90 What Do You Want From Me (1/2)

Li Xueyue searched for Li Chenyang so that they could head home.

Her first scheme against Bai Tianai was already dealt with. She had given Ning Huabing her present and wished her a birthday. She had stayed here for a while now and felt like there was no need to remain here any longer if there was no benefit to it aside from companionship. Besides, it was getting late, and a few people also shared the same mindset.

Walking through the crowd, she was abruptly grabbed by the elbow. She turned around, shocked to see the person who had a tight grip on her was none other than a displeased Wen Jinkai. He didn't wait for her to say anything before he began dragging her to a secluded area near the rose bushes.

Li Xueyue crossed her arms, leaning against one of the large trees near the bush. She'd prefer if her identity was kept hidden. No one else was around them.

”What do you want from me, Commander?”

Wen Jinkai's eyes were brewing a storm, dangerous enough to drown her. His aura was tense and threatened to suffocate her alive. The atmosphere was awkward. He didn't know what to do with her.

Her attention momentarily flickered to the tick of his jaw when he clenched it and the creases between his knitted brows.

”Why are you like this?” Commander Wen Jinkai growled. To his irritation, she crossed her arms across her chest, almost in a protective manner. Did she think he'd hurt her?

”What are you getting from playing around with other men?”

”What?” Li Xueyue hissed in disbelief.

”You were publicly declared to be promised to me and now you're involved with Yu Zhen.”

”How does that concern you?” Li Xueyue scowled. ”You made it clear you wanted nothing to do with me—”

”I made it clear that I wanted everything to do with you!” he snarled, storming to her.

She didn't take a timid step backward to create distance. Instead, she raised her head and glared deeply into his eyes. A storm against a hurricane.

”No, you didn't,” Li Xueyue calmly responded. She preferred to argue in the most passive voice. Not because she wanted to anger him, but because loud voices do not prompt open ears.

”You gave me a vague answer and expect me to read your mind,” she continued, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

”I gave you a vague answer because I wasn't sure of what I felt. Why are you so impatient for an answer? Is it so wrong to be friends and wait it out—”

”Friends?” Li Xueyue repeated, gesturing to the proximity he had forced them to be in. ”Do friends get jealous over another man? Do friends talk about marriage? Do friends lash out like this?”

Wen Jinkai pressed his lips together. ”Are you so eager to cage a man like me?”

”Excuse me?!”

”Do you know what people might think of you? A loose woman.”

Li Xueyue almost smacked him. She had raised her hand, her eyes wide with frustration. He didn't even flinch. He simply glared at her, daring her to hit him.

Her heart was racing, her blood boiling, and her breath quickened. She was enraged by his insults, by his bold accusations. Who the hell did he think he was?!

She roughly grabbed him by the collars, yanking his head down so they were the same height.

”Don't you ever call me that when you think with your dick and not your brain,” she seethed.

Li Xueyue then shoved him away from her, but he grabbed her shoulders and slammed her back against the tree bark.

Li Xueyue bit down on her tongue to not cry out in pain. He had hurt her; it was written all over her face, but he turned a blind eye to her emotions.

”I said that for your own good,” he growled.

”Just like how dragging me to a secluded place was for my own good?”

He violently punched the tree, so close to her head that she tensed. The tree shook from the force as leaves tumbled down. Her eyes widened and for the first time in their encounter, she was fearful of him.

”Apologize.”

”What?” she asked in disbelief.

”Apologize and take back what you said.” Wen Jinkai was calm and collected, his voice cool and placid, but nothing could mask the fury in his eyes.

Li Xueyue felt her heart drop all the way to the pit of her stomach. She looked away from him, but he grabbed her jaw and forced her to stare at nothing but him. Goosebumps crawled up her arms, and she shivered against the iciness in his eyes.

”I'm sorry!” Li Xueyue fumed. It was then she had lost all hope in him. He had hurt her, but she was the one to apologize for it.

Finally, Wen Jinkai released her, and she immediately seized that opportunity to run. It surprised him when she whirled past him. He immediately reached for her wrist, only to grab her sleeves.

”You shouldn't run in these clothes—” he paused when he saw the look on her face. Her eyes were shaking and she looked like she saw a ghost.