Chapter 126 Him? Or Me?

Chapter 126: Who's Better? Him or Me?

The wind and rain were heavy, so Qin Shuyi picked up her pace.

Suddenly, the tattered, flimsy umbrella in her hand was tossed aside, and a larger one appeared over her head.

"Ling Jue!"

Before she could even finish her outburst, she was pulled against a warm chest, swiftly bundled into a coat that carried the pleasant scent of cedarwood.

He scooped her up with one arm.

Qin Shuyi was pinned, unable to move. She kicked at him with her feet, but he just kept walking forward.

"Keep moving if you're not afraid of falling."

Qin Shuyi continued to kick.

Fine, let's fall then. We'll fall together.

But she had clearly underestimated Ling Jue's strength.

Despite Qin Shuyi's struggles, Ling Jue steadily carried her to the car.

He started the car and drove silently toward Qin Shuyi's home. In the dim twilight, his face looked frightening.

Qin Shuyi didn't argue with him anymore.

Arguing in the car on a rainy day. She was afraid he might go crazy.

Ling Jue glanced at her from the corner of his eye, sneering inwardly.

She sure values her life and knows when to yield.

He stepped on the gas. Seething emotions made him habitually want to speed off, but the idea only lingered for a second before he smoothly merged into the traffic.

...

Under the forgotten porch overhang, Shen Yaochuan watched the man and woman leave, bickering and fighting all the way. He worked his jaw.

Some things, Ling Jue could do, but he couldn't.

Qin Shuyi might not even realize it herself, but her tolerance for them was different.

Whether it was due to having a year of history with the former or because she wasn't as close to the latter yet.

He couldn't shamelessly follow her like Ling Jue did after she had clearly refused to be escorted.

He took a beating for nothing.

He touched his face.

But giving up was impossible.

At the very least, he had discovered that their relationship wasn't stable, that they didn't even trust each other, right?

Moreover, if they truly loved each other deeply and were rock-solid, why did they break up and become exes?

...

Qin Shuyi was irritable, and Ling Jue didn't try to talk to her either.

They drove in silence all the way to the underground garage of the residential complex.

Without a word, the two got out of the car, took the elevator, and went upstairs.

Qin Shuyi opened the door and reached for the switch in the entryway.

As soon as the light came on, she turned to close the door, but the room plunged into darkness again.

Her neighbor from across the hall hadn't gone to his own home. Instead, he followed her, turned off the light she had just switched on, and trapped her between his body and the wall in the darkness.

Her hands were pinned behind her back. He bent down, his face extremely close to hers, so close she could feel his breath.

He didn't kiss her, but his eyes, glinting with menace, seemed to have already kissed her a thousand times.

"Qin Shuyi, did it feel good kissing him?"

Just a little closer, and he would be pressed against her.

Qin Shuyi turned her face away. "I don't know what nonsense you're talking about."

Ling Jue rested his forehead against hers, his nose brushing against hers. "Did it feel better when he kissed you, or when I kissed you?"

Had they done more than that?

Was it the first time, or had it already happened countless times?

He knew how good her lips were to kiss; once tasted, you wouldn't want to let go. Was that man the same?

Yes, otherwise, he wouldn't have kissed her again, unwilling to part, even after seeing him arrive.

Had he tangled with her tongue, explored the sweet places he had tasted before?

Did he know her favorite kissing position, or how long to kiss before she needed to catch her breath?

Qin Shuyi, Qin Shuyi, how could you be so cruel?

The seething fury rose again in his chest, tainted with a dangerous murkiness.

Kill him. If that person disappeared, it would be as if nothing had happened.

She would belong only to him. She would only touch him.

Whether it was affection or venting, as long as it was directed only at him.

The hand holding her waist gradually tightened, with such force it seemed he wanted to crush her into his body.

She shoved him, but it only brought them closer together.

The two struggled silently in the darkness.

Suddenly, a certain place felt a tremendous threat.

He gasped.

Qin Shuyi froze.

Before she could escape this dangerous position, she stopped moving.

After a long silence, he suddenly bit her delicate nose.

It didn’t hurt, but it was maddening.

“Ling Jue!” She retaliated instantly, sinking her teeth into his neck.

“Hiss—”

He seemed caught between pain and pleasure.

He cradled the back of her head, not forcing her to let go.

“You still haven’t answered me.” He pressed her back against the wall, ignoring the bleeding bite mark on his neck. “Do you prefer a younger body?”

“There’s nothing between us.” Qin Shuyi finally realized what he was misunderstanding.

She took a deep breath. “He was just helping me untangle my hair from the umbrella.”

“Even if there’s nothing now, there will be in the future, right?” He seemed truly lost in his own madness, trapped in his own thoughts.

“Qin Shuyi, why did you sleep with me?” he suddenly asked.

In the past, women had flowed through his life like water, but he had never felt desire for any of them.

He had only wanted to understand what love was.

Was the avarice in their eyes when they looked at him love? Were their timid attempts to get closer, yet always holding back out of fear, signs of affection?

What made Qi Wanting protect and stay silent for decades?

What made Qi Manjun twist herself into knots, filled with hatred and self-torment?

And what made Ling Mufeng cling so stubbornly, refusing to let go even when he knew the love had faded?

They came and went, leaving no trace behind, like flowing water.

He had fallen into an unsolvable paradox.

He couldn’t bring himself to get close to unfamiliar women; even being near them made him feel sick.

Yet he despised the way their eyes would gleam with arrogant delight if they stayed around a little too long.

Leniency only bred greed.

He gave them a month at most.

No one could move him.

His status gave him the space to experiment and the arrogance to look down on emotions.

Later, he stopped choosing the clingy, troublesome ones—those who loved were the hardest to shake off. He preferred women like Tang Wei, who took what they were given and left, who would dutifully act as his shield at events or work diligently when he needed them at banquets.

He thought he would spend his life in this fruitless search, then eventually stop, entering a numb, peaceful marriage of duty, carrying his unanswered questions with him.

It was that glimpse at the funeral that stirred the first ripple in his life.

He wanted her.

Wanted her psychologically, wanted her physically.

The man who couldn’t get close to any woman within a month, who couldn’t stand being touched by them, had pulled her into his arms on their second meeting and kissed her for a full five minutes.

But he hadn’t rushed. He wanted to slowly explore what this feeling was, what this fear of wanting to get closer yet resisting it meant.

She was the one who took the first step.

That night, she grabbed his hand and asked, “Ling Jue, do you want to stay?”

And after that, he lost all control.

But when he finally realized what that feeling was, he was shocked to discover she didn’t feel the same way.

Whoever had appeared at that moment, whether it was Ling Jue or not, she might have tried it with them.

He used to love her honesty about her desires—how adorable and pitiable it seemed—not knowing that this honesty wasn’t directed at anyone in particular.

But Qin Shuyi, how could you do such things with someone you don’t even like?

He gripped her waist, his eyes reddening.

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