(Special thanks to [I, Most Unique] brother for becoming the Squad Leader! An extra update as thanks!)

Yurong was probably too absorbed in the story or had been drawn into that unresolvable, peculiar sentiment, so when he held her, she didn't refuse and naturally leaned against him.

"...Existing in her consciousness, the image of Li Yan she waited for twelve years, and also accompanied her for twelve years..."

She mumbled Li Yan's words again, filled with indescribable emotions regarding this outcome.

Li Yan sighed, "Love is not a debt. If she cannot come out from the heavy past, this reunion will be the beginning of tragedy for her. If they had never reunited, she would always have a glimmer of hope, even if she married another man and became a mother, there would always be a spot in her heart for that imaginary figure. But this meeting shattered her fantasy with me, the real person. You just mentioned tragic love... I'm more worried about Qiao Huanxuan now."

Yurong trembled slightly, "I almost forgot... Since she could wait for so many years, a few more wouldn't make her die for love. But now she lost her goal; perhaps life will lose direction."

"Let's hope she can find her way out on her own. It's not something others can help with, even me... there's a limit." Not knowing what Qiao Huanxuan's thoughts were, Li Yan didn't speak definitively, avoiding saying that he couldn't help either.

Yurong looked up at him, "Then why haven't you been watching her these days? You don't seem to have visited her again, what are you afraid of?"

"Afraid of what? Afraid you'll misunderstand!" Li Yan smiled, in his view, he preferred letting Qiao Huanxuan calm down. She needed time to move on from that relationship; he was unsure if visiting now would provoke or help her. So, he didn't rush to see her.

"You troublemaker! She ended up this way because of you, yet you shamelessly say you're afraid I'll misunderstand? How long have I known you? How long has she waited for you? You're really too much!" Yurong said, punching his chest lightly.

Li Yan didn't expect her to be so concerned about Qiao Huanxuan; pure emotional impulses can be like this? Yurong is truly pure!

"Alright, I've confessed everything. Shouldn't we be able to sleep now?" Li Yan's hand lightly pressed down, signaling her to burrow into the blanket with him, maintaining the current cuddling posture.

The story was finished, and this motion made Zhang Yurong aware of their current position; her shoulders shrugged briefly to shake off Li Yan's hand, and she moved to the other side. She continued speaking, "That's all? Qiao Huanxuan's story deeply moved me, how could you be indifferent after hearing it? Didn't you feel grateful enough to offer your life in service then?"

Li Yan internally grimaced; it seems that trying to gloss over things with a woman like this is not easy. After listening to such a long and moving story, she still remembered the pivotal points!

"Ha! Did I hit the mark?" Yurong had already evaded Li Yan's arm, keeping a person's distance from him, sitting on the bed, then looking at him, "Answer honestly. If not, sleep on the floor!"

Li Yan looked at her, speaking gently, "That night, after everyone ate and drank at the gathering, it was already late. I then escorted Qiao Huanxuan back to the hotel. But on the seaside, upon arriving there, she invited me up to sit, and after recounting so much about the past, it was already dawn. Let me emphasize two points: she was invited by the government department as a hired architect, hotel rooms were not paid by herself, so she reserved a one-bedroom sea-view suite; secondly, that night Qiao Huanxuan slept in the bedroom, while I slept on the living room sofa until morning."

After saying this, he lifted the blanket and got out of bed.

"Where are you going?" Yurong hurriedly asked when she saw him seemingly about to leave.

Li Yan headed toward the bathroom, "Going to the toilet, do I need to report this to you?"

"Gross…"

Taking advantage of Li Yan's absence, Yurong also got out of bed, retrieved another blanket from the cabinet, then spread it out on the bed, leaving the original blanket for Li Yan to use alone, prepared for herself another blanket. In this way, she felt a bit more at ease, even if sharing the same bed, they couldn't be under the same covers, something might happen.

Li Yan returned to find that Yurong was already lying down, pushing the blanket towards his side, and she herself was wrapped in another blanket on the other side.

Seeing her intentions, he said nothing, went and picked up a pillow and blanket, then spread them out on the carpeted area in the room, directly lying down to sleep.

"Good night!"

Although Yurong had deliberately lied down first, she could still hear his soft rustling, and had opened her eyes to see his actions. Unable to resist, she sat up: "What do you mean by that? Did I drive you to sleep on the floor? The bed is big enough, the blankets are sufficient, you're doing this on purpose!"

"Alas…" Li Yan sighed, "As the ancients said, don't eat someone else's leftover food. I'm now not sleeping in a bed left for someone else. Sleeping on the floor, you'll feel at ease."

