Chapter 50 - Chapter 50 Will You Leave Me?

All her clothes were gone from the suitcase. Ruan Xingchen couldn't think of anyone else who'd do such a mean thing except him. She stormed into the kitchen—and froze when she saw Lu Jingyuan wearing an apron at the counter, holding a kitchen knife. "Uncle… you're… cooking?" Lu Jingyuan glanced at her damp clothes and frowned. "Why haven't you changed yet?" She'd almost forgotten why she was mad. Ruan Xingchen marched up to him, tilted her head, and glared. "Tell me—did you throw away my dresses again?!" "Mm." He answered calmly. "Threw them out on my way downstairs." Ruan Xingchen wanted to bite him. Who did something so bad and still acted so justified? "Why would you throw my dresses away?!" "They're old." He looked back down at the meat on the cutting board. "There are clothes in your closet. Go look." "…" Ruan Xingchen was fuming. Who said they were old? Jiang Heng had just had them sent over for summer. They were practically new! If she could beat him, she definitely would. She glared at him one more time before running out. Hearing her footsteps fade, Lu Jingyuan paused for a second. Ruan Xingchen hurried back to her room, determined: if the clothes in the closet weren't to her taste, she wouldn't wear them. She'd even throw his clothes out too, hmph! She stood in front of the closed wardrobe, swallowing hard. Actually… she still thought he'd pick things she liked. She'd loved the room he'd fixed up for her, after all. Slowly, she pulled the doors open, her big eyes fixed on the space inside. When the wardrobe was fully open, Ruan Xingchen stared at the rows of dresses and went still. Dresses? Lace, frills, bows? She reached out and touched the fabric. Smooth, soft—just as nice as the ones Jiang Heng had bought her. The wardrobe was huge, lined with dresses of all kinds, even nightgowns. She licked her dry lips, took one down, and held it against herself. It looked like it would fit perfectly. She couldn't wait to shower and try it on. As she turned, her eye caught the lower drawers. A thought flashed through her mind. She pulled one open—and her face burned bright red. It was full of girls' bras. The other drawer had matching panties. Flushing, she picked a matching set and dashed to the bathroom. The sky grew dark, and the rain outside poured harder. Lu Jingyuan carried the dishes out, hung up his apron, and was about to call her for dinner when he turned and saw her standing not far behind him. She wore the pretty new dress, her face pink and shy. She'd just washed her hair; it was half-dry and fluffy, loose around her shoulders. Even without her ponytails, she was still his little loli. When he looked over, Ruan Xingchen smiled shyly and asked quietly, "Uncle, is it pretty?" "Pretty." Lu Jingyuan's dark eyes rested on her fair face. He nodded gently. "Very cute." He'd had the style designed and approved the final version himself. Of course it was beautiful. Ruan Xingchen grinned, her eyes curving. "I think so too." Uncle had been full of surprises today. So happy was she that she ate two full bowls of rice. Afterward, she cleared the table on her own, put on an apron, and washed the dishes while humming. Lu Jingyuan leaned in the kitchen doorway, watching her. His gaze drifted down to her dress, and he remembered what Wei Yuanxiao had said over a month ago when he'd ordered custom dresses. "A man buys a woman clothes because he plans to take them off her someday." Lu Jingyuan thought he was right. Not someday—he wanted to do it right now. But he couldn't rush. Scaring her off would ruin everything. When Ruan Xingchen finished and walked out, Lu Jingyuan had just come out of the bathroom. This time, he remembered to put on clothes instead of just a towel. Though he'd wanted to. The rain outside had stopped at some point. Ruan Xingchen curled up on the sofa hugging a pillow, staring at the TV. Lu Jingyuan sat on the other side with a laptop, seemingly working. After a while, the show ended and the credits rolled. Lu Jingyuan glanced at her. "You ended your engagement with Jiang Heng?" "Yep." Ruan Xingchen put down the pillow, crawled over to him, and blinked. "How did you know, Uncle?" Lu Jingyuan sent his last email, closed