Chapter 54

Jiang Yihao suddenly grabbed Ruan Ning, his pupils contracting like a startled beast's, a dangerous, ferocious look flashing in his eyes. "What did you just say? Say it again."

Ruan Ning flinched, her wrist reddening under his grip. But at this moment, she felt no physical pain—only a lifeless numbness, as if nothing mattered anymore.

Her eyes were dead ash, her whole body like a hollowed-out shell. "You're both wonderful. I'm not worthy of your special attention, and I don't want to come between you and strain your relationship. Please stop fighting over me. I really don't deserve it."

She spoke in fits and starts, her voice weak and drained, looking all the more sorrowful and pitiful amidst the cheerful, laughing tourists around her—like a ghost that might dissolve into the crowd at any moment.

Jiang Yihao's temples throbbed painfully. Looking at the fragile, dazed Ruan Ning, a flicker of panic crossed his eyes. Even facing down eleven opponents on the field alone, he'd never felt this kind of dread.

Suddenly he burst into laughter, showing his neat white teeth, as sunny as ever.

"You're joking, right?"

"Everything's fine, isn't it? I made it into the match. Things are looking up."

"You're not worried that once I get famous, there'll be too many temptations around me and I'll run off with someone else, are you?"

"Don't worry. I'm not that kind of person. Once I've set my heart on you, I'll only be with you..."

"Jiang Yihao, stop it."

Ruan Ning cut him off in a low voice, a sour sting attacking her eyes. All this time, she'd seen the sincerity in Jiang Yihao's heart, and facing his fervent, ardent devotion only made her feel more guilty.

She stayed silent, avoiding his burning, anxious gaze, and stole a quick glance at Bu Chen beside her. Bu Chen wore sunglasses that hid his expression, but the icy aura around him nearly made her forget the farewell she'd prepared.

"Things have already come to this. I've submitted a leave of absence to the school. Once this semester ends, I'll leave for a while. Maybe that's best for all three of us. I'm sorry."

Ruan Ning held back the hot tears threatening to fall and gave them a slight bow.

"Why?"

Jiang Yihao roared. The passersby nearby jumped in fright, quickening their steps to move aside while glancing back over their shoulders.

Jiang Yihao didn't care at all. The taut string inside him snapped in an instant, his throat tearing as the echo of his roar reverberated down the street.

People found it odd that a noble, proud, extraordinary-looking handsome man had fallen to shouting in the middle of the street, his eyes red as he bent over, clutching a tearful girl and muttering something—like an abandoned puppy barking wildly, both terrifying and heartbreaking.

"Wasn't everything fine? Why do you suddenly have to leave again?"

Before coming, Jiang Yihao had been lost in the dream of their date, and in the blink of an eye, Ruan Ning had shattered it with her own hands.

He'd cradled her in his hands, afraid she'd suffer even the slightest grievance. Whatever she wanted, even a star from the sky, he'd pluck it down for her immediately. She didn't like ostentation, so he learned to keep a low profile. She wanted to smooth things over, so he swallowed his vengeful temper and pretended nothing had happened with her.

This was the first time in his life his heart had stirred, and he'd done everything he could. He truly didn't know what more he had to do for Ruan Ning to be satisfied, to let him into her heart.

Jiang Yihao was like a violent sandstorm, unleashing all the grievances he'd bottled up, hurling rocks and grit at the already tottering Ruan Ning.

"Are you toying with me?"

"Why do you always vanish without a word?"

"Hasn't any of this moved you at all after all this time?"

Ruan Ning clenched her teeth, the dull ache in her chest transforming into a sky full of gravel and stones, slashing through her flesh, rough and grinding, leaving bloody wounds. Her chest was nearly filled to bursting with the overwhelming sand, the pain making it impossible to breathe.

But she never said a word, head bowed, letting Jiang Yihao vent. Because she knew this was what she owed him.

Jiang Yihao saw her shrink back into her shell again. No matter how he raged, she wouldn't utter a sound. His boiling, surging emotions crashed into a silent black hole—empty and powerless. He was in despair...

"Jiang Yihao, aren't you done making a scene?"

Bu Chen stepped in beside Ruan Ning, cutting off Jiang Yihao's continued frenzy.

"Don't you see where you are? Will you be satisfied once someone gets a photo of this?"

The crowd around them was growing thicker by the moment. Bu Chen's words cut through the haze like a cold beam of light in a storm.

Jiang Yihao turned his head, his eyes bloodshot, a measure of reason returning. People like them had been sensitive about their identity and privacy since childhood; they would never be foolish enough to expose themselves in public.

He reluctantly tore his gaze from Ruan Ning, walked aside with a dark face, and yanked off his cap to rub his hair violently. Ruan Ning's words had hit him too hard; he needed time to process.

Ruan Ning's heart was bitterly sour. That self-loathing and disgust welled up in her again, and she forced herself to meet Bu Chen's gaze through her misery.

Jiang Yihao was simple by nature—he'd blow over after a tantrum. But this one—he was the sort who would pursue endlessly, unstoppable, refusing to give up until he achieved his goal. Ruan Ning couldn't imagine how she'd face Bu Chen's accusations next.

Almost at the same moment, Bu Chen's deep gaze slid through the dark lenses and shot toward her, cold and piercing. "So this is what you were worried about?"

