Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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When Ruolin went to work dressed in a brand-new designer outfit, her female colleagues cast envious and curious glances at her. Ruolin was puzzled by these looks; did she possess a treasure map?
Han Haoxuan bought the clothes for her, and she even told him not to buy any big brands, just something simple would be fine. Little did she know, in Han Haoxuan's eyes, even a casually bought brand-name item was quite expensive.
When Ruolin went to Fang Qiang's office to retrieve her bag, even Fang Qiang's gaze lingered on her for a moment, making her feel very uncomfortable.
Before she could ask why, Fang Qiang, who was usually serious, suddenly gave her an ambiguous smile: "You've become even more beautiful in just one day."
"Oh? Really? Thank you for the compliment, editor-in-chief," Ruolin said shyly.
“However… it would suit you better if you wore a silk scarf around your neck,” Fang Qiang said with a smile.
"Uh..." Ruolin's face was already red to the roots of her neck. Could it be that she didn't destroy the evidence of what she and Han Haoxuan did together the previous two nights?
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Ruolin fled to the bathroom.
Looking in the mirror, Ruolin noticed a small hickey near her collarbone. No wonder the editor-in-chief had smiled so slyly and said she looked better in a scarf! Ah, that explains it. Could it be that other colleagues were staring at her because of this? How embarrassing!
Ruolin pulled up her collar and buttoned up the top button of her shirt so that the traces left by Han Haoxuan could not be seen.
However, this only makes the attempt to cover up the truth seem even more obvious.
While eating lunch in the company cafeteria, a female colleague came up to her and asked, "Isn't this a new style shirt from a certain brand? It looks better if you unbutton the top button; that's how the models wear it."
"Oh... I don't have a model's figure, but I like dressing like this."
"..." Her female colleague looked at her blankly. Did buttoning her clothes have anything to do with her figure?
During the two days and nights that Ruolin was "missing," Mu Jingyan was almost restless and unable to sleep.
She didn't come back the night she attended the thank-you party, and we couldn't find her either the next day or the following night!
He called her countless times, but she didn't answer. When he called again, it said, "The number you dialed is not in service." He even contacted Ruolin's best friend, Xinyu, but Xinyu didn't know where she was either.
Just as Mu Jingyan was about to call the police, Ruolin finally called back. Mu Jingyan answered the phone impatiently: "Ruolin, where are you now?"
"I'm at work now. I'm sorry, Amu, for making you worry about me."
"I'm so glad you're alright." Mu Jingyan could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"I drank too much at the thank-you party the night before last, and I left my bag and phone at the venue, so I didn't hear your call. Then my phone ran out of battery and shut down automatically. I only saw your call today after I charged it..."
"No need to explain. I'm relieved that you're alright now." Mu Jingyan didn't want to hear Ruolin's explanation because he was afraid of hearing things he didn't want to hear.
"Amu, as my good friend, there's something I should let you know, and you can give me advice." But Ruolin didn't know Mu Jingyan's worries and felt that she shouldn't hide anything from her good friend.
"What?" Mu Jingyan had a bad feeling.
"Han Haoxuan proposed to me."
"Oh... then congratulations." Mu Jingyan tried his best to make his tone calm. In truth, this was like a bolt from the blue for him. Just two days had passed, and everything had changed. She was already in someone else's arms, and about to accept someone else's proposal. He had originally planned to confess to her on her birthday, but he was too late. However, his feelings had ended before they even began; he should be thankful, right? But why did his heart still ache?
After get off work, Ruolin actually planned to take the bus directly back to her rented apartment, but she didn't expect to see Han Haoxuan's car at the company entrance. She had already told him not to pick her up, but he still stubbornly came.
"You don't need to pick me up next time. You know how conspicuous your car is." These were Ruolin's first words after getting in the car.
"Is it because you're afraid your colleagues will gossip that you don't want me to pick you up? If so, I'll park my car a little further away from your workplace, or I'll use a more ordinary car."
"I can walk by myself, why do you have to come and pick me up? I'm used to taking the bus."
"No, the bus is too crowded and the air inside isn't good. Breathing too much of it is bad for your health."
"But I'm also afraid of taking up your time."
"I'm not busy today. If I were, I would arrange for a driver to pick you up."
Ruolin stopped talking. She knew that Han Haoxuan was often domineering and stubborn.
As Han Haoxuan and Ruolin walked hand in hand into the entrance of the residential area, they encountered Mu Jingyan walking towards them.
