"Shen Xizhou, now that Nangong Jin has left, shouldn't you fulfill your promise to me?"
"Are you going to go back on your word?"
"Mr. Shen, you wouldn't have just said that casually, would you? If so, then Mr. Shen, I'll be leaving now. After all, if it weren't for my mother's affairs, I wouldn't be speaking to Shen Xizhou, nor would I be alone with you."
In truth, if she had a choice, she would prefer not to be here.
However, she was unwilling to give up. After such a long time, she was finally hearing some news about her mother. What if Shen Xizhou truly knew something? Wouldn't she have wasted such a good opportunity?
An Nuan suddenly let out a soft scoff.
Heh, thinking about it, it was truly terrifying. She thought this way, perhaps Shen Xizhou had already anticipated it, which was why he was so insistent.
Perhaps this was a trap, dug by Shen Xizhou. Perhaps, from the very beginning, Shen Xizhou knew that such a trap would easily reveal its flaws. But Shen Xizhou did it anyway.
Because he had calculated that she would definitely agree.
Shen Xizhou knew how much she cared about her mother.
So, from the very beginning, she had been manipulated.
She thought she would never be manipulated in this lifetime, but she never expected that she would still be tricked by Shen Xizhou.
"An Nuan, if you want to know about your mother, then you should be obedient, understand?"
"As long as you obey me, you will naturally learn what you want to know."
"An Nuan, if you don't do as I say, then for the rest of your life, you can forget about knowing anything about your mother."
Be obedient?
Do as he said?
An Nuan looked at Shen Xizhou, glaring fiercely at the person before her, her gaze chilling.
"Shen Xizhou, you haven't quite understood what's going on, have you?"
"Shen Xizhou, if I were to tell you now that I don't want to know, that I don't care, what would you think?"
"Do you think I absolutely must have it? No, in reality, some things aren't that absolute."
"Perhaps my mother wouldn't want me to be troubled either?"
"I think she wouldn't blame me."
"An Nuan, are you truly indifferent now? Is it for Nangong Jin?"
When Shen Xizhou mentioned Nangong Jin, his eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty gleam. At this moment, a bad feeling stirred within him.
Did she really care that much about Nangong Jin?
Back then, An Nuan hadn't cared about him this much.
Shen Xizhou stared intently at An Nuan, as if trying to see through her.
An Nuan did not evade his gaze, but met it directly. It was as if she were challenging him.
She pondered, after all Shen Xizhou had done, what was it he truly wanted?
He already had everything, Xu Ruowei was by his side, what else could he possibly desire?
Why did he keep bothering her?
Couldn't he just let her go?
Over the years, she had let go. What about him? Hadn't he let go? Hadn't he said they would never meet again?
Yet, he kept appearing before her.
"An Nuan, it's not about you not wanting it anymore. Now that I want you to know, you will know."
"There's no opportunity for you to regret this now."
"I said you must obey my commands, and you should listen obediently, understand?"
As Shen Xizhou spoke these words, he became somewhat agitated.
"An Nuan, if you don't obey, do you think you'll be able to leave here safely?"
An Nuan glared fiercely at Shen Xizhou. She scanned her surroundings and inwardly cried out a warning.
She took out her phone, intending to call for help, only to find that there was no signal.
An Nuan's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at her phone. She still couldn't believe it, but she kept trying. However, after many attempts, she finally chose to give up.
It seemed Shen Xizhou had indeed come prepared.
He had jammed the phone signal.
A spark ignited in An Nuan's eyes. If she couldn't reach Nangong Jin, she could still call for an emergency.
Just as she was about to dial, Shen Xizhou snatched the phone from her hand.
Suppressing the rage boiling within her, she looked at Shen Xizhou with icy coldness, almost roaring, "Shen Xizhou, do you think by taking my phone, you can stop me from leaving here?"
"If too much time passes, Nangong Jin will definitely come looking for me."
"At that time, I will still be able to leave."
Shen Xizhou's brow furrowed. He had not failed to consider this possibility. However, he still held a sliver of hope, thinking that An Nuan's heart might still hold a place for him. Then, she wouldn't be so cruel to him.
But now, it seemed he had envisioned things too optimistically. An Nuan truly hated him to the core, to the point where she loathed even being in the same place as him.
"An Nuan, do you really think Nangong Jin doesn't care about your past?"
"You know better than anyone what your past was like."
"Nangong Jin's career is currently on the rise. He needs someone who can help him. And you, what can you give Nangong Jin?"
"Nothing."
"Ah, yes, by his side, you will only drag him down."
Shen Xizhou said coldly, "Feng Ran, have you forgotten about the Ye family's affairs? Do you want something like that to happen to Nangong Jin?"
Shen Xizhou advanced step by step, while An Nuan kept retreating. Her back hit the wall, leaving her with nowhere to escape.
Shen Xizhou reached out and forcefully gripped An Nuan's chin, saying coldly, "An Nuan, for your own happiness, can you be so selfish?"
"Or do you want to harm more people from the Nangong family before finding another one?"
"No, I didn't. I never thought that."
An Nuan had struggled with this before. She worried about bringing bad things to Nangong Jin, which was why she had always refused him.
Later, it was Nangong Jin who had constantly comforted her, telling her it was alright, it was alright. It was he who had always encouraged her, and she had slowly emerged from it, slowly accepting him.
But now, as Shen Xizhou spoke, those fears resurfaced.
Even her resolute confidence wavered instantly.
An Nuan knew that many of those events were misunderstandings, but without anyone stepping forward to explain, all definitions remained as they were before.
Such infamy would always be attached to her.
After a long moment, An Nuan seemed to have come to a realization. She raised her eyes and looked at Shen Xizhou with a cold gaze, saying indifferently, "Heh, Shen Xizhou, do you think I would believe what you say?"
"Perhaps, if I had heard these words before, I would have flinched, even believed everything you said, but not anymore."
"Because I am no longer the person I used to be."
Shen Xizhou's expression turned extremely grim. He hadn't expected An Nuan to see through his subtle calculations.