---

Chapter 26: Don’t Worry, I’m Not a Beast

Ruan Liuzheng gently shook her head.

“No, thank you. Why are you still up?”

“I was waiting for you! Eat a little something. You just came back from outside — warm your stomach.”

Xie Qingcen’s dark eyes fixed intently on Ruan Liuzheng. His gaze was direct, revealing without reserve the special affection he held for her.

Ruan Liuzheng froze slightly.

Her calm heart felt as though someone had dropped a stone into it, sending ripples across the surface.

So… in this city, there was still someone willing to leave a light on for her.

Someone who made her feel like she had a place to return to.

Still, she shook her head again.

“Thank you, but no. I’m not hungry. And… I’m sorry about earlier this afternoon.”

Xie Qingcen smiled gently, unfazed by her rejection.

He was used to it by now.

He stepped forward and took Fu Jingcheng from her arms. His gaze softened as he looked down, voice low and husky:

“It’s fine. I understand. Let’s go inside first — the night air is chilly, you’ll catch a cold.”

Hearing his gentle, all-embracing voice, a sudden sting welled up behind Ruan Liuzheng’s eyes.

Perhaps it was the beauty of the night.

Perhaps it was the weight of everything she had endured today.

Tonight, Ruan Liuzheng was particularly emotional.

But when she looked up, the only trace of it was the faint glisten in her eyes. She nodded to Xie Qingcen.

“Okay.”

Then she stepped forward, unlocked the door, and let him in.

Xie Qingcen watched her movements, his expression briefly darkening.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but seeing the child in his arms, he simply sighed quietly and walked silently into her home.

---

“Miss Ruan, has anyone ever told you? Sometimes, when a woman allows herself to be a little vulnerable, it actually makes men want to protect her more.”

Xie Qingcen had just come out from Fu Jingcheng’s room. As he lifted his head, he saw Ruan Liuzheng standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the night.

He shifted course and walked over to her, his dark gaze meaningful.

Ruan Liuzheng’s expression flickered. She lowered her gaze, hiding the sadness in her eyes.

“What’s the point? No one cares anyway. It just gives others something to laugh at.”

By now, the glimmer in her eyes had vanished — leaving only calm and reason.

The soft vulnerability he had glimpsed in the hallway earlier seemed like a mere illusion.

Xie Qingcen chuckled lowly and looked at her intently.

“How do you know no one cares?”

“Liuzheng… at the very least, I care.”

He said it softly, seriously.
The last sentence rolled off his tongue with a gentle tease — charming, almost flirtatious.

Ruan Liuzheng’s eyelashes trembled. She lowered her eyes, avoiding his heated gaze.

After a pause, she said:

“Xie Qingcen, stop wasting your time on me. No matter what you do, my answer won’t change.”

After everything she experienced tonight, Ruan Liuzheng was even more convinced — love was the one thing she couldn’t afford to touch.

Even if her heart was slightly moved tonight by Xie Qingcen’s actions…

She didn’t want to get hurt again.

Seeing her retreat once again into her shell, Xie Qingcen’s expression turned cold.

His gaze dropped to the elegant curve of her swan-like neck, exposed as she bowed her head. A shadow flickered across his eyes.

This woman was so stubborn — it made people ache for her, and also… infuriated them.

If he kept indulging her like this, who knew how long it would take to finally break through?

Xie Qingcen clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and suddenly gave a low chuckle.

He rolled up his sleeves, stepped closer to her slowly — not too fast, not too slow — yet the air around him turned tense, dangerous.

Ruan Liuzheng’s chest tightened. She looked at him warily, eyes wide with caution, stepping back instinctively.

But she forgot — right behind her was the floor-to-ceiling window.

Before she knew it, Xie Qingcen had backed her into it.

The biting cold from the glass seeped through her thin sweater, sending a chill straight to her skin. Goosebumps broke out across her back.

She lifted her eyes, her clear features touched with anger.

“Xie Qingcen, move!”

Her tone was fierce — but it barely masked the panic in her heart.

Xie Qingcen smirked, his eyes full of playful intent.

He looked at her like a rabbit trapped in a snare, struggling hopelessly.

Ignoring her protest, he leaned down. His lips brushed her ear, voice low and velvety:

“Liuzheng, I hate when people doubt my decisions. And I really don’t like hearing rejections — especially… when it’s yours.”

Ruan Liuzheng’s eyes widened. Her body had already gone rigid under the tension of his closeness.

Her pale earlobes flushed a bright pink from the heat of his breath — soft, delicate, and utterly adorable.

She clenched her fists and pushed against his shoulder.

“I get it. Can you let me go now, Xie Qingcen? Let’s talk properly.”

Xie Qingcen didn’t respond.

His warm lips continued to brush against her ear now and then, and a low chuckle rumbled from his chest.

Finally, when she was nearly trembling from how stiff her body had become, he “mercifully” let her go.

His hand rested lightly on her shoulder as he studied her from forehead to eyes to nose…

He didn’t do anything inappropriate. He remained restrained.

And yet — Ruan Liuzheng could clearly feel the faint, unreadable glint in his eyes.

She stared at him warily, lips pressed into a tight line.

“Don’t worry,”
Xie Qingcen said with a light smile,
“I’m not a beast. Unless you say yes — I won’t touch you.”

He released her completely, and in an instant, the intense man from moments before had turned back into the refined gentleman with the clean-cut grace of jade.

Ruan Liuzheng breathed a small sigh of relief.

She quietly stepped back two paces, lowering her gaze, lips twitching in irritation.

Not a beast?
If that didn’t count, what did?

Almost as if reading her mind, Xie Qingcen smiled and reached out.

His slender, well-defined fingers gently stroked her cheek.

“Liuzheng, no need to wonder. Someday, I’ll show you what a real beast looks like.”

“Mr. Xie,”
Ruan Liuzheng inhaled sharply, her eyes cold with a hint of edge,
“Don’t you think you’ve gone too far?”

Xie Qingcen narrowed his eyes. A flash of displeasure crossed his face.

His fingers slid down and gently pressed her soft lips.

“I don’t like that title. Let’s pick something more intimate, okay?”

“Qingcen. Or just… A’Cen. How about that?”