Chapter 288: Communication

Innocent? We’re the ones being dirty-minded? With the way you just behaved, who would believe you’re innocent?

Zhang Yurong had just seen them being intimate, and with Yu Xiaodi’s words, she naturally sneered coldly, turning her head as she urged her to the guest room.

Yue Yao and Li Yan also followed along, everyone came over, yet Yu Xiaodi didn’t come to drag Li Yan away. Walking at the back, Yue Yao silently glanced at Li Yan, giving him a look: See! This is your good deed. You were making progress with Yurong, and although Yurong knew about Yu Xiaodi, she didn’t really mind. But tonight, it was a bit too much!

Li Yan understood her meaning, and there was nothing to argue about; sooner or later, it was bound to happen. However, he still communicated with Yue Yao through his eyes, hoping she would persuade Yurong more.

There were many guest rooms, and the one Zhang Yurong was taking them to now was next to Yue Yao’s room. Perhaps she wanted Yue Yao to pay more attention tonight?

"You’ll stay here tonight!" Zhang Yurong said as she glanced at Li Yan, emphasizing ’tonight’ to prevent him from taking his little lover home.

In fact, she wasn’t entirely jealous or angry. Rationally, she didn’t want to see this scene either. A private argument among a few people was one thing, but if it blew up and spread, it would be a huge joke, and her relationship with Li Yan would undoubtedly spread completely. By then, more than just the three of them would be affected.

Seeing her disappointed look, Li Yan felt secretly ashamed. He understood her meaning but didn’t have the tacit understanding to communicate with her through glances like with Yue Yao; she had already turned away when he wanted to.

"Hehehe... It doesn’t matter where I sleep, but... should I lock the door?" Yu Xiaodi’s self-concerned words made Li Yan a bit embarrassed.

At this moment, Zhang Yurong had done what she needed to do and became indifferent. If Li Yan was like this, she would have nothing more to say. Pretending not to hear, she said to Yue Yao, "Yue Yao, it’s late, you should rest too. I’m going to bed."

"Mm, goodnight, Sister Yurong." Yue Yao looked at the two of them and returned to her room.

Seeing them walk away separately, Li Yan led Xiaodi into the guest room and closed the door.

"Xiaodi, there’s something I need to tell you..."

Seeing his serious expression, Yu Xiaodi became earnest too, whispering first, "Don’t worry, I’ll leave in the morning..."

"Tonight... I acted rashly too. Having you in this situation isn’t good for anyone. Sooner or later, it will come to this, sooner rather than later. But there is one thing you must remember, no matter the argument, it’s just between a few of us now, at most including Yue Yao. She doesn’t have many friends here and won’t spread it..."

Yu Xiaodi seemed deep in thought, "I understand, I won’t spread it."

"You should know that our situation is different from your classmates at school or other peers. Yurong is the CEO of the Paradise Group, and my marriage to her has always been unannounced; though you’re still in school, with your mom, Ms. Chen, in such a prominent position, even if it isn’t spread, I worry that Lan Tianci and the others will make a big deal out of it. He saw us together once, and if you leak it, more people will deliberately blow it up, which would be an issue not just for us, but also for our elders."

Li Yan gave a bitter laugh, "I was inconsiderate, thinking I could simplify complicated matters, overlooking all the societal ties and demands."

Yu Xiaodi solemnly promised, "Don’t worry, if you hadn’t brought it up, I might have inadvertently leaked it. But now I understand, and I believe Zhang Yurong knows that as well. I will keep it secret, like before, secretly competing with her!"

"It’s already late, let’s sleep now!"

"Kiss me." Yu Xiaodi whispered, coming closer and standing on tiptoe.

Li Yan didn’t make a big show of it, just kissed her on the forehead, which she was quite satisfied with.

...

Leaving the guest room, Li Yan looked at Yue Yao’s room next door hesitantly. He wanted to go over and explain and discuss with Yue Yao, but considering Yu Xiaodi was here and Zhang Yurong surely wasn’t truly asleep, he decided to leave first and contact by phone.

Before entering his own room, he came to Zhang Yurong’s room.

He knocked on the door, but no one answered. Clearly, Zhang Yurong had returned to her room but intentionally ignored him.

Li Yan didn’t leave and continued to knock.

Finally, on the third knock, Zhang Yurong opened the door, coldly staring at him in silence.

