Volume 1, Chapter 152: "I am pursuing you."

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The man’s voice was not loud, but it was steady and full of force. Xu Zhi felt as though something had struck her in the chest.

Unable to resist, she turned her face slightly and looked up. From this angle, she could see the cold, sharply defined profile of Liang Jinmo.

Her heart pounded wildly, as though resonating with his. She found herself thinking that if Gao Ying did not want him, then she did.

Xu Heping was already utterly humiliated. His expression was twisted with embarrassment, and his head drooped.

At this point, let alone seeking cooperation from Liang Jinmo, even leaving with any shred of dignity had become difficult.

Liang Jinmo continued, addressing Xu Heping. “And now you still want to use her. Do you think you’re worthy?”

Xu Heping already wanted to leave.

At his age, to be spoken to like this by a younger man—and by a bastard son he had once looked down upon—was a humiliation unlike anything he had ever suffered.

“Rather than playing the hypocritical family card, you should take a look at what genuine leverage you still have in your hands.” Liang Jinmo gave him one final glance. “Don’t bother Zhi Zi again. Next time, I won’t be so courteous.”

With that, he took Xu Zhi’s hand, turned around, and walked straight through the lobby toward the elevators.

At the corner, Xu Zhi looked back and saw Xu Heping still standing where he was, his fists clenched tightly, his head bowed and unable to lift.

She withdrew her gaze and followed Liang Jinmo upstairs.

They remained silent all the way. After getting off the elevator and returning to the room, they changed their shoes and stood together at the sink to wash their hands. At last, Xu Zhi could not hold back her question.

“What you said just now… what did you mean?”

Liang Jinmo said, “I’ve thought about it. If Auntie truly intends to divorce, now may be the best time to bring it up.”

Xu Zhi understood. “You mean… you’re willing to help my father so that my mother can get divorced smoothly?”

Liang Jinmo turned off the faucet and pulled out a paper towel, first helping her dry her hands.

“Marriage is bound to financial interests. You can stop seeing your father, but unless a choice is made, it will be difficult for your aunt to escape her predicament.”

Xu Zhi lowered her eyes as she watched him carefully dry the water from her hands. The emotions in her heart were too complicated for her to speak for a while.

His gaze fell on the damp bandage covering her finger. After hastily drying his own hands with another tissue, he reached out and peeled the bandage away.

The wound was small, and it had already scabbed over. He said, “Don’t keep covering it. Without air, it may take longer to heal.”

Xu Zhi had not intended to put on another bandage anyway, so she nodded. Then she heard him ask, “Do you scar easily?”

“How did you know?”

His eyes darkened slightly. His fingers touched her collarbone, tapping it lightly.

“The marks always take a long time to fade.”

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After entering the room, she had removed her scarf. Now, when she lowered her head and saw what he meant, her face instantly began to burn.

He was referring to the hickey he had left the night before.

They walked into the living room, and Xu Zhi said, “I don’t know how my father found this place… I spent so long dealing with him that I didn’t have time to cook. Should I make something now?”

“It’s too late,” Liang Jinmo said. “Let the hotel send up a meal.”

After ordering, they sat on the sofa while they waited. Xu Zhi asked him, “So… my father really went to the Liang residence to drink with your uncle and said those things? He even wanted to consult some master?”

She found it absurd. Xu Heping had become so desperate for a son that he had actually begun resorting to superstition.

Liang Jinmo nodded.

Xu Zhi lowered her head. After a long while, she asked, “When did that happen?”

Liang Jinmo thought for a moment. “The weekend of the week when you and Liang Muzhi tore up my examination papers.”

Xu Zhi fell silent.

Liang Jinmo recalled that distant period. When he had heard Xu Heping’s words back then, he had thought of the little girl who appeared obedient and delicate among the crowd, yet had torn up his test paper.

It turned out that her circumstances were no better than his own.

At the time, he had thought that sending her away would be fine—better yet, sending her somewhere even farther away, so that she would no longer attend the same school. Then there would be one less person causing him trouble.

It was difficult to imagine that, all these years later, she would become irreplaceable to him.

Xu Zhi looked up at him. Seeing that he seemed lost in memory, she leaned closer and said, “I’m sorry.”

Liang Jinmo returned to the present and looked at her. “Why are you apologizing?”

Xu Zhi was quiet for a moment before murmuring, “Just because… I’m sorry. And… I’m the same.”

Liang Jinmo did not understand. “The same in what way?”

“Even if the whole world abandoned you, I would still choose you.”

She felt a little embarrassed after saying it. Lowering her head, she wrapped her arms around his. “And it’s not only because you’re outstanding… Even if you weren’t so outstanding, you would still be incredibly important to me…”

Her voice was very soft. She felt that she was clumsy with words, as though she could never quite express what she meant.

Liang Jinmo was silent for a moment. Then he reached out, pulled her onto his lap, and tilted up her chin before kissing her.

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They lingered together for a while before someone knocked on the door.

The server had arrived with their meal. Xu Zhi went to open the door. As Liang Jinmo rose from the sofa, he caught sight of several things tossed in one corner. Looking more closely, he realized they were yarn and knitting needles.

Xu Zhi carried the bags into the dining area, and he followed her in.

“What are you knitting?”

Xu Zhi froze for several seconds before suddenly realizing what he had seen. “You noticed?”

“Be more careful where you leave the knitting needles,” Liang Jinmo said. “If they’re left on the sofa and someone fails to notice them, they could hurt someone.”

Xu Zhi set down the bag and slapped a hand against her forehead. “Oh, I was going to surprise you… They’re for you. I was going to knit them for you. My father arrived so suddenly today that I put everything down and went downstairs, then forgot to put it away.”

Liang Jinmo sat down beside the dining table. Hearing this, a hint of curiosity arose in him as well.

“For me? What is it?”

“A scarf.” Xu Zhi pouted as she sat down opposite him. “There’s a girl in our dorm who won over the president of our department’s student council by knitting him gloves, scarves, and sweaters. I thought I’d follow her example.”

Yang Xue had been an unsuccessful case, but that girl had succeeded. Xu Zhi had remembered the story earlier that day and immediately gone to the shopping mall to buy the supplies. The other girl had always given her chosen boy a surprise, but in Xu Zhi’s case, she had barely started learning how to cast on before Liang Jinmo discovered her secret.

She felt somewhat as though her plans had been disrupted.

Liang Jinmo thought he had heard a particularly strange word. He repeated it.

“Win me over?”

Xu Zhi lowered her head and opened the meal containers. “I’m pursuing you.”

The two of them seemed to be doing quite well now, but she still felt uncertain. He was insecure and not good at expressing himself. The slightest disturbance could make him doubt her feelings, yet he never said anything.

And there was very little she could do for him. So far, all she had offered was verbal reassurance. She wanted everything to become more certain, which meant she had to try harder. Besides desperately declaring her devotion, she also wanted him to see her sincerity.

Liang Jinmo could not quite understand. They were already engaged, and besides… they had even shared a bed. Why did she still need to pursue him?

However…

After a brief moment of thought, he remained silent. He clenched one hand into a fist and held it against the corner of his mouth, while his lowered eyelids concealed the smile he could not suppress.

He thought, Forget it.

If she wanted to pursue him, then so be it.