I Swear I Don’t Want to Be Everyone’s Favorite - Chapter 56

Ning Fuguang’s goodnight kiss seemed to have sparked some inspiration in the others. Over the next few days, Jiang Luoyue had almost no free time.

Whenever she was alone, someone would inevitably embrace her or hold her hand. Some even went as far as invoking the tradition of cheek-kissing, greeting her by planting a kiss on her cheek the moment they met.

If the first time Ning Fuguang kissed her cheek had stirred a few ripples in Jiang Luoyue’s heart, by the second and third time, all traces of romantic sentiment had vanished. Her mind was occupied with only one thought, Who saw it this time? Who’s next?

Jiang Luoyue felt utterly helpless, but she understood that they were merely expressing affection without any ill intent, so she endured it quietly.

Fortunately, everyone had their own commitments and left one after another after just a few days. Fu Yunqing was the first to depart. She already had a busy schedule, and her visit to the set had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. After being scolded by her manager, she left reluctantly.

When Fu Yunqing left, Yu Jingtang couldn’t resist teasing her. But before Fu Yunqing had even made it out of the village, Yu Jingtang received a notification from her own manager about a new business opportunity. Instantly, the smile vanished from her face, and her expression changed so quickly that Jiang Luoyue couldn’t help but laugh.

“What about you?” With the other two gone, Jiang Luoyue turned to the only one left Ning Fuguang.

“I arranged my work schedule in advance before coming,” Ning Fuguang replied with a light laugh. “I’m on vacation until you wrap up filming.”

Jiang Luoyue remarked casually, “That’s quite a long vacation.”

After all, even Xiang Fan couldn’t guarantee an exact wrap-up date. Yet Ning Fuguang seemed so confident, was this the privilege of being a CEO?

Ning Fuguang said, “I haven’t taken a break in a long time. No one will mind if my vacation is a little longer.”

With just the two of them left, Ning Fuguang relaxed noticeably, a faint smile playing on her lips as she maintained her usual composed demeanor. But Jiang Luoyue was no longer the same person she used to be and kept her distance.

Noticing this, Ning Fuguang sighed helplessly. “I won’t sneak a kiss from you again.”

Jiang Luoyue: “I never said you would.”

Once bitten, twice shy, she was just taking precautions.

“And don’t make it sound so” Jiang Luoyue frowned, searching for the right word. “ambiguous.”

As long as Jiang Luoyue didn’t dwell on it, she could convince herself that kissing was just a way for friends to show affection. But once the truth was laid bare, she felt uneasy, as if the whole situation carried an odd undertone.

Ning Fuguang nodded, and Jiang Luoyue thought she had taken the hint. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, Ning Fuguang spoke again: “If ‘sneaking a kiss’ sounds too ambiguous, let me rephrase it.”

“I will never let my lips touch your cheek again without your permission. Can you stand beside me now?”

Jiang Luoyue took a deep breath, needing several seconds to collect herself. Almost angrily, she exclaimed, “Ning Fuguang!”

“I’m here.” Seeing her anger, Ning Fuguang laughed. “This is the second time you’ve called me by my full name.”

Jiang Luoyue didn’t understand why she was so pleased. Was being addressed so formally by a friend something to be happy about? At the very least, whenever Fu Yunqing called her that way, it meant she was about to get into trouble again.

But she didn’t want to engage with Ning Fuguang. Whenever she was with her, she felt like a cat being teased.

Jiang Luoyue remained silent, but Ning Fuguang continued unprompted, “You’re so at ease with everyone else, yet you always keep your distance from me.”

“I’ve always wondered is it because others have biased you against me, or have I done something to make you.”

“No,” Jiang Luoyue instinctively denied. Meeting Ning Fuguang’s slightly surprised gaze, she hesitated before explaining, “It’s just that”

It was just that she couldn’t understand why Ning Fuguang had acted so familiar with her from the very beginning.

If Ning Fuguang hadn’t deliberately shown interest in pursuing her, the competitive Fu Yunqing wouldn’t have actively engaged in rivalry, inadvertently dragging Yu Jingtang and Xiang Fan into the fray. The closeness she now shared with all of them seemed to stem from Ning Fuguang’s various “unintentional actions.”

