Jiang Nanshu’s move caught everyone off guard.
After hitting Liang Ciqiu, Jiang Nanshu quickly ran back to Lu Qingyan’s side, taking his hand, “Good boy, let’s not bother with a madman; he’s not even worth one of your fingers.”
The cold and dangerous look in Lu Qingyan’s eyes became gentle again as he nodded at Jiang Nanshu, “Okay.”
Jiang Nanshu led him away, “Let’s go home.”
Lu Qingyan looked back at the embarrassed Liang Ciqiu, visibly pleased.
Liang Ciqiu touched his half-numbed face from the slap, a flash of resentment appearing in his eyes.
He hadn’t managed to provoke Lu Qingyan, and for the usually indifferent Jiang Nanshu to be so protective of Lu Qingyan for the first time was beyond his expectations.
He stood up, kicking a chair aside, and the commotion was so great that the servants didn’t dare approach.
Catching a glimpse of the silent Lu Mother not far away, Liang Ciqiu recovered his smile, “Mother, doesn’t it hurt to see that Lu Qingyan has someone to protect him and doesn’t need you anymore? Now that he has someone to cherish him, he doesn’t rely on you. What will you do when you get old?”
Lu Mother’s hands clenched at her sides.
Hearing Liang Ciqiu’s words did make her think of Lu Qingyan when he was a child.
Back then, he had just begun to understand the world and would look up with his small face, calling out “Mommy” in a tender voice, insisting on heading outside with her.
The change in Father Lu’s attitude towards her before and after their marriage made her somewhat prone to overthinking, and her natal family kept pressuring her to convince the Lu Family to invest in their projects.
After she brought it up too many times, Father Lu didn’t even come home anymore.
Later, they said that it was fortunate that Lu Qingyan would be the next heir and that she should raise him well.
Maybe she took all the unhappiness in her life and doubled it down on Lu Qingyan.
Or perhaps she wanted to use Lu Qingyan to bring Father Lu home; she was tired of fighting, and aside from in bed, they were like strangers to each other.
Even Father Lu wasn’t as nice to her as he was to those little stars outside.
The idea of raising Lu Qingyan became strong then.
So, no matter how much young Lu Qingyan cried and threw tantrums, she ignored him, even if he came crying to her, she could push him away with cold eyes and watch him sit on the ground and cry.
Even if he came to hug her again, she would just push him away.
Young Lu Qingyan’s dependence on his mother didn’t dissipate with her rejection; as he grew older, he learned to keep his distance from her.
She sneered at Liang Ciqiu, “Although I don’t like Jiang Nanshu, at this moment, I think she gave a satisfying slap. Instead of worrying about us, you should worry about yourself. I’m curious to see what that useless father of yours can bring you.”
Lu Mother finished speaking and walked off with a cold face.
Liang Ciqiu was indifferent.
In reality, he didn’t want anything anymore, didn’t want to fight or compete, but he couldn’t stand to see Lu Qingyan happy.
His own misery compounded by seeing Lu Qingyan live so well made him feel like he was being suffocated.
He also left the old house.
…
By the time they got back to Half Mountain Villa, it was already afternoon.
Lu Qingyan had talked to Jiang Nanshu about the wedding preparations; he was going to hire internationally renowned bridal designers to create a unique wedding dress for the entire world.
He would handle all the arrangements, and all Jiang Nanshu needed to do was to marry him beautifully.
Jiang Nanshu had no objections.
When Lu Qingyan went back to the study, he paused for a moment, then looked towards Jiang Nanshu sitting on the sofa watching TV and asked, “Today, you hit Liang Ciqiu.”
Jiang Nanshu didn’t look at him and quickly replied, “Yeah, I did, and so what? If he has the ability, he can hit back. Worst case scenario, we’ll have a fight.”
“Why?”
“What?” Jiang Nanshu stopped eating her chips.
Her eyes, filled with confusion, met Lu Qingyan’s.
Lu Qingyan wanted to ask but was also very afraid, so he took a deep breath, “Why did you hit him?”
“It’s because of you,” Jiang Nanshu didn’t hesitate and looked at him somewhat incredulously, “Didn’t you see that bastard trying to sabotage our relationship? How could I possibly let him succeed? Don’t be fooled, alright? He’s just deliberately nauseating people, a bad omen.”
Jiang Nanshu saw that Lu Qingyan didn’t say anything, and her voice got louder, “Did you hear me?”
Lu Qingyan’s lips curled into a smile, his expression becoming slightly more pleasant, “Mhm, I know now.”
Not until Lu Qingyan’s figure had walked far away,
did Jiang Nanshu finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Good.
They didn’t argue again.
Jiang Nanshu suddenly realized that Lu Qingyan was really easy to placate.
He felt insecure, so she protected him, showing him through actions that she would always be by his side.
The next day,
Jiang Nanshu received news from the police that the case had been solved. It was Bao Yan’s wife, Miss Zhao, who had given Xu Xingwan a sum of money, strengthening Xu Xingwan’s resolve to leave. Her death wasn’t a murder by Miss Zhao but an accidental drowning when she fell into the sea.
Then, the police also found a text message that Xu Xingwan had sent to Jiang Nanshu on her repaired cell phone.
It was a thank you to Jiang Nanshu for helping her to see the truth.
Jiang Nanshu felt like she had been struck by lightning.
Thank her for what?
What had she said that Xu Xingwan had seen the truth, leaving her with this mess? And she hadn’t even received this so-called text message.
Jiang Nanshu was forced to make another trip to the police station.
This time, Lu Qingyan accompanied her.
As soon as Jiang Nanshu arrived at the police station, she requested to see Xu Xingwan’s remaining belongings.
Besides the repaired phone, there was also a diary.
From her teenage years, written up to now.
The earlier words were filled with longing for something wonderful, but later they became sullen, showing that she had not been living happily.
Several times, words like ’leaving,’ ’suicide,’ and ’crying’ were mentioned.
Throughout the whole diary, what she mentioned most was freedom. Now, she had truly gained it, freedom in every sense of the word.
And that text message from Xu Xingwan had not been sent, so Jiang Nanshu hadn’t received it.
Faced with the police’s questioning again, Jiang Nanshu repeated, “I don’t know if the trigger for Xu Xingwan’s departure was in those words I said, but if it was, she might have already realized that the person she loved didn’t love her as much in return. Therefore, she wanted to leave, and the person who didn’t give her a normal romance, the drama’s true instigator, he knows it in his heart.”
“You’re talking nonsense!” Bao Yan suddenly charged forward.
Lu Qingyan didn’t even frown as he pushed him away with a scoff, “Get lost.”
Bao Yan could only talk to Jiang Nanshu from three steps away, his eyes reddening, “It’s all your fault. If it wasn’t for you talking to her, why would she leave? If you hadn’t brought those things up, how would she have died? Jiang Nanshu, you owe Wanwan her life.”
Jiang Nanshu really wanted to slap someone.
But this was the police station, so she held back.
“Don’t you get it? Even if I didn’t mention those things, would Xu Xingwan not have known? All I can say is, by leaving you, she truly found her release.”
Bao Yan’s face was haggard, and tears rolled down his cheeks.
He tried to rush at her again.
Lu Qingyan didn’t indulge him, directly restraining him and starting to hit him.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay away from my wife? Can’t you understand human language?”