"We just slept together."
This calm sentence came through the receiver and landed in Ning Anmiao's ears like a bomb. With a loud boom, it instantly detonated her nerves. "Yanyan, you... you must be joking, right?"
How could two people who had only known each other's names for a short time have such a hasty and intense relationship so quickly?
Moreover, that Gong Ming acted mysteriously and his emotions were unpredictable. He definitely didn't seem like a good person.
Yin Yiyan didn't know how to explain to Ning Anmiao that her connection with Gong Ming was actually very deep. It wasn't as they had thought before, that they had only just met.
Their fates had been intertwined a long time ago.
Yin Yiyan casually gave a few perfunctory answers, saying that she would explain it clearly to her when they had a chance to meet. Although Ning Anmiao was worried, she could tell that Yin Yiyan was being evasive, so she didn't press further.
Ning Anmiao hadn't known her for a long time. Yin Yiyan was a calm and rational person. If she could think of certain things, Yin Yiyan surely wouldn't be unaware.
When Yin Yiyan hung up the phone and pushed the door back into the hospital ward, Gong Ming lifted his eyelids slightly and looked at her lazily. He had already guessed who had called her.
"Your friend doesn't seem to like me."
Yin Yiyan was stunned for a moment and stammered an explanation. "She just doesn't know about our past. She thinks you're a bad person. I'll explain it to her later and then..."
"She's right." Gong Ming raised the hand that wasn't being injected and gently rubbed his temples to keep himself awake. "I'm really not a good person."
Everything that had happened a few hours ago was truly an impulsive act on his part.
In the car, the moment he saw her equally passionate eyes, he lost his mind. He was eager to possess her and to confirm that his yearning over the years still had a response.
But after the passion, he realized that he had gone too far.
"So?" Yin Yiyan raised her eyebrows and looked at him deeply. "Whether you're a good person or not, you've slept with me. You have to take responsibility for me."
Her calmness and composure made Gong Ming laugh and cry at the same time. He glanced down at the thin needle on his arm and said calmly, "Didn't you say it was just a one-night stand?"
"..." Yin Yiyan was immediately speechless. She rolled her eyes dramatically. "You're exactly the kind of person who takes advantage and then runs away!"
Gong Ming slightly parted his lips. His voice was still a bit hoarse and full of meaning. "It's not certain who will run away yet."
There was a hint of loneliness in his tone.
Yin Yiyan looked up at him.
He continued, "If I'm not mistaken, your mother will contact you soon and tell you to stay as far away from me as possible."
"The Gong family and the Yin family have long been sworn enemies. If you choose me, you'll regret it."
Gong Ming looked at her seriously and said word by word, "Yin Yiyan, we're not kids anymore. No one will really play the game of 'elopement'."
Their eyes met. Yin Yiyan asked, "Even if I insist on being with you, it won't change your plan to destroy the Yin family?"
The ward was completely quiet.
Gong Ming's eyes were deep and unfathomable. It took him a long time to answer. "I'm not free to make my own decisions. I'm sorry."
His tone was gentle, but it was also a cruel truth.
After Gong Ming's parents were executed by firing squad, the remaining members and forces of the Gong family became opportunists. It was Gong Ming who had painstakingly reorganized them and established the current Gong family.
A part of the elite forces trained by his parents before were very loyal. They insisted on avenging their former masters and thus submitted to Gong Ming's command.
If he were to give up revenge now, the Gong family he had painstakingly built might collapse completely.
There were some things that he really had no choice in.
Yin Yiyan looked at his face, which had matured a lot compared to when he was a child, and suddenly felt as if she were in a dream.
Of course, she understood how much bitterness was contained in Gong Ming's words "I'm not free to make my own decisions."
Yin Yiyan had also worked hard on her own. No one knew better than her about the ways of the world and the need to smooth out relationships.
She clenched her fists. Her throat felt a bit dry. After a long silence, she bit her lip. "I'll ask you one last question."
"Ask." Gong Ming leaned his upper body against the head of the bed. The white shirt on him made him look thin but elegant.
Yin Yiyan paused for a moment and said in a low voice, "Are the things you're involved in now the same as what your parents did before?"
This was something she had to confirm.
If Gong Ming was still following in his parents' footsteps, then one day, he would also be punished just like them.
Thinking of this, Yin Yiyan felt a chill down her back.
She wanted to help him.
"Is this really that important?" Gong Ming smiled. His expression was full of meaning. "Even if I said no, who would believe me?"
Once a drop of ink has been dropped into a bowl of water, no one will ever believe that the water is clean again.
"I believe you." Yin Yiyan clenched her fists and said seriously, "As long as what you're doing now is legal and compliant, I can try to persuade my parents to accept you."
Legal and compliant?
Hearing this, Gong Ming sneered. "Yin Yiyan, you've also established your own business. You know very well what's dirty and what's not."
Not to mention whether he had taken over his parents' previous business, just the Yesheng Club under his name had witnessed countless shady deals.
He couldn't wash away his sins.
"Justice and evil can never shake hands and make peace, Yanyan."
This was the first time Gong Ming had called her name so gently. His gentle and elegant face showed a bit of casualness. "If you really can't let go, it's okay to date, but marriage is out of the question."
This calm response was like the final nail in the coffin for their relationship.
Yin Yiyan was silent for a long time. Her hands hanging by her sides clenched and then relaxed. She took two steps back. Her face showed no emotion. "Don't act so calm and superior, Gong Ming."
She raised her chin. Her expression was as noble as a peacock, proud and cold. "If you never had any hope of being with me, you wouldn't have tried to flirt with me."
"It's not certain who can't let go of whom." She turned around gracefully and waved at him. "Goodbye."
She did like Gong Ming.
But she was also rational enough.
If she wanted to be truly with Gong Ming, she couldn't just indulge in temporary pleasure. She had to find a way to pull him out of the mud.
Her decisive departure was also within Gong Ming's expectations.
Watching the ward door close gently, he stared at that direction for a long time before letting out a very soft sigh.
The phone on the pillow vibrated again and again. Finally, he answered it impatiently. "What is it?"
"Gong Ming, I don't want to interfere in your personal affairs, but I still think it's necessary to remind you that you'd better not make too much of a scene."