The alley was poorly lit, and Li Hanting stood in the shadows. Because he was leaning down to speak with her, his head was slightly bowed.
Yin Li looked at him. His eyes seemed to glow with a brownish light, much like some kind of animal’s. But when she tried to look more closely, she saw nothing at all.
“Have you forgotten what you said before? I’ve been waiting for you to bring it up,” Li Hanting said slowly.
The confusion in Yin Li’s eyes was genuine. “What did I say?”
He had been acting a bit strange today, but she had said so many things—how could she remember every single one?
“What? Just tell me,” Yin Li said. These past few days, her mind had been consumed with how to prevent the nightmare from coming true. She hadn’t thought about anything else.
Li Hanting’s fingers moved slightly against her wrist. After a long pause, he finally spoke. “You said that after you asked your father, we would be together.”
“Ah?” Yin Li was genuinely shocked. She instinctively pulled her hand away. “I—I said that?”
Her reaction was too strong, too rejecting. The moment she pulled away, Li Hanting yanked her back.
Yin Li collided with his hard chest, her nose stinging slightly. She immediately protested, “What are you doing? Can’t we just talk nicely? You’re hurting me!”
She was delicate. It was really just a small bump to her nose, but she instantly turned on the charm, rubbing her nose and looking at him reproachfully.
Li Hanting drew in a soft breath. Afraid he’d actually hurt her, he quickly bent down to check. “Did I really get you? I didn’t mean to. But you really did say that. That’s why I’ve been eagerly waiting for you. Who knew I wouldn’t see you for days?”
Yin Li had a certain personality. She had been coddled and adored by her parents since childhood. Even after her father married Aunt Li, she had never suffered any real hardship.
When she wasn’t in the right, she’d still throw a little tantrum. Now that she felt she was in the right, she straightened up, covered her nose, and said, “You did hurt me! I’m not even fully recovered from being sick. How can you be like this? And yes, I said that before, but that—that was just a joke!”
Her voice was hoarse, her tone coquettish, and the rims of her eyes were slightly red. She looked utterly pitiful.
But her gaze was evasive.
Li Hanting felt his anticipation and frustration churning wildly in his chest. She had just said it casually, while he had treasured those words and been overjoyed for days.
And now she dismissed it lightly as a joke.
“What do you mean by ‘just a joke’?” Li Hanting’s face was expressionless. His hand moved from her wrist to her waist, holding her firmly in place so she couldn’t move.
Hey, this wasn’t going as expected. Normally, if she played the pitiful card, it would solve anything.
But Li Hanting’s face was dark as water, his eyes fixed on her so intently that for a moment, she couldn’t even breathe.
“I—I just…” Yin Li swallowed, feeling a chill at the back of her neck, a little scared. “I just wanted to tease you a little…”
The moment the words left her mouth, she heard him let out a soft laugh. “Yin Li, do you think it’s fun to toy with me?”
“Oh, don’t say that! I’m not toying with you—” Yin Li’s chin was caught between his fingers. She looked up in a daze and fell straight into his eyes.
They were pitch black. So dark it was terrifying.
“Then what is it? Do you think that because I have no one, I’m just some plaything for you? Something to amuse yourself with and then toss aside when you’re done?” Li Hanting stared into her eyes and spoke in a low voice.
This… Yin Li’s memories came flooding back in an instant.
It was right before her fever broke out. The two of them had eaten together—a meal Li Hanting had cooked himself. He was a very good cook, on par with her father, honestly. At the time, she had said, “You cook so well. I should just go home and ask my dad, then marry you later. Then I could eat delicious food every day.”
She’d had her head down, focused on eating, and only heard Li Hanting ask softly, “Really?” Without thinking, she’d swallowed her food and said, “Of course it’s real.”
Anyone would know that was a joke, right? Had Li Hanting actually taken it seriously?
Yin Li felt a twinge of guilt. Li Hanting wasn’t like her. He was an outsider who had come here alone to make a living. He had no one—no family, no friends. Many people said his parents were dead, that he was solitary and fierce, and they didn’t want anything to do with him. But whenever he had something good—anything at all—he would bring it to her. Aside from her parents, no one had ever been so good to her for no reason.
Thinking this, Yin Li felt sorry for him.
But she didn’t want to admit she was wrong. So she quickly tugged at his sleeve. “I never said you were a plaything. We’re good friends. Don’t be like this. You’re scaring me… Um… my throat doesn’t feel good, and I’m a little dizzy…”
Li Hanting’s breath caught in his chest, with nowhere to go. He just stared at her in silence.
But Yin Li was the type to see the slightest crack and start scheming. She pressed her advantage and continued reasoning with him. “Besides, something this big—how could I bring it up to my dad? You know how things are in my family right now. I can’t just do whatever I want. And I’m about to start university, I… I… Please don’t be mad at me, okay?”
She tilted her small face up toward him, her eyes expressive as she explained herself coquettishly. But there was also a fear in her that she didn’t even recognize herself.
Li Hanting didn’t want her to be afraid of him. He paused, then reached out and touched her nose. “Is your nose stuffy again? If your throat hurts, talk less. I’m not mad at you…”
Before he could finish, he caught the barely concealed slyness in her eyes.
Li Hanting didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She was still just a young girl who couldn’t hide her thoughts. And she really was sick, uncomfortable, about to start university, and dealing with a lot at home. He shouldn’t be so hard on her. Even if he was going to discipline her strictly, that would come after they were married.
“Mmhm, I know. I’ve been taking my medicine properly. Does my voice sound bad?” Seeing that he was letting it go, Yin Li seized the chance to change the subject.
But Li Hanting wasn’t so easy to fool. “It sounds fine no matter what. I know you’re in a difficult position. I just hope you won’t brush me off or toy with me carelessly. I… I can’t handle being toyed with by you.”
Yin Li was stunned. When had he ever talked like this?
He habitually bent down to accommodate her height. She hadn’t been able to see clearly in the dark just now, but now they were very close. Yin Li could see his eyelashes, like the shade of a tree, casting shadows over his dark pupils, revealing a kind of clumsy vulnerability.
Had she really hurt him that much?
Yin Li’s heart softened. She thought again of his pitiful background and suddenly felt she had been terrible.
She quickly reached up and, with some effort, placed her hands on Li Hanting’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. I wasn’t toying with you at all.”
But as for what she would actually do, she didn’t say a single word.
Behind his lowered lashes, darkness slowly spread through Li Hanting’s pupils. Still, he nodded, as if he believed her.
“Alright. Then will you invite me to your birthday?”