Chapter 417 - Cold War III
Just as Jiang Ruolan brushed past Han Xuegang, her wrist was suddenly grabbed by him. Her eyes darkened and she suddenly turned around, "What are you doing? Let go!"
"I just came to see my aunt. She was the aunt who was very good to me that I told you about when we were still in university. She moved to H City recently, and a couple of days ago, she moved into Greenville Residence." Han Xuegang spoke to her as if he were talking to someone close to him.
Jiang Ruolan immediately pulled her wrist away from his hand and took two steps back. She looked at him coldly. "Director Han, there"s no point for you to tell me this. Please don"t bother me again."
With that, she no longer looked at him and turned to leave.
"Ruolan, you don"t look too good. Did you quarrel with Xian Zihao?" His voice came again.
Jiang Ruolan acted as if she had not heard anything. Suddenly, her wrist was gripped by someone again. She immediately became angry and turned back to look at him. "Han Xuegang, what do you want?"
"This is a little cherry brought by my aunt from the north. I remembered that when I brought it back to university, you really like to eat it, saying that these sour and sweet cherries are more flavorful than the big cherries in the south. You haven"t eaten it in a long time, so take it."
Jiang Ruolan frowned as she looked down at the bag of Northern Cherries in his hands. It was not dark red but a faint, exceptionally beautiful red.
She remembered that Han Xuegang never liked to eat this kind of food. In her university years, because she loved to eat it, sometimes at the right season, Han Xuegang would ask his aunt to buy it for him. That"s why his aunt a.s.sumed he loved to eat this and often picked a few for him. She didn"t know that Han Xuegang wanted it because of Jiang Ruolan.
Like now, his aunt actually thought he would like these cherries, which was why she brought so much for him.
"Han Xuegang, I think you"re mistaken about one thing." When Jiang Ruolan looked at the Northern Cherries bag, she did not feel anything at all. She just sighed and then she suddenly laughed. "We are not even friends, so I have no reason to accept your things. Don"t make things difficult for me, it was you who chose the wrong path. Remember, even if you were kneeling in front of me, I still won"t accept you back."
Jiang Ruolan didn"t stay to see his expression, she continued to walk back with the bag in her hand. No footsteps were coming from behind her. Of course, she didn"t look back.
Just as she was about to pick up the key to her house, she saw that the door was open and a burst of fragrance came from inside. Jiang Ruolan quickly entered and saw a figure standing in front of a French window.
Jiang Ruolan immediately stopped in her tracks. The window where Xian Zihao was standing happened to show the stone path she was walking on when she returned.
When she returned, Xian Zihao didn"t even turn his head to look at her. He just stood there motionlessly.
Jiang Ruolan held her breath, carried the bag to the kitchen, and handed the vinegar bottle to Sister Yanmei. Then she came out again. Thinking about the quarrel they had just now, she decided not to offend Xian Zihao, who was angry anymore. She plans to go upstairs to read some books first, but in the end, his voice came from behind her, "You"re back."
Jiang Ruolan turned around reluctantly and looked at him with a non-smiling smile. "En, I just bought vinegar for Sister Yanmei. I initially said that I would cook today, but I"ll have to trouble her." Jiang Ruolan answered.
In the end, Xian Zihao only replied with a "hmm".
Although she was doing the right thing, the two of them had a little dispute just because of Han Xuegang. Xian Zihao seemed to have seen scenes that make people easily misunderstood, so Jiang Ruolan temporarily wanted to go to the study room to calm down.
So she smiled at him stiffly and quickly walked down from the stairs and went to the tea-table to pick up a book she had previously placed there. Then, she hastily went upstairs.
"Are you avoiding me?"
Another cold voice came from behind.
Jiang Ruolan took a deep breath and turned slowly to see Xian Zihao walking to her side. He picked up the book she was holding. "Are you sure you can read this book now?"
Perhaps he didn"t have any other intentions, but Jiang Ruolan was in a sensitive period and she didn"t want to get into an awkward situation with Xian Zihao because of her possibly messy mind. She didn"t like quarreling with people she cared about the most, and even if they wanted to argue, she probably wouldn"t accompany them.
