Chapter 121 Stop looking, you'll get a sty.
Lu Zhuo suddenly chuckled, his fingers brushing against the kitten's ears, but he looked at her.
"Because someone looks like they're about to suffocate."
"Let me give you a break."
"Or should I let you continue being that fake smiling doll inside?"
Lin Yiyao hugged the cat tightly; the kitten in her arms was warm and soft.
"I was supposed to be there..."
"should?"
Lu Zhuo sneered, stood up, and his tall figure loomed over her.
Who decided that it should be?
"Lin Yiyao,"
He spoke in his full name and surname, his voice low.
"You're twenty-five this year, not fifty-two."
"Would it kill you to live a rebellious life?"
He leaned against the carved railing, his fingertip tapping the cap of a lighter, the crisp click sounding particularly clear in the silence.
"If you're afraid, just say you're afraid; if you're annoyed, just say you're annoyed."
"Don't laugh if you don't want to."
The flames flickered and died at his fingertips, casting shadows on his face.
"There's no need to pretend here."
Lin Yiyao's heart skipped a beat.
No one had ever spoken to her so bluntly before.
"Dad will be angry..."
"Then get angry."
He suddenly leaned down to look her in the eye.
“I’ll take care of your dad if he gets angry, what are you afraid of?”
Lin Yiyao stood up, holding the cat, and looked down at the swaying string lights below.
"There's nothing to be afraid of."
Her voice was very soft.
"I'm used to it."
Lu Zhuo chuckled, twirled the lighter in his palm, and then slipped it into his pocket.
"Used to what? Used to being a pretty decoration, manipulated by others?"
"It's not so bad once you get used to it."
She sighed, lowered her gaze, and dared not look at Lu Zhuo.
"At least, I won't make any mistakes, and I won't disappoint my parents."
Lu Zhuo's gaze fell on her trembling eyelashes, his tone heavy with the night wind.
"So you don't even dare to think about what you really want anymore?"
"Your life is your own, not something you can use to give your parents a perfect answer sheet."
Lin Yiyao's fingers tightened slightly as she held the cat.
"I've thought about it, but will it be useful?"
"You don't understand at all..."
She suddenly looked up, her eyes slightly red, but she stubbornly held back the tears.
But she was taught from a young age to be obedient, to be compliant, and to be the most proper daughter in the Lin family, placed in the most suitable position.
Even what kind of person she likes, who she marries, and when she laughs are all decided for her by others.
Yan Tingnan was the person carefully chosen by her grandfather and father, and she should like him.
Every time she gets close to him, she has to practice her breathing in advance.
He glanced at her, and she felt as if something was pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe.
So she fled and hid abroad, avoiding returning whenever possible.
She was forcibly summoned back by her family this time, who even specially arranged for her to be in the same class as Yan Tingnan.
In first class, Yan Tingnan sat next to her without saying a word the entire time.
But she dared not move, not even drink water, for fear that getting up would disturb him.
The thirteen-hour flight felt like thirteen years in prison to her.
She had tried to like Yan Tingnan, but she was just afraid of him.
She hid for so many years, but she still couldn't escape.
"What can I do? It was arranged by my family..."
Lin Yiyao's gaze fell on the distant lights downstairs, her voice so soft it was almost a whisper to herself.
"You'd eat shit even if your family offered you to?"
Lu Zhuo's words were rough but his reasoning was sound, though his tone softened.
"Lin Yiyao, you are a living person, not a vase placed in the Lin family's living room."
"Otherwise what?"
A faint hint of resistance flickered in Lin Yiyao's eyes, but it quickly vanished.
"What can I do? That's my home."
“I’m not like you, Lu Zhuo, you can do whatever you want without caring about anyone.”
"I can't."
Lu Zhuo remained silent, simply watching her.
The moonlight bathed his silhouette, softening his roguish air and revealing a deep, unreadable emotion in his eyes.
