Chapter 15: First Quarrel

Huo Linshen's earth-shattering announcement at the Huo family's annual banquet was like dropping a depth bomb on the calm surface of the harbor city, and the aftermath was shocking and lasted for a long time.

"fiancée".

These three words completely pushed Su Lingwan to the forefront and completely changed the relationship between them that was maintained by the agreement.

From the moment Huo Linshen embraced her as they left the banquet hall and got into the car until they returned to the Repulse Bay Villa, Su Lingwan's mind was in a state of chaos. Shock, emotion, unease, and a huge sense of unreality intertwined, making it almost impossible for her to think.

Huo Linshen remained silent all the way, just holding her hand tightly, so tightly that it even made her feel a little pain, as if she would disappear if he let go.

Back at the villa, the housekeeper and servants had already left, leaving only the two of them in the empty living room.

Huo Linshen released her hand, walked to the liquor cabinet, poured two glasses of whiskey, and handed one to her. His movements remained calm, but Su Lingwan could sense the icy anger that hadn't yet completely subsided, and an indescribable tension.

"I'll get to the bottom of what happened tonight," he said, his voice hoarse and cold afterward. "I won't let you suffer in vain."

Su Lingwan took the wine glass, the coldness of the glass making her shiver slightly. She looked up at his tall figure standing against the light, the light outlining his cold and hard outline.

"Why?" She finally found her voice, choking slightly, "Why do you say... fiancée?"

He could have handled the situation more gently, forcefully dispelling the rumors and defending her reputation. By directly elevating the issue to that of "fiancée," he undoubtedly thrust himself into the center of public opinion, leaving him with no room for maneuver. This was inconsistent with his typically calm, rational, and self-interested approach.

Huo Linshen turned around, his deep eyes gazing at her under the light, a complex and indistinguishable emotion surging in them. He approached her, his steps steady and imposing.

"What if?" he asked, his voice low. "Watching them slander you like that? Watching you standing there alone and helpless?"

He stopped one step away from her, his gaze fixed on her like a substance: "Su Lingwan, I am Huo Linshen's man, and I will not allow anyone to bully me."

"But..." Su Lingwan clenched the wine glass, "between us...it's just an agreement."

Even she herself felt pale and powerless when she said this. The kiss on the rooftop, the uncontrollable heartbeat under his palm, and the undisguised possessiveness and protectiveness in his eyes at this moment, had already gone beyond the scope of the agreement.

Huo Linshen's eyes darkened. He suddenly tilted his head back and drank the wine in the glass, then casually placed the empty glass on the coffee table beside him with a crisp clinking sound. He took a step forward, reached out and pinched her chin, forcing her to look up and face the dark tide in his eyes that was swirling and threatening to swallow her up.

"Agreement?" He chuckled, his laughter carrying a hint of self-mockery and suppressed anger. "Even now, do you still think that this is just an agreement between us?"

His fingertips caressed her delicate skin with a burning warmth.

"Su Lingwan, can't you feel it?" His voice was hoarse, almost gnashing his teeth. "I made an exception for you, I got angry for you, my heart was beating out of control for you... Can all of this be explained by a piece of paper?"

Su Lingwan's heart trembled violently at his words. She could feel it, and because she could feel it, she felt even more uneasy and confused.

"Then tell me," she looked at him, with a trace of grievance and persistence in her eyes that she herself didn't even notice. "Huo Linshen, what are you to me? Is it responsibility? Is it possessiveness? Or... because Shen Qinglan is back, so you..."

The three words "Shen Qinglan" were like a fuse, instantly igniting the suppressed fire in Huo Linshen's eyes.

The force with which he pinched her chin suddenly increased, and his eyes became sharp and cold: "What does this have to do with her?"

"How can it not be related?" Alcohol and pent-up emotions made Su Lingwan lose her usual composure. She waved his hand away, took a step back, and her voice was sharper than she had expected. "She was your 'white moonlight' in the past. You have so much in the same past! She is so outstanding and understands you so well! And what about me? What am I? A contract partner who suddenly appeared and disrupted your plans? Are you doing this now because she is back and it stimulated you and made you have some kind of illusion, or... you just want to use me to piss her off?"

