Chapter 292: We Part Here

After the restaurant owner's explanation, the two young lovers finally understood that everything that just happened had been arranged by Mr. Xiao.

The two were shocked for a long while before they came to their senses, and then their faces turned pale.

Without even asking, they both knew that the lavish decorations would be an astronomical sum for them.

Seeing the couple so frightened, the restaurant owner quickly added, "Mr. Xiao said it's all a blessing for you two, you don't need to pay, and this Proposal Ring is also a gift for you."

The young couple was shocked again.

After a pause, the girl picked up the delicate Diamond Ring and said, "Owner… this ring is too valuable, we really can't accept it. Could we ask you to return it to Mr. Xiao?"

The restaurant owner shook his head, "I can't, because I actually don't know Mr. Xiao and have no way to contact him. He came to me himself, asking me to set up a proposal scene…"

He sighed, "Honestly, he originally planned to propose to his girlfriend, but… something went wrong. Since Mr. Xiao gave all this to you two, just keep it. Live together happily in the future, and you won't be wasting Mr. Xiao's goodwill."

At the owner's urging, the couple finally accepted.

Soon it was past two o'clock in the morning.

Su Qinglan's attempts to persuade Ye Zhiqiu ultimately failed, and she could only helplessly agree to the couple's divorce.

The two went to Ning Jinli's bedroom and knocked on the door.

"Xiao Li, are you asleep?"

After a moment, the door opened.

Ning Jinli stared at a pair of blood‑shot eyes, "I haven't slept yet."

Su Qinglan said, "Are you hungry? Your mother said she wants to eat the noodles I made; shall I make a little for both of you? Stay here tonight; if you're okay, you can stay a few more days."

Ye Zhiqiu asked, "Daughter, when I called you earlier you said you were going on a date with Qidi, you two—"

Before he could finish, Ning Jinli's face suddenly went rigid.

This reaction startled Ye Zhiqiu and Su Qinglan, who hurriedly asked what was wrong.

Ning Jinli instinctively reached into her pocket, then remembered her phone was left in the car, and immediately asked, "What time is it now?"

Ye Zhiqiu looked at his phone, "It's 2:18, daughter. What's the matter?"

"I forgot about the date… I'm going to find him now! You two don't have to wait for me!" Ning Jinli said, turning and running.

——

It takes about thirty to forty minutes by car from Su Qinglan's Home to the Riverbank Restaurant where Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli had arranged to meet.

When Ning Jinli drove there, it was already three o'clock in the morning.

The night sky was as black as ink, thunder rumbled, and heavy rain fell.

Along the riverside promenade and the commercial street there wasn't a single soul, only rows of streetlights and neon signs still lit.

Ning Jinli stopped her car at the entrance of the Riverbank Restaurant, hurried out, and stood dazed in front of the tightly shut doors, letting the rain soak her.

She had originally planned to use her special ability, combined with her sensing link to Xiao Qidi, to open a Spacetime Portal and come directly, but she found she couldn't sense anything this time.

So she had to drive; along the way she called Xiao Qidi, but his phone was off.

Swish—

A bolt of lightning tore through the night.

It illuminated Ning Jinli's rain‑drenched face, making it look even paler.

Originally this meeting was not only her agreeing to Xiao Qidi's date, but also their first official date.

But she arrived late.

Although delayed by a series of mishaps, at this moment her heart was full of self‑blame.

What made her feel worse and uneasy was that she could not reach Xiao Qidi, and for the first time she couldn't even sense him.

Boom!

The thunder cracked.

Ning Jinli stood blankly, unmoving.

The rain kept getting heavier.

Suddenly a tall figure hurried up, and an umbrella appeared over her head.

She froze for a moment, then slowly turned around.

When she saw Xiao Qidi's familiar face, tears instantly welled up, "Qidi… I'm sorry, I… I'm late…"

Xiao Qidi was somewhat angry.

He had given the decorations he prepared for his own proposal, as well as the Proposal Ring, to that young couple, and after seeing Ning Jinli rush in, he had watched silently from a distance—these were signs of his anger.

However, he still couldn't bear to leave Ning Jinli standing in the rain, so he stepped out of the shadows, grabbed her firmly, and whispered, "It's okay, I'm not still… you came to the appointment, so it's not late."

Ning Jinli intended to explain right away, but he forgave her without asking any reason, and she burst into uncontrollable sobbing.

She truly thought she was about to lose Xiao Qidi.

"Alright… stop crying." Xiao Qidi, who wasn't much of a comforter, could only gently coax, holding Ning Jinli and stroking her trembling back.

