When Rongrong heard the words "I like you" for the first time, she was slightly stunned. After regaining her senses, she looked at him coldly and said, "Let me go first."

Ji Mingjing's muscular body pressed against her: "I won't let go."

He had been looking for her for a long time.

How could I bear to let her go?

However, as soon as Ji Mingjing finished speaking, Rongrong moved and nudged him with her elbow. Ji Mingjing quickly dodged, but his large hand still held her wrist. Rongrong's eyes darkened, and she kicked him.

Ji Mingjing had no choice but to withdraw his hand to cover her slender, long legs: "Don't you want any happiness for the rest of your life?"

Rongrong's eyes flickered, and she sneered, "You're not the only man in this world!"

After saying that, she suddenly spun around and kicked him with her other foot.

This time, Ji Mingjing did not dodge.

Rongrong kicked him in the handsome face.

The moment she was kicked, Rongrong froze. After recovering, she knelt on the bed, reached out her other hand to touch his swollen cheek, and said in a cold tone with a hint of annoyance, "Why didn't you dodge?"

"sorry!"

Taking advantage of the situation, Ji Mingjing firmly grasped her hand and apologized, "I shouldn't have misunderstood you when you appeared in my bedroom."

Upon hearing this, Rongrong recalled his arrogant attitude when he misunderstood her for deliberately climbing into his bed and called her shameless. The annoyance in her eyes instantly vanished.

"let go!"

Rongrong tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't. She glared at him.

Ji Mingjing gazed at the person before him with deep affection through his long, narrow eyes, and spoke in a low, husky voice, "Rongrong, please forgive me."

The more cold and ruthless his words were back then, the more humble he is tonight.

Rongrong didn't speak, her gaze fixed on his tightly clenched hands.

Ji Mingjing followed her gaze down to the back of his hand, and slowly released her hand.

Rongrong withdrew her hand and got out of bed.

"You say I'm free, does that mean I can leave anytime?"

She dissolved her engagement with Ji Xianli, thus severing all ties with the Ji family. From now on, whatever she does will not involve the Ji family or him.

No! Ji Mingjing desperately wanted to stop her from leaving, but this was her dream. The moment he entered, he had already lost. No, the moment he fell in love with her, he had already lost.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked, taking a step back in resignation.

Without hesitation, Rongrong replied, "The Imperial City."

Ji Mingjing was slightly taken aback.

He thought she was going abroad.

"Now that I just want to go to the Imperial City," Ji Mingjing said without further ado, "I'll go with you."

Rongrong frowned, but she knew this was his biggest concession, so she made a three-point agreement with him: "You can't interfere in my affairs."

Ji Mingjing secretly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, saying, "I'll do whatever you say."

However, Rongrong did not believe him.

If he had truly listened to her, he wouldn't have gone to Changteng City to forcibly abduct her back to the Ji family.

However, he is the head of the Ji family, and his power is the greatest in the entire south. His methods towards her have been quite lenient, which she can understand, but she just cannot accept.

???

Imperial City, Gu Residence.

After ending the call, Gu Yunzhen did not leave the study, but instead went online to search for the Rong family massacre case in Xizhou City.

Unfortunately, no information about the Rong family can be found online.

Gu Yunzhen frowned deeply and then called Gu Twelve.

The call connected, and he ordered in a deep voice, "Twelve, immediately investigate the mastermind behind the massacre of the Rong family in Xizhou City. Two of the assassins are still at large. Find them as soon as possible!"

Gu Shier, on the other end of the phone, was mostly awake.

"The Rong family massacre in Xizhou City? Fourth Young Master, didn't that happen twenty years ago? Why are you investigating this?"

Gu Yunzhen countered, "You know?"

Gu Shier replied over the phone, "The Rong family is a very prestigious family in Xizhou City. Back then, not only was the Rong family wiped out, but three other families were also wiped out. It caused a sensation throughout the country at the time, so I secretly investigated."

Gu Shier was an intelligence officer, so he had a basic understanding of the major families in various regions of the country.

"The four families that were wiped out were all Dream Weaver families. They were very low-key, and most people didn't even know they were Dream Weavers. Even now, not many people know what a Dream Weaver really is."

The mastermind behind the massacre of the entire family by hiring a hundred assassins, Fourth Young Master, was a count in the Fatroya Empire, but he died last year.

After Gu Shier finished speaking, he covered his phone and yawned, thinking that it was one o'clock in the morning, and the Fourth Young Master should be fine, right?

Gu Yunzhen's eyes darkened; he hadn't expected the person to be dead.

"Investigate another person."

Gu Shier hurriedly asked, "Who does Fourth Young Master want to investigate?"

Gu Yunzhen lowered her brows and uttered a name: "Xia Zilu".

Xia Zilu? Gu Shier muttered, "This name seems a bit familiar."

Suddenly, his eyes widened: "Fourth Young Master, she seems to be Madam's classmate and close friend. Are you sure you want to investigate her?"

Gu Yunzhen's tone suddenly sharpened: "Just investigate when I tell you to. Why all the nonsense?"

Gu Shier immediately assured him, "I'm sorry, Fourth Young Master, I will investigate Xia Zilu immediately and make sure I find out everything about her ancestors!"

Gu Yunzhen snorted coldly: "Send people to monitor her 24 hours a day!"

As for Yu Hao and Quan Tianrui, both of them are in the Imperial City. From this moment on, no matter what they want to do, they will definitely fail!

"Yes, Fourth Young Master."

Gu Shier thought to himself, "Oh no! Xia Zilu is finished!"

After the call ended, Gu Yunzhen put down his phone, rubbed his temples, and after a moment, got up and left the study.

Back in the bedroom, he lay down next to Shangguan Wu and gently pulled her into his arms.

Gu Yunzhen gazed tenderly at her small face. "Don't worry, my wife, I won't let anyone with ulterior motives have the chance to hurt you!"

The next morning, there was no snow, but the north wind was howling and it was still very cold.

Shangguan Wu woke up early, and the family sat down together for breakfast.

The housekeepers started a thorough cleaning.

Shangguan Wu and her mother-in-law, Ji Moyan, directed the men in the family to hang red lanterns and paste Spring Festival couplets.

Gu Xiaobao, the little man of the family, was having a great time.

After hanging up the big red lanterns, Gu Chenye suddenly spoke up: "Mom, I've invited a friend over tonight. You don't mind, do you?"

Ji Moyan turned to look at him in surprise: "If my friend is a woman, I'll personally cook desserts to welcome her."

Gu Chenye raised an eyebrow: "Oh, then you can cook."

Upon hearing this, Ji Moyan, Gu Qingyu, Gu Yilou, and Gu Chenge all stared at him in shock.

Shangguan Wu and Gu Yunzhen knew that the person he had invited was Yan Yirou, so they remained calm.

Gu Chenye felt somewhat uncomfortable being stared at by them.

He was about to pick up his coat, which was lying on the sofa, and leave when Ji Moyan suddenly grabbed his arm.

Ji Moyan asked with a smile, "My dear son, tonight is New Year's Eve, the most important day of the year, you know? You invited a woman to our house, does that mean you're interested in her? When are you planning to get married?"

Gu Chenye was dumbfounded. How could he possibly be interested in Yan Yirou!