She thought she would never see him again, but his appearance today had easily broken the protective membrane she had carefully built. She hurriedly left Zhang Ning’s place, not daring to stay. She knew that if Jun Hao wanted to, he would stop at nothing to make her submit, and the people around her were her only weakness. She had thought about running away overnight, but she understood she couldn’t escape. She believed he had people watching her, and any movement would bring him to her side. An Ke didn’t know where Jun Hao went after she overheard his conversation with Sakai Kensei. Perhaps where he went was no longer important; what mattered was that he didn’t love her at all – she was just his toy.
“Jun Hao, Jun Hao, why do you still want to provoke me? My heart is already bleeding from your wounds. Why won’t you let me go?” An Ke beat her pillow and cried out loud, “Jun Hao, Jun Hao, you demon, I hate you, hate you.” Only in the quiet of the night would she release her emotions, letting go of her pretended strength and all her bitterness.
Jun Hao’s words were spoken casually, but he didn’t dare to be careless. An Ke had guessed half right – he wasn’t sending people to watch her; he was personally keeping watch near her rented house. Sitting in the car, looking at the window of her small house, it was raining. He wondered if she had covered herself with a blanket. In the past, when she slept, she would often kick off her blanket, and many times he would quietly cover her without her knowing.
He thought that not seeing her would make him forget her. In two months, he had traveled the world, avoiding A City. He was also afraid, afraid of that place where their fate began and ended. He thought time could truly dilute everything, but that wasn’t the case. These two months, his longing for her had only grown deeper. Her every angry glance, her occasional gentle smile, constantly haunted him. Many times he wanted to find her without hesitation, but he was afraid of hearing her cold words: “I don’t love you, not at all.” She was an accident in his life – accidentally falling deeply in love with her, accidentally wanting to protect a woman for a lifetime.
“An Ke, An Ke, you’re a thorn in my heart. I’d rather let you rot inside than pull out this thorn,” Jun Hao silently murmured, gripping the steering wheel tightly. “How could you say such heartless words and leave when I was falling for you? Do you know that I would lose anyone but you.”
These words he could only bury in his heart, hoping one day she might feel them.
An Ke, you don’t know how excited I was when I bought two rings, wanting to promise you, wanting to be good to you for a lifetime. When I heard your heartless words, how much pain was in my heart. My world seemed to be only darkness at that moment. I was like standing in a thousand-year-old ice cellar, freezing and unable to breathe. I regret hurting you, I hate how easily I lost my reason. Do you know I’d rather hurt everyone in the world than hurt you? But all I could do was smile. Only by smiling could I believe I was still Jun Hao, the business tycoon, the world’s richest man, the object of many people’s admiration. But you always made me feel like nothing, not even as important as an ordinary person in your heart.
Cried enough, cried tired, An Ke finally crawled down from the bed and turned on the indoor lights, opened the window, standing by the window letting the cold wind wake her up, not wanting to overthink anymore. Jun Hao would just be a passerby in her life. He and she were like parallel lines, with absolutely no possibility of intersecting. It was only four in the morning, but she wanted to prepare herself early, determined to eliminate her swollen crying eyes. She was strong, she was optimistic. “Jun Hao, how could I possibly give you another chance to hurt me.” A wave of nausea came over her, and An Ke rushed to the bathroom, vomiting again. It was so similar to her pregnancy reaction – in the past month, she would start vomiting uncontrollably with just a breeze, and she was also constantly sleepy.
Seeing the room’s lights turn on, Jun Hao quickly sat up straight. Was she getting up so early to escape him? Watching her figure stand by the window for a moment before leaving, Jun Hao’s heart was in his throat. “An Ke, An Ke, I’ve let you go many times before. This time, I won’t let you leave no matter what.”
………………………………………………………………..
062 Retreat
After the rain, the sky cleared, and the air was particularly fresh. An Ke wore a red hooded down jacket, carried a small red bag, and wore fluffy gloves, heading to the company early in the morning. Last night seemed like a dream, and today she looked fine. However, she still kept her head tucked inside her hood, trying to avoid the cold wind – the taste of vomiting was truly unbearable. She bought some stomach medicine, but it didn’t seem to help.
On her way to the bus stop, Jun Hao blocked her path in his car, getting out to grab her. She pushed him away, wanting to cry for help but feeling it wouldn’t be appropriate – who would believe that someone driving a Mercedes would be trying to rob an ordinary worker?
Jun Hao shoved her into the car and drove through the city streets without asking where she wanted to go. An Ke sat with a cold face, not saying a word, not asking where they were heading, just watching the streetscape flash by.
Jun Hao drove seriously, not turning to look at her, as if he was the only person in the car. They were outwardly calm, but internally turbulent, each hiding within their own protective shell.
The car windows were closed, and the heater was on high. An Ke kept her gloves on, her head still tucked in her hood, her face turning red. Jun Hao reached out to pull off her hood: “You’ll suffocate yourself.”
An Ke turned her head, pulling the hood back up, not wanting to speak to him. She hugged her head, not giving him another chance to touch her. This time, Jun Hao didn’t pull at her hood but reached out to hold her hand. An Ke tried to pull away, but he kept pulling her back, enjoying the game. An Ke knew he was intentional and let him hold her hand – she was wearing gloves, so he couldn’t take advantage.
Neither spoke. An Ke didn’t know where Jun Hao was taking her, and she didn’t want to ask. Even if she asked, he wouldn’t give her a chance to object.
“You really don’t want to see me or talk to me?” Jun Hao finally broke the silence.
An Ke continued looking out the window, still silent.
Jun Hao stopped the car, turning her body to face him, shaking her with a hoarse voice: “Tell me, what do you want me to do?” He hadn’t slept all night, his eyes filled with blood vessels, looking particularly weathered to An Ke.
An Ke stubbornly looked outside, unwilling to engage. She wouldn’t be foolish enough to believe him again, to be swayed by a gentle word. No, absolutely not.
“An Ke, tell me what to do, and I’ll do it,” he cupped her face, trying to find his reflection in her eyes.
“I want you to let me go,” she said softly.
“Impossible,” he embraced her tightly: “I’ll never let you go again.”
An Ke gave a cold laugh and remained silent.
He adjusted his tie and smiled lightly at the crowd: “My visit to Rongcheng this time is sudden. I’m not here for investment, but for a woman, a beloved woman.”
Another reporter asked, “I’ve heard that Mr. Jun’s wife, Miss Pei Xuanzhi, betrayed you, and your marriage ended. I wonder what kind of woman could win Mr. Jun’s favor now.” The reporter was equally interested in his personal life.
