Jiang Yao stared intently at the scorching scene before him, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the moment. In that instant, the matcha-flavored ice cream that Tang Ning had eaten bite by bite in Dream Valley, which she didn't like at all, the words that Yin Yuqing had said, and even the lies that Tang Ning had told him in the hospital, all seemed to be etched into his mind with a knife, dripping with blood. He could recall them clearly without even having to consciously try.
It felt as if a hole had been stabbed in his chest, with blood dripping out. Even when the blood dried up, it didn't take away any of his pain; instead, the pain became more and more intense.
It was at this moment that Jiang Yao realized that when heartache reaches its extreme, it can truly cause suffocation, dizziness, disorientation, dazedness, and even regret and escapism. He began to regret why he had followed Tang Ning out of the villa; otherwise, he would never have witnessed this scene.
Amidst a mix of emotions, Jiang Yao's gaze never left Tang Ning for a moment, from her excessively red lips to her arm still wrapped around the waist of the man in the suit. Unable to bear it any longer, he subconsciously strode forward, grabbed Tang Ning's arm, and pulled her away.
"Come with me."
He uttered those three words in a low, cold voice, then grabbed Tang Ning's hand and prepared to leave with her.
"Wait a moment……"
Upon seeing Jiang Yao's action, Mu Sheng frowned and tried to stop him.
Before he could even speak, Jiang Yao's clenched fist struck him squarely at the corner of his mouth without hesitation.
With Mu Sheng's fighting awareness, let alone dodging this punch, he could even use offense as defense and completely knock Jiang Yao unconscious before Jiang Yao's slow fist came down.
But when he caught a glimpse of Tang Ning's anxious expression out of the corner of his eye, he suppressed his instinctive retaliatory movement and even slightly changed his posture, making Jiang Yao's punch look even more ferocious and powerful.
"Hmm..."
Just as Jiang Yao's fist, filled with anger, struck Mu Sheng's lip, Mu Sheng almost couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.
Tang Ning, who was watching Mu Sheng get beaten, immediately rushed to support him and then pushed away Jiang Yao, who was holding her arm tightly, without thinking.
What are you doing!
She shouted angrily.
Hurt once again by Tang Ning's blatant favoritism, Jiang Yao's eyes reddened even more, and a barely perceptible hint of grievance and embarrassment flashed in them. "Why are you asking me what I'm doing? Why don't you ask him what he's doing? You're my fiancée, what do you think I'm doing!"
Hearing Jiang Yao's accusation, Tang Ning, who had already supported Mu Sheng, abruptly turned her head to look at the boy's red eyes. She closed her eyes briefly before quickly opening them again. "Fiancée? Didn't you already tell me three months ago that you were breaking off the engagement? Am I your fiancée again now, Jiang Yao...?"
"But we still didn't call off the engagement..."
Jiang Yao looked at Tang Ning in front of him and said this stubbornly.
"The reason we didn't call off the engagement is unknown to others, but don't you understand?"
Tang Ning immediately interrupted him, her eyes slightly red, "That was when I used Yin Yufeng's identity as a girl to blackmail you, asking for another chance to continue our engagement for three more months. You like her, and for her sake, you endured the humiliation of continuing to be my fiancé..."
Almost simultaneously, Yin Yuqing, who was standing not far behind the three of them, immediately raised her head and looked over in disbelief when she heard Tang Ning's words.
So that's how it is. So that's why, even though she clearly sensed Yao's feelings for her and even said those things, he still wouldn't confess to her. So that's why Yao did it for her...
Why, why did she do this? If Tang Ning hadn't done this, maybe...maybe she would already be with A Yao, and things wouldn't have come to this. It's all because of her...
A deep resentment and unwillingness rose in the depths of Yin Yuqing's eyes.
At this moment, Tang Ning's voice rang out again, "The reason I made a three-month commitment with you is because three months from now is my birthday. I originally thought that if you eventually changed your mind after my efforts, I would consider it a seventeenth birthday gift to myself. If you remain stubborn, I will consider it a farewell to my past..."
