Chapter 161 - I'm Waiting For The Day You Lose Miserably
Jiang Ruolan paused for a moment, then said half-jokingly. "I thought back to what Senior Zhou had said, that you would be his grandson-in-law."
Xian Zihao probably didn't know that she knew Zhou Shufen from the photo Xian Guiying showed her.
The moment she said this, the corner of Xian Zihao's mouth slightly tilted. "Jiang Ruolan, there are times when you have to use your eyes to see rather than use your ears to hear many things."
Using her eyes?
Jiang Ruolan looked at Xian Zihao intently.
Seeing that her eyes were staring straight at him, Xian Zihao frowned. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Didn't you tell me to look with my eyes?" Jiang Ruolan continued to stare at him without blinking.
Xian Zihao smiled and touched her eyes gently. His gentle and intimate gesture immediately made her smile. Jiang Ruolan pressed her face against the warm hand.
At that moment, she couldn't see Xian Zihao's face and couldn't see his expression, so she asked softly, "Zihao, will we love each other?"
Xian Zihao put his hands down and smiled at her. He opened his mouth and said, "Haven't you already fallen in love with me?"
"What? When did this happen?" Jiang Ruolan stared at him with confusion.
Xian Zihao just smiled and held her in his arms, "I just found out."
Jiang Ruolan obediently leaned against him and pressed her face against his chest. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the tender yellow figure standing amongst the crowd.
She didn't want to admit it. In love, whoever was serious first was the passive side. She didn't want to be the loser in love again.
But now, in Xian Zihao's book, Jiang Ruolan didn't even know whether she was the main character or supporting role. How could she have guessed the ending?
Half an hour later, Jiang Ruolan continued to do her work. She came here not to socialize but to do her job. She carried her DV and went on her own way.
She walked past Cui Liuxian without batting an eyelid and caught a glimpse of a scar that she deliberately hid on her forehead.
"Jiang Ruolan, are you proud of yourself?" Cui Liuxian spoke in a voice that only she could hear, "Don't get cocky too early. Zhou Shufen is not an easy person for you to deal with. Should I wish you the best of luck, or should I advise you to get the hell out of the Xian Family? Would you like to open a glass of champagne to celebrate?"
After saying that, Cui Liuxian made a gesture to get the champagne.
Jiang Ruolan did not let Cui Liuxian pick up the bottle of champagne. As she slowly moved over to look at her, she smiled and said, "Miss Cui, my tolerance towards you is limited. Last time I thought you were ignorant, but right now, I'm going to warn you. Don't be too proud of yourself because you got Xian Family on your beck and call and think you can use external forces to destroy me. If I get annoyed, next time you will not fall into the pool as easily as you did the last time."
Perhaps other people would return the gesture with a smile, but towards Cui Liuxian, Jiang Ruolan's tolerance attitude from before was already enough to give Old Man Xian a face.
Hopefully, Cui Liuxian wouldn't be 'willful and ignorant', or else, she, Jiang Ruolan, would never be courteous again!
Cui Liuxian glared at her angrily, her chest heaving up and down. "Jiang Ruolan, don't think that you can do whatever you want just because you married Xian Zihao! Listen to my words carefully, one day, you will get the hell out of the Xian household!"
At this moment, Jiang Ruolan didn't reply to Cui Liuxian's provocation because Xian Zihao had already walked towards them slowly and was standing behind Cui Liuxian.
Jiang Ruolan didn't know whether she should remind Cui Liuxian or not, and honestly, she didn't want to.
There were no fairy tales in the adult world. Everyone had to pay the price for what they had done.
"Jiang Ruolan, Zihao is a filial grandson. He even listened to grandfather's words to return to H City and even dared to abandon his most beloved Zhou Shufen in the past and right now, I want to ask, who do you think you are? Zihao was merely responsible for you. If you hadn't used a trick to climb his bed and used public opinion to force the marriage, I'm afraid, even in your dream, you would never get close to someone like him!"
"Also, I want to tell you, as long as grandpa is here, you can forget about getting any recognition from the Xian Family! Before you get the hell out of the Xian Family, I will make sure you'll never get a good life!" Cui Liuxian looked at Jiang Ruolan with a mocking smile.
Cui Liuxian snatched the bottle of champagne from her. She sneered and as she just turned around, she immediately took a step back and looked at Xian Zihao with a faint shocked expression.
"Z..Zihao." Cui Liuxian looked at him in panic. She quickly explained, "I was just joking with Ruolan, don't misunderstand."
After saying that, she suddenly turned around and pointed at Jiang Ruolan. "It's her. She was the one who purposely made me angry. I … I only said these kinds of nasty words because of her provocation. I didn't mean anything else. I was only joking with her!"
Xian Zihao was silent as he quietly watched Cui Liuxian's self-directed monologue.
"Zihao, you have to believe me." Cui Liuxian grabbed his arm, gently shaking it like a spoiled child.
"Cui Liuxian." Xian Zihao pursed his lips slightly. "Let me tell you now, the reason I came back from Boston back then was not because of grandfather. And my marriage with Ruolan, though it begins with duty, it finally turned into love. As for the matter of you saying that she would get out of the Xian household, that would definitely not happen."
Cui Liuxian's hand that was holding onto his arm stiffened and her red lips quivered. She looked at Xian Zihao's eyes with disbelief. His eyes were filled with a faint coldness and disappointment towards her.