These words burst out uncontrollably, carrying with them the pent-up anxiety, jealousy, and doubts about her own identity. The humiliation of being publicly humiliated at the annual banquet, the shadow cast by Shen Qinglan, and Huo Linshen's sudden and unexpected announcement of his "fiancée" that caught her off guard...all these emotions burst forth in this moment.

Huo Linshen's face darkened as she spoke, and the pressure around him dropped to an alarmingly low level. He looked at her, the warmth in his eyes quickly fading, leaving only cold disappointment and a misunderstood anger.

"Su Lingwan," he called her by her full name, his voice as cold as ice, "Is this how you think of me?"

"Then how should I think of you?" Su Lingwan tilted her head back, her eyes red, but she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall. "Huo Linshen, you never tell me the truth! You are always like this, calm, restrained, and in control of everything! You took me under your wing and gave me the title of 'fiancée', but where is your heart? Where is your heart? I can't see it, I can't touch it! I don't even know how much of what you are doing now is because of me, Su Lingwan, or is it just because I am your 'property' and cannot be coveted by others!"

These words, like knives, not only stabbed Huo Linshen, but also cut herself. What she wanted was pure love, a heart that was honest with each other, not such a vague possession mixed with too many other factors.

Huo Linshen stared at her intently, his chest heaving slightly with suppressed anger. Her words had precisely pierced his most hidden pain point—he didn't know how to express his feelings. His world had always been one of calculation and control, accustomed to actions rather than words. He'd thought his defense, his declarations, his clumsy expressions of concern were enough to show his feelings, but he hadn't expected that in her eyes, they would be so unbearable.

"My heart..." He pressed forward, trapping her between the sofa and his body, a dark storm swirling in his eyes, his voice low and dangerous, "Can't you see?"

He grabbed her hand and pressed it hard against his left chest again, where his heart was beating violently and chaotically, just like his boiling emotions.

"It's beating so fast for you now, can't you see it?!" He almost growled, his usual calmness and composure gone.

Su Lingwan felt the wild heartbeat beneath her palm, and tears finally fell. She looked into his eyes, which were filled with anger, disappointment, and a pain she couldn't understand, and her heart felt like it was being torn apart.

"I don't want a heartbeat!" she cried, her voice breaking. "My heartbeat might speed up because of excitement or possessiveness! What I want is your sincerity! You want me to tell me clearly and honestly that you love me! Not to be so ambiguous, to make me guess, to make me uneasy!"

"Su Lingwan!" Huo Linshen interrupted her abruptly, the last shred of patience in his eyes draining away, replaced by a deep, almost desperate coldness. "What do you want from me? I've given you everything I could! I've protected you, defended you, and even acknowledged you in front of the entire city of Hong Kong! What more do you want?!"

"I want your heart! Huo Linshen! I want you to trust me! Instead of tying me to you in this way at the slightest sign of trouble, and refusing to open your heart to me!" Su Lingwan pushed him away with force, tears streaming down her face. "You don't know how to love someone at all! You only know how to possess and control!"

These words, like a final judgment, hit Huo Linshen's heart hard.

His body suddenly stiffened, and all the emotions in his eyes froze in an instant, then shattered, turning into a desolate coldness and dead silence.

He slowly released her hand and took a step back.

Under the light, his face was frighteningly pale, and his eyes were empty as if they had lost all focus. He looked at Su Lingwan, who was crying, as if he was looking at a stranger.

After a long moment, he pulled the corners of his mouth, revealing an extremely pale and bitter arc. His voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible, but it carried a bone-chilling chill:

"Yes, I don't understand."

"So, Su Lingwan, do you regret it now?"

"You regret signing that agreement, you regret... knowing me?"

He finished speaking, no longer looking at her, but turned and walked straight upstairs. His back was straight and tall, yet it carried an indescribable loneliness and... defeat.

Su Lingwan looked at his determined back as he left, collapsed on the sofa, covered her face, and burst into tears.

That's not what she meant... She was just scared and wanted a little more certainty and honesty...

Why did it turn out like this?

In the empty living room, there were only her suppressed crying and the endless night outside the window.

Their first quarrel was so fierce and so hurtful.

The hidden anxieties and wounds in each other's hearts were bloodily cut open and exposed to the air.

Love and anxiety, trust and suspicion, like intertwined vines, tightly entangle them and leave them covered with scars.

And the gap seemed to deepen quietly during this night.