Su Mu’s heart was thoroughly in turmoil because of Rong Shen. A myriad of possibilities sward through her mind, rendering her thoughts chaotic. The words that ca out of her mouth bore a tinge of emotion:
"Mr. Rong, have you beco so idle? It was just a chance eting, and yet you can sit here and talk to at length. Regardless of whether what you’ve said is true or false, do you think it’s appropriate to tell all this?"
Rong Shen looked at her without uttering a word.
"Today was supposed to be a private dinner between and Jiang Bei, but because of your presence, Jiang Bei is still hiding and hasn’t co out. Don’t you think you should leave now? Or are you suggesting that pregnant Jiang Bei and I go find another place to dine right now?"
Rong Shen had already stood up, ready to leave, but upon hearing the latter part of Su Mu’s statent, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, looking at her in shock:
"What did you say?"
Even though Rong Shen was entrenched in the dark underbelly of the criminal world, he had never shown a frightening face in front of Su Mu—until now. Su Mu was, indeed, a bit terrified by his expression—grim, fearful, bone-chilling. You could feel that even matters of life and death were insignificant to him.
Su Mu stayed silent, involuntarily beginning to scrutinize what exactly she had said wrong.
The strange atmosphere between the two persisted for who knows how long, with the waiters choosing to take a wide berth around Rong Shen. Under such tension, Su Mu felt she wasn’t far from a breakdown. Deciding to spare herself, she was ready to leave with Jiang Bei, but at that mont, Rong Shen finally spoke:
"Jiang Bei is pregnant?"
Su Mu was silent for a few seconds before it dawned on her:
"Yes, she’s pregnant."
Again, Rong Shen fell into silence, not speaking a word for a long ti. His state rendered Su Mu almost crazy with impatience, unable to urge him on or to leave herself.
Su Mu possibly understood Rong Shen’s feelings at that mont, but what more could she know? Everything was already too late.
"When Xiaobei got married, I sought you out. You said you respected her choice. Now, she’s been married for over a year. It’s natural for a married couple to have a child. Besides, her life is good. Ji Nanfeng cherishes her deeply. You didn’t hold on back then, and now there’s no need for nostalgia or regret. You gave up yourself."
Rong Shen looked at Su Mu but said nothing. She continued:
"If I were you, I would choose to offer my blessings."
Upon hearing this, Rong Shen chuckled:
"Did I not offer my blessings? Do you think I’m here to disrupt her life?"
Su Mu shook her head:
"For over a year, you and Xiaobei haven’t t. I think that’s good. Xiaobei has never ntioned you to . Whether she’s avoiding you or has really forgotten, it doesn’t matter. Everything between you two is in the past. You should know what kind of person Ji Nanfeng is—although he used to be quite wild, fundantally, he’s a man with strong possessiveness. If he knew you had any contact with Xiaobei, I fear it wouldn’t be good."
"So what? Am I supposed to be afraid of him?"
"Of course, you’re not afraid. Very few people in Shen City are worthy of your attention. But if your presence provokes Ji Nanfeng, the one who’ll suffer isn’t you; it’s Xiaobei."
"He wouldn’t dare!"
Su Mu smiled faintly:
"Of course he would. He’s Jiang Bei’s legitimate husband, whereas you’re just Xiaobei’s ex."
Rong Shen had no retort. After a few seconds, it seed he accepted the truth and stopped arguing with Su Mu, simply saying faintly:
"How many months?"
"Two months," Su Mu replied softly. "She hopes it’s a girl."
Rong Shen slowly smiled: "Like her; that’d be nice."
Jiang Bei returned shortly after Rong Shen had left. The timing was so coincidental that Su Mu couldn’t help but feel that Jiang Bei had been secretly watching from sowhere, only coming out once Rong Shen was gone. Sensing Su Mu’s gaze, Jiang Bei candidly smiled:
"Yes, I was hiding from him and ca out only after seeing him leave."
"I accidentally let it slip. He knows you’re pregnant now."
Jiang Bei was montarily stunned, then smiled softly:
"He would’ve found out sooner or later."
"I’ve never asked you, but what exactly happened between you and Rong Shen that let you cut ties with him so cleanly in such a short ti? He’s always been so dominant; in two years, you’ve never managed to leave him, and it seed like you had resigned yourself to it. How did it all change so suddenly?"
Jiang Bei clearly didn’t want to discuss past events, only managing a bitter smile:
"Maybe it was just fate?"
"Did your accident with Uncle Jiang have anything to do with him...?"
"Susu," Jiang Bei interrupted Su Mu, "that’s all in the past, and I don’t want to talk about it anymore, okay?"
Su Mu could say no more, rely nodding lightly: "I didn’t an anything by it, nor did I want to disturb your life. I just felt that your life over the past year hasn’t been very happy."
"I’m fine," Jiang Bei reassured as she looked at her. "Really, I’m quite alright."
After they finished their al, Ji Nanfeng’s driver ca to pick up Jiang Bei. Su Mu walked her to the car and, noticing Ji Nanfeng was not there, casually asked:
"Where’s Ji Nanfeng?"
"He’s out of the country, hasn’t co back yet."
"I’ve never noticed him traveling so frequently before."
Jiang Bei laughed it off: "Maybe there’s just more to deal with recently. I don’t ask much. You’re heading back to the hospital, aren’t you? Do you need a lift?"
Su Mu shook her head:
"It’s a short distance; I think I’ll walk back. I want to buy sothing for Wen Han to eat on the way."
At that, Jiang Bei laughed heartily:
"Susu, no matter what, you have to be very happy. Between us, at least one should marry for love."
On her way back to the hospital, Su Mu couldn’t stop thinking about Jiang Bei’s words: at least one of us should marry for love. Yet Su Mu was sure her feelings for Wen Han were ambiguous, sothing between love and friendship—it could hardly be called love.
But Jiang Bei’s words clearly negated her own marriage too.
Because of Fu Shinian, even after Jiang Bei and Ji Nanfeng got married, Su Mu had very little contact with Ji Nanfeng. To consider her feelings, Jiang Bei rarely let them et. However, on the few occasions Su Mu did et him, she could tell Ji Nanfeng was good to Jiang Bei. Whenever he was in Shen City, he would personally pick her up and drop her off without delegating it to anyone else. If he was late and didn’t go back, he would always call to check in.
Initially, Su Mu thought soone like Ji Nanfeng would never have such patience and devotion for a woman; she assud he was pretending. But even if it was an act, he had maintained it for over a year, convincingly playing the role of a devoted lover, convincing even himself. Perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing.
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