Chapter 421 - Untitled
As a sharp pain swamped her head, Rong Yan could not help but clutch her head and curl her body. Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it. The more you think about it, the worse off you get and the more horrible you feel. Why did she have to make things so difficult for herself?
As a tough person, she rarely showed her weak side. Chu Li, in shock, suddenly hugged her as his heart ached. He did not hope for this.
“Yan Yan, please stop this. Be good…” Chu Li kissed her hair whorl and gently consoled her. Since he was not good at consoling people and saying gentle words, all he could say all this while was be good…
When did he humble himself when dealing with a woman?
Rong Yan could not help but recall how he hugged Fang Ying and console her that day. Rong Yan felt bitterness in her heart and rage brewed in a hidden corner of her. Didn’t he console Fang Ying the same say?
Just how many people had he been gentle toward?
Rong Yan suddenly pushed him away, her gaze becoming colder and colder. Chu Li, his heart extremely aching, reached out to stroke Rong Yan’s face but Rong Yan pushed his hand away. She closed her eyes and opened them again, still silent.
“Ah Li, let me go!” Rong Yan said gently yet firmly.
Chu Li’s pitiful gaze became sinister. He looked at her deeply whilst his clenching fists crackled. Rong Yan was guessing that he was about to punch her. As he had said, if she dared to leave him, he would break her legs and imprison her in the castle for life so that she would not be able to go anywhere.
She always knew about his viciousness.
To protect his beloved Fang Ying, he viciously allowed her to be led away by his rivals. In both life-and-death instances, he chose Fang Ying over her!
She always thought that Chu Li loved her, and still thought so. He, however, loved Fang Ying even more and she was nowhere as close as Fang Ying in his heart. She, after all, accompanied him through his most difficult and loneliest times.
She could not stack up against those ten-over years of friendship. Not only had she lost to time, but she had also lost him.
He remembered Fang Ying for seven years. Although she did return, she should have been aware that she was merely a fallback for him when Fang Ying was not present. Now that the real one was back, the fallback ought to retire as it had fulfilled its purpose.
Her heart ached until it suffocated.
She had tried to fight for love before, but the heart-wrenching ending and emotional damage she sustained had caused her to lose the courage to love. This time, Chu Li viciously strangled her courage to live again.
Since that was the case, let’s all return to the beginning and stop pining for each other. Maybe her heart would open up once again.
She slightly loathed the calculative self she was today.
“Are you serious about leaving me?” Chu Li paused for a moment and coldly asked. His anger oozed little by little out from him as he struggled to hide his shock and anger. He broke into a cold and mocking smile.
That was a mockery, a blatant mockery!
Rong Yan nodded and looked at him fearlessly. “Yes, I want to leave London.”
“Where would you go then?” Chu Li coldly laughed and mocked her. “Where else can you go after you leave me? You are non grata in Country R and cannot return to your home. You have no friends, no family, so where will you go should you leave me?”
“Wherever I go is none of your business.” Rong Yan smiled gently. “If Wei Wei and Eleven leave, I will follow them.”
“In your dreams!” Chu Li suddenly roared. A storm manifested on his handsome face. “I will not allow you to leave with them, over my dead body!”
He could not afford to let her go, knowing that she would not return once he let her go. He had lost her once, and HE could not afford to take the risk of losing her again. He would go mad. This person, whether in person or spirit, had to be next to him.
She would not be going anywhere.
As Chu Li’s malicious and insidious gaze became more intense, Rong Yan smiled bitterly and said, “You already have Fang Ying, so why are you clinging onto me?”
“What does our matter have to do with Fang Ying?” Chu Li flatly replied. “Why are you so concerned about Fang Ying?”
“If that is the case, why are you so concerned about William and went to save me at the beginning? Why didn’t you let me marry William?” Rong Yan roared uncontrollably and viciously kicked Chu Li. Her kick squarely landed in Chu Li’s abdomen.
He softly grunted and stared at her as he clutched his abdomen. Rong Yan looked away. She did not want to look like a jealous woman. She regretted saying that. She should not have said that. She had openly shown her jealousy.
He always disliked it.
To Rong Yan’s surprise, Chu Li was not angry but laughed instead. There was narrow-mindedness in his eyes and he said, “Are you jealous of Fang Ying?”
His lips curled into an ever-bigger smile. He seemed to be in an extremely good mood that especially irked her. She chose not to reply lest he smugly look at her. He had no idea how detestable he looked.
