Chapter 157 In the end, he still couldn't keep her.
Lu Zhuo's fingers, which were gripping her wrist, stiffened slightly.
The dim interior lights accentuated his suddenly taut jawline.
He stared at her, the usual roguish smile fading from his eyes, revealing a deep, dark expression.
You know?
His voice lowered, hoarse with the impending storm brewing.
"From when?"
Lin Yiyao did not avoid his gaze; the slight curve of her lips was barely perceptible, yet she stubbornly refused to let it fall.
"Lu Zhuo, I'm not really stupid."
"Behind this two-week period of indulgence in sensual pleasures, there is always a vague sense of unease."
"Your appearance was too coincidental, and the timing of my rebellion was too perfect. I had already vaguely guessed it at that time."
"Your approach to me was arranged by Yan Tingnan to sabotage the marriage alliance, right?"
She wasn't really a naive and innocent girl. Growing up in an environment like the Lin family, she just habitually hid herself away.
But that doesn't mean she was completely unaware.
Lu Zhuo's eyes darkened suddenly, and he dared not look into her eyes.
"Little darling, I..."
I don't blame you.
Lin Yiyao interrupted him.
“I know what you’re trying to do. I’m cooperating with you not because I’m being misled, but because I also need this opportunity.”
"Marriage is a cage that traps me, and a trap that traps you as well."
"You want to break the deadlock, Yan Tingnan wants to extricate herself, and I want freedom. We're just each getting what we need."
"I also need a way to free myself without hurting others."
"No matter how dangerous it is, I have no choice but to grab the rope you're offering."
"I understand your methods, I understand your predicament."
"If I were just an observer, I would even admire how brilliantly you made this move."
"From your perspective, this might be the optimal solution."
“I understand what you did, and I even thank you for giving me the courage to break free.”
She took a deep breath, as if she had finally emptied her heart of all the words that had been weighing on her mind.
"But it's Lu Zhuo."
Her voice trembled for a moment, then she quickly regained her composure.
"If your initial intention in approaching me as my boyfriend was to scheme or have ulterior motives, then I cannot accept it."
"The love I want is pure."
"Even if it comes a little slower or is a little clumsy, it doesn't matter."
"But it can't be fake, it can't be acted out."
"This relationship was impure from the beginning, and I can't get over that hurdle in my heart."
She smiled, but her eyes were slightly red.
"Lu Zhuo, you acted so realistically that there were several times when I almost believed you."
Lu Zhuo's knuckles tightened, and his voice became hoarse.
"What if I said I was telling the truth?"
Lin Yiyao's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she remained silent for a moment.
"If it's true."
"A truth mixed with calculation is more hurtful than a completely false one."
"If my boyfriend gets close to me because he's helping his friends cause trouble."
“If he’s nice to me, it’s been with a lot of scheming and manipulation from the very beginning.”
How can I believe in his sincerity later on?
She took a breath, her voice choked with emotion.
"The love I want must be pure and clean."
"It's neither a compromise nor an unexpected turn of events."
Lu Zhuo stared at her red eyes, his heart feeling as if it had been twisted by something.
Lin Yiyao pushed his hand away, her voice low but firm.
"Actually, I gave you a chance in the lounge. I told you not to lie to me."
"If you had told me the truth back then, told me it was all a setup..."
"Perhaps I'll still smile and finish the performance with you."
"Because that would at least prove that you trust me and dare to show me your hand."
She looked up, forcing back the tears welling up in her eyes.
"But you didn't."
"You chose to keep me in the dark and watch me fall deeper and deeper into this trap."
"Lu Zhuo, what I want is not your guilt and attempts to make amends afterward."
"What I want is that you never intended to lie to me from the very beginning."
Lu Zhuo's breath caught in his throat, all the words stuck in his throat.
She took a slight breath and tried to pull her hand away again.
This time, Lu Zhuo loosened his grip.
