At 7 p.m., An Sze was the last to arrive at the garden.

Everyone was gathered around the dining table, where the food was steaming. When they saw him arrive late, still in his pajamas and looking disheveled as if he had just woken up, they all frowned in unison.

Xu Yiran secretly took out her phone to take a picture of him.

Li Jingchen's brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly, his face betraying his disgust. "Take your bowl and eat in the living room."

Are you even human?

He plopped down next to Lin Xuan, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating like a starving ghost reincarnated.

Song Nuan was stunned.

Xu Yiran nudged Song Nuan's arm. "Is he like this all the time?"

Before Song Nuan could answer, An Sze interrupted, "I'm not usually like this. I haven't eaten all day and I'm so hungry I don't even have the strength to change my clothes. Please understand."

"Crazy," Li Jingchen cursed inwardly.

An Sze didn't even look up. "Don't think I don't know you're secretly cursing me."

"Good to know."

Xu Yiran couldn't help but burst out laughing. After laughing, she remembered the identities of these two important figures, and quickly pursed her lips, wishing she could glue her mouth shut with super glue.

She bowed her head and sincerely apologized: "I'm sorry."

An Sze waved his hand generously, indicating his forgiveness, "It's nothing. Don't be too nervous when you're with me. I'm not like that iceberg. I'm easy to get along with."

Xu Yiran forced an awkward smile.

Actually, she still preferred Ouyang Zhoujing; he was gentle and kind, and truly approachable.

Noticing her unease, Song Nuan teased An Sze, "When you were chasing after your darling last night, you weren't like this at all."

"What treasure?"

"That woman from last night, isn't she your girlfriend?"

An Sze tilted his head, his almond-shaped eyes wide open, looking rather innocent at the moment. "What girlfriend?"

Song Nuan was stunned by his question.

Li Jingchen scoffed from the side, "Just a bed partner."

"..." Song Nuan was speechless, rolled her eyes, and was a little angry, "Then why were you in such a hurry last night, and even explained our relationship to her?"

She actually thought An Sze-tse had found true love and that the playboy was ready to come ashore.

It turns out she was overthinking it.

An Sze chuckled, "Bed partners also need a certain atmosphere. A cold, impersonal relationship is a terrible experience. Even though it's just a one-time thing, we still need to take it seriously."

Everyone: "..."

The cleaning was left to Lin Xuan and An Sze, and Fang Yu was in a hurry to go back to handle her work, so Xu Yiran went back with her first.

Feeling uncomfortable with other people at home, Song Nuan decided to take Li Jingchen downstairs for a walk.

The night was endless.

The night sky over Liangcheng was a hazy gray, with no stars in sight, and even the moonlight seemed dimmer than in Yunxian.

For some reason, Song Nuan inexplicably recalled that night when she and Ouyang Zhoujing were trapped on the mountain. It was raining heavily, accompanied by several claps of thunder, which fell in the forest, crackling and popping, very close at hand.

The night sky was very bright that night.

The sky was full of stars, and the moonlight was bright, but the wind and rain were unbearably cold.

If the man beside me at that time had been Li Jingchen instead of Ouyang Zhoujing, perhaps a little romance could have been created.

"What are you thinking about?"

Song Nuan pulled herself out of her thoughts and smiled faintly, "Fang Yu is managing Song's Group very well now. I plan to make her the CEO in two years. What do you think?"

She trusted Li Jingchen's judgment of people.

After all, the Li family and the Song family are not companies of the same scale. The Li family's development to this point is not only due to its own ability, but also to the ability of its employees.

At this moment, the ability of those in power to select people becomes very important.

"Pretty good." Li Jingchen said honestly, "His abilities are acceptable, but he's still not quite there yet to be a CEO."

Song Nuan responded with an "oh".

Li Jingchen smiled and said, "If you have this plan, you can have her work with Lin Xuan at Li's for a while. I will personally train her to be a perfect CEO."

Is there a fee?

"I'll accept it, but only if you pledge yourself to me."

Song Nuan stuck out her tongue. This man was getting more and more skilled at sweet talk. "Without Song Zhiren and Song Ningxue causing trouble, the Song family could have developed steadily."

“I don’t want to get involved in too many things. I’m tired of living in Liangcheng and want to live somewhere else.”

Li Jingchen understood the unspoken meaning in her words.

She didn't want to stay in Liangcheng.

But he was in Liangcheng, and the Li family and the Li family were also in Liangcheng.

He pursed his lips slightly, his mouth turned down, and controlled his emotions very well, without revealing them at all.

"Why do you suddenly want to leave Liangcheng?"

Song Nuan smiled and said, "It wasn't sudden. In the past few years of fighting with the Qin and Song families, I've had this thought countless times, but reality didn't allow it."

"If I ever reveal even the slightest desire to live a secluded life, I will be devoured until only bones remain."

"But things are different now."

Li Jingchen stared at her. She looked up at the sky, her eyes sparkling as if she had captured the entire sky within them.

"Now I can actively distance myself from all of this. I'm no longer forced to participate in all sorts of backstabbing and intrigue. I don't want to step into the quagmire of fame and fortune anymore."

Is it just a world of fame and fortune?

Li Jingchen really wanted to ask her whether she was referring to the world of fame and fortune, or the Li family behind him.

But the question stuck in his throat; he couldn't bring himself to ask it, he lacked the courage, and he was afraid to hear her answer.

His voice was a little hoarse, "Song Nuan, are you serious about what you're saying?"

"Of course."

When do you plan to leave?

"It's still cold now, let's wait until it gets warmer." She tilted her head and smiled at him, "It will warm up in April or May, around that time."

April or May?

It is January now.

Li Jingchen clenched his fists, feeling as if something was growing wildly inside his heart.

"good."

He simply said "okay," a light and casual remark. Song Nuan didn't know what he meant, and he didn't offer any further explanation.

But it doesn't matter.

An Sze-tse's words during dinner tonight gave Song Nuanxin some inspiration.

Her relationship with Li Jingchen was originally a one-night stand that developed into something else. It was because she was attracted to his warmth and his power that she stayed with him until now. Many things had already reminded them that they were not suitable for each other.

She believed that Li Jingchen's love for her was genuine, but she couldn't deceive herself into thinking that she didn't care about him accompanying Zhong Qingya to try on wedding dresses.

Pretending not to care won't truly erase the scars.

Li Jingchen loves her, but he is also forced by certain pressures to try on wedding dresses with Zhong Qingya.

Although the wedding is still more than half a month away, they've already tried on wedding dresses. How far are they from taking the next step? If they back down once, they'll back down a second time, and then another nth time.

She retreated until there was nowhere left to retreat, until she married Zhong Qingya and gave birth to the next heir of the Li family.

Is she really going to become a mistress?

The nonsense that "only the unloved are the mistresses" won't comfort Song Nuan in the slightest. What's the use of love? The essence of relationships is mutual benefit.

What's the point of loving someone who has a shameful identity?

She chose April or May not because she wanted to wait for the weather to warm up, but to give their relationship a timeframe.