Chapter 270: Chapter 262: Rong Mochen: Keep Me Company for a Meal 1
When Jin Jumo picked up the phone to call Jian Liangtong, who was far away in the UK, there was a lot of noise, as if she was on a set.
"Ju Zi, it must be very late there for you, why are you calling me now?" Jian Liangtong’s puzzled voice came through the line.
"Am I disturbing you?" Jin Jumo’s voice was a bit hoarse.
"...What’s wrong with your voice? Have you been crying?" Jian Liangtong instantly noticed, her tone becoming nervous.
"No, I just have a bit of a cold." Jin Jumo replied.
Jian Liangtong was silent, then after a while, she asked, "What’s going on? You know you can’t fool me."
Jin Jumo sat at the vanity, looking at the woman in the mirror with swollen, red eyes; she could hardly recognize herself.
She felt a deep-seated panic and fear.
At twenty-four years old, Jin Jumo never imagined that one day she would become the type of person she had always avoided.
In her belief, as long as her heart was her own, no harm could befall her.
She didn’t reject love, but she resisted giving her heart completely and unreservedly to someone else, as it made her uneasy, even terrified.
She had seen how her best friend was hurt and on the brink of ruin because of love.
She was afraid, afraid of repeating the same mistakes.
Whether it was with Ying Jingyao, who had been by her side for four years, or Rong Mochen, who had moved her four years ago, she felt she had always maintained a sense of rationality, preventing herself from being wholly consumed.
In any relationship, she tried her best not to allow herself to be hurt.
But now, everything seemed to be spiraling out of her control.
She began to lose her sense of rationality in her relationship with Rong Mochen.
She would be heartbroken by his neglect, involuntarily worry about him, and even, in the moment he left the apartment, she wanted to humiliate herself by asking him to stay...
She could barely recognize herself.
Jin Jumo’s lips trembled, her heart enduring a constant torment.
This torment made her feel so wronged that she wanted to break down and cry.
"Ju Zi..." Not hearing Jin Jumo speak for a while, Jian Liangtong became even more convinced of her suspicions, her voice tightening, "Ju Zi, don’t scare me."
Clearly, Jian Liangtong was also encountering such an emotionally unusual Jin Jumo for the first time.
Jin Jumo, who was smart and rational, was often more mature in her thinking than her years, and when it came to managing her emotions, she was nearly at a professorial level.
Except for losing control after Jin Jiancheng passed away four years ago, Jian Liangtong had rarely seen her unable to control her emotions.
Precisely because of this, her silence now made Jian Liangtong even more worried.
Hearing the tension in her voice, Jin Jumo closed her eyes, diverted her gaze from the mirror, and lightly laughed, "I’m just in a bit of a bad mood, nothing major. But hearing your voice now feels a lot better."
"You’re just being stubborn!" Jian Liangtong said exasperatedly, "You always keep everything to yourself, even when you can’t hold it in, you refuse to say anything. Being so strong and not relying on me makes me feel unimportant and useless!"
"Don’t you realize how much I rely on you?" Jin Jumo feigned a light-hearted grievance.
"Jin Jumo, I really hate you." Jian Liangtong shouted.
"You can hate me as much as you like, as long as I love you." Jin Jumo replied with a laugh.
"Stop trying to be clever. I don’t buy it. I’m really angry. I was going to tell you some good news, but now I don’t want to say anything. Goodbye."
"No, no, no." Jin Jumo replied hastily, "I want to know, tell me, what’s the good news?"
"Aren’t you the one who doesn’t want to say anything? Then I won’t say anything either." Jian Liangtong retorted with a hint of resentment.
Jin Jumo paused, then laughed again, "Shall I hang up then?"
"Jin Jumo!" Jian Liangtong angrily shouted into the phone.
Jin Jumo curled her lips, the redness in her eyes gathering too heavily, causing a slight ache, and she took a deep breath, saying, "Alright, I won’t tease you anymore, quickly tell me, what’s the good news?"
Jian Liangtong muttered angrily, then said, "The filming is almost finished, in a few days, once the film wraps up, I’ll bring Hanhan back to the country for a while."
"Really?" That was indeed good news, Jin Jumo exclaimed in surprise.
Perhaps Jin Jumo’s joyous and excited voice soothed Jian Liangtong’s anger, as she spoke more softly, even with a slight smile, "Mm."
"But after the filming ends, won’t you have to start traveling everywhere for promotion? Aren’t you Yuan Chi’s manager? Won’t you need to go with him?" Jin Jumo asked, puzzled.
"I was supposed to go, but Yuan Chi is Korean and has reached the age for military service, so once the film wraps up, he will return to South Korea for his service. He won’t attend the promotions, and since he won’t be going, I naturally don’t need to go either." Jian Liangtong explained.
"I see." Jin Jumo smiled, "That’s great then."
"However, during his military service, the agency might assign me other artists to manage. It’s unclear when exactly." Jian Liangtong sighed.
"Surely, as soon as Yuan Chi returns to South Korea, the agency won’t immediately assign you other artists?" Jin Jumo expressed concern.
"They probably won’t." Jian Liangtong said, though she wasn’t entirely sure.