Tang Ning looked at Jiang Yao in front of her, took a deep breath, and slowly spoke again, "But it was only in these three months that I realized that my feelings for you might really be like what you told me on the rooftop before. Over the years, besides my brother, you have been the only boy in my life. I haven't had any contact with other boys, so I've always mistaken my long-standing dependence and habit on you for love..."
“From childhood to adulthood, I’ve long been accustomed to your presence, accustomed to you always being there for me no matter what happens, accustomed to you always holding my hand for so many years. This habit is like something ingrained in my flesh, always protecting me like scales. That’s why I was so devastated and unwilling when you told me you liked another girl! Because I wasn’t ready, I wasn’t ready to tear off my scales, blood and flesh…”
"Three months, ninety days, and I finally let my wounds slowly heal. I started to accept and acknowledge that the feelings between us might not be a deep love. Just like you said, when I don't see you, my heart races, and when I don't see you, I toss and turn and miss you. So maybe all these years, I've been similar to you, just treating you like a brother, and even because we're so familiar with each other, holding your hand is like holding my own left hand with my right."
Tang Ning sighed and chuckled.
As she spoke these words, almost after each sentence, Jiang Yao couldn't help but silently repeat in his mind, "No, no, it's not like that..."
It's not a habit, not a dependence, not like brothers and sisters, not because we're too familiar with each other, nothing at all...
What they had was love, a kind of love that went beyond the initial feeling of a racing heart and restless nights!
They had solemnly promised each other that they would stay together forever, that they would have their wedding in the most beautiful church in the world, and that they would hold hands and walk together for a lifetime, until their teeth fell out and their hair turned white, and they would never let go of each other's hands.
They made that promise!
How come it's not love?
"However, although I only feel brotherly affection for you, I've met the school doctor..."
As she spoke, Tang Ning turned to look at Mu Sheng beside her and gripped his hand tightly. "He has a completely different personality from you. You probably don't know this, but over the years, because of my own identity, because I'm worried about putting Mom in a difficult position, because I'm worried about what people will say about you, I haven't had a single easy day. I don't even dare to laugh too loudly, because it would be unladylike and I'd be disliked. To please Aunt Lu, and to be worthy of you, the heir of the Jiang family, I've learned to dance, to play the piano, to arrange flowers, to practice tea ceremony, to learn all sorts of things. There's never enough time. Every day, the moment I open my eyes, I have to start all sorts of classes non-stop. I'm really exhausted, A Yao..."
"But in front of the school doctor, I'm different. No matter how I fail or make mistakes, he'll always look at me with a smile. Even if I'm being silly, it doesn't matter because he'll be tolerant. I can be less reserved and aloof. I can be vulgar and tell him I want an expensive, tacky designer bag as a birthday present. I want everyone to envy me. I can be myself without restraint, instead of being the daughter-in-law of the Jiang family. I like him, I really, really like him so much that I don't even know what to do with myself. Every day before I close my eyes, I think of him, and when I wake up, I still think of him. His frown, his smile, everything about him—just thinking about him makes me incredibly happy..."
Tang Ning's lips curled up slightly as she spoke with focused seriousness the most touching confession in the world.
Mu Sheng stared intently at her exquisitely beautiful profile, as if bathed in a warm, soft light. After he finished speaking, Tang Ning turned her head and gave him a slight smile.
For a moment, Mu Sheng even felt a slight sense of suffocation.
The heart inside his chest began to pound wildly again, unable to stop itself.
Tang Ning...
Mu Sheng's current favorability rating: 70.
Unlike Mu Sheng, who was deeply moved by the heartfelt confession, Jiang Yao, standing in front of Tang Ning, felt as if his heart had been ripped from his chest and thrown into a bottomless, dark ice cave, falling and falling endlessly.
It was cold, dark, painful, and astringent...
"Ningning...you'll regret this."
"I won't."
"He's twelve years older than you..."
"I don't care."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yao trembled uncontrollably. After what seemed like an eternity, he grabbed the gift box he had been holding tightly, as if he were a drowning man grasping at a piece of driftwood. "Right, right... a gift, a birthday present! I haven't even had a chance to give you your birthday present yet!"
