Country Maiden: Fields and Fortune

365, Severing Love (Part 2)

Xie Zhinuan’s words sent shockwaves through his heart.

He was a thoughtful person with his own ideas and determination.

But he hadn’t expected Xie Zhinuan to suddenly bring this up.

“That day at the door, I guessed your identity by the way you looked at me, and I deduced some things. The appearance of Xie Rong and what happened afterwards confirmed for me that the Liang Family had wronged someone, sending their own daughter to the marquis’s residence to replace the legitimate young lady of the Marquis, while I…”

Xie Zhinuan turned to Xuan Mu, “No matter who I am, whether I am the Nuannuan from your mouth or the sister that Xie Rong came searching miles for, it doesn’t concern me. I am just Xie Zhinuan, and can only be Xie Zhinuan. I can’t reciprocate your love, nor can I return Xie Rong’s kinship. I really don’t have any memories of the past, and many things I do are based on instinct, even the name is something I made up on the spot!”

The name was made up, but it was also a kindhearted white lie.

She didn’t want Xuan Mu to keep wallowing in past emotions, lingering around her every day.

That would make her feel guilty.

Xuan Mu had heard this from Wang Shaoyu.

Although he didn’t know how severely injured Xie Zhinuan was at that time, he knew it must have been very serious, to the extent that even now, he hadn’t found out from where she had been thrown down, nor how she disappeared, but one thing was certain-the Liang family’s crime was irrefutable and unchangeable.

“Don’t you want to take revenge? Don’t you want to go home? Nuannuan…” Xuan Mu paused, then softly called her, “Miss Xie, you are actually the legitimate daughter of the Marquis, you…”

“So what?” Xie Zhinuan countered.

“Decades of separation have made us strangers. Young Master Xuan, in this world, there are many things that one can obtain through their own efforts, so why must we rely on others?”

“Most importantly, I’ve forgotten. I have no expectations for finding relatives, nor do I wish to change my current life. At least for now, I don’t want to make any changes!”

Xuan Mu looked at Xie Zhinuan, and after a while, he spoke, “You are nothing like the Nuannuan I knew. She was always thinking about going home, about leaving the Liang family, but you…”

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Not even a trace of familiarity.

Her features were more delicate and pretty, her temperament still gentle, but it lacked much of what he had felt with Nuannuan. In Xie Zhinuan, he couldn’t feel any of it at all.

Love, tenderness, genuine emotion-all were absent.

“Have you fallen for Prince Kan?” Xuan Mu suddenly asked.

Was it because she had found a better option that she could discard him without any concern?

“I suddenly find you all quite ridiculous, whether it’s you, Xie Rong, or the dismissed Yin Suwen. You all think that I am enamored with Prince Kan. I don’t understand what I did to give you such an impression, but one thing’s for sure-I don’t have any romantic feelings for Prince Kan, at most, we can be considered friends, able to help each other out, support one another, but without the emotional stirrings of a man and a woman!”

Xie Zhinuan looked at Xuan Mu, her gaze clean and clear.

Her expression remained gentle and peaceful.

She wasn’t annoyed by Xuan Mu’s words.

Her eyes didn’t show any panic as she looked at him.

“Xuan Mu, I feel somewhat apologetic towards you. It is out of this sense of guilt that I am telling you all this, wanting to make things clear to you, thinking it best not to hold you back. I have never thought about marriage or having children, as I already have a child, but it’s different for you. You are the eldest son in your family, and it’s time for you to marry. You have responsibilities, not just to yourself but to your mother as well!” Xie Zhinuan spoke softly.

3

“Love in this world doesn’t mean that one cannot live without the other. I have forgotten about you, so please just remember the Nuannuan from the past, not the woman called Xie Zhinuan that I am now, is that okay?”

One body, two souls.

She is her, and Xie Nuan is Xie Nuan.

She couldn’t occupy Xie Nuan’s body and then take over her love, her kinship, keeping Xuan Mu hanging, not responding, not clarifying things. It would be nothing short of hooliganism.

If one day in the future, she regained Xie Nuan’s memories, or there really was a chance for their souls to collide, and she left, allowing Xie Nuan to return.

She had lost someone’s love and family bonds. She hoped these riches and the network she had built could serve as compensation.

Because she was an outsider, she always felt guilty, unable to accept…

“But I…” Xuan Mu wanted to object.

“You’ve said it yourself, I’ve changed, become unfamiliar, different from before. So, I am no longer the Nuannuan you remember. Beneath the same face lies a scar-covered body and another soul that has forgotten its past. To be honest, if none of this had happened, I might have lived out my days alone in Xiaohe Village, in that little mountain village!” Xie Zhinuan said softly.

“You wouldn’t marry?” Xuan Mu asked.

“I wouldn’t marry!”

This was the truth.

From the beginning until now, her desire not to marry hadn’t changed.

“I thought…” Xuan Mu exhaled softly.

“I’ve always thought that if I found you, we would live happily together, assuming of course that you were still alive. I’ve been searching for you, and also thought that perhaps you would never come back, or that you might be hidden away by the Liang Family. I’ve imagined many possibilities, but I never thought that you would forget me…” Xuan Mu’s voice choked slightly.

“When I saw you again that day, I already knew there was no possibility for us. I just, I just…” Xuan Mu looked at Xie Zhinuan, “Miss Xie, even if we cannot be husband and wife, can we be friends in the future?”

This was the most humble entreaty.

He knew in his heart that he could be cruel and ruthless, do whatever it took to gain a high position, but ultimately, it was all for Nuannuan.

He wanted to confront the Liang Family.

And now, this aim still stood.

If not for the Liang Family, his Nuannuan wouldn’t have had an accident, wouldn’t have forgotten him, and wouldn’t have become what she is now.

“Of course, we can, but I might be moving!”

“Where to?” Xuan Mu asked.

“I’ve bought another residence in the county town. I plan to tidy this place up and turn it into private dining rooms. After all, you know how good the business is at the restaurant-there’s no room when customers come!”

“Then, when you move into your new residence, I’ll come to visit!”

“Alright!”

Both of them were somewhat distracted.

Xie Zhinuan hadn’t actually considered any residence; she just didn’t want to keep getting entangled with Xuan Mu.

Xuan Mu guessed as much.

Although Xie Zhinuan’s restaurant business was good, there had been a recent decline, for the prices were high, and not everyone could afford to eat there every day.

She was avoiding him.

He knew.

Because he loved her, he would step back regardless of her choices, considering all the suffering she had endured, nearly losing her life.

He would grant her wishes.

“Miss Xie, you say to cut off all feelings and love, I agree. You say from now on we’ll have a distant relationship, only as friends, I also agree. But as your friend, I must warn you to be careful of the Liang Family!” Xuan Mu glanced at Xie Zhinuan, “Being neighbors with the Liang Family for many years, they’re capable of dirty tricks and vicious attacks. Now that you’ve publicly appeared, I think it won’t be long before the Liang Family takes action against you!”

Chapter 367