After James left, Ruan Tianxin lay listlessly on the bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling a bit down.
Just hearing that Shao Chen was getting engaged made her feel so bad. It proved she still couldn't forget him.
But now, what else could she do but try to forget him?
Could she crash the wedding?
Even if she did, he would have to be willing to leave with her. Otherwise, wouldn't she be the one making a fool of herself?
Just then, her phone, placed beside her, suddenly rang. She glanced at it, jolted, her heart racing. All the gloom in her heart seemed to vanish instantly. She leaped out of bed and answered, "Hello? Shao Chen?"
She waited for a while, but there was no sound from the other end. She suspected he might have dialed the wrong number. The light that had just flickered in her eyes instantly dimmed.
"Hello? Wrong number? If not, I'm hanging up."
Shao Chen, on the other end of the line, fumbled to retrieve his phone. Hearing her say she was hanging up, he took a deep breath and quickly asked, "Are you feeling any better?"
Although it was late to show concern, Ruan Tianxin was happy, but then she thought about his engagement, wondering why she was getting excited for nothing.
As if pouting, she replied, "Thanks to James's care, I'm all better."
Hearing this, Shao Chen felt a pang of jealousy. He thought, if not for me, where would James come in?
"Oh, really? That's good." His tone was flat.
Ruan Tianxin heard his indifferent tone and didn't know what he meant.
Xiao He Miao had told her that it was Shao Chen who contacted Xiao He Miao to save her. But he didn't mention it at all and disappeared after she woke up. The next time she saw him, he was getting engaged to someone else.
"You called me, is there something you need?"
Shao Chen was too embarrassed to admit he had accidentally pressed the wrong button. "It's nothing important."
"..."
"..."
They both fell silent simultaneously, as if they had nothing to say, yet neither made a move to hang up. It was as if just listening to each other's breathing was enough.
After a long while, Ruan Tianxin couldn't help but speak first, "Did you ask Xiao He Miao to save me that day?"
Shao Chen was startled. He had wanted to ask Yu He not to tell her about it, but he hadn't expected she would find out.
"It was just a small effort, nothing major. After all, anyone, even a stranger, would help in that situation, right? Especially since we know each other, I couldn't just watch you die." He said with forced lightness.
"..." Ruan Tianxin fell silent. So it was just a small effort.
So, to him, she wasn't that important after all.
But she still couldn't help but ask, "You're getting engaged?"
Upon hearing this, Shao Chen's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected her to know so soon.
He wanted to explain, but didn't know how. Should he say, "I sacrificed my marriage to save you"?
To make her feel grateful?
That wasn't what he wanted.
Besides, even if he said it, what would it change?
She already had another man by her side. Saying it would only make her laugh at his self-importance.
He, the esteemed heir of the Shao family, had his pride!
So, he feigned a flippant tone, "Oh, you're quite well-informed. You're paying that much attention to me?"
Ruan Tianxin choked. She felt so foolishly self-important. He actually didn't care about her!
She felt like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Who's paying attention to you! If you didn't want others to know, why didn't you keep the media away! For someone like you, finding a marriage partner is already a difficult feat! I wish you both an early birth of precious sons and a hundred years of marital bliss!"
Shao Chen's ears rang with her words. He gritted his teeth, "I thank you!"
Ruan Tianxin didn't hold back, "You're welcome! After all, anyone, even a stranger, would offer a few words of blessing upon hearing such happy news. Nice words don't cost money, do they?"
"But we're not strangers."
"Right, not strangers, but exes. Do you expect me to attend your wedding?"
"Would you come?"
"Well, I'm truly sorry, I never attend my ex's weddings."
"..."
After a round of sarcastic banter, Ruan Tianxin broke off the meaningless exchange first. "If you have nothing else, I'm hanging up."
The longer they talked, the more upset she felt.
"Wait..." Shao Chen suddenly called out to her.
Ruan Tianxin asked impatiently, "What? Still want to argue..."
"Tianxin, on the Lantern Festival, are you really not coming?" Shao Chen interrupted her and repeated the question seriously.
Hearing his serious tone, Ruan Tianxin's feelings became a jumble of emotions, like an overturned bottle of flavors.
Shao Chen held his breath, eagerly awaiting her response.
However, fate was not on his side.
Ruan Tianxin: "I said, I don't attend my ex's weddings."
Hearing her refusal, Shao Chen's hope sank instantly. "It's just an engagement, not a wedding. If you come..."
"It's more or less the same! I won't be there in person, I'd rather die than go! But for the sake of our acquaintance, I can give a gift." Ruan Tianxin cut him off directly.
With that, she hung up the phone.
Shao Chen stared at the blank phone screen and fell silent. What he had wanted to say just now was, "If you come, let's elope."
He thought he could compromise and marry Yan Xuebing according to his grandfather's wishes, and after the wedding, she would return to her military unit, and he would continue his carefree single life.
But after spending the afternoon with Yan Xuebing, he realized he couldn't force himself to spend too much time with a woman he didn't like. Their interactions were full of complaints.
The afternoon had been like this, he couldn't imagine how much more unbearable married life would be.
He had never thought about marriage before. The only imagined married life was with Ruan Tianxin.
He liked the feeling of being with her. She was not only presentable in public but also a good homemaker, and she was especially suitable for him to build a life with.
They were both adults with their own careers. They could be busy with their own work, and after work, they could be together, lovey-dovey, and perfectly in sync...
Realizing he was thinking of Ruan Tianxin again, Shao Chen irritably scratched his head. He went out to get a bottle of strong liquor, wanting to get drunk so he wouldn't have to think about anything.
—
Meanwhile, on Ruan Tianxin's side, after hanging up the phone, her already low mood felt even more dejected, and she was somewhat irritable.
Who would want to attend his engagement ceremony? Would it be to humiliate herself?
Despite thinking so, she couldn't help but ask her agent if she had any upcoming work, especially in China.
The agent quickly replied: [No, you said you wanted to have a good time during the Spring Festival, so I haven't booked any jobs for you in the first lunar month. The next announcement is in March.]
"March is too late."
She muttered, then turned to find Yu He.
Duoduo answered the video call. They had barely chatted for two sentences when the little one, as if she could read minds, brought it up first:
"Godmother, Mommy said my Godfather is getting engaged on the Lantern Festival. Are you coming back to China to attend?"
"No." Ruan Tianxin refused. "But if I come back to visit you, that's possible."
Duoduo: "Then Godmother, come back and visit us~ It's best if you buy your ticket back now."
"Okay!" Ruan Tianxin readily agreed.
After hanging up the video call, she immediately booked the earliest flight back to China. As she paid, she muttered to herself, "I'm going to visit Xiao He Miao, not to attend someone's wedding."