Chapter 32 Loving You
Jiang Yining turned her head to look at him. Eight years of tempering had shed the last trace of youthful immaturity, sculpting a more profound and cold profile.
Beneath that calm and reserved aura, she could sense the words that had been building up deep within him for eight years, words he didn't know how to begin. The quiet of the carriage gave her the courage to ask the question that had been swirling in her mind, a question that filled her with both anticipation and trepidation:
"Ayan..." Her voice was soft, with a barely perceptible probing, "Have you had a girlfriend all these years? Or are you already married?"
The hand gripping the steering wheel, with its distinct knuckles, paused almost imperceptibly. Xie Shiyan turned his head, his deep gaze falling on her cautious face.
His gaze was so complex it was hard to describe; it contained helplessness, heartache, and the joy of regaining what he had lost. In the end, it all turned into a bittersweet smile on his lips.
He freed one hand and gently covered the back of her hand, which was resting on her lap, his palm warm and firm.
"What are you thinking in that little head of yours?" His voice was deep and husky, like the lingering notes of a cello, each word striking Jiang Yining's heart clearly. "My girlfriend, my fiancée, has always been only you."
He paused, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, and his voice softened.
"It was true before, it is true now, and it will always be true in the future. No matter how much time passes, there will only be one person by my side, Jiang Yining."
There are no flowery words, no exaggerated declarations. Only this simplest, most straightforward, yet most weighty promise.
The sweet moment instantly dispelled all of Jiang Yining's anxiety and unease. Joy exploded in her chest like fireworks, illuminating her eyes and blushing her cheeks.
She couldn't hold back any longer. The corners of her mouth turned up high, her eyebrows curved into the sweetest crescent moons, and her smile was as bright as the sunshine that suddenly burst forth, instantly dispelling all the remaining gloom in the carriage.
"Really?" Her voice was full of joy, almost overflowing.
Looking at her pure and untroubled smile, Xie Shiyan chuckled softly, his chest vibrating slightly. His laughter carried a lightness and joy he hadn't felt in eight years, and even his usually stern features softened unexpectedly.
"You're this happy just to hear I'm not alone?" he asked rhetorically, his tone filled with undisguised doting. If any of his company's senior executives were to witness this scene, they would probably suspect they were experiencing collective hallucinations.
"Mmm," Jiang Yining nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him, making no attempt to hide her feelings, "Happy, extremely happy."
She reached out and took his large hand, which was resting on the back of hers, their fingers intertwined tightly. The warmth of their palms touching was more powerful than any words.
The neon lights outside the window continued to flash, and the traffic flowed smoothly. The Maybach drove steadily on the road to the hotel.
Inside the carriage, the fresh scent of lemon lingered subtly. With his beloved, whom he had lost and found again, by his side, he rekindled the promise made after eight years of separation by death—"Forever only you."
Xie Shiyan drove to the hotel parking lot, parked the car, and quickly ran to the passenger side to open the door, gently helping Jiang Yining out. Jiang Yining led Xie Shiyan into the hotel lobby.
An Kexia had previously asked her driver to wait for her at the hotel. She said goodbye to everyone and then left. Jiang Yining led everyone to take the elevator. The elevator ascended smoothly, and the numbers jumped.
Jiang Yining could feel the slight dampness and burning heat from Xie Shiyan's palm, as if she were holding a branding iron, making her heart tremble.
She looked up at his taut profile, the intense emotions surging in his deep eyes almost overflowing.
"Ding, seventh floor." The elevator doors opened. Just a few steps out, the door to the suite next door was flung open. Jiang's mother appeared in the doorway, her voice urgent and hurried. Before she was even fully out, her familiar yet slightly exasperated voice boomed out:
"You silly girl. You actually know how to come back? We agreed to go for a walk, and look what happened? I can't find you anywhere. Why didn't I leave you lost in that club until dawn? You call yourself a college student? You can't even find your own home, huh? I think you're..."
Jiang Mu's rapid-fire speech came to an abrupt halt. She had clearly seen the scene unfolding in the corridor.
Jiang Yining, the daughter, stood there quietly, her face slightly flushed, looking a little embarrassed at being caught red-handed. But what made her freeze instantly was Xie Shiyan, the tall, imposing man beside her, whose cold yet undeniably weary face.
And behind them were Xiao Xiao, Lu Jingshen, Shen Nian'an, Zhou Yanzhe... several faces that were familiar to the core, yet made all the more breathtaking by this sudden reunion.
The air seemed to freeze for a fraction of a second. The anger on Jiang's mother's face instantly froze, then switched abruptly to a more serious expression.
Her mind was racing, and the "script" that her husband and son had complained about countless times but which she now had to resort to instantly took center stage.
She cleared her throat, her gaze quickly sweeping across Xie Shiyan's face before settling on Jiang Yining. She spoke in a deliberately exaggerated tone, as if introducing a newcomer:
"Ah, Ayan, and Xiaoxiao, Nian'an... you're all here, what a coincidence." She took a step forward, casually pulling Jiang Yining's other arm and drawing her closer to her.
Jiang Yining looked at her mother with a puzzled expression. Her mother put on an incredibly "surprised" smile, but secretly pinched her daughter's finger.
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