Chapter 85
Chapter 85
Since Ji Ning was busy with filming, Shen Yang never found an opportunity to have a chat with her openly.
The dinner ended in the evening.
Everyone dispersed.
Ji Ning went to the bathroom, and when she came out, she saw Shen Yang leaning against the wall opposite the sink, staring at her intently.
Ji Ning acted as if nothing had happened, acting like an old classmate, polite yet a little distant: "Are you not leaving yet?"
Shen Yang said directly: "Let's chat."
"What are you talking about?"
Shen Yang held her wrist and led her into an empty box nearby.
With a click, the door was locked.
Ji Ning didn't think it was a big deal. She walked to the sofa and sat down leisurely: "You can chat."
Shen Yang walked over, but did not sit down next to her. Instead, he squatted directly in front of her, looking up with an earnest look: "You are angry."
He used declarative sentences, not giving her a chance to respond.
At this moment, the cold white light sprinkled on his face, making his skin look even whiter. His dark eyes reminded Ji Ning of the Husky in Shuiquliu's WeChat profile picture.
"I'm not angry." Ji Ning said reasonably, "If you want to talk about lying, I was the first one to start. Even if I'm angry, you should be the one who's angry."
"But you ignored me."
Shen Yang said this with a feeling of grievance.
Listening closely at this moment, Ji Ning realized that the voice was not much different from the voice he used when he told her stories at night.
But she didn't hear it at the time.
Ji Ning put his right hand in his coat pocket and clenched it gently. The box had central air conditioning and was obviously warm, but at this moment, there seemed to be a chill spreading from the soles of his feet to every part of his body.
She felt that the little bit of affection that had just begun to sprout in her heart was about to be strangled in the cradle as her true identity was revealed.
"Chen Yang." Ji Ning's eyes turned cold. "I asked you before if you wanted to seduce me, and you said no, so what are you doing now?"
"I'm not trying to flirt with you." Chen Yang's expression was unusually serious. "I'm seriously pursuing you."
"Ha." Ji Ning smiled. "Mr. Chen has pursued at least five hundred girls, if not a thousand? Is he serious every time?"
"They're not—"
Before Shen Yang could finish his words, Ji Ning stood up first.
She exhaled a breath of relief, held out her hand, and said calmly, "Chen Yang, everything that happened before is just... a play. Now that it's finished, we can leave."
Shen Yang looked down at her hand, but did not hold it as she wished.
"Don't you like me at all?"
Ji Ning said frankly: "I do like ash trees a little bit."
"He is me."
"No, you two are completely different." She said seriously, "I like that mature, hardworking, ambitious college student online. As for you, let's just be old classmates, just old classmates."
"Impossible." He said firmly.
Ji Ning frowned: "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is, between us, either I pursue you, and if I fail, then we'll be strangers." Shen Yang smiled and said in a sly way, "Or if I do, you'll be my wife."
"Neuropathy!"
Ji Ning had managed not to curse out loud in front of Shen Yang, but she couldn't help it after returning to the hotel room.
She fell heavily on the bed holding a pillow, still unable to accept the fact that "Chen Yang is Shuiquliu".
She imagined the elm tree, a poor virgin college student.
In fact, the elm is like a rotten cucumber with money.
These are simply two extremes.
“Ahhhhhhh!!!”
Ji Ning scratched her hair and took out an ice cream cone from the refrigerator. She had resisted eating this many times before in order to maintain her figure, but she couldn't resist it tonight.
The cold feeling spread from the mouth to the stomach, and seemed to extinguish some of the anger.
I was halfway through eating my cone when the doorbell rang.
Ji Ning walked to the door and glanced through the peephole a little impatiently.
It’s not Shen Yang, but Xu Anqi.
She and Xu Anqi didn't know each other at all before joining the group. Although they had some contact during this period, they were not very familiar with each other, so Ji Ning was a little puzzled about Xu Anqi coming to see her.
