Chapter 143 They are the best match
The sea breeze blew gently, and the light of the drone gradually dissipated, leaving only the moonlight shining on the two of them.
Jiang Tingwan slightly stepped away from Chen Guan's arms, looked up into his deep eyes, and finally spoke softly: "Chen Guan, I... am not ready to be bound to anyone."
She paused, and lowered her voice, "You know I..."
"Yeah, I understand." Shen Guan's fingers stroked her cheek, his fingertips warm and his movements gentle.
Of course he understood - she grew up in the Jiang family, was accustomed to conflicts of interest and hypocrisy, and was instinctively wary of "trust" and "dependence".
She is afraid of losing, and even more afraid of betrayal. She is used to leaving room for herself in everything she does. This is a way of thinking that is engraved in her bones and cannot be easily changed.
"Then you..." Jiang Tingwan looked at him hesitantly.
Shen Guan chuckled, his eyes calm and tolerant: “I don’t ask for so much.”
He held her face in his hands and gently stroked the corner of her lips with his thumb. "As long as you can accept me being by your side, that's enough."
"As long as you tell me when you encounter problems, need help, feel unhappy, sad, or bored, that's enough." His voice was very soft, but it was serious enough to be ignored. "Okay?"
Jiang Tingwan opened her mouth slightly.
Before she could say anything, Shen Guan chuckled and put his fingertips on her lips: "No need to answer." His eyes were gentle and firm, "You have already said 'yes' to this question in my heart."
After saying that, he held her in his arms again.
Jiang Tingwan was silent for a moment, finally put her arms around his waist and buried her face in his shoulders.
The night wind was chilly, but his embrace was warm and reassuring.
She sighed in her heart. Now that he had said this, how could she still refuse?
In this relationship, she was once his salvation, but wasn't he also the one who healed her?
He understood her defensiveness, but never forced her. He saw through her hesitation, but still chose to wait.
Under the moonlight, their shadows overlapped, and the sound of waves gently lapping against the shore, as if time had stopped at this moment.
Perhaps, in some ways, they are the most suitable.
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The early spring wind swept across the cemetery, bringing with it the cool scent of grass and trees. The visit to relatives and friends was finally over, and she finally managed to free up half a day.
Jiang Tingwan sat beside the tombstone, her fingertips gently stroking the cold stone. The name engraved on it was still clear, as if the last stroke had been made yesterday.
"It's been more than half a year." She looked up at the sky. The clouds were very thin, and the sunlight shone through the gaps and fell on her shoulders.
Her feelings for Ruan Yue were so complicated that even she herself found it difficult to sort out.
When she first saw the girl, she seemed to see her former self - cautious, treading on thin ice, trying to survive in the cracks.
Later, she unknowingly began to care for Ruan Yue like a family member, and even thought about protecting her.
But later, there was the pain of betrayal and the anger of trust being torn apart.
But in the end, Ruan Yue used his life to block the bullet for her.
Jiang Tingwan still remembers the confusion she felt at that moment.
"Now that I think about it, the things you said might not be all false, right?" She chuckled softly, as if she was talking to herself. "Your family background, your difficulties...what qualifications do I have to blame you?"
She lowered her head and looked at a bunch of white calla lilies placed in front of the tombstone, with morning dew still on the petals.
"Isn't it the same for me? I've been cautious in every step in the Jiang family, calculating this and guarding against that. In the end, it's just to survive." She paused and added, "To live a better life."
The wind blew and the leaves rustled, as if responding to her words.
Jiang Tingwan was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke again: "By the way, Luo Yao and I have reconciled." The corners of her lips slightly raised, "Although we did not get along with each other at the beginning, now that I think about it, it's actually nothing."
"And Ouya," she continued, "we teamed up. She's... much more interesting than I thought."
Having said this, she suddenly stopped and her eyes fell on the tombstone.
In a trance, she seemed to see Ruan Yue standing in front of her, still looking quiet with a faint smile on her lips.
"If you were still here..." Jiang Tingwan said softly, "Maybe you could become good friends with them."
The moment she said this, a corner of her heart suddenly loosened.
The resentment, confusion, and regret seemed to be blown away by the wind with these words.
She stood up, took one last look at the tombstone, and turned to leave.
The sun is still gentle and the wind is still gentle.
And some stories can only remain in the past.
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The city of Macau is brightly lit during the New Year, and the neon lights in the casino district make the entire bay as bright as day.
Inside the Wen family residence, under the crystal chandelier.
Wen Nian lazily leaned on the leather sofa, playing with a platinum lighter in his hand, the flame flickering at his fingertips. His gray hair was slightly messy, and his brows showed impatience. It was obvious that he had no interest in his father's questioning.
Wen Ci sat opposite him, his face gloomy: "It's New Year's Day, why are you crazy? Do you have to go to Kyoto at this time?"
Wen Sitian didn't even raise his head, his eyes and eyebrows under his gray hair showed impatience: "Leave me alone." He closed the lighter with a "click" sound, "If you hadn't stopped me, I would have gone over long ago."
"For that girl?" Wen Ci sneered, "The money you recently invested in Ting Yue is already the annual profit of five casinos."
