Chapter 1181: I Want to Make You Stay (59)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Fang Erlan’s heart was in a state of turmoil, and she was filled with a mix of emotions. She remained silent for an entire minute.
“No.”
For the very first time, a look of disappointment filled Xiao Chenyang’s eyes.
She could sense that he was slowly loosening his grip on her shoulders.
He was completely dejected.
Finally, he removed his hands from her shoulder.
“If I raped you or killed Yan Ge and took you away with me, will you hate me?”
“Yes.”
“Seems like I’ve asked for nothing. Since you’ve already discussed your wedding with Yan Ge, I guess this must be the life you really want to live. You have my best wishes. I won’t show up in front of you again from now on. You may rest a.s.sured.”
Fang Erlan’s breath began to quicken, and she repeatedly clenched and unclenched her wrists. “The wedding gown and wedding ring…”
“I bought them for you. It’s up to you to do whatever you want with them. Burn or discard them, it’s your call.” He left as soon as he finished speaking.
Fang Erlan sat on the bed and repeatedly told herself that she should be thankful for him leaving her life and that she should not be reluctant to let him go because of how he had pampered her. She can’t…
I must put an end to this and never think about him again.
I must.
Yan Ge entered to see how distraught she was. “Are you alright?” he asked.
Fang Erlan answered with a nod, “I’m fine.”
“Did he buy you a wedding gown and a diamond ring?”
“How did you know? Did you hear everything?”
Yan Ge stood up and retrieved the small surveillance camera near the television. “I placed this here.”
Fang Erlan asked, “Did you get the key card from the front desk because you saw what happened?”
“Yes. Has he really bought you a wedding gown and a diamond ring?”
“He got everything prepared before bringing me to Y Nation to collect it.”
“Throw them all away. I’ll buy you a new set of wedding gown and a diamond ring in the future.”
“It’s too expensive, how can I just throw them away? I’ll take a leave tomorrow and return the gown and ring to him. That’s more appropriate.”
“You’ll have to see him again if you deliver it to him personally. Just mail it to him tomorrow.”
“He definitely wouldn’t accept it if I send it to him by mail. If he’s still in Wei Ni Estate, I’ll still be able to return it to him. If he isn’t, I really have no idea how to return it,” she said. Even if I go all the way to Mount Wanyan, I won’t be able to make it up to the peak. I won’t know where else to find him anyway.
She knew too little about Xiao Chenyang.
“I’ll go with you to return the items.”
“You don’t have to. It’s already so late, you ought to go back upstairs and get some rest. I’m turning in too.”
“Erlan, may I ask you a question?”
“What is it?”
“How many times… has he violated you?”
Fang Erlan knew clearly what he meant. The thought of Yan Ge having seen Xiao Chenyang forcing a kiss onto her made her blush with embarra.s.sment.
She answered softly, “A few times…”
Yan Ge’s heart sank and he asked again, “Then… has he ever touched your body?”
“No.”
He heaved a sigh of relief and said, “Go to bed, then. I’m going upstairs.”
“Alright, please return the key card to the front desk.”
Fang Erlan felt as if she had sunk into a vast ocean the moment she heard the door close.
She stayed wide awake until daybreak. As soon as the sky turned brighter, she got out of bed and boarded a plane to A City, after which she returned to Qingyuan Estate.
Fang Erlan took out the wedding gown and diamond ring from her closet before hailing a taxi to Wei Ni Estate.
She decided not to call and disturb An Xiaoning, thinking that the latter must still be sleeping.
When she pressed the doorbell and asked to meet Xiao Chenyang, Xiao Bai answered, “Mr. Xiao is not here.”
“He’s not here? Do you know where he had gone to?” Fang Erlan asked. She tried to call him again, only to discover that he had switched off his mobile phone.
“I don’t know.”
“Alright.”
She returned home with the items, which she then placed inside her closet again.
Suddenly reminded of his clothes that were left inside her closet, she quickly opened the closet to check. To her astonishment, it was empty.
There was nothing left anymore.
I clearly remember that he had left a few sets of clothes in my closet before we went to B City. Why have they gone missing?
Seems like he had dropped by before.
Seems like he had really left.
Seems like I no longer have to worry about him pestering me.
Seems like my life can resume to normal now.
Everything had gone back to square one.
——
“Mr. Xiao, Ms. Fang did show up, after all. However, I’ve already told her that you were not in like you had instructed. She has already left, and she was carrying some things with her.”
“Okay, got it.”
Xiao Bai exited, leaving Xiao Chenyang alone in the room. Jiang Shu had left long ago, when he returned to B City in the middle of the night.
He sat on the bed and s.h.i.+fted his gaze onto the easel.
He placed his paintbrush down. There was an extremely realistic painting of a woman.
The woman was dressed in ancient clothing and had a pleasant smile on her face.
She was Nan Chuang.
After staring at the drawing for a long while, he decided to write a few lines of a famous ancient poem beside the painting.
Have you any idea how much I miss you?
He had drawn Nan Chuang instead of Erlan, simply because the woman he had loved most was Nan Chuang. She was also the reason why he’d wanted to search for Fang Erlan.
He had been reflecting and pondering over this question in his head.
If they’re two different bodies sharing the same soul, but have different sets of memories, were they still the same person?
At this point, he had no idea.
She’s clearly the love of my life, but why does she feel so distant?
“What are you doing?” asked An Xiaoning, who opened the door and popped her head inside.
“Can’t you tell that I’m painting?”
“You barely slept at all last night. Why don’t you catch up on sleep?” she asked. She entered the room and closed the door before walking toward the easel.
“I can’t fall asleep. Why are you up so early?” he asked, leaning against the headboard.
“I was planning to visit the archeological team so I decided to take a look at you before going. If you feel like you’re stuck in a rut, feel free to talk to me about it. Perhaps my answer can inspire you.”
“I do have a question, actually… I wonder if you can enlighten me,” Xiao Chenyang drawled.
“What is it?”
“I used to think that Erlan is Nan Chuang’s reincarnation since they have the same soul. However, I’m starting to think otherwise. I can’t tell if I actually love Erlan or her previous incarnate. Or is there simply no difference between the two of them at all? If it weren’t because of the curse of devotion, I probably would have never found Nan Chuang’s reincarnation. After all, the two of them look different from each other.”
“Her situation is very similar to Qingyan’s dissociative ident.i.ty disorder. Since they share the same soul, they’re the same person, be it in the previous lifetime or in this one. However, she merely fancied someone in this lifetime before she met you. You were too slow in finding her this time. You want to s.n.a.t.c.h her away, but you’re still worried about her feelings. Hence, giving in to her will only bring about misery and suffering upon yourself. You’ve chosen to let her pursue her happiness, that’s why you’re trying to find an excuse to comfort yourself now,” said An Xiaoning, who had struck a sour note within him.