52, With Cunning (2 more updates)
It was simple, yet very direct.
Although the man was in his twenties, he was still a passionate and upright young man.
At least he was somewhat responsible.
At this time, willing to take her away, Zhinuan felt grateful in her heart, and couldn’t bear to speak too harshly, not wanting to hurt Yuan Liuwang’s feelings.
“Do you know that I like you?” Xie Zhinuan countered.
“I know you don’t like me, but I still want to like you, and I’m willing to help you. Just say the word, and I can take you away at any time!” Yuan Liuwang declared firmly.
Perhaps it was the night, the hazy moonlight hiding the emotions on his face, the loss in his eyes.
Some words weren’t so difficult to say after all.
“Although I don’t have romantic feelings for you, I still want to thank you. When that whole family was planning to sell me off, you were willing to help me!” Xie Zhinuan said softly, adding, “In fact, what stays the least in this world is so-called beauty, merely a skin. Who can guarantee that beauty will not change? What’s more important for two people together is to comfort each other, to understand and accept each other, to support each other, to be able to speak one’s mind, and to be able to sit down and discuss matters!
“Brother Liuwang, by calling you ‘brother,’ I never thought of you in a romantic sense, and I also never thought about getting married!”
“…”
Being rejected, Yuan Liuwang felt uncomfortable.
But he couldn’t help but ask, “Why have you never thought about getting married?”
“What’s so good about getting married? Aside from getting along with a husband, you have to please his parents, sisters-in-law, and sisters. Can’t I live well on my own? If the bed isn’t warm enough, I’ll just stoke the fire to make it warmer. If the food isn’t tasty, I’ll put in more effort to cook it to perfection. Besides, I’ve forgotten who my parents are, where my home is, and what kind of life I had before. I’m like a rootless weed, not suitable to be married off!”
She patted Yuan Liuwang’s shoulder, “You’re a good young man, deserving of a better girl. A girl who adores you will wash and cook for you, bear and raise your children, honor your parents, get along with your sisters-in-law, and treat your sisters well. When you meet this girl, you’ll understand that you are the luckiest man in the world!”
“As for me, I am just a passerby on the road of your life, coming and going in haste. I won’t cast too much of my gaze on you, nor will I invest any emotions in you!”
“In fact, I could have directly and justly refused you, with the coldest words, the cruellest language, leaving you completely devastated. But I know you’re a good person, and good people should be treated kindly, not hurt.”
After hearing this, Yuan Liuwang.
He didn’t feel the embarrassment and discomfort of being rejected at all.
Perhaps it was Xie Zhinuan’s words, that good people should be treated kindly, not hurt.
Or perhaps it was because she, even in refusal, didn’t use cruel words to mock him, suggesting that a toad lusted after swan meat.
“You make a lot of sense. Since you don’t like me, but I can’t let go of you just yet, and I haven’t met the girl who admires and loves me. You don’t have family, and I don’t have a sister. How about you recognize me as your sworn brother, and we become siblings?”
“Haven’t I been calling you Brother Liuwang all along?” Xie Zhinuan said with a smile.
“That’s true, no mistake there!”
Her mood actually brightened after this ridiculous conversation with Yuan Liuwang.
No matter how the Yuan Family schemed, she had the jade token given by Yuanbao, so the county magistrate dared not make things difficult for her.
But the actions of the Yuan Family…
Xie Zhinuan sighed softly.
She treasured the friendship they had during their time together. But she was not a soft persimmon that could be squeezed at will, say sold and then sold.
She was a person, an independent person. Apart from herself, no one else could decide her comings and goings.
Chapter 54