"You…!" Zhang Yurong was infuriated; leftover food! A bed left for someone else! He actually compared it to leftover food!

"Your guess is correct. I truly want, willingly, eagerly anticipate sharing a room, sharing a bed with you, of course, just sharing a bed, without other thoughts. But…" Li Yan smiled wryly, "For me, this counts as a romantic anticipation, but not for you. After saying so much, I've lost that anticipation. Actually, you didn't need to use sleeping on the floor to threaten me into saying anything earlier, I was already prepared to sleep on the floor. I would tell you the story because I wanted to answer you, not to share a bed… it's late, let's sleep!"

After speaking, he had already closed his eyes, leaving Zhang Yurong sitting there alone, motionless in a daze.

Was I wrong?

Was this supposed to be a romantic evening for us?

Now, because of me, everyone has lost interest?

But where did I go wrong?

Who wants to be romantic with you anyway?

I was just saying it casually, did I threaten you? What is this "reluctant bed", you stingy person!

Yurong turned over onto the bed, dimmed the lights, and turned her back to him, not looking at him. She thought to herself: It's good that you're not sleeping, I don't know how comfortable it is to sleep alone!

...

Li Yan wasn't being stingy or stubborn; he genuinely lost interest.

For both men and women, some questions must be asked in the right context. Like when two people plan to spend a romantic night together, and one of them keeps asking about the other's ex, isn't that just killing the mood? It not only ruins your own mood but also extinguishes the other's interest.

What he said earlier was sincere; he was really looking forward to such a night. Not because he wanted to do anything specific with her, just to be a bit closer, sleep together, hug a bit, and strengthen their bond. But after talking so much about Qiao Huanxuan, where was the mood left for any of that?

The two of them, one on the bed and one on the floor, each turned and tossed, passing a silent night.

After dawn, they got up one after the other. Before going out, Yurong folded the bedding, put away the new ones, and laid the ones from the floor neatly on the bed.

They had breakfast together at Zhang Tianyi's home, with Jiang Xueyin present too.

After breakfast, they lingered a little, then the three of them left together. Jiang Xueyin drove off alone, while Li Yan and Zhang Yurong drove home together.

In the car, unlike the drive last night, Zhang Yurong didn't say a word this time, just stared blankly ahead, occasionally glancing at Li Yan.

In such silence, they drove for half an hour. As they were about to reach home, Li Yan couldn't help but ask, "Hey, what's wrong with you? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Zhang Yurong looked ahead and slowly spoke, "Pull over for a moment."

Li Yan sensed that she seemed to want to talk, so he listened and pulled over to the side. But he muttered to himself, how come I slept on the floor last night, but it feels like I owe her something…

"What do you want to say?" Li Yan looked at Zhang Yurong, but her gaze was fixed ahead.

"You guys met here, didn't you?"

"What?" Li Yan was baffled.

Yurong pointed ahead with her hand, "You and 'Xiao Di'."

Li Yan hadn't detailed everything about them, but when he brought 'Xiao Di' back once, he mentioned she had been upset and stayed where they first met, and Li Yan said it was nearby and brought her home. So now, driving back during the day and seeing the place where they'd had stories, Yurong couldn't help but stop.

The mental leap… Li Yan was a bit taken aback, not expecting her to think about 'Xiao Di' again.

"What? Addicted to stories? You listened to my story with Qiao Huanxuan last night, and now you want to hear about me and 'Xiao Di'? Haha, if you have money, show it; if not, at least applaud. Last night, you didn't give money or applaud…"

In response to his joke, Zhang Yurong coldly said, "Say it if you want!"

Seeing her attitude, their relationship seemed to have deteriorated a lot, which made Li Yan reflect. Was it because of Qiao Huanxuan? No, right? After the story, she still lamented and felt unfair for Qiao Huanxuan. Could it be because he insisted on sleeping on the floor last night, making her feel disrespected?

Li Yan opened the car window and lit a cigarette.

"Yes, I first met 'Xiao Di' here... in this area that wasn't developed yet, quite prone to accidents, I suppose. I remember encountering many things here," Li Yan said slowly.

They both recalled the time Yurong and Yue Yao were blocked while driving here, and Yurong asked flatly, "That time, you were the hero saving the damsel? A thug trying to extort from the sports car-driving 'Xiao Di', you just happened to pass by on your way home and helped chase the thug away, so since then, her heart has been captured by you?"

Hearing her speculation made Li Yan laugh involuntarily. (To be continued, for the rest of the story, please log in to www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support legitimate reading!)

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