Ning Yuan took a sip of water and said without much emotion, "It's not necessary. They won't change their opinion of me just because they apologize to me. After all, you care so much about Ye Qiu, so they still consider you their 'brother-in-law'."
There was no question of forgiveness or not. He personally explained the origins of his friendship with Ye Qiu and why he was so tolerant of the Ye siblings.
But the fact that she just didn't like the Ye siblings, and that the Ye siblings didn't like her either, couldn't be changed.
Rong Zhaonan felt a pang of pain and raised his clear, narrow eyes: "Ning Yuan..."
“I accept your explanation, so I won’t separate rooms from you to avoid worrying everyone, and I don’t want to do what Xiang San wants. I will also give you face in public.” Ning Yuan lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes concealing her emotions.
When Rong Zhaonan heard Xiang San's name, a dark, cold glint flashed in his eyes.
He stood up and walked to her side, pulling her to a corner in front of the table. He said in a deep voice, "Outside? What about inside the room? Are we going to do as Xiang San wishes?"
Ning Yuan put down her cup and looked out the window: "Even though I know this is a scheme orchestrated by Xiang San, I'm still not in a good mood. I want to be alone for a while and think about what to do next."
She paused, took a soft breath, and said, "Let's each calm down and sort out our feelings and thoughts. Xiang San's methods won't just involve using Ye Dong to cause trouble."
It must be said that the Xiang brothers are quite capable. They realized that targeting her in Shanghai was ineffective, so this move struck a chord with people's soft spots.
After Rong Zhaonan resumed his work, it might be the right thing for him to stay in the capital and gain experience elsewhere.
After returning to the capital, he was constantly haunted and influenced by the past, or perhaps there were some things he had never let go of, and he was even unable to take care of her.
She didn't want to argue with him again in this state, nor did she want to pretend that nothing had happened. His inability to take care of her made it hard for her not to mind.
Rong Zhaonan looked at the back of Ning Yuan's head and saw that she didn't intend to turn around and look at him.
He paused for a moment, meaning she was refusing to be intimate with him during this time.
Rong Zhaonan said calmly, "Okay."
Then, he released his firm arms.
Ning Yuan pushed him away, lowered her eyes, walked to the bedside, took off her shoes, got into bed, and lay down with her back to him.
Rong Zhaonan's dark eyes watched her slender back, knowing that Ning Yuan was not so easy to coax, and that her discomfort had probably been building up since Shanghai.
He rubbed his temples and said, "Okay, I'll go to the yard for a while. You go to sleep first."
After saying that, he took the cigarettes and went out, closing the door behind him.
As Ning Yuan listened to him close the door and leave, she felt a strange tightness in her chest.
She closed her eyes. Oh well, it was her request to be alone.
He couldn't figure it out; he couldn't break free from the shackles of the past, and no amount of advice would help.
...
Rong Zhaonan walked into the courtyard, took out a cigarette, lit it, held the cigarette between his slender fingers, and took a puff.
Looking out the window of Ning Yuan's room, he felt restless and agitated.
He suddenly remembered the time when he and Ning Yuan were breaking up.
I spoke to him calmly and analyzed the situation in the same way.
She was completely different from other women. Most of the time, when he saw a woman, he would get emotional and act recklessly, especially when it came to making a scene, like with Dongdong or Qin Hongxing.
Either Ye Qiu says nothing, keeps it to herself, and only does what she thinks is right, even if it means hurting herself, so that everyone around her can be well.
He had only met two people who were emotionally stable: He Su and Ning Yuan.
The former is devoid of genuine emotion, which is chilling and even disgusting.
The latter is when she doesn't make a fuss or cry, speaks to you calmly, analyzes things logically, has her own needs, and treats you as a partner—that's definitely not a good sign.
Rong Zhaonan, with one hand in his pocket, leaned against a tree, looked up at the sky, and exhaled the smoke from his lips.
He would rather she acted like she did before, rather than like this, which gave him the feeling that she might leave if she couldn't take it anymore.
The wisps of smoke drifted away, blurring his narrow eyes and cold, handsome face.
"team leader."
Chen Chen's voice suddenly rang out behind him.
Rong Zhaonan looked at him, elegantly holding a cigarette, and said calmly, "Speak."
Chen Chen walked over and whispered, "We have news from Old Xu in Shanghai. We've been tracking him for a long time, and we do have a lead. He quietly returned to Beijing to visit relatives."
Rong Zhaonan paused, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips: "It seems that coming back this time was the right thing to do. These past two years have not been in vain. Relying on the old man, I, the so-called captain, am nothing. I can't find anything if I want to investigate. I still have to rely on myself."
Chen Chen hesitated for a moment, then added, "The old commander is cautious and never oversteps his bounds, which is why the Rong family was spared..."
"Therefore, it's better to rely on yourself than on others. Only the connections that belong to you are truly yours." Rong Zhaonan interrupted him expressionlessly.
He curled his long fingers, seemingly oblivious to the burning heat of the cigarette, and stubbed it out with a flick of his wrist: "Let's go."
Chen Chen nodded: "Yes!"
...
Early the next morning
Ning Yuan got out of bed and looked around. There seemed to be no trace of anyone sleeping on the bed; the pillow and blanket were neatly folded.
She lowered her large eyes, got up without any expression, dressed, washed up, and went downstairs.
"Ningning, are you up?" The nanny asked with a smile as she watched Ningning come downstairs, wiping her hands with her apron.
Ning Yuan smiled and nodded, her big eyes crinkling, "Good morning, Auntie!"
Aunt Qian was setting the table when she saw her and greeted her warmly with a smile: "Girl, I bought soy milk, fried liver, fried dough rings, sugar-coated fried dough twists, fried cakes... I guarantee it's the best and most unique breakfast in our city!"
Sijiucheng – another name for Beijing.
Ning Yuan quickly came downstairs and helped set the table: "Aunt Qian, don't bother. You went out early this morning to buy this and that. I can just eat something casually. How can I accept this?"
Aunt Qian patted her back cheerfully: "It's rare for you to come to the North as a guest, so of course I have to let you, a little girl from the South, try some local specialties! Come and sit down!"
Ning Yuan waited for Aunt Qian to sit down before sitting down herself, and asked casually, "Where's Chen Chen? Didn't he get up early this morning to exercise? Has he eaten yet?"
Aunt Qian shook her head casually: "Sigh, that kid went out with Zhao Nan in the middle of the night last night, acting all sneaky... No, I'm not saying Zhao Nan was sneaky, it's my kid, didn't you see? He's definitely not a good person!"
Ning Yuan chuckled. What a mother who talks about her son like that! She must be a real mother!
Aunt Qian coughed lightly, took a note from the nanny and handed it to Ning Yuan: "Zhao Nan also left in the middle of the night. He was afraid of disturbing your sleep, so he left a note."
Ning Yuan glanced at the note, which said that he had important business to attend to and asked Aheng to take some people to accompany her out. He would be back in three days and told her to be careful.
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