if 1, the process ends (Note: This is a general statement!).

Driving her own car would make her easily spotted, but they probably wouldn't have much trouble guessing where Lina was going either. So Lina hailed a taxi, headed straight for her house, randomly picked the most eye-catching sports car from the garage, and sped off.

Seeing her license plate, almost no stubborn police officer would dare to mess with her, and the police chase that Lina had been looking forward to only lasted a short while.

That's when I realized the advantages of living in the US. If I were in China, I'd be making headlines tomorrow.

Actually, she acted impulsively again, but after hearing Edward say that Daryl was holding a bouquet of red roses, she couldn't resist wanting to see him.

After everything that's happened, even though meeting up might not be a good thing, Lina still couldn't help herself.

Perhaps the outcome of meeting would be even worse.

He has a bad temper, and Lina doesn't believe Edward will really know how to behave appropriately.

He's a master of being sarcastic and sarcastic.

Is Daryl Dixon really that important? Lena pondered this question the whole way.

She herself didn't know, just as she didn't understand why Edward was willing to give up his own life to marry Anne.

Grandpa refused to see Edward before he died, feeling that Edward, who had married into the Li family, had disgraced the Li family.

Especially those who travel across the ocean to marry into the family.

Lena had heard plenty of stories about Edward's antics with her grandfather back then. Edward was quite direct when he insulted people. For example, he said that his grandfather, despite his advanced age, had four concubines and was over fifty when he had a son. His son was the same age as his grandson, which was a great honor for the family.

The rest is not something Lina should know.

Anyway, in their family, apart from Edward and Anne being true love, even her parents were in a marriage of convenience that blossomed into love, and luckily they actually developed feelings for each other.

As for his uncle, he had no intention of getting married at all. As for the other uncles and aunts, they didn't usually keep in touch. It was said that these were all matters between adults back then.

It didn't matter to Lina at all. She lived in the US all year round, and the things in China had nothing to do with her. Besides, no matter how unhappy they were, she was the heir to her uncle's estate, and if anything happened to her, all the money would be donated.

She really has no interest in money. (Smug.JPG)

Anyway, she knew that money could make people suffer, but true love was a rare commodity that no amount of money could buy.

You can always believe in money, but you'd better not try to believe in love.

She has never experienced the hardships of life, so of course she can confidently say that she doesn't mind anything about Daryl, since she is rich enough.

But she didn't know when she would change.

However, he was someone she had only known for a month, and someone who had rejected her before.

The more I think about it, the more irritable I become.

Even if Lena drove as fast as she could, it wouldn't be until the next morning when she arrived in Georgia. When she got downstairs, Lena sat blankly in the car. She had returned the keys yesterday, and Daryl had to go to work during the day. She had been so focused on the whole way, but she hadn't figured anything out.

Unbeknownst to her, as she sat in her car lost in thought, the people upstairs were watching her from behind the curtains.

He knew it was her.

Daryl gripped the corner of the curtain and tugged at it. He glanced at the roses on the table; they were beginning to wither quietly. This game should end now.

Lina sat in the car for a long time, thinking. Should she see him? What should she say? What was she hoping for? What did she want?

I know nothing, it's all a blank.

The bright red sports car that illuminated the entire dark alleyway slowly drove backward, the only color gradually disappearing from sight, leaving only the same gray and old-fashioned everything as before.

Daryl drew the curtains; it was all over.

Daryl sat at the table and poked the drooping roses, which looked wilted and had nothing to do with their former vibrant bloom on the shelf.

As Daryl rummaged through the bouquet, he was surprised to find a trembling, newly blooming rose in the very center. Although it was only half-open, it looked remarkably vibrant.

Only this one is alive in that bunch.

As expected, delicate things like flowers are not suitable for all environments.

Daryl picked up the flower and twirled it while staring blankly into space.

There was a rustling sound coming from the window. Daryl looked over in confusion. If he wasn't mistaken, was someone outside pushing open his window?

Lina skillfully pushed open the window and jumped in from next door. "My new curtains!" Lina quickly patted them twice, trying to wipe away the marks she had accidentally stepped on.

