Chapter 107: Sowing Discord
"Are you sure you really like Xiao Nian?" Jiang Li asked bluntly.
"Jiang Li, what’s that supposed to mean? Of course I like him." Ning Rou snapped, staring at Jiang Li angrily.
Jiang Li looked at Ning Rou. She didn’t feel that was the case. Ning Rou’s feelings for Huan Nian were more dependency than love.
She was curious why Ning Rou wouldn’t just follow Ning Sinian’s arrangements, and instead chose to pressure Yu Huannian like this.
Ning Rou grew flustered under Jiang Li’s gaze. She ended up running straight to her room and shutting the door, patting her chest with lingering fear.
Thinking about Jiang Li’s question, Ning Rou went back and sat on the edge of her bed. ’Is she questioning me? If I didn’t like Yu Huannian, would I be clinging to him so shamelessly?’
Ning Rou’s phone suddenly vibrated. Her expression changed drastically when she read the message on the screen. She’d forgotten about this.
In a moment of confusion, she had agreed to date that man. Who would have thought that Yu Huannian would run into them while they were out shopping and beat him up?
Now he was asking her for money for his medical bills, but where would she get any?
’Ask my brother for it?’
’No, no, I have to think of something else.’
’Didn’t Yu Huannian say he could make money now?’
That evening, when Ning Rou saw Yu Huannian return, she began to fawn over him. "Huan Nian, I... I want to buy some things, but I don’t have any money."
Without a second thought, Yu Huannian gave her his bank card. "Just buy whatever you like."
"Huan Nian, you’re the best!" Ning Rou said, looking at the bank card in her hand, wondering how much money was on it.
The next day, Ning Rou took the bank card to the bank to check the balance.
"A hundred thousand!" Ning Rou covered her mouth in shock. ’Didn’t Yu Huannian say he didn’t have any money? How could he have this much?’
’He really was lying to her!’
Ning Rou’s eyes turned red with anger. ’All this money, and he still acts like she forces him into everything.’
’Yu Huannian has changed. He’s not the same Yu Huannian he used to be.’
Ning Rou withdrew thirty thousand yuan and went to the hospital.
Jiang Li had just left Wu Jianzhang’s hospital room when she saw Ning Rou’s familiar figure. Feeling suspicious, she decided to follow her.
"Thirty thousand should be enough, right? Don’t contact me again." Ning Rou tossed the money at the man, her heart pounding with panic.
Du Wenhao looked at the thirty thousand in his arms with astonishment. He hadn’t expected this woman to be so rich, casually handing over thirty thousand just like that.
"Rourou, I’ve liked you since the first moment I saw you. I only did all this because I wanted you to come see me.
"Rourou, I miss you so much. I like you so much. Please, be with me."
Forgetting the pain in his face, Du Wenhao stepped forward and hugged Ning Rou tightly. "Rourou, my dear Rourou, please don’t leave me, okay?"
"Let go of me! I have a boyfriend."
"That barbarian from the other day? Rourou, how could someone like that be worthy of you? You deserve better."
When Du Wenhao thought of that man, his face immediately started to throb again. ’That guy’s fists were really hard.’
Watching the two of them struggling with each other from the doorway, Jiang Li’s expression darkened.
Yu Huannian was straightforward, not one for complicated schemes. Growing up, Ning Rou was the only girl he had ever really known.
And now, Ning Rou was using Xiao Nian’s money to support another man.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Let go!"
Ning Rou struggled free from Du Wenhao’s grasp, turned in fright, and ran. The moment she threw open the door, she saw Jiang Li standing there, and the color drained from her face.
"Jiang... Sister Jiang Li." Ning Rou’s legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the floor.
When Du Wenhao saw Jiang Li, his eyes instantly lit up. He hadn’t expected to run into her here. ’Good thing my face is so bruised and swollen, she probably won’t recognize me.’
’Ning Rou called her ’sister.’ They must be family. He definitely had to seize this opportunity.’
Jiang Li glanced at the man inside, then said to Ning Rou, "Let’s talk outside."
Ning Rou’s heart was in her throat. How could Jiang Li have seen her, of all things?
"Ning Rou, I don’t care who you like, but Xiao Nian is my brother. I won’t stand by and watch you treat him like this."
"Sister Jiang Li, it’s not what it looks like! I was just angry that Huan Nian was ignoring me. He beat this guy up the other day, so I came to pay compensation."
As she spoke, Ning Rou pulled up her chat history to show Jiang Li.
Jiang Li glanced at it. "Ning Rou, Xiao Nian is an honest man of few words, but he’s not an idiot."
After saying her piece, Jiang Li gave Ning Rou one last look and left. It wasn’t her place to interfere in their relationship, but Xiao Nian had been with Aunt Yu for so many years; she didn’t believe he was truly a fool.
Ning Rou watched Jiang Li’s retreating back, tears streaming down her face. She felt incredibly wronged, and the more she cried, the worse she felt.
