My idol, I will protect him.
Gu Yanzhi's light question, like a feather, carried a heavy burden and gently landed on Yu Jinli's heart.
The living room was deathly silent.
Yu Jinli could feel two completely different gazes focusing on her at the same time.
A beam of light came from in front of her. Feng Jinxuan's gaze was tense, stubborn, and filled with unquestionable opposition, like an impenetrable wall, trying to isolate her from all danger.
Another gaze came from across the room. Gu Yanzhi's gaze was gentle and calm, yet it carried a hint of inquiry and testing, like a clear mirror reflecting all the struggles in her heart.
She was caught between those two gazes, caught in a dilemma.
"I..." She opened her mouth, feeling her throat was a little dry.
She subconsciously glanced at Feng Jinxuan's broad and taut back.
This man is always like this.
He expressed his awkward and clumsy goodwill in the most domineering and unreasonable way.
He thought that protecting her from behind was the best way to safeguard her.
But he forgot that their relationship was no longer simply one of employer and employee.
They are like grasshoppers tied to the same rope, partners whose fates are intertwined.
She took a deep breath and slowly walked out from behind the man.
She walked between the two of them and first gave Gu Yanzhi an apologetic smile.
Then, she turned around and met Feng Jinxuan's dark eyes, which were filled with obsession and stubbornness.
“Feng Jinxuan,” she called him by his full name for the first time, “have you forgotten that we are partners?”
The man's brows were furrowed.
“As a partner, I have the right to participate in all major decisions, and I also have the obligation to bear the corresponding risks.” She tried to persuade this stubborn man with business logic. “Mr. Gu’s proposal is, at present, the only opportunity to take the initiative and break the deadlock. I will use a part of my luck to save your grandfather’s life, and I can also find out the mastermind behind it. From the perspective of risk-reward ratio, this deal is a sure thing.”
"I said, no."
Feng Jinxuan's answer was simple, blunt, and unreasonable.
“I would rather do nothing than let you take any risks.”
The smile on Yu Jinli's face gradually faded.
Looking at the domineering and almost unreasonable man in front of her, the anger that had been suppressed in her heart for a long time finally burst out.
"Feng Jinxuan!" She abruptly shook off his hand, her voice rising several decibels. "What gives you the right to make decisions for me?"
"Who do you think you are? My guardian? Don't forget, we only signed a one-year cooperation agreement! You have no right to interfere with my personal freedom!"
She was like a cat that had been provoked, with all her fur standing on end.
"Yes, it's dangerous around you! So what? From the moment I crashed into your beat-up car, my life has been tied to yours! Do you think I can escape unscathed if something happens to you?"
"Do you think I want to bother with your nonsense? If it weren't for my own life, and for the shares and dividends I haven't even received yet, I wouldn't bother with you at all!"
She spoke without thinking, throwing out all the most hurtful and self-serving words.
But she knew she was lying.
I don't know when it started, but she did all this not entirely for money anymore.
The living room fell silent once again.
Feng Jinxuan looked at her, and all the stubbornness and obstinacy in his dark eyes gradually faded away, leaving only a deep and unfathomable sorrow.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he didn't utter a single word.
He gave her a deep look, then turned around and went upstairs without looking back.
The study door was gently closed.
That soft sound was like a heavy hammer blow, striking Yu Jinli's heart hard.
Looking at the tightly closed door, the arrogant flame in her heart instantly died down.
Instead, there was an unprecedented, overwhelming sense of regret and panic.
It's over.
It seems like... things went too far.
Was she...too harsh?
Gu Yanzhi, who was standing to the side, took in all of this.
He stepped forward and gently comforted him, "Don't worry, he just... cares about you too much."
"Care?" Yu Jinli laughed self-deprecatingly. "He only cares about me, this 'tool' that can keep him alive."
"Really?" Gu Yanzhi looked at her, his eyes full of meaning. "Koi, do you really think so?"
He didn't say anything more, just smiled gently.
"I'm going back now. You can contact me anytime if you decide."
After saying that, he turned and left the oppressive mansion.
The next few hours felt like an eternity to Yu Jinli.
The entire villa was as quiet as a tomb.
Feng Jinxuan locked himself in his study and never came out again.
At dinner time, when the maid knocked on the door, he coldly dismissed her with a "I'm not eating."
Yu Jinli sat at the dining table, looking at the table full of delicacies, but had no appetite at all.
The man's wounded gaze kept replaying in her mind.
