The man’s deep eyes seemed capable of seeing through everything.
His narrow, elongated eyes and deep-set features gave him an innate sharpness and an almost aggressive edge.
Under that gaze, Lin Xi couldn’t bring herself to say even the last few words of refusal.
The words caught in her throat. After a pause, she asked, “Just one month?”
Xiao Jingwen nodded. “Just one month.”
“Fine.”
This time, Lin Xi nodded without hesitation.
She tapped her fingertips twice against the table.
Then she raised her eyes to look at him. “But Xiao Jingwen, before we start seeing each other, I want to ask you something. What exactly do you like about me?”
“After all, we’ve only met three times. Love at first sight sounds too fake.”
Given the Xiao family’s background, Xiao Jingwen was unquestionably a child of a high-ranking cadre.
With a family background like his, Lin Xi wasn’t naive enough to think Xiao Jingwen was some love-struck man who had never met a woman before.
Besides, the original novel had only mentioned in passing that Xiao Jingwen was incapable of having children.
Now that she knew that wasn’t true, she was even more curious.
There was a hint of slyness in her probing gaze.
Xiao Jingwen leaned back and was silent for a while before curling his lips into a smile.
“What if it really was love at first sight?”
Lin Xi clearly took that answer as nothing more than a brush-off. She frowned, growing a little impatient.
Xiao Jingwen said, “Lin Xi, I like you. The first time I saw you, it was a physiological attraction.”
“Now, there’s also a lot of admiration.”
Ignoring the second half of his answer, Lin Xi was utterly confused.
“…What do you mean by ‘physiological attraction’?”
It wasn’t that she didn’t understand the words.
It was just that, in this era, the concept was far too advanced.
At this hour, they were the only customers in the restaurant.
The waitstaff were all busy in the kitchen, and there was no one else around.
Xiao Jingwen glanced around before speaking frankly.
“I have a relatively uncommon condition.”
“The military doctor said its medical name is ‘Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder.’”
!
Lin Xi’s mind went blank.
Wasn’t this the… sex addiction she’d read about in novels?
No wonder that night!!!
Seeing the fear in Lin Xi’s eyes, Xiao Jingwen poured her a cup of warm water and handed it to her reassuringly.
“You don’t have to be afraid.”
“What happened last time was an accident. It won’t happen again.”
Whether it would happen again was no longer what Lin Xi was worried about.
What she was afraid of now was—
“Xiao Jingwen… are you sure you’re clean?”
Afraid he wouldn’t understand, she swallowed and added, “I mean, do you have any sexually transmitted diseases?”
Lin Xi’s eyes widened as she stared at him warily.
That expression reminded Xiao Jingwen of the little deer he’d once hunted while stationed in Sichuan. Its eyes had looked exactly like this—beautiful and full of life.
His lips curled up, amusement coloring his voice.
“Lin Xi, I do have a condition, but I’m not indiscriminate.”
“You’re the only woman I’ve ever been with, whether emotionally or physically.”
“So the possibility you’re worried about has never existed, and it never will.”
“To put it plainly, I only like you. Do you understand?”
“Oh.”
Lin Xi finally relaxed and nodded.
A man’s chastity was the best dowry he could bring to a marriage.
So that was why Xiao Jingwen had been chasing after her and insisting that she take responsibility.
She could understand it now.
“All right, then.”
Lin Xi made up her mind.
“I can give you one month, but I want to make one thing clear from the beginning.”
Xiao Jingwen gestured for her to continue.
“Go ahead.”
Lin Xi said, “You just said that when you first saw me, you felt a physiological attraction, and that now you’ve developed some admiration for me.”
“That’s right.”
Xiao Jingwen nodded.
Lin Xi asked him, “Then let me ask you this. Is that admiration because of what I said to you at the restaurant last time?”
Times were different, and girls were raised with different values.
Lin Xi understood very well that a man as domineering as Xiao Jingwen probably wouldn’t be attracted to a delicate, dependent girl.
And the thing that had probably attracted him to her was that she had been shaped by modern ideals into someone unusually independent and clear-headed.
Xiao Jingwen didn’t avoid the question.
He answered frankly, “Yes. I really like your personality.”
Just as she’d guessed.
Lin Xi lowered her eyes.
“So you like me because you think I’m different from all the women you’ve met before?”
Xiao Jingwen lowered his head and fell into thought.
He couldn’t deny that Lin Xi was special, but that wasn’t the whole reason.
He liked her cleverness.
He liked the way she dared to love, dared to hate, and dared to swing her hand when someone crossed her.
He liked her vibrant, uninhibited spirit.
He liked her pride and even her shyness…
He liked how every time they met, she managed to make him feel something different.
She was like a captivating demon born from the glittering mortal world of the nine heavens, enchanting enough to ensnare the mind and soul.
Xiao Jingwen couldn’t quite put that feeling into words.
He thought seriously for several seconds.
Watching his silence, Lin Xi took it as confirmation.
She gave a soft laugh and shook her head.
“No. I’m just like everyone else. There’s nothing particularly special about my personality.”
“If you think I rejected you last time because I’m some proud, self-reliant woman who wants to achieve all her dreams through her own efforts, then you’ve misunderstood me.”
“I’m not the ‘Iron Lady’ you think I am.”