Compatibility - Chapter 64

Chapter 64

After Luo Ning left, Liu Zhaoran did not go inside right away. She sprayed some freshener on herself at the door before pushing the door open and stepping in.

Unlike what she had expected, the living room was very quiet today. Although the lights were all on and the familiar person was sitting on the sofa, the television was not playing the drama Song Nanyin usually loved to watch. She just sat there, so silent she almost merged with the room.

"Why aren't you watching your drama? Were you waiting to watch it with me?" Liu Zhaoran took off her shoes and sat down beside Song Nanyin with a smile. Only then did she notice that Song Nanyin's face was expressionless. There was none of the subdued joy she usually showed when Liu Zhaoran came home, and no complaints either. She was so calm it was almost abnormal.

"This is the contract we signed before. You said that if either party wanted to end it, the contract could be terminated at any time. Now I think it's time to end it."

Song Nanyin did not acknowledge Liu Zhaoran. She turned, picked up the contract that had been set aside, and placed it on the table. A termination date had already been written at the signature line, and Song Nanyin had signed her name.

The unexpected turn of events caught Liu Zhaoran off guard. She froze for a moment, then frowned and pushed the contract away.

"What's wrong with you? Why do you suddenly want to cancel the contract?" Liu Zhaoran was puzzled, and understood even less why Song Nanyin would suddenly make such a request. After her question, Song Nanyin smiled instead. It was her first smile that night, and it made Liu Zhaoran uneasy.

"I just saw it from upstairs. The one who sent you home was the business partner, right? He must like you a lot, right?" Song Nanyin said softly, her tone carrying a calmness she herself could never have imagined.

All living things have their own systems for dispelling sorrow and pain, and human beings are often good at laying those negative emotions out in the open, as if doing so would keep the same wound from being stabbed again and again, inflicting the same hurt countless times.

Song Nanyin had sensed it. Ever since Luo Ning came to WCRR for the cooperation, Liu Zhaoran had become a little strange. She spent less time at home and, correspondingly, more and more time working. Every night when she came back, she always carried the same perfume scent.

At first, Song Nanyin told herself that Liu Zhaoran really was busy with work; she had seen with her own eyes how busy she was at the company. But the unease in her heart did not diminish because of that. Instead, it was like a bottomless abyss. No matter how much was thrown in, it never showed any sign of being filled.

Would Liu Zhaoran come to like Luo Ning? What was their relationship? And what would become of her and Liu Zhaoran?

On sleepless nights, Song Nanyin would think about these questions and drift off to sleep amid restless doubts, her dreams filled with images of Liu Zhaoran leaving. In the afternoon, Song Nanyin fell asleep and sank into a dream that was not very long.

In the dream, Liu Zhaoran revealed her secret to everyone. Like the strangers on the street who had no connection to her, Liu Zhaoran accused her, calling her a monster, an intersex person. Then, just as in the endings of so many of her dreams, she left with Luo Ning.

Song Nanyin woke up crying. For a long time after waking, she still remembered how wronged and how miserable she had been in the dream. She lay in Liu Zhaoran's home, but in this home, she was the only one.

So, merely liking someone was enough to make herself this miserable?

That thought was confirmed when she saw the scene just now.

Song Nanyin had guessed it long ago; she was only missing that final shred of certainty. She should be grateful she had seen it, or else she would not have been able to issue herself an eviction notice ahead of time.

It was time to end everything. Whether it was her feelings or this absurd relationship between her and Liu Zhaoran, it all had to stop here.

"Nanyin, if this is about Luo Ning, I can explain." The smile faded from Liu Zhaoran's face, and she turned serious. She could tell that Song Nanyin's talk of leaving was absolutely not a casual joke; she really wanted to go.

If Song Nanyin had lost her temper or scolded her, Liu Zhaoran would not have felt so panicked. It was precisely because Song Nanyin's behavior was the exact opposite that Liu Zhaoran was most afraid. If a person had lost all emotion toward you, it meant they truly no longer cared.

Often, calmness was harder to bear than anger. The latter was disappointment; the former was despair.

"I do know Luo Ning. We used to be together for two years, and later we split up for some reasons. He did come back this time intending to get back together with me, but I have no intention whatsoever of getting back together. I joined this cooperation only because the Dis Family has something I need."

Liu Zhaoran confessed half of it, but she also chose to conceal the rest. This was not the right atmosphere for a complete confession. She could not yet tell Song Nanyin that she herself was an Omega, let alone mention the other world and the ABO human species.

Liu Zhaoran thought she had explained herself very clearly, but after Song Nanyin heard everything, her emotions still showed no fluctuation. She was used to seeing Song Nanyin wear all her emotions on her face; this was also the first time she had seen her like this.

For no reason at all, Liu Zhaoran could not help feeling flustered. She knew she should calm down now, but her emotions had become a thread held in Song Nanyin's hand, and the other woman could easily pluck at her feelings.

Only at this moment did Liu Zhaoran realize that her regard for Song Nanyin was far, far greater than she had imagined.

"So? You explain all this to me. What are you trying to say?" Song Nanyin looked at the helplessness in Liu Zhaoran's eyes, and a trace of gratification unexpectedly rose in her heart. If she remembered correctly, this was the first time she had seen Liu Zhaoran so flustered. What a pity it had to be at a time like this.

"Nanyin, I'm explaining all this because I like you. That's why I can't bear to let you be sad because of my mistake, and I don't want you to harbor bad thoughts about me. You... you should be able to tell that I care about you."

At this point, Liu Zhaoran no longer intended to hide anything; or rather, her greatest bargaining chip was honesty. If before she had still wanted to try to keep the relationship on an even keel, then Song Nanyin was the boulder that crashed into the lake of her heart, thoroughly ruining Liu Zhaoran's original plan.

