"I did say I was going to have it out with Ningning and tell her that you’re the only one I love, but Ningning is so good to me. How could I say it? And really, you don’t want to see her get hurt... right?"
Chen Yuan’s words were sincere. He didn’t notice that as he spoke, the color instantly drained from Jiangg Ning’s face. Her body also began to tremble subtly.
Jiangg Yao liked hearing these things; otherwise, she felt completely insecure. So Chen Yuan always told her this, figuring it was better to first placate the easier-to-please Yaoyao to prevent both situations from blowing up in his face.
The key, however, was that the one sitting on his lap right now was Ningning.
If there had been a knife, it would surely be held to Chen Yuan’s throat. The two were still in an intimate embrace, and he remained completely oblivious.
"For my sake, Ningning quit her job at the school," he continued. "The job market is tough, and even someone as outstanding as her has been hitting wall after wall. I’ve seen it all. She’s been trying so hard, quietly giving her all. If I suddenly broke up with her under these circumstances and cut all ties, would I even be human?"
’But what you’re doing now is human?’
Jiangg Ning desperately wanted to demand an answer. Her arms tightened around Chen Yuan, whether to suppress the rage in her heart or because she was simply too heartbroken, she didn’t know.
"Just give me some more time. I’ll handle it. If we’re going to be together for life, and you’ve said you want to marry me, then we’re not really in a rush, are we? What do you think?"
"Can you really handle it?" she asked in a low voice.
"I definitely will. I’ll give it everything I have."
Chen Yuan had already figured it out. Once he dealt with Jiang Zhengfeng, he could use that to connect with Jiangg Ruxue. First, he’d resolve the lingering issues between the two sisters and their mother. Then he’d approach it from that angle. As long as either Yaoyao or Jiangg Ruxue yielded, things would be much easier to handle.
This was why he was trying his best to stay on good terms with Jiang Zhengfeng.
As he’d said before, life wasn’t just about following the conventional path. Everyone had the right to choose. As long as he wasn’t hurting others, marrying two women wasn’t some grave sin that would bring down divine retribution.
He didn’t know the pain in Jiangg Ning’s heart. The taste of betrayal was, of course, a bitter one.
"Is that all?" She pouted, looking at Chen Yuan with dissatisfaction.
"I’ve been keeping my distance from Ningning, just like we agreed. She’s even a little mad at me now. And since she saw how close we are, she should have gotten a sense of my intentions..." Chen Yuan’s gaze drifted. "I’ve done my best. You know her personality. Ningning likes to bottle things up and suffer in silence, but the more she does that, the worse I feel. Yaoyao, I know you can understand me, right?"
"I understand. Of course, I understand..."
The afternoon sun slanted into the living room from outside the window, but no matter how it tried, it couldn’t seem to reach the sofa.
Jiangg Ning’s face was hidden in the shadows, her eyes revealing a flash of cutting sorrow.
The expression on her face grew fainter and fainter, like a sketch washed out by water, its creases filled with the weathered look of something that had been ravaged.
Her voice was so low it was as if she were murmuring to herself.
’The person I love is so wonderful, radiant, always pure and kind. You can feel his youthful, high spirits in every move he makes.’
’But now, he’s become nothing but a liar.’
’People change. She understood this principle deeply, yet she was unwilling to believe this was the outcome.’
Jiangg Ning felt that Chen Yuan was growing more and more distant. Their chests were pressed together, their hearts only inches apart, yet their paths were diverging, heading in different directions.
In that moment, she actually felt a pang of regret for coming up with this idea.
If she had been kept in the dark, perhaps she wouldn’t be this heartbroken. Before the truth was revealed, they could have still enjoyed a period of simple, happy days.
The blame, if any, lay with her overly sharp intuition, like an insect sensing the coming of winter ahead of time.
’How could someone who truly cares not sense it...?’
"Let’s not talk about this anymore. I didn’t come back yesterday. Did you miss me?"
"Yes, I missed you a lot," Jiangg Ning said, her voice soft.
At this point, she had only one last question.
Had Chen Yuan and Jiangg Yao actually slept together?
If they had, then there was nothing more to be said. No matter how Chen Yuan apologized or begged, she would never forgive him.
"Where did you miss me?"
"What kind of question is that? In my head, of course."
As Jiangg Ning spoke, Chen Yuan’s hands began to wander. He wasn’t just exploring her waist; his actions were growing bolder.
She didn’t stop Chen Yuan.
Instead, an irrepressible fire of rage ignited in her heart. She narrowed her beautiful eyes, enduring his wandering hands, her teeth clenched so hard they could have shattered.
"Only in your head? You didn’t miss me here...? What about here? And your lips...?"
Jiangg Ning turned her face to look at him. Their eyes met. They were so close that a single blink of her eyelashes could brush against his skin.
An ambiguous atmosphere filled the living room with romantic tension, and body temperatures began to rise.
She didn’t let the fire in her heart show on her face. Instead, she gave a sweet smile, gazing at Chen Yuan with tender affection as she waited for his next move.
"What are you touching...?" Jiangg Ning said coquettishly, biting her lip.
"Don’t you like it when I touch you, Yaoyao? Call me ’hubby.’"
’Hubby my ass!’
Jiangg Ning desperately wanted to slap Chen Yuan across his handsome face and leave a clear, five-fingered mark so he would never forget this day.
She took several deep breaths before forcing the impulse down.
If rage could take a physical form, a giant red "DANGER" sign would be flashing over Chen Yuan’s head.
A full rage bar can lead to a critical hit, after all.
Chen Yuan didn’t sense any danger. On the contrary, he pinched Jiangg Ning’s cheek, trying to force her to call him "hubby." When she didn’t, he just kept pinching and rubbing her little face.
He had always been this uninhibited with Jiangg Yao.
And Yaoyao didn’t mind it at all. In her world, physical contact was the proof of love; something like a platonic romance simply didn’t exist.
"Hub..." Jiangg Ning broke into a 100% sweet smile and said softly, "Hubby~ Stop pinching me. I said it. Are you satisfied now?"
"Sounds so good. Even sweeter than before."
"Is that so?"
"I don’t know why, but I’m getting a special feeling today."
"What kind of feeling, exactly?"
"It’s just... you’re even prettier than before, and your voice is gentler. Is it because you missed me so much after not seeing me for over a day?"
"Mhm, you guessed it."
With all he’d said today, he hadn’t just offended Jiangg Ning; on the other end of the phone line, Jiangg Yao’s fists were also clenching.
At that moment, Jiangg Yao had heard every single word he’d said.
’What does he mean, "gentler than before"?’
’He really is a cheating bastard! His heart is set on Ningning’s gentleness, but his mouth keeps spouting nonsense about loving Yaoyao.’
’A complete and utter liar.’
...
Back on the sofa, enveloped in the charged atmosphere, Chen Yuan’s actions grew even more excessive. He buried his face deep in Jiangg Ning’s chest and took a long, satisfied breath.
Already tense and extremely sensitive, Ningning’s body trembled even more violently as he touched a private place.