Having learned from Zhou Ruonian’s precedent, Jiang Luoyue’s first reaction to any unexplained kindness was caution. Even though Ning Fuguang had repeatedly demonstrated her harmlessness, Jiang Luoyue still found it difficult to let her guard down.

Noticing her hesitation, Ning Fuguang didn’t press further and said naturally, “As long as it’s not because you dislike me.”

“The specific reason if you don’t want to share, I won’t dwell on it.” Her eyes curved into a smile as she gently steered the conversation toward her true intention. “I just want to ask, Luoyue, could you be a little closer to me from now on?”

After all, she also wanted to hold Jiang Luoyue’s hand in public and have it seen as a natural gesture, rather than having every conversation questioned with, “Since when did they become so close?”

Jiang Luoyue was speechless. “Aren’t we already very close?”

By Jiang Luoyue’s original standards, staying in touch and meeting occasionally already qualified as good friends. The four from Hate Me had long met this criteria and were categorized as such in her mind.

But Ning Fuguang was clearly unsatisfied with this level of relationship. After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Luoyue asked, “Do you want to be my sister? The kind where I bring gifts to your house during holidays and call your mom ‘auntie’?”

Ning Fuguang was taken aback. “Why would you think that?”

Jiang Luoyue explained, “A relationship closer than friendship, aside from lovers, can only be family.”

She didn’t believe Ning Fuguang had romantic feelings for her, leaving only family as the alternative. Rich people had plenty of eccentricities, suddenly wanting to adopt a younger sister wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.

Ning Fuguang choked up, unusually caught off guard, and laughed wryly. “I don’t have that intention not now, and not in the future.”

“But if you ever want to visit my family, you don’t have to wait for holidays. You’re welcome anytime.”

Jiang Luoyue: ?

Before she could process this, Ning Fuguang’s phone rang abruptly. The caller got straight to the point: a project at the Ning Corporation had run into issues. It wasn’t serious, but required Ning Fuguang’s personal attention.

Their conversation hadn’t been private, so Jiang Luoyue witnessed the entire process of Ning Fuguang’s smile fading.

After the call ended, silence hung between them.

Jiang Luoyue suppressed a laugh and tentatively asked, “Vacation over?”

“It’s over.” Ning Fuguang took a deep breath, never expecting such a dramatic conclusion, and sighed helplessly. “How could this happen? Right after I finally said it.”

At least it could have lasted until tomorrow.

Jiang Luoyue wanted to comfort her but held back, afraid Ning Fuguang might take it as inspiration to boast to others again.

Occasional visits to the set were welcome, but if it happened every time, it would start to feel like checking up on her.

Despite the pressing time, Ning Fuguang insisted on escorting Jiang Luoyue back to the outskirts of the film set. The autumn wind was bleak, and the lingering rainy season had left the air damp with moisture. Jiang Luoyue narrowed her eyes, thoroughly enjoying this exceptionally tranquil weather.

As they walked slowly together, Ning Fuguang recalled the news she had received a few days earlier.

The Jiang family had suddenly claimed to have found their long-lost daughter and were preparing to host a recognition banquet in the near future. Although the exact time and venue remained undecided, and invitations had only been sent to a few of their closest business partners to maintain confidentiality, the news had still managed to leak out.

After all, the idea of “recognizing a daughter” was simply too sensational. For over a decade, no one had ever heard of the Jiang family losing a daughter. If she had never been lost, how could they now “recognize” her? And if she had indeed been lost, what did that make Jiang Lianyan?

When ordinary people lose a cat or a dog, they become frantic, eager to announce it to the world in their search. Yet the Jiang family had lost a daughter and remained silent all these years, only acknowledging her now, over a decade later, when she had been found?

Many were shocked and suspicious of the Jiang family’s methods, looking down on them with disdain. When Ning Fuguang learned of the news, her thoughts turned to Jiang Luoyue. It hadn’t been long since Jiang Luoyue had publicly denounced her adoptive parents, and now the Jiang family was spreading this rumor. The two events were almost certainly connected.

Yet Jiang Luoyue had never mentioned any of this.

Had the Jiang family not approached her yet, or was she unwilling to reveal her connection to them?