The more he was considerate and gentle, the more Ning Jinli couldn't hold back, and even if she tried to say something, only cries came out.

Xiao Qidi stayed with her like that.

It wasn't until several minutes later that she barely managed to stop.

"Not crying anymore?" Xiao Qidi said with a smile, wiping her tears.

Ning Jinli's eyes were red and swollen, she pressed her lips together, gave a soft hum, then buried her head into his chest.

Xiao Qidi ran his hand through her damp hair, his heart stirred, and said, "Jinli, we… shall marry."

Ning Jinli's body trembled, and she looked up and asked, "What did you say?"

Xiao Qidi looked into her eyes, saying word for word, "Let's get married, I've wanted to marry you all along."

"You… are proposing to me?" Ning Jinli's eyes widened.

Xiao Qidi nodded, "Yes, I'm proposing to you."

Ning Jingli's face went blank.

In the second before receiving that answer, she felt a massive warm current envelop her whole body, then that warmth surged straight to her heart, merging with the excitement bubbling inside, giving her an unprecedented sense of happiness.

But in the next second, an invisible pressure laced with inexplicable fear crashed down from above like a mountain wave.

Because she quickly thought of her parents' situation.

Her parents' marital breakup struck her perception of love and marriage hard.

So even two people who love each other… could still divorce.

That made her collapse.

After the collapse of her understanding, what followed was an indescribable fear.

"Jinli?" Xiao Qidi called out when he saw her staring blankly.

Ning Jingli shivered, forced the chaotic thoughts battling in her mind down, forced a smile and said, "I… I'm not ready yet."

Xiao Qidi's pupils flickered; that answer surprised him.

All this time, it wasn't his imagination; he truly felt that not only had he decided on Ning Jingli, but Ning Jingli had likewise decided on him.

But…

Why does he now get such an uncertain answer?

What does "not ready yet" mean?

Xiao Qidi's heart suddenly stabbed, he bit his molars and asked, "What does 'not ready' mean?"

Ning Jingli's heart was a tangled mess, her eyes looked elsewhere, she also felt Xiao Qidi's pressure, and in haste tried a joke to ease the mood, saying, "There's no way you'd propose like this, without any preparation, huh."

At any other time, that joke wouldn't have any problem.

But tonight, after Xiao Qidi had prepared everything yet she didn't arrive in time…

Xiao Qidi's pupils involuntarily narrowed, his heart grew more suffocating, as if a breath blocked his chest and stuck in his throat.

After two seconds of silence, his thin lips quivered, and he painfully forced out a few uncontrolled, angry words through his teeth, "You don't want to marry me, right?"

"Ah? I…" Ning Jingli for a moment didn't know how to answer.

Xiao Qidi's eyes lost their light, turning dark and boundless, "Fine, I understand."

As the words fell, he released his hand that had been holding Ning Jingli.

Ning Jingli hurriedly grabbed his arm, "Qidi, that's not what I meant, I…"

"What does that mean?" Xiao Qidi's gaze turned cold, he struggled to suppress the discomfort rising from deep in his heart.

Ning Jingli lowered her head slightly, "I just… just need some time, to think things over properly. I'm… so confused now, I haven't figured it out, I need to calm down."

Xiao Qidi felt as if he couldn't catch his breath.

He clearly wanted to hold her again, yet his mouth coldly said, "Fine, take your time to think, to calm down."

After saying that, he brushed aside Ning Jingli's hand, handed her an umbrella, then turned and left.

"Qidi!" Ning Jingli shouted, "You… you stop!"

Xiao Qidi's steps faltered briefly, but he kept walking forward.

Ning Jingli tried to chase after him, but for a moment she hesitated uncontrollably, her legs refusing to move, as if filled with lead and nailed to the spot.

"Xiao Qidi!" tears burst from her eyes, "You must not leave! Stop!"

Xiao Qidi covered his chest, turned his face slightly, his tone even colder, "I won't stop, I will go, so what?"

Ning Jingli's heart was torn like a knife, she cried out angrily, "Fine… fine! You leave! If you leave, don't ever come back! I never want to see you again!"

Xiao Qidi, also heated, gritted his teeth, "As you wish! I won't come back, and you don't go to my side either! We part here!"

Swish!

A harsh, blinding white lightning streaked across the night, as if tearing a massive crack between them.

A few seconds later, a deafening thunder roared.

All the surrounding streetlights short-circuited, flickering and dimming.

