Chapter 160 Things That Hurt Men

The bathroom door opened with a soft click, and Ruan Yi stepped out into the steamy air.

She walked to the bedside, drying her still slightly damp long hair. Just as she was about to blow-dry her hair, she heard Lin Han's voice, tinged with gritted teeth, coming from behind her.

"Is there some problem with NovaVoy again? Xiaoyi, why are you always so busy and don't even have time to go shopping with me?"

"Tell me the truth, were those little men trying to stop you again? Did they all take advantage of you?"

As Lin Han spoke, she sat up straight, her eyes filled with anger, looking as if she had been utterly vengeful for having her daughter stolen.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Yi paused, her hand holding the hair dryer hovering in mid-air for a few seconds before she lowered it and sat on the edge of the bed.

"There's no problem, but something's not quite right."

"Those two surnamed Fu... have been too emotionally stable lately, unlike what I expected."

"I thought that after they were discharged from the hospital, even if they didn't fight directly, they would still cause a huge uproar. After all, I couldn't resolve their feud."

Lin Han pressed on, leaning closer and gently wiping Ruan Yi's hair. "Isn't it a good thing that your emotions have stabilized? Both Demon Orbs have turned into Spirit Orbs. Be happy about that."

“It’s a good thing…” Ruan Yi was amused by this statement, but the curve of her lips was somewhat forced.

Although NovaVoy is still being targeted and sanctioned by Anderson and unknown forces, the current situation has formed a normalized business standoff with several parties checking and balancing each other.

These perverts do seem to have calmed down a lot, but they still harass her every day in different ways.

As a result, when she went to negotiate, she would always "coincidentally" bump into a man's arms at some inexplicable corner, just like in a shoujo anime. Unfortunately, this trick no longer worked on her.

Just think about it, and you can imagine how long that person has been lurking in the corner, doing these sneaky things all day long.

Fortunately, they couldn't bother her during work, but as soon as she had a moment to herself, someone would grab her and hold her alone.

Ruan Yi, who had been escaping reality, was almost a jack-of-all-trades, and her skills had long since exceeded those of an assistant. She was gradually becoming able to handle everything with ease.

What used to give her headaches has now become easy to do in practice. She wouldn't have been able to do it so quickly if she had only studied systematically in China.

Even her boyfriend, Fu Jingchen, could only kiss and hug her during Ruan Yiyou's lunch break at the company, after receiving her permission, under the guise of "recharging."

Everything seemed to have calmed down, but Ruan Yi always felt that this was the calm before the storm.

That damn countdown popped into my head again.

The one-month deadline she promised Shen Xun should have been up long ago. She managed to get herself an extra half month by using work as an excuse, but time flew by when she got busy, and there was less than a week left.

But during this time, Shen Xun didn't utter a single word of urging or force her to make any decisions.

However… a custom-made smart countdown clock, costing a fortune, hung in the center of the villa’s hall. The huge screen was so clear it was dazzling, and she had to look at the ever-decreasing numbers every day.

The man constantly reminded her that in just a few days, she would be a wife.

Ruan Yi has been racking her brains these past few days, listing dozens of reasons to postpone the engagement, but all of them have been rejected.

She regretted agreeing in the first place, but even if she hadn't, she would have met Shen Xun...

The originally set deadline after graduation is approaching, so the engagement will take effect no matter what.

What left Ruan Yi even more helpless was the man's attitude; Shen Xun had completely blocked all her escape routes.

She even had a solution in mind for her business goals, and proactively suggested that if she wanted to stay in the US, she should directly have the Shen family's core business, which was shifting towards the US market, cooperate deeply with the Ruan family's foreign trade sector.

This arrangement aligns with Ruan Yi's goal of inheriting the family business while also allowing him to legitimately keep an eye on his wife every day.

Who would have thought that men would suddenly become so clever when it comes to getting married? She couldn't find a single flaw in this meticulously crafted plan, leaving him no room to refuse.

Ruan Yi felt like her mind was a complete mess.

Marriage and engagement are two completely different things.

Before marriage, what she did was at most... well, it's normal for a woman to be young and impetuous and unable to control her heart.

But once she gets the marriage certificate, regardless of whether her husband cares or not, if a business competitor seizes on her unilateral wrongdoing and uses it against her, the stock price will drop, and the loss will be a lot of money.

Ruan Yi dared not even imagine the reaction of these men... she dared not even think about what the days ahead would be like.

A volatile, lonely husband and a fickle, promiscuous wife—what a bizarre combination—they should never have been put together at all.