The first thing Mu Jingyan noticed was the sparkling diamond ring on Ruolin's left hand. He had once dreamed of putting the ring he bought on her left hand, but now it was just a pipe dream.
"Amu, I haven't formally introduced you yet. This is Han Haoxuan, who is now my boyfriend; Amu, my high school classmate and also my good buddy." Ruolin pulled Amu aside and introduced them.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Mu Jingyan extended his hand.
"Me too." How could he be happy! Han Haoxuan also reached out his hand, but he gripped it with a bit of force, and at the same time, he felt that the other person was also applying a bit of force.
Their smiles both looked so eerie, as if an electric current was running through their hands.
After a long while, the two finally let go of each other's hands. Both of their hands were red and a little sore.
"Thank you for taking care of my Ruolin before." There wasn't a trace of gratitude in Han Haoxuan's voice.
Mu Jingyan didn't answer, but just gave a cold laugh.
“However, you won’t need to trouble yourself anymore. I can take care of Ruolin.” Han Haoxuan said as he reached out and pulled Ruolin into his arms, their posture as intimate as could be.
Ruolin was practically ready to kick Han Haoxuan. This guy was so arrogant; she wasn't even married to him yet, and he was already talking about "my Ruolin."
"You must treat Ruolin well. If you make her suffer any injustice, I will be the first to punish you," Mu Jingyan said without any politeness.
"You don't need to worry about my family's affairs." Han Haoxuan pulled Ruolin inside.
"Amu, I have something to do today, let's talk another day." Ruolin turned to Mu Jingyan and said.
"Okay." Mu Jingyan's smile was unnatural, and there was obvious disappointment on his face.
"Should we talk another day? You don't have much to say to me, but you have so much to say to him?" Han Haoxuan said with dissatisfaction as they entered the room.
"Can I take your behavior just now as jealousy?" Ruolin said dismissively.
"Someone like him isn't even worth my jealousy!" Han Haoxuan scoffed.
"You're not allowed to belittle him!" Ruolin said, somewhat angrily.
"Why? You're not trying to tell me you're still hung up on him, are you?"
“The person I like now is you, but Amu is also very important to me, because he not only supported me when I needed help the most, but he was also the person I liked the most in the past, an indelible and beautiful memory from my innocent years. I will not allow anyone to tarnish my memories, including you,” Ruolin said frankly.
"Oh, this has escalated to a spiritual level. Darling, do you think it's worth arguing over someone else?" Han Haoxuan hugged Ruolin from behind and whispered in her ear, "The reason I don't like him and am so nervous is because I'm afraid of losing you. So, promise me, you'll stay with me from now on and not come back here. You should cancel the lease on this place. Otherwise, you and him will have more opportunities to see each other. Every time I think about you telling me in the hospital that you don't like me and that he's the one you like, I get insanely jealous of him. He met you before me and won your heart much earlier, so I'm really scared..."
"You still say you're not jealous..." Before Ruolin could finish speaking, Han Haoxuan had already domineeringly sealed her lips with his.
Chapter 52
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Although Ruolin couldn't resist Han Haoxuan's sweet words and persistent pursuit and ultimately decided to stay with him, she wasn't in a hurry to cancel her lease on her own apartment. She felt that having a safe haven to stay in while living in a foreign land was a more rational decision.
It wasn't that she didn't yearn for a lasting relationship, but reality presented too many uncertainties, and she didn't want to take such a big risk. Besides, she couldn't guarantee that Han Haoxuan would be devoted to only her for life, especially since they were only living together and he had never mentioned introducing her to his parents. Although she pretended to be indifferent, she was still bothered by it. In any case, Xinyu had met his parents, and according to Xinyu, his parents were quite satisfied with her. So, was it because he was afraid she wouldn't be accepted by his parents that he hadn't brought up the topic of meeting them?
However, to Ruolin's surprise, not long after she and Han Haoxuan started living together, Han Haoxuan's mother came to their door.
That day, Han Haoxuan had something to do at his company, so Ruolin went home first.
While she was cooking in the kitchen, she heard the doorbell ring. Thinking it was Han Haoxuan returning, she hurriedly ran to open the door, only to find a strange middle-aged woman standing there. She was dressed exquisitely, and although she was over fifty, one could still vaguely see that she had been a beauty in her youth, and her charm remained.
Ruolin could see Han Haoxuan's resemblance in her face; Han Haoxuan's eyes were exactly the same as hers, and their face shapes were identical. Ruolin could roughly guess that this was Han Haoxuan's mother.
