coax
Feeling ashamed and indignant but still possessing a conscience, Zhou Ji'an immediately sent a message to Deng Yi after hanging up the phone: "Take a rest for a while, I'll call you again tomorrow."
Soon, Zhou Ji'an received a reply from Deng Yi: Ji'an, you can fight anytime.
He said the same thing many years ago, back when they weren't even dating yet.
As Zhou Ji'an reminisced about the past, Deng Yi's video call came in again.
Deng Yi said, "During this period, I would video call you before you went to sleep, and I would hang up after I saw that you were asleep."
Zhou Ji'an suddenly felt a slight aversion to the intimacy that had increased between the two of them because of sex. Looking at Deng Yi, who was shirtless, he changed the subject: "Why aren't you wearing any clothes?"
"Don't you want to watch?" Deng Yi asked.
It wasn't that she didn't want to see him, but Zhou Ji'an had lived such a life for too many years, only able to see him but not touch him. Just recalling those days made her feel uncomfortable, let alone living that kind of life again.
"I'm afraid you'll catch a cold," Zhou Ji'an said earnestly.
A low chuckle came from the receiver: "I'm getting ready to take a shower."
“I can…” Zhou Ji’an impulsively wanted to tell him that she could take a vacation, but when she thought about why she had applied for the vacation in the first place, she hesitated for a moment and then suppressed her impulse.
"What can you do? Watch me wash?" Deng Yi held up his phone with one hand and took off the rest of his clothes with the other.
“I can stay at Lu Jiani’s house.” Zhou Ji’an’s gaze was focused on the teeth marks she left on Deng Yi’s shoulder. She seemed to have bitten too hard, and fine blood spots could be seen even through the screen.
Deng Yi put on a stern face and said, "No."
"Why?" Zhou Ji'an asked, puzzled. "It's a good opportunity for me to move the things I keep at her place over there."
“I don’t want you to stay with someone who’s hoping for our divorce.” Deng Yi entered the bathroom and turned on the shower. “I also don’t want you to see Xu Zhiyan every day.”
The sound of rushing water drowned out the rest of Deng Yi's words. Zhou Ji'an was too lazy to ask what he had said, and only felt guilty and defended Lu Jianni: "She didn't want us to get a divorce. She didn't want to see all her friends suffer after getting married."
"Do you think marrying me is suffering?" Deng Yi turned off the shower and stared intently at the face on the screen, which wasn't very clear.
Zhou Ji'an thought that if she didn't think about the reality that Deng Yi didn't actually love her, and only felt Deng Yi's kindness to her, she wouldn't be suffering.
But whenever she gets caught up in the question of whether Deng Yi loves her or not, she feels like she's suffering.
Therefore, she couldn't answer his question honestly.
"We've only been married for such a short time, I didn't know," Zhou Ji'an gave an ambiguous answer.
"So you need to give me some time." Deng Yi felt a little more at ease and had the energy to tease her. "Do you want me to video call you later, or do you want to watch me wash now?"
Seeing the person in the video reveal something that Zhou Ji'an now found extremely ruthless, she immediately hung up the phone.
Zhou Ji'an's company has a very humane management style, and since she was recruited by the company, she has a lot of holidays. If she can finish her work today, she can start her vacation tomorrow.
But her physical exhaustion and emptiness were very real. After lying in bed for a while, she didn't want to get up anymore, so she started planning her vacation itinerary.
The sunlight outside was quickly absorbed by the earth, and there was no sound around.
As Zhou Ji'an marveled at the excellent environment of the upscale villa, he couldn't help but let his mind wander to other things. Just then, Deng Yi's video call came in again.
He first clearly explained his upcoming work arrangements to her, mainly the recording time of the program, and emphasized that he could also answer the phone during the recording.
“You don’t need to work so hard. I’m getting to know the two aunties better now, and I’m not so scared anymore.” Zhou Ji’an leaned against the headboard, his hands holding his phone resting on his bent knees. “Also, I can go out and have some fun for a while soon.”
"A vacation? Where are you planning to go?" Deng Yi leaned against the headboard, one hand behind his head. "Going with Lu Jianni and Xu Zhiyan?"
Deng Yi unbuttoned two buttons on his pajamas with one hand, and Zhou Ji'an watched with fascination.
She was watching his updates through a screen, but it was very different from before.
If she had been caught looking at the celebrity Deng Yi in the past, she would have been teased and ridiculed. But now that she has been caught, she can easily say, "I'm married to him."
The man on the screen now belongs to Zhou Ji'an, and it doesn't matter whether others believe it or not, or whether they agree or disagree.
"Jian." Deng Yi moved the screen closer, noticing her somewhat dazed eyes. "Are you sleepy?"
"I don't know yet, I just have this plan," Zhou Ji'an replied, gradually detaching himself from his complacent mood. "I don't go to bed until ten o'clock, it's only eight o'clock now, I'm not sleepy yet."
Deng Yi didn't press further. He gazed at her for a long time before asking, "Have you missed me?"
Zhou Ji'an was caught off guard by this question, which was much more ambiguous than questions like "Do you love me?" or "Do you like me?"
Is it possible for this kind of problem to arise between them?