Suddenly, he reached out, not to touch her, but to scratch the chin of the cat in her arms.
The cat purred contentedly.
"so……"
His voice was low and hoarse.
"You'd rather suffocate than say a word that I'm unhappy?"
Lin Yiyao bit her lip.
"What's the point of telling you? Do people like you even know what it means to be powerless to control one's own destiny?"
Lu Zhuo smiled.
He suddenly took a step forward, his figure completely enveloping her.
"My specialty is dealing with all kinds of situations where one has no choice in the matter."
His voice lowered, his breath hot.
Just then, Lu Zhuo's phone vibrated in his pocket.
He took out his phone, and the screen lit up; it was a new message.
[Yan Tingnan: That's about it.]
Lu Zhuo's eyes darkened, he swiped away the notification with his thumb, and instead grabbed Lin Yiyao's wrist.
"Hey, little darling."
He stood up, put his hands in his pockets, took a half-step back, and tilted his head to look at her.
"I'll tell you a secret."
Lin Yiyao looked up in a daze.
"What?"
"Your engagement with Lao Yan is off."
He dragged out his words and laughed maliciously.
Her pupils contracted slightly: "Why?"
"Because someone will prevent it from happening."
Lu Zhuo gestured with his chin towards the ground floor.
"Here, see for yourself."
Lu Zhuo turned to the side, gesturing for her to look at the floor-to-ceiling window of a lounge downstairs.
Lin Yiyao hesitated before stepping forward and following his gaze.
The floor-to-ceiling windows of the downstairs lounge were not closed, and the sheer curtains were partially opened by the night breeze.
Yan Tingnan leaned back on the sofa, her gold-rimmed glasses resting to the side.
Su Ruan straddled his lap, her green gauze skirt spreading out like a blooming summer lotus.
He held her by the back of the neck with one hand and kissed her deeply.
The kiss was intense, almost like biting, but it slowed down when Su Ruan hummed softly, and his fingertips caressed her earlobe with tenderness.
Su responded softly, hooking her arms around his neck. His palm pressed against her skin, gently massaging her through the slit in her legs.
The moonlight streamed through the intertwined silhouettes, so intense it almost shattered the tranquility of the room.
Lin Yiyao's breathing stopped abruptly.
She guessed that he had a close relationship with Su Ruan, and even secretly hoped that the marriage was just a formality.
Seeing this scene with my own eyes still felt like my heart was being twisted.
Those restrained emotions and naked possessiveness were completely different from the cold and aloof Yan Tingnan she remembered.
The ever-cold and aloof Yan Tingnan could actually lose control to this extent for someone.
It turns out he wasn't incapable of feeling emotions, he just didn't feel them for her.
They didn't care about this marriage at all.
Her perceived lack of control over her situation was merely a result of her own cowardice and escapism.
He had already broken free of his shackles and grasped what he truly wanted.
She, timid and obsequious, lived as the most obedient puppet in the hands of her family.
They still act like fools, hiding in the shell of obedience and habit, deceiving themselves.
Suddenly I felt like a joke.
She clearly didn't like Yan Tingnan, but she still clung to the illusion that they could live together in a respectful manner, and reluctantly complied with her family's arrangements.
Warm liquid welled up in my eyes without warning, blurring my vision.
Lin Yiyao suddenly took a step back and bumped into Lu Zhuo's arms.
"Stop looking, you'll get a sty."
Lu Zhuo's voice rang out above his head, a little harsh and a little irritating.
He turned around, blocking her view.
"He never intended to marry you."
“The Yan and Lin families insisted on forcing it on, so he forcibly demolished it.”
The music from the distant banquet hall drifted like a dream.
She looked down at the entangled figures below and suddenly took a deep breath.
"Lu Zhuo".
"Um?"
"Take me away."
He raised an eyebrow: "Where to?"
"casual……"
She grasped his sleeve, her fingertips trembling slightly.
"Anyway, not here."
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