"Aren't you happy?"

His reaction was not what Jiangg Ning expected.

When Jiangg Ning had spoken, she'd imagined seeing a look of pleasant surprise on Chen Yuan's face.

But now, not only was he not surprised, he looked stunned, and his expression turned sour.

"I am happy... But why didn't you talk to me about it first?"

Quitting a job was no small matter, especially a position she had worked so tirelessly to obtain. She must have gone through an unimaginable struggle and made this decision with immense resolve.

Chen Yuan vaguely remembered their first meeting, when Ningning had tearfully told him how much she had sacrificed to get to where she was.

It was obvious she was proud of becoming an associate professor at such a young age. And, of course, it was clear that Ningning loved her career as an educator.

When she stood at the lectern, speaking with eloquence and earnestly answering every student's question, you could see a passionate light shining in her eyes.

'Why... why would she give it up so easily?'

'Without any warning.'

"Because student-teacher relationships are forbidden by the school. Now that we're officially a couple, we're breaking the rules. We just haven't mentioned it. If we were reported, a reprimand would be a small matter, but it would damage the school's reputation. I don't want to be that kind of person."

Ningning clearly had her own principles. Her words made Chen Yuan's brow furrow instantly.

"But no one would know. Haven't we been hiding it well? Once my four years of university are over, we can be together openly," he replied.

"Hiding it well... doesn't make it right. Am I supposed to disregard the school's reputation?" Jiangg Ning's thinking was very straightforward. She was a woman of rules and principles.

Very few things could make her break her own principles.

Since she started dating Chen Yuan, she had been under mental stress. In a way, she had already broken her principles and made a certain compromise.

"The school's reputation..." Chen Yuan genuinely thought that was ridiculous. 'What's there to protect about that thing?' This was something that could have been resolved happily for everyone if they'd just kept quiet, but she had to make it complicated. "What's there to protect about that thing?"

"You do what your position requires. As a student, you naturally wouldn't have this concept. Besides, I already have a new life plan."

"What plan?"

"I've already decided to find a new job, gain some experience, and then expand into the business world. And it's something I like—"

Before she could finish, Chen Yuan suddenly raised a hand to stop her.

"Wait. You're going to find another job? And you've already decided?"

"Yes, I gave it a lot of thought before the New Year. What do you think?" Jiangg Ning tiptoed forward a couple of steps, a vision for the future faintly visible in her eyes as she reached for Chen Yuan's hand.

Unexpectedly, Chen Yuan awkwardly pulled his hand away.

"Why didn't you tell me about this either...?"

"You mean the job?"

"Yes."

"You're still in school. Your studies are the most important thing. I didn't think it was necessary to tell you about all these messy things you only have to face after you graduate."

"Oh, so you think I'm childish and wouldn't understand your plans..."

"That's not what I meant at all. You're overthinking it, Chen Yuan."

"So you quit your job, you have an idea for a new one, and now that everything's arranged, you can finally 'notify' me."

"It's not a notification... Don't make it sound so harsh. I made these plans for our future, and I resigned for the sake of our relationship."

"I never asked you to quit. This makes me feel..." Chen Yuan's expression was now incredibly grim. He frowned in irritation, making Jiangg Ning a little afraid to speak. "...like you're coddling a child. Giving this up, giving that up for my sake. I never asked you to give up anything."

"Yes, I know! But all my considerations were based on my own plans. I'm already out in the working world, and I have plenty of confidence."

"Why didn't you tell me about your plans? No, Jiangg Ning... don't you feel like you don't tell me anything? I can only continue this relationship if I get to know you. Does a relationship even exist in this world where the two people don't know each other?"

"I... I just felt the time wasn't right."

'Of course the time wasn't right.'

The two sisters were still planning how to completely erase the traces of the other one after their game of hearts was decided—a mix of truth and lies, swapping identities and the timeline of when they met Chen Yuan. As long as neither of them spoke up, they could keep the secret for a lifetime.

But just like that, the crisis of their first argument had arrived. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

As their relationship deepened, Chen Yuan began to realize something was off. He always felt that Jiangg Ning was hiding many vague things from him—not just one, but many.

She had clearly said she was suffering from an illness that was hard to control, yet she always avoided talking about it.

Whether it was future plans or her family situation, her occasional, vague sentences had no beginning or end.

'Is she just playing around with this relationship?' Chen Yuan found it unbelievable. 'She can't be just looking for a fun fling, planning to bolt when it's time to talk about marriage, can she?'

He didn't think Jiangg Ning was that kind of person. So why did she always give him so many reasons to be suspicious?

'Being honest isn't that hard. All it takes is one conversation.'

"Maybe it's not that the time wasn't right. Maybe you just think I'm too immature to be entrusted with anything."

"I don't... These are very serious matters. We'll talk about them in the future."

"Always 'in the future.'"

"Please don't be angry, okay, Chen Yuan?"

"Enough."

Chen Yuan's face instantly turned cold. He hated hearing such perfunctory nonsense.

Nearby, Lan was stunned. She had been tidying up some flower pots, and in the blink of an eye, she heard the two of them start to argue. She listened quietly for a while, a cold sweat breaking out on her back in fear.

She didn't dare say a single word.

What surprised her most was that in their relationship, he, the younger one, was the one who held the power. Usually, boys his age were clueless and should have been the ones wrapped around Jiangg Ning's finger.

But looking at the situation now, it was clearly Jiangg Ning who was being controlled.

After being rebuked, Jiangg Ning didn't dare say another word, but inwardly, she was just as unconvinced.

'Was it wrong for her to plan her own life? From that perspective, she felt her intentions were right.'

However, Chen Yuan was furious, and his anger... inexplicably made Jiangg Ning a little scared.

Just like that time they talked in the bathroom.

For Chen Yuan, without the special status of "girlfriend," he actually treated all girls the same—and he didn't have that good of a temper.

"We'll talk about this when we get back," Chen Yuan said, taking a deep breath to forcibly calm his emotions.

"Fine, I get it."

Jiangg Ning lowered her head slightly, a bitter taste in her heart.

She thought to herself that Chen Yuan was probably just unhappy that she didn't discuss things with him. She would have to coax him properly when they got back.

But Jiangg Ning didn't understand. This was an issue that had been building up for a long time, something they had overlooked because their relationship had developed so quickly.