Ruan Ning's spine went cold, a thin layer of sweat beading on her back. Bu Chen's tone was so casual, as if what she'd said wasn't even a real issue. Could it be she'd overthought it?

"I..." Ruan Ning was at a loss for words, not knowing how to respond.

"Let's go."

Bu Chen strode ahead, leading the way, moving away from the growing crowd.

From what Ruan Ning knew of him, Bu Chen wasn't unaffected by anger—he was simply a man who didn't show his emotions. He could laugh and chat even in front of a mortal enemy.

His cold reaction now was just the pride of a noble family at work; he didn't want to discuss private matters in public. So Ruan Ning quickened her pace to catch up.

As long as she dealt with him, she'd be free of all burdens from now on.

In fact, Ruan Ning's intuition was right. The meticulous Bu Chen loathed putting private feelings on public display, and despised making a spectacle for others to laugh at. When the onlookers saw the three of them walking off one after another and realized there was no more drama to watch, they quickly dispersed.

"You seem to have been focusing on the wrong thing all along."

Bu Chen's dashing figure moved through the crowd with elegance and distinction, like an emperor in disguise visiting a grand exhibition. Ruan Ning followed at a moderate distance behind him. His voice cut through the noisy background like pearls falling on a jade plate, weighty and clear.

"I've only ever wanted you to be my girlfriend. As for what you do in private, I don't care, and I don't want to know."

Ruan Ning's pupils contracted slightly, as if she'd lost the ability to speak in an instant. Before she could even process the meaning of his words, Jiang Yihao rushed out from behind and grabbed Bu Chen, his chin pressed against Bu Chen's jaw, his eyes blood-red like a demon's.

"Bu Chen, do you even have the face to say such nonsense? Put away your filthy thoughts. I won't have it."

Ruan Ning hurriedly pulled them apart: "Hey, why are you two fighting again out of nowhere? Can't you talk things out civilly?"

She turned to Bu Chen with a bewildered look. "What do you mean?"

The crowd that had just dispersed started gathering again. Ruan Ning anxiously kept glancing around, praying people would just go away.

Bu Chen didn't answer. He only looked at her, his lips slowly straightening, a teasing, ambiguous smile seeping into his light-colored eyes.

Jiang Yihao was beyond speechless. He couldn't even say such dirty things to Ruan Ning, so he turned and took out all his anger on the culprit, his fists cracking beneath his sleeves.

He lowered his voice, the furious words grinding out through clenched teeth: "You're scum yourselves, but don't think everyone else is like you. Get lost before I really lose my temper."

Ruan Ning saw more people gathering around and worried—did these young masters not care at all, even in public, when they got angry?

She stepped forward, grabbing Jiang Yihao's hawk-like hand, trying to pry it open. His fingers were as immovable as if locked.

"Jiang Yihao, can't we talk this out? This is a comic convention. Please don't start a fight here, okay?"

"Do you even know what he means?" Jiang Yihao hated how out of the loop Ruan Ning always was. Every time he saw her naive, clueless expression, he felt like cursing the heavens.

Bu Chen took the opportunity to free his collar from Jiang Yihao's grip, reached over, and draped an arm around Ruan Ning's shoulder, murmuring in a voice only the three of them could hear: "Since you're afraid of affecting our feelings, and you can't choose between us, then there's no need to choose."

"He and I will be fine." Bu Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, smiling a half-smile at the astonished Ruan Ning. "And you'll be fine with both of us. How about that?"

"I'm not often in the country, and he's always traveling for matches. Our schedules can be perfectly staggered, so neither of you ever has to face a difficult choice."

Bu Chen's words struck like lightning from ancient times, shattering Ruan Ning's worldview.

His breath still lingered at her ear after he spoke, his lilting tone like a hook steeped in poppy. Ruan Ning stood frozen in place, hands and feet cold, staring at Bu Chen's seductive, faint smile, unable to snap back to reality for a long time.

"Get lost! Are you out of your mind? You want a threesome? No way!"

Jiang Yihao wished he could beat Bu Chen to death on the spot. He yanked Ruan Ning over and wrapped her in his arms.

"Who do you think Ruan Ning is? Some cheap woman you picked up at a nightclub? You think everyone's as shameless as you?!"

At this point, Jiang Yihao no longer cared about covering for his childhood friend. He pointed at Bu Chen's nose and cursed.

The Tapel family was a standard noble household. Not only were Jiang Yihao's parents a model couple who had courted, gotten engaged, and married properly, but his grandparents, his uncles and aunts, even his maternal grandparents—eight generations back—were all paragons of clean family conduct.

But some people in their circle were the complete opposite of the Jiang family. Spouses fooled around behind each other's backs, and sometimes even brought lovers to parties, playing all sorts of wild games.

In aristocratic circles, every family lived differently. Even if people loved gossiping behind closed doors, no one would openly criticize. Politeness and respect were the codes carved into their bones. Jiang Yihao knew this kind of arrangement was popular in the circle, but he wouldn't have it!

He only wanted to live his whole life with the one he loved, loving each other as faithfully as his parents did. Bu Chen's suggestion that the three of them be together—no need to even think about it. Absolutely no way!