As the date for the formal meeting between the Ning and Luo families drew near, Ning Ruohuan began calculating the timing in her heart. She circled various dates on the calendar that carried auspicious meanings, waiting for the final confirmation of her wedding date with Luo Yanzhi.
It was highly likely that the date would be selected from the ones she had marked.
In a wonderful mood, Ning Ruohuan sat in Shi Wen’s car. She sat with her legs crossed and her hands folded gently over her lower abdomen, gazing out at the scenery passing by.
Everything seemed normal.
After her third ability-value test, the results were exactly as expected: all her stats had returned to the normal range. Shi Wen stared at the green numbers on the screen with excitement, struggling to suppress his joy as he reported the good news to her.
Seeing the figures, Ning Ruohuan smiled before speaking. “It’s all thanks to you being here that I was able to recuperate in peace.”
Shi Wen shook his head quickly. “It was only my duty.”
After a bit of small talk, Shi Wen dropped Ning Ruohuan off at the usual spot.
An Evening Interlude
When she returned to the villa, Luo Yanzhi had not yet arrived. Ning Ruohuan checked the time: 5:30 PM.
There was still half an hour before Luo Yanzhi was due home, so Ning Ruohuan settled onto the living room sofa to wait.
As if timed perfectly to the ticking clock, the moment the digits hit 6:00, the crisp “click” of the front door echoed through the house. Immediately following was Luo Yanzhi’s clear, refined voice.
“Send that over first, leave the rest there, I’ll deal with it tomorrow…” Stepping through the entryway, Luo Yanzhi paused, turning to the secretary following closely behind. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Understood, President Luo,” the secretary replied.
Ning Ruohuan rose to meet her, catching the woman who tumbled into her arms. She asked softly, “Such hard work. Are you tired?”
Luo Yanzhi let out a satisfied sigh, leaning her full weight against Ning Ruohuan. “Then does Sister want to coax me a little?”
Ning Ruohuan let out a helpless laugh. “Am I not coaxing you right now?”
Luo Yanzhi laughed along with her.
After dinner, the two went to the home theater on the second floor to watch a lighthearted comedy. The plot logic was questionable, but it made up for it with dense, frequent humor. Throughout the film, Luo Yanzhi leaned her head on Ning Ruohuan’s shoulder, appearing to be in high spirits.
Halfway through the movie, Luo Yanzhi’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen and stepped out to the balcony. Ning Ruohuan paused the film, waiting for her to return so they could finish it together.
The call lasted a long time. When the theater door finally pushed open again, Ning Ruohuan rubbed her sleepy eyes and turned around, only to be met with Luo Yanzhi’s noticeably grim expression.
The room was dim, lit only by the faint glow of the movie screen. Ning Ruohuan turned on a small flashlight to guide her, asking caringly, “What happened?”
Luo Yanzhi sat back down beside her. Only after inhaling Ning Ruohuan’s familiar scent did her mood improve slightly. She leaned weakly back against her shoulder, her hair brushing against Ning Ruohuan’s neck. “It’s nothing. Let’s keep watching.”
Ning Ruohuan remained silent for a moment. She didn’t press for answers and pressed play.
Sound filled the room again.
Earlier, Ning Ruohuan had inadvertently caught a glimpse of the caller ID: “Mom.” That call must have been from Luo Yanzhi’s mother. Ning Ruohuan shifted almost imperceptibly, observing the person beside her out of the corner of her eye.
Until the film ended, Luo Yanzhi did not show the slightest hint of a smile.
When the lights were switched on, the sudden brightness caused the unprepared Luo Yanzhi to flinch for a second, though she recovered quickly. She tilted her head back as the brilliant overhead light shone down.
Sensing something was wrong, Ning Ruohuan knelt in front of her, pulling her into a gentle embrace. She whispered soothingly, “Are you in a bad mood? Do you want to talk to me about it?”
If it was a matter regarding the Luo Corporation, she could have Shi Wen provide some assistance.
Luo Yanzhi stared blankly at the person in front of her. After a long silence, she suddenly broke into a bright smile and affectionately rubbed her cheek against Ning Ruohuan’s. Her mood had shifted with alarming speed.
She said, “No, I’m just a little tired. I want to take a bath.”
Ning Ruohuan followed her lead. “Alright, get some rest early tonight.”
Luo Yanzhi smiled.
The Hidden Motive
The next day, Luo Yanzhi did not go to the office.
When Ning Ruohuan finished her workout and emerged from the bathroom, she was surprised to see Luo Yanzhi still sitting at the vanity applying makeup. “You’re this late today?”
Luo Yanzhi smiled at her reflection in the mirror. “Taking a day off to accompany Sister.”
Ning Ruohuan blinked. Over the past month, they had either been in a cold war or Luo Yanzhi had been away on business. Calculating it carefully, they really hadn’t spent quality time together in a while.
However, Ning Ruohuan still remembered the change caused by that phone call last night. She feared Luo Yanzhi was throwing a childish tantrum just to spite her mother.
She asked tentatively, “Is that okay? Won’t it affect work?”
Luo Yanzhi replied, “What’s the harm? Is the world going to stop spinning without me?” She turned and gestured to the person by the door. “Sister, come help me pick a shade. I’ve developed a case of ‘choice paralysis’.”
Ning Ruohuan felt helpless but had her suspicions. She didn’t let them show on her face, figuring she could just let Shi Wen handle any fallout later. She walked over and carefully studied Luo Yanzhi’s makeup.
