After Breaking Up, I Married the Dying Tycoon in a Flash-Chapter 387: Long River of Dim Lights (Part 7)

Song Nian was dazed, until the young Lu Zhonian reached out to her, saying, "Come with me."

That year, Song Nian had nothing, it was Lu Zhonian who rescued her from dire straits, gave her a home, love, and a safe haven.

Thus, even through so much pain and struggle, in the end, it was willingly.

Everyone has to pay a price for their desires, and Song Nian was willing to pay this price.

But later, Jiang Ci appeared.

Unlike Lu Zhonian, Jiang Ci truly treated her as an independent person.

That was when Song Nian was 17, Lu Zhonian was rarely home throughout the years, and her life revolved between school and the cold home.

Song Nian didn’t know what the meaning of life was, to be precise, that wasn’t something she could care about at the time.

The only warmth she could cling to was Jiang Ci’s concern for her.

18-year-old Jiang Ci, wearing a faded white shirt from washing, excelled in both character and learning, and amidst the school full of nobility, he was simply unblemished.

But Song Nian liked him, he had a scent that was wonderful, unlike the hollow glitz, it was a genuinely warm fragrance.

Jiang Ci would appear by her side when she needed him, helping her with seemingly troublesome problems, they were together day and night, quickly becoming friends who could talk about anything.

As cold as Lu Zhonian was, Jiang Ci was equally passionate.

He always looked at Song Nian, smiling with his eyes, calling her by name, extremely tender, he said, "Nian Nian, you are different from everyone else at this school."

Song Nian didn’t understand what Jiang Ci meant by different.

She looked at him naively, her expression innocent, "You’re also very different."

The young man’s laughter was joyful, he subtly and gently asked, "How am I different?"

Song Nian said, "You are good, you always manage to do things perfectly on your own, without help from others, I can’t, I can’t do anything right."

But Jiang Ci’s smile faded, he looked at Song Nian seriously, and said, "It’s not like that, Nian Nian, you can, you can do many things well, you just don’t know it."

For the first time, someone affirmed Song Nian in such a way, her eyes brightened with hope, and she softly asked, "Do you think I can?"

"Of course, look, you do your schoolwork very well, you are also very independent, Nian Nian, you are capable of many things."

Song Nian had been groomed by Lu Zhonian’s arrangements to be an obedient doll.

Her days in the Lu Family saw her self-awareness being eroded day by day.

It had been so long since anyone told her she was capable.

The encouragement from those words was astonishing.

Song Nian blinked, smiling, "Thank you, Jiang Ci, for telling me I’m not so helpless."

The two of them naturally grew closer and closer.

By the time Lu Zhonian returned to spend Song Nian’s 18th birthday with her, she had already established a romantic relationship with Jiang Ci.

They had agreed to attend the same university, and in the future, they would have a common life plan, leaving Xiangjiang for a place with clear mountains and water to start a new life.

Song Nian was full of longing for this planned future and hoped all of it would come true.

Therefore, when Lu Zhonian sat in front of her, gazing at her across the faint, flickering candlelight, Song Nian asked so earnestly, "Lu Zhonian, may I make a birthday wish?"

25-year-old Lu Zhonian, his eyes deep and expressionless, his demeanor aloof, gave a slight nod, consenting.

Song Nian placed her hands together, feeling the moisture of perspiration in her palms.

Her eyelashes trembled uncontrollably, in a sense, she had already thought of what to say, and now, it was just a matter of brewing.

She heard her own voice, light yet firm, "I want to leave the Lu Family, please, Lu Zhonian, let me go, I am of no use to you anymore."

Lu Zhonian watched her in silence.

In his gaze, Song Nian felt fear.

Tears shamefully filled her eyes, her hands clenching tighter, afraid to let go, she repeated more firmly, "I said, let me go, Lu Zhonian, I want to start a new life."

Her request was so unreasonable, arrogant and spoiled.

Nian Nian was very clear in her heart, the reason she could say these things in front of Lu Zhonian, was because he really had always been tolerant of her.

Even though he often looked at her so coldly, most of the requests she made, he would agree to.

Over these years, as he gained more power, his temperament became increasingly unpredictable, and day by day, Song Nian knew less about what he was really thinking.

Now, she wanted to use the last of their feelings to beg him to let her go.

After a long while, Lu Zhonian crossed his legs, took the lighter from beside him, with a gentle scratch of the flint wheel, he squinted his eyes and lit a cigarette, his voice was hoarse, "Why?"

Song Nian’s eyes darted around, her subconscious telling her not to let Lu Zhonian know the real reason, "No reason..."

"Song Nian, don’t try to lie to me, you should know, seeing through you is very easy for me," Lu Zhonian’s voice was chilling and uncompromising, he said coldly, "Tell me, why do you suddenly want to leave, I want you to say it yourself."

Nian Nian’s subservience, fostered by Lu Zhonian from a young age, was triggered once again at this moment, she clenched her fists so tight they pressed into her flesh, her voice strained, "Because I don’t want... I don’t want to go on like this anymore."

"That’s not the real reason, after all these years, haven’t you always been able to endure? Why can’t you now? There must be a reason, right?" Lu Zhonian scoffed, he exhaled smoke languidly, his posture sensual but with intensified coldness, "Song Nian, you are not good at lying."

Song Nian slowly let go of her hands, her palms were soaked through, much like her heart under immense pressure, she felt a suffocating tightness.

Her breathing was rapid, and after a long time, she hoarsely said, "The reason is... I’ve met someone I like, I... I want to start a new life with him."

Lu Zhonian extinguished the cigarette.

She lifted her eyelids, staring at Song Nian’s blush-tinged face.

He had come from abroad to spend her birthday with her, not to hear her confess her love for someone else.

Lu Zhonian’s lips curled up slightly, his posture even more disdainful, and he asked dispassionately, "What kind of person? What do you like about him?"

Song Nian’s reply was without hesitation, "He’s a good person, and... he thinks highly of me too. When I’m with him, I feel alive. Lu Zhonian, I want to be with him, even if it means living a life of hardship."

Song Nian did not hear Lu Zhonian’s response, but instead, she heard his cold laughter.

Song Nian’s face turned pale, somewhat humiliated, "Why are you laughing?"