When the lights returned to normal, Xiao Qidi's figure had vanished…

Ning Jingli stood in place until dawn.

The heavy rain only stopped at daybreak.

She didn't stop crying until dawn.

Then she drove back to the city, bought clean clothes at a boutique, checked into a hotel room, showered like nothing happened, and crawled into the blankets to sleep.

In the afternoon, she woke up, sat on the bed for a long, long time, her pillow soaked with tears, as if just lifted from water.

"Huh… it's okay… nothing big…"

Ning Jingli muttered to herself, gathered her scattered thoughts, got out of bed, changed into the newly bought clothes, and left the hotel.

When she returned to Su Qinglan's home, Su Qinglan and Ye Zhiqiu didn't even notice anything unusual on her face.

"Daughter, how was your date with Qidi?" Ye Zhiqiu asked closely, "That boy should have adjusted to life here by now, right? Whenever he's free, invite him over so we can all get together."

Ning Jingli smiled faintly and simply said, "We broke up."

Clang!

Su Qinglan, carrying a plate of fruit, almost slipped, scattering the fruit and plate everywhere.

"Broke up?!" Ye Zhiqiu and Su Qinglan exclaimed in unison.

Su Qinglan still didn't know Xiao Qidi's true identity, but from earlier casual chats with Ye Zhiqiu and Ning Shan, she learned that both were very pleased with Xiao Qidi. She trusted their judgment, so she directly considered Xiao Qidi as the future son-in-law of the Ning family.

Who would have thought such a situation would suddenly burst from Ning Jingli's mouth.

"No… Xiao Li! Didn't you two go on a date last night?" Su Qinglan hurriedly sat beside Ning Jingli, took her hand, "Did you two have a fight?"

Ning Jingli shook her head, "No date, we just broke up."

Ye Zhiqiu was stunned for a good while, "What on earth is going on? You two haven't been doing fine all along?"

Ning Jinli looked into Ye Zhiqiu's eyes, saying word by word, "Mom, you and Dad also want a divorce, don't you?"

Ye Zhiqiu's face flushed with embarrassment, speechless.

Su Qinglan glared at Ye Zhiqiu angrily, "Look! Look! Look! You two as a couple really set a good example! You…"

Ning Jinli suddenly grinned, one arm around Su Qinglan's neck, the other hooked on Ye Zhiqiu's shoulder, "Godmother, things are unpredictable, it's fine— as the saying goes, the moon has its wax and wane, people have joy and sorrow, parting and reunion… uh, you're single, my mom is single, I'll be single too from now on, the three of us can stay single for life, isn't that great?"

Ye Zhiqiu nodded, "Mm, that makes sense."

"What a load of bullshit reason!" Su Qinglan rarely swore, "Zhiqiu! Xiao Li! You two mother‑daughter…… oh dear…… you're making me furious, my heart……"

Ye Zhiqiu and Ning Jinli jumped in shock, one patted her chest, the other looked for emergency medicine.

After a lot of fuss, they finally managed to calm Su Qinglan down.

"Godmother……" Ning Jinli held her hand, speaking carefully, "I know you've always cared deeply for me, doing everything for my own good, but…… even if I break up with someone, even if I have no partner, I can still live well on my own, and I can still get together with you, my mom, and my dad from time to time— it doesn't affect our lives."

Ye Zhiqiu also soothed, "Qing Lan Jie, to put it bluntly, your marriage brought you disaster; as for me and Old Ning…… no matter how loving we used to be, we've also chosen to part ways. So…… Xiao Li's breakup, even if she never marries afterward, isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Su Qinglan let out a long sigh, "Ah…… you all have your reasons, I won't force it. Besides, you two mother‑daughter share the same temperament—I've figured it out, I simply can't out‑stubborn you."

Ning Jinli stood up, waving her hand, "I declare, to celebrate my regained freedom and to celebrate my parents' amicable divorce, the three of us will go on a shopping spree at the mall for the next three days—I'll foot the bill!"

Su Qinglan and Ye Zhiqiu exchanged a glance, then both rose and said:

"Fine, fine, fine, as long as you're happy, we'll accompany you."

"Since our daughter's footing the bill, Qing Lan Jie, let's not stand on ceremony—I've had my eye on a new handbag for a while."

Ning Jinli cheerfully ran toward the door, indicating she would drive.

After Ning Jinli left the room, Su Qinglan and Ye Zhiqiu's expressions grew much more solemn.

"Zhiqiu, Xiao Li looks like this…… nothing will happen, right?"