“I won’t argue with her. I’ll always put her first. None of the others is as important as she is. Even if she did something wrong, I’d say that she’s right. If you can’t do what I’m doing, you don’t love her enough.”
Nian Junting’s grandmother, Murong Cheng, Nian Xi, and Yu Wen couldn’t help but nod. Even Nian Qingshan’s wife nodded, and then wore an upset face. Every woman wanted a man to protect her like that.
Among them all, Mo Jin was the only one who put a hand on her forehead silently. She even doubted if Mo Liuxi was really her son. He had no interest in women at all, yet he made a speech like that.
“Liuxi, I can’t agree more.” Nian Xi’s eyes glowed. “You’re young but you’re really the best boy that I’ve ever seen. I wish I was a couple of years younger. I’d certainly go after you.”
Feng Ji Chuan didn’t put her first. Why? Because he didn’t love her enough.
“Thank you.” Mo Liuxi raised his wine glass. Before he put the glass to his lips, Yu Wen slapped him on his shoulder and said, “Kid, the daughter of a friend of mine is really a good girl. I have to introduce you two to each other. I haven’t seen a nice young man like you for many years.”
Murong Cheng smilingly said to him, “Why don’t you be my godson? I really like you. What do you think, Ms. Mo?”
Mo Jin didn’t know what to do. Her son had almost brainwashed these people.
Nian Junting felt lucky. Thankfully, he had given his bank cards to Luosang long ago. Otherwise Luosang would certainly think that he didn’t love her enough.
Normally Mo Luoxi looked cold and proud. However, he turned out to be an artist at talking, and very good at sowing discord between people. He was also too good at winning the favor of ladies. Within a short while, the whole group of women had grown fond of him. Even his mother wanted him to be her godson.
“Aren’t we talking about my wedding?” He couldn’t help but remind those women.
“Yeah, I almost forgot about that.” Morong Cheng nodded, then continued talking about the wedding.
A couple of minutes later, Nian Qingyun returned with a sullen face. After a short conversation with the others, he suddenly detected a strange atmosphere among the families. His mother had been ignoring his father, Nian Qingshan’s wife was focusing on the food silently, like a defeated rooster, without saying a word to Nian Qingshan.
Facing their wives’ grievances, Nian Junting’s grandfather and Nian Qingshan didn’t dare to say anything else. The lunch lasted until half-past one.
Nian Justing escorted the two old ladies to their rides.
Nian Xi needed to work in the afternoon. While heading towards her car, she heard some noises behind her, then turned to find Feng Ji Chuan following her.
He was wearing a grey polo, looking calm and cold. She hadn’t seen him for four months. He was as tall and strong as always. His wide shoulders gave off a manly vibe. Maybe because of the summer sun, his skin was darker than before. Her brain went blank for a second, then she walked quicker.
“Xi, wait.” Feng Ji Chuan called her name.
Nian Xi had no choice but to slow down. She turned, looked at him blandly and asked, “How can I help you?”
“My car is over there too. Let’s walk together. Feng Ji Chuan quickly walked to her and looked at her gently.
Nian Xi looked at the ground quietly and kept moving forward. She wished that she could see her car soon. However, there weren’t too many parking spaces earlier so she had parked her car far away.
Before she reached her car, Feng Ji Chuan grabbed her arm and said, “You just had lunch. Don’t walk so fast. It’s not good for your stomach.”
Nian Xi glanced at the hand which grasped her arm then freed herself from it and said, “I’m not running. Besides, I have work to do at the police station.”
Feng Ji Chuan glanced at the watch on his wrist and said, “It’s still early and not working time yet. You can be a little bit late. I’ll be fine. I heard that they’ve approved your application for a transfer to the criminal police team.”
“Em,” Nian Xi nodded.
Feng Ji Chuan didn’t show a trace of happiness but said with a serious face, “You shouldn’t go to the criminal police team. Being a community police officer is exhausting enough and being a criminal police officer will only be worse. It’s a dangerous job too. You’re a girl.”
“What’s wrong with girls?” Nian Xi wasn’t happy to hear that. “Can’t women be in the criminal police team?”
Feng Ji Chuan shook his head and said, “That’s not what I meant. I’m only thinking about your safety. The criminal police team handles some large cases. Members of that team get injured and die every year. Nian Xi, I want you to be safe. In fact, being a community police officer is good.”
“If that’s what you wanted to say, I’m sorry, I have already decided to join the criminal police team.” Nian Xi interrupted him.
Feng Ji Chuan responded, “Why are you so stubborn? Nian Xi, I want to get back together with you. If we get married in the future and we are both in the criminal police team, we’d both be busy at work. Who’ll be taking care of our children then?”
Nian Xi laughed with anger. “Haven’t you figured out the current situation yet? We have already broken up. Can we get back together just because you want to? Can we have children just because you want some? You have just given me a very useful suggestion though. You’re right. I’m already a police officer so I can’t marry another police officer. Thank you for the heads up.”
Feng Ji Chuan frowned. That was not what he wanted to hear.
“If you don’t want to marry me, who do you want to marry? Xu Luosang said that you brought a man back to your place earlier.” In a muffled voice, Feng Ji Chuan said the words which had been lingering in his mind the whole time, “Do you want to marry him?”
“I don’t know. But I’m single now. Anything is possible.” Nian Xi finally found her car. She unlocked the car and opened the door.
Feng Ji Chuan grasped the car door, looked at her with a bitter smile, and said, “Nian Xi, I don’t understand. You love me. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have failed on so many blind dates. I love you too. Are we really breaking up because I was with Shuangwei without telling you when she got drunk? If something was really going on between us, I’d have been with her for a long time. She and I are friends. Can’t I even have a female friend? I promise you that I’ll never lie to you again.”
Nian Xi’s heart missed a beat. For a moment she was shaken and almost accepted his promise. She had been on a lot of blind dates but never felt a thing. Late at night, she always thought of him. In fact, she believed that he likes her. However, that was not the kind of like that she wanted.
They had broken up for a couple of months. During that time, he never even called her. At festivals, he texted her. Could he possibly be too busy in the army to even make a call? Seriously, how could someone remain so calm when he or she was in love with another person?
“Ji Chuan, you may not know that previously, my brother and Luosang broke up,” Nian Xi said.
“Luosang broke up with my brother. She was threatened by Jiang Qifei. At first, my brother didn’t know about it. He didn’t accept the break-up or he couldn’t accept the fact that she wanted to break up with him. In order to win her back, that proud man put himself in a very, very low place.”