“Yan Yan, Fang Ying is merely Fang Ying. You do not have to mind her,” Chu Li flatly said as he pressed down on her shoulders and looked in her eyes deeply. “Believe me this once, okay?” He punctuated his words.
Rong Yan slapped his hand away and looked at him coldly. “That will not do. Chu Li, you saw William kiss me in the desert that day. Do you believe me? If you do not believe me, what is my basis for believing you?”
Chu Li was at a loss for words, and his patience ebbed. Whenever it came to Rong Yan, he was never a patient person to begin with.
“Whether you believe me or not, I am stopping this story here. Fang Ying was injured because of me, and I have an obligation to take care of her. As for what happened that day, I was in the wrong…”
“Stop… You’re right. You were always right, and I deluded myself,” Rong Yan coldly replied. “Ah Li, stop deceiving yourself and those around you. You have never let go of Fang Ying, so stop keeping me content with these lies.”
“You hate me.” Chu Li looked deeply into her eyes and coldly laughed.
She shook her head and said, “I do not hate you.”
“No, you hate me!” Chu Li insisted. Rong Yan laughed unintentionally. Since he said she hated him, so be it then. There was no big deal to it.
“I just feel tired, so let’s call it quits,” she gently replied and did not mask the fatigue in her voice.
“I will not allow that!” Chu Li coldly said through gritted teeth. “Don’t you ever dream of leaving me!”
Rong Yan mockingly laughed and held up his face. She said, “Ah Li, I dare you to look into my eyes and tell me that you do not love Fang Ying anymore!”
As he fell silent, the anger in his eyes, which hid a serrating hatred, burned even brighter. “After all this crap, do you believe me or not?”
“Look at your study room, and then your bedroom. Even though she was never by your side, she was with you for seven years.” Bitterness flashed through her, but she restrained herself with her dear life lest she lose it.
Chu Li was slightly at a loss and did not say a word for a moment. Rong Yan stood up, turned around, and gently said, “Ah Li, let’s spare each other this agony!”
As she turned around to open the door, Chu Li’s cold voice came from behind her. “Rong Yan, all you have to do is to say that you do not like me seeing her. I will immediately get her to leave.”
Rong Yan’s heart jolted in shock.
“I just want that one statement from you!”
“There’s no need for it!” Rong Yan gently smiled, opened the door, and resolutely walked away.
‘Ah Li, how could you be so vicious? You know that I will not open my mouth to beg you.’ She would never do such a thing.
Rong Yan had her pride. While she could muster the courage to love and forsake all for love without the slightest regret, she could not be forced to do something she was unwilling to do. She had lost her easy-going side, and she did not want to lose her pride.
As she went down the stairs and reached the great hall, she saw them arguing with Fang Ying for god knew what. Wei Wei noticed that she was slightly amiss and was baffled. Everybody else saw Rong Yan but not Chu Li and was somewhat baffled. Only Fang Ying rejoiced.
Had she cried?
Ye Wei smiled ambiguously. “Ah, Yan Yan, how could Scheming Chu be such a brute? Look at your neck. He is so… passionate.”
Everybody looked in the direction of Ye Wei’s ambiguous gaze and noticed several extremely obvious bite marks on Rong Yan’s neck along with her swollen lips. It did not take much guessing to figure out what had happened earlier.
Everybody smiled ambiguously and Rong Yan did not mind. Fang Ying, however, clenched her fists and was extremely jealous.
“Are you done discussing?” Rong Yan gently asked as she sat next to Bai Ye calmly as though nothing had happened. Fang Ying’s body shook from side to side. She was unable to bear the shock and seemed like she was about to faint.
“There was some busybody who was always hanging around, so we could not get down to discussing matters properly. The only way was to wait for Ross to return before deciding what to do. We’ll schedule a time at night lest people are not as aware as we hope them to be,” Ye Wei said impolitely as she coldly looked at Fang Ying with mockery and warning.
Since Fang Ying was unwilling to leave, they could not discuss and the few of them ignored her and chatted on. Fang Ying gritted her teeth and looked at Rong Yan, jealousy gnawing at her heart. What did Rong Yan do to be so well-liked?
“Why is she here? She does not belong to the organization. If I am unqualified, she is even more so!” Fang Ying could not bear it and burst out. “You have been too unfair toward me!”
Bai Ye plainly said, “Yan Yan is different from you. We trust her.”
