Xi Jin Cut His Finger for the First Time

Nan Xingyu was deeply troubled.

But she had no one to talk to.

One day, as she was returning to her dorm after class, Jiang Yuexi stopped her on the way.

Under a large tree.

Jiang Yuexi brought up the matter Nan Xingyu had asked her to help with a few days earlier.

"The school has already contacted them for you. The review will take a little more time, but it should be settled before the break."

Seeing how distracted she looked, Jiang Yuexi asked worriedly:

"Do you want to leave Jingzhou because of that perverted pursuer?"

"..."

Nan Xingyu pressed her lips together.

She had not known Jiang Yuexi for long, yet Jiang Yuexi was doing everything she could to help her.

She felt embarrassed to keep hiding it. "Yes."

Jiang Yuexi's guess had been right. "Who is he?"

Nan Xingyu thought for a moment. If she found out it was Xi Jin, things would probably get even more complicated.

"Yuexi, you're better off not knowing."

The last time, Xi Jin had frightened Nan Xingyu so badly that she still felt a lingering fear whenever she saw him.

She even cried in her sleep.

He held her and gently patted her back to soothe her, but when she woke with a start, the look she gave him was full of trembling fear.

He hated that she was afraid of him.

He loved her so much.

She was like a startled little bird.

Whenever he came near, she grew tense.

He did not even dare to be domineering and force himself on her as he had before.

The bedroom lights were dimmed low.

Xi Jin's heart

was shrouded in fog.

He had not kissed her in days.

He could not bear it any longer.

He slowly moved closer to her as she lay with her back to him, wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her against his chest.

Nan Xingyu's shoulders shrank, and her body stiffened.

Xi Jin's scorching breath brushed the back of her neck.

After hesitating for a moment,

he put a hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him.

Nan Xingyu kept her eyes closed, her lashes trembling violently.

Xi Jin leaned down and kissed her eyelid.

Nan Xingyu's breath caught.

The next second, her chin was lifted, and his familiar presence pressed down on her as he gently kissed her lips.

The tip of his tongue pushed past her lips and teeth.

Her hands involuntarily clenched the front of his shirt.

Xi Jin's breathing grew heavier and heavier as his burning kisses lingered on her, greedily drawing in the scent that seeped from beneath her skin.

It was as though he had been bewitched by a love gu.

Only drinking her blood could satisfy him.

Then he tasted a trace of bitterness.

His eyes, still clouded with desire, opened slightly, and he saw the wet trail slipping from the corner of her eye.

"Is it so unbearable?"

Xi Jin's voice was far colder than his body. "Have I been forcing you every time?"

He looked at the girl's tear-dampened eyes.

"Do you really... not love me at all?"

It took all his strength to keep his voice from betraying the knife twisting in his heart.

He did not dare look at her anymore.

He was afraid she would see the vulnerability in his eyes.

He released her, threw back the covers, got out of bed and pulled open the door to leave.

Nan Xingyu pulled her collar closed, her face expressionless.

She did not want to cry.

But she could not control her tears.

Another Friday came around.

Xi Jin, who had not contacted her in several days, sent a message:

[Shall I pick you up?]

Nan Xingyu, who was reading in the library, stared at the message for quite a while.

He had actually ended it with a question mark.

What did that mean?

Was he asking what she thought?

He had never given her a choice.

Then she thought again.

How could he possibly have changed his ways?

[Oh.]

[What do you want to eat tonight? I'll make it for you.]

[Anything.]

[All right.]

Huh?

He actually said "all right"?

Normally, all he ever sent was a cold "okay."

After class that afternoon,

Nan Xingyu found Xi Jin's car in the usual place.

When she opened the door, Xi Jin was still on the phone. Nan Xingyu said nothing, silently closing the door and fastening her seat belt.

Xi Jin was on the phone constantly throughout the drive back.

Nan Xingyu listened to a few snippets.

They were all about launching a new project.

The car pulled into the underground parking garage at Guanlan Shengshi.

