These words were like stabbing a knife into Qi Shifeng's heart.
His eyes instantly turned red. He asked in disbelief, "Do you think of me like this? Or, have you remembered something?"
Xu Tingyu felt he was getting too close to her.
So close that when she saw the shocked light and the faint tears in his eyes, her heart ached.
These uncontrollable reactions made her feel extremely embarrassed and ashamed. She could only keep reminding herself not to let her emotions be led like this anymore.
"I don't need to remember anything because what I'm saying is the truth. Qi Shifeng, when we got married back then, wasn't it without love?"
"Since there was no love back then, why are we still entangled now? Qi Shifeng, what exactly do you want from me?"
"Could it be the business intelligence of Qi Ye? Sorry, I never participate in the operation of his company. You've miscalculated."
When she was being sarcastic, she usually kept a faint smile.
But now, she was really upset and couldn't even force a smile.
Just maintaining the coldness on her face was already her limit.
Qi Shifeng stared intently at her for a while.
He had to admit that even though this woman was cold and defensive towards him, and even painted him as such a bad person.
But he loved her unyieldingness, stubbornness, and duplicity.
This version of her was vivid.
Much more beautiful than her aloof and indifferent appearance.
This time, instead of asking why she spoke of him like this, he directly leaned in, lifted her chin, and made it impossible for her to avert her gaze.
"You don't really think so. Why are you being duplicitous?"
His fingertips caressed her chin and gradually moved to her lips, while his gaze remained fixed on her eyes, as if they were on fire.
Xu Tingyu was a bit afraid that he would see through her. She had spoken so righteously, but in the end, it was all just jealousy. She had developed inappropriate feelings for him.
Such despicable and immoral feelings, she didn't dare let anyone see.
So her eyelashes fluttered, hiding all the complexity within.
"Don't try to figure me out. We're not that familiar."
She frowned and pretended to push his hand away.
Who would have thought that he got angry too. He grabbed her wrist and got even closer. "Not that familiar? How are we not familiar?"
He didn't make any further moves, but his gaze was highly invasive.
"You have a red mole on your lower back, about half the size of a rice grain."
"On your right leg, close to the knee, there's a one - centimeter scar, which you got when you fell while learning to ride a bike at the age of thirteen."
"You like to close your eyes when kissing, like to scratch people when you're aroused, and you especially like me..."
Seeing that he was getting more and more outrageous, Xu Tingyu immediately interrupted him. "Shut up."
Even though there were only the two of them here, he couldn't be so straightforward and explicit.
Moreover, when she said whether they were familiar or not, did she mean these things?
It was simply absurd.
"You clearly have feelings for me. Why don't you give yourself a chance to get closer to me?"
Qi Shifeng didn't allow her to escape. He looked straight into her eyes.
He didn't want to go back to square one, nor did he want to watch her flee from him.
Xu Tingyu was cornered, so she decided to just let it all out.
"Because you all lied to me. You kept saying that you were my plaything, acting pitiful in front of me and asking me to be nicer to you."
"But you also helped Qi Ye lie to me. You said you had a cooperative relationship with Du Jiran, but why did you need such a cooperation?"
"Qi Shifeng, I can't see through you. I'm scared and panicked, so I don't want this to go on."
"I've said before that I feel like I'm in a real - life Truman Show. Everyone lies to me. I'm like a fool."
"I don't want this, and I can't accept this. So I'm going to stay away from all of you."
She pushed him around randomly. Struggling so violently, she accidentally slapped him across the face.
After the crisp sound of the slap, even she was shocked into silence.
But the expected anger didn't come.
Qi Shifeng even looked at her with some heartache. "Don't be afraid. I will never hurt you. I swear on my life."
He didn't feel heartache for her just because of what she said.
He had always felt heartache for her.
A person who had lost more than twenty years of memories was like a blank sheet of paper, allowing others to scribble on it.
And around her, there were not only those who loved her but also those who wanted to harm her.
Right now, she didn't even have the ability to protect herself.
Qi Shifeng reached out his hand and pulled the constantly resisting person into his arms. After a moment, as if it wasn't enough, he lifted her onto his lap and hugged her again.
"Did you read those news articles? I can swear to you that they're all fabricated."
"I've never liked Xie Yu. She's the younger sister of my good friend. My friend died because of me, so I took care of Xie Yu."
"But from start to finish, I've never liked her. I can assure you of this."
"If I don't like Xie Yu, how could I look for a substitute based on her appearance? Besides, the person I like is still alive. Why would I need a substitute?"
"Trust me. No matter how far away you are from me or how well you're hidden by others, I'll come to you thousands and thousands of times without hesitation."
His speech was a bit fast, and his tone was firm.
It took Xu Tingyu a while to realize that he seemed to be confessing his love to her.
What he meant was that she was the one he liked.
The psychological defense she had just built with great effort started to crumble a little, but she didn't want to surrender so quickly.
"So, why is the situation like this now? Since you like me, why did you divorce me and find a new girlfriend?"
"And why am I living by Qi Ye's side and becoming his fiancée?"
She really wanted to hear how Qi Shifeng would explain all this.
Sure enough, Qi Shifeng fell silent.
Xu Tingyu didn't urge him either.
After a long time, Qi Shifeng said, "Because you weren't happy when you were married to me, so I was willing to give you a chance to choose again."
"As for why I cooperated with Du Jiran, it's because I had to get the support of the Du family. Her family in the UK could suppress Qi Ye to some extent."
"And Du Jiran doesn't like me either. She's a non - marriage advocate and wants to take over the family business on her own, but her family doesn't agree. They want her to find a husband and hand over the business to her future husband."
"So we reached an agreement to help each other. Everything is fake, and she knows that the person I like is you."
"One more thing. If I didn't have a girlfriend, Qi Ye wouldn't have allowed me to appear in front of you."
Qi Shifeng simply stopped hiding anything.
If the cost of hiding was to push her further away from him, then what was the meaning of everything he had done?
Moreover, he could tell that Xu Tingyu had feelings for him, so it wasn't against the rules for him to say these things.
Sure enough, this time it was Xu Tingyu's turn to be stunned. "So, you did all these just to be by my side?"