Chapter 657: Let

Listening to Ni Man's words, Jiang Yuanliang's mind conjured up that gentle face.

Shen Jingjing, is it…

"Brother Yuanliang."

Jiang Yuanliang came back to his senses and looked at Ni Man, only to hear her hesitate for a moment before saying, "It's been a month since we last met, hasn't it?"

Jiang Yuanliang nodded. The group was extremely busy at the end of the year; he hadn't even managed to find the time for the opening of Ni Man's brand store, only sending an opening gift and a flower basket with his assistant.

Ni Man was very understanding of this. Jiangdong Group was the leading conglomerate in all of China, and she had long known that Jiang Yuanliang was busy.

"That's right," Jiang Yuanliang said. "The New Year is almost here, and my old man wants to have a lively time at home, which is why I said I'd come to pick you up. Let's go have a meal at the old man's place today."

Ni Man looked at Jiang Yuanliang, actually feeling slightly dazed.

He was truly very charming, extremely handsome, and his capabilities were outstanding. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was the most perfect man she had ever met in her life.

But he was too perfect, making her often feel dazed, as if she had never for a moment truly felt he belonged to her.

Even though the distance between the two of them was less than half a meter right now, that sense of distance—so near yet so far—still remained.

"Brother Yuanliang, I have something I want to tell you." Ni Man pulled herself out of her emotions, trying her best to remain calm. "Actually, I wanted to tell you over the phone just now, but later I felt it would be more formal to say it in person."

Jiang Yuanliang looked at her, waiting for her to speak.

Ni Man paused. In truth, she had long since made up her mind and reached a decision, but it was still not easy when it came to saying it out loud.

She pursed her lips and finally said softly, "I think we should break up."

A trace of reluctance slid through her heart as these words landed.

But it vanished in an instant. Ni Man looked up, smiled, and repeated it again: "I think we should break up."

Jiang Yuanliang's expression didn't show any particularly large emotional fluctuations; he still looked at Ni Man quietly. He knew Ni Man hadn't finished speaking.

"Actually, from the beginning, I knew you chose me to give Uncle Jiang an answer. You were willing to date me probably because you felt I was a person without desires or demands, a suitable object for marriage?"

"You probably don't truly like me, but I am also very grateful for the care and responsibility you've shown me during this time. At the very beginning, I would be happy for a whole day just receiving a message from you."

"I thought I was like this because I liked you, but later I discovered it wasn't. It was because I was too empty—a void in my soul. So, after being with you, you occupied the majority of my life. I had no work and almost no social life; my life, aside from some daily routines, was only you. That is why I was like that."

"Of course, I still like you, but my liking for you is the liking of admiring the strong. I am looking up to you; I worship you!"

"But until I started to pull myself together and began a new career after regrouping, the various emotional feedback I received from you before gradually decreased. My life's focus began to tilt toward myself, and when it tilted completely, I felt I had found my self."

"I don't think I will marry you. I still have my own things to do. I remembered my original intention for studying design; I want to realize my own ideals."

"So, Brother Yuanliang, let's break up!"

She said the last sentence with relief and firmness.

After hearing Ni Man's words, Jiang Yuanliang's first reaction was actually a sense of relief.

Because Ni Man was right; he didn't seem to have that kind of liking between a man and a woman for Ni Man, he just felt it was suitable and so they were together.

Thinking about it now, this was truly unfair to Ni Man.

"I'm sorry. I think I should feel guilty toward you." Facing Ni Man's candor, Jiang Yuanliang didn't pretend to be profound either.

Ni Man still smiled and shook her head gently. "Actually, there's no need, because I was also willing at the beginning. It's just that now I am no longer willing. Everything was my own choice."

"Sister Man, a customer is looking for you." At this moment, a shop assistant walked to the door and said in a low voice, subconsciously taking a look at the man in front of Ni Man while speaking.

Who is this person?

Jiang Yuanliang?

Ni Man nodded, then said to Jiang Yuanliang, "So, I'll have to trouble you today, having to face Uncle Jiang's interrogation alone again."

Jiang Yuanliang smiled. "I'm used to it. Then, you go ahead and get busy? If you encounter any problems in the future, you can still come to me at any time, okay?"

Ni Man didn't refuse, but just as they were about to part ways, she suddenly looked at Jiang Yuanliang and asked, "Brother Yuanliang, have you ever liked a woman?"

Jiang Yuanliang was stunned. A face subconsciously surfaced in his mind.

Ni Man, however, smiled and shook her head. "I don't mean anything else. I'm just curious, if Uncle Jiang didn't urge you, were you planning to never get married for the rest of your life? In two more years, you'll be forty. If there is someone you like, seize the opportunity. If the person being pursued is you, I don't think anyone could resist."

Leaving behind these words, Ni Man turned and entered the shop.

Jiang Yuanliang paused for a moment, then also turned and left.

"Qingyu Villa," Jiang Residence.

As soon as Jiang Yuanliang arrived, the old butler, Uncle Feng, came out to greet him. "Second Master, you're back."

Uncle Feng even peered into the backseat, asking in confusion, "Where is Miss Ni?"

"She didn't come," Jiang Yuanliang replied, then asked, "Where is the old man?"

"He's in the living room drinking tea. The Eldest Master and Third Master are there too."

Entering the living room, an old antique phonograph was playing "Yuju Opera excerpts," which no one in the Jiang family understood except for the old man.

"Brother, you're back!"

When Jiang Yuanyu, the third son of the Jiang family, saw Jiang Yuanliang walk in, he was the first to greet him, blurting out the same question as Uncle Feng: "Eh? Where is Sister Ni Man?"

Jiang Yuanliang glanced at him and retorted, "Where is your new girlfriend?"

Jiang Yuanyu deflated, instantly left speechless.

On the sofa, the eldest brother, Jiang Yuanmao, was massaging the old man's legs. Seeing his younger brother arrive, he greeted him, "Sit for a while first. We'll start dinner once your sister-in-law and Jiang Cheng arrive."

Jiang Yuanliang nodded, walked to the sofa, sat down, and looked at the old man. Before he could speak, the old man preemptively said, "Not bringing her back again? Don't tell me you and Ni Man have broken up again?"

The old man was eighty this year, wearing a crisp and clean Zhongshan suit. Although he was old, the majestic aura from his early years of fighting in the business world and single-handedly lifting Jiangdong Group to become China's leading conglomerate still remained.

Everyone in the family was afraid of him.

Except for Jiang Yuanliang.

However, the old man was getting on in years, and Jiang Yuanliang didn't want him to get angry and hurt his health, so most of the time he went along with him. Under the old man's urging, he had also tried to get to know several women; Ni Man was the one who had lasted the longest.

Jiang Yuanliang answered irrelevantly, looking at his eldest brother's action of massaging the old man's legs, and gave a piece of advice: "Dad, you should move around more in your daily life. Only by moving can your body stay active and robust."

As a result, the old man sneered at him: "Damn it, it's already good enough that I can wake up at this age, and you're still asking me to move around?"

?? Babies, the last two days of the month are for double monthly tickets. One vote counts as two. Babies who still have monthly tickets, remember to cast them. Once the last day ends, the monthly tickets will be cleared, don't waste them. ===== CHAPTER 658 =====