“Who said you were allowed to come out here alone?”
When I didn’t answer, Shen Jianqing repeated it coldly.
That word—allowed—made my brows knot. “What do you mean allowed? I came out because I wanted to.”
Half his face was hidden under the shadow of the leaves, his features dim and unreadable, but I already knew his expression had darkened.
I couldn’t understand it. I’d only wanted to take a walk. Why was he suddenly losing his temper again? Maybe the recent days had been too calm—so calm that I’d forgotten his nature. At his core, he was still a volatile, unpredictable madman.
I hated this kind of relationship. Everything was dictated by his pace, his control. If he decided he wanted a peaceful life, then I had to play along and maintain that fragile illusion.
And that so-called peace was nothing more than a thin bubble—one touch and it burst into nothing.
Shen Jianqing stepped forward, his gaze sharp and poisonous. “Why didn’t you tell me? Not only did you hide it from me—you went off alone with that idiot.”
Idiot.
In Shen Jianqing’s eyes, Asong was nothing more than a pitiful fool. But to me, he had the purest, most earnest heart of anyone here.
The most terrifying thing in the world is trying to talk about love with someone who has never learned how to express love in a healthy way.
I didn’t deny Shen Jianqing’s feelings for me. He had climbed cliffs for me, searched for herbs for me. Those things had moved me.
But a relationship has to be equal and healthy. Being moved has an expiration date—no one can live on “being touched” forever.
A tight, suffocating pressure closed around my chest, as if invisible hands were squeezing the air out of me.
“I’m free. I do what I want. I see who I want,” I said, meeting his eyes. “I don’t need to report every move to anyone. Do you understand? Shen Jianqing—what right do you have to control me?”
He stood directly in front of me, his shadow swallowing me whole.
“What right?” He suddenly laughed, low and cold, dropping his gaze. The red mole on his eyelid stood out starkly. “Li Yuze, are you made of stone? Have I not treated you well enough? Do I have no place in your heart at all? Is that why you’re asking me—what right?”
“I don’t need those things right now,” I replied calmly.
Those weren’t what I craved—not anymore.
I remembered Maslow’s hierarchy of needs—the layers of desire. Only after the lower levels are fulfilled can a person reach for higher needs.
Back then, it had been just a theoretical concept I memorized. Now, experiencing it firsthand, I understood.
“What do you need then? Freedom? You want to leave?” Shen Jianqing laughed without a hint of humor, his voice dropping. “Don’t even think about it.”
Before I could react, he seized my wrist and dragged me toward the stilt house.
His strength was shocking—as if he wanted to crush my bones. For a moment, I wondered if he mistook me for his enemy. His strides were huge and fast, and I barely managed to keep up.
Clearly his recovery had gone well—he walked like nothing had ever been wrong.
I stumbled after a few steps, nearly falling. He didn’t care; he just pulled harder. I finally struggled. “Let go! I can walk on my own!”
“Let go?” Shen Jianqing said. “Li Yuze, I’m never letting go.”
Anything I said now would only provoke him. Reasoning with someone who was irrational and furious was pointless.
He dragged me back to the stilt house, not stopping for even a second.
With a loud thud, he suddenly released me, and I fell forward onto the soft bed. My head spun, but I forced myself upright immediately.
I refused to let him see me as weak.
Shen Jianqing watched me from under lowered eyelids, his gaze like a blade carving into every expression on my face. “Why did you leave without saying anything?”
I didn’t bother answering. I wasn’t his possession—I didn’t owe him reports.
But my silence only set him off again.
“Why do you treat me like this?” he demanded. “You’re gentle and patient with that idiot. And me? This! Am I worth less to you than he is?”
I frowned, the suffocation returning. “My world doesn’t revolve around you. Can’t I smile at someone else?”
Shen Jianqing took two quick steps forward and grabbed my shoulders, his expression twisted. Even the scar at his eye seemed to writhe. “No. You can only look at me. Only smile at me…”
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” I slapped his hands away, anger exploding through me like fire up my spine. “What do you take me for—some object you get to claim? Are you planning to keep me locked up forever?!”
One day, I would leave.
The moment the words left my mouth, the room froze. The air turned deathly still, unnervingly quiet.
My anger flickered out in that chill, leaving a knot of unease in its place.