Ning Fuguang had initially only speculated, but what truly confirmed her suspicions was accidentally witnessing Xiang Fan hanging up on an unknown caller the day before. The woman had looked upset, muttering under her breath about how persistent the person on the other end was.

When Ning Fuguang casually asked who had called, the reply was “Jiang Yu.”

Seeing Ning Fuguang’s surprise, Xiang Fan raised an eyebrow, realizing she had spoken out of turn. “I thought Jiang Luoyue had told you.”

Recalling the events of the previous day, Ning Fuguang finally spoke up. “Luoyue.”

“Hmm?” Jiang Luoyue turned to look at her, her gaze clear and innocent. “What is it?”

“The Jiang family ”

Just those two words were enough for Jiang Luoyue to grasp her meaning. She seemed a bit bewildered. “Has Jiang Yu already reached out to you?”

In truth, ever since learning that Jiang Yu frequently made harassing calls to Xiang Fan in an attempt to meet her through legitimate channels, Jiang Luoyue had anticipated that it was only a matter of time before Jiang Yu started bothering the others.

The fact that Ning Fuguang was only bringing it up now made Jiang Luoyue feel as though Jiang Yu’s efficiency was remarkably low.

“Reached out to me?” Ning Fuguang paused, understanding her implication. “She hasn’t been that underhanded. I found out through other means.”

“Were those other means underhanded?” Jiang Luoyue asked curiously.

Ning Fuguang fell silent, and Jiang Luoyue knew then that it probably wasn’t something honorable. She laughed.

Jiang Luoyue then asked, “Have you been paying close attention to them?”

This time, Ning Fuguang answered honestly. “Not at first.”

If it hadn’t been for Jiang Lianyan suddenly wanting to team up with her on the show, Ning Fuguang’s survival instincts might not have even reminded her that she had once collaborated with the Jiang family.

But because of the Jiang family’s unscrupulous marketing tactics, she had indeed been keeping a close watch, waiting for an opportunity to retaliate.

Before she could find the right moment, however, the Jiang family had suddenly ceased their actions, leaving Ning Fuguang’s preparations in vain. At the time, she had been puzzled by their sudden change in attitude. Only now, looking back, did she realize that Jiang Yu had likely already guessed the truth by then.

Ning Fuguang had no intention of revealing these rather unsavory thoughts to Jiang Luoyue. Yet the girl seemed to have guessed them anyway. After a moment of silence, she spoke seriously, “Thank you. But this is between me and them. There’s no need for you to get involved.”

Ning Fuguang let out a soft, wry laugh. Jiang Luoyue made it sound so simple, but she truly couldn’t let it go. It wasn’t just her, Fu Yunqing was also paying close attention to the Jiang family. Although Yu Jingtang had no connections, she was favored by Jiang Luoyue, and a few casual words from her could easily bridge the gap…

At this thought, Ning Fuguang couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy toward the others. There were too many people who cared about Jiang Luoyue even Xiang Fan understood her better than she did. She needed to do something quickly to secure her place in Jiang Luoyue’s heart.

At the very least, surpassing Xiang Fan shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

“What do you plan to do?” Ning Fuguang asked.

She was ready to offer Jiang Luoyue any assistance she needed. If necessary, Ning Fuguang would even step in personally to confront the Jiang family, though the situation might get messy.

Jiang Luoyue blinked, as if caught off guard by the question. It took her a few seconds to reply, “I haven’t thought it through yet.”

“In the past, I wanted to go back, but only because I wanted parents, family a normal family.”

This had been Jiang Luoyue’s genuine desire in her previous life. She had never wanted to compete with Jiang Lianyan for anything. The only thing she yearned for was the love of her family. She believed that with love and a family, she could make up for the regrets of her past and live what others would consider a normal, fulfilling life.

Now, having been given a second chance, Jiang Luoyue no longer needed that seemingly perfect life. Yet, at times, she still felt resentment. The bitterness of betrayal, the twisted emotions suppressed over years of being ignored sometimes, she wanted to return to the Jiang family openly, expose Jiang Lianyan’s facade, and reveal the truth to everyone.

But such thoughts usually lasted only a few seconds before Jiang Luoyue herself would snap out of them and suppress the urge. Now, she had a future, friends, and everything she had once longed for but couldn’t attain.

She ought to be content and not let any unknown possibilities disrupt her current life.

“Does that sound cowardly?” Jiang Luoyue joked about herself, though there was no humor in her tone. On this matter, she truly felt lost. Rationally, she didn’t want to be entangled with the Jiang family anymore, but emotionally, she still harbored resentment toward them and wanted them to pay a price.

But what kind of price would truly suffice?

It seemed the Jiang family hadn’t done anything truly heinous to her. All the neglect, indifference, and mockery ultimately boiled down to one thing: they didn’t love her. But no one could say that parents not loving their child was a crime.

Besides, they hadn’t spent much time together. Without the blood ties, they were little more than strangers who had met a few times. Their poor treatment of her only reflected the Jiang family’s lack of upbringing, leaving Jiang Luoyue with no grounds to accuse them.

After all, she couldn’t possibly wish death upon them just for a few harsh words.

At this thought, Jiang Luoyue suddenly laughed. She imagined that if Fu Yunqing were the one hearing her say this, she would undoubtedly suggest exactly that without hesitation.

“You can make any choice you want,” Ning Fuguang said, shaking her head gently. “As long as it comes from your heart.”

“I thought you’d try to persuade me,” Jiang Luoyue remarked.

After all, the value of the Jiang family’s shares was an almost unimaginable sum. With the Jiang family’s resources at her disposal, her future would undoubtedly be limitless.

Ning Fuguang said, “I did have that thought.”

But after seeing the unconscious smile on Jiang Luoyue’s face, she suddenly felt that no schemes for profit were as important as the other’s genuine feelings.

It didn’t matter if Jiang Luoyue lacked the Jiang family’s name, wealth, or power Ning Fuguang had them.

All she needed to do was be happy and joyful; everything else was insignificant in the long span of her life.

Ning Fuguang didn’t voice these thoughts, but her gaze was intensely fervent. Jiang Luoyue suddenly felt a bit flustered, pursing her lips in confusion and instinctively changing the subject: “I’ve always wanted to ask you.”

“Hmm?” Ning Fuguang asked, “What is it?”

Jiang Luoyue said seriously, “Have we met before?”

Why had Ning Fuguang acted so familiar with her from the very beginning?

But faced with this question, Ning Fuguang didn’t answer immediately. Instead, after a long pause, she countered, “Do you really want to know?”

Jiang Luoyue nodded.

If curiosity had levels, “Why is Ning Fuguang so close to me?” would definitely rank higher than “What kind of magic does racing hold that makes Fu Yunqing so obsessed she wants to take me along?”

Ning Fuguang then reached out her hand. Jiang Luoyue hesitated for a few seconds before leaning her head closer, letting Ning Fuguang ruffle her hair.

This was a necessary sacrifice on the path to uncovering the truth!

Jiang Luoyue endured it silently, but when Ning Fuguang took her hand and still showed no intention of answering, she couldn’t hold back any longer: “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Hmm?” Ning Fuguang smiled, “I never said I’d tell you the answer if you let me touch you. You were the one who leaned in.”

Jiang Luoyue: “…”

She tried to pull her hand away but couldn’t break free. Embarrassment and annoyance flushed her neck with a faint red.

Ning Fuguang watched, her eyes crinkling with even deeper amusement, and finally said, “I’ll tell you next time we meet, how about that?”

Jiang Luoyue didn’t believe her. Ning Fuguang reached out to smooth her disheveled hair and asked in return, “What good would lying to you do me? Would it make you like me or kiss me?”

Jiang Luoyue: “Are those such important things?”

“Not important to others, but very important to me.” Ning Fuguang looked down at her, eyes curved, “Everything you give me is important to me.”

Jiang Luoyue thought for a few seconds, then pulled a crumpled sheet of A4 paper covered in scribbled drafts from her pocket.

“I meant to throw it away this morning but forgot,” she said, pursing her lips unnaturally and trying to make her voice sound firm. “If you want it, you can have it.”

Ning Fuguang, her smile fading: ?

She wasn’t one to refuse offerings, but she wasn’t a trash can either, was she?