You’re so petty.”
”It’s not pettiness, it’s loyalty. I don’t want to harm anyone.” Shang Peng said somewhat lazily.
Looking at the woman with wide almond eyes, ready to flip the table at any moment, he added: “Actually, there is someone suitable for you.”
”Who?”
”Far away in the distance, yet close at hand – me!”
Huh? Zhi Wei didn’t expect him to be so direct.
He said solemnly: “My grandmother has always wanted me to pursue you again, and to definitely win you over.”
His grandmother?
”Oh. Did your grandmother tell you how many times to brush the left side and right side when brushing teeth?” She was equally serious.
”Uh…”
You look at me, I look at you, both engaged in an intense staring contest, until simultaneous laughter burst out.
After laughing, Shang Peng said with emotion, “Look, aren’t we happy together? Why not?”
”That’s because we’re not really boyfriend and girlfriend. Once the relationship changes, everything might be different.”
”Really? Is there a difference?”
”Of course. Once you invest, you’ll want returns. It’s reciprocal.” She paused, “If you could only be good to one woman for the rest of your life, with only her in your eyes and heart, could you do that?”
Shang Peng was stumped.
She glanced at him. “See, you can’t, right?”
”It sounds difficult. At least right now, it’s hard to imagine.”
Hearing this answer, Zhi Wei felt an inexplicable frustration. A man who couldn’t truly care and yet kept promoting himself was truly annoying!
Shang Peng interpreted her expression and spoke again: “I’m just being honest. Attraction between sexes is natural. I’ve always been used to accepting the natural changes of feelings. If the feeling isn’t right, why torture yourself and deceive the other person?”
”Why don’t you just say you’re fickle?”
”Is this being fickle?” He looked very serious, finally reaching a conclusion: “No. Like you, to me, you’re not a new person.”
Was he bringing her into this again? His words were particularly intriguing. Was he indicating his undiminished interest in her, or explaining that new people would appear after her?
”What about Lin Yu Jiao? Is she a new or old person? I heard you broke off our engagement because of her.”
”The real reason for breaking the engagement, you should know best. It was you who didn’t want me.” Shang Peng gave a bitter smile.
Zhi Wei glanced at him, almost laughing at his aggrieved expression. No, can’t laugh! Educating love’s “scoundrels” and correcting social morals is everyone’s responsibility!
She kept a straight face, chin raised, in a lecturing posture, “Who would dare want a man like you? If you continue to love one after meeting another, I believe no woman in the world would want you!”
”What if I changed? And changed specifically for you, would you then agree to my pursuit?”
”Uh… wait, this is a serious matter!” “I, I… in principle, I would of course consider, but—”
”Then I can go announce the good news.” He didn’t give her a chance to finish her qualifications.
”You… don’t mess around. People say it’s easy to change landscapes, but hard to change nature. Do you think I’d believe you so easily?”
”Why not? The facts are right in front of you.”
”Facts? What facts?”
”Just… ” his tone suddenly became a bit harsh, “what you just said.”
”What I said? I said a lot. What are you referring to?”
”Those things about eyes and heart, and so on.” Shang Peng responded casually, lowering his head to fill both wine glasses.
Isn’t this clear enough? Wouldn’t this make her cry?
At this moment, he indeed only had feelings for her, and she was the only woman he currently wanted to be close to.
But after a while, the scene was unusually calm, not like the scene he had imagined.
Shang Peng finally couldn’t help but look up, catching her dazed expression.
”Why are you looking at me like that?”
Zhi Wei avoided his gaze, her voice strangely muffled: “I don’t like jokes like this.”
She remembered what was said before, but couldn’t recall the “fact” in his mouth, was he really… looking at her that way?
Damn, what if she accidentally took it seriously?
”It seems your prejudice against me runs deep,” he chuckled, with a self-deprecating tone.
”This isn’t about prejudice, I just… can’t find a reason to believe you.”
”In other words, you don’t have confidence in yourself, so you don’t believe you can influence my feelings.”
”That’s not true!” she quickly refuted.
”Actually, I’ve doubted it too,” he continued regardless of her reaction, his bold gaze still locked on her, “I also doubted myself, actually being able to maintain such heat for the same woman for so long, and it’s only increasing. So I think it’s a miracle, and I want to know how long this can last—”
”I’m not your experimental white rat!”
”Maybe the white rat is me. What if I continue to let my feelings go, and can no longer accept other women, and then you, this flirtatious young lady, just say sorry and go off to enjoy yourself, what about me? Wouldn’t I be finished?”
”Hmm, I like this hypothesis!” she held back her laughter.
”You evil bad woman.”
She raised her chin, giving him a mutual smile.
”But I particularly like this about you, so I think there’s no one more compatible than us.”
After his self-recommendation, his teasing tone suddenly changed, with a hint of emotion:
Not a problem.
“However, I must honestly admit that what I just said was merely a hypothesis. Although I may not be interested in other women because of you now, I can’t guarantee what will happen in the future. What about you? I think it’s the same for you.”
“Me?”
“For a woman like you, even if you fall in love with a man, I’m afraid it would be difficult to guarantee that you’ll stay faithful to him until death without any changes,” he said with a probing tone.
Zhiwei, unable to comprehend the subtleties, began to feel slightly annoyed.
What was he thinking about her? The quintessential example of an unfaithful woman?
“This is not a one-sided issue! Feelings also require nurturing. If this man loses the reason for me to continue loving him, of course I won’t foolishly compromise myself!”
“Well said,” Shang Peng clapped his hands, laughing in agreement. “So, do you want to try? See if I’ll be transformed into a passionate lover by you, or if I’ll make you fall deeply and willingly in love?”
“Is this some kind of strategic provocation?” Zhiwei rested her chin on her hand, scrutinizing him with an all-knowing gaze, repeatedly shaking her head and laughing.
“That depends on whether someone is willing to fall for it.”
The word “willing” was used cleverly. In fact, wasn’t the ambiguous atmosphere born under the tacit consent of this very word? Could she honestly say she hadn’t been indulging something all along?
Zhiwei lowered her head and took a small sip of wine. The spicy sensation fueled the heat in her heart. Finally, she raised her head, meeting his equally passionate gaze.
“Your previous hypothesis is really quite tempting, so I think… I’ll just give it a try!”
A bright smile immediately spread across Shang Peng’s mouth. Holding his glass, he made a toast gesture.
“Come, here’s to us both achieving our wishes!”
“What if our wishes are completely different? How can we both achieve them?”
“Then…” Shang Peng raised an eyebrow, unconcerned with her emphasis, “here’s to enjoying freedom! Let’s be true to our feelings while staying authentic. Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
The glasses clinked sharply.
Then, one sound after another…
The night was not yet over, everything was silent, only the room was filled with laughter.
Zhiwei had to agree with him. It turned out they could be this enjoyable together. What was most fatal was that she actually found him incredibly charming at this moment.
