Shen Xizhou did not leave, and his gaze remained fixed on An Nuan, as if wanting to do something, but ultimately his hand by his side was held tightly, and his reason seemed to return.
An Nuan raised her eyes, looking directly at the man before her, not wanting to be looked down upon, her eyes showing determination.
"Mr. Shen, today is your engagement banquet with Miss Xu. With so many guests present, do you think talking to me, a dirty woman, here is a waste of time?"
"Oh, right, are Miss Xu and Mr. Shen waiting for my blessings?" An Nuan laughed, a particularly boisterous laugh: "Then I wish Mr. Shen and Miss Xu 'eternal love, a green hat on your heads, and a vibrant spring.'"
"An Nuan."
Looking at Xu Ruowei's venomous gaze, she wished she could tear An Nuan apart but could only grit her teeth and watch from the side.
Indeed, to maintain her image of kindness and innocence in front of Shen Xizhou, she was truly working hard.
She glanced at Shen Xizhou with disdain. His single utterance of "An Nuan" only made the smile on her face grow brighter.
"Mr. Shen, I can hear and see."
"Besides misjudging people, I have no other faults."
"Oh, right, why is Mr. Shen so angry? Is it because you don't like the blessings I offered? If that's the case, then what kind of blessings do you and Miss Xu want to hear?"
"You can say it, and I'll learn."
She looked coldly at Shen Xizhou's gloomy expression, yet she still maintained a smile: "It's just that whether I can learn it, I don't know. After all, Mr. Shen's request is a bit unreasonable."
"If I can't even speak the truth, then I can't help it."
She had thought that if she just pretended not to care, not to look at him, then her heart wouldn't hurt so much. But she could deceive everyone else, except herself; her heart still ached. It hurt so much that she couldn't breathe.
She realized that when you love someone deeply, engraving them in your heart, you can never drive them out.
"Mr. Shen, can I leave now?"
She glanced at Xu Ruowei: "Miss Xu, can I leave now?"
"Or, Miss Xu, do you have any other plans? Am I not allowed to leave, and must I obediently wait here for Miss Xu's next move?"
"Otherwise, if Miss Xu has any other plans, just come at me directly now."
"Just standing here waiting is simply a waste of everyone's time."
"If Miss Xu doesn't speak, it means you have no plans. Then I can leave, right?"
Xu Ruowei's pupils contracted. Her eyes were filled with disgust and disdain as she looked at An Nuan, wishing she could kill her on the spot. She had been plotting against An Nuan, and there would naturally be more to come.
But with An Nuan saying it out loud in front of Shen Xizhou, how could she dare?
She glared fiercely at An Nuan, wishing she could tear apart An Nuan's "hypocritical" face.
A wave of panic and shame washed over her, along with an even stronger desire to destroy An Nuan.
How could she have said these things in front of Shen Xizhou?
Xu Ruowei had always been very calm. She had even thought, and was quite sure, that even if An Nuan knew everything was her doing, she wouldn't say anything. After all, it had always been like this; An Nuan had always been obedient in front of her. She had never defied her.
Even knowing she was being plotted against, An Nuan still meekly accepted it.
However, Xu Ruowei seemed to have forgotten that before, she had An Yunxiu to threaten An Nuan. But now? An Yunxiu was dead, and it seemed there was nothing left in this world that could threaten her.
"An Nuan, I don't know why you think of me this way, but I truly have no ill will towards you."
"Perhaps you misunderstand me. You can say it. As long as you say it, I can resolve your misunderstandings and knots." Xu Ruowei spoke pitifully, such that anyone would feel sorry for her.
However, An Nuan was different. She knew Xu Ruowei's methods all too well. This was merely her acting.
She didn't care how outsiders trusted Xu Ruowei. Because she herself would not believe her.
Everything was orchestrated by Xu Ruowei. She was the one who benefited from everything, yet she always appeared to be the one suffering, making everyone believe she was the most pitiful.
An Nuan stared at Xu Ruowei, listening to her words. Hah, with someone who could act like this, what man could escape her schemes?
However, to say those men would be deceived by her, even she, if she hadn't known her true colors, would have been fooled.
Seeing that An Nuan remained silent, Xu Ruowei grew more smug. She felt that at this moment, An Nuan would be unable to find any retort and would certainly not respond.
With a smile on her face, she said, "An Nuan, I know you hate me, but some things are not..."
"Enough, have you finished speaking? If you're done, can I leave?"
"Mr. Shen and Miss Xu are truly leisurely. At your own engagement banquet, instead of minding your own business, you're paying attention to me, an outsider. Someone irrelevant to your engagement."
"I've already offered my blessings. What more are Miss Xu and Mr. Shen dissatisfied with?"
An Nuan turned to leave, but Shen Xizhou blocked her path. The man said menacingly, "Did I say you could leave?"
"Then, what exactly does Shen Xizhou want?" An Nuan retorted indifferently.
An Nuan's attitude completely enraged Shen Xizhou. He said viciously, "An Nuan, if I tell you to stand, you should stand."
An Nuan wanted to leave. She wondered why she should be so obedient. If he wanted her to stand, should she just stand there? She owed Shen Xizhou and Xu Ruowei nothing.
Just as Shen Xizhou and Xu Ruowei were making things difficult for An Nuan, Ye Qingcheng appeared. He took An Nuan's hand and looked at her pale face with great concern, saying, "I'm late. You must have suffered a lot of grievances."
He spoke with deep self-reproach. He had never imagined that after he left for an important matter, and was gone for only a few days, she would endure so much hardship.
"Don't worry, this was an accident. It won't happen again," his voice carried a heavy tone of self-blame.
An Nuan raised her eyes. The moment she saw Ye Qingcheng, she truly felt relieved.
She looked at Ye Qingcheng gratefully. When everyone else believed her, and was watching her like a joke, he had always trusted her.
He looked at the helpless An Nuan, embraced her, and said with heartbreak and affection, "An Nuan, don't worry. Now that I'm here, I won't allow them to harm you. I will protect you."
"And I, it seems, have arrived a little too late."