"It’s not that I find her fragile, it’s just that if one could live a happy and carefree life, why choose one full of hardships and complexities?"
"I wanted to tell her, to dispel her thoughts of joining the army, but every time I returned in my uniform and she threw herself at me with a look of admiration and affection, I just... couldn’t bear it. Couldn’t bear to lose her admiration and affection."
Song Lili clenched her lips.
"Fortunately, Lili isn’t that determined a person, especially since her father remarried, and her relationship with her became more distant year after year."
"I seem to matter more to her than her dream of being a soldier."
"Why are you bringing all this up now?"
Song Lili poured some water and turned around to hand the glass to Wen Nian.
Wen Nian squinted his eyes,
"You look exactly like her, a spitting image, even identical twins aren’t as similar as you both, but you ultimately are not her."
"... You’re overthinking things—ah!"
Wen Nian’s hand suddenly seized her throat, the abrupt violence catching Song Lili off guard.
"It’s not Song Lili borrowing Tang Xiaohua’s name, but Tang Xiaohua who has taken Song Lili’s name, am I correct?"
Song Lili stared at him, "Have you gone mad!"
"Where is Song Lili!"
"I’ll ask one last time, where is Song Lili?"
"You claim to love me, yet you don’t understand me at all."
Wen Nian’s grip on her throat wasn’t relentless, allowing her the chance to speak,
"Is it because you watched the selection process on the monitor and saw that my performance didn’t match what you had imagined, thinking I was incapable of anything, yet I managed to surprise you by passing with flying colors? That’s why you’re having such a ridiculous thought now!"
"Whether I’m Song Lili or not, you can’t even tell, and yet you dare say you love me! Just because my actions exceeded your judgment? Wen Nian, you’ve always been ! Not just you, but your family as well, always defining others and making decisions for them based on your own judgments!"
"What is this talk of love, of protection, of reluctance, of sympathy... Is it nothing more than a reluctance to let anything or anyone exceed your plans and expectations?"
"You say I’m not Song Lili... Fine, then from today onward, I’ll no longer be Song Lili, so please leave me alone and don’t show up before me again!"
Wen Nian released her throat, his amber eyes filled with confusion.
"Being with you, the pressure is immense, I just didn’t realize it until after I moved into the President Mansion."
Song Lili leaned against the kitchen counter, her gaze falling to the floor,
"I was delighted to marry you, but you didn’t come home all night; the vast room, the walls adorned with gorgeous murals... But I didn’t even dare leave the room. Just that one night, I understood, you are the President, and I cannot be an ordinary person."
Song Lili looked up at Wen Nian,
"Otherwise, that nightmare... where you killed me, would become the real and cruel conclusion to our relationship."
"You don’t need to doubt me anymore because I am the bona fide Song Lili."
Song Lili narrowed her eyes.
If she could, she would even follow Wen Nian’s assumption and abandon the name Song Lili entirely, just to sever ties with him.
But he was the President, and if she didn’t admit she was Song Lili, he would use ten thousand methods to force the truth from her, even if it meant interrogation, even the most ruthless means...
She knew his nature and his tactics... they were never as gentle as they seemed on the surface.