Chapter 698 465: Don't Push Me Away, Okay?

"It's fine. She's in the next room playing games. She won't pay any attention to this."

"That's not okay either. It has nothing to do with whether she'd care or not. It's best if... that kind of thing doesn't happen before we've figured our relationship out. Didn't I just talk to you about having a baby? You didn't take it to heart at all." Jiangg Ning held her hands in front of her chest defensively.

"We can use protection."

"You're not getting what I mean. If we really did that, it would affect your relationship with Jiangg Yao. And if things don't work out between us later, it won't get too ugly."

"That's even worse. The way you're talking, it sounds like you've already thought about us breaking up many times. In that case, I might as well go all the way..." Chen Yuan grabbed her hands, putting on a menacing expression.

"Chen, calm down! What's gotten into you today?" She was genuinely scared, her eyelashes fluttering.

"PFFT-HAHAHAHA—" Chen Yuan suddenly clutched his stomach, bursting into laughter. "Look at you! Acting like I'd actually force you. Ningning, you're just too cute."

Jiangg Ning froze, stunned by his laughter. A moment later, she came back to her senses.

She pressed her lips together, her brows instantly knitting in anger.

"You did that on purpose?"

"Well, you're the one deliberately distancing yourself from me," Chen Yuan said lightly. "The soft approach doesn't work, and the hard approach doesn't work either. What's a guy to do with you, huh? Classmate Ningning, I can only resort to this kind of impotent rage to vent my feelings."

Without another word, he grabbed the towel and began to gently dry Jiangg Ning's damp hair.

Feeling his gentle touch, this stark shift in his attitude left Jiangg Ning a little dazed, and she didn't resist.

Both sisters actually took very good care of their hair. When wet, it looked even more like jet-black ink, cascading over their shoulders like a waterfall. Chen Yuan was clumsy, and after toweling it for a while, he had only managed to get it slightly dry. So, he grabbed the hairdryer and started to slowly blow-dry it.

Strands of her hair danced in the gentle breeze of the dryer.

With a CLICK, the humming hairdryer stopped.

Chen Yuan hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"My engagement to Jiangg Yao... it wasn't what you think. It wasn't a casual decision made without any discussion. Actually, back when I was going to Tokyo, didn't you ask me to tactfully bring up your family's situation?"

He said with his eyes lowered, "At this point, I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. After I found out about your family's situation and learned some of the details, I started making preparations. I knew you two sisters couldn't handle it alone—it's not something one can just casually take on. But I thought maybe it was an opportunity... a chance to try and overcome this problem and our own three-way situation at the same time."

"What do you mean?" Jiangg Ning turned to look at him.

"I had the money all ready back then. A pretty substantial amount. I wanted to get you to ask me for a loan... To be fair, I was going to split the money in two, draw up two separate IOUs, and attach certain conditions as the price for accepting my help."

He said it all very calmly.

But inside, Jiangg Ning's heart was in turmoil. She never expected him to be so frank.

"You're surprised, aren't you? You probably think I'd never do something so... shameless," Chen Yuan said with a bitter smile. "But I really did consider it. I even made detailed arrangements and had someone draw up the contracts. Do you want to know what the conditions were?"

"You don't have to say if you don't want to." Jiangg Ning bit her lip gently.

"No, there's nothing to hide. The condition for you was that you'd have to sign another contract with me, for many, many more years. It would tie you to my side so that even if you didn't want to marry me, you couldn't leave. Like a bird trapped in a cage..." he said in a low voice. "And the condition for Jiangg Yao was that she had to help me... help me convince you to agree."

Jiangg Ning was stunned.

She truly hadn't expected Chen Yuan to be capable of something so ruthless. It was a little... monstrous.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was willing to do whatever it took.

For a moment, Jiangg Ning didn't know what to say. Her feelings were a complicated mess.

"Jiangg Yao said she would help me. She agreed. But she knows your personality, and she knew it was bound to be an incredibly difficult and long road. She asked me if I had really thought it through... I was so determined at first, but when she asked me that, I hesitated. The truth is, I hadn't thought it through. I mistakenly believed I was willing to pay any price to keep you by my side. But what if that price was making Jiangg Yao suffer too?"

"So for every day I didn't agree, she would have to keep enduring that situation right alongside me, is that right?" Jiangg Ning understood now, asking with a frown.

"Yes. I felt she shouldn't have to suffer alongside us, so in the end, I didn't tell you. I gave up on the idea. I also promised Jiangg Yao that no matter what happened with you, I would marry her. Because she's innocent in all of this..." Chen Yuan suddenly looked up at her, his expression earnest. "Ningning, I'm not telling you all this to prove how good or kind I am. I just don't want you to overthink things. My feelings for you and for Yaoyao have been unwavering. Please, think about it carefully. I'll find a way to solve every problem you bring up."

Finally, he gently cupped Jiangg Ning's face. "Please don't make your decision so soon, okay? I love you so much. I want to marry you. Just give me a little more time... I'm so scared of losing you. Sometimes... I don't know what to do anymore..."

He pulled Jiangg Ning into a tight embrace, his voice dropping to a near-whisper.

Outside the window, the wind RUSTLED the leaves in the canopy of the camphor tree.

Jiangg Ning suddenly felt how tight his embrace was, as if he wanted to crush her, to merge her into his very being. His full weight seemed to press down on her, and his words were heavy with a profound weariness. It was enough to make one's heart soften.

...

「The next day.」

The two sisters rose bright and early, rushing nonstop to a detention center on the outskirts of Mingzhu City. They were going to visit Jiangg Ruxue, accompanied by Lawyer Gu and an assistant.