Chapter 244: In Your Heart, That Was Just Soft-Heartedness, Just Sympathy, Is That It?
Chapter 244: Chapter 244: In Your Heart, That Was Just Soft-Heartedness, Just Sympathy, Is That It?
Bai Ye lowered his eyes, his gaze heavy as it fell on the reddened tip of Yun Sheng’s ear. A faint, muffled sound rumbled in his throat.
He wasn’t oblivious to her resistance. It was just that throughout their journey, her deliberately averted gazes and her silences, feigning incomprehension, were like a fine thorn piercing his heart, the feeling growing more suffocating the more he held it in.
He didn’t loosen his grip. Instead, he lowered his voice slightly, his tone carrying a blunt coldness as he directly tore through the thin veneer of politeness.
"I’m not letting go. Yun Sheng, why do you keep avoiding me?"
The moment he said it, the air instantly froze.
Yun Sheng froze, her eyes lowered as she remained silent.
Just then, a lazy yet provocative voice suddenly sounded from the side.
"White War God, didn’t you hear Shengsheng tell you to let go?"
Xing Che had, at some point, walked up to them. His eyes were fixed on Bai Ye’s hand tightly gripping Yun Sheng’s, his displeasure written plainly on his face.
Bai Ye’s brows furrowed sharply. The tense aura around him, born from his desperation, was instantly thrown into disarray by Xing Che’s words.
He subconsciously tightened his fingers, but upon feeling the delicate skin of Yun Sheng’s wrist, he abruptly loosened his grip. The pressure from his palm was so light it was as if he was afraid of hurting her.
He didn’t look at Xing Che, only gazing down at Yun Sheng. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his voice, stripped of its usual cold hardness, was tinged with a desperation and helplessness he himself hadn’t noticed.
"Yun Sheng, I’m sorry, I was a little hasty just now. I just want to ask you, why are you avoiding me?"
Bai Ye’s gaze fell on Yun Sheng’s fluttering eyelashes as she looked away, a suppressed anxiety churning in the depths of his eyes.
The desperation in his tone was too obvious. Stripped of the usual coldness of a War God, he seemed more like a child afraid of being abandoned, exuding a sort of clumsy pitifulness.
Xing Che scoffed and took a half-step forward, almost shielding Yun Sheng with his body.
"Before you ask, maybe you should see if she’s even willing to listen?"
His interruption once again made the atmosphere between him and Bai Ye tense and hostile.
And at that moment, an icy aura silently swept over.
Si Jin approached at a slow pace. The gentleness in his eyes had long since vanished, replaced by a coldness like that of a frozen pool.
He didn’t look at the two men arguing. His gaze was fixed on the hand Bai Ye had on Yun Sheng’s wrist, and his voice was calm, yet so cold it was almost without warmth.
"Bai Ye, let go."
Yun Sheng was already feeling uncomfortable, caught in the stagnant atmosphere between Bai Ye and Xing Che. The moment she saw Si Jin approach, she immediately tried to tug her wrist free.
As if scalded, Bai Ye instantly snatched his hand back.
The moment his fingertips met empty air, his eyes dimmed. His fingers, now hanging by his side, curled slightly, making him look somewhat lost.
He looked at Yun Sheng, his lips moving, but in the end, he could only force out one sentence.
"Yun Sheng, I just wanted to talk to you. I didn’t mean anything else."
In the stagnant air, even the wind seemed to have stopped.
Yun Sheng looked at the dim helplessness in Bai Ye’s eyes, then glanced at Xing Che’s sarcastic expression and Si Jin’s cold demeanor, and sighed inwardly.
She raised a hand to rub the bridge of her nose and looked at Si Jin first, her voice softening.
"I’ll go talk with Bai Ye alone for a bit. I’ll be back soon."
Hearing this, the coldness in Si Jin’s eyes faded slightly. He just gave her a deep look, then swept his gaze over the tense-looking Bai Ye beside them and grunted in acknowledgement.
No unnecessary obstruction, only silent indulgence.
Xing Che, on the other hand, scowled visibly the moment he heard her words.
’He hadn’t even won her over yet. If he let Bai Ye talk to Yun Sheng alone now, what if Bai Ye said something that made her heart soften and she accepted him?’
