The man outside the door remained silent for a long time before speaking slowly, "Because I don't like him, Lili. I attacked him."
Yu Li quietly observed him for a few seconds, then suddenly tilted her head. "Bo Jingmo, why have you been hiding outside the door instead of coming in?"
From her angle, she could only see half of Bo Jingmo's face peeking from behind the door. Crossing her arms, she scanned his face for several seconds before joking, "Don't tell me you lost the fight with Rong Fan and got beaten up instead."
Noticing the man's visibly stiffened expression and the fleeting panic in his eyes, the smile gradually faded from Yu Li's lips.
Her tone instantly turned cold. "Come here. Let me see."
The man's shrinking motion became more pronounced. "Lili... maybe you should come see me in a few days instead. I've already gone to get it treated."
Just how badly was he injured?
Yu Li suddenly felt like breaking her agreement with the system. Maybe she should just send Rong Fan to the research institute.
She tapped her fingers against her arm, her voice emotionless. "Are you sure you won't let me see? Bo Jingmo."
As she spoke, she stepped forward, lazily raising her eyes. Her calm tone delivered the most hurtful words. "Then don't let me see even after you've recovered. Where's Rong Fan now? I'll go check on him instead. Don't block my way—move aside."
The man's pupils constricted abruptly. Stunned, his eyes gradually reddened as his lips quivered. "N-no, you can't go see him, Lili. I hate how he looks at you."
"Then why didn't you say anything earlier?"
After saying this, Yu Li remembered the message Xin Hao had sent Bo Jingmo and couldn't help massaging her forehead.
This was exactly why she hated keeping those old memories. Nothing but trouble.
Exhaling, she couldn't maintain her pretense of anger with Bo Jingmo any longer. Her tone softened. "Bo Jingmo, I was just saying that out of anger. Come here. Let me see how bad it is."
Bo Jingmo stared at her for a moment before suddenly asking, "Lili, did you save Rong Fan back then because he's good-looking too?"
Yu Li never expected Bo Jingmo to think this way—no wonder he wouldn't show her his injured face. Why would he think that?
Suddenly remembering her original reason for pursuing Bo Jingmo, Yu Li fell silent.
Oh... right. His face.
Her stated reason for chasing Bo Jingmo had been because of his handsome looks.
Not daring to meet her eyes, Bo Jingmo felt like a jealous husband terrified of his wife's wandering affections. Lowering his head, he pressed his lips together and murmured, "Lili, I... I scratched up his face too... Will you be angry?"
Yu Li tilted her head and answered without hesitation, "Of course, because your punishment was far too lenient."
This response made Bo Jingmo's heart lurch violently. He stared blankly at the girl before him, like a condemned criminal suddenly informed of a wrongful conviction. "You... you're not mad at me?"
Yu Li chuckled and reached out to turn off the entrance light, plunging the man's figure into darkness where neither could clearly see the other's expression.
She slowly opened the door.
This time, Bo Jingmo didn't refuse.
Facing the tall, blurry silhouette, Yu Li extended her hand and, guided by instinct, touched the undamaged side of the man's face.
Outside, the pitter-patter of rain struck the window with crisp, crackling sounds—jarringly loud in the quiet yet somehow dispelling the oppressive atmosphere.
"Bo Jingmo, I never told you about the past because I didn't think those things mattered," the woman's voice floated gently through the dark.
"I never liked Rong Fan. I don't like his face either. It's true that I first became interested in you because of your looks, but that was only ever just interest."
Feeling the man's body tense, she rose on her tiptoes to kiss him but only reached his chin.
"What I love now is you, fool. Do you really think every time I confess my feelings, it's directed at your face?"
The more Yu Li thought about it, the more absurd it seemed, stirring a frustrated exasperation within her. So she opened her mouth and lightly gnawed at his chin, teeth grazing the skin with a hint of venting irritation.
"Since you're already disfigured, might as well let me bite you and make you even uglier."
Bo Jingmo instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist, his Adam's apple bobbing. "I—"
Yu Li released him and looked up. "Bo Jingmo, are you blaming me? For tricking you into seeing Rong Fan?"
The man froze momentarily before murmuring after a few seconds of silence, "Lili, I never thought you were tricking me."
Yu Li had said she went to retrieve something that night. Original content can be found at NovelHub(.)net
He knew it must have been Rong Fan who sought her out first.
He just hated how Rong Fan kept forcing himself into Yu Li's presence.
Lowering his eyelids, Bo Jingmo buried his face in the crook of her neck. "I have no right to stop your former teammates from seeing you. Yu Jiao was one thing, but Rong Fan especially... Lili, the memories they share with you are ones I wasn't part of."
His entire body tensed, the curve of his lips bitter as his voice dropped to nearly inaudible levels. "I have to give you space... Lili, I don't want you to feel suffocated..."
The only thing he could do was step forward as her boyfriend whenever Rong Fan overstepped.
So when he saw that photo, Bo Jingmo's first thought was:
—Perfect. Finally, he had justification to kill Rong Fan.
But immediately afterward, a barrage of questions assaulted him:
Would Lili be angry if he killed Rong Fan?
Would she hate him for hurting her former teammate?
Yu Li had said she was starting to develop a capacity for mercy.
Would that mercy extend to Rong Fan too?
The relentless questions exhausted him, weighing him down.
He didn't know. He knew nothing.
He even felt tempted to throw a tantrum like before, to demand Yu Li take his side unconditionally.
But no—he couldn't cause her more trouble.
Hearing his words, Yu Li's expression softened. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she sighed quietly. "Since when did our Director Bo become so understanding? You've even learned this principle."
The man who once couldn't comprehend love in the mental hospital now understood giving his partner personal space.
Bo Jingmo lowered his eyes slightly. "But I still lost control. I almost killed Rong Fan."
Almost meant he hadn't gone through with it.
Yu Li turned her head, guessing what the system had called "unforgivable" must refer to Rong Fan injuring Bo Jingmo's face.
Though she longed to see, she restrained herself.
Instead, she kissed his lips and gently prompted, "Then why did you stop?"
As the words left her mouth, her wrist was suddenly grasped, and something cold and metallic pressed against her fingertips.
Startled, Yu Li instinctively looked down, raising her hand slightly.
In the dim moonlight, a diamond ring rested elegantly on her finger, its facets glimmering brilliantly in the night.
Simultaneously, the man's tender, hushed voice reached her ears:
"Because... the engagement ring I ordered for my wife arrived."