Although Qin Manshu spoke politely, saying that she wanted Ding Fan to help her, Ding Fan could tell that she just wanted to repay him. Aside from cultivating, he was skilled at nothing else, so what could he possibly do there?

However, Ding Fan did not verbally refuse. After the incident with Xu Guanjie's strange illness, it was impossible for him to quietly stay in Dancheng anyway.

The original downfall of the Ding Family was definitely not so simple. Now that he had cured Old Master Qin's illness and Xu Guanjie's as well, facing the signs of his own resurgence, how could his enemies simply watch and do nothing?

Moreover, Ding Fan's cultivation had reached a bottleneck. Even though he had found Sirius Herb and Earth Star, it would be very difficult for him to break through to the Third Level of Qi Cultivation. Ding Fan thought that in a couple of days, the Fragrant Mind-Consolidating Grass would seed.

After collecting the seeds, he planned to venture into some secluded mountains to see if he could gather some Spirit Grass.

The reason he didn't refuse Qin Manshu was that Ding Fan still had a long way to go before he could practice fasting. In the meantime, he still needed to eat, and if he truly had nowhere else to go, he could consider the company Qin Manshu had mentioned.

As he always said, besides cultivating, Ding Fan wasn't skilled at anything else. He certainly didn't want to end up refining pills and waiting in a park for buyers, especially since knowledgeable people were rare.

After they had eaten, Qin Manshu ordered a pot of fine tea, and the two chatted about trivial matters.

Ding Fan had an extraordinary manner of speaking, but more importantly, he possessed a very attractive masculine aura. Even Qin Manshu liked being around him. Even if they said nothing, just being with him could make her feel very calm.

When they left Phoenix Building, it was already late. Looking at the time, it was no longer possible to go to the docks to unload goods that day. Ding Fan felt the check for fifty thousand that Xu Rui had given him in his pocket.

Qin Manshu wanted to give Ding Fan a ride, but he graciously declined in the end.

Since he had already decided to leave, there were some matters he still needed to resolve. Before departing, Ding Fan felt he should give Zhou Ruoran something. So he planned to use this time to pick out a gift for her.

If it hadn't been for Zhou Ruoran's care after his rebirth, Ding Fan's situation would have been extremely difficult. A prodigal son, frail in body—if Zhou Ruoran hadn't paid the medical fees, he might have died in not too long. Hospitals certainly don't provide free treatment.

So, Ding Fan was grateful to Zhou Ruoran.

Having decided to leave something for Zhou Ruoran, Ding Fan decided to make her a protective magic artifact. The world is perilous, and although Zhou Ruoran had a strong personality, she was still a fragile woman, inevitably facing danger.

Ding Fan took a ride to a nearby antique market, where he bought a piece of raw jade. Then he went to a nearby medicine shop where he purchased some medicinal ingredients.

Zhou Ruoran's body was still frail, so before leaving, he wanted to help strengthen her health.

After purchasing these items, Ding Fan took a ride back home, shut himself in, and began refining the magic artifact and pills...

...

Zhou Ruoran had already quit her hourly job at Phoenix Building, and in three days, she was going to attend an interview at the Central Institute of Politics and Law. She needed to seriously review during these days.

After the noon class ended, Zhou Ruoran returned home. As soon as she stepped into her villa's courtyard, she saw Ding Fan busily tending to the flowers in the flowerbed.

Ding Fan hadn't expected Zhou Ruoran to return at this time. He had been refining the magic artifact for a while and felt his True Qi draining, so he came out for some air and casually checked on the Fragrant Mind-Consolidating Grass.

"You're back..."

Having lived under the same roof for so long, it would be somewhat awkward not to talk when they met. Ding Fan stood up and smiled at Zhou Ruoran.

Zhou Ruoran was startled; she hadn't expected Ding Fan to initiate conversation. For a moment, she was somewhat at a loss.

"Yes... I'm back."

During this time, although they lived under the same roof, Zhou Ruoran rarely saw Ding Fan. He left early in the morning, and by the time she returned in the evening, Ding Fan would be shut in his room, fiddling with something unknown.

It had been a long time since Zhou Ruoran had such a face-to-face conversation with Ding Fan.

"You're tending to the flowers." Zhou Ruoran responded with a somewhat unrelated comment.

With only three days until she would leave for her interview at the Central Institute of Politics and Law, Zhou Ruoran was confident she would pass. Thinking about her imminent departure, she actually started to appreciate some good things about Ding Fan. No matter how detestable he might be, he had cooked for her for a week.

Ding Fan nodded. "Tending to the flowers."