That gaze was like a needle, pricking her heart again and again.
She scratched her hair in frustration.
She didn't understand why she cared so much about his feelings.
It's just a client we're working with. We had a little argument, why are we so upset?
She dawdled for a long time, but finally picked up a bowl of bird's nest soup that the chef had specially prepared for her, and like a primary school student who had done something wrong, she slowly moved to the door of the study.
She raised her hand, hesitated for a long time, and then gently knocked on the door.
There was no response from inside.
"Um... boss," she said in a soft, sweet voice, trying to get away with it, "food is essential, you'll get hungry if you skip a meal. I brought you some late-night snacks..."
Still, there was no response.
Yu Jinli gritted her teeth, steeled her resolve, and pushed the door open.
The study was dark, with only the cool moonlight streaming in through the huge French windows, casting a silvery frost on the floor.
Feng Jinxuan stood by the window, his back to her, his tall figure appearing incredibly lonely in the moonlight.
The thick black mist surrounding him surged and raged more violently than ever before.
Yu Jinli's heart clenched instantly.
She knew this was a sign of his extremely unstable emotions.
His misfortune and his mood were intertwined.
She placed the bird's nest on the table and carefully walked towards him.
"Feng Jinxuan," she called his name softly, "please don't be angry anymore, okay?"
"I just... spoke without thinking. I was just saying things in anger. Please don't take it to heart."
The man didn't turn around or say anything, like a lifeless sculpture.
Yu Jinli walked around to face him, looked up at him.
Under the cold moonlight, she could finally see that the man's usually cold and indifferent face now held a hint of vulnerability and confusion that she had never seen before.
His eyes were vacant as he stared out the window at the endless darkness.
I'm not angry with you.
After a long while, he slowly opened his mouth, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded.
"I'm angry at myself."
He turned his head and looked at her, his dark eyes filled with an overwhelming, unyielding pain.
"Gu Yanzhi is right." He gave a self-deprecating laugh, a laugh more painful than tears. "I can't even protect myself, so how can I protect you?"
"Who needs your protection?" Yu Jinli retorted without hesitation. "I can protect myself! I'm very strong now!"
The man looked at her without saying a word.
“Feng Jinxuan,” Yu Jinli looked at him, her eyes more determined than ever before, “Listen carefully.”
"I decided to draw that 'life-protecting talisman' not because of Gu Yanzhi, nor because of any bullshit 'responsibility'."
"It's because of you."
"It's because of you, you fool. Even though you're about to be swallowed by darkness yourself, you still think about protecting others."
"Because Chase taught me that fear is something to be conquered."
"And you are my idol."
She poured out all her innermost thoughts in one breath.
The man was completely stunned.
Looking into the girl's eyes, which shone like stars in the moonlight, he felt his long-frozen heart slowly melting.
That evening, under Gu Yanzhi's remote video guidance, Yu Jinli began preparing to draw her "natal protective charm".
She turned off all the lights in the room and lit only a stick of sandalwood incense for concentration.
She sat cross-legged on the carpet, with cinnabar, yellow paper, and a sharp knife in front of her.
She was preparing to follow Gu Yanzhi's instructions to prick her fingertip and take her heart's blood as "ink guide".
The door to the room was gently pushed open.
Feng Jinxuan walked in.
He didn't turn on the light, but simply sat down silently beside her.
Moonlight streamed in through the window, casting long, overlapping shadows of the two people on the floor.
"What are you doing here?" Yu Jinli asked, somewhat surprised. "I'm about to begin, and this process cannot be disturbed."
"I know." The man didn't look at her, but at the small knife gleaming coldly in front of her, his voice low, "I'll stay with you."
"……What?"
“Gu Yanzhi said that this process will severely deplete your luck and may even attract the attention of evil spirits.” He slowly raised his head, his deep black eyes shining brightly in the darkness. “I am your only ‘power bank’ and the best ‘lightning rod’. With me here, I can at least share half of the risk for you.”
Yu Jinli looked at him, speechless.
She never expected that this stubborn and domineering man, after his objections proved ineffective, would not choose to be angry or engage in a cold war, but instead... accompany her in his own way to face this unknown danger.
He took the knife from her hand.
Then, to her astonishment, without hesitation, he sliced open his own fingertip.
Crimson blood beads gushed out instantly.
"Use mine." He offered her his bleeding finger, his voice hoarse yet carrying an irresistible tenderness.
"Your blood is too precious. Let's use mine... which is worthless."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
