Chapter 120 - A Pretense
Chen Yi's silence stretched for a long period, her hold loosening over Li Shanguaan's hand as she straightened her back, creating some distance between them, her eyes hazing in indecisiveness.
Li Yuan noticed Chen Yi's hesitation, wasting no second to whine. "Mother when can we go and have dinner. Although you exclusively prepared sister-in-law's favorite dishes, with the amount of effort you put, they are bound to be delicious!" His face revealed perfect excitement.
Chen Yi heard Li Yuan, looking back at Li Shangaan in shock. "Mother, you did so much for me..." Despite being sick.
A light feeling fluttered in her chest as if her heart had been caressed by a soft feather.
Chen Yi let out a soft sigh, her expressions softening. When she looked up, her lips broke into a tender smile. Her eyes gleaming with a decision as she looked at Li Shanguaan.
"Alright Mother, we will stay here until you recover."
Li Shanguaan's eyes lightened up.
Li Yuan almost threw his fist in the air, restraining himself at the last moment mindful of a certain devil who stood not far from him.
"Now Mother, can we go and have dinner?" Li Yuan cheerful voice flowed in.
Li Yuan continued the act, attempting to convince his brother.
Sister-in-law might not be aware of the extent of lunacy that ran in this family but it was Big Brother's own family. Big Brother must have an idea of what was going in their heads.
So Li Yuan had to continue the act till he himself forget he was acting.
Although Chen Yi had prepared the 'Expect the Unexpected' golden rule for this family, it would take time and a few more 'shocks' before it settled into her bones.
...
The dinner was inconsequential.
When they were alone, Chen Yi might have been cold towards Li Luxian but in the presence of his family, she had the excuse of following the clauses in their marriage contract.
Chen Yi behaved as if nothing had been wrong, her demeanor was that of a perfect wife and a dutiful daughter-in-law making Li Shanguaan suspicious if anything was even wrong or her stupid son was being dramatic.
Li Guang was fairly surprised upon learning Li Shanguaan suddenly fell sick despite being hale and healthy this morning. However throughout the dinner, whenever he attempted to bring this anomaly to light, Li Yuan would hurriedly changed the topic.
Li Luxian had been the quietest. Although his attitude was a little frigid and his aura a little dark, one needed meticulous observation to tell something wrong.
...
Chen Yi gulped, looking at the door that led straight to hell. She could visualize two imaginary demons standing at each side daring her to come in.
"Alright, calm down. This had to come eventually. What were you thinking when you agreed to stay here? Now suffer." Chen Yi cursed herself, her heart steadying slowly.
Her feet carried her to the door, fear impeding her at each step. She took a deep breath, her hand landing over the doorknob, her fingers turning it around.
'Clank'
She moved in placing her feet down, being as noiseless as humanly possible.
Li Luxian was sedentary, his long legs crossed, his fingers swiping the touch screen in rapid succession, his dark eyes moving left to right analyzing the documents.
It was the same old routine; he would often check his emails before going to bed.
In the beat of a second, Chen Yi turned around and closed the door, producing an audible 'clang', prompting Li Luxian to stop.
Li Luxian's looked up, his eyes lingering at Chen Yi. He was silent, looking at her without saying anything.
At some point, a notification popped up. It had to be something important, Li Luxian was forced back to his laptop.
He did not look at her after that.
Chen Yi's shoulders eased down, her nerves relaxing.
Her light feet carried her to the bed, careful not to create a noise. Picking up a pillow, she turned around. Her eyes scanned the room looking for a spot to claim.
Unsuccessful, she looked back at Li Luxian, staring for a while in hesitancy. Biting her lower lip, she said after a long pause.
"Mr. Li, when are you going to be finished? I will take the couch, you can take the bed."
Li Luxian fingers paused at once. Something flicked in his eyes; he was no longer interested in replying to that mail. "We have already shared a bed before, haven't we? What's wrong this time?"
