The eager voice made An Ran frown deeply. She glanced at Tang Yu outside the office and felt even more annoyed.
"If you have something to say, why do you have to beat around the bush like this? Is it fun to keep pestering me like this?"
"I know you have grievances and hatred towards me now. I don't expect you to treat me nicely, but An Ran, can you give me a chance to explain face-to-face?"
The pleading tone made An Ran silent for a while. After a long time, she said to her phone, "Okay."
It wasn't because she had a change of heart or rekindled old feelings. An Ran just wanted a legitimate chance to...say goodbye to the past.
Seeing that there was nothing to do in the company, An Ran left early for the appointment. She met Tang Yu, who had also left early, at the elevator door.
Tang Yu wore a sexy A-line skirt with a V-neck that revealed a bit of seductiveness.
"Hey, isn't this our most dedicated Director An? Did you leave early too?"
An Ran lowered her eyes and got into the elevator as soon as the door opened, not wanting to argue with her.
Anyway, no one would stand by her side and support her.Even if she was right, so what? These days, Tang Yu had already told An Ran through cruel reality that without a background, she was nothing in this fashion circle where connections were everything.
Tang Yu followed her into the elevator with a sideways glance and asked with a soft and charming smile, "The person who let you leave early must be someone very important to you, right?"
An Ran felt annoyed and replied with a faint smile, "I'm tired. Can't I leave early? Miss Tang, my personal whereabouts don't need you to guess. I don't think you, as the young lady of the Tang family, should act like a paparazzi and gossip about my personal privacy all day long."
The elevator reached the first floor and the door slowly opened. An Ran walked out without looking back.
Tang Yu was so angry that she gritted her teeth. At the agreed coffee shop, An Ran saw Yang Xu sitting at the table by the window.
He was wearing a casual shirt, elegant and composed, exuding a refined and gentle demeanor from the inside out, as if he had returned to the scene when An Ran first saw him.
An Ran walked up to Yang Xu expressionlessly, sat down without greeting, and looked at him with a deadpan expression. "You can speak now. What do you want?"Yang Xu's once handsome face gradually showed a mixed expression of regret and remorse. He opened his mouth with difficulty and said, "An Ran, I really didn't know about the factory incident... An yuchun un instigated and deceived me, saying that you slept with another man and that it was voluntary. She even provided evidence. At that time... I didn't have time to think about the subsequent events. The anger of being betrayed made me lose my rationality. An Ran, everything was An yuchun un's scheme. Can you forgive me?"
An Ran stirred the coffee in her cup. It was the matcha flavor that Yang Xu had ordered for her, but she had no desire to drink it. Just like facing the person in front of her, his explanation and plea for forgiveness only made An Ran feel lost and angry.
If it weren't for Fu Lengyu, An Ran thought, she would have been very happy to wait for Yang Xu's explanation and forgiveness, and she would definitely have forgiven him.
But now, everything was too late, just because there was Fu Lengyu between them.
"Sorry, let's just forget about the past. Yang Xu, we can't be lovers or friends." When An Ran said this, she wasn't heartless, but her endurance had been raised several levels by Fu Lengyu. Even if her heart was in turmoil, she could still maintain an indifferent appearance.
Yang Xu suddenly grabbed An Ran's hand, looking at her with excitement and pain. "Don't you still want to forgiveme?"
An Ran struggled to free her hand. "It doesn't matter whether I forgive you or not. Pursuing those things now is meaningless..."
"Let go of me..."
She struggled harder, and her movements attracted the attention of several couples around them. The probing eyes made her afraid to struggle anymore.
Yang Xu held her hand tightly, his eyes full of pain. "Even if we can't be lovers, we can still be friends, can't we? Please don't be so cruel to me, considering our past relationship."
On the second floor of the café, Fu Lengyu and Tang Yu were discussing Tang Yu's official employment when Fu Lengyu saw a scene of An Ran and Yang Xu pulling and tugging each other.
Tang Yu was surprised and couldn't believe it, "I didn't expect to see Miss An here, but... something seems off between her and her ex-boyfriend! Mr. Fu, as Miss An's husband, what do you think?"
Since being explicitly rejected by Fu Lengyu, Tang Yu had not deliberately tried to please or seduce him, because she knew that she had to use both soft and hard tactics to win over this proud and cold man.
Maintaining the pride of a young lady and the charm of a modern woman was the only way to gradually catch his attention.
Fu Lengyu's cold eyes sank for a moment, but his beautiful lips curled up in an indifferent smile. He sneered and looked down at An Ran, "It's just normal socializing between friends. What do you think I should think?"Tang Yu's eyes flashed with a hint of unwillingness, but she quickly returned to normal and nodded in agreement with Fu Lengyu, "I was just overthinking it. It seems that Mr. Fu really trusts Miss An."
Fu Lengyu didn't say anything else, but his occasional sharp gaze made Tang Yu feel a sense of guilty conscience. Why did she feel like all of her hidden thoughts wereexposed to Fu Lengyu's eyes?
She repeatedly told herself in her heart that this was impossible. Fu Lengyu wasn't monitoring her 24/7, so how could he know what she did in private?
An Ran had no idea that her meeting with Yang Xu had been discovered by Fu Lengyu. She was now thinking about how to completely get rid of him.
"Yang Xu, I forgive you. Can you let go of me now?" An Ran tried to pry his hand off, but he blocked her way.
"I know you haven't really forgiven me, An Ran. You always say one thing and mean another..." Yang Xu was interrupted impatiently by An Ran,
"Yang Xu, do you think I'm still the naive and foolish girl from before? You think you can just sweet talk me and I'll forgive you? The things you did, the pain you caused me, can't be erased with a few words of forgiveness!"
Her suddenly sharp tone revealed her uncontrollable anger and hatred.
An Ran silently mocked herself, realizing that she couldn't control her emotions as perfectly as Fu Lengyu could. Impatiently, she pushed Yang Xu away without any regard, causing him to stumble backwards and hit the wall.
"I know that those hurts cannot be erased with just a few words of forgiveness, but I will try my best to make it up to you! An Ran, please believe me! I won't treat you like I did before!" Yang Xu yelled at An Ran's retreating back,unwilling to let her go. The commotion drew the attention of everyone in the coffee shop, but he was too caught up in the moment to notice. Eventually, he left the coffee shop as well.