After a long silence, just when my nerves began to prickle—
A low chuckle rumbled from his chest.
“Heh… hehehe…”
The sound echoed strangely in the dead-quiet room.
“Of course I can,” Shen Jianqing said softly, smiling.
My pupils tightened in an instant.
Then I heard him continue, “Do you have any idea how magical fate can be? Back then, when you all picked rooms, you just had to choose this one. My father… he lived here too. Spent the rest of his life in this place—peaceful and quiet.”
The smile curling on Shen Jianqing’s lips was twisted and obsessive. His gaze stayed glued to my face. A chill crawled up my scalp; it felt like a silent thunderclap had cracked open above my head. Goosebumps rippled across my skin.
So back then, Shen Siyuan—dragged here and forced to stay by A-Qing—was living in this exact room?!
A cell. This really is a cell.
I stumbled back a step, my legs turning weak.
Shen Jianqing’s lips were crimson, and that scar didn’t ruin his face—if anything, it gave him a feral edge. But no matter how beautiful he looked, all I saw was the patterned skin of a venomous snake, a gorgeous disguise for something poisonous.
Maybe it was the shock—maybe the anger—but my mind blanked, and my body reacted before I could think.
I swung a fist at Shen Jianqing.
He never expected me to attack out of nowhere, but he recovered fast. He ducked, dodging my blow head-on. My knuckles only grazed his cheekbone, yet the skin there reddened almost immediately.
“Tsk—” Shen Jianqing brushed his fingers over his cheekbone. His eyes weren’t just angry—they held a flicker of excitement I couldn’t read.
That excitement felt like pure provocation.
I lunged, throwing punches without holding back. He staggered back two steps under my momentum, but caught my fist in one hand. I aimed the other straight at his gut, but he seemed to read my intentions in advance and seized that fist mid-swing.
His strength was ridiculous—I couldn’t shake him off. On a sudden impulse, I swept my foot hard at his ankle. He lost his balance exactly as I hoped, but what I didn’t expect was that he’d rather fall than let go of me for even a moment. He yanked me down with him, and we crashed to the floor together.
We were like two beasts locked in a struggle, neither willing to yield, yet neither able to take the upper hand.
But truthfully, I was never good at fighting. Growing up, I was always the model student teachers praised, the “perfect child” adults compared others against. I used to believe that if I behaved, if I worked hard enough to be the best at everything, then maybe—just maybe—my parents would look up from their own lives long enough to notice me.
So yeah—this kind of all-out physical fight? This was my first time. The one in the forest didn’t count—I’d been burning up with fever then, my body drained. Losing that fight didn’t sit right with me. I’d always felt Shen Jianqing only won because I was weak.
But this time, we were both recovering, both on even ground.
Still, the burst of strength inside me slowly faded. My energy bled away. Shen Jianqing caught my opening instantly, flipped over, pinned both my arms in one hand, and pressed my shoulder down with the other, locking me to the floor.
As much as I hated it, I had to admit it—I lost again.
I panted hard, sweat covering my skin, my cheek pressed against the cold floor.
Shen Jianqing’s voice didn’t even tremble. His breathing was steady when he asked, “Still want to fight?”
I tried to jerk my arms free, but his grip was like iron clamps—immovable.
“Still planning to leave?” he asked again, looking down at me.
The answer was obvious.
I clenched my jaw and said nothing.
He suddenly leaned in close. His voice dipped low, like a devil whispering temptation into a mortal’s ear. “Say it. Say you’re not leaving.”
His breath brushed my cheek and neck—warm, intense. His face hovered only inches from mine, his eyes burning with stubbornness and obsession.
I shut my eyes.
After a long silence, Shen Jianqing straightened up again. He still held my wrists tight, unmoving, like a statue.
“Li Yuze,” he murmured, “I told you before—I love how you’d rather suffer than say a single sweet lie to appease me.”
Then he yanked me up with sudden force and dragged me toward the bed.
I knew exactly what he intended. Panic sharpened my movements, and I struggled even harder, blurting curses without thinking.
“Shen Jianqing—let me go! You’re no better than a crazed animal!”
“Oh? Now you’re finally looking at me?” Shen Jianqing bared his white teeth in a cold grin. “What are you talking about? I just suddenly thought of something fun. You’re going to love it.”