Chapter 286 - The Long-Awaited Explanation IV
Jiang Ruolan"s smooth and beautiful face turned pale under the dim sky. Her clear eyes stared at him blankly.
"When Xiaoyi first called me "daddy", I was as shocked as you were. I don"t have the habit of acknowledging someone as my daughter, and I don"t have the kind of love you claim me to have on Zhou Shufen. Everyone has their own principles, maybe I have more principles than anyone else, and I don"t want her used this reason to bring our relationship to a stalemate."
"At that time, after Senior Zhou"s welcoming banquet, Little Fishie, who was alone in the hotel, suddenly had an illness. Since she was Senior Zhou"s great-granddaughter, the hotel manager contacted me. Senior Zhou and the others rushed over and sent her to the hospital. Ever since Zhou Shufen divorced, she was unable to contact Xiaoyi"s father, and Xiaoyi had been longing to find her father ever since she fell ill."
As Xian Zihao said that, his thin lips slightly pursed and a look of regret appearing in his eyes. "I know that anyone would mind this kind of thing. Besides, I had a past relationship with Zhou Shufen and I hid it from you twice when I sent Xiaoyi to the hospital. When Xiaoyi calls me daddy again, although I am very resistant to it, Ruolan, the principle is too much. Facing a five-year-old child who is suffering every day from illness and can still smile so happily, but in reality, she is already at the end of her life. Towards this term of address, I don"t admit it, nor do I deny it. But no matter what kind of reason it is, it is unavoidable from hurting you. This is my negligence and mistake. You can blame me for it, but don"t deny yourself like that again."
He lifted his hand and stroked her hair, which was slightly messy from the struggle just now, behind her ears. Even on this stormy night, he was still the elegant Xian Zihao. However, his eyes were filled with deep regret.
Jiang Ruolan could still think of that glimpse, of that amiable and humble man who can make any woman fall in love with him. She thought, no matter how hard it was for her to forget Zhou Shufen"s existence, if Little Fishie stood at her feet and called her "mother" with tears in her eyes, she wouldn"t refuse it too.
So that"s how it is.
Did she need to continue to bear it and endure the pain? Moreover, Little Fishie was suffering from an illness and had a dream to get to know her father.
So, that"s why that day in front of Little Fishie, Xian Zihao could not deny it in front of her. He had to explain to her afterward, but she had already run away.
However …
What could she do?
Everything that had once been in H City that day was thrown aside like a time tunnel, and the gentleness slowly retreated in the midst of time.
Maybe they were all wrong.
No matter what, they still did not completely trust each other, just like how she did not want to talk about the past in front of him, just like how he did not want her to misunderstand and hide the matter regarding Little Fishie.
Xian Zihao was a perfect man who could control everything, and he knew what was the best way. Actually, he could have told her earlier. Why did he have to go this far like this?
Jiang Ruolan pursed her lips and looked at him calmly: "Thank you for untying the knot in my heart. The answer to the question that I"ve been waiting for has finally been answered. Can I go now?"
It was as if Xian Zihao had long antic.i.p.ated that Jiang Ruolan wouldn"t forgive him for this explanation, but in the end, he didn"t retreat from her gradually calming indifference.
At this moment, Jiang Ruolan suddenly felt that she was really mean. She coldly looked at him. Xian Zihao patiently and firmly looked at her.
Jiang Ruolan knew there must have been something that had held him back that day. Maybe Little Fishie or maybe something else.
She also knew that Xian Zihao wouldn"t intentionally hurt her. He had long planned that wedding. It was the wedding he had promised her. Perhaps all of this happened due to the cross wheels of fate.
People from these two worlds have been squeezed into the same world. As a result, the whole world became small, including her heart. So it turned out that she was just a vulgar woman. After giving her heart, she only wanted to have peace and stability and wanted to have a complete heart that belonged solely to her.
Greed? Maybe, but which woman wasn"t greedy?
Who said that life couldn"t be dramatic? How ridiculous this life is.
Jiang Ruolan had to admit that everything Zhou Shufen had done to her was a success. That day, she finally broke out completely. Regardless of whether Zhou Shufen was trying to win by using her child or just thinking about it, wasn"t she finally successful?
Jiang Ruolan tore off the jacket on her body and returned it to Xian Zihao. "I"ll return the jacket o you. Lend me the umbrella, thanks."
Then she suddenly bent down to pick up the umbrella that had been tossed in the wind and held it over her head. Knowing that Xian Zihao was still looking at her, Jiang Ruolan left without looking back.
Although she was not calm at all, her reason was still there. She looked at the sky and the curtain of rain and gave the umbrella to the worker beside her. "President Xian is over at the garden. I"ll borrow his umbrella, go and fetch him."
