617: Chapter 606: The Shangguan Family Again!
617: Chapter 606: The Shangguan Family Again!
Huo Qiuran’s departure had probably the greatest impact on Xiao Jianming.
The “Queen” of Zhonghai had been gone for several days now, but she didn’t take Xiao Jianming with her.
It wasn’t that she considered Xiao Jianming a burden; rather, after being “abandoned,” Xiao Jianming resembled an animal that had been cast aside, turning to alcohol in bars to drown his sorrows, often approached by maternal women wanting to offer him comfort.
By the time Ning Fan got to the bar after asking about Xiao Jianming’s whereabouts, the guy was nearly falling over drunk in a corner.
“To enjoy a bit of this stuff is one thing, but to drink like you do, aren’t you afraid of dying?”
Ning Fan sighed and plopped down in front of Xiao Jianming.
Clutching his glass, Xiao Jianming lifted his reddened face and looked at Ning Fan with bleary eyes, sizing him up over and over before he recognized who was sitting in front of him after a while.
“Burp!
Isn’t this Ning Fan?!”
Xiao Jianming let out a boozy burp and looked at Ning Fan who had suddenly shown up in front of him, first excited, then sinking into despondency.
His mood seemed very downcast, as he too found himself in a deep abyss of sadness due to Huo Qiuran’s departure.
Xiao Jianming’s feelings for Huo Qiuran ran deep, but it wasn’t possession he sought; he wished for Qiuran’s happiness.
However, whether Qiuran could find happiness in her trip to Jiangcheng, the answer was already known without having to think – there was only one.
“Why on earth did Huo Qiuran leave?”
Seeing Xiao Jianming’s downcast state, it was clear that Huo Qiuran’s departure wasn’t just a rumor – it was true, and Huo Qiuran’s departure this time was probably fraught with unspeakable secrets.
When Xiao Jianming heard Ning Fan’s question, he became puzzled at first, then, several seconds later, he came to his senses and raised his glass with a wry laugh, “So Sister Huo didn’t tell you, huh…
That’s right, this kind of thing, she wouldn’t want to tell you.”
Many people were aware of Huo Qiuran’s trip to Jiangcheng, yet the person who should have known the most only found out today; Huo Qiuran’s deliberate concealment made it clear to Ning Fan that the situation was anything but simple.
“Then what do you think is the kind of thing she might have wanted to tell me?”
Ning Fan asked in return, his gaze helpless and complex.
Xiao Jianming managed a faint smile, but it was one that tugged at the heartstrings with its dejection.
“Sister Huo wanted to tell you so many things, but unfortunately, there was never a chance…
perhaps there will never be a chance now…
She’s afraid, afraid that you won’t give her a chance!”
As Xiao Jianming spoke, his expression twisted fiercely.
Being close to Huo Qiuran, he naturally understood how she felt about Ning Fan, and it was precisely because of this that he felt angry and unwilling to accept the situation!
“Why, why won’t you just forgive Sister Huo!”
Xiao Jianming confronted him, slamming the Tang Blade he carried with him onto the table with a snap.
Ning Fan looked at him and spoke softly, “Do you really think I haven’t forgiven her for something that happened so long ago?”
Having long since moved on, the question of forgiveness was moot.
Ning Fan bore no ill will towards Huo Qiuran; they had made everything clear that one night.
Before that night, they couldn’t even be friends, but after that night, at least the relationship between Ning Fan and Huo Qiuran had returned to the level of friendship.
To claim I haven’t let go, haven’t forgiven Huo Qiuran, that’s just bullshit!
“Hahahaha…”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jianming suddenly burst into roaring laughter.
He poured the wine from his glass directly into his throat, the liquor scorching his esophagus into a bloody red.
With wide eyes, he fell silent, looking at Ning Fan.
“Tell me, what exactly happened to her.”
Ning Fan patted Xiao Jianming’s shoulder, urging him to sit down.
Xiao Jianming’s emotions stabilized slightly and he sat back down.
Then, puffing up his cheeks, seemingly lost in thought, his eyes were filled with pain, hesitation, and struggle.
Ning Fan did not press Xiao Jianming any further but waited patiently for him to speak again.
After several seconds, Xiao Jianming finally lowered his head and stared at Ning Fan’s expressionless face, slowly saying, “Sister Huo is gone, she won’t come back to Zhonghai again after leaving.”
After Huo Qiuran left Zhonghai for Jiangcheng, the Huo Family conglomerate lost its backbone.
Xiao Jianming wasn’t the only one dejected, others who followed Huo Qiuran felt the same.
But it was precisely because he knew Huo Qiuran wouldn’t return, and what she would face in Jiangcheng, that he was drinking alone here, drowning his sorrows.
“I know she’s gone to Jiangcheng, but what is she doing in Jiangcheng!”
Ning Fan was somewhat agitated, wanting to know the hidden truth, not to hear Xiao Jianming repeat the fact that Huo Qiuran would not return from Jiangcheng over and over again.
Xiao Jianming let out a sneer, seemingly mocking Ning Fan’s previous dismissive and indifferent treatment of Huo Qiuran, yet now he had become agitated.
“The Shangguan Family of Jiangcheng, Sister Huo has a marriage arrangement with Shangguan Yunyang from the Shangguan Family.
It’s something Sister Huo had always tried to avoid, but in the end, she couldn’t escape it…”
By the end of his sentence, Xiao Jianming couldn’t help but sigh, whether it was for Huo Qiuran, for Ning Fan, or perhaps for himself?
The name Shangguan Family struck Ning Fan like thunder on a clear day; how could he possibly forget the Shangguan Family?
The reason he and Huo Qiuran had separated was not just due to the opposition from other members of the Huo Family but also because the Shangguan Family had interfered.
Upon hearing about the Shangguan Family, Ning Fan subconsciously clenched his fist, a surge of anger rising in his heart.
“What should come, will indeed come, huh…”
Ning Fan’s face suddenly darkened significantly.
Initially, he had planned to remain calm no matter what he heard, but after hearing about the Shangguan Family from Xiao Jianming, his face instantly turned ugly.
Noticing the change in Ning Fan’s complexion, Xiao Jianming paused in his speech, then continued to explain why Huo Qiuran went to fulfill the marriage agreement.
“Sister Huo couldn’t hold out anymore.
Other members of the Huo Family pressed her relentlessly, even threatening to take their own lives to force Sister Huo into a marriage alliance with the Shangguan Family!”
If it were up to Huo Qiuran to decide, she definitely would not have left Zhonghai.
Ning Fan is here; how could she bear to leave?
But the Huo Family’s people were no pushovers.
After a series of continuous fights, even resorting to death threats, they pressured Huo Qiuran to go to Jiangcheng and accept the marriage alliance with the Shangguan Family.
Alone, Huo Qiuran was just a lone tree that couldn’t support itself.
Moreover, Ning Fan had been indifferent towards her, and facing her family’s coercion, seeing no hope for a future with Ning Fan, she felt disheartened and agreed to the arrangement.
But, the most crucial point was the Huo Family’s coercion – after all, blood is thicker than water; she was still a part of the Huo Family.
If she could really watch the Huo Family fall apart, she would have stopped caring a long time ago.