This felt much more genuine.
The highest honor, the final destination.
These eight words gave Fu Hanchen pause for thought. Deep down, he believed the same.
One day, he too would dedicate himself to his own battlefield.
The jeep bumped along the road all the way to the town. Unexpectedly, a man ran out from the street and stopped the vehicle.
“Ruanruan, Ruanruan!” the man called out affectionately.
Qiao Ruan, leaning against the car window: …
It was Shen Liancheng. The moment she recognized him, her palms clenched tightly, and hatred welled up in her eyes.
It was Shen Liancheng who had caused her death.
She recalled the scene before her eyes closed—Shen Liancheng forcing her to sign the inheritance papers, then coldly watching her writhe in pain on the ground of the Shen family’s backyard, tormented by illness, until she breathed her last with eyes wide open.
“Ruanruan, don’t leave me. We promised to get married. How could you abandon me and go to the city…” Shen Liancheng chased after the jeep, continuously pounding on the window.
Fu Hanchen, who had just thought Qiao Ruan had some backbone, glanced at the man outside the window and immediately recalled her bold statement about finding a better partner, reigniting his impatience.
She really had too much drama!
“Stop the car,” Fu Hanchen said with a dark expression.
The driver had no choice but to stop. As Fu Hanchen prepared to get out and deal with the situation, Qiao Ruan suddenly reached out and stopped him, her expression resolute. “I’ll handle this myself!”
Fu Hanchen looked down at her slender hand gripping his arm, even noticing the chilblains on her fair skin, which stood out starkly.
Qiao Ruan refused Fu Hanchen’s help and got out of the car on her own.
She stared coldly at Shen Liancheng.
Shen Liancheng eagerly reached out to take her hand, his expression anxious. “Ruanruan, don’t go. Let’s get married! I’ll marry you and take care of you from now on.”
Suppressing the urge to slap him, Qiao Ruan took a deep breath, shook off his hand, and said firmly and decisively, “Shen Liancheng, it’s over between us.”
Shen Liancheng stared at her in disbelief, then shook his head frantically. “I don’t believe it. I don’t believe you’re the kind of social climber Qiao Meng says you are. How could you break up with me just to go to the capital?”
Qiao Ruan replied coldly, “Shen Liancheng, stop pretending to be affectionate. Haven’t you always been wavering between me and Qiao Meng? You’re attracted to my looks but can’t let go of Qiao Meng’s flirtatiousness.”
Shen Liancheng: …
The driver and Fu Hanchen in the car were stunned by her words. Even with the car door closed, they could tell what she was saying just by reading her lips.
“Don’t think I don’t know about your secret meetings with Qiao Meng, kissing and all.”
“I’ve wanted to break up with you for a long time. A scumbag like you deserves to be dumped!” Qiao Ruan spoke mercilessly, as if venting the grievances and anger from her past life.
Having been reborn, she no longer wanted to tolerate many things. In her past life, she had dated Shen Liancheng out of foolish hope that marriage would help her escape the Qiao family!
“Qiao Ruan, you…” Shen Liancheng’s face flushed with anger, turning as red as liver.
“Alright, I’m off to live a better life in the city. You’d better not bother me.” Qiao Ruan pointed at the jeep. “The people inside are armed. If you keep pestering me, they’ll shoot you!”
Qiao Ruan made a “bang” gesture with her hand, threatened Shen Liancheng, then turned and got back into the car.
Once inside, she smiled at the driver and said, “You can drive now.”
“Miss Qiao… is the matter resolved?” The driver glanced at the man outside the car window, who stood there dumbfounded, then looked at Qiao Ruan, whose expression was as calm as a gentle breeze.
Qiao Ruan nodded obediently. “We broke up amicably and ended things peacefully.”
The driver: …Are you sure you didn’t threaten to shoot him?
He let out a dry laugh and started the car.
Fu Hanchen grew even more silent. In such a short time, he had seen several sides of Qiao Ruan.
Her sycophantic behavior when provoking her cousin, the cunning words she used in Qiao Village, the straightforward honesty when speaking of her father, the bullying with power she displayed just moments ago outside the car, and now, this gentle and obedient demeanor.
He glanced down at her once more, only to be met with her faint smile.