"Alright."
Jiang Ruolan quickly walked inside. The staff picked up the umbrella and told someone to fetch Xian Zihao.
Just as she walked in, she b.u.mped into someone"s chest. That person held her by the shoulder. "You"re here. I was going to pick you up. I heard you say that you were going to the farm, so I waited for you for a long time. I thought you couldn"t come back due to the rain. Are you alright? Do you have a cold?"
Jiang Ruolan shook her head and tore off Wan Shoushan"s hand that was resting on her shoulder, "I"m fine. Everything"s done here, right? Can we leave now?"
Wan Shoushan pointed at the weather outside, "Ignoring the fact that it"s already dark and it"s raining so heavily, don"t forget that Aerial Club is located on the mountain. The roads are slippery, so it"s impossible to drive. We"re going to stay here for the night and leave tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow morning?" Jiang Ruolan turned her head to look at the rain outside and her eyes glazed over.
This kind of weather... It was really inconvenient for them to leave. It would simply be asking for death.
Outside the window, the rain continued to fall. Jiang Ruolan shivered from the cold. She went to change into a set of thick clothes and stood in front of the French window, looking at the pitch-black sky and the ground outside.
After standing for an unknown period of time, it was finally time for dinner. Jiang Ruolan turned around and left. Under the guidance of the staff members, she entered the dining hall.
Although they would be staying here tonight, and although Xian Zihao invited them to stay for dinner, but since there were so many important people around, no matter what, it was impossible for the few people from the newspaper to sit at the same table with them.
Furthermore, Wan Shoushan was even more cautious than them. The rest of the people entered the private room one by one, and even when the dishes were all served, Xian Zihao was nowhere to be seen.
"That"s weird, why isn"t President Xian here yet?" Xie Mei kept looking at the door. One leader after one leader came in but not Xian Zihao.
"I think it"s because there"s something urgent that he haven"t finished with." Wan Shoushan said softly as he gave each of them some food, "Eat it. The two of you can eat everything you want freely without holding back."
Jiang Ruolan gently fiddled with the vegetables in her bowl with her chopsticks while thinking about how heavy the rain was. Xian Zihao should be back and was probably in the shower right now. In her impression, Xian Zihao may not be as clean as those aloof people, but he loved cleanliness.
"Ruolan, what are you staring at?" Xie Mei asked. "When President Xian taught you to play golf this afternoon, did your heart beat so fast that you can"t even breathe? At that time, I saw your expression. I was so scared that I couldn"t even smile anymore. Isn"t President Xian pretty good? Was he scary?"
Jiang Ruolan curled her lips and laughed. "You"re right, he is quite scary."
"Like I said, if President Xian had taught me how to play, I would have definitely found another chance to interview him! I don"t mind his scary reputation." Xie Mei continued with a smile, "Actually, looking at President Xian from the side, he"s quite charming. Why is he rarely seen in the media?! Hah, I"m really tired of watching those fat and bald old men!"
Jiang Ruolan burst into laughter, "No matter how old or bald they are, they"re still someone we can"t offend. The Department of Commerce still needs to rely on them to make a living. Just bear with it."
"Tsk, it"s impossible to communicate with people like you …" Xie Mei turned her head. "Brother Wan, where are we staying tonight? Are we close to where President Xian and the others are staying?"
Before Wan Shoushan could say anything, two politicians came out from the private box and asked, "Why is President Xian not here yet? We won"t dare to start the banquet without him."
A few staff members immediately came to them. "Previously, I saw President Xian gone to the farm. The rain was too heavy, he probably couldn"t come back due to the rain. We already sent a car to pick him up, but they still haven"t found him."
"Is the farm that big? You can"t even find him by car? It"s rare for President Xian to come to F City. It"s better if he doesn"t get sick, let"s hurry up and find him!" The one who spoke seemed to be one of a city"s leaders. His eyes were filled with anxiety, "Hurry up and find him!"
After a while, another person came back and said, "The car wheels are stuck due to this heavy rain. Now, there are already some people looking for President Xian and with this relatively dark weather, it is very difficult for them to find him. Behind the orchard is a mountain which is a bit steep."
F City"s Leader"s face immediately changed and he hurriedly said, "Quickly go and find him! I"ll go too! Don"t let anything happen to him! Wasn"t the back mountain blocked? How could this happen?"
"The fence around the orchard is being repaired and the fence on the back mountain was taken down last week."
Jiang Ruolan had been worrying that something bad might happen to Xian Zihao. Hearing the staff"s words, she immediately put down her chopsticks and looked outside.