The thought of Gu Zhi, who was about to become Chen Xun's brother-in-law, gave Ruan Yi an even bigger headache. If Gu Zhi really became Chen Xun's brother-in-law, who knew what he might do next.

Ruan Yi felt increasingly aggrieved as she thought about it. Suddenly, she burst into tears and rushed over to hug Lin Han, wrapping her arms around her. Her voice was full of despair.

"What should I do, Hanhan... I'm still so young, I'm not ready to be someone's wife at all."

Lin Han was jolted by the bump, and gently patted her back, asking in a serious tone, "Why is it just one?"

The girl's face flushed instantly, and she retorted in a hushed, embarrassed voice, "The law only allows one. How many do you want?"

Laughter came from above her head. Lin Han poked her hair and said, "The problem is you don't even want to be one. Then it's simple—run away from the wedding."

"Run away from the wedding?" Ruan Yi looked up abruptly, her eyes reddening slightly, and she hesitated. "Is it really okay...?"

"Why not?" Lin Han sat up straight, her tone carrying a hint of persuasion.

"With the Nguyen family's powerful momentum after partnering with NovaVoy, even if they break ties with Chen Xun now, they have nothing to fear, right?"

"Besides, Aunt Ruan has always doted on you and will definitely support your choice. Marriage isn't a mandatory option in life, and forcing it won't lead to a good outcome."

Ruan Yi fiddled with the bed sheet, her eyebrows furrowed.

"But I'm afraid... what if something happens to Shen Xun if he gets jilted at the altar?"

As for her, Shen Xun has always been stubborn and inflexible since childhood, and she doesn't want to see her do anything impulsive.

"Is your childhood sweetheart more important, or your life?" Lin Han smiled and poked her forehead.

"Where does such a lofty sense of morality come from? No one in this world is indispensable."

Ruan Yi opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a word.

That's the logic, but looking at the group around me... it just doesn't seem to apply.

Seeing her hesitate, Lin Han reached out, cupped her small face in her hands, and gently pinched it.

"Aren't those rich kids the best examples? They're never stuck on these kinds of choices. Who says you have to make a choice right now?"

But her words of advice at this moment also harbored some selfish motives.

During this period of time, while staying with Shen Xun, she hadn't had a single night's sleep with Ruan Yi properly.

Shen Xun, that madman, would sneak over every night and take Ruan Yi away, only to return her early the next morning. Most of the time, Ruan Yi would only find out in the morning that she had been returned.

But when Ruan Yi came back, her face was always flushed, and she smelled like a man. Who knows what bad things Chen Xun had done! He's really a pervert.

It's because Lin Han really dislikes her best friend's fiancé so much that she doesn't even want to sleep next to Ruan Yi anymore.

She almost blurted it out several times, but seeing Ruan Yi busy with work during the day and worried about her marriage at night, she was even more afraid that she would be worried even if she fell asleep, so she held back and didn't mention it.

But the thought that she hadn't even had the chance to share a bed with her best friend since coming to the US made her impression of Shen Xun extremely bad.

Ruan Yi thought for a long time, then shook her head.

“But those rich kids are really awful, they hurt a lot of girls… I don’t want to become that kind of hateful person.”

"Oh my, Miss Ruan, are you saying you can't do things that hurt men?" Lin Han couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"But look at them, which one of them is innocent and pitiful, someone you tricked into bed? It's clearly you, you idiot, who's been seduced by beauty all along, and you think you're the one who should hurt them?"

After Lin Han exposed the truth, the girl blushed and the blush quickly spread to the tips of her ears.

Just like Lin Han said, how could she possibly hurt these men? If they were all pushovers... she would have turned her back on them long ago without a second thought.

Ultimately, it's more about valuing life than being soft-hearted.

Ruan Yi was afraid that if she really stood up for herself, these lunatics would cause another death and shatter her life.

After all, there have been precedents, so life is more important.

Seeing Ruan Yi's troubled and conflicted expression as she was persuaded by Lin Han, Lin Han's teasing intentions vanished instantly. She reached out and ruffled Ruan Yi's hair, her tone softening.

"Alright, alright, I'm not going to say anything more. You shouldn't let my words lead you astray. This is your own life."

She paused, then gently patted Ruan Yi's back.

“If you don’t want to get married or be anyone’s wife, then you must have other things on your mind and things you want to do.”

In short, follow your heart.

Ruan Yi didn't speak. She knew she was running away, perhaps because of everything she had witnessed, or perhaps because of her father's precedent...

She is escaping an arranged marriage, entanglements, and love.

But running away is useless; at least for now, she has no intention of marrying any man.

What exactly does she want?