Chapter 9 Canceling the Engagement
All my good mood vanished because of that incident.
Shen Zhiye didn’t ask a single question.
His long fingers gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The speedometer needle kept climbing.
He had defended me in front of Zhao Weiye, but I figured any man would be angry about something like this.
My fingertips dug into my palms. Gu Qingqing’s provocative words flashed through my mind again.
My chest tightened so sharply that every breath stung.
That was when I realized—I had already fallen for Shen Zhiye.
I couldn’t bear to imagine what he would think if he ever learned about the filthy things I’d done back in the countryside.
Rather than wait for him to discard me, I would rather leave with whatever dignity I had left.
The moment the car stopped, I heard my own trembling, tear-choked voice.
“Shen Zhiye, let’s… cancel the engagement.”
His hand froze on the seatbelt.
The silence inside the car was suffocating. I could hear his breathing turn heavy.
He turned to me slowly, veins standing out on his forehead, his dark eyes seeming to burn with an anger I had never seen.
“Say that again.”
His tall frame loomed over me, pressure thick enough to choke.
Warm breath brushed my face, carrying that faint cedar scent, but his eyes were ice-cold.
“You met that guy for a few minutes, and now you want to break off our engagement for him?”
“It has nothing to do with Zhao Weiye.”
It was my own pathetic pride.
I had hoped too many times that someone would love me.
Every time, I ended up with nothing.
Shen Zhiye had only ever seen the polished version of me.
Even if he liked me now, the moment he saw the real me, he would turn away like everyone else.
I couldn’t go through being abandoned again.
So I chose to leave first.
“Let’s cancel the engagement.”
I lifted my head, voice steady.
His eyes were red at the corners.
His fingers traced my lips, studying every inch of my face.
Then—click—the passenger seat dropped back.
Before I could react, his scorching heat enveloped me.
His kiss was fierce, almost punishing.
“Gu Jiao! Looks like I need to show you exactly what kind of man Shen Zhiye is, so you won’t think you can just throw me away!”
His hot lips grazed my collarbone. I gasped in pain and tried to push him off, but he caught both my wrists and pinned them above my head.
The small space left my mind blank.
This version of Shen Zhiye terrified me.
“Shen Zhiye, stop…”
My voice shook with tears.
He suddenly stilled.
He pulled back, eyes misty, breathing uneven.
With a helpless sigh, he released me and lay beside me.
“Fine. Tell me—where exactly did I lose to that guy?”
His voice was rough with frustration.
My chest ached. Tears spilled over.
“You’re a hundred—no, a thousand times better than him!”
He looked like he hadn’t expected that answer. He looked lost.
“You’re breaking up with me, and you’re the one crying.”
He grumbled, but his fingers gently wiped my tears away.
That careful tenderness shattered the walls I’d built over years. I cried harder.
“Shen Zhiye, you don’t even like the real me.”
He looked at me, eyes soft and serious.
“Oh? Then tell me—what’s the real you like?”
I opened my mouth, but the words tangled.
“My… my story is long.”
“That’s okay. I have all the time in the world.”
He brushed the hair from my face, gentle enough that every grievance I’d buried for years begged to spill out.