Chapter 109: "Can You Use Fewer Schemes on Me!
Chapter 109: Chapter 109: "Can You Use Fewer Schemes on Me!
Xie Jinbai’s heart burned. His arms tightened around her as he lowered his head to gaze at the woman in his arms. "Yaoyao, you do like me, don’t you?"
As if afraid of scaring her, his voice was very soft. His deep eyes were now rippling with a gentle light, which, paired with his stern face, was a tenderness truly capable of making one’s head spin.
Cui Lingyao felt her heart pound.
She didn’t understand how the topic had suddenly shifted to this, out of nowhere.
’We’re already married, practically an old couple, and we’ve been through hell and back. Discussing whether we like each other or not at this point... isn’t that a little...’
The woman in his arms’ eyelashes fluttered, but she refused to speak. Xie Jinbai’s eyes darkened slightly, and he whispered, "Do you really not like me?"
Cui Lingyao was the type to yield to softness but not to force. Seeing this usually forceful and decisive man speak in such a crestfallen tone, she couldn’t help but feel a little unsettled.
She pursed her lips and said, "If I didn’t like you, why would I have married you?"
"You shouldn’t always get hung up on questions like this. The world is much harsher on women. After marriage, if a man is not satisfied with his wife, he can still take a few beautiful concubines for comfort. But when a woman marries, her life, death, honor, and disgrace are all tied to her husband. No woman would be so reckless as to marry a man she doesn’t favor."
’If I truly felt no affection for him at all, even if I had to marry him for the mission, I would have found it unbearable.’
But Cui Lingyao hadn’t.
From the bottom of her heart, she had never felt that marrying him was a difficult thing to do.
Consequently, even their wedding night felt as if it was simply the natural course of things.
There was no discomfort at all.
’So...’
Something she had never stopped to think about in detail was suddenly being brought to the forefront, and Cui Lingyao’s heart pounded as an inexplicable panic rose within her.
The panic left her flustered. Without thinking, she said, "Can we not talk about this anymore?"
A wave of joy had just begun to wash over Xie Jinbai, but her words puzzled him. "What are you being so awkward about?"
’She seemed to be resisting this fact.’
’It’s not like she’s a young girl experiencing her first crush, sharing her feelings for the first time.’
’What kind of relationship did they have? They had done all the most intimate things in the world. Their very souls were incredibly familiar with each other.’
’Just admitting that she likes me—a very small amount of liking, at that... how could it fluster her so much?’
’Is the fact that she likes me... so hard for her to accept?’
As a thought occurred to him, Xie Jinbai’s expression turned grim. "It was my fault."
Cui Lingyao: "..."
She pursed her lips, looking at him.
’She didn’t understand why he was suddenly apologizing out of the blue.’
Those beautiful, clear, and bright almond eyes, her dark pupils filled entirely with his face... For once, Xie Jinbai felt a little awkward.
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He leaned down, cupped the back of her neck, and pulled her a little tighter before speaking. "I was wrong. You were right. When a woman marries, she entrusts her entire honor and disgrace to her husband. No matter how much I resented you for being stingy with your affection, I never should have done what I did."
’What had he done?’
’Without giving her any explanation, he had welcomed a new bride into the manor with great fanfare. On the day of the wedding, he even made her attend the celebratory feast.’
’He had allowed Li Wanrong to mock her in front of everyone.’
The tragedy of three years ago... every time he looked back, it felt like dark clouds gathering, filled with despair.
In these three years, Xie Jinbai had thought countless times, ’What if...’
’What if, on the day he welcomed the concubine, when Li Wanrong spoke so insolently, he hadn’t just sat by and watched, but had sternly reprimanded her.’
’Then how would Li Wanrong have had the nerve to have her servants block her path the very next day?’
’That way, she wouldn’t have been dragged into the lake by Li Wanrong.’
’And she wouldn’t have... died...’
Xie Jinbai shut his eyes and buried his head in the crook of her neck. "I’m sorry. I was too much of a bastard. I made you suffer so much."
’A grown man, constantly haggling with his own wife over who had given more affection.’
’It was simply absurd.’
’Marrying him was, in itself, the greatest way a woman could express her feelings.’
’As for everything else, why did he have to be so calculating with her...’
’She was right to do so. A bastard like him truly didn’t deserve her wholehearted love. She should have held back.’
’That way...’
’When he acted like a fool, at least she wouldn’t be too heartbroken.’
The mere thought that this woman, who liked him, had to witness his wedding to another woman with her own eyes made Xie Jinbai’s heart ache terribly.
"You were right..."
"Yaoyao, you were right."
’The positions between them were never fair to begin with. A smart woman should protect herself first.’
’She shouldn’t give her heart away completely.’
The man’s hot lips pressed against her ear, his voice hoarse, every word distinct.
A sting pricked Cui Lingyao’s nose, and her eyes inexplicably grew hot.
’He could finally understand her.’
’In this world where the husband is the wife’s guide, where it’s not even considered wrong for a man’s heart to change, how could she dare to love a man without any reservations?’
’Besides, what he didn’t know was that she had to go back.’
’Everything she did, she did with a purpose.’
’Even getting close to him.’
Cui Lingyao blinked rapidly, desperately trying to force back the tears welling in her eyes.
’She didn’t want to cry.’
But in the next instant, the man’s choked voice sounded by her ear again.
"I know I was wrong. I really know... I’ll never dare to do it again."
’Such an arrogant man, saying he wouldn’t dare...’
Cui Lingyao’s breath hitched. She couldn’t hold back any longer, and tears burst from her eyes.
She felt ashamed and didn’t dare to make a sound, silently biting her lip as she cried, not even daring to sob.
But they were too close, their necks entwined in an intimate embrace. Xie Jinbai could feel her slightest movement.
He paused, wanting to lift his head to look. But the moment his head moved, she clasped the back of his neck tightly.
Cui Lingyao pressed his head firmly into the crook of her own neck and said angrily, "Don’t you look!"
The hoarse tremor in her voice exposed the fact that she was secretly crying.
’So embarrassing!’
Cui Lingyao was both angry and annoyed. She gave up hiding it, and pinching the back of his neck, she said through gritted teeth, "You’re doing this on purpose again, aren’t you? What tactic is it this time? Is it appealing to reason and emotion, continuing with that soft, weak approach of yours? Or have you come up with some new scheme to use against me?"
"Every word you said tonight, you rehearsed it in your head, deliberating over and over, figuring out how I would react before you finally said it, didn’t you?"
"You’re so clever, a master at manipulating people’s hearts. You’ve grasped my thoughts so precisely. You know exactly what to say to make me soften up, to make me let my guard down around you!"
"Xie Jinbai!"
The more she thought, the angrier she became. An indescribable sense of grievance welled up in her heart. Pinching his neck, she said furiously, "Can you just stop using these schemes on me!"
"..." Xie Jinbai was silent. He wanted to raise his head, but the hand on the back of his neck was quite domineering, holding his head down and refusing to let him lift it.
He reached out and tentatively touched her cheek. The wetness that coated his hand made his knuckles pause for a moment.
Xie Jinbai’s breath hitched. In a hoarse voice, he asked, "Why would you think that?"
"You dare say you haven’t?"
Seeing him deny it, Cui Lingyao grew even angrier. The hand pinching his neck tightened, and she yanked his head up, glaring at him viciously. "You dare say that acting weak and pathetic these last few times wasn’t a deliberate trick to make me soften up? You dare say you didn’t draft every word you said tonight in your head, all just to wrap me around your little finger?"