Chapter 1713: Cold War
There was the sound of a splatter.
A drop of warm tear landed on the phone screen.
Xiao Ying stared at the tears that were slowly spreading across the screen, her eyes filled with disbelief.
She had actually cried for a man.
She had been trained since she was young and her heart was as hard as steel. The person who trained them had once said that men were the most heartless creatures in the world.
Women needed to learn to protect their hearts. Once they fell in love and were hurt, it would be a hundred times more painful than being physically hurt.
In the past, Xiao Ying had not believed it.
But now, she really felt it.
It was all because of what Long Ming said.
She had never known that words could hurt her more than arrows.
This was probably what it meant to hurt people without them knowing!
Xiao Ying closed her eyes, her slender body leaning against the sofa. She appeared exhausted and weak.
Actually, she understood the logic. After all, he was the King with immense power. It was impossible for him to remain indifferent in the face of public opinion and pressure from the royal family.
But why had he lied to her?
If he had said that he could not marry her or give her a status, she wouldn’t pester him.
Xiao Ying closed her eyes, her fingers pressing against her chest. She only got up from the sofa after the pain there slowly eased.
After showering, she lay on the bed in her pajamas.
She turned off all the lights in the master bedroom.
She turned sideways and stared at the moonlight outside the window.
Perhaps, it would be another woman lying here soon.
At the thought of another woman lying here, Xiao Ying’s long and thick eyelashes fluttered like injured butterfly wings.
She was not the type to be sad. No matter what happened, she would not let herself cry.
In the middle of the night, Xiao Ying heard sounds at the door. After a while, someone pushed the door open and came in.
Without turning back, Xiao Ying knew that Long Ming was back.
The man lightened his footsteps and stood by the bed to look at her for a few seconds. After seeing that she had fallen asleep, he went to the bathroom.
Xiao Ying’s mind became even clearer all of a sudden. She heard the sound of running water in the bathroom and the man’s cold and heartless words echoed in her mind.
He would never marry a woman like her!
He wanted to marry a woman of an equal status to him!
After Long Ming came out of the bathroom, he went to the princess room to take a look at Wan Bao. After a while, he returned to the bedroom.
Xiao Ying did not turn around once through it all.
In the dark space, even the slightest sound would be magnified infinitely.
He lifted the blanket and lay down beside her.
A refreshing scent wafted into her nose. The emotions that she had been able to control initially were like an uncontrollable tide, hitting her chest wave after wave, making her unable to breathe.
After Long Ming lay down, he stared at Xiao Ying’s back for a few seconds.
He had initially wanted to hold her arm, but he retracted his own arm midway.
He opened his cold eyes and looked at the ceiling above him, the pictures of her with another man appearing in his mind.
He knew that he should not think about it, and he also knew that her past was not something she could control. She had not had the most intimate relationships with those men, but his chest still felt stuffy and uncomfortable.
…
No matter how difficult or sad things were, she still had to live and work as usual.
When Xiao Ying awoke the next day, her expression was normal, and Long Ming behaved normally too.
Long Ming had already settled the procedures for Wan Bao to enter the school. After breakfast, he and Xiao Ying sent Wan Bao to school.
Wan Bao was very adaptable. She was already a pretty and soft girl, and with her lively and friendly personality, she had gained the favor of the teachers the moment she arrived at the kindergarten.
Xiao Ying and Long Ming stood at the classroom door and watched her for a while. Seeing that Wan Bao had integrated into the new environment, the two of them left happily.
Sitting in the car, Long Ming looked at Xiao Ying. “I’m going abroad to do something for the next two days. I’ve arranged for a chauffeur and bodyguard. They’ll come to fetch Wan Bao in the afternoon.”
Xiao Ying nodded, not asking him what he was going abroad for.
Long Ming did not explain further.
Xiao Ying had told Sister Wen that she would be working in the branch office for the time being. If she did nothing and stayed in the palace all day, her imagination might run wild.
Since Long Ming had not mentioned about not marrying her, she did not want to talk about it either. She had brought Wan Bao here and could not go back immediately.
She could withstand the torture, but Wan Bao coudln’t.
Ever since Long Ming returned yesterday, he had been extremely busy. He was going abroad soon and had no time to communicate with her.
“I need to go to the branch office later. You can drop me off somewhere about a hundred meters away from the company.”
Long Ming hummed softly.
Silence filled the car.
Long Ming had many documents to read while Xiao Ying stared out of the window.
The happiness from two days ago seemed like a dream to her now.
She had woken up from that dream and returned to reality.
The car stopped after a twenty-minute journey.
The driver followed Xiao Ying’s instructions and parked the car at a distance of about two hundred meters from the office building.
Xiao Ying got out of the car and glanced at Long Ming through the open window.
He was looking at the document with a cold expression. When she got out of the car, he did not look at her.
A bitter feeling appeared in Xiao Ying’s heart and she smirked in self-ridicule. She did not look at him anymore, turning around and walking toward the company.
Xiao Ying had just taken a few steps forward when the man in the car looked at her.
He only instructed the driver after she disappeared from his sight. “Drive.”
The driver noticed that there was something wrong between Long Ming and Xiao Ying, but as a servant, he did not dare to ask anything.
…
The branch company was located at the center of the CBD.
Walking into the sixty-stories-high building, Xiao Ying put on her employee pass and was about to walk toward the elevator when she saw several well-dressed socialites standing there.
One of them was… Lou Lan.
Lou Lan seemed to have recovered. She was wearing a long dress and had exquisite makeup on her face. She was listening to a few socialites.
One of the socialites was obviously trying to curry favor with Lou Lan. The topic somehow landed on Long Ming and that socialite said, “Miss Lou, we’re relieved to see you return to the socialite circle. It’s really not worth it to be sad over a vixen who’s not as good as you.”
Several other socialites chimed in. “That’s right. I saw that news. That woman really doesn’t know her place. She threw herself into the Burmese King’s arms in public. This is something a proper young lady would never do!”
These socialites were really lying through their teeth.
It was Long Ming who had pulled her into his arms that night.
“From what I see, a woman like her will never be able to enter the royal family as a Princess Consort.” The socialite who was sucking up to Lou Lan had a look of disdain on her face. She was about to say something when someone suddenly bumped into her.
…