the laptop, and set it on the coffee table. He turned slowly to face her, not explaining, just asking: "I heard you took a million from Mrs. Jiang." "Yep." She nodded. "How did you know that too?" He should have still been out of town when Mrs. Jiang met her. Lu Jingyuan looked at her silently. Thinking he was scolding her, Ruan Xingchen pouted, sat back down, and grabbed the pillow again. "I didn't want to take their money, but she wouldn't be at ease if I didn't." "Mm." Lu Jingyuan leaned over, pulled the pillow from her arms, lifted her easily, and set her on his lap. He asked softly, "Are you sad?" Ruan Xingchen's lips trembled. She nodded lightly. "A little." For years, Jiang Heng had called himself her fiancé, and she'd truly thought of him that way. Even if she'd been prepared, it still hurt when it ended. "But I think Mrs. Jiang was right." She looked up at him seriously, no resentment at all. "I really wasn't good enough for him. I couldn't be his burden." "So you agreed right away to avoid weighing him down?" This thought made Lu Jingyuan unreasonably annoyed. Jiang Heng still held a place in her heart, after all. It made sense. For so many years, Lu Xiaobai and Jiang Heng had been the only ones by her side. Ruan Xingchen pressed her lips together and said nothing. She didn't want to admit that another reason was that she never felt her heart race around him, never got shy or nervous just from seeing him. After a short silence, Lu Jingyuan asked again, "How did your mother die?" Lu Xiaobai had called him the night before leaving for City A and told him everything about Ruan Xingchen. How Ruan Shuqing had bullied her over the years, when Jiang Heng had started playing around, how the Ruans and Jiangs had ignored her. Finally, she'd told him about her mother's death. Her mother's body had been found by a pond, a large bump on her forehead. By the time a passerby saw her, she was dead. Little Ruan Xingchen had been soaked, unconscious next to her, with clear finger marks around her neck. The passerby called the police. Soon after, Ruan Jiancai arrived and took her to the hospital. But when Ruan Xingchen woke up, she remembered nothing. No other clues were found, and the case was closed. Lu Xiaobai still felt uneasy about it and had asked him to look into it. Hence the question. But after so many years, reopening the case would be nearly impossible. "I don't remember." Ruan Xingchen shook her head. "When I woke up in the hospital, Xiaobai told me my mom was dead." All these years, she'd never been able to recall how it happened. Or why she'd been in the hospital. When she asked Lu Xiaobai, she said she didn't know either—only that Xingchen had been in the hospital for days with a high fever. Thinking of Lu Xiaobai, her mood sank. She closed her eyes and mumbled, "Uncle, I miss Xiaobai." Lu Jingyuan saw she was barely keeping her eyes open. He ruffled her hair, stood up holding her, carried her to her princess bed, and laid her down gently. "Uncle." Ruan Xingchen suddenly reached out and held his finger, looking at him anxiously. "Will you leave me too… like they did?" "They" meant Lu Xiaobai and Jiang Heng. In the dim light, his sharp features softened. His dark eyes stayed on her face. After a moment, he spoke quietly: "Of course not." "Really?" "Really." Seeing his serious expression, Ruan Xingchen frowned slightly, let go of his finger, and held out her pinky. Her clear eyes blinked up at him. "Uncle, let's pinky swear." "Mm. Pinky swear." He hooked his pinky around hers. Watching their linked fingers, Ruan Xingchen smiled happily, slowly closed her eyes, and let sleep take her. Lu Jingyuan tucked her in, sat beside her for a while, then stood and left. His pinky still felt warm from her touch. He stood at the door, staring at his finger for a long time. A thought struck him, and his eyes flickered. He went back to his bedroom, picked up his phone, and called Wei Yuanxiao. The call connected, and a sleepy voice came through. "Dude, why're you calling so late?" Lu Jingyuan hesitated for a moment, then asked quietly: "At eighteen… is there any way to get a marriage license?" "WHAT?!" Wei Yuanxiao jolted fully awake and yelled, "Lu Jingyuan, you're a total beast!" "…"