C16 The War Between the Two Women!

"I got it. I'll have Elder Ji bring you something to eat." Yizhou stepped out. Does she really dislike me that much? Then why did she marry me?

Nannan gently wiped away her tears. There's no point in crying over someone like him. Pull yourself together, Nannan, she silently told herself. She should have been prepared for this when she first got involved with him.

"Thanks." Nannan opened the snack bag. Might as well eat; there's no sense in starving herself out of spite. She'd been staying here for days, and he hadn't thought to get her anything to eat. Yet, as soon as Yu'er arrived, she got something. Clearly, there's a difference in treatment.

Elder Ji said nothing and simply left. These two, why do they have to make things so tense? Wouldn't it be better to get along?

"Yizhou, do you really have to marry her?" Yu'er looked at Yizhou. It was obvious he didn't like her, so why feel responsible? Maybe that incident was all her doing, trying to make Yizhou feel obligated. Yizhou was drunk, but that woman wasn't.

"Yeah." Yizhou nodded. He knew she wasn't pregnant, knew she was lying, but he just didn't want to call her out on it.

"But Yu'er has liked you for so long. Is this fair to me?" Yu'er suddenly became agitated. If he didn't like her, why be together? Could that woman possibly like Yizhou more than she did?

"Alright, stop it. Did you forget what my grandpa said? What's done is done. I only see you as a sister." Yizhou patiently reassured her, though his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Nannan.

He didn't even know what he was thinking. Had he fallen under Nannan's spell? What was it about her that made him so forgiving and made his grandpa so pleased with her?

"I'm not causing trouble. Can't we ask Grandpa to let us be together?" Yu'er pleaded, looking pitiful. It's not like she didn't have other options, but she didn't want anyone else but Yizhou.

"Listen, I'll go make your bed. Get some rest." Yizhou stood up. He married Nannan just to keep Yu'er at bay, so how could he possibly go along with Yu'er's plans? His kindness toward Yu'er was merely to make someone else jealous.

"Yizhou," Yu'er called out in a panic. Why was Yizhou always so indifferent to her? Just when she thought he might have feelings for her, he would douse her hopes with cold water.

"Yizhou, you're not usually like this. Why do you change when it comes to Nannan?" Elder Ji stood behind Yizhou, watching him busily.

"You're siding with her too?" Yizhou looked at Elder Ji in disbelief. Elder Ji had only met Nannan a few times, so why was he speaking up for her?

"I just think you've changed. You've never cared for any woman like this, yet you act like you can't stand her. If you don't like her, you could just get rid of her."

From his observations over the past few days, Elder Ji could see that Yizhou cared about her. Otherwise, he wouldn't remember to get her food when she hadn't eaten, or apply ointment to her burns.

"Are you saying I like her?" Yizhou looked at Elder Ji. Like Nannan? No, that couldn't be. How could he like a deceiver, someone who would stop at nothing to get close to him?

"I don't know, but you definitely treat her differently." Elder Ji was sure of this. He had known Yizhou for a long time and had some understanding of his character. If Yizhou truly disliked her, he wouldn't be so lenient time and again.

"Enough, I know what I'm doing." Yizhou frowned. Nannan did feel different to him, but it wasn't love. They were just in a mutually beneficial arrangement, nothing more.

Nannan sat by the window, drafting her designs. Thankfully, it was her left hand that was injured, so it didn't affect her work. One day, she would make sure everyone in the world wore her jewelry designs.

"Huangfu Ling bought us wedding rings and told us to pick them out. Yu'er, Elder Ji will take you home."

"Wedding rings? Didn't you say people like us don't deserve a wedding? So why the rings?" Xia Nannan mocked, finding the situation absurd. Was this some kind of joke on himself?

"Do you really think Yizhou wanted to buy them for you? It was Mr. Zheng who insisted. If you know what's good for you, you'd better ask Mr. Zheng to call off the engagement, so you won't be unwelcome when you marry in," Deng Yu'er interjected, eyeing the rings she'd longed for, now in the hands of this woman.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I thrive on challenges. The tougher, the better," Xia Nannan retorted, rolling her eyes. Wherever Deng Yu'er was, peace was hard to find. She'd hoped to avoid her, but here she was, stirring trouble.

"You... Yizhou, look at her," Deng Yu'er fumed, her frustration evident. Few could match Xia Nannan's nerve.

"Enough, just listen. Why are you getting involved in my business with her?" Zheng Yizhou snapped, exasperated. The two seemed destined to clash, never giving him a moment's peace. He was tired just listening.

"Fine, just come back once you've finished shopping," Deng Yu'er relented, not wanting to upset Zheng Yizhou further.

"Already here?" Huangfu Ling was already eating when they arrived.

"Yeah," Zheng Yizhou nodded, pulling up a chair without much ado. He was used to Huangfu Ling's antics by now.

"These two rings are the latest designs. When I saw them, they were the best-looking ones," Huangfu Ling said, presenting two boxes. Xia Nannan was taken aback by the diamonds. The wealthy certainly had a different way of doing things.

"Go ahead, pick one," Zheng Yizhou said, glancing at Xia Nannan. He'd heard she inherited her mother's knack for spotting authenticity from a young age.

"Wait a minute, do you think you've been scammed? The diamonds here look fine, but they're actually fake," Nannan said, picking up a box and examining it closely.

"Fake? Aren't they all the same?" Ling feigned ignorance, amazed that she could tell just by looking, something even experts hadn't noticed.

"They're not the same. If you don't believe me, you can have a professional appraise them," Nannan asserted confidently, having had this special ability since she was a child.