Chapter 241: Heart Knot
Chapter 241: Heart Knot
“Mr. Jiang,” The girl’s timid voice came over. Nan Jing was different from others. The influence of alcohol on her appeared to be limited. She couldn’t even tell how many glasses she had taken. She was also the only girl among the group to refer to Jiang Cheng as Mr Jiang instead of Jiang Pan An, Little Cutie and so on.
Jiang Cheng pulled his gaze back to look at her. Nan Jing’s face, which was hidden in the dark, became redder. However, she still gathered her courage and asked calmly, “Mr. Jiang, what… are you thinking about?”
Light flowed through her eyes. She had a pair of beautiful eyes, like her mother.
However, different from the latter’s ice-gay gaze, there was cowardice and innocence in her eyes. There was also caution and wariness.
Some said alcohol was poison, but for Nanjing, only this poison could make her open her heart. She had a rare mental disease, an avoidance personality disorder. She had low self-esteem and was extremely sensitive to negative criticism. Such patients faced great troubles in society and the workforce. They lacked social ability and were afraid of rejection. Therefore, they had a hard time making the first step to building a relationship with others.
This kind of patient would showcase shyness and cowardice that were not suitable for their age when they were young. They would be easily frightened by sudden noises.
Different from Madam Qin, who focused everything on her work and ignored her daughter, Nan Jing’s mother cared deeply about her daughter. She even gave up her job at a big company to take care of her daughter. She was involved in her daughter’s appearance, school, hobbies and even lifestyle. She tried her best to turn her daughter into the best artwork.
Nanjing was the best in her studies, painting, piano and dance.
Compared to her mother’s excitement in the front row when Nan Jing went on the stage to receive her accolades, Nan Jing was detached and emotionless.
Instead of saying her mother loved her, her mother loved to… control her. She wanted Nanjing to pursue a ‘perfect’ life.When she was very young, Nan Jing’s mother had a dream of being an actor before she took over the family business. She dreamed of appearing on screen to showcase her best self before the door. However, her dream was shattered, and she poured her focus into her daughter. Nan Jing had no idea if her mother saw her former self in her or not. However, Nan Jing knew that even if her mother did not, she would force Nan Jing into the mould that would fit her mother’s former dream.
Forceful… that was Nan Jing’s impression of her mother. She had to do whatever she said. She had to follow her rules. She had to achieve the goals she set. That was the only way her mother would love her. She only loved Nan Jing, who was under the spotlight.
The ugly duckling that was beyond the spotlight did not deserve her mother’s love.
The extended anxiety and high pressure pushed her into a cycle of self-doubt. Her mother’s controlling nature didn’t help. She always heard her mother questioning her why she couldn’t be a little bit better. If she could do that, she’d be closer to her mother’s dream. But that was her mother’s dream… not hers.
She didn’t care about herself on the screen. She even feared it. For her, the boring numbers and cold chemicals were more interesting to her. She just wanted to be a normal person. She wanted to live a peaceful life and love someone who loved her the same way.
Being stared at by Mr. Jiang, Nan Jing’s heart shook. The former’s silence made her worry that she had offended him.
DING!
The crisp sound tingled as the two glasses clinked. Under the light, the wine shone like blood. Before Nan Jing reacted, Jiang Cheng touched their glasses together.
“Mr. Jiang…” Nan Jing was startled. After she reacted, she was flustered like a child who did something wrong even though she had no idea what. That was what she thought at that moment.
Jiang Cheng took a quick sip of the wine and sat up on the couch. His presence didn’t match the surroundings.
“I’m waiting for someone,” He said.
Due to the dim lighting, she could only see his eyes.
The noise around them was going out of control. However, looking into the man’s eyes, she had a strange thought. It was like… the noise around them had faded away. She was floating on an iceberg around the sea.
She was standing, and she was looking down at him, but it felt like she was looking up at him.
He just sat there, but he was different from the rest.
Not too long ago, he was having a lot of fun drinking with them, but the next second, he shrunk into silence. He sat alone in the corner silently. He put away his claws to wait for his next batch of prey.
“What kind of people?” She found herself asking.
However, the next second, she panicked. They had just known each other for a few days. Her question was too forward…
She saw the man place the empty wineglass on the marble table upside down. His fingers arched beautifully through the air.
“I was waiting for someone who was willing to share the glass of wine with me,” Jiang Cheng answered as he raised his eyes, “Miss Nan Jing.”