BDB Chapter 50

He claimed he was quitting smoking for her and actually pulled out a black cigarette case and a matching Zippo lighter, handing them to her.

She hesitated, not having had a chance to refuse, when he added, “Oh, and you don’t like people who drink, right? I don’t touch a drop of alcohol, a perfect gentleman.”

Jiang Rao stared at his serious face for a long while. Finally, she couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.

He wasn’t someone who abstained from alcohol at all; it was just that every time he drank, he would become disoriented, losing all traces of his domineering charisma. That was why he chose not to drink whenever he could.

It was mid-June, with the mountain breeze blowing and the surrounding vegetation swaying gently.

The summer flowers were in full bloom, but they didn’t compare to her smile.

He wanted to smile back, but just before he could, he reconsidered and put on a serious expression.

As expected, when the carefree girl saw his expression, her smile faltered and froze.

He then laughed, “Did I scare you? I was just kidding. I’m not being overbearing or harsh.”

“I’ve never forced you into anything, either. You insisted on paying me back. I said you could use spending six months with me as a form of repayment, but you refused. Doesn’t that mean I didn’t force you?”

“And about chasing you. You appeared and disappeared without a trace, avoiding me continuously. I missed you so much that I had to use my influence to find you.”

“I’m not harassing you; I just love you, Jiang Rao.”

The mountain wind was chilly, making her feel a bit cold.

Jiang Rao’s eyelashes fluttered as she pulled the hood of her SpongeBob pajamas over her head, leaving only her round face exposed, covering most of the area he could see.

She had stated her criteria for a partner in front of so many people not to make him fit the description but to discourage his advances. Yet he continued to argue and twist the topic to his feelings for her.

Did he love her face or the experiences shared with the original female lead in his dreams?

If he knew she was a distant, wandering soul, entirely different from the person in his dreams, he might be the first to seek a master to perform a ritual to summon her spirit.

Qiao Yan had a point. Men who were charming, good-looking, and articulate did exist, but their unlikelihood made them hard to let go of when they were good. 

She feared she would regret it if she accepted him, his goodness and faults all included, and then found herself discarded when he saw her flaws. What would be the difference between her and the original female lead who was mistreated but ended up with the male lead?

As she pondered these thoughts, she noticed the man had somehow moved close to her. Seeing her gaze, he leaned in with an endless smile, his face filling her vision. Jiang Rao tried to push him away, but he stopped and leaned closer, “Jiang Rao, a kiss?”

Her heart raced but then froze. Facing his intense gaze, she took a step back. “I forgot to mention one more thing, Li Jueyan. I don’t like divorced men.”

She saw his face darken immediately. This time, she observed carefully and didn’t see any sign of hesitation in his expression. It was clear he wasn’t pretending; he was genuinely troubled, his heart clouded with gloom.

“You don’t like this, don’t like that, basically you just don’t like me, right?”

Jiang Rao bit her lip. “Yes.”

Li Jueyan sneered, “Is there nothing I can do to melt your heart, which is harder than stone?”

Jiang Rao didn’t look at him. “Yes.”

He stared at the face he had been thinking about day and night, unmoving.

The comical cartoon pajamas seemed cheap and childish, but they didn’t diminish her captivating beauty or her infuriating stubbornness.

He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and before she could retreat, he wrapped his arm around her waist, closing the gap between them completely.

His hot breath brushed against her cheek, and the skin around her ears, hidden by the pajama hood, instantly felt scorched and flushed.

Naturally, she tried to push him away, but before her hands could even touch his firm chest, he held them in place with one hand.

She glared at him. “Let go.”

He merely scoffed and withdrew his other hand from her waist, placing it under her chin to lift her face, then said, “Close your eyes.”

His lips were soft but carried an intense heat, as if he wanted to devour her completely, connecting with her every inch.

It seemed he had an innate talent for kissing. His initial kisses were awkward and hurried, merely brushing against her lips, but when she felt a sharp pain at the corner of her mouth, he suddenly pried open her slightly parted lips with his tongue.

Jiang Rao kept her eyes open throughout.

Through his gold-rimmed glasses, she could see his lashes were as long and dark as ever. Even though he was engaging in such a beastly act, his expression was so entranced it seemed like he was on a drug, yet there was a kind of abstinent beauty to it that stirred the heart.

When she finally felt his tongue intrude, she could no longer maintain her composure and bit down hard, the salty-sweet taste spreading in her mouth.

It was only then that his aggressive actions came to a halt.

They pulled apart, and Jiang Rao’s breathing was slightly rushed.

Was this what he called not being overbearing? She had thought he had turned over a new leaf.

She felt truly foolish.

Then she heard him say, “It’s fine if I can’t melt your heart. I’ve made my mark, Jiang Rao. You’re mine now.”

Crazy! How childish!

If a kiss made someone yours, then those actors who kissed each other all the time must need some sort of polyamorous system set up just for them.

She took a deep breath and said, “Don’t mind it. When I was filming in Hangcheng, I met Mengmeng, who used to love nibbling on my face all the time. Sometimes our lips would accidentally touch, but it was nothing.”

“Mengmeng? Who is that?” His tone turned cold.

By then, she had already scurried back into the house in her little slippers and didn’t answer the question. Instead, she slammed the door behind her with a loud bang.

Who was Mengmeng? Just a small toy poodle used as a prop on set.

Getting kissed was no big deal; she might as well have been nibbled by a dog.

Both were just creatures driven by instinct, with not much difference between them.

Jiang Rao’s hand went to her chest, feeling her rapidly beating heart.

Once, twice, three times…

The rhythm seemed perfectly normal.

Yes, he was no different from a dog.

Perhaps due to the shock of the evening, she spent a long time adjusting herself before sleep began to envelop her.

However, she didn’t expect that the nightmare, which had ceased a month ago, would return.

It started with a glaring red spread across the bath. Then it was a snowy white inching up from someone’s hair. The former was her, the latter was him.

In the dream, he had white-gray hair and looked utterly disheveled and dark, repeatedly murmuring her name by the bedside.

From dawn until dusk, he kept repeating until his lips cracked and his voice grew hoarse, only to be met with a single phrase, “President Li, she’s gone.”

“What do you mean, gone?”

“Madam… Madam is gone.”

His face lost all color, his lips trembled, and the only word that came out was a harsh, “Get lost!”

Strangely, Jiang Rao’s heart trembled in response.

——