"You've arrived?" Daryl heard the drunkard next door shout.

"We're here, thanks, friendly neighbor." Lina didn't even look into the house; her green curtains were quite good at blocking out light, and besides, it was right when Daryl was at work.

"It's settled, give me the car!"

"Go ahead!" Lina said nonchalantly, then closed the window. "I'll have to add a guardrail later," Lina muttered to herself, turning around to notice what seemed to be a figure in the shadows.

"..." Lina's pupils dilated in shock. Based on the familiar body shape, she could first rule out the thief.

"Daryl?"

Daryl licked his lips, stunned and speechless. What should he say? Should he yell at her and send her away?

Lina paused for only a moment before striding forward arrogantly. "You're home? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"...Because you didn't give me a chance to speak?" Daryl replied blankly.

“Okay,” Lina stared at him for a long time, or rather, at his hand for a long time.

Daryl looked down at his hands, then stood up somewhat flusteredly, blocking the table.

Lina suddenly laughed. "I told you, you have to kneel down and beg me while you're crying your eyes out."

"Not kneeling down?" Daryl asked instinctively. Why are there additional conditions now?

"Then kneel down," Lina commanded matter-of-factly.

Daryl pursed his lips, “…you,”

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean'?" Lina took a step forward. Fortunately, the room wasn't very bright, so he couldn't see the tension in her eyes.

“Didn’t you go home?” Daryl said.

"I went back, and then I ran out again," Lina said awkwardly. "You..." That little bit of bluster quickly dissipated.

Daryl almost snapped the rose in half. He looked at the person in front of him, bewildered. Fortunately, the room wasn't bright enough for her to see his expression.

More than nervous, he felt panic, which peaked the moment he saw her. He was afraid of dragging her into the mire, but he was also afraid that if he really pushed her away, he would never see her again.

She's too young, and as her family says, she's fickle and might regret it someday.

She might resent him; he might become a disgrace to her life.

He always was: the unruly bastard of the Dixon family, Moore's lapdog, old Dixon's punching bag, a failed loser, a useless middle-aged man, a piece of trash destined to end up in jail or rot in the mud.

He knew all too well that he was worthless, and before this, he had never been troubled by it, even scoffing at it.

But now, he can't.

"You've used the most infuriating words imaginable, practically calling me shameless and promiscuous," Lina's heart sank. "It's impossible not to be angry, but do you know how awful your expression looks when you lie?"

"..."

“I swear I will never do such a worthless thing again in my life,” Lina said through gritted teeth. “If you don’t kneel down and apologize to me… ah!”

Lina was lifted into the air and cried out in alarm before grabbing Daryl to steady herself.

"Don't think you can get away with this. I've never been humiliated like this before. You're just..." Lina said angrily.

“I’ve already told you, I’m not a good person, how could you have any expectations?” Daryl kicked open the bedroom door, threw her onto the bed, and Lena bounced on the soft mattress. Angrily, she picked up a pillow and threw it at him. “Pah! Don’t think you can get away with this!”

“I didn’t,” Daryl said, pursing his lips, his Adam’s apple bobbing, his voice a little hoarse. “I’m sorry, I really am, I’m sorry.” Once he got started, the rest was easier to say.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Daryl looked at Lina. “Your family pulled you out of the mire, and I don’t understand why you’re back.”

Lina fell silent. "I've been asking myself this all the way here, I've thought about it all night, what makes you so special?"

Daryl pursed his lips. To be honest, even he couldn't figure it out.

"My mind is a complete mess, but it's all about you," Lina said, feeling wronged. "I just want to see you, that's all I want. Now look what's happened, I've really become a foolish love-struck fool."

“My great-uncle even called me a father-father complex and said I was starved for love,” Lina said bitterly. “I’m really in a situation where I can’t clear my name no matter what.”

“This isn’t fair,” Lina said angrily, grabbing pillows, blankets, and even sheets from the bed and throwing them at Daryl. “I’m such an idiot.”

Making her confess her foolish feelings in front of someone who had humiliated her, whether sincerely or not, because words spoken are like water spilled and can never be retrieved, in a humble, even begging manner, nearly drove Lina to the brink of collapse.