He suddenly raised his hand, wanting to touch her cheek, but froze in mid-air.
His fingers curled up and eventually fell limply.
"My little darling..."
His voice was hoarse and out of tune.
"Yes, I'm an idiot, I had impure motives from the beginning."
"But it's true that I'm attracted to you, little darling, I'm not lying to you about this."
Lin Yiyao stared at him for a long time.
Then he smiled very softly, with a hint of relief and a touch of sadness.
"It's too late."
"Once you go astray, there's no turning back."
After saying that, Lin Yiyao put her hand on the car door handle and prepared to get out of the car.
Suddenly, my wrist was grabbed from behind.
His knuckles were taut.
"Don't go."
"Just one sentence, let me finish."
Lin Yiyao stopped, but did not turn around.
Lu Zhuo's Adam's apple bobbed, all his roguishness vanished, leaving only a chaotic mess.
"Yes, I initially approached you because of Lao Yan."
"He came to me, wanting me to sabotage the arranged marriage."
“I agreed, because he’s my brother, and also because of me…”
He paused, as if he was reluctant to speak, yet he forced himself to tear off that disguise.
"I've had my eye on you for a long time, much longer than you think."
"But I suppressed those thoughts."
"You're too obedient, and you're also Old Yan's marriage partner. You're not someone I should get involved with."
"For the next two weeks, I'll take you out to have some fun, to see things you've never seen before, and to do things you've never done before."
"At first, it was a scheme, I wanted to make you suffer a little, so that you wouldn't be willing to marry him just like that."
"But later..."
His voice lowered, tinged with self-mockery.
"In the end, I was the one who got myself into trouble."
"Seeing you cry, seeing you laugh, seeing you clearly scared to death but still stubbornly saying you want more."
"Yaoyao, it's true that I'm falling for you."
He abruptly turned her body around, forcing her to look at him.
His eyes were red, and his usual playful and charming demeanor was gone, leaving only a sincere and disheveled look.
"I know that saying this now sounds like making excuses or defending myself."
"Little darling, I'm not a good person. I'm a bastard, I'm scheming, and I deserve it."
"It's understandable that you don't believe me."
I don't ask for your immediate forgiveness.
"I only beg you not to sentence me to death."
"Give me a chance to pursue you again."
"This time there was no scheming, no purpose, it was just me, Lu Zhuo, who simply wanted to pursue Yao Yao."
"I'll change the parts you don't like."
"I'll give you the purity you want."
"I'll wait however long it takes."
Lin Yiyao looked up at him.
The neon lights swept across his sharply defined face.
Those peach blossom eyes, which always carried a frivolous smile, were now filled with seriousness and earnestness.
Her heart felt like it had been pinched lightly, a bitter taste spreading through her.
The madness and indulgence of the past two weeks, the excitement and thrills, weren't all fake.
But it is precisely because there is truth in it that she finds it even more difficult to accept that initial impurity.
She was silent for a few seconds, then shook her head.
"Lu Zhuo, you are very good."
"The world you showed me was exciting and free."
"It's something I've never dared to touch in my 25 years of life."
"Lu Zhuo, thank you for taking me through this crazy time."
"I have no regrets."
"But let's stop here."
After saying that, she pushed open the car door and got out.
A night breeze suddenly rushed in, blowing her loose hair.
She walked along the tree-lined path step by step without looking back.
He was slender, yet stood ramrod straight.
Like a sapling that has finally broken free from the vines, it has created its own first patch of sky.
Lu Zhuo remained frozen in the driver's seat, watching her receding figure as she drove further and further away.
In the night breeze, he took out his cigarette case, shook out a cigarette, and put it in his mouth.
The lighter clicked a few times, but failed to light.
He irritably took off the cigarette and crushed it in his palm.
The crumbs leaked through his fingers, like his fragmented and disheartened state of mind.
In the distance, Lin Yiyao's figure had already blended into the night and disappeared.
In the end, he still couldn't keep her.
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