She gazed at her lover, who was so close at hand, with utter disbelief. For a moment, she couldn’t seem to process that such devastatingly hurtful words had actually come from the other woman’s mouth.
The veins on the back of her hand bulged. Ning Ruohuan suddenly realized that she didn’t know Luo Yanzhi as well as she thought; her perception of the woman was still trapped in a fantasy of the past.
It was a memory of the day the Ning and Luo families entered their marriage alliance. When they first met, Luo Yanzhi had approached her side with a gentle submissiveness, a faint smile rippling across her face. She had pulled Ruohuan away from the tedious conversations of their elders, asking: “Sister Ning? Can I call you that?”
At that time, Ruohuan was already considered a “useless person” without any supernatural abilities in the eyes of the elite families. In contrast, Luo Yanzhi had shown great brilliance from a young age; her spatial abilities made her a standout among the new generation.
Yet, such an extraordinary person had come before the plain and ordinary Ruohuan, softly calling her “Sister” and patiently asking for her thoughts.
The image of that bright, sunny girl was like a small pebble thrown into the long-still lake of Ruohuan’s heart, creating ripples of longing that she felt she could never reach.
After Ruohuan nodded in acceptance of the title, the girl’s smile deepened. A hint of shyness and hesitation appeared in her eyes as she took Ruohuan’s hand and asked softly, “Does Sister have someone she likes?”
“No? That’s wonderful. I fell in love with Sister at first sight. Would Sister like to be with me?” The girl’s cheeks flushed crimson, her pale pupils filled with sincerity. “Our families are aligning. I like Sister, so would Sister try to like me back, please?”
Like? How long had it been since Ruohuan had heard that word? Her heart raced, thumping heavily against her chest. Back then, her throat had felt so tight she could barely speak: “I… I don’t have an ability…”
The girl had replied with a beaming smile: “I don’t care about those things. I only want to be with Sister.”
Based on that single sentence, Ning Ruohuan had allowed herself to fall uncontrollably.
As these long-buried memories surged in her mind, Ning Ruohuan closed her eyes. Controlling her state of mind, she said with steady emotion, “The things you’re thinking won’t happen. I am merely acquaintances with them. If you don’t like it, I won’t spend time alone with your friends anymore.”
Luo Yanzhi reached out and stroked the bite mark on Ning Ruohuan’s shoulder, her fingertips tracing the uneven texture of the skin.
She chuckled and leaned against Ruohuan’s chest, playfully twirling a strand of hair and brushing it against the other woman’s collarbone like a small brush. Her phoenix-shaped eyes flickered upward. “Sister misunderstood. I’m not worried about anything happening between you and them. I trust Sister’s character,” she said with a hint of feigned distress. “Sister, please don’t be unhappy.”
Ruohuan turned over to lie on her side. Behind her, Luo Yanzhi clung to her with a boneless grace, her arms circling Ruohuan’s waist, intentionally or unintentionally breathing against the nape of her neck.
A numbing, tingling sensation spread—Luo Yanzhi was tracing words on her back with a finger.
“Sister, can you guess what word I’m writing?” Luo Yanzhi propped herself up on her elbow, resting her chin on Ruohuan’s arm.
Ning Ruohuan replied: “…I don’t know.”
Luo Yanzhi chuckled softly and kissed her cheek, whispering low: “I wrote… Sister, I love you.”
“No way, Yanzhi. Are you seriously planning to marry Ning Ruohuan?” Wan Yunxin’s reckless voice blared through the phone, loud enough to hurt the ears.
Luo Yanzhi tilted her head and covered one ear, her brow furrowing.
Realizing the volume, Wan Yunxin handed the microphone to someone nearby and scooted over to sit next to Luo Yanzhi. Her tone softened. “You couldn’t have been swayed by your mother after going home, right?”
She tapped her own head. “Actually, that doesn’t make sense. The Ning family isn’t as glorious as they were five years ago.”
Multicolor lights flashed intermittently, sweeping across their faces before quickly moving on, leaving most of the room in shadow.
Luo Yanzhi raised an eyebrow at her.
Wan Yunxin clicked her tongue and continued to herself, “But a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. There’s still some profit to be squeezed out of the Ning family.”
As she spoke more and more outrageously, Bu Ruoyan, who was holding the microphone on the other side, couldn’t stand it anymore. She grabbed Wan Yunxin’s collar and pulled her back. “What are you talking about?”
Wan Yunxin wasn’t very self-aware. Seeing that Luo Yanzhi hadn’t reacted much, she leaned back in toward her, prying Bu Ruoyan’s hand away. She glanced at the others in the room to make sure no one was paying attention, then put an arm around Bu Ruoyan’s neck to pull her close.
Bu Ruoyan was about to struggle until she heard Wan Yunxin whisper in a voice only the three of them could hear: “Or do you plan to switch to a different Ning family member for the marriage alliance? After all…”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but they all understood.
After all, Ning Ruohuan had no ability and had essentially become an outcast of the Ning family. Marrying her brought far less benefit than marrying any other member of that family.
Nowadays, while not everyone possessed supernatural abilities, having one was the standard metric of judgment within their social circle. If it weren’t so, people wouldn’t spend massive amounts of money seeking ways to acquire artificial abilities, even at the risk of unpredictable side effects.
But… on second thought, the Luo Corporation had invested heavily in the research and development of artificial abilities and had achieved some success. Why wouldn’t they use that technology on Ning Ruohuan?
Bu Ruoyan looked at Luo Yanzhi, her eyes full of curiosity.
Luo Yanzhi picked up a die, tossed it into the air, and caught it. She opened her palm to check the number. “Then who do you think I should marry?”
Wan Yunxin and Bu Ruoyan exchanged a look and remained silent.
Luo Yanzhi tossed the die back down listlessly. The square object rolled twice and stopped. “I’m still considering it.”
She looked around. “Where is Yin Fan?”
“Oh,” Wan Yunxin replied, “she went to another city and hasn’t returned yet.”
Luo Yanzhi’s eyelashes fluttered. She didn’t ask further, instead letting her gaze drift to the singer on stage. Amidst the hazy, fantastical lights, a wonderful voice flowed out in moving, melodious notes.
She narrowed her eyes. Not as good as Ning Ruohuan’s singing.
Wan Yunxin left her side to join the singing on stage. Bu Ruoyan immediately took her place next to Luo Yanzhi.
Luo Yanzhi glanced at her. “What do you want to ask?”
Bu Ruoyan had known her the longest and was the closest to her.
“Actually, I’m quite curious. Why did you choose Ning Ruohuan in the first place?” Bu Ruoyan analyzed the situation as it stood back then. “She was never the best choice from the start.”
Bu Ruoyan had thought Luo Yanzhi was just playing around and that it would end in a week or two. Who would have thought she would play this game for five years?
“To spite my family,” Luo Yanzhi said, her lips curling into a smile. However, there was no warmth in her eyes—only a cold chill. “You have no idea how hilarious it was. When I chose her as my fiancée in front of both families, they couldn’t accept it but couldn’t throw a tantrum on the spot. Their expressions from holding it in were so funny.”
Bu Ruoyan asked, “And now? Your wedding date has to be finalized in a month. What do you plan to do then?”
Luo Yanzhi inexplicably thought of that first private moment, and the way Ning Ruohuan’s eyes had shone with such precious, hopeful light when she heard about the marriage proposal.
She replied half a beat late, “…Who knows. We’ll see.”