When she heard what he said, Rong Dai's feelings were extremely complicated.
There was joy, but also struggle. The panic and unease in her heart alleviated slightly, but she was still full of contradictions and hesitations inside.
The things from her previous life, she had spent ten years unable to get out of the gloom, nor could she forgive herself for the mistakes she had made.
Although being reborn was a good thing, her recent experiences made her terrified that this was a punishment from heaven.
What could be more frightening than being unable to find happiness as punishment?
Huo Shao Ting was perfect. He would be a competent and flawless husband, and an excellent father.
But Rong Dai didn't dare believe that someone like him belonged to her.
In the eyes of others, her thoughts might seem overly dramatic, but those who hadn't experienced it could not understand her contradictory and agonized feelings.
She also wanted to get close to Huo Shao Ting — who didn't like nice things?
So what if she used to be the Empress? She still had unattainable things that she wanted to pursue.
The man before her, his promise was very sincere and precious.
But to her, it seemed to have come too quickly, and was obtained too easily.
Rong Dai was still uneasy inside, but this unease didn't stem from the secret about herself.
Rather, she was uneasy about whether she would really find happiness with Huo Shao Ting if she agreed like this.
Things that came too easily were also lost more quickly.
The heart-piercing pain she had experienced in her previous life was still fresh in her memory.
All kinds of distracting thoughts swirled in her mind. Rong Dai rested her chin on his sturdy shoulder, and placed her slender hand on the man's lower back, secretly taking two deep breaths to steady her mind.
"Shao Ting, I will try my best."
Her voice was very soft, but it made Huo Shao Ting's heart pound wildly when it entered his ears, enveloping him in tremendous joy, as if he was soaked in a vat of honey.
"But I can't take the Wen family's equity."
After a few minutes of silence in the room, Rong Dai let go of him. The two separated, and she stared at him steadily with her jet black eyes, speaking very firmly.
To her, everything about the Wen family held no appeal.
Wen Shi Lan had harmed her, and receiving due punishment was already the best outcome. She didn't need any extra compensation.
"If you really understand me, I'll give you the 200 million as soon as possible."
Her voice was gentle yet firm.
Others might not understand why she had to do this, but she knew very clearly herself.
It was like some people's pursuit of a sense of ritual in life.
She was not the original owner of this body. Although Huo Shao Ting had now given her these explanations and understanding, the 200 million was negligible to him.
But she knew that this expenditure was for the original owner, not her.
The 2 billion was her repayment on the original owner's behalf, to settle things between the original owner and Huo Shao Ting.
Although she had been an Empress in her previous life, her thinking was different from other women. She had to do this, or the barriers in her heart would be hard to erase.
She didn't know how to explain this clearly to Huo Shao Ting in words, but she knew she had to do it this way.
"Alright, as long as you're happy, but only this once."
Huo Shao Ting's voice was low and magnetic, especially gentle when he spoke, easily captivating people.
Rong Dai nodded. This kind of thing could only happen once, of course.
The assets left by Imperial Concubine Ya were not unlimited. Casually spending 200 million at once, she didn't have a gold mine or money printing machine, how could she afford to keep doing that?
Although there were still things the two of them needed to understand more about each other, the wall that had stood between them vanished after just over ten minutes of explanation.
Rong Dai knew that as long as she was willing to walk over to Huo Shao Ting's side, this man could do everything he had promised her.
But she was more willing to wait a little longer. Some things couldn't be fixed quickly just by forcing them.
She and Huo Shao Ting were aligned in some respects, but they couldn't be said to understand and be attuned to each other yet.
Marriage wasn't a game. What she needed was for marriage to be the icing on the cake in her life, not something that confined her.
The misunderstanding between the husband and wife had mostly been resolved. Rong Dai instantly felt much more relaxed.
This way, she didn't have to hide anything from Huo Shao Ting, afraid of revealing flaws and living in trepidation every day.
Huo Shao Ting then took out his phone and sent Zhang Assistant a message. Zhang Assistant immediately passed it on to Ji Zheng.
"Your Boss Huo really gets more willful the older he gets! Tell him he owes me a meal."
Ji Zheng shrugged helplessly, gave Zhang Assistant some instructions, then left the restaurant carrying his briefcase.
Of course, Zhang Assistant wasn't going to stay and be a lightbulb. He had to hurry back to get some sleep. He had been worked like a dog these past few days.
The husband and wife had dinner together. Perhaps because the misunderstanding had been resolved, Rong Dai was in a good mood and ate a bit more.
After the meal, Huo Shao Ting took her on the Ferris wheel. Rong Dai was so nervous that her palms broke out in sweat.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Huo Shao Ting's large hand tightly clasped her slender one, his voice gentle.
Rong Dai's face was a little pale. After taking a couple deep breaths to adjust her state of mind, she looked around.
"The night view here really is beautiful."
Seeing the neon lights of the city, Rong Dai couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Huo Shao Ting didn't speak, just quietly listening to her, though he was also very curious what her previous world had been like. But he had patience to wait until she was willing to talk about it, and it was fine if she didn't want to share.
Frightening her once was already more than enough.
"Aren't you going to ask what the nights I saw before were like?"
Hearing no response from him, Rong Dai couldn't help but feel curious.
Although there were some things she didn't want to talk about, she could still say a sentence or two about what she could share.
Although this went against her previous stance, and was a bit contradictory.
But acknowledging it herself was one thing, talking about some things from her previous life was another matter.
"If you want to say, you'll naturally talk about it." He gazed at her, his deep eyes reflecting her shadow, captivating.
Rong Dai looked at him. The emotion that had faded over the past few days erupted wildly in her heart again. Her heartbeat accelerated, and her breathing grew slightly hurried.
"Don't you think I'm very contradictory?" She averted her gaze. This man wasn't as handsome as the Emperor.
But just looking at this man a few more times would make one sink into him, unable to extricate themselves.
"Contradictions show that you're struggling, considering - it's a necessary process of acceptance or rejection. If you weren't contradictory, I'd be worried instead."
His voice was gentle, light, floating into her ears on the night breeze. Rong Dai's breathing stalled slightly as her gaze involuntarily focused on his eyes.
All the noise around them suddenly seemed to fade away. She could clearly hear her own heartbeat, thump thump, like beating a drum.
