"Ah!"
Before Caiyu could let out her startled cry, the man's thin lips, reeking of alcohol, instantly covered hers, pinning her down on the bed.
Like a wolf that had been starved for a long time, he finally retrieved what belonged to him.
In the dim candlelight, Caiyu clearly saw the handsome face that she hadn't forgotten in the past two years getting closer and closer.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She desperately pushed and slapped the man on the shoulders.
This couldn't happen!
She was getting married soon!
Noticing her resistance, Song Yinghuai paused for a moment and finally released her lips. His eye sockets were as red as if they were filled with blood.
"Yuer." As his lips left hers, they were now on the side of her cheek. His voice was low and broken, as if it contained endless sorrow. "Why?"
Hearing this, Caiyu's body stiffened slightly. She hesitated and asked, "What?"
"Why did you lie to me?" Song Yinghuai pressed his face against hers, not daring to look into her eyes. "Two years ago, you and Sheng Jiangli faked your death on purpose. Why?"
He knew!
Caiyu's body became even stiffer.
She thought he was going to ask why she didn't come back to him after faking her death.
But she didn't expect that he already knew she had faked her death on purpose.
Now that Song Yinghuai had guessed the truth, Caiyu gradually calmed down.
Her fingers dug into the man's broad shoulders. She moved them slightly and tried to negotiate without much hope. "My lord, please get up first."
He was really heavy, and it was inappropriate for him to be on her like this.
Unexpectedly, Song Yinghuai didn't act as brutally and domineeringly as before. Instead, he really got up from her and knelt beside her on the bed, watching her quickly turn over and curl up in the corner.
The man's eyes instantly became full of resentment. "Am I that scary?"
Caiyu was silent.
It wasn't that he was scary.
She was just too panicked.
Although she had made countless mental preparations and thought of countless plans in case she met Song Yinghuai after arriving in Jiaodong.
But when he really appeared in front of her, she found that all her preparations and plans were shattered by the panic of reality.
Seeing that she didn't say a word, the light in Song Yinghuai's eyes became even dimmer, almost like a stagnant pool of water.
He wasn't unaware of why Caiyu had faked her death.
Whether it was Lan Jinxiang or Lan Jinqin, their words were still fresh in his mind. And in the past two years, this was the thing he thought about the most when he was free.
Caiyu had lost confidence in their relationship, so she chose to run away.
But he still wanted to hear her say it!
Caiyu opened her mouth, but Song Yinghuai suddenly panicked and stopped her. "Alright, if you don't want to say it, don't. I won't ask anymore."
Caiyu: ...
She didn't not want to say it. She was just about to say it.
"You seem to be doing well." Song Yinghuai changed the topic. His eyes were full of longing as he looked at her face, which was deeply hidden with pain and affection. "He takes good care of you."
He had to admit painfully that Caiyu was really doing well.
The small face that had become thinner and sharper before faking her death had now become plumper.
Caiyu hesitated for a moment and then told the truth. "I've lived a peaceful life without any quarrels or setbacks in the past two years. It's really easy to gain weight."
Song Yinghuai's eye sockets were sore, and the blood in them seemed to be washed away. Only moisture remained in his eyes. "I didn't take good care of you. I let you down."
Thinking about it, he was really a failure.
He had let his woman be in danger and framed all day long, while he had only blindly forced her to trust him unconditionally. It was really his problem.
He was too conceited and self - centered.
Caiyu was silent for a while and then avoided this topic. Instead, she asked, "My lord, why did you enter the city tonight?"
Song Yinghuai glanced at her. "To confirm if the bride of Sheng Jiangli's wedding tomorrow is you."
"My lord has confirmed it. It's me." Caiyu's voice was calm. "So please leave quickly. It's very dangerous for you to enter the city alone during the war."
Song Yinghuai stared fixedly at her calm face, with intense sorrow in his eyes. "Are you really going to marry him?"
He missed her so much, but what about her?
Caiyu's fingertips in front of her body shrank slightly. Against the candlelight, it was a bit hard to see his expression.
