A week flew by, and suddenly it was the weekend again.
This week, Jiang Hao had called Zhou Nuan twice, trying to arrange a meeting, but she had refused both times, citing being busy, having no time, and needing to study.
Thinking about his lies and betrayal, Zhou Nuan felt anger welling up and had no interest in facing him.
After repeated refusals, Jiang Hao finally sensed something was wrong.
The excuses were the same, but the tone and attitude were completely different from before.
Feeling uneasy, he wondered if Zhou Nuan had discovered something.
But then he thought again—impossible. He hadn’t run into anyone that day, and Zhou Nuan was clearly studying at home.
To resolve his doubts, Friday after work, he hurried to Zhou Nuan’s school.
When he saw her leaving with the students, he waved. “Nuan Nuan!”
Zhou Nuan glanced at him but didn’t respond, continuing to lead the students toward the parent pickup area.
Seeing her ignore him, Jiang Hao shut the car door and strode toward her.
“Nuan Nuan, what do you mean? Why aren’t you responding?” He stepped forward and grabbed her hand, completely unconcerned about the people around.
“What are you doing?” Zhou Nuan was annoyed.
She shook off his hand and lowered her voice. “We can talk later. There are still so many students and parents here!”
“Fine, then I’ll wait in the car.” Jiang Hao stepped back to the car and leaned against the door, patiently waiting.
Only after all the students had left did Zhou Nuan slowly walk over.
“What do you want? I already said I need to study tonight, I don’t have time.” She spoke irritably.
“We can talk in the car.” Jiang Hao pouted and opened the passenger door. “You don’t want to stand here and talk, do you?”
Zhou Nuan glanced at the busy school entrance, sighed, and reluctantly got in.
Coincidentally, Shi Anlan, who had come to pick up Shi Xuzhi, saw this scene.
When he saw Zhou Nuan push Jiang Hao’s hand away, he slightly tugged at the corner of his mouth.
He hadn’t expected that the seemingly quiet little girl could be so fierce when angry.
Yet when Zhou Nuan eventually got into Jiang Hao’s car, his eyes darkened.
It seemed to him this was just a normal couple’s quarrel. No matter how fierce the girl was, she couldn’t resist the man’s persistence in the end.
Curious about Jiang Hao’s identity, he took out his phone and dialed. “Check the owner of this car for me.” He gave Jiang Hao’s license plate number.
“Yes, Secretary Shi. I’ll arrange it right away.” The person on the phone responded respectfully.
“Mm.” Shi Anlan hung up without another word.
The driver, Yao Di, raised an eyebrow slightly.
He thought to himself, Secretary Shi has been picking up his son quite frequently lately!
And now he’s even interested in a license plate—rare for him.
Yao Di had been Shi Anlan’s driver since being brought from the provincial capital, driving for him for several years.
For important positions like driver, he had to use someone he trusted.
For a leader, the driver and secretary were indispensable.
Because of their proximity, both positions had to be reliable. Secretaries were assigned by the government, but the driver was his own trusted person.
Yao Di was a veteran, formerly serving under Shi Anlan’s father. Reliable, skilled, and strong, he was both a driver and a bodyguard.
Zhou Nuan got into the car.
“What exactly do you want? I said I need to study, I really don’t have time.”
“Nuan Nuan,” Jiang Hao looked into her eyes, “do you have some issue with me?”
His intuition told him her attitude was abnormal.
“What issue could I have?” Zhou Nuan avoided his gaze. “I just want to study.”
“Stop deceiving yourself. We’ve been together almost a year—you can’t fool me.” Jiang Hao grabbed her hand. “Did I do something wrong that made you angry?”
Zhou Nuan gave him a glance, thinking, finally some self-awareness.
“Do you even know what you did?” Seeing he couldn’t dodge, she laid it out.
“What are you talking about? I don’t understand,” Jiang Hao stammered, feeling uneasy but still trying to bluff.
“Last Sunday afternoon, you didn’t go to work overtime, did you?” Zhou Nuan confronted him directly.
“Last Sunday afternoon? Nuan Nuan, you were studying at home! How did you know I didn’t go to work?” Jiang Hao asked nervously.
“Just because I was studying at home doesn’t mean I don’t know what you did,” Zhou Nuan said coldly. “Jiang Hao, stop fooling yourself.”
“What do you mean?” Jiang Hao’s face darkened.
“You went to the movies with someone else, didn’t you?” Zhou Nuan asked. “Jiang Hao, you already have a new girlfriend, so why bother with me?”
Jiang Hao panicked.
He grabbed her hand and placed it over his chest. “Nuan Nuan, let me explain. She… she’s not my girlfriend. She’s just the blind date my mom forced on me.”
“You said she’s your blind date. What does that tell you? Don’t you realize?” Zhou Nuan smiled bitterly. “At the very least, it shows your family doesn’t know I exist, or they don’t approve of us being together.”
“Nuan Nuan, I…” Jiang Hao was at a loss for words.
Zhou Nuan’s analysis was reasonable. He was indeed in the second situation: Li Huanying did not approve of them being together.
“Jiang Hao, you know very well… we… we won’t have a future together.” Zhou Nuan’s voice lowered, a trace of sorrow in her eyes.
“No, Nuan Nuan, give me some time. I’ll convince my parents,” Jiang Hao pleaded, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her desperately.
“Jiang Hao, face reality.” Zhou Nuan pulled her hand away and stared emptily ahead.
“We… we should break up.”
“No, Nuan Nuan, I don’t want to break up!” Jiang Hao shouted hoarsely. “I said I don’t want to break up!”
“But I… want to… break up with you.” Zhou Nuan closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke each word slowly and firmly.