She opened the door and asked calmly, "What's wrong?"
Xu Anqi smiled and said, "Can I come in? I want to talk to you."
Ji Ning had a premonition of something, but still moved aside to let her in.
She pushed the door shut with her backhand and took a bite of her ice cream cone: "If you're here to lobby for Shen Yang, there's no need."
"I am indeed." Xu Anqi dragged a chair, sat backwards, and placed her hands on the back of the chair. "Chen Yang is really not what the rumors say. Those girlfriends are not real girlfriends."
Ji Ning didn't react for a moment, the ice cream cone melted, and the sticky liquid flowed down the back of her hand.
Ji Ning took a tissue from the table and wiped it while asking, "What do you mean?"
"Chen Yang has a bad heart. He can't enjoy alcohol, basketball, racing, extreme sports, and the other young masters who love to play. What about women?" Xu Anqi smiled and said secretly, "Actually, I always thought he might not be able to do it."
"Cough." Ji Ning almost choked on her saliva.
"Our so-called relationship was actually me pursuing him. I told him I wanted to be with him, and he shrugged and said whatever. I just assumed we were together, but after we got together, our relationship remained exactly the same as when we were friends." Xu Anqi laughed angrily, "One time I wanted to hold his hand, but he even dodged me. I was heartbroken for a few days, thinking he didn't like me. But then I realized they were all like this. Then I realized, not only did he not like me, he had never liked anyone before."
"they?"
"Ah, you didn't know, we have a group." Xu Anqi took out her phone and showed her the screen. "It was created when Shen Yang had an accident on New Year's Eve. Someone invited everyone to go visit him together, and it has never been disbanded since then."
There are seven people in it, and 99+ new messages.
Ji Ning glanced around and saw that the group was discussing makeup techniques enthusiastically.
“…” Ji Ning felt that her definition of “falling in love” was still too narrow.
"Anyway, I just don't want you to misunderstand him. He's really not promiscuous. It's just that due to physical reasons, he always lives every day as if it were his last, so he doesn't care about anything. He's too lazy to explain himself when paparazzi fabricate gossip about him, and he just goes along with it when others want to date him."
Ji Ning crumpled up the ice cream cone wrapper and threw it into the trash can: "You told me so much, do you want me to accept him?"
"That's not the case." Xu Anqi wrapped her arms around the back of the chair, resting her chin on her arms. "As a girl, I can't honestly ask you to accept a man who's constantly in the hospital and whose life isn't certain, can I?"
"But at the very least, I don't want you to misunderstand him, because during my darkest time, he gave me the confidence to persevere. I am really grateful to him—"
Ji Ning was quite touched by these words.
"That's a huge breakup fee."
"..." Ji Ning withdrew a brief feeling of being touched.
Ji Ning did not doubt Xu Anqi's clarification, and also believed that Shen Yang should not be a promiscuous person.
But she still didn't think she and Shen Yang were suitable for each other.
Her requirements for relationships are very extreme. One of them is that she does not accept her boyfriend having any friends of the opposite sex, because in her opinion, there is no such thing as pure friendship between men and women.
Just like his father's many colleagues outside, almost every one of them was a partner or work partner at the beginning.
Therefore, Shen Yang obviously does not meet this requirement.
But Chen Yang was really very proactive. When he said he wanted to pursue her, he really went to the film and television city every few days.
But he was sensible enough not to disturb her work. At most, he would feed her snacks like feeding a cat when she was free.
What impressed her most was that one day he brought her a black truffle chocolate cake that she was craving.
The black truffle chocolate cake in that restaurant needs to be booked a long time in advance and is very expensive. I don’t know how Shen Yang bought it. She only mentioned it once when she was chatting with Shuiquliu before, but she didn’t expect that he would remember it.
But since Ji Ning was not prepared to accept him, she naturally could not accept his gift, so with bleeding heart, she gave the cake to the staff and did not eat a single bite herself.
