Ning Xi paused mid-reach for the flowers, feeling like He Kezhou’s words carried a hidden meaning, then decided she was overthinking it.
She explained, “I haven’t worked in so long. The part-time pay isn’t much, but it’s money I earned through my own labor, and I think that’s something to be proud of. I was planning to do the part-time job while looking for a full-time position…”
The roses in He Kezhou’s arms dropped to the floor the second Ning Xi was about to touch them.
Ning Xi frowned at the fallen petals scattered on the ground.
He Kezhou stared at her in silence, his voice almost squeezed out from his throat. “You think this kind of work is something to be proud of?”
Only then did Ning Xi understand—He Kezhou thought she was doing that kind of work.
Her face flushed red, then went pale. She was so angry that tears welled up in her eyes.
“In your eyes, am I just a cheap woman who’d willingly sell her own body for money?”
Ning Xi turned her face away, her voice trembling with suppressed sobs.
He Kezhou’s Adam’s apple bobbed as his chest heaved violently.
He couldn’t bring himself to say that she wasn’t.
That urge to destroy everything—it hadn’t surfaced in a long time.
He Kezhou lowered his gaze, staring at the roses on the floor.
Ning Xi understood what He Kezhou meant.
She wiped away her tears. It wasn’t surprising that He Kezhou would think of her that way.
Ning Xi told herself silently—prejudice doesn’t disappear in a day or two.
The things the original owner had done couldn’t be erased.
But in this moment, her heart, her pride—He Kezhou had wounded them deeply.
Ning Xi’s tears snapped the last thread of He Kezhou’s composure.
She was the one who’d done wrong.
Why was she crying so pitifully and sorrowfully?
He suddenly grabbed her by the lower back, leaning down to press his lips against hers.
His force was strong and overbearing, a kiss with no technique—just biting and claiming, instantly stealing all of Ning Xi’s breath.
Her eyes flew wide open as she pushed hard against He Kezhou.
“Mmph—mmph—”
He Kezhou had never kissed a woman before.
He didn’t know what a kiss was supposed to be like.
Ning Xi’s lips were very soft.
He tasted salt and bitterness—hot tears.
He Kezhou eased off some of his force and opened his eyes.
Ning Xi’s eyes were red-rimmed, tears clinging to her lashes, her cheeks wet with moisture.
Slap.
A crisp sound rang through the living room.
Her hand was still trembling from the slap.
He Kezhou’s face was turned to the side from the impact.
The large hand that had been pressed against Ning Xi’s waist released her.
Ning Xi covered her lips, unable to hold back her tears and sobs. “He Kezhou, I—I spent the entire day working part-time at the neighborhood courier station. If you don’t believe me, you can go ask for yourself…”
She collapsed weakly onto the floor, hugging her knees and crying in grievance.
She’d worked all day, exhausted to the point she could barely walk. She’d earned so little money, and on top of that, the station owner’s son had lifted her skirt in public when he came by after school.
And when she got home, she had to be misunderstood by He Kezhou.
He Kezhou regretted losing control. When he heard Ning Xi’s words, he froze.
Ning Xi sat on the floor without a care for her image, wailing loudly.
He Kezhou knelt down on the floor, at a loss as he reached out to wipe her tears.
His fingers hovered in the air, frozen just before touching the corner of her eye.
Ning Xi pouted, choking out, “You—you get me some tissue to wipe with.”
The regret and helplessness on He Kezhou’s face made Ning Xi a little sorry for slapping him so hard just now.
The way he’d lost control earlier suddenly made her realize—he was jealous.
Jealousy meant he cared.
The tissue brushed against her face, ticklish.
Ning Xi’s watery eyes darted around. “He Kezhou, apologize to me.”
He Kezhou was holding the tissue, kneeling on one knee as he cupped her face to wipe her tears. The moment those words left her mouth, he dropped both knees to the floor.
Ning Xi instinctively moved to pull him up.
He wouldn’t budge.
The anger stuck in Ning Xi’s chest dissolved completely.
He Kezhou—was actually kneeling to apologize to her.
Ning Xi couldn’t pull him up, so she knelt down straight too.
Her knees hit the floor, and she winced in pain.
They stared at each other.
He Kezhou’s gaze locked tightly onto her knees.
Ning Xi wouldn’t let him pull her up. “You knelt first.”
The two of them kneeling on the floor was oddly comical.
Ning Xi let out a snort of laughter. “He Kezhou, don’t you think we’re both crazy? We’ve both been at work all day, haven’t even had dinner. Fighting and brawling on empty stomachs—it’s really not worth it.”
He Kezhou pressed his forehead against Ning Xi’s, rubbing against it very gently.
The man looked like a big dog, trying to coax his owner into being happy.
It gave the impression that he was also feeling wronged, but had no idea what to do about it.
Ning Xi cupped He Kezhou’s face in her hands. “Next time you kiss me, be gentler, got it?”
He Kezhou stared at her swollen lips, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
Ning Xi heard him say in a hoarse voice, seriously, “I’m sorry.”
The next second, his lips pressed softly against hers.
As if he was checking whether she’d still let him kiss her.
Ning Xi’s face instantly burned.
A low, husky laugh escaped He Kezhou’s throat.
The smile at the corner of He Kezhou’s lips captured Ning Xi’s heart and soul.