“Do you still have feelings…”
“Mr. Su, please don’t say such weird things in front of me. I do not have time to listen.” With that, she called out to Aunt Yu, who was helping to prepared dinner.
Despite clenching his fist, Su Zhan maintained his smile. “Are you trying to avoid me? If you have really gotten over me, you would be able to face me calmly. Your current behavior suggests to me that you still have feelings for me.”
“Hah! What a joke,” Qin Ya sneered.
Suddenly, Su Zhan stood up and put his hands on both sides of the sofa. He lowered his gaze and looked her in the eye. “That’s right. I am!”
Qin Ya pretended to remain calm. “Please move aside!”
Meanwhile, Aunt Yu poked her head out as she heard Qin Ya’s call earlier. When she saw Su Zhan, she quickly tucked her head back in and pretended she didn’t hear a thing.
When Aunt Wang saw that she didn’t go out, she asked, “Didn’t Ms. Qin call you? Why aren’t you going to her?”
Aunt Yu frantically shushed Aunt Wang with her finger to her lip and whispered, “We can’t go out now.”
“Why?” Unlike Aunt Yu, Aunt Wang wasn’t aware of Qin Ya and Su Zhan’s relationship. Hence, Aunt Yu explained, “She and Su Zhan are having an argument. Since both of them are talking, it’s not a good idea for me to disrupt them. I think it’s better to give them some space.”
Aunt Wang replied softly, “Ah… so they’re a couple.”
Aunt Yu nodded.
When Qin Ya didn’t see Aunt Yu approach, she began to feel anxious and wanted to call her again. “Aunt…”
Before she could utter a word, Su Zhan covered her mouth as he gazed deeply into her eyes. “Since you have no more feelings for me, you shouldn’t hide from me.”
Qin Ya pushed his hand away forcefully. “Are you crazy?”
Su Zhan retreated a few steps backward from the force and bumped into the coffee table. After struggling for a moment, he managed to find his balance. “I wish that I can be crazy too, but I’m can’t!”
He knelt down in from of Qin Ya. “Ya, stop tormenting me, will you?”
With her body trembling, Qin Ya tightened her grip on the sofa’s armrest. “You must be joking to think that I’m tormenting you. Who do you think you are…”
Before she could finish, her mouth was covered by Su Zhan. Only this time, it was with lips instead.
Qin Ya’s eyes widened in shock.
Su Zhan kissed her forcefully, ignoring everything else.
After being briefly stunned, Qin Ya pushed him away with all her strength. “Su Zhan, f*** you!”
“You can say whatever you want, and you can treat me however you want. But, you have to give me an answer.” Su Zhan held her hands tightly. “Tell me what you want me to do to redeem myself. Once I’ve done it, you will have to give me another chance.”
“Never!” Qin Ya refused without even thinking.
There’s no way I’m going to be with another man in this lifetime. I’m already grateful for just being alive. Where do I find the capacity within me for love?
“I will marry anyone, regardless of whether they are short or ugly, as long as that person isn’t you.” Every single word of hers was resolute and unfeeling.
Su Zhan’s heart stopped beating suddenly.
Despite how strong his passion for her burned, it seemed to have been doused by ice water.
“You…”
Qin Ya continued her sharp words, “How many times do I have to repeat myself before you stop stalking me? Do you know how much you’re making me hate you?”
“Ya, I-I… At this rate, my feelings for you will be gone.” Su Zhan’s eyes reddened.
“Have you ever been kind to me? I’ll be thankful when you stop obsessing over me because it’s extremely agonizing to be stalked by you.” Ignoring her wounds, she stood up angrily from the sofa and glared at Su Zhan. Her eyes began to mist as she couldn’t control her emotions. “Do you know that I’m filled with the urge to slap you now? So that I can vent the rage in me. You really have no idea how much I hate you!”
She hates me!
She hates me!
The words reverberated within Su Zhan’s mind incessantly.
Given how harsh her words were, Su Zhan’s eyes widened, and his lips trembled as if he was being blown by a strong gust of icy wind. After pausing a moment, he replied, “I’ll slap myself for your sake.”
Slap!
He slapped himself with all his might and stared at Qin Ya. “Is that enough?”
Not expecting him to hit himself, Qin Ya stood there in a daze. Her heart was palpitating wildly, and she could feel her stomach churn.
“If you feel that slapping me will help you vent your frustration and ease your feelings, then I’m happy to do so.” He lifted Qin Ya’s hand and slapped it on his face. The impact was so forceful that Qin Ya even felt her palm go numb.
When he was about to repeat the slap, Qin Ya balled her fingers into a fist and pulled it in the opposite direction. “If you want to behave like a madman, do it alone. Don’t drag me along with you.”
“No, we have to do this together. Even if you stab me into a bloody mess, I will still not let you go. Qin Ya, there’s no way you can get rid of me in this lifetime.” Su Zhan asserted word by word, after which he burst into laughter. “It doesn’t matter if you think I’m crazy or despicable. I am that shameless. There are only two possibilities for me to stop obsessing over you. One is that I lose my memory, and the other is if I’m dead.”
Qin Ya, too, lost her composure as tears gushed out of her eyes. The more she cried, the more intense it became. Despite how heartbroken she was, she remained stubborn. “Do you think I will forgive you by doing this? Dream on!”
Just as she spoke, she hobbled towards her room.
Su Zhan regained his senses quickly and carried her by sweeping her off her feet. “Your leg isn’t fully recovered yet. Walking will aggravate your wound, so let me carry you.”
She had lost a lot of weight compared to last time.
“I don’t need you to carry me. Let go of me!” Qin Ya struggled vehemently and pounded on his chest.
“Go ahead and throw a tantrum. You will just cause everybody to worry about you.” Despite how hard she struggled and how insulting her words were, he didn’t let go.
Once he entered the room and closed the door, he helped Qin Ya sit by the bed. Ignoring her resentment, he held onto her hands tightly. “No matter how much you hate and curse me, I won’t care. I’ve decided not to listen to you and use my own way to win your heart. You can reject me all you want as pursuing you is my business. I can’t force you to accept me, but neither can you force me to give up.”
Qin Ya’s tears streaked down her cheeks one by one. Through the tears in her eyes, she could see the red finger marks left on his face. In a choking voice, she sneered, “Do you think that I will accept you just by doing this?”
“I’m not asking you to accept me. But I do have the right to pursue whoever I fancy. You can’t stop me!”
With that, Su Zhan stood up and straightened his messy collar. Standing up proudly, he let out a chivalrous smile. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Su Zhan, and I manage a law firm. I can’t guarantee that my future wife will be bathed in luxury, but I will definitely make sure that she will have a comfortable life. I’ve lost my parents and only have an aging Grandma left. This is what my life is like. It isn’t great, but it’s not bad either.”
He continued, “Ms. Qin, I really like you, and from this moment onwards, I will try my best to win your heart. Pursuing happiness is everyone’s right. Hence, you can reject me, but you can’t stop me. You may think that I’m shameless or thick-skinned, but I don’t care. The only thing I can do is be tenacious so that I have no regrets. Therefore, no one has the right to stop me from expressing my love.”
Qin Ya was at a loss for words. All she could do now was cry.
Seeing that, Su Zhan helped her wipe her tears. “Don’t cry. It’s breaking my heart.”
“Stop it!” Qin Ya screamed at him softly.
“I have made it clear that I’m just sticking to what my heart tells me to. No one can interfere.” Su Zhan caressed her face and wiped her tears again. “If you keep crying, you will cause me to think that you have relented.”
