Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Only the front porch lights were turned on.
As Lin Shuang retreated further inside to the dark, He Yidu’s expression became clearer to her as he was standing under the cold white lights.
The way he pulled his tie off and wrapped it several times around his hand while tilting his head sent shivers down her spine and made her legs grow weak. She tried her best to feign composure as she repeated with a frown, “What exactly do you want?”
“I wanted to woo you,” said He Yidu as he stared into her eyes.
Lin Shuang was confused to hear that. Wanted?
As He Yidu unbuttoned his collar, he felt that he had an easier time breathing. His lips formed a smirk as he said in a deep and low voice, “But now, I want to bang you.”
Lin Shuang’s eyes widened in disbelief, having never heard such a crude word coming from He Yidu before. “Are you out of your mind?!”
Righteous and gentlemanly were her impressions of He Yidu, who was completely different from his buddies, Lu Chengzhou and Qin Fang. He was polite, elegant, gentle, and had a good sense of propriety, which was why she was very comfortable with him and even treated him as a good friend.
Alas, it was a fine line between friendly affection and love at times. As the nature of their relationship changed, she realized that He Yidu’s image had crumbled as well. Gentleman, my foot! He’s a g*dd*mn scumbag! I must’ve been blind to believe that he was a gentleman!
Lin Shuang shot him a glare. “To think that I have been treating you as a friend and giving you help, you freaking—”
“Friend?” Even though He Yidu felt better after unbuttoning his collar, his anger hadn’t been appeased. His lips curled. “Aren’t you a bit fond of me? Oh, you even blocked me on your phone.”
Lin Shuang didn’t find these words embarrassing when she said them, but for some reason, her whole body started burning up when she heard them coming from He Yidu’s mouth.
“You blocked me because you like me?” Despite the smile on his face, it sounded like he had spoken through clenched teeth.
Lin Shuang curled her fingers and pursed her lips firmly. “I didn’t want to waste your time. Besides, it’s wrong of me to mentally commit an affair when I already have a fiancé. We have to stop before it gets too late.”
She would’ve come off as confident if not for her taking a step backward.
Mentally committing an affair? Fiancé? The corners of He Yidu’s lips became sharp as he pressed his voice low. “Try mentioning your fiancé to me again.”
Lin Shuang’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. “I… Ah—”
Before she knew it, she had retreated all the way to the sofa, her entire body falling backward when the back of her knees bump into the sofa. Just when she wanted to get back on her feet, a tall dark figure loomed over her.
Her head snapped up, her eyes meeting He Yidu’s right away. Under the dim lights, his eyes appeared even darker and deeper and had a hint of danger in them.
She gasped, and a faint tobacco scent filled her nostrils. She instinctively leaned backward and lifted her hands to push him away in a bid to keep a distance from him.
However, her hands were grabbed and pinned above her head as He Yidu pinned her down and trapped her between the sofa and himself. He didn’t make any other moves except to stare at her with slightly dilated pupils.
Lin Shuang’s throat tightened, the amorous atmosphere intensifying when she felt his breath close. Her eyelashes trembled as she looked down. The lower part of her body was stiff, for she didn’t dare to move the slightest bit.
In this silence, they felt like they could hear each other’s heartbeats loud and clear.
It was the first time He Yidu had such a close-up look of Lin Shuang. His gaze slid down from her long and curly eyelashes to her sharp nose and eventually landed on her scarlet lips. His fingers tightened their grip on her hands.
It didn’t take long before Lin Shuang was unable to stand this dangerous and amorous position any longer. As someone who had always done as she pleased and had never been forced against her wishes, her body gradually relaxed when she came to her senses. She then calmly looked up to meet He Yidu’s eyes squarely.
“I really do have a fiancé. Both of our families are going to meet when I return to Country D.” Lin Shuang calmly put a leg atop her knee so that it appeared that she had the upper hand here even though he had her pinned to the sofa. “It’s true that I’m fond of you, but we’re all adults here. We don’t have to be together just because we like each other.”
He Yidu didn’t respond.
“Besides…” Lin Shuang paused to smile. “It’s only natural that one will develop urges after spending some time with the opposite sex. I don’t like my emotions being uncontrolled, nor do I want to believe in love and marriage. Since you came to bring me back, I’ll make things clear to you once and for all. He Yidu, I don’t like handling relationships.”
He Yidu looked at her. “You’ve been hurt by love before?”
Lin Shuang laughed. “Do you think it’s possible?”
“Since you don’t believe in love and marriage, why are you going back to get married?” he asked.
She didn’t give a reply and instead looked at her two hands. “Can you release me first?”
“No,” He Yidu said. “I’ll only let you go if you give me a convincing explanation.”
Lin Shuang rolled her eyes and nodded. “Fine.”
“Behave, and don’t pull any tricks. Otherwise, I’ll show you how crazy I can be.” He Yidu squeezed her fingers hard.
The electrifying feeling spread from her fingers and right to her bones, rendering them numb. Her body, which had just relaxed moments ago, became slightly tense once more.
“I don’t have any feelings for my fiancé, so we’ll lead our own lives after we get married. It’s an arranged marriage anyway. Nobody will be wasting time on anybody, and we can have our own freedom,” said Lin Shuang after swallowing her saliva. She appeared relatively calm, although her heart was racing on the inside. I’ll also be able to make things difficult for that pair of mother and daughter. How wonderful it’ll be.
“I can give you the freedom too.” He Yidu looked into her eyes. “All I ask is for your time. Your entire lifetime.”
Lin Shuang choked.