Shen Yang stood by and watched her actions silently without saying a word. There was no disappointment on his face, as if he had been mentally prepared for it.
Ji Ning thought the matter was over, but she didn't expect that when she returned to the hotel that night and opened the refrigerator, she found a whole black truffle chocolate cake inside, probably put there by the cleaning staff.
The sticky note on the box read: [Eat this secretly, and tell me tomorrow that you're throwing it away.]
Ji Ning laughed in anger.
What a smart guy.
But after a whole day of filming, her mind was not clear. Ji Ning lay on the bed, thinking about the cake. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that what he said made sense.
So in the middle of the night, she finally couldn't resist the temptation of delicious food and got up and ate two pieces.
So much so that the next morning, when the doorbell rang, Ji Ning instinctively glanced at the refrigerator guiltily before walking over to open the door.
But the person outside the door was not Shen Yang.
But it was someone who was completely beyond her expectations - her father, Ji Hong.
"Dad." Ji Ning called out indifferently, "Why are you here?"
Ji Ning was about to leave for the set. She was dressed casually in a white sportswear, which looked very shabby to Ji Hong.
He glanced at her, walked into the room, and instead of answering her question, he asked directly: "I heard that the eldest young master of the Shen family is pursuing you?"
A playboy like Shen Yang, who was surrounded by gossips, was always the focus of paparazzi, so it was normal for someone in the circle to know about it. However, she did not expect that the news would reach the ears of Ji Hong, who never paid attention to entertainment news.
She shrugged. "I guess so."
Ji Hong's face was serious. He took out a cigarette box from his pocket, but before he opened it, Ji Ning reminded him coldly: "You can't smoke in my room."
Under normal circumstances, even if Ji Hong didn't forcefully light up the cigarette, he would still go outside to smoke before coming back. But today, he seemed unusually cooperative. Even though Ji Ning told him not to smoke, he actually put the cigarette box away.
When something is abnormal, there must be something wrong.
Ji Ning sat down at the end of the bed and was about to speak when she heard him ask, "So what do you think?"
"No." Ji Ning said without hesitation, "We are not suitable."
"How do you know it's not suitable if you haven't been together before? Dad thinks Shen Yang is pretty good, it's also good for you to give him a try."
Ji Ning's delicate eyebrows frowned, and her first reaction was, could it be that Shen Yang had contacted her family privately?
But thinking about it, it seemed unlikely. Chen Yang was quite sensible when pursuing people. Logically, he wouldn't be so stupid as to bypass her and contact her family when he knew she didn't like him.
Then there is only one possibility left.
"Dad, you want to use me to get into the Shen family, right?"
"How can this be called climbing?" Ji Hong leaned back on the sofa, tapping the armrest with his right index finger. Both his posture and words were full of force. "Dad is doing this for your own good. If you miss out on Chen Yang, where can you find another man with such good conditions?"
"Good conditions? With all these gossips, you call it good conditions?"
"It's inevitable for men to have some casual affairs outside. Is this a big deal?"
"That's right." Ji Ning chuckled, "On this point, you two do have a common understanding."
"Ji Ning! I'm talking to you nicely!" Ji Hong shouted.
The two of them had never been able to get along. Ji Ning was also angered by his attitude. She straightened her back and said, "I'm talking nicely too. I just can't be with him!"
"He has both family background and good looks. What on earth is it about him that you dislike?"
Ji Ning was extremely angry and blurted out: "With that sickly guy of his, you want me to marry him and become a widow?"
The moment the words fell, Ji Hong was not the only one who fell silent.
Ji Ning clenched her right hand tightly, her knuckles turned white, and her fingers felt numb.
What she said was totally wrong.
She didn't want to curse Chen Yang. She had clearly said that he would live a long life.
Even if the two of them are not destined to be together, she still hopes that he can live a long life.
She cursed several times in her heart and didn't even notice that Ji Hong stood up.
