Jiang Lulian's face darkened. "Fu Yinxiu, what do you mean by this?
"It means I'm speaking with her, and I don't want anyone else to interrupt," Fu Yinxiu said coldly.
"Yutong has said she has nothing to do with you," Jiang Lulian responded. "Mr. Fu, with your status, you shouldn't be forcing things like this!"
Fu Yinxiu narrowed his eyes and asked sharply, "Is this what she told you?"
Ming Yutong was caught off guard by Jiang Lulian's statement. She hadn't told him anything about Fu Yinxiu.
When Ming Yutong didn't answer immediately, Fu Yinxiu snatched the golf club from her hand and threw it on the ground before pulling her toward the exit.
"Yutong!" Jiang Lulian shouted, trying to intervene, but Alpha Guard 1 and Alpha Guard 2 blocked his way.
Ming Yutong had no choice but to turn back and quickly say, "I'm fine, I just need to talk to him."
She didn't want Jiang Lulian to get involved.
This was her personal matter and had nothing to do with him. She also didn't want to drag him into trouble.
Ming Yutong signaled Yang Minglang not to follow them.
"This…" He Tongming looked at Yang Minglang in confusion. "Miss Ming and Mr. Fu…"
Yang Minglang, knowing the complicated relationship between Ming Yutong and Fu Yinxiu, understood it was more than a simple acquaintance.
However, he couldn't reveal too much. "Just old acquaintances," he explained calmly.
He Tongming was not so calm. He had intentionally distanced himself from "Mingri," due to the subtle hints from the "Xiuqi" side that Fu Yinxiu had some reservations about Ming Yutong.
He didn't want "Tonghe" to continue collaborating with "Mingri."
Although it was not guaranteed that "Tonghe" would be chosen if they stopped working with "Mingri," it was almost certain that "Xiuqi" would not choose them if they continued the partnership.
He Tongming regretted his decision. He was caught in a situation where the rivalry between powerful figures had dragged him into an uncomfortable position.
***
Fu Yinxiu dragged Ming Yutong out with swift strides, and she struggled to keep up behind him.
"Fu Yinxiu, don't make things difficult for Jiang Lulian. He has nothing to do with this," Ming Yutong pleaded, worried that Fu Yinxiu might take his anger out on Jiang Lulian.
Fu Yinxiu suddenly stopped, and Ming Yutong, caught off guard, collided with his back.
She grimaced, her nose stinging from the impact.
Fu Yinxiu spun around, his expression fierce as he said, "Ming Yutong, you really are something. In front of me, you plead for another man. Even though he's shared a bed with your sister, you still haven't given up on him? Is it that you like him so much?"
"Aren't you the one with the cleanliness obsession? You don't want anyone who's been touched by others, right? Even if nothing truly happened between him and Ming Silian, they've laid together, and he's been coveted by her. You still like him so much that you don't care about these things anymore?"
"You're talking nonsense! I just don't want to drag him into this!" Ming Yutong snapped, shaking off Fu Yinxiu's hand.
"Drag him in? What have you done that you're afraid he'll be dragged into?" Fu Yinxiu demanded.
If there were something truly going on between her and Jiang Lulian, Fu Yinxiu would be inclined to make trouble for him. If not, Fu Yinxiu wouldn't bother with someone irrelevant.
Ming Yutong suddenly became calm, her emotions settling into a serene composure.
She looked at Fu Yinxiu steadily and said, "I promise you, I will stay single for the rest of my life. I won't seek another man, not even for a relationship. I won't ask for any emotional connection, and I'll live alone. Will you leave me alone if I do that?"
"Is it that you think that since I was with you before, even if you no longer want me, I shouldn't be with anyone else? Am I to be discarded like garbage, left in a corner to gather dust, unworthy of being picked up by anyone, even by those who scavenge for trash?"
"I promise you, what belonged to you before will not belong to anyone else in the future. I will stay alone until the end of my life."
"Fu Yinxiu, will you let me go and allow me to have a normal life?" Ming Yutong asked seriously.
In truth, even if Fu Yinxiu never appeared again in her life, she would still hold onto this mindset.
She didn't need Fu Yinxiu to do anything for her; she had chosen to remain alone, to live out her life in solitude.
But Fu Yinxiu never believed her, always thinking she was a fickle woman.
At this moment, Ming Yutong's eyes carried an unprecedented seriousness.
"My request is simple. I just want to live like I did before, back to the days before you appeared. Let us live separate lives, as if we've never met. If you think I don't deserve love, fine, I won't pursue it."
"If you think I don't deserve a partner, fine, I won't love anyone."
"If you think I don't deserve happiness, fine, I won't seek it."
"If you think I shouldn't be with anyone else for the rest of my life, fine, I'll remain alone."
"If you think I'm cheap and fickle, fine, I'll never seek anyone out. I will live my life alone, whether it's love or marriage, I won't have any of it."