Cui Liuxian fiercely bit her lip and slowly let go of her hand. With eyes full of grievance and tears gathering in her eyes, she said with a trembling voice, "Grandfather will not let her go. You're going against your grandpa. He's already at his age, how can you go against his wishes and go against him? What if grandpa--"
"If you don't want grandpa to get angry, you know what to do." Xian Zihao's gaze landed on her body, but it was not warm at all. It was as if he had always known that Cui Liuxian was willful and insensible, but he had never thought that she would have such a thought under her docile appearance.
The meaning of his words was obvious. As long as Cui Liuxian didn't continue to stir up trouble between him and Jiang Ruolan, his grandfather would eventually accept her.
"Zihao, we've known each other for twenty-three years, ever since I was a baby and was left at the Xian household. For twenty-three years, you've loved me so much, even during your years of studying in the United States, you've always sent me those things I like. I thought I was always important in your heart, but now, I can't even compare to Jiang Ruolan?"
"I've always treated you and Guiying equally," Xian Zihao said slowly.
Cui Liuxian's face turned pale. She turned around and looked at Jiang Ruolan resentfully.
It was as if all her sadness and loss, all the mistakes, all the things that happened to her now were the result of Jiang Ruolan's appearance.
Jiang Ruolan met Cui Liuxian's resentful eyes without mockery, sarcasm, or sympathy.
That slap she received without any reason should at least be able to return the favor, right? However, Xian Zihao's word was even more crucial than her actual slap.
Xian Zihao's views of her were what Cui Liuxian cared about the most.
Xian Zihao's heart was what Cui Liuxian wanted the most, and his coldness towards her was the ultimate punishment.
"You don't have to be pleased with yourself." Suddenly, Cui Liuxian flashed her a sad smile, like a broken tin can, but it was mixed with resentment. "Xian Zihao will never fall in love with you. Jiang Ruolan, I'm waiting for the day you lose miserably! Even if you speak the truth, you still do not hold much weight in his heart! The woman who is really in Zihao's heart is standing there, and you are not even worth mentioning."
When Jiang Ruolan didn't look away from her, only looking at her, Cui Liuxian suddenly sneered, and in the blink of an eye, she looked at Xian Zihao, who was frowning deeply. "With Zhou Shufen here, I want to see how you and Jiang Ruolan are going to lead a happy life! From the Xian Family to everyone who knows you, who doesn't know what Zhou Shufen represents to your heart."
"Enough!" Xian Zihao shouted in a low voice, and a biting frost showed on his face.
"You think marriage is just a game?" He looked at Cui Liuxian's reddened eyes seriously like a dignified elder brother.
Xian Zihao could no longer tolerate Cui Liuxian's attitude as he said, "My marriage is not a game. You need to reorganize your life properly. If this mess continues, perhaps the first person who can't tolerate you will be the grandfather, who loves you the most!"
"I'm just very curious …" Cui Liuxian seemed to have already achieved this step and no longer had the heart to maintain her obedient and considerate image.
She coldly laughed. "What reason could cause you, who deeply loves Zhou Shufen, to leave Boston so firmly and never set foot there again for five years?"
Cui Liuxian's eyes were full of resentment, unwillingness, and deep hatred. She continued without hesitation, "I also heard that back then--"
Xian Zihao slowly turned around and stared at her with a cold gaze. Although he didn't say anything, his gaze was enough to intimidate her.
At this moment, Jiang Ruolan felt that all of this was unrelated to her. It was as if she was an outsider, as if everyone knew about Xian Zihao's past and she's the only one who had been keeping out of it.
It was like an enormous barrier to her, and even her breathing began to become a bit sluggish. But what was there for her to be dissatisfied with?
Xian Zihao's gentleness to Zhou Shufen, his protection, his consideration and care, all of them couldn't be helped. Perhaps people were like this, they were all burned into mummies by their former love.
No matter how many years Xian Zihao had loved Zhou Shufen and sacrificed, or how much Jiang Ruolan had loved Han Xuegang, none of it mattered anymore. They both had loved deeply and what's the final result they got?
A miserable life.
Even if Xian Zihao could love her, Jiang Ruolan already felt grateful. She could no longer ignore everything like a moth flying into a flame.
Xian Zihao was already very good to her. What else was there that she wasn't satisfied with?
Jiang Ruolan tried her best to smile as if she didn't feel anything from what Cui Liuxian had just said.
Jiang Ruolan should be satisfied now. Why must she go through so much pain? She didn't seek for fame or wealth from the Xian Family.
She only wanted peace and stability for her entire life. Even if Xian Zihao couldn't love her, that was already enough for her.
She, Jiang Ruoan, had never been affected by anything from the outside world. Her upbringing had already caused her to be guarded and she didn't know how she should react when faced with happy things.
Cui Liuxian did not finish her sentence. She stared fixedly at Xian Zihao for a while before turning around and leaving with a reddened face.
"Don't take Cui Liuxian's words to heart. She's spoiled like Bingqing." Seeing that Jiang Ruolan was still calmly standing there, Xian Zihao spoke in a warm voice. He walked closer and tucked a strand of hair from her left cheek behind her ear. In his eyes, there was an incomparable natural look of care.
"I didn't take it to heart. I know she's the same as Jiang Bingqing. Otherwise, how could they be good sisters?" Jiang Ruolan smiled and chuckled, "My heart is always magnanimous. If I were to make a fuss about it, I would have caused her to become restless during the Mid-Autumn Festival."