At the cafe, Xu Yanwan had been looking at Han Qing, who was inside, from the side of the road for a long time. His face seemed a lot thinner after just a week of not seeing him. There was a tired look on his handsome face, but that sharp edge to his gaze was still obvious. He had become like this because of his girlfriend. The thought of this made Xu Yanwan’s heart even more bitter. She swallowed all the sad emotions before letting a smile bloom upon her face and walking in.
When he saw her, Han Qing remained expressionless. He only said ‘you’re here’ and nothing more. Xu Yanwan ordered a cup of coffee before sitting down quietly. She could guess what Han Qing wanted to say and she also knew what Han Qing wanted to do, but she still refused to say even a word. She would just let Han Qing begin.
Sure enough, when her coffee came, Han Qing started speaking, “In the past, the Han and Xu families shared a good relationship. In fact, the elders had the idea of going through life and death matters together. If the Han family was going through problems, Xu Group would not sit idly by. And when the Xu family was going through something, the Han family would naturally be obliged to help. But then the Xu family fell and the Han family did not fulfill our responsibility as well as keep to our promise at the time. That was my fault.”
Xu Yanwan stirred the coffee in front of her without saying anything.
“Before, you were unwilling to let me extend a helping hand to you, but now, I have to do it. Yanwan, you should start a company. I’ll assist and aid you until the company takes shape. You can get the help of any of the directors in Han Group. When the Xu family is revived, my duty will be fulfilled. It’s only in this way that I won’t feel sorry toward Uncle Xu and Aunt Xu any longer.”
These words sounded quite normal as he was talking about the promise the elders made in the past. Furthermore, Han Qing himself had agreed to it, so he would help till the end. However, Xu Yanwan still felt uncomfortable. She bit her lower lip and raised her head. “Are you doing all this just to get rid of me?” She gave a feeble smile as she continued, “I haven’t done anything and neither do I want to do anything. I’m just here to work at the company. Can’t you just let me be?”
Han Qing’s expression sank. “Yanwan, you grew up with me so I don’t want to say such unpleasant words to you.”
“Unpleasant?” Xu Yanwan smiled. “Then I really do want to hear what unpleasant words you want to say to me.”
Looking at Xu Yanwan, Han Qing thought of his aggrieved young lady and suddenly felt that there was no need for him to be tactful under these circumstances. He said bluntly, “Do I have an engagement with you?”
Xu Yanwan was taken aback and stared at him blankly. Even though she had guessed that he would bring it up, she did not expect him to ask in such a straightforward manner. She did not know how to answer for a while as she sat in place.
“Do we?” Han Qing repeated his question once more.
However, Xu Yanwan still did not provide an answer. She bit her lower lip, feeling as if her heart was being torn. Han Qing saw that she was not speaking, and he did not force her either. “I’m here today to clarify this matter with you. If I recall correctly, you and I have never openly discussed the engagement of both families, nor did we even exchange a token of promise.”
Xu Yanwan understood now that he was trying to disassociate himself from her and did not recognize their engagement from their childhood.
“Furthermore, my parents have never mentioned to me that I have a fiancée, so I want to know just how the news of you being my fiancée was spread.”
Hearing this, Xu Yanwan finally sat down. She raised her head and tears were already in her eyes. “So, you came here today to renounce me? Han Qing, we grew up together. I know you like Yan, but even if you like her, you can’t possibly do this to me, right?”
However, her tears did not have any effect on Han Qing. His eyes were still cold when he saw her this way. It was just like back when they were children. She fell and was sitting on the ground; she shouted at him that her knee hurt and wanted him to carry her back. Han Qing merely glanced at her with an indifferent look and said that since she had not broken her leg, she could walk back herself or just sit there all night. Then, he left her there.
At that time, Xu Yanwan was really angry and felt aggrieved. In the end, it was Lin Xuzheng who walked over to pull her up. However, Lin Xuzheng did not carry her on his back and only said to her, “Han Qing is an emotionless log of wood. It’s alright if you provoke others, but you can’t ever provoke him. If he agrees to carry you back, then red rain would fall from the sky. Be less pretentious in front of him or you won’t get anything in the end.”
As a result, Xu Yanwan learned to behave better as she knew that Han Qing was a piece of ice and that it was useless for her to act coy. It was also then when she stopped acting like a baby in front of Han Qing. She became a sensible girl who would always accompany him by his side. It was the same this time around with Han Qing not showing a trace of pity even when looking at her teary face. He merely frowned coldly and said, “I have nothing to do with you, so how could I be dissociating myself from you?”
Xu Yanwan was shocked by the sentence. “You… What did you say? Nothing to do with me?”
Han Qing pursed his lips, still looking at her indifferently.
“Why don’t we have anything to do with each other? The marriage contract was set by our two families. You don’t know it, but I do. I remember it since I was a child. I thought you knew it too.”
Hearing this, Han Qing’s brows furrowed deeper. “Then you should be thankful that I wasn’t made aware of this. If I had known about it, I wouldn’t have given you the chance to spew nonsense.”
He said these ruthless words, and Xu Yanwan understood. He was very unsympathetic to her. He could help her for the Xu family’s sake, let her receive help from the senior staff of Han Group, and give her a lot of money as a sponsorship, but apart from these, he would not give her anything else—even if it was just a little bit of affection. He was so cold and apathetic. This was what Han Qing was like, but he treated those he valued so well. Xu Yanwan bit her lower lip and soon tasted blood in her mouth.
“In the future, I don’t want to hear any more rumors about you being my fiancée in the company. I can let you clarify this yourself for the sake of the Xu family. If you can’t do it, then I’ll do it myself. Also, do consider my proposal of reviving the Xu Family.”
As soon as his voice fell, Han Qing’s phone started ringing. He took out his phone and glanced at the screen. His previously indifferent eyes turned soft in the next second, and this sort of change surprised Xu Yanwan, making her heart bitter. Why? Why is it that for the things that I desperately want, others can get them so easily? Meanwhile, I’m left with nothing. Why was liking someone so bitter? She simply liked him. Could it be that she had chosen to love the wrong person?
Just when Han Qing was about to answer the call, Xu Yanwan suddenly stopped biting her lower lip and said, “I don’t need to think it through anymore. I accept your offer of reviving the Xu family.”
She really had nothing now. If alas Han Qing could not belong to her, what else would she have? At the very least, she wanted to hold on to the Xu family. She could not just go down like this for nothing.
