"Not going to tell Grandma?" Huo Linsheng asked calmly, his eyes slightly darkened.
Ling Nuan smiled nonchalantly. "You know Grandma's condition. Even if we tell her, she'll forget it soon. Besides, it's not a good thing for her to remember. In Grandma's eyes, since we're engaged, she'll want to meet the Huo family and ask about the wedding."
"Let's not mention it. It'll save us some trouble." Ling Nuan smiled helplessly, as if it was all out of necessity.
Huo Linsheng was silent for a moment before nodding. "Okay."
The topic of the wedding seemed to be just a small episode.
After that conversation, they didn't bring it up again. When not talking about such things, they still got along as they used to.
They went to work together and sometimes left work together. When Huo Linsheng went out for social events, Ling Nuan was his only female companion.
However, they weren't always together.
"I have a dinner party tonight," Huo Linsheng told Ling Nuan.
Ling Nuan knew about his schedule. The dinner party was for Huo Linsheng to meet some business partners from other companies. Most of them were men who smoked and drank, which wasn't Ling Nuan's cup of tea.
"Okay. I'll go home by myself then," Ling Nuan replied, not forgetting to remind him. "Drink less. Ask Fang Chao to prepare some hangover medicine."
"Okay." Huo Linsheng smiled at her.
"I'll go out first then." Ling Nuan picked up the documents Huo Linsheng had signed, smiled, and then turned to leave.
Because of the dinner party, Huo Linsheng left work early with Fang Chao before the end of the workday. It was only half an hour later that Ling Nuan finished packing up and left.
She didn't expect that just as she had seen Huo Xiao in the parking lot last time, this time she saw Shen Shaoqing there.
"Nuan Nuan," Shen Shaoqing was waiting in front of Ling Nuan's car. When he saw her coming, he immediately stood up straight and looked at her with a complicated expression.
At the sight of Shen Shaoqing, Ling Nuan was extremely annoyed. She really didn't know why she had been so blind as to fall for him before. Now he was like a piece of chewing gum that she couldn't get rid of.
"Shen Shaoqing, please be aware of your status," Ling Nuan reminded him coldly.
Shen Shaoqing let out a low laugh. "Status? Do you really want me to call you Auntie?"
Although the news of Huo Linsheng getting married hadn't been made public, once it was posted in their circle of friends, many people in the same social circle knew about it.
It was only a matter of time before Shen Shaoqing found out. Moreover, he and Ling Nuan had some mutual friends.
It was only now that he came looking for her. Maybe he should thank the fact that Ling Nuan and Huo Linsheng had been going in and out together these days.
Ling Nuan had no intention of getting entangled with him.
She was too lazy to say anything to Shen Shaoqing. She walked around him and directly reached for the car door.
As soon as she opened the door, Shen Shaoqing reached out his hand and closed it again. He looked at Ling Nuan intently. "You're taking revenge on me."
Ling Nuan looked at him contemptuously.
If it wasn't for revenge, did he really think she cared about him so much and was trying to get his attention?
Ling Nuan didn't say a word. Shen Shaoqing thought he had hit a nerve and continued.
"Nuan Nuan, I know you. You hate Huo Xiao. Huo Linsheng is Huo Xiao's uncle. You couldn't possibly fall in love with Huo Xiao's uncle and marry him. Your purpose of getting close to Huo Linsheng from the very beginning was to take revenge on me and Huo Xiao."
Ling Nuan looked at Shen Shaoqing and asked, "So what?"
These were obvious things. Did he really need to come all the way here to say them?
Shen Shaoqing looked heartbroken. "Nuan Nuan, you've sacrificed yourself for revenge. Now you're even sacrificing your marriage. If Auntie saw you like this in heaven, she'd be heartbroken and die with regret!"
Mentioning her mother was a sensitive topic for Ling Nuan.
