Chapter 88 Jiang Ciyou, So Mad

She knelt on the ground, adopting a pose of repentance. Tears already welled in her eyes, making her appear pitiful beyond compare. Jiang Zhiwu, however, sat with her legs crossed, not a trace of sympathy on her face.

“This habit of yours—falling to your knees at the drop of a hat—is truly hard to break,” Jiang Zhiwu remarked, leaning forward to grip Xia Ling’s chin between her fingers. “But that trick no longer works on me.” Her grip tightened.

Xia Ling gasped in pain as Jiang Zhiwu’s fingers dug in, her tears spilling unchecked down her cheeks. Only then did Jiang Zhiwu release her.

Sobbing, Xia Ling pleaded, “Jiang Zhiwu, you were born into wealth and privilege, pampered since childhood. Anything you wanted was yours for the taking. But I was born in hell. My mother abused me from the start. Even wishing for a new dress was like reaching for the stars. Do you have any idea how agonizing it is to grow up in such an environment?”

“I admit, stealing Yan Feng from you was wrong. But to me, Yan Feng was the only thing I could cling to in my barren existence. I had to fight tooth and nail for him. I was terrified of going back to that place. I knew poverty too well.”

“Losing Yan Feng to you would have been nothing—you could easily find another, someone just as outstanding and from a matching family. But to me, Yan Feng was the only lifeline I had as I was about to drown. I couldn’t let go.”

“Jiang Zhiwu, you’ll never understand what my life has been like since I was a child—my childhood, my girlhood, so suffocating. If you had lived a day in my shoes, you’d understand why I did what I did.” Xia Ling wept, her face streaked with tears.

Once, Jiang Zhiwu might have been swayed by such twisted reasoning. But now, she was unmoved.

“If you truly loved Yan Feng, you could have confessed openly, pursued him honorably. Instead, you relied on sordid tricks. How could someone like you deserve a shred of sympathy?” Jiang Zhiwu’s voice was cold and cutting.

“Honorably? How could I ever win against you? Jiang Zhiwu, I know I’m no match for you. If I didn’t use tricks, Yan Feng wouldn’t spare me a glance.”

“So you plotted against me, destroyed my reputation?” Jiang Zhiwu’s tone turned icy.

Xia Ling froze, her tear-filled eyes staring at Jiang Zhiwu. For a moment, her emotions churned beneath the surface. So all this time, Jiang Zhiwu had been goading her, probing for a reaction, laying the groundwork for this confrontation—hoping in her agitation she might slip and confess. Thankfully, she managed to keep her composure.

With an innocent expression, Xia Ling protested, “Zhiwu, what are you talking about? I did secretly imitate your handwriting to write that diary, which led to the misunderstanding between you and Yan Feng. But I never destroyed your reputation.”

Yan Feng had already discovered the ruse with the diary. Since Jiang Zhiwu had sought her out so abruptly today, she guessed Yan Feng had already come clean. It was better to admit it herself—it sounded more believable.

Yet Jiang Zhiwu saw through Xia Ling’s act. The diary never explicitly stated who was behind it, but Jiang Zhiwu knew that incident was inseparable from Xia Ling.

“Xia Ling, I’ll ask you again: that summer after our first year at university, what did you really do to me?”

Xia Ling maintained her look of innocence. “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Jiang Zhiwu stood, towering over Xia Ling. A chill seemed to radiate from her, her presence cold and formidable.

“This is your last chance, Xia Ling. Tell me—how did you orchestrate it? Who assaulted me? If not, don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”

“It wasn’t me. Truly, it wasn’t,” Xia Ling insisted.

Jiang Zhiwu stared her down, her gaze frigid and terrifying. Then she turned away, sitting once more in the surveillance room chair. “Then you may leave—if you can make it out.”

Xia Ling didn’t understand what she meant, but she could sense that something was very wrong with Jiang Zhiwu now—dangerously wrong. She seemed like an entirely different person.

Xia Ling turned to leave without hesitation.

But just as she did, she heard a series of terrifying, guttural howls—like something crying out from beneath the house.

She quickened her pace.

The moment Xia Ling stepped outside the villa, she saw them—four wolves in the yard.

Not dogs, but wolves.

Each one was massive and powerful, their bellies gaunt, tails drooping, eyes glinting green as they glared at her with ferocious malice.

At last, Xia Ling understood what Jiang Zhiwu meant by, “If you can make it out.”

But why were there wolves here? Wild, ravenous wolves with hunger blazing in their eyes?

There was no time to wonder. The wolves had already noticed her, their gazes locking onto their prey as one.

Slowly, deliberately, they began to move in her direction.

Xia Ling’s hand clung to the doorframe. She was so terrified, she couldn’t move a muscle.

The wolves picked up speed, charging straight for her.

At last, Xia Ling snapped out of her daze and hurried back inside.

Her first instinct was to duck into the nearest room, but she remembered something—on her way in, she’d noticed that all the doors inside the house had been removed.

Clearly, Jiang Zhiwu had planned this well in advance.

Xia Ling raced up the stairs.

Her first thought was to find Jiang Zhiwu, but when she reached the surveillance room again, Jiang Zhiwu was already gone.

From the surveillance monitors, Xia Ling could clearly see the four wolves racing up the stairs.

They split up, searching every floor, checking each room with chilling coordination. Though there were many rooms, it would be less than three minutes before they found her.

Xia Ling’s legs trembled uncontrollably. She never imagined Jiang Zhiwu could be so ruthless, so deranged.

But now, she had no idea where Jiang Zhiwu was, nor could she find any place to hide.

Still, she had to escape.

She slipped out of the surveillance room—just as one of the wolves appeared at the end of the hallway.

It saw her and, with a thunderous roar, charged at her.

The sight of that massive beast barreling toward her nearly drove Xia Ling mad with terror.

She glanced frantically around and finally spotted a possible refuge—the elevator.

She sprinted to its doors and jabbed the call button.

Behind her, the wolf was closing in fast. It snarled, lips curled back to reveal vicious fangs, eyes wild with bloodlust—ready to tear her apart.

Her heart hammered in her chest, her whole body shaking like a leaf.

Thankfully, the elevator doors slid open.

She darted inside, hands trembling violently as she jabbed the button to close the doors.

The great wolf was less than five meters away.

It leapt, springing toward Xia Ling inside the elevator…