Ning Yu pursed her lips in an embarrassed smile, looking every bit like a young woman in the throes of a passionate romance. She said bashfully, “Auntie, President Luo treats me very well. It’s just…” She hesitated, casting a mock-reproachful glance at Luo Yanzhi. “President Luo is too busy. After spending half a month playing with me last time, she hasn’t had much time to contact me.”
Ning Ruohuan’s pupils shook violently. The food she was holding fell back into her bowl. Losing her composure, she instinctively looked up to question Luo Yanzhi with her eyes, only to find Luo Qingyun’s scrutinizing gaze resting upon her.
Their eyes met for a fleeting second before Luo Qingyun shifted her gaze nonchalantly, as if she had looked over by mere chance. She asked Luo Yanzhi, “Yan-yan, are you really that busy?” Then, turning to Ning Yu, she added, “Xiaoyu, just call her by her name. It’s not your first time meeting; don’t be so formal.”
Luo Yanzhi remained silent. Her peripheral vision swept over the person beside her, her brows knitting together involuntarily. She set down her chopsticks and gripped the tall wine glass beside her. As she tilted her head back to drink, the elegant lines of her neck muscles tensed.
Ning Yu’s shy, tentative voice rang out: “Yan-yan?”
The fragrance of the wine bloomed in her mouth. Under the pressure of her palate, Luo Yanzhi’s tongue folded against its surface. She picked up the food Luo Qingyun had served her, placed it onto the small plate beneath her bowl, and gave a faint, “Mm.”
It was a response of sorts.
Ning Yu was overjoyed.
Ning Ruohuan gripped her utensils so hard her knuckles turned white. The color drained from her face, leaving only a mask of forced dignity to support her.
What did Ning Yu’s words mean? Luo Yanzhi hadn’t come home for half a month recently and hadn’t sent her any messages—was she actually accompanying Ning Yu during that time?
Her blood boiled. She had waited for Luo Yanzhi for half a month, and when the woman finally returned, Ruohuan had treated her with nothing but care and gentleness. It turned out she had only come back after she had finished enjoying herself outside.
Despite being in a private room as warm as spring, Ning Ruohuan felt as if her entire body was freezing. She bit the tip of her tongue, watching her own hand tremble as she tried to use her chopsticks. Several times, she failed to pick up a single piece of cauliflower from her bowl.
“That’s more like it,” Luo Qingyun said with satisfaction. “No matter how busy work gets, you can’t neglect people.” She then said to Ning Yu, “If she ignores you again next time, tell me. I’ll settle the score for you.”
Ning Yu acted flattered. “Auntie, I understand that Yan-yan is busy with work. It’s enough if she just finds a little time for me.”
Ning Lan smiled, trying to smooth things over. “After all, such a large conglomerate rest on Yanzhi’s shoulders. It’s normal to be neglectful occasionally. Even a leisurely person like me sometimes fails to reply to messages promptly.”
Luo Qingyun raised her hand. “Xiaoyu is not just ‘anyone’ else.”
Every word was a knife to Ning Ruohuan’s heart. Things had reached a point where she could no longer ignore the true intent of this dinner.
Just as Ning Yu had said last time, the Ning and Luo families intended to switch the candidates for the marriage alliance. But what about Luo Yanzhi? What was she thinking? Why did she bring Ruohuan here? And what was the truth behind the fifteen days she supposedly spent with Ning Yu?
Her mind became a chaotic mess, a tangle of countless threads where the beginning could not be found. She would grab one thread and pull, only to find it stuck, before turning to the next.
The confusion only deepened.
She stopped hearing the subsequent conversation until Ning Yu called her name, snapping her back to reality.
She looked at the person calling her with indifferent eyes, realizing that only she, Ning Lan, and Ning Yu remained at the table. Luo Qingyun and Luo Yanzhi had stepped out at some point.
Without realizing it, she tightened her grip on the only thing she could hold—the wine glass.
“Where are they?” Ning Ruohuan asked calmly.
Ning Lan frowned. “Yanzhi is accompanying Qingyun to the restroom.”
Such an intimate way to address her. Ning Ruohuan found it utterly ironic.
Ning Yu propped her elbows on the table. “Cousin, I told you before that the marriage candidate had changed, but you didn’t believe me. Do you believe it now? If I were you, I’d disappear early to save myself the embarrassment.”
Ning Ruohuan stared at her coldly.
A chill ran through Ning Yu, and the rest of her words caught in her throat. After a second, realizing she had been intimidated by Ning Ruohuan’s presence, she rolled her eyes. “I’m advising you for your own good. For the sake of our sisterhood, I might even invite you to the wedding between Yanzhi and me.”
Ning Lan sighed. “Ruohuan, your cousin is doing this for your own sake. Living with Luo Yanzhi like this without any status… if word gets out, it will be bad for your reputation in the future.”
Ning Ruohuan let out a soft laugh. “Mom, am I your biological daughter, or is Ning Yu?”
Ning Lan was choked up, finally stammering out, “This is for the good of the Ning family. You don’t have an ability. The bond between the Luo and Ning families won’t be deep enough through you. Your cousin is the best choice.”
Ning Ruohuan gave a mocking “Heh,” disdaining to continue the conversation.
Years ago, they used the Ning family to bind her; now, they wanted to use the Ning family to discard her.
Luo Qingyun reached out her hands as the automatic sensor faucet dispensed water. The cool stream rinsed the woman’s hands.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror, her gaze shifting to Luo Yanzhi, who stood nearby. “Have you still not made up your mind?”
Luo Yanzhi answered with a question of her own: “Decide what? You didn’t tell me before we came that other members of the Ning family would be here.”
