Jiang Yan gazed at the man standing in front of her, his smooth jawline slightly tense, wanting to open his mouth but not knowing what to say.

  "Ruan Jianglin, you don't need to explain, just answer me."

  Her expression was exceptionally calm, but her fingers still pinched at her fingernails, an unconscious action that couldn't be concealed.

  "Ruan Jianglin, is the person in the photo Gu Qing?"

  He didn't say anything.

  ——

  "So have you seen her?"

  The man's sexy and handsome thin lips slightly pursed, softly calling out "Jiang Yan".

  She interrupted him again and asked directly, "Why see her?"

  "Is it a rekindling of old romance? Or is it an unfinished business?" she asked tightly.

  "It's not, just taking some old things." He explained, but the words seemed somewhat pale.

  But how could Ruan Jianglin explain it to her, what thing was he holding?

  "Look, Ruan Jianglin, you're even too lazy to fabricate a story."

  She spoke with a slight choke and a nasal tone, and she reached out to smooth her hair.

  "Ruan Jianglin, don't you forget, it was you who begged me to come back."

  ——

  Jiang Yan grasped the man's tie with one hand and pulled him in front of her, narrowing the distance between them. She gripped his hand with extra force, her slender wrist revealing visible blood vessels.

  Her indifferent eyes were slightly touched, with a few more questioning, her eyes were red, and she slowly opened her mouth:

  "Ruan Jianglin, you explain!"

  It's been eight years and he still doesn't want to give any explanation, just like before.

  He has always been successful in love affairs, how could he have expected to put each other in this situation today.

  The man's face contorted, his mouth opened slightly, but he was unable to speak, as if a fishbone had become lodged in his throat.

  He gently wiped away her tears with his hand and remained silent for a long time before starting to explain: "It's really something from the past, trust me, okay?"

  She let go of him, somewhat weakly, "Alright, I believe you."

  The food in the kitchen had gone bad, emitting a strong stench that filled the entire living room. Jiang Yan didn't have the energy to clean up and went into her bedroom, locking herself inside.

  She didn't know that Ruan Jianglin had eaten the fish she had burned to a crisp by himself, chewing on it like he was eating burnt rice cakes, his jaw hurting and with a strong smell of fish.

  Not just various programmers were working overtime in this dormitory, but also PRs invited by Ruan.

  It must be settled before dawn.

  Another depth charge is coming with it.

  Ye Chen previously didn't finish the task of cutting the grass and instead pulled it out from the roots. That group of photos was left behind as a backup, but I don't know where they were taken.

  Ruan Jianglin and Gu Qing's meeting had just been suppressed for a short while, when the photo incident broke out again, with many marketing accounts stirring up the waves, as if they had been bought off in advance.

  Jiang Yan also saw those photos at dawn, and when they first came out, they weren't even censored.

  She finally realized what Ruan Jianglin was going for, no wonder he couldn't explain it.

  She was about to leave No. 7 Courtyard overnight when Ruan Jiang intercepted her.

  In his heart, he thought that was just something from before, and she knew about those years of nonsense before they were together anyway.

  I thought she was just angry, but I didn't expect her to leave.

  "Ruan Jianglin, you just don't get it. I'm angry because of what happened between you and Gu Qing in the past?"

  Ruan Jiang Lin pulled her along, his tone somewhat urgent, "Come on, I don't understand, you'd better say it, won't I understand once you've said it?"

  Jiang Yan's eyes drooped, and her pale, exquisite face had an indescribable sense of fragmentation.

  "Ruan Jiang Lin, what I care about is the fact that you want to hide, because in your subconscious mind, I am the one who doesn't need to be told, or you have made a subconscious decision that you think shouldn't be said to me."

  "What matters is that you knew I had a grudge against her, yet you still met with her behind my back. In the end, it's just that you don't care enough, don't love enough."

  She said softly: "Ruan Jianglin, let's calm down."

  His eyebrows were heavily furrowed, and the hand that had just gripped hers tightly relaxed, opening his mouth slowly: "Jiang Yan, it's been eight years, I don't want to wait another eight years."

  "I don't necessarily need you."

  Last time she said "let's break up", he waited for eight years. This time she says "calm down, calm down", how much longer will he have to wait?

  He is not God, nor is he very patient, and doesn't want to wait any longer.

  She said if he doesn't love then he doesn't love, what right does she have to define him?

  Indeed, he didn't tell her, after all, wasn't it because he was afraid that she would think too much like now?

  He is now almost kneeling on the ground to beg her, what does she want after all, Ruan Jianglin suddenly feels a bit tired, physically and mentally exhausted.

  Jiang Yan's heart suddenly skipped a beat, her eyes reddened, and she stared blankly before smiling and asking: "Ruan Jianglin, do you really love me?"

  "Is it because of love or just a little liking, or in your too smooth life, are you obsessed with the sense of conquest that you haven't gotten, do you really understand?"

  "If we really love each other, why are there always ups and downs in our relationship, constantly testing each other?"

  She cried and laughed again: "Or are you just like Ye Chen, having fun in the colorful world, getting used to the colorful world, wanting to have a home for a short time?"

  "Ruan Jianglin, have you really thought this through?"

  Ruan Jianglin's ears hurt from listening, it was completely different from what she thought, he knew better than anyone.

  After all, it's not that he doesn't love enough, but Jiang Yan doesn't believe he loves her enough.

  "Alright, Jiangyan, let's calm down." he said in a low voice.

  More than eight years of separation, a reunion that I have dreamed of seeing again.

  I thought we would cherish each other this time, but in the end, there will always be gaps and cracks that cannot be mended.

  It's possible that he just liked her a little bit at first, and when he started to like her a little bit more, she left him, leaving him unprepared.

  The person he had been thinking about for eight years had become an obsession.

  Maybe they should calm down.

  Emotions seem to be that way, it's hard to say who is right or wrong, yet somehow everyone is at fault. The gap between the two sides just gets bigger and bigger unintentionally, until it cracks open, until it can't be salvaged.

  Jiang Yan stared at him absent-mindedly, the man's words "I won't marry anyone else" still echoing in her ears from that day, and now it had become "it has to be you", how quickly things had changed.

  She took her bag and turned around to leave.

  Ruan Jiang felt an inexplicable sense of desolation in his heart, especially as he watched Jiang Yan's distant figure disappear from view. It wasn't until the door slammed shut that he began to curse loudly.

  He wanted to smoke, but there was no stock at home, and Jiang Yan had confiscated all of it before.

  The depression in his heart couldn't be relieved, and he had to find an outlet. Naturally, Ye Chen became the punching bag again.

  Ye Chen listened to Ruan Jianglin's scolding sentence by sentence, he didn't dare to retort, the old man was in a rage, if he turned his head back, he would be so angry that he would spit blood again.

  (End of chapter)