Seeing Ye Lingling like this, Zhao Zilong was overjoyed. When he saw her trying to escape, he wrapped an arm around her slender waist and pulled her into his embrace. Ye Lingling's heart raced, but she no longer tried to dodge. Instead, she hugged Zhao Zilong and gently leaned against his chest.
Zhao Zilong teased, "Lingling, did you like me all along?"
"Mm." Ye Lingling no longer hid her feelings. Looking at Zhao Zilong's handsome face, she met his gaze for two seconds before looking away again. Her fair face had flushed crimson with shyness as she confessed, "I liked you back when we were at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. But at the time, you were with Meng Yiran, so I thought you wouldn't even notice me."
"How could that be?" Zhao Zilong immediately grabbed Ye Lingling by her fragrant shoulders and said earnestly, "Lingling, you're so cute and beautiful. How could I possibly not like you? It's just that whenever I tried talking to you before, you ignored me. I thought you were the one who looked down on me!"
"I'm sorry..." Ye Lingling felt somewhat dejected upon hearing this, but she explained, "It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to you. It was... Meng Yiran wouldn't let me talk to you."
"What?" Zhao Zilong was stunned.
Ye Lingling then poured out the grievances she had suffered. "After your duel with Yu Tianheng, Meng Yiran threatened me. She said that if I dared get involved with you, she would strip off my clothes and throw me into that kind of place..."
"That kind of place?" Zhao Zilong froze for a moment, then immediately understood.
Ye Lingling did not continue. Her eyes grew moist, and tears began to gather in them. Meng Yiran truly had threatened her back then.