The He Yidu of her memory was completely different from the one in front of her now. It was just like how she hadn’t expected him to be so direct that he would openly say in the group chat that he was willing to marry her for the sake of the everlasting friendship between Red Flame and Shadow League.
Their eyes met.
Lin Shuang wasn’t sure how she exactly felt as she gazed into He Yidu’s deep and dark eyes. She was slightly opposed to his idea but also slightly eager to try it out. Eventually, her eyes gradually turned cold as she tugged the corners of her lips and let out a deep and sarcastic chuckle. “Men… You might say that I’m the only one for you now, but believe it or not, you’re bound to repeat that line to other women all the same.”
He Yidu frowned. “What do you mean?”
“My parents were childhood sweethearts as well as a loving couple for more than a decade, although their marriage was for political reasons. My father would give a rose to my mother every morning. Apart from work, he would always stay at home to accompany me and my mother, help me with my homework, and even create romantic surprises for my mother. What do you think about my father?”
She didn’t sound like she was praising her father, so He Yidu didn’t say anything.
Lin Shuang raised her eyebrows. “Everyone thinks that he’s a good husband and father. Well, my mother and I thought so as well. We thought that he loved us very much and that we were in bliss.”
The last two words were spoken through clenched teeth.
“However, that didn’t stop my father from cheating on my mother time and again. He even have another child. Do you know what’s the best way to make someone fall apart? Make them think they’re in heaven and then drop them to hell. After my mother went mad, he married his mistress and brought her home.” Lin Shuang’s smile widened, her eyes filled with mockery and sarcasm. “My father also promised my mother forever. Oh, the irony.”
He Yidu could roughly guess who Lin Shuang was talking about.
Country D’s president, Meyett, had two wives. He was a very loving couple with his first wife. In fact, they were a model couple worldwide. No matter which country he visited, he would surely take her with him. However, news about her falling sick spread, and not long after, Country D’s First Lady was replaced by someone else.
It was because of her father that Lin Shuang was so opposed, resistant, and disillusioned about marriage. She was afraid of meeting a hypocrite like her own father, which was why she stayed clear of love and relationships.
It had never occurred to He Yidu that she would have such thoughts because of her family.
“Was that clear enough for you? Nothing lasts forever,” said Lin Shuang. “Feelings are such uncertain things. I don’t want to get involved with them, nor do I need to.”
She didn’t want to explain so much in the beginning because she thought that they could still be friends once He Yidu let go of his feelings for her. But looking at the way things were now, she reckoned that it was impossible and that it was best for them never to meet again.
He Yidu frowned. “Not everyone will be like your father. Don’t generalize things. Look—”
“Look at who?” Lin Shuang interrupted. “Lu Chengzhou?”
“There’s no way I can promise you anything with words, but I can transfer all my assets to your name. If you really think that feelings are a fickle thing, then I’ll let you have my assets first.”
Having never expected him to say that, Lin Shuang froze for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. “Are you and your buddies that fond of using money to win women’s hearts?”
“Lin Shuang.” He Yidu stared into her eyes. “You can’t think that love is fake just because of one bad incident. There will be someone out there who will make you believe that love can last forever.”
The distance between them was very small, so they could clearly see their own reflections in each other’s eyes.
“No need.” Lin Shuang averted her gaze, her usual happy-go-lucky look replaced by a glacial look. “You’re a good man, He Yidu. Don’t waste your time on me.”
He Yidu was rendered speechless.
A long silence ensued once more.
Not wanting to waste any more of her time and energy on this matter with He Yidu, Lin Shuang pushed him away and got up to head to the door. When he didn’t chase after her even though she had taken a few steps away from him, she exhaled in relief and relaxed.
A crestfallen smile appeared on her face when she realized that they really might not be able to see each other again in the future. Upon realizing that she was in the wrong mood again, she frowned and decided that she would hit the bars later and spend some money to make herself feel better again.
She walked to the front door and pulled it open, only to be slammed close right in front of her eyes when a big hand suddenly pressed against it. Before she could even get the chance to scold him, He Yidu turned her around by her shoulders and pushed against the door.
“He Yidu, you—”
“I just want me to waste my time on you!” He Yidu stared at her stubbornly. “If you feel that you don’t have a happy family, then give me a chance. I’ll show you what forever truly means.”
Lin Shuang’s heart squeezed as she blurted, “Not interested…”
“If you want to block me because you’re a bit fond of me, then…” He Yidu paused. “Like me a bit more. Like me so much that you can’t bear to block me.”
He then lowered his head slightly to meet her eyes on the same level, his voice utterly gentle as he asked, “Okay?”
Lin Shuang didn’t know what to say, being totally helpless against him. How come I’ve never realized that he’s so full of bullshit?
“I’ll take your silence as consent then.” He Yidu then added, “Go back and break off your engagement with that fiancé whom you haven’t met before.”
Lin Shuang raised her eyebrows. “Who are you ordering?”
He Yidu pressed his hand against the back of her nape as he whispered gently, “Or I can help you settle it.”
“No. I told you, I’m getting married to him.” Lin Shuang refused to budge.
He Yidu’s eyes darkened as he repeated, “Call off that engagement, and we can get married instead.”
“My foot!” Lin Shuang fumed, “Can’t you understand what I say? I said no!”
He Yidu continued to repeat, “Call it off.”
“No!”
“Call it off.”
“I said—”
His face suddenly leaned in, and he swallowed the rest of her words into his mouth as he kissed her and pried open her lips in an aggressive manner.
Lin Shuang’s eyes widened in shock.