Jin Jumo twitched her lips.
"Um, Ju Zi, Rong Mochen hasn’t... troubled you, has he?" Jian Liangtong paused mid-sentence, as if choosing her words.
At the mention of a certain person, Jin Jumo frowned sharply, tightening her lower lip, "Why do you ask that?"
"...His sudden engagement to the Gu Family heiress and then the abrupt cancellation made global headlines. I thought he might have done it for you..." Jian Liangtong said up to this point, but didn’t go further.
Recently, she has been busy with film shooting and dealing with... Her body and mind are exhausted every day like a dog, so she goes straight to sleep when she gets home, hardly spending time with Hao Hao.
She doesn’t know much about Jin Jumo’s recent situation.
Thus, she is unaware that Jin Jumo was forcibly taken to Z City by someone, and of Jin Jumo’s car accident and Ying Jingyao’s injury.
Jin Jumo took a deep breath and said softly, "Liang Tong, I’m... in Z City."
"..." One sentence left Jian Liangtong on the other end of the call speechless for a long time.
Jin Jumo’s eyes flickered slightly, uncertainly saying, "Liang Tong..."
As soon as Jin Jumo spoke, she heard a gasp on the other end saying, "Back to Z City? Why did you suddenly think of going back to Z City?"
Jin Jumo said nothing.
Jian Liangtong took another breath, "Did Rong Mochen use some means to force you back?"
"..." Jin Jumo had no words.
Being taken forcibly by him onto a helicopter in the middle of the night counts as forcing, right...
"I knew it, I knew it!" Jian Liangtong shouted breathlessly, "These powerful and wealthy scions always use such tricks, damn it!"
Jin Jumo, "..." She remembers she used to admire a certain someone a lot.
Licking her lips, Jin Jumo said somewhat sardonically, "Actually, I originally planned to come back myself."
"Ju Zi, did he force you to do anything else apart from coming back?" Jian Liangtong directly ignored Jin Jumo’s comment, angrily asking.
Forced to...
Jin Jumo’s ears turned an unusual shade of red, "No."
"No?" Jian Liangtong’s tone was clearly disbelieving.
"...Mm." Jin Jumo responded lowly.
"Really no?" Jian Liangtong asked again.
Jin Jumo’s eyes twitched slightly, "Really no."
"Hmph." Jian Liangtong snorted, speaking in a tone as if she had seen through everything, "You called me so late, isn’t it because he bullied you?"
Jin Jumo was stunned, when did the girl become so sharp and clever?
Jian Liangtong took breath after breath, "Too much bullying, simply too much!"
Jin Jumo felt her emotions were somewhat uncontrollable, worrying, "Liang Tong, stay calm..."
"Don’t worry about me. Ying Jingyao? What is he doing? Is this how he protects you?" Jian Liangtong said angrily.
"...Liang Tong."
"I’m going to call him right away, I need to properly ask him how he is being a boyfriend!" Jian Liangtong snorted.
Jin Jumo’s face changed slightly, "Liang Tong, don’t call him, things aren’t as you think. Listen to me, once you’re back, I’ll explain it to you, okay?"
As soon as Jin Jumo said this, Jian Liangtong unexpectedly fell silent on the other end.
Jin Jumo’s eyes flickered lightly and she softly said, "It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to return to Z City, I can take Xixi and Hanhan to S City to find you."
"Will Rong Mochen allow you to leave Z City?" Jian Liangtong’s tone was low.
Jin Jumo pursed her lips, "He can’t keep me in Z City forever, right."
Jian Liangtong was silent for a good while.
"Liang Tong..."
"Alright, I won’t call Ying Jingyao as you said." Pausing for a moment, Jian Liangtong said in a composed voice, "Ju Zi, even though we don’t want to admit it, some people are beyond our reach for life. Promise me to stay well."
A sudden pang of bitterness surged at Jin Jumo’s nose, "I promise you."
Jian Liangtong took a gentle breath, laughed, and said, "Alright, Yuan Chi is calling me, that’s it for now."
"Mm."
In the days following, Rong Mochen did not appear at the apartment, except Gu Yan checked in every day.
Jin Jumo tried her best not to think about him; while Xixi and Hanhan were taken out to play by Gu Yan, she went around the few good kindergartens in Z City to gather information.
After all, all children of the same age are attending kindergarten, Xixi and Hanhan can’t keep being left behind.
This day, Jin Jumo returned to the apartment with the kindergarten enrollment information she had decided on after careful consideration, only to find a pair of polished black leather shoes at the entrance.
She suddenly clenched the materials tightly, took a slight breath, changed shoes, and slowly walked inside.
In the living room, a man wearing a custom-fit, fine black suit sat emotionless on the sofa.
From Jin Jumo’s perspective, she could only see his sharp profile and cold eyebrows.
Her heart tightened slightly, Jin Jumo stopped and did not move forward.
After a moment, the man slightly turned his head, his deep eyes were cold like a chill as he gazed over, his glance lingering on Jin Jumo’s tense face for a second, saying in a soft voice, "What are you standing there for, come over."
"..."
Jin Jumo tightened her lips, slowly walked over, standing across a long table from the man, looking at him with slight puzzlement.