Originally, she was still hesitating whether she really wanted to marry Sheng Jiangli. But after seeing Song Yinghuai, she nodded without hesitation:
"Really."
Let's get married to different people and live our own happy lives.
When Song Yinghuai heard these two decisive words from Caiyu, the last glimmer of light in his eyes went out, and he looked dejected.
He knelt on the bed. His tall figure showed a bit of helplessness and grievance, like a child who had done something wrong. His voice trembled:
"Yuer... Can you... Can you think about it again?"
Caiyu looked at him in surprise and couldn't bear to see him like this.
In her impression, Song Yinghuai, the Prince of Yan, was domineering and never bowed his head.
He would never beg her like this.
But so what?
Time couldn't go back, and the wedding was already on the agenda.
It was most important for her to put their relationship back on track.
Caiyu slightly opened her lips. "Brother A'li treats me very well. I have no reason to think about it anymore."
"But you don't love him." Song Yinghuai said unwillingly. "You said you regarded him as your brother..."
His expression suddenly became a bit gloomy, and his voice was also listless. "... Have you fallen in love with him now?"
Caiyu frowned. "It's good to regard him as my brother. I was young and ignorant before. I thought loving someone was the most important thing. But now I understand that love will be worn away by countless quarrels and misunderstandings, but family affection won't. I can live with him like family for the rest of my life."
Moreover, he already had the princess, didn't he?
Thinking of what she had seen in Qilian Mountain a year ago, Caiyu became even more determined. She got up and began to push him. "My lord, please leave quickly. This city is really not a place for you to come."
Song Yinghuai was pushed off the bed by her. He wanted to stop her but was afraid of hurting her.
He was pushed staggeringly and was about to be pushed out of the door.
In a hurry, Song Yinghuai grabbed the door frame with both hands and refused to let go. "I won't leave. I'll only leave if you come with me."
"My lord, what are you talking about? I'm getting married tomorrow. How can I go with you?"
"No..." Seeing that she was about to close the door, Song Yinghuai quickly reached out to stop it and then slipped in through the crack of the door.
"Bang!"
The door was closed by Caiyu. She looked at the man who had sat back at the table in disbelief, staring at him in shock.
In the past, when she pushed him out of the door, he would be half - willing to be pushed out and then leave after standing outside for a while.
But now, she couldn't push him out.
"My lord, what on earth do you want to do?" Caiyu asked helplessly.
She couldn't beat or scold this man.
She could only walk back into the room again and try to reason with him.
Song Yinghuai casually poured a cup of tea and gulped it down. "I drank a lot of wine on the way here. Now I'm a bit thirsty. I'm just asking for a pot of tea."
Caiyu sat on another round stool and looked at him in disbelief. "... You never used to be such a nuisance."
Song Yinghuai pursed his lips and looked at her. "So what should I do with you now? If I'm as overbearing as before, you'll be disgusted with me. And I... I can't bear even the slightest bit of your disgust anymore."
Now he had no choice but to act pitiful or be a nuisance.
Caiyu: "... My lord, I'm getting married tomorrow. What I think of you doesn't matter anymore. Please leave, okay?"
Song Yinghuai's heart was stabbed again.
Was she really that eager to get married?
She kept mentioning her wedding tomorrow.
"No." Song Yinghuai gritted his teeth. "I haven't had enough tea yet."
Caiyu gasped. "Then how long are you going to stay?"
Song Yinghuai drank another cup of tea. "I'll stay until you change your mind and give up getting married."
"I'm getting married tomorrow." Caiyu reminded him mercilessly.
Song Yinghuai's hand holding the teacup paused for a moment. He let out a cold laugh. "I can still steal you even if you're married."
Lan Jinqin had been married once, and Lan Jinxiang had been married three times.
Wasn't Xiao Rencheng and Xu Ziyi still able to get them back?
Was he, Song Yinghuai, inferior to them?
Song Yinghuai slightly curled his lips, as if he was up to something. "Moreover, whether you can get married or not is still uncertain."