His words were like a handful of cold spring water, dousing the fierce flames of jealousy in Ji Yanzhi's heart, yet leaving behind a thick, clinging sense of helplessness.
"Ji Ear." A rare trace of uncertainty entered his voice. "I mean, what if-what if I can never change this rotten temper of mine, and I keep getting unreasonable over little things? After enough time passes, will you stop wanting to soothe me?"
Ji Ting looked at him quietly, offering no empty reassurance. "Your emotional volatility is an inseparable thread in the fabric of your life. Since I've embraced all of you, that means accepting every facet of your personality."
"Besides, what I said just now wasn't meant to soothe you. We were facing your emotions together."
The last spark in his heart gave way to a bittersweet warmth. Yet Ji Yanzhi's stubbornness had not entirely faded. "Then what if... Lu Yanchu liked me? Would you get jealous?"
Ji Ting shook his head firmly, with almost no hesitation. "No."
"Why?" Ji Yanzhi asked reflexively.
"Because you could never like Lu Yanchu."
Ji Yanzhi seemed to choke on that answer. Almost without thinking, he asked, "But what if it's hypothetical? Suppose one day I suddenly lose all sense and fall for him?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the warmth in Ji Ting's eyes faded.
"If you liked him, it would no longer be a question of jealousy. It would mean you'd violated the foundation of our relationship. That's cheating. It's an entirely different matter."
The chill in his voice made Ji Yanzhi's heart lurch. Every impulse to test him vanished instantly, and he pulled Ji Ting into his arms. "I was wrong. I shouldn't have asked that. There won't be any such 'what if.' Not ever."
The commotion