"I'm going to the bathroom," Zhou Ji'an said, making an excuse to avoid the situation. He reached out to put his phone face down on the bed, but Deng Yi's voice came through the receiver.
He said, "I miss you so much, I've always missed you."
Deng Yi has a strong command of dialogue; all the actors who have worked with him say so.
His lines were delivered clearly, with precise emphasis, rich emotion, and most importantly, very naturally, as if his character simply wanted to say those lines, as if he was meant to say them.
Zhou Ji'an was drawn into the scene by him and wanted to ask him what "always" meant. Did it mean that he had been missing her ever since they broke up?
But she still lacked courage and confidence. She slowly raised her phone until she could see him clearly, and he could probably see her position as well. Her lips trembled slightly as she said, "I don't want you. You are cruel."
The yellow waste material effectively changed the atmosphere between the two.
"Where have I been cruel?" Deng Yi tilted his head slightly, a faint smile on his face.
How is he not cruel?
Zhou Ji'an was furious.
When she looked in the mirror, she found that her breasts and buttocks were covered with red marks of varying depths and sizes.
"There." Zhou Ji'an continued to toss out yellow waste.
Deng Yi rubbed his forehead, the faint smile on his face deepening and lingering for a long time.
His laughter made Zhou Ji'an blush so much that he wanted to pull the blanket over himself.
"I'll be gentler next time," Deng Yi said with a smile. "We were in a rush today."
Zhou Ji'an was about to say "There won't be a next time" when he shut his mouth at the crucial moment.
She feared that her words might come true again.
Although Deng Yi carefully examined her body afterward and found no injuries caused by his loss of control, he couldn't help but worry that he hadn't examined her thoroughly enough when she repeatedly emphasized that she was in pain and now accused him of being cruel.
"Does it hurt a lot?" Deng Yi asked anxiously. "Let me see."
Zhou Ji'an, who had been keeping his head down, opened his eyes wide and shook his head frantically as he faced the screen, saying, "It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, I don't need to look."
Deng Yi was slightly relieved and raised his eyebrows, saying, "You haven't let me see it for a whole month?"
With his exceptional imagination, Zhou Ji'an immediately conjured up images of flirting over the phone and video, and frowned, saying, "Isn't the show you're participating in supposed to involve living with other people?"
Deng Yi nodded: "Hmm... So it's not that they don't want to show it to me, but that they can't show it to me."
Zhou Ji'an: "..."
Laughter from the other end of the phone drifted out like wisps of smoke, filling the entire bedroom. Zhou Ji'an almost forgot that she and Deng Yi had only known each other for a few days.
"The program is recorded in two sessions, with five days in between to allow the participants to catch up on other schedules. I will stay in a hotel during those five days, and we can do whatever we want over the phone." Deng Yiqing clearly explained more details about the recording.
He didn't want to go home for five days, but instead wanted to do it over the phone? Zhou Ji'an was puzzled and began to wonder if Deng Yi actually wanted to see her that much.
Deng Yi seemed to see through her thoughts and explained, "I don't want to have to leave after only a few days with you."
Zhou Ji'an stared blankly at Deng Yi on the screen. The high-end hotel lighting was so sophisticated that it made his face shine like a jewel.
He was the only gem in her ordinary life.
“Gian, I don’t want us to always have to be apart.”
Zhou Ji'an's thumb couldn't help but touch the face on the screen.
She had already experienced Deng Yi's kindness before. She had never doubted that Deng Yi's kindness was an act, nor had she ever thought that she was unworthy of Deng Yi's kindness.
But now, she is surrounded by all sorts of voices, which have completely destroyed her already shattered confidence.
Zhou Ji'an seemed to already see the day when she and Deng Yi would have to separate again.
Previously, after Zhou Ji'an denied having dated Deng Yi, her two roommates said some things that made her realize something.
"Zhou Ji'an, you are blindly confident. You actually dared to lie and say that Deng Yi was your boyfriend. Have you never thought about what you have that makes you worthy of being loved by someone like Deng Yi?"
Yes, if Deng Yi really loves her, then what is it about her that he loves? And what is it about her that makes Deng Yi love her?
Zhou Ji'an, barely suppressing a sob, responded with a joke, "This isn't a feudal society anymore, so why should we have to separate?"
They are indeed not a good match, but this is not a feudal society anymore, is it?
Her answer surprised Deng Yi, and his mood improved almost instantly. "What if you fall for someone else? Like, your old friend Xu Zhiyan or something?"
Upon hearing him mention Xu Zhiyan again, Zhou Ji'an still couldn't help feeling guilty and made a dissatisfied expression, saying, "Would you fall in love with Yu Xi?"
Deng Yi replied seriously, "No."
His quick response flustered Zhou Ji'an, and at the same time, she was somewhat skeptical, so she asked again, "What about the others? How come you can meet so many beautiful women?"
Deng Yi still said, "No."
Zhou Ji'an glanced at Deng Yi's expression, which seemed to be telling her to keep asking questions. Suddenly, she felt that she was always exposing her childish side in front of Deng Yi, so she felt a little uncomfortable. She lowered her head and looked at the embroidery on the down comforter, touching the raised white embroidery thread, waiting for Deng Yi to start another topic.
Deng Yi coaxed, "Jian, tell me you've never liked anyone else."
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