Chapter 128: Chapter 128 I Thought You Didn’t Care Whether I Lived or Died Chapter 128: Chapter 128 I Thought You Didn’t Care Whether I Lived or Died The blanket in front of her was pulled away.
Jiang Nanshu looked up for a moment.
Lu Qingyan was holding a transparent cup, filled with brown sugar water.
His expression faltered, “Have you been crying?”
It was only then that Jiang Nanshu realized her face was somewhat damp. She glared at him, “I cried from the pain, it’s all your fault. Why did you come in? Where’s Jiang Leyi?”
“She took a phone call and happened to come across me, so she asked me to bring this in.” Lu Qingyan gave a helpless sigh, “Jiang Nanshu, you’re being quite unreasonable. Haven’t I said that drinking too much can give you a stomachache?”
Jiang Nanshu: “…”
[So what if you’ve said it, you’ve already called me unreasonable. I could’ve just pretended not to hear.]
“Do you even say that? I didn’t hear a thing, either way, it’s all your fault.”
[I’ll scrape together whatever I can, still remembering my mission even in such pain. I deserve an extra chicken leg, sob sob.]
Lu Qingyan’s eyes were shadowed before he pulled up a chair and sat beside her bed, handing her the brown sugar water “Alright, it’s all my fault, drink this, it’ll make you feel better.”
Jiang Nanshu watched him in horror.
[The world has gone completely mad, I must be opening it wrong, I’m sure everything will go back to normal after I sleep…]
She hurriedly took it, disguising her panic, gulping down the water in two swallows, and handed the cup back to him, “Please leave, I want to sleep now, remember to turn off the lights when you go out.”
Jiang Nanshu closed her eyes, her face serene.
Lu Qingyan: “…”
His gaze lingered on her cheek for a moment before he stood up and left.
He turned off the light and also closed the door for her.
Lu Qingyan lingered at her door for a moment before turning to leave when he bumped into Su Ran.
She stood two steps away from him, her gaze fixated on the cup in his hand that still had remnants of brown sugar water.
With just one look, Lu Qingyan withdrew his gaze and passed by Su Ran.
Su Ran also walked a few steps forward before taking a step to the left, blocking his way. Because of her sudden movement, Lu Qingyan stopped abruptly, causing Su Ran to stagger backward, and he instinctively grabbed her arm.
He let go only after she steadied herself.
Su Ran laughed at herself, “I thought you wouldn’t care whether I lived or died.”
She looked up and met his calm eyes, then cast her gaze down to his robust arm. Seeing that he remained silent, she couldn’t help but laugh, “Have you reached the point where you no longer wish to speak even a single word to me?”
“You’ve changed… Lu Qingyan, why have you become like this?”
Smelling the alcohol on her, Lu Qingyan frowned slightly, “Su Ran, you’re drunk. Go rest.”
“No.” Su Ran stubbornly blocked Lu Qingyan’s path, her eyes brimming with tears, biting her lower lip, her voice choked, “Answer me, can we go back to how we were? Let’s pretend nothing ever happened, okay? Lu Qingyan, I thought… I thought I could magnanimously accept you liking anyone after coming back. It was my fault, but I overestimated myself. I can’t let go, I’ve never been able to let go. I missed you so much abroad, I didn’t dare to disturb you.”
“Listen to me, will you forgive me?” Su Ran’s voice was laced with sobs.
She moved to embrace Lu Qingyan but he sidestepped, avoiding her. She stumbled against the cold wall, weeping, then slowly sank downward crying.
After a while, Lu Qingyan finally spoke, “Su Ran, the past disputes no longer matter to me. I hope you can look forward and stop dwelling on the past. It’s not that I’ve changed, it’s that your heart has always been only for yourself. Even if there had been no marital contract with the Jiang Family, I wouldn’t have liked you.”
Su Ran shook violently.
She was never in his range of choices.
Even without Jiang Nanshu in the way, there would be many others obstructing them.
Su Ran couldn’t believe it; she refused to believe that Lu Qingyan had no love for her at all.
It wasn’t until the sound of a door closing that Su Ran knew he had gone back to his room, and only then did she stagger into her own room.
Around the corner,
Cheng An took puffs of his cigarette until it burned his hand, then he hurled the stub to the ground and stamped it out.
His gaze was complex.
He always felt that Su Ran had changed a lot, from her initially nonchalant demeanor to now drowning her sorrows over Lu Qingyan, from her original kindness and purity to her current willingness to intrude into Lu Qingyan’s engaged life.