Chen Yi did not respond.
"I will wait for you to be finished then." Her voice being quiet. She decided to head for the small couch at the opposite end of the room.
Out of sudden, a loud snap was heard.
Chen Yi had not yet even taken more than a couple of steps when she was startled.
The premium, Millions of worth laptop had been snapped so hard, cracks could be visualized as it lay discarded over the table.
The important mail that had distracted Li Luxian no longer held any significance for him.
His eyes had never been this dark before, his black loafers were noiseless against the shiny floor, they carried him straight in her direction in a few quick steps. "How long are you going to keep this up?"
Chen Yi averted her eyes, naively hoping for him to let her be after a silent treatment from her.
"Oh, ignoring me now?" There were traces of wry humor in his voice. "Now, with the two of us alone in this room, do you think I will let that happen so easily?"
Chen Yi's heart froze, his voice had sounded so close. Looking back, she found him right beside her.
When did he get so close?
She should have stood her place. No fear, no hesitance should have been apparent in her manner.
However, her feet had a mind of their own as they carried her away
Or...attempted to carry her away.
A hand slammed against the wall forcing her to stay in place.
Chen Yi found a pair of determined eyes fixated on her. She was confronted with eyes burning in dark fury, a face hardening in silent resolution - he was not going to let her off the hook this time.
She had no choice, she had to face him.
It was unavoidable.
"What do you want?!" She said finally. Her arms tightened around the pillow squeezing it into a hug, her back pushing against the wall as she locked her eyes with the fearsome man.
"What do I want?" Chen Yi noticed the hand right by her head side clenching into fists. "Funny. I should be asking this from you, what is it that you want, Chen Yi."
Chen Yi...
Hearing him call her Chen Yi for the first time than Yi'er - a faint ache resonated in her heart.
"You did not have any problem with being affectionate with Mother." The dark voice whispered just beside Chen Yi's ear. "But why is it you have to be so cold towards me?"
Chen Yi's glare lost its intensity, her hard face wavered picking up the traces of pain in his voice.
However...
'If you are as wise as you claim to have become, you know what to do next.'
Those words echoed in her heart, frightening her into awareness reinforcing her resolve.
"Mr. Li, I don't know why are you so worked up." Chen Yi forced herself to glare at Li Luxian, her fingers pushing into the pillow. So deep that the delicate fabric was at the brink of collapse. "What did I do wrong? The contract stated I have to pretend to be your wife. That's what I did. Just...what did I do wrong?"
"Pretend?" That word struck him hard. Li Luxian looked down at her, his expressions turning cold. "So now you are going to insist...it was all...a pretense?"
Silence lingered in the room after that one question.
"Yes, yes it was. A pretense. That's all it was."
Chen Yi felt her eyes stinging, tears must have gathered at the corner of her eyes. Chen Yi bit her lip blinking her eyes rapidly to force them back.
Li Luxian was silent.
"Oh, Yi'er, what are you going to do if I refuse to believe you?"
"Whether you believe me or not, it's up to you. I have nothing to do with it." Chen Yi was at her limits. She pushed Li Luxian off her attempting an escape.
She should have known better the man was not going to let her go so easily.
Big hands grabbed onto her shoulders, gentle yet firm. She was pushed right back at her spot, against the wall, trapped by that man.
Chen Yi had yet to register how to react - warm, wet lips covered hers.
The pillows landed heavily on the floor erupting into snowy fur.
Author Note:
Chen Yi, be careful, you are provoking our poor baby ML's Yandere side. Now, you don't want him to go Yandere on you? Do you? Teehee
Jokes aside.
I LOVE YANDERES, BITE ME!
Li Luxian is too soft. Once their relationship strengthens, he gotta take the dominant position. After all, in the later chapters, our couple is def not going to do vanilla things If you know what I mean.... ( ͡°⁄ ⁄ ͜⁄ ⁄ʖ⁄ ⁄ ͡°)