Chapter 144: Jiang Fenfang Told Qiao Meixia Her Feeling About Jiang Yanna

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Jiang Fenfang Told Qiao Meixia Her Feeling About Jiang Yanna

Qiao Meixia’s sole focus now was shutting down the invasive breach and completely severing the tracker’s connection.

She needed a mere three minutes.

Exactly three minutes later, she successfully dismantled the intrusion, erecting an impenetrable firewall against the anonymous hacker. After running a quick, thorough scan of her system to ensure no lingering malware remained, she cleanly closed the portal.

Just as Jiang Fenfang opened the bathroom door and stepped out, Qiao Meixia smoothly shut down her laptop and closed the lid.

"I am all done, Cousin Meixia! Your turn." Jiang Fenfang announced brightly, wiping her damp hair with a small towel.

"Hmm..." Qiao Meixia hummed softly in response.

She picked up her change of clothes and walked into the bathroom. After locking the door behind her, she turned on the shower and stepped under the stream.

As the warm water cascaded over her skin, she let out a long, blissful sigh. The sheer physical weariness from enduring the banquet earlier finally began to catch up with her.

While she had not found the party itself particularly difficult to handle, standing around for hours on end and dealing with endless fake pleasantries from complete strangers was thoroughly exhausting. For someone who preferred peace, quiet, and solitude over chaotic crowds, it was more than enough to drain her energy completely.

She closed her eyes, letting the soothing heat wash away the lingering fatigue from her muscles.

Outside the bathroom, Jiang Fenfang had already made herself right at home on the comfortable sofa. Clad in her cosy pyjamas, she lazily scrolled through her phone, patiently waiting for Qiao Meixia to finish up.

For reasons she still could not entirely explain, she found herself looking forward to this sleepover far more than she had ever anticipated.

After a relaxing bath, Qiao Meixia stepped out of the bathroom, drying her hair. She looked over at Jiang Fenfang, who had already proudly claimed the right side of the bed as her own.

Jiang Fenfang was staring right back at Qiao Meixia with bright, expectant eyes.

Qiao Meixia plugged her phone into the wall charger, set it on the nightstand, and climbed into bed.

"I am so excited!" Jiang Fenfang blurted out suddenly, turning to face her.

"About what?" Qiao Meixia asked neutrally.

"This is my very first time having a sleepover with a cousin!" Jiang Fenfang said, her voice brimming with excitement.

"First time?" Qiao Meixia raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised.

"Mhm!" Jiang Fenfang nodded emphatically. Seeing the sheer confusion on Qiao Meixia’s face, she quickly clarified, "You are probably thinking about Sister Yanna, right? Well, nope! I have never had a single sleepover with her. I don’t know why, but I could just never get along with her. It must be because she is not actually related to me by blood like you are. The second I saw you, I instantly wanted to get closer to you!"

She paused for a brief moment, her gaze drifting up toward the ceiling as memories resurfaced.

"To be honest, when I was little, I was actually kind of terrified of Sister Yanna. You know how she always acts super sweet and innocent whenever adults are around? Well, whenever it was just the two of us, she loved to reach over and viciously pinch me under my arm. It hurt so badly! But back then, I was too scared to tell anyone about it. It happened over and over again, so I naturally put as much distance between us as possible. Thankfully, our family eventually moved away to another city when my dad got transferred for work." Jiang Fenfang explained with a soft sigh.

"Oh... I see." Qiao Meixia responded quietly, absorbing the information.

"So, the moment I saw what went down earlier tonight, I knew right away that she was up to her old tricks again! She was definitely the one who deliberately splashed juice all over your dress, even if she managed to frame another girl for it." Jiang Fenfang stated with absolute conviction.

Jiang Fenfang rolled over on her side, looking at Qiao Meixia with curiosity.

"Sister Meixia, can you tell me a little about what your life was like before you came back to the family?" Jiang Fenfang asked softly.

"There is really nothing special to tell." Qiao Meixia answered flatly.

"That’s okay! I still want to hear it." Jiang Fenfang insisted gently.

"Are you sure about that?" Qiao Meixia pressed, testing her resolve.

"Mhm... I just really want to get to know you better." Jiang Fenfang pleaded, her eyes full of earnest warmth.

Qiao Meixia fell silent for a moment. There was no way on earth she could reveal the actual truth about her dark past. Instead, she decided to weave a carefully constructed cover story. A tiny grain of truth, heavily mixed with believable lies.

"I grew up in an orphanage. Eventually, some trouble arose at the facility, so I ran away and found work elsewhere. I kept working until I finally returned to the orphanage years later. That was how the Jiang Family managed to track me down in the first place." Qiao Meixia said calmly.

In reality, she had fled the orphanage after uncovering a sickening secret. The corrupt director was not housing the children out of charity, but was actively grooming them to be sold off to wealthy buyers.

If those buyers had simply been looking to adopt, it would have been bad enough, but most were wealthy degenerates with sick fetishes for young children. That discovery had sent Qiao Meixia into a cold, ruthless rage.

Using her formidable skills, Qiao Meixia had turned the tables on the director and her accomplices, trapping them in their own web and having them trafficked straight into the dark underbelly of Southeast Asia. She wanted those monsters to experience firsthand what it felt like to be sold directly into hell.

Qiao Meixia turned her head to look at Jiang Fenfang. The young girl had already drifted off to sleep, her breathing slow and steady.

Qiao Meixia, however, remained wide awake. Truth be told, it was her very first time sharing a bed with another person, and she was not entirely sure how to process the unfamiliar sensation.

...

The following morning, Qiao Meixia was the first to wake up as the sun began to rise. Seeing that the girl beside her was still sound asleep, she quietly slipped out from under the covers. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and changed into functional athletic clothes. Since they were staying at a luxury hotel, she decided to make use of their fitness centre. Before stepping out, she scribbled a quick note for the sleeping Jiang Fenfang so she would not panic if she woke up to an empty room.

Checking the hotel layout posted near the elevator, she saw that the gym was located on the 12th floor. She stepped into the elevator, rode it up to the 12th floor, and walked through the gym doors. Because it was still so early in the morning, the facility was nearly empty, occupied by only two other men who were quietly working out in the corner.

Without wasting a second, Qiao Meixia headed straight for the treadmills and climbed aboard. She started off with a light warm-up jog. As the minutes ticked by, she gradually ramped up the speed, settling into a fast, fluid, and steady sprint.

After an hour of intense running, Qiao Meixia finally pressed the stop button and stepped off the machine, barely out of breath. As she turned around, she noticed that the two men had stopped their own routines and were standing much closer to her than before, watching her with keen interest.

Qiao Meixia paid them no mind and began walking toward the exit. However, the two men quickly stepped forward to block her path.

"Young lady, please wait a moment!" One of the men called out politely.

Qiao Meixia stared at them with a completely expressionless face, tilting her head slightly to silently ask what they wanted from her.

"Young lady, are you a professional athlete?" The man asked eagerly.

Qiao Meixia shook her head.

"Wait, really? But..." The second man gasped in genuine disbelief.

His friend quickly patted his shoulder to calm him down before addressing her again.

"Young lady, we were watching you run just now. Your posture, your foot placement, your pacing. Everything about your form was practically flawless! That’s why we were so certain you were a professional track athlete."

"I am not." Qiao Meixia repeated with another simple shake of her head.

"The two of us are long-distance running athletes. You possess incredible natural talent. You could easily become a professional runner if you wanted to! Would you be interested in giving it a try?" The man offered enthusiastically.

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