Inside the room, Jiang Li had her hands restrained behind her back by Xie Huaichu, her back pressed against the door.
His deep, penetrating eyes were fixed on her, his lips curling slightly as he spoke with a cool tone.
"What's the matter? Miss Jiang, are you afraid of me?"
"No," Jiang Li replied, meeting his gaze with a sharp and firm response.
Why would she be afraid of him?! He wasn't some virus.
She simply thought that it was very impolite to enter someone else's bedroom, especially when it was a man's bedroom, on her first visit to their home.
She was a woman, and not very familiar with this man.
Entering his bedroom without invitation just felt inappropriate, no matter how she looked at it.
"So why don't you dare to come in?" Xie Huaichu narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice still casual, but there was an undercurrent of something deeper in his gaze.
"It's not appropriate," Jiang Li tried to break free, but then she remembered the last time at the club when he had her trapped outside the bathroom wall.
The way his body had responded made her feel uncomfortable, and deep down, she had a sense of unease.
Hearing her answer, Xie Huaichu furrowed his brows, his lips turning downward, and the intensity in his eyes grew darker.
"Why is it not appropriate?" He seemed unusually persistent today, determined to press Jiang Li for an answer.
Jiang Li was starting to get a headache. She stared back at his dark eyes, her voice tinged with annoyance.
"It's just not appropriate, what more reason do you need?"
"Don't you think you're being strange, Doctor Xie?"
"If it were you, would you just walk into someone's bedroom the first time you visited their house?"
Xie Huaichu: "…"
Someone else's?
In her eyes, was he really just "someone else"?
But Mo Yan had clearly said that she liked him.
How had he suddenly become "someone else"?
"So according to Miss Jiang, what kind of relationship is considered appropriate?" Xie Huaichu asked, his tone sharp and direct.
Jiang Li was genuinely at a loss for words. "Well, it has to be a really close relationship."
"For example, with parents, a partner, or—"
"Then let's try it," Xie Huaichu interrupted her, his voice becoming more serious.
"Try what?" Jiang Li was confused by his sudden, nonsensical remark.
"Try being in a relationship," Xie Huaichu said softly, his lips barely parting, his tone firm.
"Become partners."
"Are you out of your mind?" Jiang Li stood frozen, taken aback by his words. It took her a moment to react.
She almost wanted to laugh, and without hesitation, she stabbed her words into his heart.
"Do you even know me? Do you know what kind of person I am? And you're saying we should be in a relationship?"
"You are Jiang Li, 23 years old, graduated from Yun Cheng Nan En University, and your profession is an ancient book restorer."
"You like to wear qipaos, know self-defense, have an optimistic personality, and are friendly toward others."
"In my mind, you're a good girl."
Xie Huaichu spoke calmly, his gaze never leaving her.
It seemed like he was trying to read something from her face.
But Jiang Li's expression remained unflinching. She didn't seem pleased or upset by his words at all.
"Doctor Xie, what you just said, anyone who knows about the Bichui Huai Book Studio could tell you that."
"So please, stop with these illogical jokes. Could you let me go now?"
Xie Huaichu: "…"
Mo Yan had told him that the little girl was shy and wouldn't easily show her true feelings.
So was Jiang Li's behavior now due to embarrassment? Was she shy?
"Jiang Li, I'm not joking."
"You said it's not appropriate, then let's make it appropriate."
"I—"
"Xie Huaichu, do you even understand what you're saying?"
Jiang Li's patience was running out. "And, have you even listened to what I said?"
"Why do you insist on making us 'appropriate'? We've only met a few times."
"We're not even friends, and yet you're suddenly saying..."
"Let's try being in a relationship and become partners. Don't you think that's ridiculous?"
"Why would it be ridiculous?" Xie Huaichu raised an eyebrow and asked her in return.
Jiang Li closed her eyes for a moment, then spoke.
"A man and a woman need to have mutual feelings for each other before they think about being together and talking about a relationship."
"What are we to each other? Just acquaintances who have met a few times?"
Looking at the stubborn man in front of her, Jiang Li felt exhausted.
What was wrong with him today? It was like he was out of his mind, behaving strangely.
"Do you have no feelings for me?" Xie Huaichu's frown deepened.
He was feeling frustrated because things weren't as Mo Yan had described them.
It seemed like Jiang Li was very resistant toward him, and her words didn't contain any hint of liking him at all.
"Why do you ask?" Jiang Li rolled her eyes and, without thinking, answered his question.
"Don't you like me?" Seeing her clear attitude, his mood grew even more irritable.
He really didn't want to hear a negative response.
For no particular reason, he just didn't want to hear it.
"When have I ever said I liked you?"
Jiang Li responded with a counter-question, her patience worn thin.
Xie Huaichu looked at her eyes, devoid of any emotion, and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.
It was like someone had stabbed him with a knife, and then smeared honey over the wound, letting ants crawl over it.
"So when will you like me?"
Jiang Li: "…"
Was this person out of his mind?
"I will never like you."
"Never before, not now, and never in the future. Do you understand?"
Jiang Li slightly tilted her head back, taking a deep breath.
She put on a professional fake smile, then answered decisively.
"Can Doctor Xie let go now?"
Xie Huaichu didn't speak, and of course, he didn't release her either.
He simply maintained his gaze, staring deeply at the person before him.
In the bright eyes of the young girl, he saw his own reflection, and naturally, he also saw the aggression in his own eyes.
He wasn't sure if it was her words that had stirred something in his mind or if it was because of the rejection that had bruised his ego, but Xie Huaichu suddenly felt like a lion waking from sleep.
He raised his hand, gripping Jiang Li's chin, his body pressing in as he fiercely kissed her soft lips.
His kiss was strong, filled with coldness, and tinged with a hint of unwillingness and frustration.
Jiang Li was taken by surprise, her scalp tingling.
She struggled with all her might, pushing him away forcefully.
At the same time, she slapped Xie Huaichu across the face, angrily shouting at him.
"Xie Huaichu, you bastard!"
After shouting, she turned, yanked the door open, and fled.
The door slammed shut behind her, and the violent noise startled Xie Huaichu, causing the desire in his eyes to vanish in an instant.
He... had lost control again?!
Whenever he faced Jiang Li, it seemed like he always lost his reason.
He prided himself on being calm and composed, but why, when it came to Jiang Li, did he repeatedly become someone completely unlike himself?
Jiang Li rushed downstairs, desperately holding back her fury as she bid farewell to Xie Zhen-guo.
"Grandpa Xie, there's an urgent matter at the studio. I need to leave now."
"Yang Zai, I'm sorry I can't go with you to the library this afternoon. Goodbye."
She said it all without waiting for a response, then quickly ran out.
"This..." Xie Zhen-guo, being an experienced man, immediately knew something wasn't right.
He could tell from Jiang Li's appearance that things were far from simple.
The girl's eyes were red, her complexion was poor, and she clearly looked like she had been wronged.
Could it be that the brat did something inappropriate to her?
"Brother," Lu Ziyang also noticed something was terribly wrong.
Just as he was about to go upstairs to ask what happened, he saw Xie Huaichu coming down the stairs, step by step. Unable to help himself, he called out to him.
"Did you bully Sister Jiang?"