"With your personality, it's good enough that someone wants it. You are so picky. Let's see what you will pick in the end!" Ji Hong stretched out his index finger, pointed at her head and cursed.
But Ji Ning had heard this kind of talk too many times, and it didn't make her emotions fluctuate at all. She stood up and said indifferently, "Take care."
Ji Hong punched the cotton and opened the door angrily.
With a "bang", he kicked something away and hit the wall.
His figure quickly disappeared at the door.
Ji Ning's mind was buzzing, and it took her a while to realize that there was something at the door.
She suddenly stood up and ran to the corridor. She saw a black velvet box fell to the ground and the Doraemon wooden sculpture inside was thrown out and lay face down.
A chill ran through her heart, and Ji Ning gripped the door handle tightly. Her legs felt like they were filled with lead, unable to move.
After a long time, she slowly walked over and picked it up.
Doraemon lowered his lips, looking aggrieved, with a little dust on his head, making him look particularly pitiful.
In the few days that followed, Shen Yang didn't come to the film and television city again.
Only then did Ji Ning confirm that he must have heard what she and Ji Hong said.
Those words are really hurtful.
Now, she should be able to get rid of him completely, right?
I should feel relaxed, but why do I always feel uncomfortable?
Ji Ning thought about it and felt that her method was wrong. She had imagined that she and Chen Yang should part ways amicably. Even if she refused, she should have a more tactful reason instead of pointing at the pain point that people least wanted to mention.
Should I apologize? Ji Ning's thoughts were in a mess.
She knew every word on the script, but at this moment none of it entered her mind.
As the saying goes, a good night’s sleep can relieve a thousand worries. She threw the script aside and prepared to take advantage of this rare day off to catch up on some sleep.
There was a beep at the door.
Besides her, only her assistant Ning Ning had the room card, so she didn't even open her eyes and asked casually, "What's wrong?"
"Sister Ning..." Ningning hesitated to speak.
Ji Ning opened her eyes and glanced at her: "Just tell me if you have something to say."
“I just heard Xu Anqi’s assistant tell me something about Mr. Shen. Do you want to listen?”
Ji Ning's heart skipped a beat, and she closed her eyes nonchalantly: "Don't tell me you're in love again."
"No." Ning Ning ran to the bedside and squatted down, her expression unusually serious. "I heard that he was admitted to the hospital."
"What?" Ji Ning sat up suddenly, her throat tight, and it took her a long time to find her voice. "Is it serious?"
“I don’t know either, but I just saw Xu Anqi’s eyes were red and she hurriedly got into the car. Her assistant said she was going to the hospital to see Mr. Shen.”
Ji Ning clutched the quilt tightly.
Judging from Xu Anqi's behavior, it doesn't seem like a trivial matter.
Thinking of what she had said in front of her father before, Ji Ning felt even more guilty.
She took her phone from the bedside table and sent a message to Shuiquliu: [Are you okay?]
There were many messages on the phone screen, but they were all one-sided courtesy from Shuiquliu, which lasted until the day he heard her talking to her father.
After knowing each other's true identities, Ji Ning sent him a message for the first time, but for someone who usually replied within seconds, this time it was almost five minutes and there was still no reply.
Ji Ning's fingertips trembled slightly, and after a few seconds, she made a decision in her heart.
While changing her clothes, she instructed Ning Ning: "Please ask Xu Anqi's assistant which hospital Shen Yang is in."
"Okay." Ning Ning lowered her head and fiddled with her phone, quickly transferring the address to Ji Ning's phone.
Fortunately, the film and television city is located in the suburbs of Fuchuan, and it only takes more than an hour to drive to the hospital.
The car drove into the hospital's underground parking lot. Ji Ning, wearing a baseball cap and a mask, hurried into the elevator.
All the way to the top floor.
There was no one on the hospital bed. Xu Anqi and her assistant were still sitting on the sofa in the living room. Just as Ningning said, Xu Anqi's eyes were red and she was holding a ball of tissue in her hand, looking like she had just cried.
