hmph.
If Jiang Xiu dared to play dirty with her, Jiang Xiu wouldn't be having a good time later!
Croak, croak.
"Caw, caw, beauty, let go, let go! You're going to choke Lord Crow."
Xie Jiajiao hurriedly released Sunzi and asked with concern, "Sunzi, are you okay?"
From Jiang Ye's point of view, Xie Jiajiao was hugging Sunzi, kissing and cuddling it.
This made Jiang Ye's possessiveness explode like a tipped-over vinegar jar. His eyes locked onto Sunzi with sharp intensity, and in his mind, over a hundred ways to cook it appeared.
Damn it!
Jiajiao hasn't even kissed me first yet!
Just as Sunzi took a breath of fresh air, suddenly a cold wind blew, dark energy surged, and then…
Jiang Ye snatched it from Xie Jiajiao's hands, tossed it aside casually, letting it experience speed and passion all over again.
"It's fine, I'm the one in trouble!"
Jiang Ye's face was cold and gloomy. Coupled with the long scar on his brow, he looked like a hellish demon. Even Sunzi, who had just landed and was still cursing under its breath, felt intimidated. Its croaks became quieter, and it timidly covered its head with its wings, trying to lessen its presence.
Caught in Jiang Ye's brutal storm, Xie Jiajiao was oblivious. She lifted her head, pouted, and said, "Your problem can wait, mine's more urgent."
Though her words were blunt and unreasonable, Xie Jiajiao said them with such confidence that it sounded perfectly justified.
At 1.6 meters tall, Xie Jiajiao looked really short next to Jiang Ye's towering 1.91-meter frame.
Jiang Ye only needed to lower his head slightly to see his reflection clearly in Xie Jiajiao's bright eyes — a fierce demon, contrasting sharply with Su Yu, whom Xie Jiajiao used to chase after, fair and delicate, two extremes.
The look she gave Jiang Ye was a mixture of dissatisfaction, playfulness, and dependence...
Completely different from the sincere and cautious gaze she once gave Su Yu, yet it also contained something that her eyes never held for Su Yu.
It was as if…
He was her man, and he should listen to her — it was only natural.
This realization inexplicably lifted Jiang Ye's mood, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Alright."
"Come on, let's go complain to the captain."
After saying this, Xie Jiajiao glanced instinctively at Jiang Ye's tall, broad frame and immediately felt confident.
With her man here, who would dare bully her?
Xie Jiajiao's proud little expression did not escape Jiang Ye's notice, and he enjoyed it.
But instead of following her, Jiang Ye gently pulled her into his arms, resting his head on her shoulder and asked, "Before we complain, shouldn't your man know what happened first? Hmm?"
His warm breath brushed her neck, tickling her slightly. Xie Jiajiao reached out to push Jiang Ye.
"Stand properly."
Seeing her neck blush pink, Jiang Ye chuckled softly.
The little girl was shy.
Hearing the laugh, Xie Jiajiao, embarrassed that her little secret was discovered, got a bit annoyed but still maintained her stubbornness.
"You're heavy, get up quickly."
"Or else, you'll crush me and stunt my growth."
"Alright."
It wouldn't be good if the little girl got angry and embarrassed.
Seeing Jiang Ye so easy to deal with, Xie Jiajiao breathed a sigh of relief and started telling him about the injustice she had suffered.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ye, seemingly distracted, let the smile on his lips fade, and a ruthless gleam darkened his eyes.
When Xie Jiajiao finished, Jiang Ye's cold voice cut through the air.
"You're saying Jiang Xiu drugged you at noon?"
Xie Jiajiao nodded like a little chick.
"And this afternoon, when you came to work here, it was Jiang Xiu who assigned you?"
Xie Jiajiao nodded again.
"Good. Very good."
Furious beyond measure, Jiang Ye punched a nearby tree.
Crash!
The thick trunk shook twice, dropping a pile of leaves.
The sudden turn of events left Xie Jiajiao momentarily stunned.
When she came back to her senses, she immediately stepped up to Jiang Ye, picked up his hand, and carefully examined it, noticing the bright red blood trickling from the wound.
Pouting her small lips, tears began to fall uncontrollably. She snapped fiercely, "Are you stupid or what? Who just punches a tree like that?"
The cold tears dripped onto his rough fist, but they burned—so hot that Jiang Ye felt a sharp pain in his chest.
He lifted his hand to wipe away the tears at the corner of Xie Jiajiao's eyes and growled low, "What are you crying for? I'm not dead."
Xie Jiajiao lowered her head, blowing gently on the bleeding wound like coaxing a child, softly saying, "Huff, huff, it doesn't hurt."
Sniffling, she looked a little wronged. "I don't want to cry either, but…"
She pointed to her chest. "I feel uncomfortable here, and I just can't control it."
She just wanted to cry.
It was strange. Most of the Xie family came from military backgrounds—people who wouldn't even flinch if stabbed in the chest, much less cry. They were the kind who bled but never shed tears.
But when it came to Xie Jiajiao, it seemed to be the opposite.
Since she was young, her tear ducts were overly sensitive. Any bump or scrape would cause her to shed golden tears. Yet she inherited all her parents' best traits and was charming and adorable as a child. Seeing her cry was like a dull knife slowly scraping at one's heart, so no one in the Xie family wanted to see her cry. But ironically, their indulgence in the little girl (or granddaughter/sister) was endless and unstoppable.
Jiang Ye, who was terrible at comforting others, simply silenced her by pressing his lips firmly over hers.
Mm.
"Still crying?"
"Can't stop?"
Xie Jiajiao covered her mouth and shook her head fiercely.
She realized that, so far, Jiang Ye was perfect in every way—except for the occasional dirty jokes and not kissing her enough.
"You're still not enough," Jiang Ye said softly, a ruthless glint flashing briefly in his eyes. "If you go complain to the captain now, Jiang Xiu will be punished, but as long as she stays as the scorekeeper, she'll find ways to keep making things difficult for you. Like today, assigning you the worst land and terrible hoes."
Just then, Jiang Ye stopped Xie Jiajiao from working and took the hoe from her hands. A quick glance revealed it was blunt and the joint at the handle was loose. If not careful, the metal end could easily detach and fly off—hitting someone, even a blunt object like that could cause serious injury.
Xie Jiajiao frowned in frustration. "So we're just going to let her get away with it?"
She wasn't willing to give up.
"No," Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow, a sly smile creeping onto his face. "We need to find a way to completely get rid of her scorekeeper job."
Xie Jiajiao wasn't dumb, just a little naïve from being spoiled, with no intention to harm or distrust others.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at Jiang Ye. "A-Ye, do you have a plan?"
"Mm."
Bending down, Jiang Ye whispered in her ear, "First, we do this, then this, and then…"