"Ah?" Du Ruoxin was a little surprised.
Rong Cheng... busy for her all afternoon?
A wave of guilt rose in her heart. She turned and walked out, "Let's go, let's go, I'll treat you."
Rong Cheng called out to her, "No need, I'll order takeout." He then walked to the only table in the room, "Do you want barbecue, or something else?"
Du Ruoxin: "Anything is fine."
She was hardly in the mood to eat.
After a pause, Du Ruoxin said bitterly, "Two bottles of Erguotou."
Rong Cheng: "Okay."
Du Ruoxin didn't walk to the wooden table but went to the floor-to-ceiling window. She sat on the floor, leaning her head against the glass, her eyes blankly staring at the brightly lit city nightscape.
Facing Rong Jingyang's repeated deception, facing Rong Jingyang's inability to let go of Ai Wei...
"Madam." A pair of warm hands rested on her shoulders, stopping Du Ruoxin from overthinking and tormenting herself. "Cheer up."
These simple words made the woman burst into tears.
She couldn't cheer up.
How could anyone in her situation cheer up?
She had worked so hard, given so much for him without regret, and all she wanted was a devoted love. Was that so difficult?
"Don't cry..." Rong Cheng panicked.
He wanted to wipe away her tears, to erase her sadness, but Trevor was watching him intently from behind.
He dared not overstep.
Upon hearing Rong Cheng's words, Trevor immediately strode forward, "Miss, what's wrong?"
Du Ruoxin flinched, her tears stopping, "Nothing."
She wasn't even allowed to cry!
Du Ruoxin quickly wiped the tears from her face because she couldn't let Trevor know, couldn't let her elder brother know, otherwise, the bet would be called off early.
Her elder brother wouldn't allow anyone to hurt her.
It was precisely because of this that Du Ruoxin dared not confront Rong Jingyang or argue with him.
She feared their marriage would fall apart, feared that a decision made in a moment of impulse would be irreversible...
Rong Cheng watched Du Ruoxin force back her tears, her heart aching but forcing a smile, pretending to be fine, and his own heart felt as if it were being squeezed.
He felt more pain than she did.
At this moment, Rong Cheng desperately wished he could separate Rong Jingyang and Du Ruoxin immediately.
Just as he had resolutely decided a year ago to help her escape the mire.
"Don't be upset anymore," Rong Cheng patted the woman's shoulder and said in a deep, low voice, "I said I'll take you to an event tomorrow."
Du Ruoxin retorted stubbornly, "I'm not going!"
Rong Cheng sighed, "Don't be stubborn, you're always the one who suffers in the end."
Du Ruoxin's lips twitched: "—"
What did he mean she was always the one who suffered?
She wanted to refute this statement, but her mouth opened and closed, opened and closed, yet no information could be found in her mind to refute it.
Rong Cheng was right.
In the confrontations between her and Rong Jingyang, she was always the loser.
She had never won once!
Wasn't that pathetic?
"Go, no matter what conflicts or problems you have, talk it out, resolve it," Rong Cheng persuaded.
Du Ruoxin bit her lower lip, clenched her fists, and pondered.
The air seemed to freeze.
Rong Cheng wasn't in a hurry. He had enough patience to persuade her to attend the meeting, to step into the trap set by Cristiano.
Du Ruoxin leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window, her body weak and boneless. After a long while, her pale lips parted slightly, "Rong Jingyang isn't coming back tonight?"
"Did he go to Ai Wei?"
Ai Wei?
Right!
Du Ruoxin suddenly looked at Rong Cheng, "Do you know what trouble Ai Wei is causing again?"
These three consecutive questions stunned Rong Cheng.
He frowned tightly, his dark eyes fixed on Du Ruoxin—seeing her confused expression, she didn't look like someone who had someone beat up Ai Wei, almost crippling her.
But—
How did Mu Li find out it was Du Ruoxin?
Could it be that Mu Li...
No, no, no, anyone could betray Master, but Mu Li and Lin Xuanyao wouldn't.
Because one was a hidden guard and the other an overt guard, the kind who would die for Rong Jingyang without hesitation.
Something was fishy!
Rong Cheng immediately sensed that something was unusual.
Du Ruoxin was unaware of Rong Cheng's convoluted thoughts. Seeing his silence and solemn expression, she mistook it for confirmation.
Confirmation that Rong Jingyang wasn't coming home tonight because he was with Ai Wei.
She really wanted to...
Catch them in the act.
If her elder brother wasn't in E City, she would have grabbed a knife, brought oil, and rushed over immediately.
But her elder brother was here, so she couldn't. She couldn't act on impulse or make a scene.
"I understand," Du Ruoxin leaned against the glass again, closed her eyes, her heart ashen, "Tell Rong Jingyang, I'll go tomorrow."
To settle things with him.
Tonight, she would think clearly about how to live her life in the future.