"I'd love to." Wen Nian stood up, his black coat falling down as he moved, highlighting his sharp shoulders.
He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked at the bright lights of the casino in the distance, but the image of Jiang Tingwan with a half-smile appeared in front of him - she was wearing the tourmaline bracelet he gave her, and her fingertips were lightly tapping the red wine glass.
Mother Wen came over with a fruit plate, her red lips slightly curled: "Xiao Nian, did Miss Jiang wear the jewelry you gave her last time?"
Wen Nian's eyes darkened.
Of course he knew that Jiang Tingwan had stopped wearing it a long time ago.
Ever since she disappeared, the string of Paraiba tourmalines he carefully selected has been floating in the ocean forever.
In the photos sent by the assistant, she was wearing things he had never seen her wear before - jade bracelets, diamond earrings, and now a pair of violet jade necklaces.
"She will wear it." Wen Nian closed the lighter with a click, and said in a low voice as if he was talking to himself, "Sooner or later, Jiang Tingwan..."
Just by saying the name, he felt an uncontrollable restlessness in his chest.
He wanted to see her so much that he was going crazy.
I wanted to see her smiling yet distant eyes, to hear the tone of her voice when she casually called me "Wennian", and even wanted to be pushed away by her cold face again.
Wen Nian clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.
He still remembers Jiang Tingwan, who patiently listened to his excuses even though he suddenly pulled her aside when they first met in Hong Kong; Jiang Tingwan, who slept peacefully in his arms on the cruise ship; Jiang Tingwan, who could have ignored him but still accepted his bracelet.
That... Jiang Tingwan who smiled at him again after discovering his identity because of the project...
He could have reconciled with her.
But all this was ruined by Song Zhi.
That self-righteous man actually dared to hide her and cut off all contact.
You actually want to monopolize her?
If it weren't for him, perhaps Jiang Tingwan wouldn't have disappeared so decisively.
"Song Zhi..." Wen Nian whispered the name, like chewing a piece of ice, the chill seeping into his bones.
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The villa was dead silent. The snow outside the window fell silently, condensing into fine water droplets on the glass.
Song Zhi sat alone in the study, the cigarette on his fingertips had burned to the end, the red ash fell on the solid wood table, leaving a small charred mark. Occasionally, a few sporadic firecrackers could be heard outside, reminding them of this day that should have been a reunion day.
He gave everyone the day off.
The butler's hesitant look before he left was still fresh in his mind.
"Master, take care of yourself."
Everyone left - her father died, her mother returned to her parents' home, and she...
Jiang Tingwan.
The name was like a blunt knife, slowly cutting his heart.
He suddenly chuckled, and the laughter sounded particularly harsh in the empty villa.
How ridiculous, he had struggled so painfully with the gap in status, and even got engaged to Ou Ya, just to protect her legitimately. But in the end, she didn't need his protection at all.
The eldest daughter of Jiang's, the most prominent family in Kyoto, a favored girl surrounded by countless top resources, pretends to be an ordinary rich second generation who needs support in front of him.
She watched him struggle, watched him suffer, watched him struggle in the quagmire like a fool.
It turns out it was all a joke.
How could the eldest daughter of the Jiang family in Kyoto need his protection?
Song Zhi picked up the wine glass on the table, the amber liquid glowed coldly under the light.
He remembered the day on the tarmac when she stood next to the man and said, "This is my backstage."
Jiang Tingwan, who is so proud and willful, can also rely on others and show her gentle side - but the object has never been him.
Outside the window, New Year's fireworks exploded in the night sky, and the brilliant light shone through the glass, casting changing colors on his face.
Song Zhi raised his head and drank the wine in the glass. The alcohol burned his throat, but it could not extinguish the anger and pain in his chest.
He walked to the window and looked around. This used to be Jiang Tingwan’s favorite place.
She always liked to curl up on this single sofa and read a book while drinking coffee. The sunlight shone on her through the gauze curtains, like a still oil painting.
It's as if this is her home.
Unfortunately, it only seems so.
Now there is no one there.
He remembered the look in her eyes when she left——
Calm, distant, and even a little compassionate.
Without a trace of nostalgia.
It seemed that these few months were just a game to her.
The snow started falling outside the window again.
Song Zhi raised his hand and touched the cold glass. His fingertips just touched a falling snowflake, which instantly melted into water droplets.
Just like her, can't be caught, can't be kept.
The villa that once imprisoned her has now become a cage for him.
She left, but took away all his reason and restraint.
Song Zhi raised his hand and smashed the wine glass in his hand.
Glass fragments flew everywhere, a few of which cut the back of his hand. Blood dripped down his wrist onto the carpet, forming dark red flowers.
The pain sobered him up a little.
He looked down at the wound on his palm, and suddenly remembered the ambiguous red mark on the side of her neck on the cruise ship that day, and the indifferent look she gave when Wen Nian left.
It turns out that he was the only one being played around with.
The snow fell heavier and heavier, covering all traces.
Song Zhi stood in front of the window, his figure was stretched out and finally merged into the boundless darkness.
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