Hearing his cold words, as if she were a stranger, Ning Yuan's heart sank: "Fine."
Rong Zhaonan got up and left the room.
Ning Yuan's gaze fell on his tall and slender back, and she sighed inwardly.
She quickly put on her clothes, then thought for a moment and poured two enamel mugs with the sparkling water she always kept at home.
Then she added mint and ice; she remembered he really liked sparkling water.
Ning Yuan opened the door and saw Rong Zhaonan in the courtyard, with Ahei and Ahbai carefully and ingratiatingly circling around him.
Wolves always adopt a submissive attitude towards beings much stronger than themselves.
"Um... I'm all packed." Ning Yuan came out with a glass of sparkling water and handed it to him somewhat awkwardly.
She hadn't seen him playing with Ah Hei and Ah Bai in the yard for a long time.
She admitted that seeing this scene brought back memories.
Rong Zhaonan took the cup but didn't drink it. He simply went into the room, placed it by the window, and gave her a cold glance: "Sit down."
His imposing presence made Ning Yuan involuntarily sit down obediently in front of him.
"Two things," Rong Zhaonan said, tapping the table with his long, slender fingers, his tone devoid of emotion.
"First, our marriage will be dissolved as planned at the end of next year. Do you have any other objections?"
Ning Yuan's big eyes flashed with doubt. Given his decisive and efficient nature, once he decided to give up on her, he would arrange to get a divorce certificate with her as soon as possible.
But why did he still maintain their marriage according to the original plan?
Ning Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "Is there any special reason for this arrangement?"
Rong Zhaonan frowned slightly: "It's for work purposes, so I hope you won't ask questions you shouldn't."
The impatience in his voice made Ning Yuan pause, but she still lowered her eyes and said, "Okay."
Rong Zhaonan continued, "Secondly, unless I allow it, you cannot disclose our marital status to anyone during this period."
Ning Yuan was stunned, her brows furrowing slightly as she looked at him: "Are you planning to... have a secret marriage? Is this also a work requirement?"
She felt a strange unease; she wanted to preserve the marriage, yet also hide her existence as the wife. Why?
"Secret marriage?" Rong Zhaonan had never heard of this term before, but he quickly understood what it meant.
Secret marriage – concealing marital status.
He said calmly, "Yes, it's a work requirement."
Ning Yuan suppressed her doubts and sighed, "Quite a few people around us know about our marriage. If you think it won't affect your work, then I'll listen to you."
Rong Zhaonan stood up and said expressionlessly, "Then you don't need to worry about it. When the time comes, someone will give you the divorce certificate."
Ning Yuan: "Okay..."
In other words, he could resolve their marital relationship without even having to personally intervene.
After giving his instructions, Rong Zhaonan got up and walked out the door.
Looking at his tall and straight back, Ning Yuan couldn't help but ask, "Wait a minute, are you leaving already?"
Rong Zhaonan stopped in his tracks, looked her up and down, and gave a mocking smirk.
"By the way, there are conditions to cooperating with you. You will receive a salary during this period. The 1,900 yuan that you have here is your compensation for this period."
"What do you mean by that?" Ning Yuan bit her lip, suppressing her anger as she looked at him.
Over the past six months, he has kept more and more money in her account, totaling 1,900 yuan, which is no small amount.
Rong Zhaonan said coldly, "Literally, 1,900 yuan buys you a year and four months. There's only one rule you need to follow—don't do anything unpleasant or embarrassing with other men outside, so they can't find any evidence against you!"
She and Ou Minglang had a very happy time while he was away for two months.
Ning Yuan's face paled, she clenched her fingers, and took a deep breath—
“Rong Zhaonan, do you have to say that? We are not enemies. I just want to say that Grandpa Tang and Grandma Xia are thinking of you. Since you are back, at least have a meal with them.”
When Rong Zhaonan heard about Granny Xia and Old Man Tang, his indifferent expression softened slightly: "I understand."
Ning Yuan lowered her long, dark eyelashes, stood up, and hurried past him, saying, "I'm going to buy groceries."