Early this morning, from leaving Wen Qianyi’s house, to being preoccupied, every one of them bore some stress, and he had to bear so much pressure, both physically and mentally, Li Yan was very exhausted.

He sighed, "Yurong, I know you hate me a lot right now, maybe you even want to hit me. Let me in first, so I can communicate with you."

At this moment, Zhang Yurong was deeply conflicted. According to her personality, her way of doing things, and consistent attitude, she would definitely refuse and even reprimand him. But tonight, she had already been overwhelmed from the concert hall to now; her anger toward Li Yan had surpassed all she had ever felt before. It was as if she’d gone beyond her limit, which made her calm down.

Facing Yu Xiaodi, she could listen to Yue Yao’s suggestions and target her for the sake of her dignity. But against Li Yan, she cooled down; the heart that had begun to thaw, froze again, but she became indifferent. She might just revert to the way things were before. After all, there was never much to expect anyway...

The two stood confronting each other for a while, then Zhang Yurong stepped back inside the room, allowing Li Yan to enter.

Walking into the room, Zhang Yurong felt a bit emotional. Wasn’t this the first time Li Yan entered her bedroom? She thought she would only let him in when she was ready to accept him, but unexpectedly, his first entry was in such circumstances!

Seeing she didn’t speak but allowed him in, Li Yan also felt a bit surprised. His heart sank slightly; if Zhang Yurong were emotionally intense, it meant she still cared. Now, seeing her revert to her previous aloofness, left him powerlessly frustrated.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Zhang Yurong coldly eyed him. She realized she unintentionally invested a lot of emotional energy in this man; she could have ignored everything, but ended up being angry instead.

"Regarding what happened tonight... It started during one of my days with Yu Xiaodi when a boy pursuing her wanted to invite her to a concert, and I agreed to help get tickets. Later, I found a way to get tickets but remembered you all, having not officially invited either Yu Xiaodi anywhere or you. After Wen Qianyi arrived and helped me a lot, taking care of me, I wanted to thank her, and some other friends... I intended to invite all of you together, but worried about misunderstandings, I thought about inviting and entering separately..."

Li Yan briefly narrated the events of the past two days, of course, excluding still hidden Hai Fu and Huang Ying, as he wouldn’t knowingly invite more trouble by speaking of them.

"...but I am only one person. I might separate to different places in the middle to manage things, but in the end, I can’t be with you all simultaneously. Originally, I hoped you’d all leave on your own and planned to go home afterwards. But unexpectedly, you all encountered each other, and the following events... need no elaboration from me.

However, one point you both misunderstood me. The person I carried in the end was truly accidental, not someone I invited. I carried her because her leg was injured; she was Nian Yufei’s bodyguard. They said that while Nian Yufei was performing, and she was resting backstage, someone attacked her. As a bodyguard, she got hurt. When it ended, the others all protected Nian Yufei while no one cared for her. Her leg was injured in several places, and if I didn’t carry her but supported her instead, it would’ve been even more inconvenient, with more perceived closeness by onlookers.

I know not only did you all see it, but Yu Xiaodi and Wen Qianyi saw it too. I haven’t explained it to them yet. Regardless of whether you believe me, I wanted to explain it to you clearly."

Li Yan spoke calmly, recounting the entire process. Although they had communicated more since Yue Yao joined, mostly due to her presence, they hadn’t had such a deep conversation like now.

Zhang Yurong listened quietly throughout.

After listening, she coldly said, "Finished? Can you leave now? I want to sleep!"

Seeing her still so cold, Li Yan was a bit disappointed. Had all those words been in vain?

He reached for his cigarette box, but it was already empty. He gave a bitter smile, "Just like that? You have nothing to say? I didn’t come just to explain; I wanted to communicate so we can get along better. Communication is essential."

Zhang Yurong stared into his eyes, pointing a finger, coldly mocked, "Is this how you communicate?"

"I already explained the reasons downstairs, and since you all know about each other, I don’t see a need for covering anything up, so I brought her here for you all to communicate directly."

"Hmph!"

"I didn’t mean it that way, just... let me say this, at the beginning, I felt nothing for you or for her. But as time went on, it’s hard to let go of either of you now. Of course, maybe I’m not suitable for you, so we keep a distance; maybe I’m not suitable for her either, so I maintain a distance, not crossing lines."

Saying this, Li Yan stood up and walked away. What needed to be said was said; the outcome was no longer something he could control. (To be continued, for more Chapters, please visit www.qidian.com, support the author and support official reading!)