Chapter 162: The Prosperity Fades Away

Three months later, Li Rong returned to Yuan Jing's side.

Embracing her, Yuan Jing's eyes even reddened, and he incessantly murmured for her not to leave again.

The two returned to their previous life.

But this time, things had changed.

Li Rong went out to work less and less, spending more and more time at home.

Meanwhile, Yuan Jing's business became increasingly busy, and the time he spent at home grew shorter.

Another year passed in this manner, and Yuan Jing was actually so busy that he forgot Li Rong's birthday.

It wasn't until he returned home intoxicated and saw the bowl of longevity noodles sitting on the table, almost untouched, that he realized what he had missed.

"Rong'er, I'm sorry. I went to negotiate a very important business deal today and came back late."

He apologized incessantly.

Li Rong neither threw a tantrum nor complained.

Sitting by the window, she gazed at the unreachable moon, while her mother's words from a long time ago echoed endlessly in her mind.

"If that man knew your identity and what you were doing, would he still love you as he does now?"

"Rong'er, you're angry, aren't you? I really was wrong this time, please just forgive me this once, okay?"

Yuan Jing knelt half-way before her, gently holding her hands and pleading.

Li Rong finally looked at him.

This person, this face, seemed to have changed nothing from three years ago, but why did her heart feel so uneasy?

"Brother Yuan, I'm not angry with you, I'm just thinking about some things."

Seeing that she indeed did not look angry, Yuan Jing let out a heavy sigh of relief, his expression turning even more tender.

"Are you homesick?"

Li Rong shook her head. "Brother Yuan, it seems you have never once asked me where I live or what I do."

Yuan Jing took her hand and pressed it to his lips to kiss it. "In the future, I will go home with you and make sure your parents can accept me. I love you; no matter what you do, it will never change."

"Will it truly never change?" Li Rong's gaze was incredibly suppressed. "What if what I do makes you feel dread and fear?"

Yuan Jing laughed helplessly. "Aside from losing you, nothing in this world could make me feel dread or fear."

Li Rong was moved by his answer, even beginning to blame herself for why she would ever doubt Brother Yuan's feelings for her.

"Brother Yuan, give me a little more time. I will tell you everything."

This sentence sounded more like she was saying it to herself.

The old Li Rong, who feared nothing and spoke without hesitation simply because she felt it was unnecessary, was now being cautious and afraid to speak.

"Silly girl, we have a lifetime; you can take your time telling me." Yuan Jing felt that a lifetime was very long, and he only needed to keep being like this forever.

In the backyard, the crowd was anxious.

Su Yan seemed to be frozen in place, motionless for a full half hour.

Sun Mang was so anxious that his clothes were soaked with sweat. "Why isn't it over yet?"

Although Cao Meng and Ma Chulong were also anxious, they could see that Su Yan's condition was stable.

"Mr. Yuan, would it be convenient for you to tell us all what exactly happened between you and this... person?" The one who spoke was Lu Ao; waiting like this would only make everyone more restless.

The intentions of this... female ghost were already obvious: she wanted everyone to know about the past between her and Yuan Jing.

Rather than waiting for Su Yan to recover and speak, it would be better to have Yuan Jing tell the story now.

His suggestion was immediately met with everyone's approval.

Yuan Jing's face turned ashen.

Li Rong's piercing laughter suddenly rang out. "Yuan Jing, are you willing to let everyone know your true colors?"

Bright red blood began to drip from Yuan Jing's hands, which he had not let go of.

"Mr. Yuan, could it be that you killed..."

"It wasn't me! It wasn't!"

Sun Mang had only been speculating casually, but he hadn't expected Yuan Jing's reaction to be so violent.

The crowd looked at one another, all sharing a bad premonition.

"He won't say it, but it doesn't matter whether he does or not. I will remember his promise; I will never leave him, ever." Li Rong dragged out the end of her sentence, repeating the vows he had made before.

Su Yan could not hear their conversation; in her eyes and ears, there were only the images of Li Rong and Yuan Jing.

In the blink of an eye, the fourth year arrived. Yuan Jing had not only become a celebrity in the entire county, but even his reputation in the province was quite significant.

In addition to his heavy workload, his life became filled with more wine and excess.

Every day, various women surrounded him, throwing themselves at him in hopes of gaining his favor.

At the beginning, he could still maintain a good sense of propriety, but exceptions were bound to happen.

One day, another very dazzling woman appeared by his side.

She was a woman completely different from Li Rong.

Glamorous and elegant, she possessed not only a delicate, beautiful face but also a perfect, curvaceous figure.

Not only did the woman come from a noble background, but she was also highly educated. Her speech, mannerisms, thoughts, and knowledge were all things that attracted a man's attention; Yuan Jing was, of course, no exception.

At first, Yuan Jing only treated her as a confidante and friend, but gradually, things between them began to turn ambiguous.

Li Rong was no fool; she quickly realized that Yuan Jing's heart was wandering.

While in disbelief, she immediately had an open and honest talk with him.

"Do you like her? Do you still love me?"

She stared straight at Yuan Jing. If his answer were anything but affirmative, she would leave without hesitation.

Yuan Jing panicked. "No, Rong'er, it's not what you think. The one I love is you. I might have a slight fondness for her, but it's only because she's new. She is a completely different kind of woman than you. You know that besides you, I have never had contact with any other woman; I was just curious."

Yes, just novelty, just curiosity.

"Rong'er, I swear from this day forward that I will keep my distance from her. If I cannot do it, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!"

Yuan Jing made a bitter oath.

Unlike the last time, this time Li Rong merely watched and listened calmly.

In the days that followed, they both deliberately avoided that woman, and Yuan Jing began to refocus his priorities back on the home.

Li Rong wondered: what had changed the feelings between them?

Without intense passion, without the sense of novelty, would everything they had possessed over the past four years simply vanish?

Yuan Jing began to mention their marriage agreement more than once; there was less than a year left until that promise.

Whenever this happened, Li Rong would look at him with a strange gaze.

This gaze made Yuan Jing feel guilty and even more uneasy.

And so, that woman seemed to disappear completely from Li Rong's life.

But Li Rong had changed; she never smiled at Yuan Jing again.

Every day, she seemed to be waiting.

Waiting for the day the vow would come true.

Or waiting for the moment her love would utterly perish.

(End of Chapter)