Lai Hui pondered for a long while, then looked back at him and slowly said, “You’re really selfish, only thinking about your own status and background, expecting me to make sacrifices.” She stared intently into his slightly flustered dark eyes until tears rolled down her cheeks, then she clenched her hands clasped over her chest and said, “But what can be done? For you, I am willing to live the rest of my life as someone I’m not supposed to be!” Zhou Yuqian turned her around, sat her on his lap, and for the first time, trembling, caressed her face with a look of compassion and self-reproach. “It doesn’t matter. Being someone you’re not is just for others to see. In my heart, you’re the one who prepares dinner for me when I come home from work, who brews tea for me while I work. Don’t mind what others think; all that matters is what I think, okay?”
“Okay!” she nodded.
“But I’m not ready to marry you yet!” Zhou Yuqian, who had been deeply moved, immediately darkened his expression upon hearing this, tightening his grip on her. “What do you mean? Was everything you said just now a lie?”
“I’ve applied to school and don’t want to give up. I’ve given up the past twenty-six years of my life for you; you should give up two years for me!” As she spoke, she dragged her handbag off the floor, pulling out two printed contracts to hand to him. Zhou Yuqian only glanced at a few lines before tossing them away. He pinched her cheeks, distorting her face and pouting her lips, only then easing his anger a bit. He then asked menacingly, “What does ‘no visitation for unjust reasons’ mean? And what’s this ‘smiling at others is a violation, forfeiting one visitation opportunity’? And what about these random obligations like ‘mandatory tutoring, not allowed to refuse’ and ‘letters must be over a thousand words’? Just tell me what you want!”
Lai Hui shrugged. “I want to enjoy being pursued, to build trust and understanding between us, to love myself well, and for you to cherish me more!”
“I’m over thirty; I don’t have time for these games!” Zhou Yuqian glared at her.