“Are you trying to say that you do not trust me?”
“Whether we trust you or not is not important. These are the rules.” Black J did not want to sour relations excessively as it would be difficult for Chu Li.
Fang Ying gritted her teeth and was about to act up when Chu Li entered. She could only bear it and act aggrievedly as though they had bullied her. Chu Li took a look and did not say much. His gaze was dark.
Eleven shrugged and said, “Seems like the discussion can’t go on anymore today. Since Ross is not present too, we’ll have to schedule another time.”
“You two aren’t staying in the castle?” Bai Ye raised his eyebrows.
“I am greedy and want to taste Rong Yan’s cooking. Since she is not staying here, we will not be staying here either. It’s been a long time since we last saw each other. It would be convenient for us to catch up with each other.” Ye Wei smiled. “Rong Yan has warmly welcomed us, and we could not turn her down. Eleven, is that correct?”
“Mhm!” Eleven acknowledged.
Black J and Bai Ye looked at each other in the eye, and then toward Chu Li, who sat quietly in a corner and did not say a word. Ye Wei suddenly knocked against the table and coolly said, “Scheming Chu, there is something I must clarify upfront. Is any tom dick harry able to enter this meeting hall? You are the master of the house, so why don’t you set some boundaries?”
Everybody could tell that this was directed at Fang Ying.
Chu Li looked at Ye Wei, and then at Fang Ying. He calmly said, “Little Ying, didn’t I ask you to return you to your room?”
“Brother Chu, don’t you believe me too?” Fang Ying bitterly asked with a hint of mockery on her face.
“I believe you, but you are not in good health. Stop exposing yourself to the elements here,” Chu Li politely said. Rong Yan coldly laughed. The Chu Li she knew had never been so indirect. He was typically vicious and resolute.
While he could not be bothered with feigning concern, Fang Ying was indeed wholly different.
Fang Ying bit her lip and said, “Brother Chu, I am still part of the organization, no? We grew up together and you all would not avoid me when discussing issues. Please allow me to return, okay? I feel like an outsider here.”
Ye Wei leaned back and slowly said, “Fang Ying, you leave and rejoin the organization at your whim and fancy. Are you treating us like some orphanage? Since you are getting comfortable leaving and rejoining us, leave for good and don’t come back if you are as capable as we think. If you decide to return, I will be the first to disagree.”
Fang Ying’s eyes grew wide and she looked at Ye Wei unbelievably. She did not believe that Ye Wei would clarify the issue and not care about Chu Li’s stand at all. She always knew that the major heads of the terrorist organization were Jason, Chu Li, and Black J. When the few of them gathered, Ye Wei had the final say and they would not protest her decision. Black J, Chu Li, and her relationship were already on very good terms, and Jason absolutely listened to Ye Wei. The truth was that those two women were the people who had the most right to speak in the organization.
Since Ye Wei was the first to disagree, Bai Ye, Black J, and Jason were bound to disagree.
Chu Li’s gaze darkened and Fang Ying panicked. “Brother Chu…”
“Little Ying, we discuss this again,” Chu Li gently replied. He had, from the onset, no intention for Fang Ying to remain present. Those were the rules that he could not bend.
Fang Ying broke into a chuckle. She knew that further discussion would not yield any results and she pointed at Rong Yan as she clutched her wounded chest and asked, “What about her? Why can she still be present?”
Rong Yan calmly smiled and stood up. “I just came over to greet them and will be on my way immediately.”
Chu Li’s face changed. Ye Wei and Eleven stood up. Ye Wei smiled gorgeously and said, “I am about to enjoy Rong Yan’s cooking. Let us know once everybody is here again. If some other tom dick harry serves tea, my eyes will twitch hard.”
“You will not leave!” Chu Li slammed the table and stood up. Fang Ying grabbed his sleeve and he shook her hands away with force. She backed away and clutched her chest and panted. Her face was terrifyingly pale.
Chu Li grabbed Rong Yan’s hands and said, “You will not leave!”
As he suddenly heard a heavy object collapsing behind him, Chu Li turned around in panic. Fang Ying had collapsed. He let go and Rong Yan smiled. “Goodbye!”
She walked out of the great hall and did not turn back. Ye Wei grabbed Chu Li’s collar and said, “Scheming Chu, your darling has fainted.”
Chu Li gritted his teeth and hesitated. He grabbed Fang Ying and said, “Bai Ye, come take a look.”