She had never had much patience for Luo Ning anyway. If Song Nanyin truly minded, Liu Zhaoran would consider withdrawing from this cooperation plan.

"Care? Like? You're only willing to say these things now? You knew long ago that I liked you, didn't you." Song Nanyin looked at Liu Zhaoran, the smile on her face growing instead of fading.

She had gotten what she wished for, hearing Liu Zhaoran's true feelings, but she had not expected it to happen at a time like this.

"Nanyin, I..."

"What? What excuse are you looking for to fob me off again?"

"Liu Zhaoran, I may not have the scheming mind to figure these things out, but that doesn't mean I'm a fool you can toy with as you please. You knew perfectly well that I liked you. You just watched me care about you that much, letting me waver between hope and fear. Did you find it amusing to watch me like that?"

Song Nanyin laughed, but her eyes flushed hot and red. She did not want to interpret Liu Zhaoran with such malicious thoughts, but now this woman kept saying over and over that she cared about her and liked her, and Song Nanyin could not help but think that way.

"Nanyin, I never had such thoughts, and I have never intended to toy with your feelings. It is true that Luo Ning's appearance made me think carefully about our relationship."

"If it had been anyone else, I would have given them up without hesitation and chosen Luo Ning. But when that person became you, I found that making the choice to give you up was far more difficult than I had imagined."

Liu Zhaoran had not expected Song Nanyin to think of her this way, and it only made her more certain that she had to say these words. There was no need for her to hide her feelings, and she did not want Song Nanyin to picture her as that kind of contemptible person.

Liu Zhaoran was selfish and self-centered. She had always believed that no matter the circumstances, she would put herself first. She wanted to return to the world she came from, find her family, and reclaim everything she ought to have had.

She had always assumed that Song Nanyin's presence was just a seasoning in her life. She enjoyed the time she spent with Song Nanyin and believed that when she no longer needed this seasoning, she could toss it away with ease.

Liu Zhaoran believed she had always been chasing the things she desired most: power, status, money, and a way home. But now she realized that because of these distant things, she had instead overlooked the most important presence at her side.

She liked Song Nanyin, liked her so much that she could not bear to throw her away, could not bear to hurt her. Even Liu Zhaoran herself was astonished. She was only an ordinary person; how could she possibly calculate even her own feelings into a plan...

Liu Zhaoran hung her head, stubbornly tugging at Song Nanyin's sleeve, as if letting go now meant she would never get Song Nanyin back. The house was so still it felt hollow; even the sound of water drops falling from the eaves was unusually clear.

Without any warning, a light drizzle began to fall, and the pedestrians still strolling on the road quickened their steps one after another. Dodging, escaping: these were people's first reactions when faced with discomfort.

"Liu Zhaoran, I'm tired. I've been exhausted this whole time. We need to calm down." Song Nanyin took the initiative to end this conversation that could hardly be called a quarrel. She yielded a step, and Liu Zhaoran, who would not press her, let go of her sleeve.

"Then... let's get some rest." Liu Zhaoran said softly, but Song Nanyin shook her head and set the contract in her hand aside.

"I'll sleep in the guest room. Good night." Song Nanyin gave Liu Zhaoran no chance to persuade her to stay. She went straight upstairs and closed the door. Watching how she could not wait to escape, Liu Zhaoran sat down on the sofa, drained of strength, propping up her faintly aching head with her hand.

That night, Liu Zhaoran did not sleep well at all. It was not until near dawn that she slowly fell asleep to the sound of the rain outside, but less than two hours later, the alarm on her phone woke her.

Liu Zhaoran got up rubbing her aching head. No matter how awful she felt, she still had to get up and go to work, a helplessness most people shared.

"Nanyin, what do you want for breakfast?" After washing up, Liu Zhaoran walked to Song Nanyin's door and knocked softly. The room was very quiet; no sound came from within. Liu Zhaoran's heart sank, and she pushed the door straight open.

The window in the room was open. The rain that had blown in from outside soaked the gauze curtain, which rose and fell with the wind. No one was on the bed, and the quilt and pillow were neatly folded. A few wet marks dotted the edge of the bedsheet, like traces left after the rain had done its mischief.

Song Nanyin was gone. Liu Zhaoran stood frozen for a moment, then immediately ran to the walk-in closet. She opened the wardrobe. Sure enough, everything inside that belonged to Song Nanyin had been cleared out, and the suitcase she had brought with her was gone as well. In the shoe cabinet, only her own shoes remained.

Liu Zhaoran stared helplessly at the home that had suddenly become empty. As if remembering something, she hurried upstairs. She was so anxious that she stumbled, and her knee slammed heavily into the stairs. Ignoring the pain, Liu Zhaoran went into the room, took out her phone, and dialed Song Nanyin's number.

The ringing tone went on for a while, and the hope in Liu Zhaoran's eyes gradually died out. Unconsciously, she clenched her hand, her nails pressing round marks into her palm. A few brief seconds felt to Liu Zhaoran as long as more than ten minutes.

Just as she was about to give up, the other side finally answered. As if all her strength had suddenly been drained away, Liu Zhaoran slowly sank to her knees.

"Nanyin, it's me. You... why did you leave?" Liu Zhaoran was rarely this careful. She asked softly, afraid of hearing from Song Nanyin the answer she least wanted to accept.

"The contract is terminated. There's no need for me to keep living at your place."

"But... you said you would give us both time to cool down. Nanyin, I..."

Liu Zhaoran still wanted to say more, but there was no sound on the other end of the line, and then came a string of busy tones.

The call was cut off.

Liu Zhaoran stared at the darkened screen and finally tasted what it was like to reap what she had sown.

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