It wasn’t just Yu Huannian who was out of touch with society. Nowadays, she didn’t even dare to look people in the eye when she went out, hiding away like a rat.
But Yu Huannian, a country boy who had lived in the mountains for over a decade, had adapted even faster than her and had casually earned a hundred thousand yuan.
And her? To this day, she didn’t even have a decent job.
Ning Rou stared at the bank card in her hand, her grip tightening. ’Who does Jiang Li think she is? She’s not even Yu Huannian’s real sister.’
’Yu Huannian is so capable now; he doesn’t need to rely on Jiang Li at all.’
Ning Rou wiped her tears and walked out.
When Ning Sinian found out that Ning Rou had run off to this place, he was so angry he almost blacked out. He had only left for a moment because of something at the police station, and when he came back, she was gone.
"Jiang Li, let’s not worry about the thing with Yu Huannian and my sister for now. Little Rou’s condition isn’t right. I want to take her to a hospital for a check-up."
Ning Sinian had come to find Jiang Li, only to learn that Ning Rou wasn’t there either, so he explained the situation to Jiang Li first.
"Okay."
The moment Ning Rou returned, she saw Ning Sinian and clenched her fists in anger. ’That woman Jiang Li really holds a grudge. She actually called my brother over.’
"Little Rou, come back with me." Ning Sinian stood up and took Ning Rou by the arm.
"Brother, I’m not going back! Yu Huannian hasn’t even told me to leave," Ning Rou struggled.
Jiang Li ignored their struggle, her attention on a message on her phone. It was from Lu Xingye. The person who fell from the cliff was a man in his forties, the leader of a theater troupe.
"Brother, I’ll go back with you, but I have to tell Yu Huannian first. I’ll go back on my own tomorrow, I promise."
Ning Rou looked at Ning Sinian, her expression full of conviction.
Ning Sinian didn’t want to cause a huge scene with Ning Rou in someone else’s home, so he had to agree. "Fine. I’ll stay at a nearby hotel. I’ll come get you tomorrow."
Yu Huannian and Wu Ming didn’t get back until after dark. Jiang Li had heated up the leftovers and was waiting for them.
After dinner, Ning Rou pulled Yu Huannian into a room.
"Huan Nian, I think Sister Jiang Li has a problem with me. Today, she was hinting that I should leave you." Ning Rou’s eyes reddened instantly as she looked at Yu Huannian with a wronged expression.
"Impossible." Yu Huannian shook off her hand. "My sister isn’t that kind of person. Ning Rou, you’ve changed."
Yu Huannian looked at Ning Rou calmly. Back in Zhaozi Village, he and his mother had been afraid of wronging her, so they’d taken care of her every need, and she had cared for them in return.
But now, she had changed. She had become someone he couldn’t understand. Or maybe, this was who she really was all along.
"Yu Huannian, what’s that supposed to mean? How long have you even known Jiang Li? We’ve known each other for two years, and you believe her over me?"
Ning Rou stared at Yu Huannian in shock, feeling utterly betrayed in that moment. ’He actually said *I* changed? Who’s the one who’s really changed?’
"Ning Rou, she is my family. If you can’t accept that, then you don’t have to force yourself to be with me."
Yu Huannian’s arms tensed as he looked at her.
Ning Rou was so provoked that she trembled all over. She stepped forward and grabbed Yu Huannian’s arm. "Yu Huannian, have you forgotten? It was you and Aunt Yu who saved me. We spent every day together for two years.
"I even worked up the courage to be with you, how can you just cast me aside!"
’She was a city girl, and her brother was a forensic examiner. Her circumstances weren’t bad. When she saw that Yu Huannian had not only saved her but was also good to her, she had already decided to be with him after getting out.’
’But look at him now. In the end, he’s the one who’s backing out.’
"Ning Rou, I’ve said it before. Even if it hadn’t been you back then, my mom and I would have saved whoever it was. We knew you were from the city. My mom always told me that we weren’t a good match.
"We saved you not for you as a person, or for your money, but simply because we didn’t want an innocent person to get hurt.
"I do like you, but I cherish my family more."
Yu Huannian looked at her. "Ning Rou, let’s just call off the engagement."
"Yu Huannian, don’t you regret this!" Ning Rou ran out crying and called Ning Sinian to come pick her up.
Yu Huannian watched Ning Rou leave, then turned, went back inside, and shut himself in his room.
It wasn’t until the next day that Jiang Li learned Ning Rou had actually left.
Yu Huannian and Wu Ming were already gone.
Miao Anji was sitting in the living room, waiting for her.
Jiang Li was just about to ask how Yu Huannian was doing when she got a call from Ji Qinghe.
"Jiang Li, Wu Jianzhang hasn’t woken up yet, but Lin Ye confessed. He said he did everything and is willing to accept full legal responsibility."