When Xian Zihao casually flipped open the book, he was actually smiling. That smile was extremely dazzling and it made Jiang Ruolan immediately s.n.a.t.c.hed the book from his hands and glared at him. "How do you know I can"t read it?"
She was about to go upstairs when Xian Zihao stood by the banister with one hand in his pants pocket, looking at her indifferently. Jiang Ruolan took two steps up, hesitated for a moment, then turned around.
She hadn"t done anything shameful in the first place, so why was she avoiding him now?
As she thought of this, she immediately turned around and didn"t go up. Instead, she walked down to confront him. "Alright, you want to talk, let"s talk."
Xian Zihao did not answer but just glanced at her, as if he was waiting for her to say something.
"Zihao, I know what I said today would cause you to misunderstand, but I still opened my mouth because I completely relied on your trust in me. I admit that what I asked of you was very wrong. I just wanted you to spare his life." She frowned, feeling uneasy.
The reason for her unease was because even though Xian Zihao"s gaze was obviously calm and gentle, yet it seemed to carry an unfathomable coldness.
"Answer me first." Xian Zihao looked at her quietly, his black eyes locked onto hers. "If I don"t spare his life, what would you do?"
Jiang Ruolan"s gaze immediately turned cold and then she smiled. "What can I do? I can"t start a fight with my own husband over the life and death of an outsider, can I? I just don"t want to accidentally think about this person I met in university and get cold sweat all over my body. I just don"t want to accidentally dream about the past and wake up in fear. You have your principles, I have my moment of mercy. I feel that you are too decisive, and you also feel that I am full of sympathy."
Jiang Ruolan continued to smile as she looked at him. After that, she took the book in his hand and turned to leave without saying another word.
"What is it? You"re really angry?"
Gu Nanxi wanted to pull her hand, but she unconsciously took a step back and bit her lower lip. "When do you plan to start dealing with him? Tell me in advance and let me be mentally prepared."
When Jiang Ruolan thought of Xian Zihao"s usual gentle and patient att.i.tude, she felt she was a stone-cold Yama King who held power and the heart to kill. Her small universe exploded when he tried to pull her back once again. Jiang Ruolan shouted at him, "If Zhou Shufen was like Han Xuegang, and if I were like you, able to make her die without a burial ground, would you think that I was cold-hearted? Too terrifying? Too heartless?"
Jiang Ruolan saw that Xian Zihao didn"t want to give up at all. He could have clearly used another method, yet he insisted on taking Han Xuegang"s life. She couldn"t help it, so she casually made an example by making it sound like they were talking about her.
Xian Zihao stared straight at her, his black eyes calm.
Maybe there was something in that part of her that he was looking at, but she might never know...
In the end, Xian Zihao turned around and left the house without saying a word.
Jiang Ruolan leaned against the banister of the staircase, staring blankly at the door that was opening and closing not far away from her and listening to the footsteps in the distance.
It wasn"t until she came back to her senses and realized that Xian Zihao had actually left that she felt as if her heart had been knocked over by something hard.
After a while, Sister Yanmei came out of the kitchen with a sumptuous dinner. Seeing Jiang Ruolan leaning against the banister without Xian Zihao, she wiped her hand on the ap.r.o.n and walked over to her (Jiang Ruolan). "It"s time to eat, why are there only you? Where is Young Master?"
Jiang Ruolan just shook her head and said while holding back her anger. "Ignore him, let"s eat."
That night, Xian Zihao didn"t come back.
The next morning, he didn"t come back either.
The next night, he still hadn"t come back.
On the third day, the fourth day, all the way to the seventh day, he still had not appeared.
And these few days, at night, Jiang Ruolan had trouble sleeping. She wanted to see if he would secretly come back in the middle of the night, but there were no movements during the night. The usually warm Greenville Residence suddenly became terrifyingly quiet.
No matter how hard she tried to hold in her anger, she was still worried. After all, he was still injured. Jiang Ruolan immediately went down and asked the guards at the residential complex and found out that Xian Zihao had never come back after driving away.
Could it be that what she said was too excessive?
But he really didn"t leave any leeway.