He hurriedly took out the toy bear he had carefully prepared from the box, forced a smile, and handed the bear to Tang Ning. He then grabbed Tang Ning's hand tightly with his other hand. "Do you remember this? Your little bear, Beibei. Look at it, look at it! Isn't it exactly the same as the one you lost all those years ago? I made it for you again. Do you like it? Hehe, even a toy bear can be lost and found again, so can feelings..."
"I can promise you, I'll change. I won't make you suffer like this anymore, and I won't say or do those stupid things again. From now on, Ningning, you can do whatever you want here. Just be yourself. If you like designer brands or jewelry, I'll buy them for you. I don't mind what happened between you and Mu Sheng, really. I made a mistake once, so let's just pretend you made a mistake too. We both made a mistake, so let's just pretend nothing happened. Let's start over, okay? Let's start over, get to know each other again, and make new promises... okay?"
As he spoke, tears welled up in Jiang Yao's eyes, but he still stubbornly looked at Tang Ning in front of him.
“Ah Yao… why can’t you understand? No matter how much this little bear resembles the one I lost before, it’s still not my Beibei. Once something is lost, it’s lost, and you can’t get it back…”
Tang Ning's tears began to well up, and at the same time, she slowly, slowly pulled her hand away from the boy's.
Jiang Yao immediately gripped her hand tightly, looked up, but once again saw no trace of affection for him in Tang Ning's eyes.
With a slight moment of relief, Tang Ning pulled her fingers out of his hand.
Jiang Yao felt a sudden emptiness in his heart as his hands went empty.
"Ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha..."
He took two steps back and chuckled softly incessantly.
As he was laughing, he suddenly turned around and saw Yin Yuqing and Ye Jinyan looking at him with worried expressions.
He tossed aside the packaging box, clutched the toy bear in his hand, and the diary that Tang Ning hadn't even had time to look at. With an expression so calm it was almost deathly still, he lifted his foot and walked forward.
As she walked past Yin Yuqing, she subconsciously called out to him, "Ayao..."
"Get out of here."
Jiang Yao replied calmly, then walked straight ahead past Yin Yuqing.
He walked faster and faster, and eventually he even ran. He ran all the way to the Ye family's villa, then got into the white Cayenne driven by the Jiang family's driver without hesitation. He started the engine, floored the accelerator, and the car roared off, speeding all the way to his house without even going into the garage.
Holding a teddy bear and a diary, Jiang Yao arrived at the door of his warehouse. He pushed the door open and went inside to find a corner to squat down.
This used to be his and Tang Ning's secret base.
"Ningning, this is my secret hideout. I haven't told anyone except you, because you're my wife!"
"Ningning, Ningning, how did you fall asleep in the secret base? Luckily I found you, otherwise you would have caught another cold!"
"Ningning, you're so beautiful, how can you be so beautiful?"
...
Looking up at everything before him, he felt as if every place here held memories of him and Tang Ning, and traces of them together.
As Jiang Yao shifted slightly, the diary on his body suddenly fell to the ground and lay open.
Looking down, he saw what was written above—
April 13th, sunny. Ningning gave birth today. I begged my mom to let me stay with her. I fell asleep, and Ningning, still sleeping beside me, looked like a little angel. [Little Angel Picture]
May 2nd, rain. Today Ningning and I made cookies together. They were especially sweet, even sweeter than store-bought ones. [Picture of two little people making cookies]
July 3rd, sunny. Ningning lost a tooth today, and she's afraid to smile anymore. No matter how I try to cheer her up, it doesn't work. Ningning still looks cute even with a missing tooth. [Tear picture]
[December 6th, rain. Wow, there was a rainbow after the rain today! Ningning was so happy, and I was happy too, because I think Ningning is even prettier than the rainbow. [Picture of two little people below the rainbow]]
...
As he watched, Jiang Yao finally couldn't hold back his tears and they started falling.
What should I do? He has lost his most precious treasure.
Soon, Jiang Yao, who was holding the toy bear, let out a series of whimpering sounds, like the mournful cry of the most desperate and helpless wild beast.
Ningning, Ningning, Ningning...
Jiang Yao's current favorability rating: 99.
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