“Do you want to strangle me now? I promise not to resist,” I asked. He shook his head, picked me up, and placed me on the sofa, gently lifting my face to examine the wound on my forehead. “Do you have a first-aid kit?”
“In the cabinet in the bedroom,” I replied. He retrieved the kit, dressed my wound with gauze, and wrapped some ice in a towel to gently press on my swollen face.
The extreme cold pricked my fragile nerves, and I suddenly burst out laughing, unable to stop. It was truly ridiculous. Yin Zhongtian slapped me, and now Ye Zhengchen was helping me treat the wounds.
“What are you laughing at?” Ye Zhengchen asked, puzzled.
I covered the wound that hurt from laughing. “Senior, would you say we’re like adulterers?”
“No.” He shot me a cold glance. “I never agreed to break up.”
Was there even a need to say “breakup”? If a man was determined to be unreasonable, what could you do?
“In my heart, you’ve always been my girlfriend.”
“Even though I have a fiancé?” I asked.
“Darling,” Ye Zhengchen stroked my long hair as he used to. “Leave him.”
The floor lamp cast shadows on Ye Zhengchen’s face, making every detail clear to me. I had embedded all my memories in amber. Even if years passed, not a single moment would fade. I really didn’t want to refuse him or my own desires. “Even if I don’t want to leave him, he won’t want me anymore.”
Ye Zhengchen turned slightly, his suppressed laughter looking adorable in the shadows.
“You’ve achieved your goal. Go ahead and laugh,” I said.
“No need to pretend in front of me.” He no longer concealed it, laughing satisfiedly.
I should have realized he was Ye Zhengchen, a man with profound motives. He wouldn’t force me to bed without a plan; he calculated the moment the truth would emerge, knowing Yin Zhongtian could never forgive me. He anticipated that I would inevitably return to him.
Sometimes, when a man is too clever, it becomes a tragedy for a woman. “Do you hate me?” he asked, stunning me with his question.
Hate? Perhaps a little. I hated that he deceived me three years ago and returned to turn my life upside down. I detested that he stole Yin Zhongtian’s fiancée at his lowest, pushing him to despair. But all of this was in the past—what difference would hate make now?
If possible, I’d prefer to find a way to help Yin Zhongtian minimize his suffering. Hesitating, I tugged at Ye Zhengchen’s sleeve. “Senior brother?”
He brushed away my hand. “What do you want to ask me now? Go ahead.”
Looking at his indifferent face, I shamelessly asked, “Is there any way to get Zhongtian back to work at the municipal government?”
Without hesitation, he answered, “Yes.”
“What method?” I sat up straight, eager for his response.
Ye Zhengchen gently lifted my chin, a playful smile forming. “Marry me!”
Author’s note: It’s been a while since I wrote, and I’m a bit out of practice. I’ll update a bit to whet everyone’s appetite, and I’m checking references. What kind of intimacy should I include this weekend? What do you all think the girl should answer?