She hated being controlled by hormones; the feeling almost drove her to despair. But she had to be honest about her feelings because she didn't want to have any regrets later.

Perhaps the result will be another humiliation, but she will definitely retaliate in other ways. Anyway, she is petty and has already torn her self-esteem and sense of shame to shreds, so she doesn't care about anything else.

Even after smashing everything in the house, Lina was still relentlessly searching for something to smash, while Daryl stood there like a block of wood, letting her smash things without moving.

This feeling made Lina feel even worse.

That's terrible.

Before Lina could lose her temper, Daryl hesitated for a long time before finally forcing himself to speak, "You are...you are the most delicate flower in the garden, and here..."

Lena jumped out of bed in a huff, grabbed Daryl's arm, and bit him.

Daryl frowned and silently gritted his teeth.

"Haven't you heard of flowers stuck in cow dung?" Lina said angrily. "What's so nitpicky about this pile of cow dung?"

“I want you to stay by my side, for a day, two days, or a year? Ten years? Who knows,” Lina grabbed Daryl’s arm. “I don’t want to think about things that far in the future. I don’t want to say lies like ‘I love you’ because I don’t know what love is at all. I want you. I want you to have my eyes and heart filled with nothing but me. You have to stay by my side until the day I don’t want to see you anymore.”

“…Are you a child?” Daryl asked, somewhat exasperated.

“Say what you will,” Lina said haughtily, but Daryl could feel her hand trembling as she gripped his.

“I’m sorry,” Daryl said, “for everything I said,” Daryl paused, “I pretended not to care about anything, so that whatever happened in the end wouldn’t hurt me.”

“I’m ashamed to face it, to face it,” Daryl nervously licked his lips and took a deep breath, “I’m ashamed to face the fact that I like you, not because you’re not good enough, but because you’re too good, and I’m nothing.”

"I thought I could pretend to be indifferent, just like before, and drive you away with the most nasty words, as if nothing could hurt me."

"I know that's what I should do,"

“But I can’t. How can I let that most beautiful rose be dimmed again because of me…” Daryl said awkwardly. Such sweet words had almost exhausted his courage and racked his brains. Even he himself found it unbelievably cheesy when he said them.

“You really overestimate yourself,” Lina said, trying to keep her lips from pouting too much, lest the person in front of her become too smug.

"I'm sorry, truly sorry." Daryl took a deep breath, pursed his lips, and as if he had made up his mind, knelt down at Lina's feet as she had wanted. "Even if your whole family takes turns mocking me this time, I won't take it to heart, until you speak up yourself."

Although Lina was just joking, of course, she was 99% angry. There was no reason for him to be the only one to experience the feeling of her dignity being torn apart, but... was he really going to kneel down?

When this actually happened, Lina panicked. She wasn't one to be sarcastic or make fun of others. She was speechless and didn't know how to react.

“I…you…” Lina looked at Daryl with some unease and helplessness.

Daryl seemed indifferent. He had already shamefully spoken his mind, so whether he knelt or not was no longer so important. He could just treat it as a rehearsal.

Daryl took Lina's hand, kissed the back of her hand, and looked up at her expression. Lina blushed and looked at him awkwardly.

“Hmm, alright, you little brat, what else do you want from me? You know I won’t refuse you,” Daryl said.

“You’re the bastard, your whole family are bastards,” Lina said, her face flushed.

“I would never deny that,” Daryl shrugged indifferently.

Lina angrily pulled her hand away and kicked Daryl in the knee. "Get up and make me paella."

Daryl paused for a moment. "I'm really not a cook." Fried rice and pasta were out of the question, but he could at least learn how to make soup, paella...

"...You just said you wouldn't refuse me!" Lina said angrily.

“…” Daryl sighed; that wasn’t what he meant.

"Are you annoyed by me? I climbed out of my house from far away, and even climbed in through the window of this dilapidated building of yours, risking my life... um..."

Daryl chose to use Lina's best method of gagging, and as for what happened next, they'd deal with that later.