Xi Jin put on a Bluetooth earpiece, took the groceries he had already bought out of the trunk and led Nan Xingyu toward the elevator.

He said to the person on the phone, "I'm listening. Go on."

Nan Xingyu stole a glance at him.

There were faint dark circles under his eyes, and he had not shaved the stubble growing on his chin.

No wonder he had been quiet lately.

He looked busy.

After opening the door and going inside, Xi Jin went straight to the open kitchen.

As usual, Nan Xingyu worked on her paper at the dining table while "keeping him company."

Xi Jin had just ended a conference call when Xi Kun called.

"You're not attending such an important meeting?"

Xi Kun's anger was unmistakable. "Where are you?"

Xi Jin kept his head down as he sliced a red pepper, his tone even. "As long as everything is arranged, that's enough. This is the result you wanted, isn't it?"

"Don't tell me you left an important meeting just to have a private rendezvous with her."

Xi Kun's voice dripped with scorn. "How did the Xi Family produce such a good-for-nothing as you?"

Xi Jin's knife hand paused. He looked up at Nan Xingyu, who was absorbed in her paper, then lowered his eyes and continued slicing.

"If you were so capable, you wouldn't use an innocent person to force me to submit."

With that, he took off his earpiece and tossed it aside.

Nan Xingyu heard the noise and turned to look.

She guessed Xi Kun had called.

They had argued again.

Most likely, it had something to do with her.

She hesitated for a moment, then got up and walked over.

Xi Jin lifted his eyes slightly and asked casually, "Are you hungry?"

Nan Xingyu shook her head.

Her gaze fell on his bloodshot eyes.

He must have been working through the night these past few days. She had no idea how many promises he had made to stand up to Xi Kun.

"Xi Jin, don't, because of me..."

"Nan Xingyu."

Before she could finish, Xi Jin put down the knife and looked at her.

"Anyone can try to talk me out of it, but you have no right."

"Now that you and I have come this far, I will never give up."

"Otherwise, I'd be betraying the resolve I had when I went ahead knowing it couldn't be done."

"Everything I've done is for you, so you have no right to tell me to give up."

"..."

Nan Xingyu met the stare of his bloodshot eyes.

She knew he was working hard for their "future."

But he did not care whether she wanted it. He simply, domineeringly, laid everything out before her.

Then he told her, I did it all for you, so you have no right to criticize me.

It left her struggling back and forth between feeling moved and feeling oppressed.

That suffocating "love" was like a heavy stone pressing down on her, leaving her unable to breathe.

Xi Jin picked up the knife again, lowered his eyes and continued chopping.

Nan Xingyu stood where she was, wanting to speak but holding back.

In the end, she turned and walked back toward the dining table.

But after only two steps, she suddenly heard a faint groan behind her.

She instinctively looked back and saw Xi Jin pressing his finger, bright red blood seeping between his fingers.

She hurried around the kitchen island, pulled out a few tissues and pressed them to his wound, giving him an anxious look.

"What are you doing? How could you be so careless?"

It was the first time Xi Jin had cut his finger.

He was always so composed and never made such a basic mistake.

Nan Xingyu pulled out a few more tissues and wrapped them around his bleeding finger, unable to keep herself from asking:

"Does it hurt?"

"..."

Xi Jin said nothing.

He only watched her anxious expression, the blood vessels in his eyes growing redder.

Suddenly, he reached out and pulled her into his arms.

"Nan Xingyu, I'll change."

His voice was noticeably hoarse. "You say I'm domineering and obsessive. I can change all of that. You say I don't know what love is, so teach me. Teach me how to love you."

Just don't say you're leaving me again.

"..."

Held in his arms, Nan Xingyu felt a sting in her nose.

If he had been willing to change sooner, could things have ended differently for them?

But how could reality be that simple?

The word "servant" that his uncle had used suddenly flashed through her mind.

Like a bucket of cold water, it instantly extinguished the little flicker of uncertainty in her heart.

Stop thinking about it.

After the new year, she would transfer schools, go abroad and leave this place for good.

She would say goodbye to the life he controlled.