Whether intentional or not, the look today leaned toward “innocent girl.” Paired with those naturally captivating peach-blossom eyes, it hit Ning Ruohuan right in the heart. When she and Luo Yanzhi first met, the other woman had looked just as beautiful as she did today.
“Sister, aren’t you done looking yet?” Luo Yanzhi joked. “Any longer and you’ll stare my makeup right off my face.”
Ning Ruohuan curved her lips and picked out a reddish-pink shade from the lipstick box.
Luo Yanzhi didn’t take it. She said pridefully, “Sister, you put it on for me.”
Ning Ruohuan had no way around her and certainly couldn’t bear to refuse. Her slender fingers gripped the base of the lipstick and twisted it. With her pinky finger lightly propping up Luo Yanzhi’s chin, she focused intently on applying the color to those two lips.
She was as focused as if she were handling a long-treasured artifact, terrified that a single clumsy move might damage it. Her breathing slowed; her heartbeat quickened.
Luo Yanzhi’s eyes remained fixed on the person before her, as reality and illusion blurred together.
On one side was the warmth within her reach; on the other were the words swirling incessantly in her mind: The choice of a marriage partner from the Ning family must be handled with caution. Everything Mother decides is for your own good.
“For your own good…” Luo Yanzhi had heard that phrase countless times. In any situation, for any reason, it could be dragged out. Because it was “for her own good,” it didn’t matter if she liked it or if she accepted it.
The smile vanished from Luo Yanzhi’s face.
Ning Ruohuan capped the lipstick and was about to speak when she saw the person sitting there expressionless, her eyes out of focus. That gaze was so cold that Ning Ruohuan instinctively took half a step back.
The movement snapped Luo Yanzhi back to reality. “Sister?”
Ning Ruohuan shook her head and gestured toward the mirror. “Is this okay?”
Luo Yanzhi pursed her lips to blend the color and touched it up slightly. She smiled. “Of course, it’s perfect.”
The Unspoken Rejection
It wasn’t until they were in Luo Yanzhi’s private car that Ning Ruohuan realized the true reason her partner had dressed up despite not going to work.
They were going to see Luo Yanzhi’s mother.
Ning Ruohuan only learned this after the makeup was already done. The woman who was usually composed and capable felt a sudden surge of anxiety. She had rarely met Luo Yanzhi’s mother and knew nothing of her preferences.
“Yanyan,” Ning Ruohuan said with a headache, “why didn’t you tell me we were seeing your mother earlier so I could prepare?”
Luo Yanzhi smiled like a blooming flower. “It’s just a meal. Keep a level head, Sister, there’s no need to be so nervous.”
Ning Ruohuan tapped her forehead. “Right, right. Of course you’re not nervous to see your own mother.”
An hour later, Ning Ruohuan saw Luo Yanzhi’s mother sitting at the head of the table. But she wasn’t alone; Ning Lan and Ning Yu were there as well.
Ning Ruohuan kept the smile on her lips. She first greeted Luo Yanzhi’s mother politely, then called Ning Lan “Mom,” and finally greeted her cousin “Ning Yu,” whose gaze felt like it was trying to bore a hole through her.
Luo Qingyun was as elegant and gentle as Ning Ruohuan remembered, but her words carried a subtle, sharp undertone: “Ruohuan is here too.”
That word “too” was incredibly telling—as if she was someone who wasn’t supposed to be there.
Ning Ruohuan sat down beside Luo Yanzhi with an air of practiced calm. “Auntie, it’s been a long time.”
Luo Qingyun pressed a button on the side of the table. “It has been a long time.” That said, she turned to Luo Yanzhi with a smile. “Xiaoyan, why didn’t you tell Mother you were bringing someone? If we were short on cutlery, wouldn’t we become a laughingstock?”
Ning Yu let out a soft, mocking laugh. She had known for a long time that Luo Qingyun was dissatisfied with Ning Ruohuan. Based solely on the fact that Ning Ruohuan was a “useless person” without any supernatural abilities, the Luo family could never agree to a marriage between them.
Otherwise, why would Luo Qingyun invite her and Ning Lan to dinner but exclude Ning Ruohuan? Now that Ning Ruohuan had crashed the party, Luo Qingyun’s impression of her would undoubtedly worsen.
Ning Yu felt she would be the ultimate winner. The benefits of the alliance between the Ning and Luo families would eventually fall into her lap. She couldn’t help but look at Luo Yanzhi, anticipating the final confirmation of the candidate.
Under the table, Luo Yanzhi took Ning Ruohuan’s hand, rubbing her thumb over the back of it twice in a gesture of comfort. However, it didn’t quite qualify as a defense. “In a restaurant this large, they won’t run out of a set of chopsticks.”
Soon, the dishes were served one after another.
Throughout the meal, Ning Ruohuan was treated like a ghost, completely ignored. Her sense of taste seemed to vanish; the food felt like wax in her mouth as she listened to Luo Qingyun and Ning Lan discuss anecdotes about Luo Yanzhi and Ning Yu, interspersed with Ning Yu’s frequent, shy interjections.
It was a terrible meal.
Through a simple sentence or a single look, Luo Qingyun made it crystal clear: this elegant, intellectual woman did not like her.
The family of her lover disliked her—alarm bells were ringing in Ning Ruohuan’s heart. But what troubled her even more was that throughout the entire process, Luo Yanzhi had not uttered a single word of support.