Chapter 622: 622 Different Attitudes Towards the Marriage Agreement

Chapter 622: Chapter 622 Different Attitudes Towards the Marriage Agreement

(Chapter 6)

Ouyang Feifei quickly regained her composure and replied softly, “Please enlighten me, Mr. Ling.”

“Mom, maybe I’ll go take a shower first,” Luo Ziling didn’t want to get involved in this matter, preferring to let Ling Ruonan and Ouyang Feifei discuss it themselves, so he planned to use taking a bath as an excuse to avoid the issue. “I sweated a lot today, and I smell. I might knock you out with the odor. I’m going to take a shower!” Saying that, he was ready to make his escape upstairs.

But Ling Ruonan didn’t intend to let Luo Ziling avoid the question, “You should sit down and join the discussion too. You’re involved, and we need to hear your opinion.”

This made Luo Ziling very embarrassed, but in the end, he didn’t run away and obediently sat down.

He also regretted it, thinking that if he had known what tonight would bring, he wouldn’t have come to Ling Ruonan’s place, or agreed to bring Ouyang Feifei along for the visit.

...

But he couldn’t escape, and just sat there feeling depressed.

“Mr. Ling, please feel free to speak your mind,” Ouyang Feifei said calmly.

“Initially, your grandfather and his grandfather arranged a child betrothal for you two. I was against it,” Ling Ruonan said without expression. “Because I was a victim of a family marriage alliance myself, suffered greatly from it, and certainly didn’t want my own son to follow the same path. Therefore, I told his grandfather that I disagreed with the marriage, and his grandfather accepted my request. So the first thing Ziling did after he came to the Capital was to visit your family to discuss the matter. I think both of our families can accept this, because the matter wasn’t clear, and it hadn’t spread.”

Ouyang Feifei didn’t interrupt, because she knew Ling Ruonan hadn’t finished speaking.

Luo Ziling definitely wouldn’t interrupt either.

“I know that besides me, the one who most strongly opposed this marriage agreement was you,” Ling Ruonan looked at Ouyang Feifei with a slight smile. “I understand that you definitely don’t want to accept a marriage arranged by your family. A person with your personality would want to hold their destiny in their own hands. I think, if it had been Ziling coming to propose the marriage instead of seeking its dissolution, you certainly wouldn’t have accepted. He filed for cancellation, and this hurt your self-esteem, so you changed your attitude, wishing to keep the marriage agreement, am I right? The reason is simply not willing to settle for it.”

Now Ouyang Feifei felt a bit embarrassed; she didn’t know how to reply.

But after hesitating for a moment, Ouyang Feifei eventually nodded in agreement with Ling Ruonan’s analysis. She remembered telling Luo Ziling outright a couple of days ago that she wouldn’t let the betrothal go so easily; a woman’s self-esteem wasn’t so easily trampled upon.

“Indeed, I felt that way,” Ouyang Feifei said with a bitter smile. “I trust Mr. Ling can understand, no woman wants to be disliked, especially someone with pride like me. If Ziling had come not to discuss breaking off the engagement but to formally propose, then I might have refused to accept it. It really is hard not to be resentful about how things turned out.”

After pausing, she continued, “Before Ziling came to break off the engagement, I was indeed resisting my grandfather’s arrangement, and the main reason was what Mr. Ling just said; I wanted to control my own life, not passively accept my family’s arrangements. Another thing is, I am about a year and a half older than Ziling, and I don’t want to be both wife and mother in front of my future husband. When I learned that Ziling had been separated from you since he was a child, I thought that if I really ended up with him, I might have to take on the roles of both wife and mother, or at least, take care of him like a sister. Another reason is, I want my future husband to be someone outstanding in every aspect and better than me, so that I wouldn’t have any dissatisfaction. I think Ziling, who grew up in a small mountain village and never went to school, would be lacking in many areas.”

After sharing these inner thoughts, she awkwardly smiled at Luo Ziling and then said her conclusion, “Therefore, I’ve always rejected this marriage agreement and didn’t intend to accept it. But after hearing that Ziling wanted to break off the engagement with my own ears, my self-esteem took a huge blow, leaving me extremely unwilling, even thinking of revenge. And after learning more about Ziling and seeing that he is excellent in many aspects, my thoughts changed.”

“Alright then, since you’ve been so frank, let’s not beat around the bush,” Ling Ruonan was quite satisfied with Ouyang Feifei’s candidness and, without waiting for Luo Ziling to say anything, took the lead in clarifying, “I want to know your current attitude and the purpose of your frequent interactions with Ziling.”

She then looked at Luo Ziling, “I also want to know your attitude and thoughts, because the situation is very complicated. Some things are better made clear.”

Since the conversation was now open, Ouyang Feifei had fewer concerns, and she stated her intentions directly, “I’m not insisting on continuing the marriage agreement. I’m aware that such matters can’t be forced. Even though I’m still not willing to be disliked, I’ve never thought about forcing anything. The feelings between men and women should develop naturally, not through some prearranged betrothal by the older generation. I now think Ziling is quite good in many ways and am willing to treat him as a friend. As for whether we can become lovers, that’s not something I can decide alone.”

Luo Ziling was surprised by Ouyang Feifei’s words.

A woman, to put it to this extent, isn’t the meaning clear enough?

When both women’s eyes turned to him, he suddenly didn’t know what to say.

“What about your thoughts?” Ling Ruonan finally asked directly.

“I am currently dating Yang Qingyin, and I feel very good about our relationship,” Luo Ziling eventually had to steel himself to say. “I also know that being with her will be very difficult, but I don’t want to give up. Although there are often misunderstandings between Feifei and me, I… think, we can still become pretty good friends.”

Luo Ziling actually said this, choosing Yang Qingyin over her, which greatly disappointed Ouyang Feifei. Her eyes turned somewhat angry as she looked at Luo Ziling. Luo Ziling didn’t dare meet her gaze and turned his head to avoid her eyes.

“Well, I think I understand what you’re both saying,” Ling Ruonan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and then said to Luo Ziling, “Your life requires you to make your own choices. What you’re thinking now may not be your final choice, but no matter what it is, whoever you end up with, Mom will support you and try not to interfere with your decision. I just hope that you consider everything carefully, including emotions and reality, because after all, two people are meant to be together for a lifetime. If getting together brings endless troubles, it still warrants careful consideration. I don’t want to see the tragic lessons of your father and me repeated in you!”

This statement from Ling Ruonan surprised both Ouyang Feifei and Luo Ziling once more.