Zhou Ruoran glanced at Ding Fan. Since leaving the hospital, he had changed a lot, although his becoming a gigolo for a major star was contemptible to her. But at least in the short term, Ding Fan had not only refrained from mistreating her but had also been quite polite.

"If you're free this afternoon, I'd like to cook something. It's been a long time since we've eaten together," Ding Fan said.

Once the protective magic artifact and the pills were ready, Ding Fan would leave, so they should have a farewell meal together.

Zhou Ruoran, not really knowing what Ding Fan was thinking, nodded anyway. Her thoughts matched his. After this departure, they would never meet again...

Since it was to be a farewell meal, Ding Fan thought it should be a good one. With sufficient money now, he planned to buy more fish and meat to properly nourish Zhou Ruoran.

It had taken about half an hour for Ding Fan to return with two large bags of groceries.

Zhou Ruoran was not surprised to see Ding Fan come back with so many groceries, as he had already demonstrated his culinary talent before. Ruoran quietly sorted the groceries by type, prepared the vegetables, and washed them, while Ding Fan took over to cut the cleaned ingredients. The small kitchen with both Ding Fan and Zhou Ruoran bustling about resembled a newlywed couple busy at work.

In no time, Ding Fan had whipped up six dishes, including fish and meat, both cold dishes and hot. Just by looking at the colors of the dishes, they were quite appealing.

By the time Ding Fan finished cooking, Zhou Ruoran had already set up all the bowls and chopsticks. Once everything was ready, they both sat down together.

The meals were steaming hot, and just looking at them was comforting; a home indeed needed such warm scenes.

After sitting down, neither of them said a word.

"Ruoran…"

"Ding Fan…"

Perhaps wanting to break the awkward silence, Zhou Ruoran spoke first. But as soon as she did, she realized that Ding Fan had also called her name at the same time.

"You go first," Zhou Ruoran said.

Ding Fan nodded. "Ruoran, I will be leaving for a while soon. Thank you for taking care of me during this time."

"Leaving? Where are you going?" Zhou Ruoran had been gearing up to tell him she was leaving, but to her surprise, Ding Fan spoke first about leaving.

Now that the Ding family was in decline and he had nothing, where could he go?

However, suddenly, Zhou Ruoran thought of that major star; perhaps he was planning to go with that star. For a moment, Ruoran's face, which had been full of worry, turned solemn.

Ding Fan naturally noticed the change in Zhou Ruoran's expression. It was obvious she had misunderstood him again, but Ding Fan didn't feel like explaining.

"What were you going to say?" he asked.

Zhou Ruoran had been thinking about how to gently break the news that she was leaving, but for some reason, she felt annoyed.

"I'm going to Yanjing for school soon. I'll be leaving in three days," Zhou Ruoran said with a somewhat cold tone.

Ding Fan smiled. "That's great. It means you have a promising future ahead of you," he said sincerely.

His smile was genuine. As a kind-hearted girl, he truly wished for Zhou Ruoran's happiness. Knowing she would leave him to develop her future in Yanjing made him feel relieved.

At that moment, Zhou Ruoran felt a sudden pang of sadness. Did he really want her to leave that badly?

"By the way, Ruoran, I have something I'd like to discuss with you," Ding Fan continued.

Zhou Ruoran looked at Ding Fan. "What is it?"

"It's about our engagement. I know you hate me, and it's my fault your face was marred. You wouldn't be happy with me. I think we should call off our engagement," Ding Fan said quietly.

"What?!" Zhou Ruoran's eyes widened, and she even doubted her ears for a moment.

But then, as if understanding, she nodded. "In your eyes, because my face is ruined, I'm not worthy of you, is that it?"

At that moment, Zhou Ruoran felt a surge of sadness. Although she had never thought about marrying Ding Fan, his initiation of the subject still hurt her feelings.

Ding Fan did not explain.

"This engagement was arranged by my father, Ding Chengyi, and now that the Ding family has nothing, there's no need to keep it. Let's consider it void," he stated.

"Fine, let's do that!" Zhou Ruoran said, somewhat spitefully.

If Ding Fan was so eager to break ties with her, why should she cling to any hope?

"Here is the twenty thousand yuan you gave me; I've deposited it in a bank card. From today onwards, we owe each other nothing!" As Zhou Ruoran spoke, she stood up and, without looking back, returned to her room.

Ding Fan looked at the bank card, sighed softly, and sighed again.

He didn't want to hurt Zhou Ruoran, but since they were parting ways, it was better to make a clean break. The path he was about to take would likely pose many challenges and having a clean break with Zhou Ruoran could be another way to protect her.