After calming her slightly flustered emotions, Ruolin smiled and said to Xu Ling, "Hello, are you Haoxuan's mother? Haoxuan will be back in a little while, please come in and sit down to wait for him."
“I’ll settle the score with that brat later. I’m here mainly to see you,” Xu Ling said calmly.
"Looking for me?" Ruolin asked incredulously.
"That's right."
Without realizing it, Ruolin placed her right hand over her left, covering the ring.
When Han Haoxuan told Han Jianrong and Xu Ling about his breakup with Xinyu, Han Jianrong almost fainted from anger, and Xu Ling was stunned for a long time.
How could a couple who were so deeply in love just a short time ago suddenly break up?
The elderly couple naturally wanted to force Han Haoxuan to reveal the reason for the breakup.
Although Han Haoxuan tried his best to attribute the reason to their incompatible personalities, Xu Ling still raised a question: "Have you taken a fancy to another girl?"
"That's not true." Han Haoxuan immediately denied it.
"You spendthrift son... It's bad enough that you don't follow in your father's footsteps, but now you've let such a good girl go! Tell me, what exactly do you want?!" Han Jianrong was so angry that his voice trembled.
Han Haoxuan remained silent.
"If I find out that Xinyu has been wronged because of your own reasons, you'll be in big trouble!" Han Jianrong almost stomped his foot.
Xu Ling genuinely liked Xin Yu and didn't want to miss out on such a good daughter-in-law. He then went to the school to find Xin Yu, hoping to find out the real reason for the breakup and try to win her back.
Xin Yu's expression wasn't good. As someone who had been through it, Xu Ling could tell at a glance that the breakup had hit her hard, and she probably didn't want to break up. Xu Ling felt that she had hope.
However, the reality disappointed Xu Ling. Xin Yu said politely, "I'm sorry, Auntie, Hao Xuan and I can't be together anymore."
Xinyu's decision to give up this time was not to show how magnanimous she was, nor to help Han Haoxuan and Ruolin get together, but because she couldn't stand Han Haoxuan's attitude towards her.
She had originally suggested a trip to Lushan during the National Day holiday, but Han Haoxuan consistently declined. That was secondary; the most crucial point was that during a meal with Han Haoxuan, while he was in the restroom, she picked up his phone from the table and discovered that almost all the dialed numbers were to Ruolin, not to her. Furthermore, Han Haoxuan's calls with Ruolin were always quite long.
At that time, she was actually a little angry with Ruolin, because they had been in contact but had kept her in the dark.
Thinking back on the fact that Han Haoxuan had almost never asked her out since they started dating, and hadn't even bothered to call her, she felt a wave of sadness wash over her. She felt there was no point in continuing like this; after all, a forced relationship is never happy. She immediately made up her mind to break up with Han Haoxuan.
When they broke up later, for a moment she hoped Han Haoxuan would try to keep her, but Han Haoxuan seemed relieved and said easily, "Okay, since we're not compatible, it's better to break up."
He had said all he could, and she could say nothing more.
Afterwards, fearing that Ruolin would misunderstand that she broke up with Han Haoxuan to let them be together, Xinyu simply used her neighbor and good friend Shen Yang as a shield, saying that she had chosen to break up because she had someone else in her heart. Ruolin didn't see through her self-deception, and Xinyu didn't know whether to feel fortunate or sad.
However, as a friend, Xinyu naturally hopes that Ruolin can be happy.
If Han Haoxuan and Ruolin are mutually attracted, Xinyu certainly wouldn't want Ruolin to have reservations about dating. Ruolin has always longed for love but claimed she wouldn't date, and now that someone truly loves her, why not let her cherish it?
It's better for one person to be heartbroken than for two to be heartbroken. Xinyu felt that since she had chosen to withdraw, she should withdraw completely and without any lingering attachments.
Xu Ling couldn't win Xin Yu back that time, but she always felt that her son had done something to wrong Xin Yu, which was why Xin Yu chose to leave so resolutely. So she has been paying special attention to Han Haoxuan's actions recently.
In fact, Han Haoxuan's recent behavior has been rather strange. He's hardly ever been home, saying he's busy with work and has to work late, and he's afraid of disturbing their rest if he comes home. Xu Ling initially thought Han Haoxuan was using his busy work schedule to forget the pain of his breakup, since it was Xin Yu who initiated the breakup. But what made Xu Ling suspicious was that if he was so busy with work, why did he always look so radiant and lovey-dovey when she saw him?