Lin Wanyi's heart inexplicably ached, as if someone had just taken a bite out of it.
She hurriedly turned to leave but accidentally bumped into a flowerpot.
The flowerpot shattered, and the noise drew the attention of Zhou Chenyu from inside the room.
She opened the door. "Who is it?"
Lin Wanyi frantically explained:
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I was looking for Auntie Su and accidentally knocked over the flowerpot.
"I'm sorry, I'll clean it up right away."
Zhou Chenyu's face was flushed, but her eyes were dark. She leaned close to Lin Wanyi's ear and whispered:
"You did it on purpose, didn't you? I bet you did it on purpose.
"Lin Wanyi, did you know that Big Brother and I were in the room, so you deliberately broke the flowerpot to get his attention?
"Let me tell you, it's useless.
"You heard it, right? Big Brother is going to marry me. We've been together for thirty years. What do you have to compare with me?"
Lin Wanyi turned to grab a trash can. She lowered her head, wanting to put all the broken shards inside.
Otherwise, what if they cut someone?
What if they pierced a heart?
Zhou Chenyu did not see the look of defeat she wanted on Lin Wanyi's face.
Displeased, she continued:
"Lin Wanyi, stop pretending. I know you like Big Brother.
"After all, Big Brother is so outstanding. A divorced woman like you would definitely harbor wishful thinking about him.
"But you need to know that it is merely wishful thinking.
"Renzhi will never take a fancy to someone of your caliber.
"Get lost. Take your burden of a child and get out. You are not allowed to come to our house anymore.
"Your existence dirties the Liu family's doorstep!"
"Hiss!"
Lin Wanyi let out a low cry of pain.
She looked at her finger. A shard had cut a small wound into it, and a bead of blood welled up.
Squatting on the ground, she finally looked up and met Zhou Chenyu's eyes:
"Secretary Zhou, you're overthinking things.
"Big Brother Liu and I don't have the kind of relationship you think we do.
"Stop treating me like an enemy."
"Is that so?"
Zhou Chenyu crossed her arms, looking down at Lin Wanyi with disdain:
"I hope you mean what you say.
"Now, get lost."
Lin Wanyi put all the broken pieces into the trash can.
Just as she was about to turn and leave, Liu Renzhi grabbed her hand and pulled her straight into the room.
He also locked the door behind them.
Zhou Chenyu stomped her feet outside the door:
"Big Brother, Big Brother, open the door.
"You pulled the wrong person. I'm Chenyu.
"Big Brother, Renzhi.
"You're drunk, you've got the wrong person."
Lin Wanyi was also in a panic.
At this moment, she was being pinned against the wall by Liu Renzhi, her hands held tight.
Liu Renzhi's breath, carrying a faint scent of alcohol, brushed against the tip of her nose.
It was a little ticklish, a little...
The lighting in the room was dim, with only a bedside lamp turned on.
Lin Wanyi's heart was pounding wildly.
He's drunk. Liu Renzhi is drunk.
He doesn't know what he's doing. Maybe he really did mistake her for someone else.
She kept comforting herself.
She also said cautiously:
"Big Brother Liu, you're drunk. Secretary Zhou is outside.
"I... I am Lin Wanyi."
Liu Renzhi's eyes were slightly glazed, but he tugged at the corners of his mouth:
"Lin Wanyi, do you look down on me that much?
"Just a few glasses of wine, how could I be drunk?
"I see so many clients every day, how could I not drink at all?"
"But..."
Lin Wanyi didn't know why, but even though she hadn't had anything to drink, her face felt like it was on fire.
She wanted to break free from Liu Renzhi's confinement.
Too close. They were too close.
This was inappropriate, and also, very dangerous.
She thought for a long time and finally came up with an excuse:
"Big Brother Liu, my finger is bleeding. Please let me go."
The next second, to her absolute shock, Liu Renzhi directly took her bleeding finger into his mouth.
He sucked on it so naturally, so gently.
Crazy.
Truly crazy.
Her mind went completely blank.
She couldn't think of anything, only hearing Zhou Chenyu stomping around outside:
"Open the door, Big Brother, open the door.
"Lin Wanyi, get out here. You are not allowed in my Big Brother's room.
"Both of you come out, or else I'm going to call Auntie Su."
All the blood in Lin Wanyi's body rushed to her face.
She was so flustered that she couldn't even speak clearly:
"Bi... Big Brother Liu, you, you..."
Liu Renzhi sucked delicately on her finger.
The sensation made Lin Wanyi feel as if tens of thousands of ants were crawling all over her.
She was panicked, scared, and...
"Big Brother Liu, you, let me go.
"You really have the wrong person. I am Lin Wanyi."
Her voice trembled, so soft that only Liu Renzhi could hear it.
Liu Renzhi's mouth finally released Lin Wanyi's finger, but he immediately caught her hand in his.
He rubbed the spot where it had been bleeding, his voice turning husky:
"It's stopped bleeding. Does it still hurt?"
"No, no..."
Lin Wanyi felt like she was going crazy, not even knowing how to open her mouth anymore.
She needed to push Liu Renzhi away. They were too close, dangerously close.
It was highly inappropriate for them to be like this.
But Liu Renzhi remained motionless.
The top two buttons of his black shirt were undone, and from Lin Wanyi's angle, she had a clear view of his prominent Adam's apple.
And those lips... that had just sucked on her finger.
Lin Wanyi felt that he must have had too much to drink. He was drunk.
Drunk people were unreasonable, not to be provoked, and dangerous.
She could only say softly:
"Big Brother, you're drunk, you really are.
"Go rest, I'll have someone bring you a bowl of hangover soup."
Liu Renzhi still had one hand pinning Lin Wanyi's hands above her head.
He was a little drunk.
Just a little.
He still had his reason.
But right now, he didn't want to be reasonable.
He had been rational for over thirty years.
Ever since his father passed away and his mother remarried, he told himself that he had to be rational in this life.
He couldn't take a single wrong step.
Especially when it came to marriage and women.
An incompatible woman, a woman without a sincere heart, would ruin a man for a lifetime.
Just like his father.
Back then, at only five years old, he knew that his father's car crash wasn't an accident.
It was a premeditated murder orchestrated by his mother.
Therefore, he would never believe in marriage, or partners.
He didn't believe in women.
Until he met Lin Wanyi.
That woman who, heavily pregnant on a snowy night, guided the way for him.
That woman who risked her life to save his younger sister.
He reminded himself countless times.
He could not fall for Lin Wanyi. She had a husband, a child, and a family.
But then he also told himself that Lin Wanyi was unhappy.
Her marriage was unhappy, and her man was unreliable.
Despite all this, Liu Renzhi still restrained himself.
He had no desire to date or marry. He had long planned to spend his life alone.
He only wanted to devote himself entirely to running his business. He only wanted Su Jing and Liu Jiannan to enjoy their twilight years in peace.
He only wanted Liu Siyue to enjoy every day carefree and happy.
This was the meaning of his existence.
He had thought this way up until today.
Even though he had felt an impulse that time on the mountain in Wangjia Village.
He had still held back.
He knew it was an accident, the circumstances were different then.
But now.
Looking at Lin Wanyi's gentle, makeup-free face, and remembering seeing Wang Hao pestering her again yesterday.
He felt an overwhelming urge.
Perhaps, he had met the woman he wanted to protect.
Perhaps, he could try dating, try walking into a marriage.
Perhaps, he didn't have to endure loneliness anymore.
Perhaps...
Thinking this, thinking and thinking, his gaze locked onto Lin Wanyi's lips—free of lipstick, yet naturally bright red...
