2. I Don’t Want Us to Argue Right Before We Break Up

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Lu Tingyuan’s kiss paused, then he gave a soft laugh.

“Ranran, don’t joke around.”

He reached out to pinch Ji Qingran’s cheek, then stroked the top of her head. “I’m very tired today.”

The warmth of his fingertips against her cheek should have been comforting, yet it only made her heart colder.

The spring air outside was still touched by a sudden chill. He had brought Su Yiyi back a long while ago.

While she had been waiting alone in the emergency room.

Ji Qingran shook her head. “I’m not joking, A-Yuan. I want to break up. Let’s end things.”

The last trace of amusement vanished from Lu Tingyuan’s face.

He looked up at her, his expression darkening. “Why?”

Ji Qingran bit her lip and said nothing. The painkillers had worn off, and her leg hurt so badly she could barely stand.

“Speak.” Lu Tingyuan regarded her impassively. “Because of Yiyi?”

He had always been a cool, aloof man. With his entire face now clouded over and his gaze turned cold, he was intimidating enough to make her uneasy.

Ji Qingran forced a smile. “When the airport shuttle crashed today, what were you thinking? Were you worried that Su Yiyi might get hurt, or were you hoping I hadn’t boarded that bus?”

She paused, her eyes rimmed red as she looked at him. “Even for one second, Lu Tingyuan, did you think that I was on that bus too? That I was hurt too?”

His pupils contracted slightly as he stared at her without blinking.

But she looked far too normal. There was no visible sign of injury anywhere on her.

Lu Tingyuan thought of how Su Yiyi had cried over a mere scrape on her arm. If Ji Qingran had really been injured, could she truly have endured it this long without saying a word?

He felt displeased, blaming her for being unreasonable. “Yiyi’s injury is a fact. Are you really going to compete with her over something like this?”

Ji Qingran suddenly found it a little absurd.

What was she still expecting? Had she thought he would say that he was worried about her?

If he had truly been concerned, he would have called to ask about her the moment the accident happened.

The way she was questioning him now did indeed sound as though she were trying to compete with Su Yiyi.

“Forget it. I don’t want to spend our last moments arguing.”

Ji Qingran lowered her eyes, refusing to meet his gaze. His eyes were too cold, utterly unlike the tenderness he showed Su Yiyi.

“Lu Tingyuan, I’ve made up my mind. Whom you choose to care for and protect is your freedom. I have no right to question it, much less interfere. All I want now is to break up with you. From now on, you go your way and I’ll go mine. Let’s each live in peace.”

He still said nothing, merely staring at her. The weight of his gaze nearly made it impossible for her to breathe.

This was what Ji Qingran feared most about him.

Whenever they quarreled in the past, he could give her the silent treatment for months. No video calls, no phone calls, no messages of any kind. She had been so far away from him, and his cold indifference had left her emotionally and physically exhausted, terrified that he would simply disappear from her life.

So every time, she had been the one to lower her head first, apologize, and beg him to reconcile.

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But this time, she could not endure it any longer.

“You’re not saying anything, so I’ll take that as agreement.”

She turned to leave, but the moment she moved, he caught her by the wrist.

His gaze was complicated as he stared at her. After a long while, he said without emotion, “Ranran, don’t act out of spite.”

Ji Qingran shook her head. “I’m not. I thought about it all afternoon, perhaps even longer. I had already been thinking this way before I came back.”

They had quarreled too many times. She was tired. Perhaps breaking up would be a release for them both.

The atmosphere grew tense and still.

He neither answered her nor released his hold on her hand.

He only looked at her with increasing displeasure.

Ji Qingran wanted him to let go, but before she could speak, a commotion suddenly came from the dining room. Su Yiyi let out a cry, her voice thick with tears.

Lu Tingyuan immediately looked toward her.

The hand he had seized remained suspended in midair. Only after a long moment did Ji Qingran slowly withdraw it and begin limping toward the dining room, dragging her injured leg behind her.

