Shen Ningruo swallowed. She hadn’t expected that bringing Qiu Yang to see the place she had carefully arranged would also involve “punishment,” but she had to admit she was looking forward to it.
However, Qiu Yang’s “misunderstanding” brought Shen Ningruo to a deeper realization. She became aware of something that couldn’t be delayed any longer—
She had to tell Qiu Yang as soon as possible that she was Guo Ming’an’s ex-girlfriend.
Now was actually a very good time.
“Xiao Yang.” Shen Ningruo instantly became serious, her expression unusually solemn.
Qiu Yang was startled. “Hmm?”
“There’s something I need to confess to you.” Shen Ningruo lowered her gaze, feeling a bit nervous now. As she spoke, she took Qiu Yang’s hand and led her to sit on the sofa.
Qiu Yang also composed herself. “Okay, go ahead.”
The living room lights were fully on, the room brightly lit. The closed windows reflected everything inside.
Shen Ningruo licked her lips. Her usually confident face now showed a rare hint of nervousness. She first tentatively asked Qiu Yang, “Have you…”
“…ever been curious about my past relationships?”
Qiu Yang froze at the question. Their eyes met, and after several seconds, she nodded softly. “Yes.”
This was something she had always been unwilling to think about.
Shen Ningruo was excellent in every aspect. If she wanted to, she could easily be the person who changed partners the fastest in the world. Even Qiu Yang herself, when she first met her, had to admit that her appearance and demeanor were significant advantages.
Moreover, after getting to know her, Shen Ningruo had an even more captivating inner self.
Qiu Yang would like her, and others would too, wouldn’t they?
Besides, she had only known Shen Ningruo for just over a month. What about others who had known her longer?
Qiu Yang didn’t want to think about it, feeling it would only add to her worries. But during the few days of the cold war with Shen Ningruo last week, she had thought about Shen Ningruo’s past, which she didn’t know, more than once.
What if Shen Ningruo had an unforgettable ex?
What if Shen Ningruo had a ‘white moonlight’ she couldn’t forget?
What if Shen Ningruo had a first love she regretted for a lifetime?
Once a person is controlled by emotions and becomes a puppet, any kind of assumption can occur in their mind. During the time Shen Ningruo didn’t come to coax her, Qiu Yang thought a lot.
She had always lacked a sense of security, which was why in her previous relationship, she thought that if she liked the other person a little more, perhaps the other person would like her more too?
But Tao Sixian’s actions had slapped her hard in the face.
It wasn’t like that.
And now, after Shen Ningruo’s question, Qiu Yang suddenly remembered another reason why she had taken the initiative to contact Shen Ningruo back then: it was a test.
Since Shen Ningruo would hide things and deceive her, what was her position in Shen Ningruo’s heart?
Fortunately, Shen Ningruo passed the test and appeared before Qiu Yang immediately. Otherwise, Qiu Yang believed she wouldn’t be having this face-to-face moment with Shen Ningruo now.
If Shen Ningruo didn’t care about her, then she should end things before she was completely drawn in.
Growing up, one lesson Qiu Yang was forced to learn was “decisiveness.”
She cut ties with her uncle’s family decisively, she packed up Tao Sixian’s things very decisively after breaking up, she deleted Tao Sixian very decisively after being completely disappointed, and she hung up on Qiu Wenyun just as decisively.
Being decisive with Shen Ningruo was also something she could do.
“I…” Shen Ningruo’s mouth opened slightly, her voice pulling Qiu Yang’s wandering thoughts back. “In high school, I had a boyfriend, but he cheated on me. His reason was that I wouldn’t let him kiss or touch me.”
Qiu Yang frowned upon hearing this. She didn’t say anything, then heard Shen Ningruo continue, “Just then, something happened in my family, so I had no lingering feelings for him at all, even though I still liked him at the time.”
The affection of youth is much purer and more sincere. For some people, the “liking” they encounter at that time lasts a lifetime, not just a brief period.
“After that, I focused entirely on studying and making money.”
“After my mother committed suicide, my father finally regretted it. He spent his days drinking heavily, lost in an unclear world, and our family’s company collapsed not long after.”
