Like this, she gently rubbed the edge of her phone with her fingertips, her tone softening a few notches.
“My work isn’t as important as you. I’m busy here, but not so much that I can’t spare time to be with you. Okay? If you don’t want to, then wait for me to come back. I’ll be back around the weekend.”
Xu Ruobing watched Jiang Lai’s forced calm on the screen, unable to hide her exhaustion. Her own tense shoulders unconsciously relaxed a little. She sniffled, her voice still carrying a hint of hoarseness.
“Alright, I’ll wait for you to come back.”
When Jiang Lai heard the words “back around the weekend,” her eyes grew a little warm.
Xu Ruobing smiled helplessly and reached out to pat the screen gently.
“Jiang Lai… can you tell me what exactly happened between you and Ying Yu? Don’t just call it a ‘little misunderstanding.’ The more you hide it, the more anxious I get, and I can’t help you figure it out either.”
It was as if she was comforting her.
“I want to see you soon too, but right now…”
Jiang Lai was silent for a few seconds, unconsciously picking at the texture on her phone case. The night wind outside the window made the curtains sway gently, stretching her shadow long and short.
After a long while, she finally spoke slowly, her voice so low it was like she was talking to herself.
“Actually… it’s not a small misunderstanding. Someone proposed to me…”
Xu Ruobing’s eyes paused.
She had thought it was just some small problems in their relationship—at most sweet troubles of love, or just a fight. But hearing Jiang Lai say this, even Xu Ruobing, who had been preparing to comfort her, couldn’t stay calm.
“Huh? What’s going on? When did this happen? Why is Shen Ruxue angry?”
If she had encountered this situation herself, she would have been furious too, but she wouldn’t have the heart to take it out on Jiang Lai, so she’d just end up sulking.
At this moment, Xu Ruobing finally understood why Chi Yingyu was angry.
At this moment, even Xu Ruobing, who had always been a rival, could fully understand Chi Yingyu’s feelings.
Just hearing about it was really, really terrible.
But precisely because of this, Xu Ruobing now could give a perfect answer to this matter.
But she didn’t want to tell Jiang Lai that answer.
Because if she did, wouldn’t she be left out herself?
That would make her feel extremely unbalanced.
Xu Ruobing’s feelings were in a tangled mess, but she couldn’t bear to see Jiang Lai so troubled either.
“What should I do?”
Jiang Lai leaned closer, her face filling most of the screen, her eyes full of pleading.
“I want to explain clearly to her, apologize to Ying Yu, but she won’t listen… I’m going crazy.”
Xu Ruobing looked at her like this, the conflict in her eyes fading slightly and being replaced by understanding.
After all, no matter how tangled Jiang Lai was about this, it couldn’t come to her. Better to do Chi Yingyu a favor now and also boost her own favorability in Jiang Lai’s eyes.
She paused, deliberately keeping her in suspense.
“What else can you do? The knot must be undone by the one who tied it.”
“Since the problem lies with the ‘ring,’ the answer should also lie with the ‘ring.'”
Jiang Lai frowned, not understanding.
“Do I have to give the ring back?”
Xu Ruobing shook her head helplessly, pointing at the screen with her fingertip.
“Jiang Jiang…
Since you accepted that ring, you must have thought it through. If you return it now, not only would you feel bad, but the person who gave it would also feel terrible.
Since you already accepted it, why give it back?”
“Then what should I do?”
“Just give Chi Yingyu a ring yourself. Isn’t that simple?”
Xu Ruobing said it as if it were only natural.
“That way… she won’t have all those messy thoughts, and she won’t feel bad inside.
Actually, the most important thing is probably just a feeling of imbalance.
As long as she has what others have, she won’t feel so bad.
Why don’t you just propose to her directly?”
“Propose?”
Jiang Lai repeated the word in a daze, her mind suddenly clear as if a fog had dispersed.
“Yes, propose.”
Xu Ruobing’s tone was unusually serious.
“Saying ‘I only like you’ a hundred times to Ying Yu isn’t as good as putting a ring that belongs to the two of you on her hand yourself.
Shen Ruxue’s ring was regret.
Your ring is a promise.
Let her know that you choose a future with her.”
Xu Ruobing’s words were like a light, illuminating Jiang Lai’s chaotic thoughts.
She suddenly sat up straight, tears still on her face, but her eyes had regained their spark.
“Propose? But I haven’t prepared… I don’t even know what kind of ring she likes.”
“Preparation can be done anytime. What the ring looks like doesn’t matter. What matters is your intention.”
Xu Ruobing said with a smile.
“Even if Chi Yingyu is upset or unhappy now, the moment she sees the ring, all that discomfort will vanish into thin air.”
Jiang Lai stared at Xu Ruobing’s face on the screen, her fingers unconsciously picking at the worn edge of her phone case.
Xu Ruobing’s words were like a pebble, rippling through her heart.
—Propose?
She had never thought about it so soon.
She always felt that she and Chi Yingyu were still in the stage of slowly getting closer. Would proposing suddenly be too rash?
“But…”
Jiang Lai’s voice carried uncertainty, and the light that had just sparked in her eyes dimmed a little.
“What if Ying Yu thinks I’m rushing it? She’s still angry at me. If I suddenly propose, wouldn’t she think I’m just brushing her off?”
Xu Ruobing couldn’t help but smile at her anxious expression.
She tapped lightly on the screen.
“Jiang Lai, are you stupid?
I might not understand Chi Yingyu, but don’t you?”
She paused, her tone softening again.
“The proposal I mentioned is just an idea, a suggestion.
The one who actually does it is you.
I’m just giving you a direction.
Jiang Lai, think carefully about what it is she’s really expecting.”
“Okay, I understand.”
Jiang Lai bit her lip, the hesitation in her heart gradually giving way to conviction as she started to mull over her own plan.
“I’ll think about this some more, okay?”
The video call ended.
Jiang Lai sat by the bed, still clutching her phone.
On the screen, Xu Ruobing’s gentle smile had already disappeared, leaving only the dark background reflecting her own shadow.
The night wind outside the window still blew, and the curtains swayed less violently.
But the turmoil in her heart had not subsided.
Xu Ruobing’s words were like a seed, falling into her heart, slowly taking root and sprouting.
Her mind was consumed by the word “proposal.”
Jiang Lai looked at her own door and stood up from the bed.
After opening the door, she looked toward Chi Yingyu’s bedroom.
Jiang Lai had long prepared herself to be with Chi Yingyu forever.
That was what she hoped for the future.
Since that was the case, this was something she should do.