’How could he possibly be happy about that!’
But Xing Che wasn’t some hot-headed brat who couldn’t keep his composure. No matter how unhappy he was, he knew he had no right to question Yun Sheng’s decision.
So he just watched as Yun Sheng and Bai Ye walked one after the other into the nearby woods. He gritted his teeth, his face still maintaining its usual lazy air, but his eyes were tempered with a glint of coldness.
He irritably raised a hand, his fingers casually brushing through his bangs. Turning to the quietly standing Si Jin, he spoke in a chilly tone.
"You’re just letting them go like that? Aren’t you afraid ’someone’ will use this chance to talk alone to play the victim, angle for pity, and make Shengsheng’s heart soften for a moment and give in?"
Si Jin’s fingers, hanging by his side, curled slightly. His eyes were calm and rippleless, yet they held a certainty that no one could shake.
"Her heart may be soft, but she won’t give in easily."
’Bai Ye’s marriage contract hasn’t been completely resolved. Yun Sheng hates trouble, so she won’t get too involved with him at a time like this. It’s just that after this talk, she probably won’t avoid Bai Ye like she did before.’
Meanwhile, Bai Ye and Yun Sheng walked to a relatively quiet, shady spot under the trees, where the only sound was the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Yun Sheng stopped first. Without turning around, she spoke in a soft but clear voice.
"Whatever you want to say, say it."
Bai Ye stood a step behind her, watching her slightly tense back. In that instant, the rush of desperation, panic, suffocation, and unease all clogged up in his throat.
He opened his mouth, but couldn’t utter a single one of the words he had prepared.
All that came out was a clumsy and helpless whisper.
"I... I just don’t want you to keep avoiding me."
With her back to him, Yun Sheng’s fingertips curled slightly. She didn’t turn around right away.
She knew Bai Ye was watching her. His gaze was too heavy, too scorching—like red-hot iron, it seared her, making her chest tighten.
After a long moment, she finally turned around slowly and looked up at him.
The Bai Ye before her had lost the cold, sharp edge he’d had when killing the gray-clothed men earlier. A layer of helplessness colored his features, and even the line of his jaw was tensed to the point of seeming fragile.
"I haven’t been deliberately avoiding you."
A light flashed in Bai Ye’s eyes. He took an eager step forward. "Then why..."
"I just don’t know how to face you."
Yun Sheng cut him off, her tone calm but tinged with a hint of powerlessness.
"Lin Yueyao came to see me before, when she was here to conduct a guidance session for Major General Qi. I know you went to the Lin Family to break off the engagement. But with a personality like hers, how could she possibly let go so easily? I’m afraid of trouble, and even more afraid that the more we talk, the messier things will get."
Bai Ye’s Adam’s apple bobbed hard. Just as he was about to speak, he heard her continue.
"Bai Ye, back in the dream, I only... because I saw how badly damaged your spiritual landscape was and my heart softened for a moment. But that doesn’t mean I’ve accepted you. I hope you understand that."
Yun Sheng watched the light in Bai Ye’s eyes slowly dim. Her heart softened for a split second, but she steeled herself and laid out the cruelest, most clear-headed truth.
Bai Ye froze as if nailed to the spot, the color draining from his face bit by bit.
He stared at her, his eyes filled with bitterness and pain, his voice so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable.
"So... in your heart, that was just a moment of weakness, just pity, is that it?"
Yun Sheng looked away, not meeting his gaze, but gave a slight nod, her admission crisp.
"Yes."
A single word, as light as a feather, yet it crashed down on Bai Ye’s heart.
He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, they were completely bloodshot.
"Yun Sheng, I know my past suspicion, scrutiny, and relentless pressure all repulsed you and wronged you. But I truly like you. Believe me, I will definitely resolve the matter of breaking off the engagement."
Bai Ye subconsciously took two steps forward and reached out, wanting to touch Yun Sheng’s fingertips, but he was afraid of scaring her. His hand hovered in mid-air, his voice trembling.
"Yun Sheng, can you not write me off completely...? Don’t sentence me to death just because I messed up before. Can you... just give me one more chance to pursue you?"