Cheng An didn’t know what to say.
Love is, after all, unsolvable.
Just like him, even if Su Ran’s actions were wrong, he still couldn’t bear to blame her.
Su Ran returned to her room and kept vomiting into the toilet bowl. She was so dizzy that she could hardly stand.
Her phone rang, and with blurred vision, she couldn’t make out the caller. Clearing her throat, she answered, “Hello? Who is it?”
There was a long pause on the other side, and the voice that finally came through was gentle yet sinister, “Baby, you finally decided to take my call. Baby, who’s bullying you? Shall I come back to the country and break the arms and legs of whoever it is? Anyone who bullies you, I’ll twist their head off and let you kick it around like a ball.”
Su Ran finally snapped out of it, her face turning deathly pale.
Seeing the unfamiliar foreign number, she hardly dared to breathe, trembling as she quickly cut off the call.
The screen was so cracked, it took her over ten seconds to end the call.
She found the number and promptly added it to the blacklist.
After doing so, Su Ran felt a sweat break out on her back, her dress damp with perspiration.
This devil couldn’t possibly come back; he was so ill, how could he have the strength to come back home.
Thinking this, Su Ran’s heart finally began to settle.
The next moment, her phone rang again.
Her heart almost stopped in fright.
Relieved to find it was her agent, she exhaled.
Hearing her agent’s words, Su Ran’s eyes, previously clouded with drunkenness, suddenly sobered, and her voice filled with excitement, “Amy, you’re telling me you found a historical drama audition for the leading lady? Director Wen is promoting a newcomer again?”
Amy’s efficient voice came through the receiver, her words cool and polite, “Yes, Su Ran, the audition is on Monday. I hope you seize this opportunity. You know the Lu Family Crown Prince; with his help, there’s no need for an audition. The role is yours.”
Su Ran’s face soured, thinking of her agent’s harsh tone, as she tried to keep her voice light, “I know… A Yan and I go way back, but I still want to win this role on my own merit.”
“Scoff, with your talent?” Amy’s tone was dismissive, “I don’t care what you have to do, but you must not lose out on this leading role, or you know the consequences.”
The call ended.
Su Ran took a deep breath. It was just the threat of being shelved, a harsh reality of the entertainment industry. If she couldn’t bring profit, the company would no longer support her.
…
Jiang Nanshu had a good night’s sleep.
Upon waking, she learned that Lu Qingyan had left Fenglin Villa early in the morning, and she breathed a sigh of relief. That was right; yesterday must have been too much, almost magical.
Her stomach still hurt a bit, so she was lethargic on the way home.
Even when Shang Xu went to his villa to bring her the toy diamond, Jiang Nanshu lacked the energy to be excited.
And when she got back, Mr. and Mrs. Jiang were giving each other the cold shoulder.
That really troubled Mr. Jiang.
Considering that his daughter was returning to school the next day,
he took the opportunity after dinner, when there weren’t many people around, to pull Jiang Nanshu aside and ask, “Nannan, what’s with your mom? She’s angry with me for no reason, and I have no idea why.”
Mr. Jiang was visibly distressed.
Holding a cup of hot water, Jiang Nanshu took a comfortable sip, “Old man, did you enjoy the coconut juice yesterday?”
“It was good,” Mr. Jiang replied instinctively, not understanding the relevance of her question.
“Is Aunt Chu pretty?”
“Ah? Emm… she’s alright, but what does that have to do with your mom being angry?”
“Is Aunt Chu gentle?”
“Pretty gentle,” Mr. Jiang nodded, somewhat puzzled, and repeated, “Nannan, tell me, what does this have to do with your mom being angry?”
Jiang Nanshu smiled slightly, “Because none of what I said matters. Don’t be so tense. In a few days, mom will get over it, right?”
Mr. Jiang: “…”
That was also true; whenever Mrs. Jiang got angry, she tended to simmer down after a few days on her own. He was just about to relax when Jiang Nanshu’s inner monologue hit him:
[Tsk, tsk, a woman’s intuition is always accurate. Ms. Song must have realized that that Chu woman is up to no good, plotting to seduce her husband. That’s why she gave the old man a dark look when he was getting cozy with Chu Xin. Let’s see when the old man gets served with Ms. Song’s divorce papers… Who should I side with to benefit from this… I really need to think this through.]