Chapter 111 Persuading Myself

"I sensed it..."

Li Yan remained silent for a while before slowly saying, "I don’t know exactly what happened. That day, she didn’t have her phone on. Later we went online, wanting to see if S University’s website was still accessible, only to find out things had blown up a bit. When she logged onto QQ, she received a message from her mother asking her to go back. Before she left, she seemed to be holding back tears..."

He recalled the scenes of that day when he sent her to S University and before she drove off, and he detailed it all, then talked about what happened afterward.

"This is the situation now. I haven’t seen her for the past two weeks, and I haven’t been able to contact her. Through her classmates, I learned she took leave and hasn’t returned to school, and when I asked her home’s security, it seems her mother took her away. Where exactly she went, I have no idea."

After hearing this news, Zhang Yurong didn’t feel a sense of schadenfreude, but it did let her vent some of her anger, which lessened a bit. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The two were silent for a while before Zhang Yurong asked softly, "Is that it?"

"Hmm?" Li Yan snapped out of it, looking at her in confusion.

"From what you’re saying, it seems like Chen Mingying had plans to take her somewhere else. It could be temporarily, or it could be for a long time. And Yu Xiaodi either sensed, guessed, or heard about it, which is why she made sure to spend that day with you. It could also be that she was unaware and was suddenly taken away when she returned home."

"It should be like that."

Seeing his lack of reaction, Zhang Yurong became slightly angry, "And you? You’re just going to ignore it?"

Li Yan finally understood what she meant by "Is that it?" She wasn’t asking about the situation but rather his reaction to it. He sighed, "Before knowing what specifically happened, I can’t do much. After all, they’re her parents. Besides, she’s still in school, and I believe her parents wouldn’t take it too far. Perhaps there’s something else going on, and I’m waiting for her to come back because she should contact me then."

Zhang Yurong sneered, "What did you just say? Now that she’s not around, you don’t have to take responsibility, so you come back to me instead?"

Her words were quite harsh, exceeding her personal grievances and including a sense of injustice for women. Li Yan felt as if he were struck dumb, internally breaking out in cold sweat.

Yeah, Xiaodi not contacting me could be due to external circumstances or parental restrictions, but does that justify me passively waiting around? Do I really have no way to look for her? Have I even thought of a way?

Upon careful reflection, Li Yan realized he had indeed been passive. To put it nicely, he wanted to give everyone some time and space, allowing her relationship with her parents to ease up. But in reality, he was distracted by two things!

One being the fallout and separation from Zhang Yurong, which significantly affected his emotions, almost taking up a week just dealing with it. During that time, he focused mainly on work and entertainment to distract himself from relationship issues. The other thing was realizing Roca’s ’Rose’ and her group’s plan to rob the antique auction. To prevent this from affecting him, he spent a considerable amount of time gathering information about the auction and discreetly learning about Sonia’s group, their number, movements, etc.

Because of these distractions, he had less time to think about Xiaodi’s situation. Now, with Yurong’s direct rebuke, he suddenly realized he hadn’t done enough in this area.

Initially, Li Yan was going to accept her reproach, but the last part was too misleading, so he felt compelled to clarify.

"I’ve said before, I like you and I also like Yu Xiaodi. Developing feelings with different people is my fault.

I’m not the type of person who feels it’s important to like someone; I don’t have that kind of vanity.

And frankly, if I were the type of person you see me as, I would have disguised it well in front of you, even flattering you from the start in every aspect to win your favor."

After speaking, Li Yan got up and left. Before leaving, he sighed, "I didn’t expect you to see me that way; it seems it’s really hard to turn things around."

Li Yan’s words left Zhang Yurong sitting on the bed deep in thought.

Perhaps there really was some misunderstanding about him. At least, he’s not a hypocritical, scheming person who toys with women’s feelings. Otherwise, with his attitude every time he visited my parents for dinner, he really could have disguised it well in front of me. If he had fully cooperated and met all my expectations from the start, maybe I would have accepted him long ago... He could be messing around outside without letting me know.

This guy... He made a mess of things himself.

Yurong found herself leaning towards accepting him again, convincing herself internally. But he really is two-timing, and that’s a fact he doesn’t even deny. He himself admitted that Yu Xiaodi was hidden away by her mother, and he’s just passively waiting for her to contact him, not even making efforts to reach out or find her. Such a person, even if I’m with him, wouldn’t he still be passive?

Just like last time when we fought, he didn’t even try to fix it, just moved out immediately without trying to explain or apologize, or try to mend our relationship. For two weeks, nothing happened. Even when I called him yesterday, he didn’t budge, even refused... even if... even if I’d refused to take your calls before, couldn’t you have tried calling back? Couldn’t you call my private number at night? Are you not a man?

Yurong, feeling a headache, grabbed her elegant hair. She felt confused and didn’t know what to do.

Recalling how Li Yan hadn’t contacted her, she thought of another issue. During those days, Li Yan worked more diligently than ever, completely different from his usual self. It seems like he was greatly affected and impacted; maybe... his passivity isn’t because he’s a man who gives up easily, but because he doesn’t know how to express himself?

And could it be... due to our relationship, he was so hurt that he didn’t even have the heart to look for Yu Xiaodi?

Although over two weeks, grievances piled up deeper, people also became calmer, less prone to outbreaks. Earlier, her blunt ’beating’ on Li Yan let her vent some of her grievances. However, it left her at a loss, unsure of how to confront the awkwardness. After listening to Li Yan’s explanation, knowing that Yu Xiaodi had violated their agreement to be together, possibly under some pressure, now even receiving some punishment, much of her resentment dissipated. With this deeper conversation with him, Yurong began to think from his perspective, realizing that to mend their relationship, it required letting go of preconceived notions and past issues, and couldn’t rely solely on him. As Yue Yao always encouraged, she needed to be a bit proactive herself!

...

Why do I need to actively please him? I’m not infatuated with him like Yu Xiaodi is!

However, I did say earlier, regardless, let’s talk after the New Year; there’s still some time left. During the New Year, we especially need to meet with the elders on both sides frequently. If our relationship isn’t harmonious, pretending would be really tiring. I’m not pleasing him; I’m considering it for myself...

After finally providing herself a convincing reason, Yurong stood up, intending to go out and find Li Yan.

Ha, you weren’t happy with the way I perceived you earlier? Even if the description wasn’t perfect, is it not somewhat accurate? Saying it’s hard to restore our relationship, yet why did you kiss me earlier? I haven’t even brought it up!

After convincing herself and finding a reason, Yurong left the room, intending to drag Li Yan over for a good scolding. In front of everyone, he shouldn’t dare resist, right?

"Li Yan? He’s left, didn’t you know?" Yang Yun looked at Yurong curiously.

Yurong was stunned, "I... didn’t know he left in such a rush, just before lunch."

"Yes, I also asked him to stay for lunch before leaving. But he said he needed to contact antique buyers for your dad and left to negotiate..." Yang Yun was pleased, clearly believing Li Yan’s words.

Yurong was slightly dazed, hearing her mother’s words, she couldn’t process much. She went outside and saw his car had indeed driven off. She knew he wasn’t far, but who knows where he’s headed?

She stared blankly, had he come over willingly? Leaving in a hurry, was it because of their earlier conversation?

She didn’t trust Li Yan’s excuse with her mother.

Unbeknownst to her, Li Yan’s true purpose today was to stop Zhang Tianyi’s antiques. The incident with her was entirely accidental.

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