Her foot rests on his knee, letting him slowly clean it with a square cloth dampened with tea. The pressure of his wiping holds back suppressed emotion. He is angry—how could she not know it?

  "Sir, I did wear shoes out this morning. I just left them in the cabin later... Mmm, I swear, I'll definitely remember to put them on next time I get off the boat." Is it really that annoying? Sigh, she's used to going barefoot, she doesn't like wearing shoes. He's always known that, hasn't he?

  His jaw tightened, his entire face, shoulders, neck, arms and chest were all strained, even his throat felt tight, he forced the words out through gritted teeth.

  "You still think Dan Hua has feelings for me..." He gritted his teeth. "You should know very well that I have no feelings for Dan Hua, and what she truly wants in her heart is definitely not me." Did he have to cut his heart open, put it on a plate and offer it to her for her to understand?

  She curved her brows and eyes, and stared at his handsome face for a moment.

  "Say something!" His dark face pressed closer.

  "Sigh. Lord Lei Salang, what happened between you and me has nothing to do with Sister Dan Hua or anyone else. When it comes down to it, it's just a matter between you and me. Lei Salang, there are so many things we need to work on together. I've been arrogant and used to having my own way all along. In the future, you'll definitely get angry and annoyed at me for certain things, certain people, but... you can be as angry as you want, you just can't just leave me again, leaving without a word. If you want to break up, if you want to find someone new, we'll end it face to face. If you leave me again without giving me a straight answer, I think I'll hate you for the rest of my life." After she finished speaking, she took a quiet breath, her cheeks lightly flushed, as if she had finally gotten all the words she had turned over in her heart for a long time off her chest, done with it and felt light all over.

  He stared at her for a long time, wondering why she had said all this, until he saw those beautiful eyes dimmed as if trying to hide something, her long lashes drooping down feigning indifference. His chest suddenly tightened, and he suddenly realized that when he had left Jiangnan in a fit of extreme rage that year, leaving without a single word, avoiding her, not even saying a single word to her, that action of his had hurt her terribly!

  His Building Master was hurt, and yet she was putting on a brave front in front of him?

  She smiled and spoke, her gaze flowing calmly, as if she was just chatting with him about ordinary things, yet what she said was the worry that had been buried deep in her heart for a long time...

  He had made her hurt so badly, hadn't he?

  His chest was squeezed again and again by a sudden, inexplicable force, and his heart ached unbearably too.

  Gritting his teeth, breathing deeply, his two strong arms suddenly pulled tight, crushing her into his embrace.

  "Lei Salang." This time it was Hua Duomei who was stunned. She thought the man would darken his face again after hearing her words, never expecting he would hold her so tight she could barely breathe.

  The man's burning lips pressed against her ear, his breath low and hoarse.

  "Da Xiang, I've said it before, the entanglement between you and me is not that simple. Even if you do something 'dirty' or 'shameful' again, something that scandalizes the public, something unforgivable, even if I'm angry at you, annoyed at you, hate you so much, do you think I'll let you go, let you get away easily? Da Xiang... what's mine, once it's in my hands, it's mine for life. You and I can never split apart. If you want to split, if you want to find someone new, I will never allow it."

  His words had not a single soft spot in them, they were hard as rock. You couldn't detect the slightest hint of flattering comfort in them, but Hua Duomei couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and laugh at his overbearing manner.

  "Lord Lei Salang, you are being so unreasonable!"

  "I am being unreasonable!" His thick arms tightened again.

  "Alas..." She shook her head and sighed, letting the man hold her fiercely, not thinking of resisting.

  "Da Xiang..." His forehead pressed against hers.

  "Hmm?"

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  "I..." He took a deep breath, then exhaled heavily. "I will never leave you again."

  He said firmly, pressing this promise word by word onto her crimson lips, burning it deep into her soft mouth.

  Clearly, the man did not like what she said, and he glared at her with his fierce eyes.

  It was all fine, anyway, she was quite used to being glared at. Having escaped the pitiful state of being almost skinned alive earlier, she smiled softly like spring rain falling gently, graceful and beautiful.

  "Turns out you're not just angry at me for going barefoot! Oh dear... So you're angry that this building master of mine teased your precious sweetheart again out of the blue?" She sighed, no one could tell if it was real or feigned, and both her brows and eyes were soft. "Speaking of so-called precious sweethearts, you've carved off a piece here, a piece there, your whole sincere warm heart is cut down to almost nothing left. Is there really any piece of that beauty left that belongs to me?"