Seeing Ji Ning, Xu Anqi was stunned and asked, "Why are you here?"
Ji Ning didn't answer but asked, "Where's Chen Yang?"
"He—" Xu Anqi choked out a sob, "He just left."
There was a sound of thunder overhead.
Ji Ning's legs suddenly went weak, and she managed to stand by supporting herself with the back of the chair next to her with her right hand.
Ji Ning's eyes were sore and her vision gradually became blurred. Tears were completely out of her control and dripped down her cheeks.
She couldn't see Xu Anqi's expression, but she could feel her doubt from her voice.
"He just went out to eat, why are you crying?"
The sudden change from sadness to joy made Ji Ning a little overwhelmed. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and asked speechlessly, "He's not... He's alive and well, why are you crying?"
"I lost a friend, shouldn't I cry?" Xu Anqi choked up again. "He actually said he wouldn't contact us anymore and even deleted all our contact information. I couldn't understand why I came here to ask him."
Ji Ning felt a little complicated for a moment. Was this also because of what she said?
Xu Anqi glanced at her and said with a sense of relief, "But now that I see you, I understand. It's not incomprehensible. I don't like my boyfriend having a friend of the opposite sex, and she's his ex-girlfriend in name only. I wish you happiness."
"Thank you..." Ji Ning blurted out the words and stopped abruptly.
No, they are not together, why should she thank me?
Furious and embarrassed, Ji Ning left without waiting for Shen Yang to come back.
Pressing the down button of the elevator, Ji Ning lowered her head to confirm the message sent by Ning Ning. Only after hearing a "ding" sound did she put away her phone and look at the slowly opening elevator door.
But unexpectedly, she met Shen Yang's eyes in the elevator.
Shen Yang frowned and stared at her red eyes: "Crying?"
"No." Ji Ning walked into the elevator and asked coldly, "Aren't you going out?"
Shen Yang didn't answer but asked, "Come to see me?"
Ji Ning choked: "No, I came to see my uncle, he also lives here."
"Which ward is your uncle in?"
Ji Ning remembered that he was in Ward 8, so she made up a number farther away from him: "Ward 2."
"Number two." Shen Yang nodded thoughtfully, "I remember that the person living in number two was a young man in his twenties. Your uncle is quite young, isn't he?"
"..." Ji Ning forgot that with Shen Yang's social personality, even if he only stayed here for one day, he would be able to get to know everyone in each ward.
She ignored the fact that he was still there and silently pressed the elevator button for the basement floor.
The elevator began to descend. Shen Yang pressed her shoulders and turned her body sideways with a little force. He pulled down the mask on her face with his right hand. He leaned over and cast a blunt gaze on her face: "Why did you come to see me?"
"I..." Ji Ning hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to have a calm chat with him. "Let's talk in the car."
The underground parking lot was extremely dark and a little eerie, but the dim light inside the car exuded a sense of warmth, which inexplicably calmed Ji Ning's heart.
Ji Ning sat in the driver's seat, her right thumb unconsciously stroking the phone screen: "Did you hear my conversation with my dad that day?"
Shen Yang did not deny it and uttered a low "hmm".
Ji Ning let out a long sigh and looked at him sideways: "Chen Yang, I didn't mean to curse you. I was just provoked by my father at that time, so..."
"I know."
"Even if I don't think we're suitable, I still hope you live a long life."
Shen Yang leaned his head against the back of the chair, smiling leisurely and contentedly, and said the same thing: "I know."
"and you……"
"This is just a routine checkup." Shen Yang's voice was a little low, his eyes were extremely serious, "But I've thought about it carefully. Given my physical condition, it would be too selfish to insist that you be with me. So let's be friends first. When I'm sure I can stay with you for a long time, I'll pursue you. Okay?"
friend?
There is no pure friendship between men and women.
Ji Ning thought so and nodded.
The last chapter tomorrow~
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