After starting, Shen Ningruo felt that confessing wasn’t so difficult after all. She raised her eyes to look at Qiu Yang, thought about her words, and then continued, “You could say I was busy for a long time, so busy that I didn’t have much energy to think about relationships. It wasn’t until I became a director at Qiyao the year before last that I finally felt relieved. At that time, my father was constantly urging me. He even said that my mother in heaven would surely want to see me have someone by my side.”
“So I accepted a man’s pursuit.”
There was no Pingzi playing around here with Shen Ningruo. Now, only Shen Ningruo’s voice was in the living room, and after she stopped speaking, everything became very quiet.
Qiu Yang hadn’t expected Shen Ningruo’s romantic history to be like this: no unforgettable ex, no ‘white moonlight’ she couldn’t forget, and no first love she regretted for a lifetime.
It had been very uneventful for so many years.
“He was very good to me, tall, handsome, refined, and quite gentlemanly. His family background was also good. My dad met him by chance and was very satisfied, hoping I would marry him and have a child. My elderly father just hoped I would live out my life like that.”
“For a few moments, I thought maybe my life would just be like that. But it was only early last month that I realized it couldn’t be.”
Saying this, Shen Ningruo raised her hand and smoothed a strand of Qiu Yang’s hair. She looked into Qiu Yang’s beautiful eyes and chuckled softly, “A man who seemed gentle and refined was actually just looking for a satisfactory… bed partner before marriage?”
“He was satisfied with me, so he pursued me. But before that, he was already engaged. If Yao Yao hadn’t accidentally seen him and his fiancée buying luxury goods, I probably would have been completely deceived by his facade.”
At this point, what Shen Ningruo wanted to convey was very clear. Qiu Yang wasn’t stupid and naturally understood, thus falling into shock.
“Yao Yao has some connections, so she asked someone to investigate.”
“They found his fiancée, found this fiancée’s girlfriend, and even dug up a photo of these two girls together.”
It was difficult to accidentally encounter Tao Sixian and Qiu Yang together again, so they could only search public platforms. When Yao Yao brought the printed photo to Shen Ningruo back then, that photo was the only one Tao Sixian had ever posted on Weibo with Qiu Yang.
It was clear he took the photo. In the picture, Qiu Yang was hugging Tao Sixian, her chin resting on Tao Sixian’s shoulder.
The image quality was very clear. You could see the dimples by Qiu Yang’s lips. She was looking at the camera, looking obedient and sweet, clearly appearing very happy.
If she hadn’t known that Tao Sixian, with her back turned, was already engaged, Shen Ningruo might have been deceived by this photo.
Because it looked too warm.
Shen Ningruo didn’t know if she was moved by the atmosphere or by Qiu Yang. When Yao Yao said that both she and Qiu Yang had been deceived by that pair of scoundrels, she only had one answer—
“Then shouldn’t I meet her?”
Who knew that after that meeting, her gaze would never leave Qiu Yang? She hadn’t been very clear before why she wanted to be with Qiu Yang, but now, looking back, Shen Ningruo completely understood that she had feelings for Qiu Yang.
She had them from the very beginning.
She wanted to see Qiu Yang’s dimples, she wanted Qiu Yang’s chin to rest on her shoulder, she wanted to be the one Qiu Yang was hugging, she wanted to have more photos with Qiu Yang.
She wanted to hold onto Qiu Yang, just like a dandelion holds onto the wind; once they met, they were destined to intertwine.
Qiu Yang listened to Shen Ningruo tell all this, unable to immediately process it. Her mouth opened slightly, and only one question escaped her lips: “So it wasn’t a coincidence?”
She paused. “Our meeting.”
“No.”
“It was inevitable.”
“It was my premeditation.”
Qiu Yang blinked her eyes. Just as she was about to say something, Shen Ningruo spoke first, “Xiao Yang, for a while I was very confused. Could I really like you? It’s only been such a short time.”
“But that confusion only lasted two days. After meeting you again in Yuncheng, that bit of doubt was answered.”
“Meeting you was inevitable, liking you was a coincidence, but the probability of that coincidence is one hundred percent.”
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