"Nangong Jin, I've heard such words too many times. Do you really think I'll believe any of this?"
"I know what kind of person An Nuan is better than anyone."
"I'll say it one last time, I have no regrets."
Shen Xizhou said with a cold smile, "Nangong Jin, these words are perhaps more fitting for you."
He looked at Shen Xizhou and laughed mockingly, "Shen Xizhou, why do you trust Xu Ruowei's words so much, yet refuse to believe An Nuan?"
"Shen Xizhou, think back carefully. Do you truly forget the days and times you spent with An Nuan?"
"An Nuan's sincerity towards you was truly wasted on a dog."
After saying this, Nangong Jin felt there was nothing more to say.
He believed that no matter how much he said, it would be useless against Shen Xizhou's stance.
In fact, these weren't words he hadn't spoken before.
It was just that Shen Xizhou had never been willing to listen.
Shen Xizhou stood frozen, pondering Nangong Jin's recent words. However, in an instant, he pushed away the terrible thoughts.
An Nuan had always been like this, hadn't she? Causing all men to be convinced by her.
Shen Xizhou gazed into the distance, lost in thought.
No.
He would not believe Nangong Jin's words; they were all lies.
A person like An Nuan could never change for the better.
She was a person of deep schemes, and Nangong Jin had always believed her. How could his words be trusted?
Shen Xizhou's heart was filled with disgust and disdain for An Nuan.
Xu Ruowei thought that after this incident, Shen Xizhou would surely ignore her. But to her surprise, Shen Xizhou did not. He continued to treat her just as kindly.
However, the thought that Shen Xizhou still harbored feelings for An Nuan made her heart ache.
She thought about how close she had been to success, only for her plan to fail because of Nangong Jin's interference. This Nangong Jin was truly her bane.
Especially since Nangong Jin had publicly humiliated her, reducing her to nothing. Originally, all good things were heading her way, but now? Everything had changed; nothing was in her favor anymore.
And she had also heard many people pointing fingers at her.
While she didn't dwell on their whispers, she began to notice a subtle shift. Although Shen Xizhou still treated her the same on the surface, over time, she realized he was different.
Especially when people cursed her, Shen Xizhou was present, but he no longer stood up to defend her fiercely as he used to.
Instead, he allowed them to humiliate her.
Her hands clenched tightly as she endured.
She felt she had to do something, to escape this suffocating environment.
...
An Nuan had completely regained her composure.
In truth, this entire affair had not affected her in the slightest. Compared to before, she felt she had suffered far less. She truly didn't feel wronged.
Instead, she felt that Xu Ruowei was the one who had suffered greatly.
An Nuan was diligently doing her work at the company.
Furthermore, she noticed that her work had been exceptionally smooth these past few days.
Unexpectedly, at a banquet, An Nuan ran into Shen Xizhou and Xu Ruowei.
For a moment, she was at a loss for words.
Why did these kinds of encounters keep happening to her?
All she wanted at that moment was to leave immediately.
"An Nuan, I didn't expect to see you here. We really are fated."
"An Nuan, you can completely pretend that all the things that happened before never occurred."
"An Nuan, I apologize for what happened before. Can you forgive me?"
"Can we just let the past go, alright?"
Xu Ruowei said calmly, her gaze fixed on An Nuan, standing before her without any intention of leaving.
An Nuan felt a sense of helplessness.
At this moment, Xu Ruowei acted like a drama queen. She turned to Shen Xizhou and said, "Xizhou, I truly know I was wrong. And now I've apologized to her, but she doesn't seem willing to forgive me."
Xu Ruowei sobbed, and then threw herself into his arms.
Shen Xizhou instinctively tried to pull away from Xu Ruowei.
But in the end, he found he couldn't avoid her.
Xu Ruowei, of course, noticed Shen Xizhou's every movement. Her eyes were filled with resentment. She knew that in front of so many people, even if Shen Xizhou wanted to distance himself, he couldn't.
Xu Ruowei's hand held tightly onto Shen Xizhou.
Her eyes seemed to plead.
"Xizhou, perhaps it's my fault."
"That's why An Nuan is like this."
As Xu Ruowei was about to say more, she noticed Shen Xizhou had frozen. There was not a trace of a smile on his face.
Xu Ruowei looked up in the direction Shen Xizhou was looking and saw Nangong Jin.
Nangong Jin stood beside An Nuan.
So, Shen Xizhou's reaction was because of Nangong Jin.
"Xizhou..."
Xu Ruowei's eyes welled up with tears, which began to stream down her face.
"Ruowei..." Shen Xizhou's eyes were filled with helplessness.
Even Shen Xizhou himself couldn't understand why he felt such aversion to Xu Ruowei's closeness. He didn't even know why he was having such feelings.
"Xizhou, why? What happened that you're treating me like this?" Xu Ruowei asked pitifully, tears tracing paths down her cheeks.
Shen Xizhou did not look at Xu Ruowei. He said coldly, "Don't say such things again."
"What?" Xu Ruowei's face turned deathly pale.
He was starting to despise her, was he? That's why he was treating her this way.
Then, what exactly had just happened?
Xu Ruowei's hands clenched tightly, her eyes filled with unwillingness. In front of so many people, Shen Xizhou wasn't giving her any face at all.
It could be said that she had lost all her dignity now.
"Xizhou, you..."
"Ruowei, from the beginning, An Nuan never troubled you. It was you who kept troubling An Nuan."
Shen Xizhou said coldly, "I could choose not to believe what those people said. But now, I've witnessed it with my own eyes."
Shen Xizhou's words made Xu Ruowei's expression extremely grim.
She had never imagined he would say something like that directly to her face.
She had always thought that Shen Xizhou had merely been giving her the cold shoulder these past few days.
Most importantly, with so many people present, he would surely side with her.