Chapter 184: Dream

Chapter 184: Chapter 184: Dream

"Ah? Uh... it’s fine. It’s no problem if you wear my clothes out."

With that, Jiang Fan pulled open the door and fled the room.

Standing on the balcony in the cool night breeze, the restless heat inside him finally subsided, and his mind cleared.

"What the hell was that all about?!"

Jiang Fan couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

He felt like slapping himself.

Yin Ruxue, having gotten dressed, walked over slowly.

"Still sleepy?"

Hearing her question, Jiang Fan shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Sleepy? I’m wide awake now."

"Uh, I’m really sorry, I..."

Jiang Fan opened his mouth, still wanting to apologize to her.

"No need to apologize. We’re both adults. We should all face the consequences of our own actions."

"Since we can’t sleep, why don’t we talk for a bit?"

"Sure."

Jiang Fan naturally had no objections.

They brought a small table out into the courtyard and brewed a pot of tea.

They looked up at the bright moon and the vast, starry sky.

After a long silence, Yin Ruxue finally spoke. "Do you have any dreams?"

"Dreams? My childhood dream was to protect the orphanage, to protect the kids there."

"I wanted it so the old director and his wife wouldn’t have to work so hard."

"But it wasn’t until I grew up that I realized just surviving in this shitty society is hard enough. How could an ordinary person have the power to do all that?"

"So I was always just scraping by at the bottom of society. Honestly, if I hadn’t met you, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today."

"I’d still be a food delivery guy. Well, maybe not. I might have switched to delivering packages."

Jiang Fan said, mocking himself.

"I actually saw you back then, when you saved that little girl."

"I wouldn’t have sought you out otherwise. In the end, it was your own character that helped you."

Yin Ruxue’s voice grew distant. "When I was little, I didn’t want to think about anything. I just wanted to grow up happily by my parents’ side."

"My sister would take care of me, and my brother-in-law was very good to me, too."

"But after... that incident, Mengmeng became my responsibility."

"I don’t want her to have a bad life. I want to give her the best, to do everything in my power to give her everything I can, just like my sister did for me when I was little."

"That’s why I worked myself to death, why I tried so desperately hard."

"But later I discovered that, in my grandfather’s eyes, none of that work or effort was ever worth mentioning."

"All he ever thought about was how to marry me off to solidify the family’s interests. Who I married or whether I’d be happy wasn’t important at all."

"The family was what mattered."

"If you don’t even care about your own granddaughter’s feelings, then what’s the point of living?"

"Isn’t a lifetime about living for family? For friendship? For love?"

Jiang Fan felt nothing but contempt for such a mentality and scoffed at the very idea.

"It’s laughable, isn’t it? But many large families are like this."

"It wasn’t until I founded Xuerong and achieved some success that I finally had a little bit of a say in front of him."

"To be blunt, working day and night like a madwoman was all just to change my own destiny."

"If a person can’t hold their own destiny in their hands, then they might as well be dead."

Yin Ruxue suddenly turned her head to look at him.

Jiang Fan looked at her, unsure for a moment how to comfort her.

He had always assumed that a strong, successful female CEO like Yin Ruxue must live a happy life. After all, she was rich and beautiful.

But he never expected the pressure and complications behind the scenes to be so immense.

"Some things are easier said than done. We talk a big game—all about freedom, distant horizons, and being brave."

"But how many people are actually trapped by their lives, imprisoned in this cage?"

Jiang Fan sighed, thinking of himself.

"Actually, it’s both difficult and not so difficult."

"Wasn’t there a popular saying online a while back? ’When in doubt, ask the spring breeze. If the breeze is silent, follow your heart.’"

"Before you do anything, ask yourself if it’s worth it, if you should do it, and if it goes against your conscience."

"As long as you can do that, it’s enough," Yin Ruxue said as she stood up.

"Maybe. Perhaps you’re right. But what I want to say is, the most important thing is to live in the moment."

"Being able to live your life well right now is what’s most important. The past is over. The future hasn’t happened yet, so we can still change it."

"As long as we live well in the present, there’s a good chance the future will unfold the way we imagine." ℴ

Jiang Fan picked up the teapot and refilled her cup.

"We don’t have to be as carefree and spontaneous as other people, but being able to follow those four words I just mentioned is more than enough."

"Being able to live in the moment means you won’t regret any of the decisions you’ve made."

"It’s like when I first came to this city, or like all the other choices I’ve made."

"Even though I was angry, I never regretted it. I was willing to spend that money."

"You could say it was a way of giving my past self some closure."

Yin Ruxue suddenly broke into a smile. "You’re right. Live in the moment. But how many people can actually do that?"

"Even I can’t do it right now. I have to consider the future of Xuerong, consider my own development, consider Mengmeng..."

"There’s still a long road ahead."

"What you talked about earlier were your childhood dreams. What about now?"

"People change, you know."

Yin Ruxue looked at him with keen interest.

"Why are you so interested in me?"

Jiang Fan let out a laugh.

"Come on, tell me. There’s no one else around and nothing else to do. Just think of it as a heart-to-heart between friends."

"Not having to worry about money, not being woken up by an alarm clock, finding someone who loves me and whom I love, and just living an ordinary, simple life."

"Actually, I really crave the peace and quiet of a small city."

"Even if people would call me unambitious, lacking drive, or good-for-nothing for it, this is genuinely the life I want. I want the feeling of a home."

"Like what you have with Yanzi now?"

This sentence made Jiang Fan freeze on the spot, lost in thought.

"Maybe. Or maybe not."