Cheng Yuan leaned in closer, the knife tip sinking into his flesh, a faint tearing sound audible. He stared at her with a grave expression, his voice even colder than before. "Satisfied? If not, keep going."
Seeing Jiang Xiao silent, he moved closer again, this time driving the blade deeper. Blood oozed from the wound, dripping onto Jiang Xiao's hand and then onto her shoes. The red was stark and shocking.
No matter how calm Jiang Xiao was, she hadn't expected Cheng Yuan to go this far. She broke free and threw the knife away. "Cheng Yuan, you're being unreasonable!"
Cheng Yuan acted as if he couldn't feel the pain. He pulled Jiang Xiao back into his arms. "If dying would make you happy, then I really could die."
That had just been an angry outburst. Jiang Xiao didn't actually want him dead. "Let me go, you madman!"
Cheng Yuan buried his face in the hollow of her neck, inhaling deeply. "Xiao Xiao, don't move. Let me hold you."
Since the divorce, he could only hold her in his dreams. No one knew how long he had longed for this moment, desperately hoping it would one day come true. Now it had...
His arms tightened until Jiang Xiao could barely breathe. She pounded his shoulder. "Let me go! Let me go!"
Cheng Yuan released her.
The next second, Jiang Xiao slapped him across the face, leaving a bright red handprint. In all of Jingbei City, no one dared to do such a thing except Jiang Xiao.
Cheng Yuan licked the corner of his mouth with his tongue and wiped the blood away with the back of his hand. He leaned in fearlessly. "Xiao Xiao, let me take you home, okay?"
Jiang Xiao's palm and fingers were trembling from the force of the slap. She clenched her fist. "Cheng Yuan, are you going to cling to me now?"
He had always despised such behavior. He had once said he would never grovel over feelings. But in just five years, he had slapped his own face.
Jiang Xiao continued to provoke him. "I hate men who cling. President Cheng, don't disappoint me."
Cheng Yuan grabbed her hand and rubbed his cheek against her palm like a stray dog begging. "As long as you're happy, I'll do anything."
Clinging or kneeling, as long as she was happy, he was willing.
"Xiao Xiao, I have a pretty good body too. If you want to see, look at mine instead," he suddenly said. "If you want to touch, touch mine."
Cheng Yuan did have a great physique; he had spent years in the gym.
Jiang Xiao said flatly, "Not interested."
Every time she rejected him, it hurt him beyond words. His voice choked. "Do you want to feel my abs? I have them. Here, feel."
He pulled out his shirt hem, lifted it, and grabbed Jiang Xiao's hand to touch.
Jiang Xiao saw the bloodstains on his white shirt. She couldn't even bear to look, let alone touch. "You're injured. You'd better go to the hospital now."
Cheng Yuan's mind was not rational these days. Hearing this, he brightened. "You're worried about me, right? You can't bear to see me hurt either, can you?"
"I knew it. You're not that heartless."
"Xiao Xiao, I love you."
He cupped her face and bent down to kiss her before she could react. It was just a brief touch, and he pulled away as she struggled.
"So good. You still care about me."
He was lost in his own thoughts, ignoring everything else.
Jiang Xiao didn't think it was concern—she would have said the same to a stranger. "Cheng Yuan, if you dare kiss or hug me again without permission, I'll make sure you never see me again!"
"..." Cheng Yuan was terrified of that. He withdrew his hands. "Xiao Xiao, don't."
"Back up," Jiang Xiao said.
Cheng Yuan obediently stepped back.
Jiang Xiao straightened her clothes and hair, then bent to pick up her bag from the sofa. "Don't appear in front of me without my permission from now on."
Cheng Yuan couldn't agree to that. "Can I just watch from afar?" he said without any backbone. "Just one look, and then I'll leave."
"Don't you understand human speech?" Jiang Xiao said. "Not even a look."
"Fine, I won't look." Cheng Yuan just wanted to appease her for now. "I'll take you home."
Jiang Xiao glanced disdainfully at his chest. "I hate the smell of blood."
Cheng Yuan also looked down at his chest. "I'll get treated. I'll come see you after."
Jiang Xiao didn't refuse, but she didn't agree either.
Cheng Yuan clung to hope. His mood was light all the way to the hospital.
Jiang Yu hadn't seen his boss this happy in a long time. "President Cheng, did the missus agree?"
Cheng Yuan: "No."
Jiang Yu: "Then why are you so happy?"
Cheng Yuan: "I said I'd go see her after treatment. She didn't refuse." He smiled again after saying it.
Jiang Yu's heart raced. His boss's mind really wasn't right. The missus's response was obviously just brushing him off.
As expected, it was exactly as Jiang Yu thought.
After treatment, Cheng Yuan went to Jiang Xiao's place. He rang the doorbell for a long time, but no one answered. The neighbor, annoyed by the noise, opened the door. "Who are you looking for?"
Cheng Yuan: "The people who live here."
Neighbor: "She went abroad."
Cheng Yuan frowned. "When?"