CH 1.2

The room quieted down and Ruan ZhiYin walked to the window and answered Qin Jue’s call. The man’s voice was gentle and quiet, “ZhiYin, I am very sorry. The flight was cancelled. I can’t make it back in time.”

Ruan ZhiYin rubbed her temples as though she had expected this. Her voice was flat as she said, “Okay. I know.”

Her voice was just as gentle and agreeable as always. It made Qin Jue, on the other side of the phone, feel relieved. 

His voice was steady and sincere and his attitude was as though he was settling a merger and acquisition case — “It is still early, we can change the date of the wedding to tomorrow. I have made a phone call to Zhai Xu. He will inform the guests. You don’t have to worry.”

Worry?  

When she heard Qin Jue’s words, Ruan ZhiYin couldn’t help but laugh.

Yesterday, Qin Jue said that a branch company had a problem and left for BeiYao that very night. He had also used this gentle and calm voice when he told her to relax and that he would make it back in time. That it would not affect the wedding.

“Ah Jue, I know that Lin JingFei was sent to the hospital last night. Are you at the hospital right now?”

Qin Jue clearly did not think that she would know the reason that he had personally gone to BeiYao. So he was silent for a moment.

Ruan ZhiYin’s eyes dimmed and she smiled mockingly. She then opened her mouth in an understanding tone and said: “Ahh, then you are at Lin JingFei’s apartment.”

At this moment, Qin Jue paused and then said in a low voice, “I’m sorry ZhiYin. I didn’t tell you yesterday because I was scared you would misunderstand.”

“Scared I would misunderstand? But look. Even though you clearly know I might misunderstand, you still went.” Since her voice was emotionless and monotone, it added a hint of sarcasm to her words.

Qin Jue became a bit indifferent, “ZhiYin, I know that you have a bias against QingFei, but she is your younger cousin. If she gets hurt, you and I cannot turn a blind eye on her.”

The man’s obvious defence of Lin JingFei made Ruan ZhiYin clench her fingers. She breathed out a long sigh and then quietly looked down: “That’s right. Lin JingFei is my cousin.”

And also Qin Jue’s ex-girlfriend…

She was also Qin Jue’s first love when he was young.

The Ruan and Qin families had been family friends for a long time. Lin JingFei moved into the Ruan family when she was six years old with her mother. She and Qin Jue had been childhood sweethearts. 

Ruan ZhiYin didn’t say anything when Zhao He was trying to tease her earlier because she knew that Qin Jue’s first love was not her.

“How is she doing right now?”

The two had many disputes as a result of Lin JingFei and Qin Jue did not want to talk about this, so he simply replied: “She has already been discharged from the hospital. There are no major problems.”

“Is that so.” Even though she had expected this, Ruan ZhiYin still felt relieved.

For the past two years, Grandpa Ruan had been in poor health. If Lin JingFei’s “play” went poorly, then Grandpa Ruan might not be able to withstand the shock.

But after she received those photos, Ruan ZhiYin already knew that Lin JingFei probably did not really have an accident.

The man slowed down his words, “ZhiYin, I did not consider everything before coming to BeiYao before the wedding. But at this moment, it appears that I need to first properly create the arrangements for the wedding tomorrow, okay?”

Due to Lin JingFei’s accident, he ended up being unable to make it back, so he had planned to postpone the wedding.

Ruan ZhiYin realized that from the moment Qin Jue proposed to her, the weight of this wedding in their hearts was clearly very different.

Her face was calm as she silently looked out of the window. The city was flourishing and the skyscrapers stood tall.

Maybe it was because the air conditioner in the room was too cold, but as she stood in front of the floor to ceiling windows with one arm folded over the other, looking over the surging traffic, she did not feel like any of this was real.

It was as though she had returned to when she was 16 years old.

Slowly, after a long time, she opened her mouth again, “Ah Jue, remember when I first returned to the Ruan family, I lost the jade buddha given by the director of the orphanage. I looked for a long time but I still could not find it. I was hiding alone in the attic and crying. After you found me hiding in the attic, you didn’t tell anyone and secretly helped me find the jade buddha.”

Her voice was ethereal and soft. Qin Jue couldn’t help but fall into his memories with her words and his heart softened.

After, he quietly laughed, “At that time I was thinking, how could you hide and cry just because you lost something. But I saw that you were crying so badly, I could only help you look for it.”

Ruan ZhiYin smiled.

In fact, she knew that Qin Jue had not been able to find that jade buddha. But due to being taught that he could not ignore a girl’s tears, he went and bought a jade buddha that looked identical.

“Why did you suddenly think of this?” Qin Jue asked.

“It’s because I was thinking that it was not worth it to be so hurt over losing that jade buddha.”

As she spoke, most of the emotions in her heart dissipated.

At first, the reason why she had cried in the beginning was more so because of the stares and gazes that she had received when she had first returned to the Ruan family. She had suppressed a lot of her emotions.

After passing the exam for A University and then going abroad, she heard all sorts of praises from outsiders. At that time she had lost the jade buddha Qin Jue had bought for her. But she did not feel any sense of loss.

Time will smooth everything over after all and nothing couldn’t be changed. So after all these years, for what had she been obsessed over?

As though she had considered something for a long time and finally made a decision.

“Ah Jue, let’s break off this marriage …”

“Let’s break up.”