She pulled him in and pinned him against the wall, kissing him from the doorway to the bed, until both were laid bare to each other.
"Bastard, you’re happy now, huh? My back is about to break," she complained.
The man’s eyes darkened, "Don’t call yourself ’young master’ ever again."
"What right do you have...argh...you jerk." Her voice quieted down toward the end, "Fine...."
Later, Ye Feng kept digging for the truth, asking how many boyfriends she’d had. Ning Zijin replied helplessly, "You’re the third. The first was my classmate from elementary to high school, but then his parents moved to Capital City, and we lost touch. The second was just a scumbag who dared to cheat on me, almost drove me crazy... The third one, that’s you. Many people are jealous of me, which is why they slander me. That’s where those rumors come from."
She was always such a fierce and assertive woman, but to marry him, she smoothed out her edges, began wearing the prim and proper dresses she once despised, started speaking with affectation, began eating delicately, started... to control her temper.
She had changed, turned into a canary caged in a luxurious mansion in Capital City, no longer had Master Ning’s carefree spirit, and never really laughed heartily again. He questioned himself countless times, is this your love? Making her sacrifice so much for you... But he had no choice, he was already unable to leave her, yet he couldn’t give up the responsibilities he was burdened with. What could he do? What should he do?
At this moment, seeing her eating heartily like before might seem crude in the eyes of others, but to him, it was the most beautiful sight in the world.
If only she could always be .
However, he knew the pressure from parents and the family made it impossible for her to be herself, forcing her like a bird with clipped wings to retract all her fierceness, molding herself into someone she didn’t want to be.
"Jinjin, I’m sorry," he suddenly said.
Ning Zijin’s hand paused as she held her chopsticks, glanced at him, set the chopsticks down, and took a napkin to wipe her mouth.
"You’ve said that so many times I’m getting calluses in my ears," she said.
Sighing, Ning Zijin said lightly, "What wrong have you done? It’s all been my own willing choice." And she deserved this end.
"Ye Feng, if you had to make a choice between me and your mother, who would you choose?" It was a classic question that Ning Zijin had held in her heart for a long time, and today, she finally asked it.
Even though the outcome was certain, she still wanted to hear the answer from his lips.
"Jinjin, don’t force me," he said, looking at her with eyes full of sorrow.
"See, even you’re troubled. Yes, there’s only one mother, but a wife, particularly a fertile woman, can be found anywhere," she retorted.
Ye Feng suddenly grabbed her hand, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
Ning Zijin curled her lips in a sardonic smile, looking at him, "Ye Feng, stop playing dumb. You know what that woman today was brought in for, don’t you? I don’t believe you’re completely unaware."
"What she’s here for has nothing to do with us. Don’t give her any significance," he retorted.
"No matter how much you deny it, would you dare defy your mother? Would you dare refuse if she asked you to sleep with that woman?"
"Ning Zijin," Ye Feng’s face darkened, eyes fixed on her intently, "What are you talking about?"
With a light laugh, Ning Zijin said, "I’m telling you, she’s been brought in by your mother as a surrogate. Your mother’s character being what it is, she’s likely to send her straight to your bed. It wouldn’t be the first time..."
Ye Feng suddenly swept all the tableware onto the floor with a wave of his hand, bellowing, "Enough."
Looking at him, Ning Zijin said, "Ye Feng, going on will only torment us both." She placed a divorce agreement on the table: "Just sign it, let’s part on good terms."
Ye Feng lunged forward, tearing the agreement to shreds; amidst the falling fragments, he growled angrily, "You wish, I’m telling you, the only way you’re divorcing me is over my dead body."
Ning Zijin sighed, "You’re always . I’m too tired; I really can’t take it anymore. I don’t want to hold you back, nor do I want to hold myself back. Can’t you let me have a way out, and give yourself one too?" Content originally comes from N0velFire.ɴet
"Impossible, I’m telling you it’s absolutely impossible," he shouted as if mad, grabbing her and trying to walk away.
"Let’s go abroad and never come back. I don’t need anything else; I just want you. Let’s go, right now," he said desperately.
Ning Zijin’s face was streaked with tears as she suddenly broke free from his grasp, "Can you calm down for a moment? Be realistic. You’re the heir to Shenghua; do you think that’s possible?"