Jiang Ruolan lay in his arms and cried for a moment, not realizing that her tears and snot had wet Xian Zihao's shirt. She suddenly felt strange because before this, if she had told the past story, she wouldn't have sobbed like this. Perhaps it was because, finally, there was someone who would hug her and be able to make her cry without caring about anything else.
Jiang Ruolan only wanted to cry, and all she wanted to do was tell Xian Zihao all her grievances. Finally, she stopped crying, Jiang Ruolan wiped away her tears with her hand and lifted her walnut-like eyes to look eagerly at Xian Zihao.
He was hugging her from the beginning until the end, allowing her to cry and vent her emotions. Jiang Ruolan wiped her eyes again. Her voice hoarse with sobs, and she said in an aggrieved voice, "Are they gone?"
Xian Zihao didn't answer. He just hugged her and let her sit on his lap. Evening winds blew through the relatively open French windows on the balcony, causing the curtains to flutter slightly.
Jiang Ruolan had enough crying, but probably because she was crying too loudly, so she was a little dizzy. Still, she had to admit that these cries really made her happy, so she just slipped into his arms and didn't move.
She rubbed her head against his body and quietly looked out the window at sunset. She did not know when she fell asleep, nor did she know how many hours she slept, but after leaning on Xian Zihao's chest for a moment, she began to fall asleep again.
In that instant, it was as if they were the only two people in this vast and relentless world. Time silently flowed around them and then she heard Xian Zihao say softly, "Ruolan."
Jiang Ruolan, who had been wrapped up in his arms, had become lazy. Perhaps it was because she had been doted on so much by others, that's why she had been so lazy. "Hmm?" She replied indifferently.
His warm hands covered her slightly bulging stomach, gently stroking it as he whispered into her ear, "The place where I am, is your home, and there is no need for you to search for it again. This place solely belongs to you. As long as you are with me, I will be in there to protect you."
Jiang Ruolan tilted her head and looked at his handsome face in the setting sun. She immediately smiled and raised her eyebrows, "I just felt wronged because of Jiang Guanyu kneeling. I know that people should look ahead and not think too much of the past. You are right, to me now, where you are, that is my home. Hubby, thank you very much. I'm so happy!"
After saying that, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and threw herself into his embrace.
Jiang Ruolan no longer cared about her swollen red walnut eyes and immediately approached Xian Zihao's face with a cunning look. "Zihao, you arranged everything before last night, didn't you?"
Xian Zihao glanced at her and smiled without saying anything.
"How did you know Jiang Guanyu and Zhan Lian would come to beg for mercy today? While you were having a meeting in Xian Group, you told Assistant Bai to call me. You are really an incredible old cunning fox. Fortunately, I have never offended you before, otherwise, I would not have known how I died at your hands!"
Xian Zihao remained silent and said half-heartedly, "Maybe I should be punished."
Jiang Ruolan's eyes twitched as she looked at him in surprise.
Xian Zihao continued to smile as if nothing had happened. He lowered his eyes and said sincerely, "If I had not pushed and held out my hand to you eight years ago, perhaps I wouldn't have missed so many of you."
When Jiang Ruolan heard this, a memory suddenly hit her mind as her heart began to beat fast.
Not only did Xian Zihao know what had happened to her all of the years she was in the Jiang Family, but he also finally recognized and remembered the time when she was lying in the snow and crawling to grab his pants leg.
A bitter smile appeared on his lips; remorse and guilt could not be hidden in his eyes. Xian Zihao took her hand and kissed her lips lightly. Jiang Ruolan could vaguely hear the faint tremble of his regretful voice. "I'm sorry, Ruolan. I'm sorry."
Jiang Ruolan shook her head vigorously and threw herself into his arms, laughing with relief, "Zihao, you did not do anything wrong. That wasn't your fault. If I were you, I wouldn't have bothered with the life and death of a stranger too. Maybe some things really were fated, but if you saved me back then, maybe I would be a helpless, vulnerable little girl, and maybe we also wouldn't be able to get together. In fact, this is also very good. In these seven years, I have allowed myself to become stronger and stronger, and I learned to rely on my own hands to support my own life. Only because of this, this current Jiang Ruolan could walk into your life."
Xian Zihao held her in his arms tightly and through the suffocating embrace and silence, Jiang Ruolan finally heard his long sigh.
The warm kiss was like a star falling on her forehead and hair. Jiang Ruolan let him kiss her in silence and let him shower her with love and care.
Since Xian Zihao said in the morning that he would bring Jiang Ruolan back to Greenville Residence at night, she only planned to leave after the dinner.
However, she didn't expect that Jiang Guanyu and Zhan Lian still hadn't left. Old Man Xian was not an ordinary smart person. Naturally, he wouldn't openly tear off their relationship and enthusiastically invited them to dinner together.
When Jiang Ruolan followed Xian Zihao downstairs, Jiang Guanyu and Zhan Lian looked at them sternly, as if the person in front of them was not their daughter or son-in-law, but their enemy.
Of course, Jiang Ruolan didn't know what Xian Zihao had talked with them. Jiang Guanyu just stared at them, but he never showed any negative feelings towards Xian Zihao and when his eyes landed on Jiang Ruolan, he barely frowned.
Jiang Ruolan was curious. She looked at Xian Zihao, only to see that he was smiling happily like he wasn't the cause of all of this. "Big brother Zihao, I suddenly feel like I'm unable to guard against your sinister nature."
"Hmm?" Xian Zihao smiled faintly. His smile was as enigmatic as when the two of them first met. However, it was also a smile of a handsome young man. Noticing Jiang Ruolan's stare on him, he asked, "Why do you have to guard against me?"
Jiang Ruolan gritted her teeth. "Since you already know they will come today and will definitely not leave tonight, why didn't you tell me in advance? The reason you accompanied me back to Greenville Residence tonight is actually that you don't want me to be entangled with them too much in Xian Residence!"
Xian Zihao just laughed.
"I suddenly feel that I've been wronged!" Jiang Ruolan shot a dagger at him with her small eyes. "I shouldn't have interfered between you and Zhou Shufen. She is the perfect match for a man like you, who can play with people's hearts without showing a change in the expression!"
"So?" Xian Zihao's eyebrows were slightly raised and his face was filled with a smile and amusement.
Jiang Ruolan thought of Xian Zihao's mind and Zhou Shufen's confident smile, and her heart began to feel sour. She gritted her teeth and said, "You two are the same. Deep within your smile, there's a hidden knife on it. Making it hard for people to guard against it."
Xian Zihao looked at her with a non-smiling smile, and said sincerely, "Ruolan, this world does not look the same on the surface, but I can assure you that since we met until now, everything is real."
Seeing that he had turned serious and as if he didn't want her to misunderstand him, Jiang Ruolan rolled her eyes and carefully thought about it.
Xian Zihao's gentle treatment and the way he pampered her … It was as if his heart had long been with her. The only care and love he gave her were pure without a hint of complexity into it.
After dinner, Jiang Ruolan returned to the room to pack some of her belongings. After being taken home from F City, she immediately went to Xian Residence and never had a chance to return to Greenville Residence.
The last time she left, she did not take too much. She only brought one luggage. When she was done packing her belongings and went downstairs, she saw Zhan Lian blocking the stairs, and the person she was blocking was Xian Zihao.
.
.
***
[In case you guys are confused about the timeline:
The abandoned warehouse incident: 8 years ago one year earlier before JR left the Jiang Family.]
