"We're not a good match, Lu Yan."
Ning Anmiao's voice was firm and calm, not like someone who had been carried away by emotions.
It seemed more like the result of careful consideration.
Precisely because she knew the implications of these three words, she said them so resolutely and definitely.
She wanted Lu Yan to realize too that they were not suited for each other.
The two stared into each other's eyes for a long time. Lu Yan's eyes were deep. It took him a while to reply, "It doesn't matter."
What did that mean?
Ning Anmiao raised an eyebrow, feeling that his reaction was off.
Under normal circumstances, shouldn't he have a serious look on his face and then analyze the pros and cons of this marriage with her seriously, and finally accept this fact?
How could he say it didn't matter?
Actually, when he heard her say "I don't regret it", Lu Yan already had an answer in his heart.
Not a good match?
In the first twenty - odd years of his life, he had heard countless voices of opposition. Those words were even more sharp and harsh, reaching the extreme of unpleasantness.
In comparison, these three words from Ning Anmiao's mouth seemed so light.
They were completely non - aggressive, more like a kitten's scratch.
He had never been one to simply submit to reality.
"Do you still want to eat? Should I heat it up for you?" His gaze was calm but always fixed on her.
His tone was so gentle, and his eyes were so intense that Ning Anmiao's heart skipped a beat uncontrollably.
They seemed like an ordinary couple.
The two were silent for a while.
"Eat."
Ning Anmiao thought that one shouldn't be at odds with food.
---
As soon as Mrs. Lu left the young couple's place and returned to her own residence, Jiang Qiwei was already waiting at the door.
After the scandal of design plagiarism broke out in the company, no one but Mrs. Lu could help her.
She had no choice but to try her luck here.
"Aunt Lu." As soon as she saw Mrs. Lu coming back, Jiang Qiwei immediately called out pitifully. Her voice was so weak that it seemed a gust of wind could blow her down. "Where have you been?"
"I just went to Lu Yan's place. What's up?" Mrs. Lu looked at Jiang Qiwei, who seemed on the verge of tears, and was a bit confused. "Who bullied our little Weiwei?"
Mrs. Lu's question was like a trigger. Tears welled up in Jiang Qiwei's eyes instantly. "Auntie, I..."
"Let's go inside and talk." Seeing Jiang Qiwei crying, Mrs. Lu felt a pang of worry. She quickly led Jiang Qiwei into the villa.
...
After sitting down and hearing the whole story, Mrs. Lu frowned, looking a bit incredulous. "Weiwei, why did you plagiarize Ning Anmiao's design?"
In Mrs. Lu's eyes, Ning Anmiao was simply not presentable. Even if she knew a bit about design, it was just amateurish skills.
She was no match for someone like Jiang Qiwei, who had gone abroad for further study.
"Weiwei, isn't this like lowering your own status?" Mrs. Lu couldn't quite understand Jiang Qiwei's behavior.
Fearing that Mrs. Lu would blame her, Jiang Qiwei had already prepared her explanation in advance. She still cried and sniffled, as if she had suffered a great deal of injustice. "Auntie, it wasn't plagiarism. It was just a coincidence that our designs were similar."
Coincidental similar designs were quite common in some industries that required originality, and people were already used to it.
But how could it be such a coincidence that it was exactly the same style as Ning Anmiao's?
If it was a coincidence, it was just too much of one!
Jiang Qiwei averted her eyes for a few seconds and quickly regained her composure.
She pursed her lips and sniffed lightly, as if she hadn't fully recovered from her sad mood.
"Auntie, didn't you tell me that to be victorious in all battles, we need to know both ourselves and our enemies?"
Even the password to the office was told to her by Mrs. Lu.
"I told you to get to know Ning Anmiao better, but I didn't tell you to..." Mrs. Lu looked a bit awkward.
I didn't tell you to directly plagiarize her works!
She stopped halfway through her sentence. Looking at Jiang Qiwei's pitiful eyes, Mrs. Lu just couldn't bring herself to say the second half of the sentence.
Plagiarism was such a disgraceful thing.
If it had been anyone other than Jiang Qiwei who did this, Mrs. Lu would have rolled her eyes to the sky.
But since it was Jiang Qiwei who did it?
Even though what Jiang Qiwei did was so disgraceful, behind her was the Jiang family, once a well - known noble family!
The Jiang family was a genuine aristocratic family. If she could get on good terms with Mrs. Jiang in the future, wouldn't her own status rise to a higher level?
"Auntie, I know I was wrong in this matter." Sensing that Mrs. Lu was a bit hesitant, Jiang Qiwei couldn't help but shake her arm.
"But I did this because I want to be your daughter - in - law. I had no other choice."
She knew that the elderly liked to hear such words. "My mom also said that she'd like to invite you to a tea party at our place sometime."
Mrs. Lu was a bit swayed.
As long as she could get into the circle of these wealthy ladies, who would dare to say anything bad about her behind her back?
"Alright, I know you're a good girl, Weiwei. You were just blinded by impulse this time."
Mrs. Lu made up her mind. Thinking about her future noble social circle, she decided to give it a try.
"I'll call Lu Yan. Let's just let this matter go."
Hearing that Mrs. Lu was willing to speak up for her, Jiang Qiwei's face lit up. The corners of her lips curled up, and she almost wanted to hug and kiss Mrs. Lu.
"Thank you, Auntie!"
After making sure that the matter could be resolved, Jiang Qiwei didn't stay long. She gave Mrs. Lu a big hug before leaving.
"Auntie, whether I can marry Lu Yan depends entirely on you."
"You..."
Mrs. Lu shook her head with a helpless smile and saw Jiang Qiwei off.
Although she had agreed, she still had some doubts in her heart and wasn't sure about Lu Yan's attitude.
After all, she didn't know when Lu Yan had started to change.
In the past, although Lu Yan often had a cold face, he would still listen to what she said.
Now, he seemed to unconditionally protect that wild girl.
She really didn't know what kind of spell that wild girl had cast on her son. Before, he would still listen to a few of her words, but now he wouldn't listen to a single one.
But since she had promised Jiang Qiwei, she still had to make this call.
...
Ning Anmiao and Lu Yan were about to go to bed when the phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, Ning Anmiao couldn't help but sigh.
Calling this late, nine times out of ten it was still about their marriage.
She waved the phone a few times. "Does your mom often call you to complain?"
Hearing this, Lu Yan was also helpless. He rubbed his temples but there was nothing he could do.
"If you don't want to answer, just hang up."
He never knew before that his mother could be so persistent in trying to persuade them to divorce.
"Forget it. If I don't answer, she'll definitely call again."
Ning Anmiao gave in. Knowing that she couldn't avoid it sooner or later, she pressed the answer button.