Somehow, Su Yiyi had overturned the bowl of porridge, and the back of her hand had been scalded as well. A small patch of red had appeared on her fair skin.

Lu Tingyuan was holding her injured hand beneath cold running water, rinsing it with painstaking care. His eyes were filled with concern.

Su Yiyi had probably been hurt badly enough to bring tears to her eyes. She clutched Lu Tingyuan’s clothing tightly and asked timidly, “Senior, am I really that clumsy?”

He chuckled softly. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

His gentle, attentive manner was utterly different from the way he treated Ji Qingran.

Ji Qingran glanced at them from a distance, then turned her eyes away.

She pulled her suitcase to the door and opened it. Before leaving, she looked back at the room with reluctant tenderness.

When Lu Tingyuan had told her that this apartment was the home he had bought for their future marriage, her heart and eyes had been filled with visions of their life together.

She had happily spent more than half a year designing the place. Every corner was infused with her effort and devotion.

Now she had to surrender it to someone else. Of course it hurt.

“Lu Tingyuan, I’m leaving.”

In the end, Ji Qingran still said it aloud.

Those words meant that she was leaving him as well.

Lu Tingyuan’s attention was entirely fixed on Su Yiyi’s injured hand. At her words, he paused only briefly, never lifting his head as he replied coldly, “Do as you please.”

“Take care of yourself,” Ji Qingran said sincerely.

She did not hate him. If it had not been for him, she would have fallen into the mire long ago.

Now that they were parting peacefully, she truly hoped he would be well.

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Lu Tingyuan still did not move. He merely answered with a faint hum.

And so Ji Qingran left.

As she closed the door, she heard Su Yiyi draw a sharp breath and complain, “Senior, you’re using too much force. You hurt me.”

Lu Tingyuan seemed to say, “Sorry,” and then appeared to glance toward the entrance.

But Ji Qingran had already closed the door, so she could not tell whether that glance had truly been directed at her.

She had returned home for two reasons: first, to propose to Lu Tingyuan; second, to see whether she could establish herself in River City.

The first was no longer necessary. That left only the second.

She had already secured a job before returning. Her best friend had just founded a small company with an excellent project and a shortage of staff. Ji Qingran’s expertise was a perfect match, and the two of them had reached an agreement immediately, settling everything well in advance.

But now that she was injured, she could only find an inexpensive hotel and recuperate there for the time being.

In fact, Lu Tingyuan had given her a card with no spending limit. She had used it a few times when she was struggling financially abroad, but now that they had broken up, she could no longer use it with a clear conscience.

She had little money left and could only spend it sparingly.

Once her leg had mostly recovered, Ji Qingran went to discuss the partnership with Jiang Yao.

The small company had few formalities. Jiang Yao completed her employment paperwork that very day, then showed her around the office.

“You know my parents never wanted me to start a business. They froze my cards, hoping to force me home to marry into another family. So the company’s cash flow has run into some trouble lately. But don’t worry. I’m actively looking for investors.”

Jiang Yao patted her chest and promised, “We’ll definitely make it through. I won’t let you become unemployed right after joining us. Worst comes to worst, I’ll sell my jewelry and car. But I’ll be counting on you for the project. You have experience in this field, after all.”

Ji Qingran was not particularly worried. She had always been able to take things in stride.

Even if she could not, there was nothing she could do. Life had to go on, and she would have to endure whatever came, good or bad.

She made her position clear to Jiang Yao as well. “As long as your company is still operating, I’m not leaving. We’ll make this project a success, take it public, and become rich!”

Jiang Yao laughed and high-fived her. “Once I have money, the first thing I’ll do is acquire my father’s company.”

Ji Qingran had spent eight years abroad. Even her return was quiet, known to very few people. Warmhearted as ever, Jiang Yao immediately arranged a gathering that evening to welcome her home.

“We’ll invite a few close friends and spend some time together. If you run into trouble in River City later, just say the word. You’ll have people to help you.”

Ji Qingran agreed.

She simply had not expected Lu Tingyuan to come to the dinner that night as well.

With a young woman at his side.

Su Yiyi.