Chapter 48

Luozhai Courtyard.

After picking up the booklet, Luo Xuan really wanted to find Chen Zhizhou. She had long been accustomed to having him by her side.

Unfortunately, Chen Zhizhou was a doctor and very busy. Tonight, he happened to be on duty, so she had to return to the Luo family home.

As outsiders often joked, the Luo family was large. Old Luo had ten grandsons and seven granddaughters. Luo Xuan was neither conspicuous nor striking among them. Her parents were estranged and had been living separately for many years. She was closest to her cousin Luo Chong. After returning home and having dinner in the side hall, the siblings went to a room to chat.

“Did Brother Yu give you any trouble later?” Luo Chong asked in a low voice, gritting his teeth as he saw his sister’s pale face.

He had said they should have left yesterday. Nothing good ever came from encountering that woman!

Luo Xuan gave a bitter smile.

Feng Yu didn’t even want to look at her, let alone come to find her. Back then, she thought she had won by taking a desperate gamble, but she didn’t realize that she was betting on years of friendship with Feng Yu and his remaining guilt. She hadn’t won at all and ended up with nothing.

“You grew up together, childhood sweethearts,” Luo Chong growled, still in disbelief. “He just cut ties like that, disregarding old times?”

Luo Xuan used to think the same.

After so many years of friendship, Feng Yu had no feelings for her. She later realized that the warmth and ambiguity she thought existed meant nothing when he encountered true love. He felt guilty for allowing her to harbor a crush for over a decade, so when she was extremely sad, jealous, and in pain, he briefly chased after her, but only to calm her down and ensure she didn’t do anything foolish.

They were both gambling. She was betting on years of friendship. He mistakenly thought that woman would be as soft-hearted towards him as she was. So, they both lost.

“I can’t be friends with him anymore,” Luo Xuan said softly. “Thinking about it now, it seems like karma. I did wrong in the past, and now I’m just getting what I deserve. It’s fair, and I want to accept it, but I really…”

Luo Chong quickly asked, as he hadn’t seen his sister show such a desperate expression in a long time, not since she heard that Brother Yu was bringing his girlfriend home.

Luo Xuan had no choice but to recount what had happened today wearily. “Should I confess to Zhizhou? When he asked me if I had ever liked someone, I shouldn’t have lied to him…”

No, she knew deep down that it wasn’t about who she liked in the past.

Chen Zhizhou is upright and kind. Can he accept that his fiancée has done such things in the past?

“No need!”

Luo Chong comforted her, “That woman might not even say anything. Aren’t the Feng family’s affairs disgusting and dirty? She has to weigh her options. Sis, don’t worry. If she dares to say anything to Sister Wei, I’ll make sure the whole of Jing City hears about the Feng family’s scandals tomorrow!”

Luo Xuan was stunned by her brother’s angry words. She hurried to the door, carefully opened a crack, and seeing no one in the corridor, she breathed a sigh of relief. After closing the door again, she approached Luo Chong with unprecedented seriousness and said in a low, stern voice, “Are you crazy? Don’t even think about such things. If Grandpa finds out that we made enemies with the Feng family over personal matters, do you know how serious the consequences would be?”

Then she softened her tone, “Besides, the incident five years ago was ultimately caused by me. I hurt her. Even if she wants to do something to me, she wouldn’t be wrong.”

Luo Chong, however, felt very indignant for his sister. He raised his voice and said, “How did you hurt her? It was Brother Yu’s own choice. His legs are on his own body. What does their breakup have to do with you? Even if you hadn’t gone that day, would she and Brother Yu have been able to get married? Who can say that Feng Chengze wasn’t watching from the sidelines? Didn’t he have feelings for her long ago?”

“If she wants to blame someone, why not blame Brother Yu? If you ask me, Brother Yu is the real culprit!” Luo Chong got even angrier as he spoke, “Back then, you and Brother Yu were both in England. Anyone with eyes could see that you two were just one step away from being together. But as soon as Brother Yu returned to China, he forgot about you and chased after that woman passionately, even planning to get married…”

Is this even human?

Just because the Feng family is wealthier and more powerful, does that mean all the blame falls on them?

Luo Xuan listened numbly. How could she explain to her brother that some things and truths take a long time to understand and accept? She had known Feng Yu for so many years. If he had even a shred of love for her, they would have been together long ago.

Love either exists or it doesn’t. Love that relies on time and waiting to develop isn’t real love.

Just like when he first saw Ji Qingyu, he already liked her very much.

“What?” Luo Chong said coldly, “Now the two Feng brothers act like nothing happened and are back to being friends, and that woman only dares to pick on you? That’s not right!”

Luo Xuan frowned and said, “This is all just speculation. She hasn’t done anything. In the end, it’s my own guilty conscience.”