She grabbed her cloth handbag and left without even glancing at him again.
Once she was outside the courtyard, she couldn't help but blush and wipe away her tears with the back of her hand as she walked.
Although I already knew that our meeting again wouldn't be pleasant.
She thought she was very tolerant, but she still felt sad because of his hurtful words.
Why?
What did she do wrong? She simply stayed true to herself, neither stringing him along for personal gain nor playing both sides.
The two of them did everything except for the last step.
He didn't accept her conditions, and she didn't force him to take responsibility, so what right did he have to say those things to her?!
She's like a woman who'll do anything for money and has no self-respect!
The midday sun at the end of August made people's eyes feel sore and dry.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and suppressed all the bitterness and sadness deep in her heart.
Making things clear from the beginning proved to be the right thing to do; she will cooperate with his work unconditionally, as if she owes him something.
By the end of next year, he will have a bright future ahead of him, and she will have the ocean tides she longs to see.
After all, decades separated them.
Ning Yuan clenched her fist, gave a light, mocking smile, and walked towards the market.
...
Grandpa Tang and Grandma Xia returned from shopping at the department store and had already eaten lunch.
Upon entering, they were delighted to see Rong Zhaonan return.
"You little rascal, you finally know how to come back! Xiao Ning is about to go to Fudan University, and you're only just coming back!" Grandma Xia patted him on the back and rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.
Rong Zhaonan's eyes flickered slightly: "Wasn't her first choice Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong Province?"
Old Tang adjusted his glasses, a hint of pride in his eyes: "Of course my last disciple will go to my alma mater!"
He repeated his senior year of high school before going to Oxford, and later became a teacher at Fudan University.
Rong Zhaonan seemed to have been reminded of something. He went back to his room, retrieved a document, and handed it to Old Tang: "Speaking of your former workplace, this is for you."
"For me?" Old Master Tang took it with some puzzlement, opened it and took a look.
He looked at the document in disbelief: "This is...the document from my work unit...restoring my benefits?!"
Rong Zhaonan smiled gently: "Yes!"
Upon hearing this, Grandma Xia immediately stood on tiptoe and peered over, exclaiming, "Let me see! Let me see!"
After reading the words on the document, she excitedly grabbed Old Master Tang's sleeve: "Old man! Old man, you really restored your benefits!"
Old Master Tang's hands trembled as he held the documents, and he couldn't help but laugh: "Is this real?"
Then, he suddenly took off his glasses, buried his head in his hands, and slowly squatted down on the ground, tears streaming down his face: "I've waited... I've waited... I never thought this day would come!"
Grandma Xia's eyes also reddened. She squatted down and hugged her husband, sobbing uncontrollably, "We've waited for it, we've waited for it!"
Seeing the two elderly people embracing and weeping, Rong Zhaonan's usually cold eyes reddened slightly; he understood their feelings perfectly.
After the two elderly people had vented their emotions a little, he reached out to help Mr. Tang up, saying, "You can't get too excited; your heart isn't good to begin with."
Grandma Xia quickly reached out to help her husband up, saying, "Old man, Xiao Nan is right. Our good days are yet to come. Don't get too excited!"
Old Tang was helped up, then suddenly remembered something, and pulled Grandma Xia by the hand to look at Rong Zhaonan: "My Xia... is it possible that she..."
Rong Zhaonan looked at Granny Xia and fell silent, seemingly with a silent apology.
Seeing this, Grandma Xia wiped away her tears and patted Old Tang's arm: "Hey, it's a great thing that you can get your benefits back, why are you talking about anything else!"
Old Tang was taken aback, then quickly nodded, wiping his tears with his sleeve—
"Yes, yes, it's rare for Nan to come back, and he brought me such great news. Let's make something delicious tonight!"
Rong Zhaonan smiled gently: "Yes, it's been a long time since I've had Grandma Xia's cooking."
Grandma Xia wiped away her tears, but still couldn't help looking at him and asking, "Xiao Ning plans to take us to Shanghai. Will you come with us this time you're back?"
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