Chapter 118 - A Bizarre Turn Of Events
It was very difficult to control the steering wheel with unsteady fingers. Zhang Yufan pushed down the saliva gathering in his throat.
Ever since the incident that happened that horrifying night, Zhang Yufan had sworn to never look at the rearview mirror, having impulses to stomp the profane thing to shreds on multiple occasions. And he would have done exactly so if this car belonged to him.
Just as the evil apple did to Eve, the nefarious little mirror kept calling to him, never giving him a break.
It was getting unbearable, the air continuing to turn heavy, the whispers of the sinful mirror getting louder, tempting him to take a look - just one look. One look won't hurt.
In the end, Zhang Yufan was a human, a human bound to falling to temptations.
He committed the mistake. He took a look.
He was not to be disappointed.
At the rear seats, his Boss and Boss' wife sat.
Unlike the day when they were jumping on each other, there was a decent distance between them.
But if you asked Zhang Yufan, he would have preferred when they jumped at each other.
At least, he had the excuse to turn on the partition sheets that way!
'By all means, you have my permission! Jump at each other and feed this single me big chunks of dog food that make me choke and die. But please, don't just sit there with such a gloomy atmosphere around you. Can't you observe how difficult it is to breathe-'
Normally visualizing, there was nothing wrong. But if you saw the things from Zhang Yufan's point of view, his Boss was seething fire and breathing out venom as he fixed his eyes at his wife.
Unaware of the state of the poor Zhang Yufan at the front, Chen Yi was engaged with her phone, checking on the application she had sent to the recruitment agency - a video depicting her rehearsing the role.
If things went well, she would be able to go tomorrow for the audition. That Qin Chanpu was going to be met with a beautiful surprise.
She put down the phone, deciding to respond to the scorching gaze that had been on her since the beginning. She raised her head, locking her eyes with Li Luxian with no fear.
"Is there something wrong?" Her voice was so soft, so mellow, evoking the listener's kindness, urging them to go soft for her without even realizing it.
But her subsequent word was like a harsh slap, awakening one from the blissful dream and bringing them back to the harsh reality of the world. "Mr. Li?"
Zhang Yufan experienced the temperature falling a few more degrees, freezing the beads of sweat that had been trickling down his forehead.
Mrs. Li, who are you kidding?
You are calling Boss with such coldness, calling him by his surname! Calling him by his surname!
And asking what's wrong?
Involuntarily, Zhang Xin started mumbling a chant, leaving things to God, completely forgetting he had been an atheist all his life.
Li Luxian's forehead creased into a small frown, his skin was flawless, delicate yet masculine, tempting one's hands to touch him and feel its smoothness.
His eyes were dark in color, sucking one into an endless abyss of mesmerization. Today they felt extra dark, not letting go of Chen Yi for a second, continuing to observe her, attempting to see past the layers of masks she wore, attempting to understand her, to comprehend her.
Under such a penetrative gaze, such an intensive inspection, a congesting sensation of guilt built in her chest. Chen Yi immediately suppressed it, putting on an indifferent expression. As if it didn't matter to her. As if she didn't care at all.
Chen Yi met his gaze head-on, not ducking or avoiding, trying to prove with her perseverance what she put on her face was in fact what she felt.
But a little part of her still wished, wished that he would see past her pretense and realize how much she was suffering by putting this up.
"Why did you not return home last night?" Out of sudden, Li Luxian asked, one of his hands resting over his thigh, the other curled up into a loose fist over the black leather seat, not far from Chen Yi.
While Chen Yi countered his impaling eyes, he had somehow moved closer to her. Chen Yi still hadn't found out, caught up in fighting him in the battle of eyes.
His handsome face was clear to her. Not a single muscle on his face was tense and that scared her.
Shouldn't he be angry?
Chen Yi mustered up her courage, biting the inside of her cheek, letting the pain distract her. Still, she failed to look him in the eye. Averting her eyes, looking out of the window, she said. "I did not feel like it."
"Did not feel like it...?" Li Luxian repeated after her. His eyes narrowed, not being able to believe she would throw such a weak excuse at him.
Chen Yi did not look in Li Luxian's direction.
His fists curled up, tightening, his lips pressing into thin lines. He moved closer to her, leaning over her, cornering her.
"May I ask," Li Luxian's voice was much colder than before as it sounded right beside Chen Yi's ear ", why did you not feel like it?"
Chen Yi tightened her fingers into a fist, her fingers digging into the flesh of her palm, the pain bringing her some distraction from the heat engulfing her as Li Luxian neared her. She was aware of the shortening distance between them, her heart rate starting to pick up, his masculine scent bringing up unwanted memories.
She blinked, forcing back the tears, clearing her vision.
She turned back, putting on a smile, pushing her back against the car's side to put up some distance between them. "Did Mr. Li need me for something? If there was a situation where I was needed to act as your wife, I won't stop you from holding me accountable for my absence. But I left after making sure that there won't be any such situation."
The black car experienced a slight tremble over the trafficless, smooth road. Zhang Yufan had just experienced a mini heart attack.
The atmosphere had turned so heavy that he had stopped breathing a long time ago. At this moment, he was already feeling light-headed.
'Mrs. Li, you have done it.
The God he had just started believing in, abandoned him.'
"What do you mean by this?"
"I meant what I said, Mr. Li. I think you heard me clearly the first time."
Chen Yi's pressed her deeper into the door frame, having no idea how Li Luxian would react. She was treading on a dangerous path, continuously pushing him over the edge.
Li Luxian was the heir of the great 'Li' family, no one must have ever crossed him, the one who ever did suffering to this day.
If she went against him, would he hurt her, force her, try to get back at her?
Even if he did...maybe she deserved it...
"Oh, how would you want me to hold you accountable?"
Chen Yi heard the pounding of her heart in her head.
"Up to you."
"Up to me?" Li Luxian smiled in a mysterious manner. He pulled himself back, letting Chen Yi space to breathe. Casting her a last glance, he said. "You better not go back on your words."
The tense atmosphere gradually dissipated.
Zhang Yufan who was expecting a violent outburst that would erupt Earth and shake the heavens was left even confused than Chen Yi.
What? Was the situation resolved just like that?
He could not wrap his head around the strange turning of events.
Little did he know...that outburst had not been resolved but postponed for a short while.
Author Note:
A relationship without struggles and obstacles can't be strong.
No victory without hurdles is satisfying.
The misunderstanding is bound to resolve and in the end, their love is going to be even deeper, stronger, and unbreakable.
So please support!