"It’s not true!" Lin Xinlan quickly shook her head, vehemently denying.
He gripped her wrist tightly, his teeth clenched as he said, "If that’s the case, then prove it to me. Marry me right now!"
Without waiting for her response, he forcefully pulled her outside.
Lin Xinlan felt a jolt of fear and began to struggle in panic, "Rong Shaoze, let me go!"
The man paid no heed to her, nor to her struggles, and as Lin Xinlan was pulled out of the room, she clung desperately to the railing of the stairs, refusing to let go.
Rong Shaoze stopped in his tracks, turning back to glare at her ominously.
Lin Xinlan knew he was angry; it had been a very long time since he had shown her such a furious expression.
Gathering her courage, she met his gaze, her voice cold, "Rong Shaoze, you have no right to force me to marry you! I don’t want to get married yet. Let me go, I don’t want to argue with you."
Her words pierced his heart like a knife, the pain turning his eyes dark.
"Tell me the reason. Why don’t you want to get married?" he asked with restraint, his voice low.
Because I fear that when I grow old, you’ll regret marrying me.
And how could an aged me be fit to be your wife...
Lin Xinlan averted her gaze, her tone distant, "I can’t forget Du Ruoxin’s death... She loved you more than I do, she understood you more, cared about you more... Rong Shaoze, admit it, she’s in your heart, isn’t she?"
Although she should have spoken these words with a cold heart, why did her voice tremble, why was there a hint of fear?
Could it be that deep down, she had always been troubled by Du Ruoxin’s death?
And she had always wanted to ask Rong Shaoze if he had developed feelings for Du Ruoxin, hadn’t she?
Lin Xinlan vehemently despised herself in her heart.
She indeed was a selfish and heartless woman.
The fault lay with her, yet she looked for excuses, shifting the blame onto him.
Rong Shaoze, I’m sorry, I’m really sorry...
It’s my own cowardice, afraid to tell you the truth, afraid to see the pain in your eyes.
I’m even more afraid that one day I will see indifference and disgust in your eyes.
If you came to despise me, I truly, would feel like dying...
There was silence. Rong Shaoze was silent for a while, then suddenly burst into loud laughter.
Lin Xinlan turned her head, shocked to see him like that.
He laughed coldly, his dark eyes icy, his laughter filled with a chilling air that unsettled the heart.
His laughter subsided, he sneered with a slight twist of his lips, "Lin Xinlan, are you making excuses for yourself?"
Lin Xinlan’s heart skipped a beat. Could he know everything?
Seeing the shock and guilt in her eyes, his heart pained even more, his gaze colder still.
"Your refusal to marry me is not because I fell for Du Ruoxin..." he said coldly, enunciating each word, "but because you’ve fallen for Qiao Yiyang, haven’t you?!"
Lin Xinlan was completely stunned.
She had fallen for Qiao Yiyang?!
Rong Shaoze let go of her hand, his gaze indifferent as he looked at her. Lin Xinlan suddenly felt very frantic and scared, afraid that he would leave her, that he would never want her again.
He raised his hand to stop her words, continuing,
"I’m not a fool. I can see that every time you hear news of Qiao Yiyang’s death, it pains you deeply.
I’ve been lying to myself, thinking you only love me, that I’m the only one in your heart.
But today, you secretly called Xu Yao, asking him again if Qiao Yiyang is truly dead,