Chapter 477: Chapter 34: The Cannon Fodder Stepsister Doesn’t Want to Die

“You came.”

Jiang Lai rubbed her eyes and walked into the bathroom. After washing up, she tied her long hair into a bun and sat directly opposite Jiang Ci with a glass of hot milk prepared in advance by the housekeeper.

The Jiang Family’s living room was large, furnished with the kind of solid wood furniture old-school wealthy people liked, which felt a bit cold to sit on during winter.

Jiang Lai sat for a while before deciding she didn’t want to sit any longer. After eating a bit of breakfast, she turned around to head back to her room.

Jiang Ci knew she was definitely going back to work on some practice questions.

In his life, Jiang Lai was the most disciplined and formidable person he’d ever met. She didn’t care about any external noise or images, focusing solely on the task at hand, able to endure cold benches and solitude.

Jiang Ci didn’t hesitate much. After finishing his meal, he went into his own room and turned on his computer. Just as he was about to click on the playback button for the surveillance, he hesitated for a moment and decided to close the laptop instead.

On New Year’s Eve, just after finishing the reunion dinner, Jiang Zhen Sheng and Mao Fang were sitting together in the living room watching the Spring Festival Gala, while Jiang Lai and Jiang Ci stayed in their rooms without going out.

As Jiang Ci contemplated the problem in front of him, the phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, he frowned slightly, remembering the promise he had made earlier.

“Jiang Ci, everyone is here. How much longer will you be? Oh right, don’t forget to bring Jiang Lai too. Nearly everyone from our class has gathered.”

Jiang Ci frowned.

Do these people not need to go home for New Year’s? They’re going out in the bustling New Year’s Eve evening.

Earlier, he agreed because he thought he might as well do something since he’d be idle on New Year’s. But now that he had pressing matters, his interest in such gatherings waned.

“We’re just waiting for the two of you, hurry up. It’ll take just over thirty minutes by cab from your place.”

When Jiang Ci opened the door to leave, he happened to see Jiang Lai, already dressed.

“What’s up?”

“You don’t have to go.”

“Why not go? All the classmates are going, I’m not someone who’s unsociable.”

Jiang Lai seemed to be in a good mood, and she even seemed to have dressed up a bit. Her lip color deepened quite a bit, her fluffy long hair cascading down her back revealing a delicate and pretty face.

Her outfit was also different from usual. She had traded her monotonous school uniform for a green long dress, with a single thin strap hanging on her slender shoulder, looking elegant and peaceful.

Jiang Ci pursed his lips, lowered his head.

“Isn’t it cold wearing that?”

“Won’t we be in the villa? Can’t possibly be without air conditioning or heating. Shall we go? It’s almost midnight.”

Jiang Lai threw on a down jacket, wrapped a scarf around herself, leaving just her face exposed.

The two of them caught a cab to the villa, and upon arriving, Jiang Ci handed the driver two hundred yuan.

“Keep the change.”

The driver thanked him repeatedly, to which Jiang Ci just nodded and got out of the car.

“I didn’t expect you to be quite generous.”

“Two hundred is fair for working on New Year’s Eve. I always appreciate hardworking people.”

Jiang Lai nodded.

“Boss attitude, indeed grand.”

Looking at the brightly lit villa in front of her, as well as the valet waiting by the entrance to assist with parking, Jiang Lai sighed at the advantages of money. Renting out such a large villa for a night on New Year’s Eve would probably cost tens of thousands, especially in such a prime location, where you could see the landmark buildings of the city center from the villa’s top floor.

There would be a fireworks display at midnight, just about the right time to catch it.

As they opened the door, the warm aroma of champagne and gourmet food greeted them, with attendants at the entrance to help take bags and coats.

The villa was large, with full-view observation decks on both sides, a thick arch-shaped glass cover blocking the cold wind, from afar there were quite a few beautifully dressed girls sitting by the arch view taking photos.

Some faces seemed unfamiliar, indicating that Qiao Chuweng had invited more than just classmates.

Jiang Ci habitually found a quiet corner to sit and drink, with Jiang Lai joining him.

The moment they sat down, Qiao Chuweng, in a red dress, came over holding a glass of wine.

Looking at the wine glass, Jiang Lai had only one thought in her mind.

Has the legal drinking age dropped?

Why is it that every underage person in front of her is holding a wine glass, with barely any juice on the catering table?

“Jiang Ci, Jiang Lai, why are you two siblings just sitting here? The classmates are all playing over there.”

“Siblings” was a term that Jiang Ci found a bit grating.

Since the last commendation assembly, almost the entire school believed that he and Jiang Lai were real siblings, two unrelated people forcibly tied with such a relationship, which made Jiang Ci uncomfortable.

But Jiang Lai quite liked this term.

Cultivating sibling affection with Jiang Ci more could conveniently make up for him well in the future.

“Let’s go, brother.”

This title of “brother” from Jiang Lai startled Jiang Ci, and he immediately stood up without a word, following Jiang Lai into the crowd.

On the second and third floors, you could hear the sounds of laughter and chit-chat. On the third-floor observation deck, in a hot spring pool maintained at forty degrees, quite a few were in swimwear playing around.

At a glance, it was full of bare arms and legs, making one instantly forget the weather outside.

But outside thin snowflakes were indeed falling, with just a layer of glass dividing the seasons, the stark contrast of a lively Hawaiian summer and the chilly northern winter, truly proving one saying, ’wealth blinds.’

Qiao Chuweng turned with a smile.

“It’s still lively here, I heard the host spent nearly ten million to construct this arch glass. There are very few such glass materials worldwide, so…”

Qiao Chuweng nonchalantly introduced everything inside the villa, like talking about the weather today, speaking knowledgeably about these luxurious things.

“Oh right, we’re planning to go ride motorcycles to the back mountain later, Jiang Ci you’re quite good with motorcycles, want to join?”

Jiang Ci didn’t speak, silently consenting.

Qiao Chuweng then looked at Jiang Lai.

“If you’re interested, you’re welcome to join. There’ll also be some familiar faces for you later.”

“Can you all ride motorcycles?”

Jiang Lai asked this suddenly.

Qiao Chuweng smiled.

“It’s just a hobby, why? You can’t?”

“What’s it got to do with being able to ride or not? Minors aren’t allowed to ride motorcycles, don’t you know?”

“…”

Qiao Chuweng’s smile froze.

Jiang Ci looked at her too, with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

“And so?”

Jiang Lai shrugged.

“It’s fine, I’ll just watch from the side.”

After all, no way she would fall.

Qiao Chuweng held back a laugh, looking at Jiang Lai with a face full of helplessness.

“Jiang Lai, the entire ground you’re standing on now is private, including this mountain. You won’t be bothered for whatever you do here, but it’s no surprise, you probably haven’t been to these private settings before.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep