Chapter 380 The Dull Wife in Republic of China Literature (37)

Chapter 380: The Rigid Wife in the Republican Era (37)

"Impossible!"

To everyone's surprise, Fang Zhuo was the first to speak up!

The admired "Nan Xu," whom he had longed to meet and express his gratitude to, was actually Tang Qing...

This had to be a joke!

"There must be some mistake..."

Young Master Fang stared in shock at the person before him, his tone filled with disbelief. "How is that possible? You haven’t even studied abroad..."

Exactly.

Tang Qing had never been overseas.

She couldn’t even understand English...

How could she possibly be "Nan Xu"?

Though Fang Zhuo’s words were spoken softly, Qu Wanran caught them.

In an instant!

Qu Wanran felt she had found her opening!

She immediately challenged her!

"You’re lying!"

"Miss Tang, as far as I know, you’ve always been secluded at home and have never studied abroad. You can’t even understand a foreign language!"

If she couldn’t even understand it, how could she possibly translate such obscure economics texts?

Tang Qing must have stolen the identity!

Her tone was so certain that Tang Qing slightly raised her eyes and replied coolly, "Who told you that one must study abroad to learn English?"

"Frogs cannot speak of the sea, summer insects cannot speak of ice."

Unexpectedly, Tang Qing suddenly spoke in English.

Her accent was the perfect London accent, precise and polished.

Her crystal-clear eyes now calmly fixed on Qu Wanran as she slowly said, "Miss Qu, do you still remember this sentence?"

This was...

Facing Tang Qing’s gaze, in a flash of realization, Qu Wanran suddenly remembered!

"Summer insects cannot speak of ice"...

This sentence...

Tang Qing had indeed said it to her before.

That day’s scene had been purposely pushed aside in some corner of her memory. Qu Wanran had thought that if she never mentioned it, the matter would quietly blow over.

"Who would've thought it'd come up in a situation like this!"

At that time, I had already discovered that Tang Qing knew English!

It was me… unwilling to admit it.

I even deliberately hid it when Zheng Jiahe asked about it.

"You…"

Tang Qing continued speaking, "It seems Miss Qu still has some impression of it."

"Today, I'm giving these words back to you, Miss Qu."

"Summer insects cannot speak of ice." After a brief pause, Tang Qing's next words were still steady, "Whether it's the marriage with Mr. Fang or the identity of 'Nan Xu'…"

"Miss Qu, between you and me, we truly don't see eye to eye."

After coldly saying what she wanted to say, Tang Qing's gaze did not linger on Fang Zhuo. Instead, she boldly picked up a pen and wrote down her name right then and there at the check-in.

"Nan Xu."

No going back now.

When she decided on this pen name, Tang Qing had already seen this coming.

Watching Tang Qing's fluid penmanship…

Fang Zhuo suddenly remembered why he had felt weirdly familiar when he saw the signboard of "Nan Feng Zhu" that day…

So that's why.

Somehow, multiple clues had been pointing to this.

He had dismissed that possibility without a second thought…

But looking at Tang Qing's expression now, completely unreadable.

That strange, intense, abrupt heart raced violently again!

Fang Zhuo felt as if a part of his heart had been violently squeezed tight!

The suffocating feeling left him gasping for air. Fang Zhuo immediately clenched his fists!

"This is… quite unexpected…"

The situation changed so suddenly. By the time Xu Jing regained her senses, she saw Tang Qing had already coolly made her way to the other end of the banquet hall.

Xu Jing also found it unbelievable.

What are the odds?

No matter how much one calculates, not even heaven could've seen this coming, that the esteemed "Nan Xu" would turn out to be a reclusive woman!

And that’s not all—her identity makes it even more coincidental.

Instinctively, Xu Jing touched her nose and had to ask one more thing, "Mr. Fang…"

"Then… all this time you've been looking for 'Nan Xu'…"

"That's quite a claim... Did you ever stop to think about it?"

The master he had anticipated for so long turned out to be none other than the person right under his nose all along?

You wouldn't even find this plot in a storybook.

Fang Zhuo remained silent, but his eyes were still fixed intently on the signature Tang Qing had just written!

"Hmph!"

"If someone's set on keeping a secret, of course they can hide it."

Qu Wanran suddenly remarked, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "I think she did it on purpose, just waiting to make us look like fools..."

"She knew full well Fang Zhuo had been searching for this 'Nan Xu,' yet she deliberately kept it to herself..."

"Just waiting for the right moment to show off and amaze everyone."

As she was about to continue, Fang Zhuo, standing nearby, had heard enough and suddenly spoke up!

"Enough!"

"Stop talking!"

Qu Wanran felt as though she had been scolded by Fang Zhuo. Her already sharp and acerbic tone grew even more piercing!

"Why are you snapping at me?"

"What did I say that's so wrong?"

"It was all calculated! She planned this! She knew everything but chose not to say..."

For the first time.

Fang Zhuo realized that the once gentle and understanding Qu Wanran could also be so petty and so quick to think the worst of someone.

All the tenderness and affection of the past had now turned into suspicion.

Even jealousy.

Fang Zhuo couldn’t help but shut his eyes for a moment, unable to bear the look on Qu Wanran’s face, and sighed.

"Let's just drop it."

"There's no point in grilling her about it..."

A pearl obscured by dust.

There had been many opportunities, but he was the one who'd been condescending the whole time...

Ending up like this was no one's fault but his own.

Even Fang Zhuo wasn’t on her side. Qu Wanran felt like nothing was going her way today!

She had been eagerly looking forward to everyone's congratulations, only to be met with this!

Just moments ago, Qu Wanran had even overheard someone saying she was inferior to Tang Qing in every way!

What kind of thing is that to say?

"What does Tang Qing have that I don’t?"

Her originally sharp voice could no longer hold back; she shrieked, nearly losing her composure, "What do you mean, 'that’s enough'?"

"Fang Zhuo, what do you mean!"

"Tell me, are you regretting it? Do you regret the mutual divorce with her!"

The brutally blunt question hit him hard, leaving Fang Zhuo completely stunned!

Just thinking about such a question...

That heart-pounding feeling once again crashed over him like a tidal wave!

Fang Zhuo even had to struggle to keep his emotions in check, just to avoid looking too pathetic.

Regret?

Fang Zhuo dared not answer.

The atmosphere suddenly fell into an awkward silence.

It was this silence that completely crushed Qu Wanran’s beautiful face, along with all the pride and satisfaction she had felt today—utterly defeated!

"I’m going over there."

Right then, Yan Ningcheng’s voice suddenly rang out. His figure in dark clothing didn’t even wait for a reply from the two in front of him; right in front of Fang Zhuo, Yan Ningcheng walked straight toward Tang Qing!

Just watching Yan Ningcheng’s back as he walked away...

In a daze, Young Master Fang suddenly remembered his mother’s earlier suspicion!

Yan Ningcheng... does he, perhaps, really like Tang Qing?

How many times is this now?

Is he going to see Tang Qing again?