Almost uncontrollably, she slapped Shen Shaoqing across the face. "You're not qualified to mention my mother! Shen Shaoqing, don't you have any sense of shame at all?"
Instead of getting angry, Shen Shaoqing seemed quite happy after being slapped.
"Nuan Nuan, you see, you still care, don't you? You hate me. You can take any revenge on me you want, but you can't do it this way! Huo Linsheng is not Huo Xiao. If you get involved with him, you'll ruin your whole life!" Shen Shaoqing looked like he was trying to persuade her earnestly.
Ling Nuan only felt disgusted.
"You look so ugly when you're being so persistent," Ling Nuan commented.
Then she turned around and walked away.
Since Shen Shaoqing was blocking her car and wouldn't let her get in, she could just take a taxi.
She didn't want to have anything to do with Shen Shaoqing at all.
But Shen Shaoqing didn't give up.
He rushed in front of Ling Nuan. "Nuan Nuan, don't you trust me? I'm willing to accept any revenge from you. You don't need to put yourself at risk. I can prove it to you!"
Ling Nuan was extremely annoyed. "How are you going to prove it?"
A crazy smile appeared on Shen Shaoqing's face.
He took out a fruit knife from his pocket.
Ling Nuan was completely stunned by his action.
"You hate me. Do you want me to die? Then kill me. Don't be with Huo Linsheng. Don't put yourself at risk," Shen Shaoqing said as he pulled the fruit knife out of its sheath.
He handed the knife to Ling Nuan. To avoid hurting her, he even held the sharp end of the knife in his palm and pointed the handle towards Ling Nuan.
The sharp tip of the knife cut through the skin of Shen Shaoqing's palm smoothly, and blood dripped down the blade.
Ling Nuan was so shocked that she was scared by Shen Shaoqing's crazy behavior.
She couldn't help but take a step back.
"Shen Shaoqing, stop being crazy!" Ling Nuan shouted angrily.
But Shen Shaoqing was determined to put the fruit knife in Ling Nuan's hand. "Nuan Nuan, you hate me. Kill me. Don't be with Huo Linsheng, okay?"
"You're crazy! You're a lunatic!" These were the only words left in Ling Nuan's mind when she saw Shen Shaoqing like this.
Shen Shaoqing even smiled when he heard that. "Yes, I've been crazy for a long time. I should have gone crazy when you were with Huo Linsheng!"
He stepped forward forcefully and stuffed the handle of the fruit knife into Ling Nuan's hand.
She had known Shen Shaoqing for so long, but this was the first time she had seen him like this. Ling Nuan was really scared, especially when Shen Shaoqing's blood got on her during their struggle.
Ling Nuan's eyes turned red.
Fear, disappointment, and many other emotions welled up inside her.
She used all her strength to push Shen Shaoqing away.
When Shen Shaoqing fell to the ground, the fruit knife that he had let go of also fell with a thud.
Shen Shaoqing laughed.
"Nuan Nuan, you see, you hate me but you still can't bring yourself to kill me. You don't want me to die," Shen Shaoqing said.
Ling Nuan just wanted to swear at him now.
She hoped that Shen Shaoqing would die, but she would never kill him herself! She'd be crazy to ruin her own life for this scumbag! But she didn't dare to say it now. She was really afraid of Shen Shaoqing. She was afraid that if she said anything more, Shen Shaoqing would stab himself with the knife.
And Ling Nuan's silence seemed like an admission of what Shen Shaoqing had said.
Shen Shaoqing felt like talking again.
"Nuan Nuan, actually, we've come to this point. I admit I'm wrong, but aren't you also wrong?" Shen Shaoqing accused.
Ling Nuan: "?"
"I'm wrong?" Ling Nuan was almost furious. "Shen Shaoqing, I've always had a clear conscience in this relationship. I've been good to you. If I'm wrong, it's because I misjudged people. I was blind!"
Shen Shaoqing smiled bitterly. "Do you know how scared I was?"
Ling Nuan: "?"