The Favored Heiress
Chapter 444: Why the Secrecy?

Chapter 444: Chapter 444: Why the Secrecy?

Qiu Huan looked at Gu Jin, raising his eyebrows slightly, "What do you mean by ’again’ suffered a stimuli?"

Is there insider information?

At this moment, Gu Jin retracted his gaze from Jing Ruian and looked down, fiddling with his cigarette case, "I heard from his brother before that it seemed a few years ago he was kidnapped and suffered some sort of stimuli.

After returning, he underwent psychological rehabilitation therapy for a long time, but still developed bipolar disorder and periodically fell ill.

His brother said that he had gotten much better and hadn’t taken medication for nearly a year. But if you look at his eyes, they don’t seem to be reddened from drinking."

The fact that Jing Ruian was ill had originally been well-concealed by the Jing Family.

But Gu Jin and his elder brother were good friends, and during casual conversations, this topic had been brought up.

At this time, Qiu Huan’s expression changed, worried that Jing Ruian might harm Li Qiao during a bipolar episode, when suddenly Jing Ruian’s roar could be heard from the direction of the buffet, "Why do you have to be with him?

I’ve liked you for so many years, treated you like a treasure, as a goddess, why do you have to be with someone else?

Do you think if he knew about your ordeal at the border, he would still want you?"

A patient experiencing a bipolar episode completely lacks reason.

He seemed to have fallen into his own mental world, and his accusations toward Li Qiao were easily prone to speculation.

The banquet hall was already filled with many people who had stopped to watch due to Jing Ruian’s shouting.

Regardless of the truth, whispers and discussions had already started among some.

The elderly Jing couple received the news and rushed over in a hurry.

Shang Yu and Qiu Huan both stood up at the same time, including Liuyun and others who quickly made their way near the buffet.

Under these circumstances, Li Qiao once again became the center of attention, but it was clearly not for any good reason.

She arched an eyebrow at Jing Ruian, dropped the tongs and plate in her hands, and twirled her fingertips, "So, what does any of this have to do with you?"

Li Qiao never believed she had given Jing Ruian any sort of ambiguous hope.

The Jing parents had already run over without regard for their image.

They each supported Jing Ruian by the arms, looking at Li Qiao with questioning eyes, "Qiaoqiao, what did you say to him, how did he suddenly fall ill?"

"Fall ill?" Li Qiao narrowed her eyes at Jing Ruian, whose eyes were bloodshot, and glanced at his clenched fists, "What illness?"

As the head of the family, Jing Hengsheng naturally wouldn’t discuss his son’s illness in public.

But his gaze toward Li Qiao was filled with dissatisfaction already.

At this moment, Shang Yu strode forcefully to Li Qiao’s side, hooked her waist and pulled her into his embrace, then turned his head with a sharp and menacing gaze, "Did the head of the Jing Family deliberately bring his sick son to make a scene?"

Under the dark and cold expression of the man, Jing Hengsheng was immediately startled, "This... it might be a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."

He almost forgot that now Li Qiao had Shang Shaoyan backing her, and his Jing Family did not possess the strength to confront him.

Due to Jing Ruian’s sudden outburst, the onlookers had already gathered and were pointing fingers at Li Qiao.

While Shang Shaoyan’s identity could indeed deter the crowd, the seemingly unclear relationship between Li Qiao and Jing Ruian couldn’t stop the murmuring of the crowd.

At this moment, Qiu Huan stood beside Li Qiao and whispered a few words to her.

"Bipolar disorder?" Li Qiao, upon hearing his explanation, looked at Jing Ruian with an indifferent gaze, her eyes lingering on him for a moment, "So the second young master Jing has bipolar disorder..."

The Jing couple’s expressions changed slightly, and Jing Ruian’s eyes grew increasingly red, giving the impression of unclear symptoms.

Li Qiao squinted her eyes and assessed the situation for a moment before speaking in an indifferent tone, "The typical symptoms of manic depressive episodes include an increased heart rate, dilated pupils, increased body movements, and an inability to control one’s actions and thoughts.

Second Young Master Jing, next time you have an episode, please remember not to restrain yourself or be polite. It might be more convincing if you just take a swing at me instead."

As Li Qiao’s light and indifferent voice drifted out, everyone’s gaze converged on Jing Ruian.

For some reason, her words carried a convincing decisiveness.

Perhaps it was too unexpected, so Jing Ruian’s pupils contracted in surprise, showing none of the typical signs like dilated pupils.

Especially since his fists were clenched and held rigidly by his sides, wasn’t this precisely the restraint that Li Qiao was talking about?

Manic depression, as the name suggests, leads to agitated, irrational behavior, but he... didn’t display any.

At that moment, Jing Hengsheng’s complexion had turned ashen, and he gripped Jing Ruian’s arm tightly, trying to take him away.

No matter whether Li Qiao was telling the truth or not, the Jing Family’s reputation had already been thoroughly tarnished today.

However, just as they turned to leave, Liuyun and the others behind them raised their arms, blocking their path.

Li Qiao’s slender figure leaned casually against Shang Yu’s shoulder, her posture somewhat nonchalant.

She was cleaning her fingers with a tissue and, with a lazy flick of her eyelids, looked at Jing Ruian, "Don’t be in such a hurry to leave. You’ve splashed me with dirty water for no good reason, Second Young Master Jing. Don’t you plan to explain yourself?"

The man looked down at Li Qiao in his arms. Even facing the pointing fingers all around, she remained composed, leaning on him with complete trust.

His lips curled slightly, and his dark and cold eyes seemed to sweep across the room emotionlessly, but the sharp and intimidating aura within silenced the whispering crowd instinctively.

Jing Ruian was indeed sick, but as Li Qiao had said, he was simply full of unexpressed resentment and unable to accept that she had become someone else’s girlfriend.

After all, he had harbored affection for her for so long and heard that the Li Family had intended to arrange a marriage for Li Qiao. He always felt that he had the best chance.

Now, all his hopes evaporated before his eyes, leading to this farce of feigned insanity.

Of course, this act also hid certain dark aspects of his psyche that he wished to keep secret.

Jing Ruian, his head cloudy with alcohol, looked at Li Qiao with bloodshot eyes, "Dirty water? Didn’t you at the border..."

His tone dragged off; he didn’t continue, but the threatening implication was clear.

Li Qiao finished wiping her fingers and nonchalantly crumpled the tissue into a ball, tossing it aside where it arced into a trash can, "If I had known that the Second Young Master Jing would repay my kindness with spite, I wouldn’t have saved you back then.

Say whatever you want to say; why be so secretive? It might also be good to let everyone hear about what happened to me at the border."

She had never been afraid of people finding out about the things she dared to do at the border.

At that moment, Jing Ruian’s lips twitched, but he couldn’t utter a single word.

That’s right, she had saved him; she was the person he had idolized as a goddess.

He had repeatedly interrogated Li Qiao until she reluctantly admitted to having saved him.

Back then, Jing Ruian realized that she seemed unwilling to let others know about her past at the border.

But now, with her casually inviting him to reveal it, he didn’t dare.

Jing Hengsheng’s face had turned deathly pale; the situation was completely out of control.

Especially with the expression on Shang Shaoyan’s face, full of intriguing implications; Jing Hengsheng didn’t dare to think too deeply about what it represented.

Jing Hengsheng flung Jing Ruian’s arm away. Even though this son had once been carefully groomed by him, he couldn’t let him destroy the Jing Family’s foundation.

So Jing Hengsheng delivered a fierce slap across Jing Ruian’s face in front of everyone, shouting angrily, "Shut your mouth! Don’t you think you’ve embarrassed us enough?"