’I’ve been too nice to him. He’s getting better and better at pushing his luck.’
Jiangg Ning was so furious she wanted to twist Chen Yuan’s ear right off.
But when she saw him grimace in pain, she instinctively loosened her grip. A half-second later, she caught herself and tightened it again. This time, her anger wasn’t just directed at Chen Yuan; it was mixed with indignation at her own compassion.
’This bastard has already treated me this way.’
’What the hell am I feeling sorry for him for? He should be made to feel unbearable pain. Only a punishment like that could possibly quell my anger.’
"Chen Yuan, confess everything, and be honest about it. That’s the only way I’ll even consider speaking to you civilly. If you don’t, we’re not just done talking today—we’re done talking for good!"
"Haven’t I been, Officer Ningning?"
"Still trying to be a smartass? Do you really think I’m a pushover? Believe it or not, I’ll walk out of here right now."
"Fine, I’ll confess. I’ll tell you everything, word for word... Just let go first."
"On your knees!"
"A man only kneels..."
"?"
At that, Jiangg Ning shot him a sideways glare.
THUMP. Chen Yuan dropped to his knees on the sofa, all his pride gone. He could clearly see a cold glint in Jiangg Ning’s eyes that made his scalp tingle.
’If he didn’t hurry up and sincerely apologize, Jiangg Ning would very likely beat him up before walking out for good.’
"Tell me," Jiangg Ning said, sitting down and taking a few deep breaths, her voice still trembling slightly. "Was offering me a position at your company part of your plan?"
"It was."
"You bastard!" She slapped him on the shoulder. It wasn’t a light blow, nor was it particularly heavy, but it was sharp enough to hurt.
Luckily, he’d bent over sharply, mitigating some of the force.
"I underestimated you. I really did. You put on quite a performance that day, didn’t you? You had me completely fooled. I was so moved I was crying my eyes out. You must have been gloating inside, huh?"
"Not really..."
"Did you think that if I took this job, I wouldn’t be able to leave you? That I’d be trapped by your side, and you could just drag things out and do whatever you wanted?"
"Something like that, but not that dramatic. I was just trying to buy some time. To be honest, I still haven’t figured out a good solution."
"A solution? You think there’s a solution?" her voice suddenly spiked.
"Of course not. Ningning, can’t you see my efforts aren’t getting me anywhere? You saw through me so easily... Speaking of which, when did you find out?"
"I saw through you a long time ago. I just didn’t want to call you out on it. But with some people, the more you trust them, the more creative they get with their deception. Maybe I’m just stupid."
"No, you’re not stupid. It’s my fault..."
"Hmph. As long as you know it’s your fault."
Jiangg Ning crossed her legs. After saying this, she fell silent, simply staring at Chen Yuan without looking away for a second. Her gaze made him feel an immense, inexplicable pressure.
"Is that everything? Is there anything else? This whole time, you’ve been pushing me and Yaoyao to hang out together—either going out or playing games as a trio. And those few times you crashed in bed with us at home... you were just pretending to be asleep, weren’t you?"
"The first few times, I wasn’t. But later... well, later I realized you two didn’t have the heart to wake me, so I just went with the flow and stayed asleep," Chen Yuan mumbled, his cheeks flushing slightly.
"Was it fun? Did you enjoy it? How does it feel, living the dream with a woman in each arm, sleeping between the two of us?"
"Can I be honest?"
"No one’s stopping you."
"I didn’t enjoy it. To be honest, I felt incredibly guilty."
"You’re lying again!"
"Okay, fine! It was amazing. The truth is, just looking at the two of you makes me feel so bles—"
Before he could finish, Jiangg Ning couldn’t take it anymore and kicked out at his leg.
Chen Yuan reacted instinctively, reaching out and catching her ankle in his hand.
"Let go of my foot!" Jiangg Ning grew even more furious. "You pervert! You pull this crap with Yaoyao, too. I can’t even be bothered to curse you out."
"What’s perverted about it? We’re in a relationship... I don’t see it."
"You dare talk back to me?"
"I’ll shut up."
Chen Yuan made a gesture as if zipping his lips shut and looked at her with pleading eyes. His mind was finally catching up, and he began racking his brain for a way to resolve the situation properly.
’He’d keenly picked up on Jiangg Ning’s earlier mention of "deceiving both of them." He figured something must have gone wrong on Jiangg Yao’s end, forcing Ningning to resort to the desperate tactic of confronting him like this—as if she were her sister.’
’So where was Jiangg Yao right now?’
"I have nothing more to say about what you’ve done. You don’t need to feign remorse, either. I just want to ask you one thing right now: do you regret it?" Jiangg Ning asked, looking him seriously in the eye.
"I..." Chen Yuan scratched his head. "How should I put this? Can you give me a moment to choose my words?"
"You mean, ’give you a moment to think up a better excuse,’ right?"
"You don’t have to be so harsh..."
"Then you shouldn’t have done such shameful things in the first place."
...
While the argument was still raging, Jiangg Yao had already pulled her car into the underground garage. She got out briskly, not even pausing to catch her breath as she rushed on.
In the car just moments ago, she had overheard the conversation between Chen Yuan and her sister.
It was a good thing she hadn’t hung up, or she would have missed Chen Yuan’s "heartfelt confession."
Hearing the words, "I like Jiangg Yao. I like her a lot. I can’t imagine my life without her," had made her eyes flicker as she drove, and more than half of her anger had dissipated.
It was a small blessing in a terrible situation.
If she hadn’t heard anything, her anger would have been several times greater than Ningning’s. It was only natural; the one who gives the most is the one who feels the most betrayed.
But immediately after, Chen Yuan’s next words made her face darken.
’What did he mean, "I considered giving her up for you"? Was she, Jiangg Yao, that cheap? After she had poured her entire heart into this, could Chen Yuan really not see it?’
’She desperately wanted to ask Chen Yuan what gave him the right to choose at all.’
’In her entire life, this was the first time Jiangg Yao had ever willingly poured her heart and soul into someone else. She had already humbled herself so much for him. Wasn’t that enough? Why was she being treated like a backup plan?’
Carrying these questions, the mere thought of which filled her with rage, she stormed into the elevator—STOMP STOMP STOMP—and all the way to their front door.
BANG! She threw the door open.
The first thing she saw was Chen Yuan kneeling on the sofa and her sister, whose eyes were red-rimmed. The entire living room was dim, with the curtains drawn to block out all sunlight.
"Yaoyao!" Chen Yuan whipped his head around. One glance was all it took to know this was the real Jiangg Yao, the genuine article.
However, Jiangg Yao’s next words sent a chill down his spine, freezing him in place.
"Shut your mouth, you bastard! I treated you with all my heart, and this is how you repay me? By lying to me? Do you have any idea how much you’ve hurt me?"
Jiangg Yao had managed to hold it together on the way over, but the moment she saw Chen Yuan, her tough exterior crumbled. Tears streamed from her eyes, tumbling down her cheeks one after another.
Her accusation was choked with sobs.
It made Chen Yuan’s head buzz. BUZZ. BUZZ.
’It’s over.’
’This time, it’s really over.’
’A double kill...’