Did you mean what you said?

As we neared the villa, Shen Yanchuan suddenly said out of nowhere, "Gu Hansheng must be going crazy right about now, huh?"

I didn't understand what he meant. "Hmm?"

"Nothing."

When we got back to the villa, Auntie Zhang and the others were already asleep. I went straight to my room without turning on the lights.

The moment I opened the door, I saw a tiny ember flickering in midair in the darkness.

My heart lurched. How had someone gotten in?

I reached up and switched on the light. There sat Gu Hansheng by the bed, a half-smoked cigarette held between his well-defined fingers.

His expression was frighteningly dark.

A little panicked, I didn't dare say anything. I turned, opened the door, and was about to leave.

If I couldn't afford to provoke him, I could at least hide.

He stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray, rose, and reached me in two or three strides, blocking my way. "What? You don't even want to be in the same room as me now?"

Not wanting to provoke him, I hurried to explain, "No. W-why are you back?"

"Do I have to be interrogated by you when I come back to my little mistress's place?"

"Y-you know that's not what I meant!" He was clearly twisting my words on purpose. "I meant, shouldn't you be with Shen Nian at this hour?"

"It's not your place to tell me who I should be with!" He was almost pressed against me.

He had always been tall and imposing. Now that he had made it, his old meek, submissive manner was long gone.

When he faced me, his presence was so overpowering that I didn't even have the courage to look up at him.

Even with my head lowered, I could still feel an intensely oppressive weight.

On top of that, I owed him money, which always left me feeling a head shorter than him.

My back was against the door. I had nowhere to retreat.

He reached up, gripped my chin, and tilted my head up, looking at me with unmistakable anger in his eyes!

He really had argued with Shen Nian.

I turned my head a little, trying to escape his hand, but somehow that provoked him. His expression darkened, and his other arm suddenly hooked around my waist, pressing me against him as he kissed me hard.

His kiss was fierce and urgent.

As though he meant to tear apart my bones and swallow me whole.

Frightened, I tried to push him away, but he didn't budge. Instead, he tightened his hold around my waist.

Anger welled up inside me. What right did he have to treat me like this?

Had he come back to vent on me after having an argument and falling out with Shen Nian?

What hurt most was that it would have been fine if I still saw him the way I used to,

but I had fallen for him long ago.

I shoved him hard again. I had thought he wouldn't let go, but this time he did.

His breathing was a little ragged. "You can't even stand a kiss? Weren't you eager to play that game with Shen Yanchuan earlier?"

I frowned slightly, not understanding why he had suddenly brought up Shen Yanchuan.

"What? Still going to act innocent?" He gave a cold snort. "You like his type?"

"Are you sick in the head? Every time you see me speak to a man, do you have to suspect there's something between us?" I truly couldn't stand his repeated humiliation any longer.

"Getting worked up?"

"No shit. Wouldn't you get worked up if a dog bit you?"

I had never been someone who could swallow insults in silence, and now I had reached my limit.

I had expected an explosion of rage, but instead he gave a soft laugh. "Your figure might not be much, but no man can resist a woman throwing herself into his arms!

"Do you think I can't satisfy you? Is that why you're so eager to reel someone in?"

"Ha!" I sneered. "What? Whatever relationship I have with other men, what does it have to do with you?

"I know I owe you money. I also know it was wrong of me to bully and humiliate you before. Now my family is bankrupt. Haven't I already gotten my retribution, reduced to being your little mistress?

"Just treat me the way I used to treat you and degrade me. Why bother about who I like?"

After holding back for so long, I could no longer care about anything else. I only wanted to vent the resentment inside me.

He was already almost pressed against me, and I distinctly felt his body stiffen.

He turned around, picked up the cigarette pack, pulled one out, lit it, and took a drag.

When he said nothing, I grew unbearably nervous.

He was clearly furious with me.

He wouldn't force me to pay him back right away, would he?

He raised his hand to take a second drag, then stopped. "Back at the KTV, did you mean what you said?"

His inexplicable question made me pause. I looked at him in confusion. "Mean what?"

He repeated Shen Yanchuan's words. "Don't you like Gu Hansheng?"

I was a little surprised. I had only said that because I didn't want my feelings exposed.

I remembered how he had refused to play the game to avoid carrying me in a princess carry, and I also remembered how gentle and steady he had looked with Shen Nian in his arms.

If I kept flattering myself, wouldn't that just make things awkward for everyone?

I smiled faintly. "When something slips out without thinking, doesn't that make it the truth?"

His eyes fixed on me, cold to the bone.

After a long moment, he suddenly sneered. "Fine. You really are-Yu Han, you're just as heartless as you used to be!"

He grabbed my wrist and flung me onto the bed, stubbed out his cigarette, then bent over and pressed down on me.

I tried to push him away, but he clamped my wrists above my head. His lips parted, and his icy voice reached me. "Should I remind you of your current position?"