He had grown accustomed to An Nuan being by his side. Without her, he felt an unusual discomfort.
At this moment, he regretted his decision, wondering why he had agreed to An Nuan's plan.
He shouldn't have agreed yesterday. If he hadn't, An Nuan would still be with him now.
But then he considered, even if An Nuan were by his side, she would likely still be unhappy. After all, Li Tian had sacrificed so much for her, and she naturally wanted to be with Li Tian.
Nan Gong Jin thought he couldn't be so selfish.
Nan Gong Jin did not turn on the lights. The room was devoid of any illumination, as if only darkness could wash away his unease.
Lying on the sofa with his eyes closed, Nan Gong Jin suddenly shouted, "An Nuan, I miss you."
In the darkness, Li Tian, who had been holding onto An Nuan, kept her from coming out.
After all, it was the first time Nan Gong Jin had spoken such words, and she wanted to hear more.
However, An Nuan didn't want Nan Gong Jin to say more at this moment, as there were outsiders present, and it would be quite embarrassing if they heard.
An Nuan held the cake, its candles lit. An Nuan, Li Tian, and Huo Yu Xuan began singing "Happy Birthday."
Nan Gong Jin was stunned. He hadn't anticipated such a sudden shift in events.
He stared at An Nuan with wide eyes, disbelieving. He naturally reached up and pinched his face hard. The pain that followed assured him that what he was seeing was real.
Seeing this, An Nuan couldn't help but chuckle. She had never seen such a childlike Nan Gong Jin before.
She coughed lightly and looked at Nan Gong Jin, saying earnestly, "Alright, you can blow out the candles now."
Nan Gong Jin was initially taken aback but quickly regained his composure.
Nan Gong Jin looked at An Nuan, his face beaming with a smile.
"A surprise for you, happy?"
Nan Gong Jin didn't respond verbally. Instead, he silently took the cake from An Nuan's hands and then his gaze fell upon her.
An Nuan looked at the person before her with some confusion, even a touch of bewilderment.
But at that moment, Nan Gong Jin directly embraced An Nuan, holding her tightly. An Nuan was held so tightly that she could barely catch her breath.
After a long while, Nan Gong Jin released An Nuan. He looked at her and said firmly, "An Nuan, please don't do this again, okay?"
"Do you know? This day was incredibly difficult for me. I even wondered if I had done something wrong, or made a mistake somewhere."
"All day, I felt completely disoriented, and I even felt like my world was crumbling."
Nan Gong Jin's emotions were clearly unstable at this point, and he hadn't seemed to have truly heard what An Nuan had said.
Although Nan Gong Jin released An Nuan, he still held her hand tightly, saying with conviction, "An Nuan, I don't need any surprises. I just want a peaceful, stable life every day."
"An Nuan, promise me, don't do this again in the future, okay?"
"I'm afraid of losing you."
"An Nuan, I traded my life for you. I don't want any accidents to happen."
As Nan Gong Jin spoke, he once again pulled An Nuan into a tight embrace. He whispered gently into her ear, "An Nuan, promise me."
Nan Gong Jin held her tightly, while An Nuan reached out and gently patted his back.
An Nuan hadn't expected her simple actions to affect Nan Gong Jin in such a way.
An Nuan felt immense guilt, even wanting to apologize to Nan Gong Jin.
Indeed, she had handled these matters incorrectly.
She had only intended to create a surprise for Nan Gong Jin, without considering the potential consequences.
"Nan Gong Jin, I'm sorry. I didn't know this would hurt you so much."
An Nuan even regretted it. If she had known, she would never have done it.
Li Tian glanced over, unsure of what to say for a moment.
Li Tian and Huo Yu Xuan, being sensible, left at that point.
...
A month passed.
An Nuan and Nan Gong Jin were together almost constantly, inseparable.
An Nuan didn't know what to say about the suddenly clingy Nan Gong Jin.
At first, people at the company found it strange, but by the second day, the curiosity had lessened. Eventually, they had all grown accustomed to it.
Perhaps, one day, if Nan Gong Jin wasn't so clingy, they might find it peculiar.
Indeed, one day, Nan Gong Jin arrived at the company alone, and everyone in the entire company was bewildered. They really wanted to step forward and ask what had happened, but they could only think about it, not dare to approach.
Of course, all eyes turned to Huo Yu Xuan.
After Huo Yu Xuan came out, he was immediately pulled away, and those people surrounded him, as if they were going to devour him alive.
Huo Yu Xuan looked utterly helpless. These people were truly terrifying.
"An Nuan, I'm not feeling well today, so I'll be resting at home. I won't be coming in today."
As Huo Yu Xuan said this, he put on a deliberately mysterious expression.
Everyone there instantly looked at each other with knowing smiles. The atmosphere in the company suddenly became lively.
However, An Nuan, who was planning to go to the company to find Nan Gong Jin, was unaware that rumors were already spreading like wildfire.
An Nuan had originally intended to surprise Nan Gong Jin and hadn't planned to notify him in advance.
But remembering that day, on Nan Gong Jin's birthday, when she had given him her supposed surprise, he had been so frightened. After thinking about it, she finally decided to inform Nan Gong Jin first.
Upon receiving An Nuan's call, Nan Gong Jin's previously dark expression instantly broke into a wide smile.
And the people in the company immediately broke into smiles as well.
As An Nuan reached the company entrance, she encountered Shen Xi Zhou.
Shen Xi Zhou blocked her path.
"An Nuan, give me a chance, okay?"
An Nuan's brow furrowed, and she felt her mood plummet.
She had thought Shen Xi Zhou had come to his senses and would no longer pester her.
But now? He had still appeared. He was still blocking her way.
At this moment, An Nuan felt a sense of helplessness.
She took out her phone and dialed Nan Gong Jin's number, wanting to leave immediately and avoid further entanglement with the person in front of her.
Shen Xi Zhou noticed An Nuan trying to make a call. He snatched her phone away and glared at her, saying, "An Nuan, can you not leave Nan Gong Jin's side for even a moment?"
"An Nuan, why can you accept Nan Gong Jin but not me?"
"An Nuan..."
Shen Xi Zhou knew that his current demeanor would only make An Nuan detest him more, but he truly had no other choice.
He could only act this way.
Even if it made An Nuan dislike him, if it meant she would eventually accept him, he felt that everything he was doing would be worthwhile.
He believed that in the end, An Nuan would understand why he had done all this.