She is now hesitant to confess her past to her fiancé.

After a moment of silence.

“Sis, listen to me this time.” Luo Chong sighed, “Don’t tell your fiancé about this. I’m a man too. If you confess what happened five years ago, how will you explain Brother Yu’s involvement? Yes, it’s all in the past, but what if it plants a seed of doubt in his heart? Do you still want to get married?”

This isn’t about being magnanimous or not. Because in Chen Zhizhou’s eyes, his girlfriend is simple, pure, and a blank slate in terms of relationships. He definitely loves her, but if he suddenly finds out that this blank slate had a colorful past, it would be great if he doesn’t mind. But what if he does?

“But you have to promise me,” Luo Xuan raised her head and looked at her brother solemnly, “No matter what happens, you must never reveal the Feng family’s affairs to anyone. Keep it to yourself and never mention it to anyone, understand?” She rarely showed such a serious expression, and Luo Chong could only reluctantly nod in agreement.

Shopping is an activity that requires like-minded companions. Ji Qingyu had been shopping with Feng Chengze for over half an hour and had completely lost interest. No matter which pair of shoes she tried on and asked him about, he always had the same answer: “Okay.”

She thought, Feng Chengze might have been a repeating machine in his past life. Perhaps waiting for her to change shoes and clothes was a bit boring, so he simply sat on the sofa in the store, next to two other men.
The only difference between him and the other two was that they played games while he used the fragmented time to handle business affairs.

She walked up to him, but he didn’t react. It was the man next to him, who was playing games and had a sore neck, who noticed her. Out of camaraderie, he nudged Feng Chengze with his elbow to remind him: “Bro, your wife is here. If you want to stay alive, look up and compliment her.”

Feng Chengze frowned and looked up, meeting Ji Qingyu’s dissatisfied gaze. He looked down at her shoes, which seemed familiar. Having seen at least ten pairs of similar shoes today, he was already too dazzled to tell if he had seen this pair ten or twenty minutes ago. But after a few seconds of scrutiny, he gave the most fair evaluation: “Okay.”

Ji Qingyu’s mouth twitched: “…”

Oh my god, someone take this man away! These are her own shoes! And he still said “okay”??

“Okay what!” She had been trying to keep a straight face but couldn’t help but laugh, “My dear Feng, I meant we can leave now!”

“…”

Feng Chengze stood up steadily, picked up two shopping bags, and led her out of the store. Ji Qingyu wasn’t angry, partly because of his attitude. Despite being busy, he didn’t show any impatience or perfunctoriness. Because to him, there were only two answers: ugly or okay.

They took the escalator to the 8th floor, where there happened to be a cinema. Watching a movie was part of their plan, but when they reached the ticket counter, Ji Qingyu hesitated after looking at today’s schedule.

“There doesn’t seem to be any good movies lately.”

The May Day Golden Week had passed, and the summer season hadn’t started yet. Ambitious filmmakers wouldn’t choose this period to release new films.

Feng Chengze stood tall beside her and glanced at the schedule. He didn’t watch movies often, mostly during school-organized viewing activities. He rarely watched movies in his free time, as he didn’t have the leisure to spend two hours on a film that might not be interesting or could even be boring.

“How was the one you watched before?” He casually placed his hand on the counter, tapping his finger absentmindedly as he asked.

“…” Ji Qingyu felt a bit embarrassed, “Maybe… it was okay.”

She had seen good reviews and ratings online. The story and theme were quite good.

Feng Chengze frowned slightly, “Maybe?”

“Alright.” Ji Qingyu shrugged and answered honestly, “I didn’t even remember the female lead’s name. I watched for about ten minutes, got too sleepy, and fell asleep. I didn’t watch it at all.”

But it wasn’t her fault. She had a good reason. “Think about it, we were up late that day, and I only slept for five hours. It’s already impressive that I stayed awake for ten minutes during an art film.”

Feng Chengze’s face froze for a few seconds. Maybe her not-so-funny comment hit his funny bone, as his eyes showed a faint but genuine smile.

“Do you want to watch it?” Ji Qingyu asked, promising, “Don’t worry, if I watch it with you now, I won’t fall asleep.”

“No need.”

Feng Chengze’s deep voice gave the answer. He wasn’t interested in the movie, and it turned out she hadn’t watched it either, which was fine.

“Are you sure you don’t want to watch it today? If we don’t buy tickets now, we’ll miss it.”

Ji Qingyu found him a bit strange. He seemed interested but then refused without hesitation. Men’s hearts are hard to guess, and Feng Chengze’s is even harder to guess.

“No.” He straightened up, put his hand around her shoulder, and calmly led her out of the theater, saying, ‘There will be plenty of time later.'”