“You don’t need to worry about me. No one asked you to do this,” she said deliberately coolly, though her heart was already melting like chocolate in a microwave, sweet and thick.
His face grew darker; if she misspoke again, she’d truly be in trouble.
“The job I chose has always been on the front lines, always dancing with danger.”
He glared at her.
“You had people transfer me away, wanting me to listen to concerts and such, which to me is like being trapped in a beast cage.” She emphasized her words. “I’m unhappy, really, really unhappy!”
She says she’s unhappy? After he’d thought of so much for her, she dares say she’s unhappy!?
“You already have my heart. Can’t you just obediently stay by my side?”
He roared, and for a moment, both of them were stunned.
She never expected the man she wanted to punch and kick would say such words.
“Are you… confessing?” she asked hesitantly.
“Mm.” He turned his face away, his handsome face slightly red, whether from excitement or… shyness.
“Oh, I see…” She suddenly fell silent, an almost eerie atmosphere about to erupt.
They clearly weren’t dating, hadn’t gone on dates, didn’t call each other every night, didn’t have weekend meals and drinks, didn’t go on Sunday nature walks, didn’t watch movies together, didn’t hold hands admiring night scenery.
Perhaps he was omniscient, always knowing her whereabouts, but she didn’t even know his phone number by heart, and wouldn’t casually call him – how could love happen?
“You have nothing to say?” he pressed. Since everything was now out in the open, there was no need to be evasive.
“What to say?” She lowered her head, playing with her pajama drawstring, showing a feminine gesture she’d never displayed before him.
“Having my heart, isn’t that enough?”
She looked at him. Those sharp yet restrained eyes now rippled with tenderness; his extraordinary presence now seemed humble. This man who had kept his spine straight and unbending even in his worst years was now offering his entire self, seeking her love.
A sudden sharp pain shot through her left shoulder.
Yes, she liked him too, perhaps even more than like, otherwise she wouldn’t have broken her own protective principles, rushing forward to block a bullet for him.
