Volume 1 Chapter 25: Li Yuan’s Double Standards
My person.
Hearing these three words, Ruan Wan’s breath hitched.
Suppressing the surprise in her heart, she looked toward Li Yuan.
He stood sideways under the light, the fluorescent glow slanting through the police station’s clear glass window and casting itself upon his face. His stern features were half-hidden in shadowy obscurity.
Behind him, the lights of countless households twinkled like a vast expanse of starlight, shimmering just for him.
[Tonight’s universe possesses the vastness of forgetfulness and the precision of fervor.]
For no reason, this line from Borges surfaced in her mind.
Time and space seemed to blur, merging the memory of the youth in the library, framed by fiery red maple leaves outside the window, with the mature and imposing man before her now.
Ruan Wan’s heart stirred.
But this flicker of emotion was quickly suppressed by her reason.
She must have misheard.
“Then I’ll trouble Mr. Li to give me a ride and help me get familiar with the route.” Ruan Wan smiled appropriately, her eyes calm and unruffled.
Staring at her composed expression, Li Yuan’s gaze darkened. He merely uttered an “Mm,” took a long stride with his legs, and led the way toward the parking lot.
Only Jiang Song remained where he stood.
The usually laid-back and relaxed young master Jiang now wore a stiff expression, the words Li Yuan had spoken echoing in his ears over and over again—My person doesn’t need Young Master Jiang’s care.
My person?
It wasn’t until the orange headlights ahead lit up, spilling into the deep blue night, that the blinding light made Jiang Song instinctively raise his hand.
He saw Li Yuan’s driver already standing by the car, holding the door open.
Li Yuan and Ruan Wan walked side by side, their silhouettes edged with a hazy glow.
One tall and straight, the other slender and graceful.
An indescribable match.
Jiang Song flicked open his lighter, lit a cigarette, and let the absurd thought dissipate into the wind along with the smoke.
Ruan Wan was Li Yuan’s sister-in-law, practically half a member of the Li family.
Besides, although Li Yuan was around their age, he had never had any women around him. Ever since the Lu family announced Li Yuan as the heir, people from both the Capital Circle and Jiangcheng had tried every means to win him over.
Money, beauty—they took turns.
But Li Yuan remained unmoved.
So, what Li Yuan must have meant earlier was: My family.
Jiang Song stubbed out his cigarette and quickly walked to the car. “Brother Yuan, how about giving me a ride too? It’s on the way.”
The evening breeze was gentle, the moonlight cool.
Jiang Song got his wish and sat in the passenger seat.
Behind him, Ruan Wan’s phone emitted a low battery alert.
Jiang Song deliberately took out a charger.
Turning around, he saw Ruan Wan’s fingers curl as she tapped twice on the driver’s seat, revealing a magnetic wireless charging panel.
Jiang Song suddenly asked, “How did you know there’s a hidden compartment here?”
Ruan Wan paused.
It was because she had seen Li Yuan operate it last time.
She had learned it after seeing it once.
There was nothing to it. She and Li Yuan were now nominally brother-in-law and sister-in-law. She only needed to answer that she had ridden in Li Yuan’s car before.
But because it was in this very car that Li Yuan had proposed marriage last time, Ruan Wan felt a subconscious unease and didn’t know how to respond.
—“Jiang Song, you talk too much.”
Li Yuan’s deep voice rang out.
Noticing Li Yuan leaning against the window with one hand, eyes closed to rest, Jiang Song pursed his lips and said nothing more.
Ruan Wan also breathed a sigh of relief.
The car remained quiet for a while until the driver entered the expressway, and Jiang Song broke the silence. “Brother Yuan, aren’t we dropping Ruan Wan off at Jiangwan first?”
“No, you first.” Li Yuan’s voice was distant and indifferent.
“Why?”
“It’s closer.”
“???”
Jiang Song turned back in surprise. Just two turns from the Public Security Bureau was Jiangwan—the location of the house Li Yuan had set aside for Ruan Wan.
Meanwhile, the old Jiang family residence was in the southern part of the city, quite close to the old Li family residence.
So—
What exactly did Li Yuan mean by “close”?
Jiang Song opened his mouth to speak, but seeing Li Yuan close his eyes again, he swallowed his words.
In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the Jiang residence.
As the car came to a stop, Jiang Song pretended to suddenly remember something, a sly smile glinting in his fox-like eyes. “Brother Yuan, I just remembered—my buddies invited me to play ball at Jiangwan. Could you trouble your driver to take me there?”
The driver had already stepped out and opened the passenger door for him.
From the back seat, Li Yuan said gently, “Please give my regards to Uncle and Aunt Jiang.”
The unspoken message was clear: it was time to leave.
Reluctantly, Jiang Song got out of the car.
On the return journey, without Jiang Song, the atmosphere grew exceptionally quiet. The driver closed the partition, and the back seat was so still that only the mingling of their breaths seemed audible.
Ruan Wan broke the silence. “Why did you come to my house with Jiang Song today?”
Li Yuan replied, “Coincidence.”
Seeing he offered only two words and showed no intention to elaborate, Ruan Wan didn’t press further.
She turned her head to look out the window.
—”The collapse on the Jingjiang Expressway last time was man-made,” Li Yuan said abruptly.
Ruan Wan’s heart skipped a beat. “Who was behind it?”
“Still under investigation.”
The city lights outside streamed into the dimly lit car, the entire metropolis’s glitz and glamour sweeping over Li Yuan’s tall, straight nose but failing to reach his eyes. His deep gaze remained desolate and barren.
The car fell silent again.
Li Yuan stated, “That’s why I need to marry, need a wife, need an heir. If you’re afraid, the marriage can be called off. I’ll also help explain things to the Li family.”
“I’m not afraid.”
Ruan Wan answered swiftly.
Not only was she unafraid, but she also felt a wave of relief.
She had wondered many times before why Li Yuan had chosen to marry her.
Now she understood.
Li Yuan needed a wife and an heir to dispel the notion held by some that “killing him would reclaim the Lu family’s inheritance rights.”
And he knew her background thoroughly—she was a suitable choice for a wife.
Ruan Wan needed Li Yuan’s influence.
And Li Yuan needed her presence.
Even without love, their bond of shared interests was more reliable than romance—this was Ruan Wan’s comfort zone.
Ruan Wan extended her hand. “Li Yuan, may our cooperation be pleasant.”
The soft yellow interior lights cast a glow on her face, her skin as delicate as fine porcelain passed down through generations. Her gentle, captivating eyes held a smile that shimmered in the night, like the stunning glaze on exquisite white porcelain.
Li Yuan rubbed his fingertips thoughtfully.
The next moment, he grasped that slender, delicate hand. “May our cooperation be pleasant.”