  These words of hers successfully earned her another fierce glare from the man.

  Leisalong was too angry to even feel anything.

  Really.

  He really was this exhausted.

  He could not scold or hit her, he could never bear to. He had now tasted what it was like to have love and hatred tangled together.

  After coming to Nanyang, he had been busy with his affairs these days, and also had to deal with a lot of trouble, so he had neglected her somewhat. Today he had visited Lucao Island, finished his discussion with Ming Dahai, and had a rare half day of free time. He was eager to hurry back to the main island, wanting to take her out on a trip. He had never expected that he would "run into her unexpectedly" right here on Lucao Island.

  Of course he was overjoyed to see her, but the moment he heard about the scandal she had caused, it was impossible for his face not to turn green.

  Why did she have to provoke Danhua?

  She should know he had no feelings for Lu Danhua, she should also understand that all his romantic affection is only given to her alone. Yet she just would not let it go with her mouth, deliberately saying things that would make his heart ache. And he was too easily affected—when he heard her soft sigh, his left chest really gave a useless tight twitch.

  Damn it!

  He cursed her, and he cursed himself too.

  "If I could really carve up my heart, the first piece I'd cut out and get rid of would be you, you troublesome precious!" It would save him from forever pining and worrying over you.

  Hearing him speak in such a harsh angry tone, Hua Duomei did not get angry, she smiled instead.

  She could not help but reach out to stroke his firm jaw, her tender touch caressing him, like soothing a ferocious angry lion.

  The "fierce lion" was still in the middle of his rage, he would not accept her appeasement, his expression still stern.

  Hua Duomei's fingertips unconcernedly kneaded the loose hair at his jaw, tilted her head slightly, and her beautiful eyes unconsciously glanced towards the slope not far away. There was another pair of man and woman confronting each other there—Miss Danhua and that guy Barlow.

  They were too far away, she could not hear what the two of them were arguing about down the slope, but just looking at the atmosphere... Heh, it was definitely no better than it was here in this pavilion.

  Hua Duomei's slender brows lifted slightly as she watched quietly. She recalled a quarter of an hour earlier: when her own man had roughly torn her away from on top of Danhua, Barlow had rushed over just then, helped up the frightened beautiful girl, and by the way gave her a fierce glare. That glare was so savage, it was so fierce that she almost started a full-out brawl with him right then and there. He didn't put her, the building master older sister, in his eyes at all!

  Alright, she owned what she did. She really had bullied Danhua.

  She could understand that that guy Barlow was just being protective of the woman he loved, she actually liked how protective he was of his sweetheart, that was just fine! The only thing that wasn't so fine was that she had always been narrow-minded and held grudges. If she gets the chance, she will still get her payback for that fierce glare.

  Taking a deep breath, she pulled her mind back, and gently turned her gaze to the man in front of her again.

  She stared at the man for a long moment, something faintly rippled in the clear depths of her eyes, and the smile at the corner of her mouth was also faint.

  "Leisalong... What can I do? This is just my temperament, I'm afraid I'll never change it. For some things, I do what I want to do, I don't care what other people think. You get angry at me for this, you're annoyed by me. I can't help it either!" She spoke as if they were just chatting. "The only slightly fortunate thing is, our commitment is just a matter between the two of us. We just said it with our mouths, and we got to be together. Since it's like that, if one day this commitment can't hold up anymore, we'll just make it clear to each other with our mouths again. No one else gets dragged into it. Then you let me go, I let you go, we each go our own way, live our own lives. That would be having a proper beginning and end."

  "What nonsense are you talking about?!" He exploded.

  The imposing large body suddenly stood up, Leisalong propped his two arms on the stone table on either side of her, leaned his face in, and glared at her with fierce eyes.

  She was not scared at all, she just kept smiling. Her soft arms simply wrapped around the man's thick neck where veins stood out, and breathed out her sweet scent softly.

  "I've wanted to tell you this for a long time. These are all words from my heart, they aren't nonsense at all! So, sir, if one day you really fall for some girl, and treat that girl better than you treat me, this building master is no clinging fool. I will definitely let go generously, walk far away, and stop being committed to you."

  She spoke softly and gently, but her words carried full certainty. If he really fell for another woman, she would not only stop lingering for him, she would never see him again for the rest of her life!

  Leisalong froze, his black brows furrowed tightly. He did not understand how the topic had ended up here?