Luo Qingyun dried her hands nonchalantly. “You were going to meet sooner or later. Do we still need to worry about her feelings at this point?”
She turned around. Luo Yanzhi was leaning there with her arms crossed. This was the daughter she had placed all her hopes in, yet she found her increasingly difficult to read. “Five years… even if you were just playing around, you’ve had your fill. Break it off early.”
Luo Yanzhi looked elsewhere.
Luo Qingyun continued, “What do you think of that child, Ning Yu? Even though she only has an ordinary ability, at least she has one.” She paused. “I shouldn’t have let you be so willful back then. If we had chosen Ning Yu directly, we wouldn’t have wasted all this time.”
“I have no impression of her,” Luo Yanzhi said suddenly.
Luo Qingyun blinked. “What?”
Luo Yanzhi replied, “You asked what I think of Ning Yu. I’m telling you: I have no impression.”
Luo Qingyun was at a loss for words. “Didn’t you spend half a month playing with her? How can you have no impression?”
Luo Yanzhi smiled. “That was just polite talk. You actually believed it, Mother?”
She closed her eyes, and Ning Ruohuan’s face appeared in her mind. When she opened them again, her gaze was clear. She said, “I’ve only met her a few times. I can barely remember the name of the person standing in front of me—what would I be ‘playing’ at with her?”
Luo Qingyun was amused by this remark and patted her shoulder. “Fine. There are only a few days left; handle it yourself. I’ve always been confident in you. Don’t let me down.”
Luo Yanzhi hid the gloom in her eyes.
Sensing her daughter’s shift in mood, Luo Qingyun offered a suggestion: “The Luo Corporation has made good progress in the research of acquired abilities. You could let Ning Ruohuan try it. Perhaps she could gain even a tiny bit of an ability; it would be good for her future. Consider it the final gift you give her. Either way, she doesn’t lose out.”
The private room had grown quiet. With just a few words and a single look, Ning Ruohuan had rendered Ning Yu speechless. After several rebuffs, Ning Yu stopped seeking trouble for the sake of petty verbal victories. Anyway, once the talks between the two families concluded, Ning Ruohuan would have to say goodbye to Luo Yanzhi forever.
And she, Ning Yu, would become Luo Yanzhi’s official fiancée until they were married.
Ning Ruohuan had held the title of Luo Yanzhi’s fiancée for five years, but how many people actually knew? It was only a handful of people within the families.
Whether Luo Yanzhi’s friends even knew was another story entirely.
In the media and news, there hadn’t been a single trace of information regarding Luo Yanzhi’s partner.
That would change soon.
She imagined the day when her name, Ning Yu, and Luo Yanzhi’s name would appear together in the headlines. At the thought, Ning Yu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Ning Ruohuan had no appetite left. She pulled out two tissues and wiped the corners of her mouth.
When Luo Qingyun and Luo Yanzhi returned, their gazes briefly intertwined with the others.
Ruohuan’s posture was upright, her state of mind stable, and her attitude polite. Despite everything that had been said, she hadn’t shown even a hint of losing her composure.
Luo Qingyun thought to herself that if Ning Ruohuan had possessed an ability, she would have certainly approved of this marriage.
Unfortunately, she didn’t.
Suppressing her regret, she sat back in the head seat.
After some polite closing remarks, the dinner ended. Luo Qingyun arranged for Luo Yanzhi to personally drive Ning Yu home.
She teased, “It’s best for you young people to be together. Your Aunt Ning and I will take the other car; we won’t get in the way of you two bonding.”
Ning Lan chimed in, “Yes, we wouldn’t be able to keep up with your topics anyway.”
Ning Yu stood shyly by Luo Yanzhi’s side, looking down with a smile.
Ning Ruohuan stood several meters away, watching the “loving family” like an outsider.
Luo Yanzhi didn’t immediately agree. Instead, she said to the driver, “Take my mother and the others back.”
Luo Qingyun quickly said, “Your Aunt Ning and I will watch you two leave first.”
She was afraid that if they left first, Luo Yanzhi would refuse to take Ning Yu out of spite, or simply find someone else to drive her.
The driver looked back and forth, torn.
Luo Yanzhi said “Wait a moment,” and walked over to Ning Ruohuan. “Are you waiting for me here, or…?”
Ning Ruohuan took a step back imperceptibly. “I have other things to do. You go ahead.”
Luo Yanzhi frowned. “What things?”
Ning Ruohuan smiled. “Private matters.”
Luo Yanzhi’s lips moved, but she didn’t push further. In a voice only the two of them could hear, she whispered: “Sister, I only love you. Wait for me at home.”
Ning Ruohuan’s nerves were jolted, leaving her head throbbing.
Then, she heard Luo Yanzhi say in a normal volume, “Stay safe. Go home early.”
Luo Yanzhi opened the passenger door for Ning Yu and then got into the driver’s seat. As the car slowly drove away, the passenger window rolled down as they passed. Ning Yu waved. “Auntie, Aunt, I’m leaving now. See you next time!”
“See you next time.”
Ning Yu pointedly said to Ning Ruohuan, “Cousin, do you want Yanzhi to drop you off first?”
Ning Ruohuan smiled. “No need. Thank you for your kindness, cousin.”
The black car disappeared into the distance. Ning Ruohuan took a deep breath. Not forgetting her basic manners, she stepped forward and said to Luo Qingyun and Ning Lan, “Aunt… Luo, Mom, goodbye.”
Luo Qingyun nodded.
Ning Lan felt a momentary pang of heartache, but it quickly vanished. “Be careful on the road.”
Ning Ruohuan: “I will.”