resist
Do I need to ask again?
It seemed unnecessary; he avoided answering, clearly unwilling to discuss his past.
“You’re not home every day. When you’re not home, I can’t possibly live here alone.” Zhou Ji’an looked out the window and then back into the room from the winter scenery in the yard.
The house was so big that Zhou Ji'an was afraid that even raising her voice slightly would cause an echo. For someone like her who usually only stayed in the bedroom and kitchen, it was really not worth living in.
Ever since Zhou Ji'an agreed to a fake marriage with Deng Yi, the balance in Zhou Ji'an's bank account has been steadily increasing. Some of the money came from Deng Yi's casual gifts, while some came from Deng Yi's parents and relatives.
Deng Yi even gave her half of the wedding gift money he received.
When Zhou Ji'an lived in that river-view apartment in a state of anxiety for a month, without feeling happy or at ease, she began to think about buying a small house that truly belonged to her.
Of course, this is all on the premise that Deng Yi will not ask for the money back when he divorces her.
“If you live here, you won’t have to go to the public swimming pool anymore, and you won’t have to cook for yourself. Isn’t that great?” Deng Yi held a plate of creamy yellow and red cherries in one hand, and pinched the stem of one cherry with the fingertips of the other hand, feeding it to Zhou Ji’an’s mouth. “Aunt Yang and Aunt Zhu will stay here when they don’t have holidays.”
Zhou Ji'an instinctively dodged.
She had eaten this stuff at Lu Jiani's place before; it was cloyingly sweet and also cloyingly expensive.
"I'm too full." Zhou Ji'an simply took two steps back. "I like cooking for myself."
Deng Yi fed himself, "When I'm at home, we cook for ourselves."
The crisp cherry flesh burst open in his mouth, and its aroma filled his mouth.
A large villa with a swimming pool, two live-in housekeepers, and high-end fruits are all part of his daily life.
But for Zhou Ji'an, it was extremely temporary and extremely rare.
Zhou Ji'an emerged from the predicament of never being able to become an extraordinary person by his belief in no longer living a rare and temporary life.
It would be difficult for someone of her mediocre natural talent to remain calm when such a high-quality, rare temporary life disappears.
She will need a long time to adapt, and may never be able to adapt at all.
Just like when she broke up with Deng Yi, she was unable to date anyone else.
“I’m used to living over there.” Zhou Ji’an still refused to stay here. “You can stay here as long as you want, I don’t mind.”
"Separated right after getting married?" Deng Yi put the plate of cherries he had only eaten back into the refrigerator and said casually with his back to her.
Zhou Ji'an almost laughed, "We're in a fake marriage, not a real one, so why are you talking about being separated?"
She glanced at his retreating figure, then went back into the living room, where she finally had time to observe each piece of furniture.
Even without any formal art training, Zhou Ji'an could tell at a glance that the wooden benches, chairs, and sofas in the living room were not something an ordinary person could afford.
"If things continue like this, how long do you think our marriage can last?"
Although he knew Deng Yi was coming over, Zhou Ji'an was still startled by his voice.
She looked up at the double-height living room and her gaze settled on Deng Yi, who was about two meters away from her.
At this distance, Zhou Ji'an could see his face more clearly.
“Didn’t you say back then that we would get a divorce if either of us fell in love with someone?” Zhou Ji’an replied.
At the time, Zhou Ji'an felt that this condition was a clause set by Deng Yi to absolve himself of liability. In order to make her situation less pathetic, she emphasized that if either of them had someone they liked, they should not hide it and should tell each other in time.
She didn't want to be the original wife that everyone pitied.
The main problem is that the term "original wife" sounds unpleasant and has a feudal connotation.
Deng Yi asked, "So you have someone you like now, which is why you insist on not living with me? Or do you have someone you like, but because you can't have them, you agreed to a fake marriage with me to provoke the person you like?"
Caught off guard by his questioning, Zhou Ji'an panicked and retorted, his face flushed, "Are you writing a new script?"
"That's good. I don't want to be labeled as someone who had a whirlwind marriage and divorce at such a young age." Deng Yi pulled Zhou Jian'an's luggage and looked at her.
He was waiting for her to agree, but he wasn't very sincere.
Even if Zhou Ji'an immediately came up with a variety of excuses and justifications, he could dismantle them one by one.
In the end, there was only one outcome: she would stay overnight in his house, in his bedroom.
That's how he persuaded her to agree to his proposal for a sham marriage.
Zhou Ji'an looked back at him blankly and confusedly, half-compromising and half-refusing, "I'm only staying for one night. My most important office equipment is still in your house, and it's very inconvenient to move it back and forth."
"Then we'll move in all tomorrow." Deng Yi's tone was somewhat forceful. "After a few days of getting used to it, you'll definitely like it here."
If he wanted the outside world to believe that his marriage was normal, he could have lived with her in that river-view apartment, but he insisted that she live here instead.
Zhou Ji'an's suspicion and fear prompted her to make a joke that would only make her more afraid of the house: "You're not planning to imprison me and torture me, or kill me to cover your tracks and bury me in the yard to be fertilizer for the roses, are you?"
Deng Yi laughed and joked, "How much fertilizer can your little bit of meat serve as?"
Zhou Ji'an became uneasy, his hands began to cover his chest, and his gaze fell to the ground.
"As for confining you, torturing you..." Deng Yi paused briefly, slowly stirring her emotions, "It sounds quite interesting."
"Hey," Zhou Ji'an called out to him.
"I just thought of some little tricks to torment couples that can be used to increase the fun in their relationship. Would you like to hear them?" Deng Yi asked calmly.
Over the years, Zhou Ji'an, who had gradually acquired a wide range of knowledge by following Lu Jiani and the others, suddenly had countless images flash through his mind.
Her mouth was dry, and she stood there, unable to think of what to say or how to respond. Her face grew increasingly red.
"Alright, I'm not teasing you anymore." Deng Yi stopped abruptly. "I'll take you to the bedroom."
Zhou Ji'an waited until he moved before following him, keeping a certain distance from him.
"Isn't it said that villas generally don't have bedrooms on the first floor?" Zhou Ji'an said, revealing a piece of common knowledge he had inadvertently learned, and immediately regretted it.
Because Deng Yi's villa was much larger than the ordinary villas she had seen.
Sure enough, Deng Yi, who was walking in front of her, added, "The first floor is spacious enough to accommodate two bedrooms, which makes it more convenient to live here."
He said at the time that the house was given to him by his maternal grandparents, which proved that Zhou Ji'an's guess was correct; his mother, Shen Ruoheng, came from a wealthy family.
This made Zhou Ji'an even more puzzled by Shen Ruoheng's behavior of staying in a difficult situation.
"Why do your mother and Wei Jinglin's parents think that I have a good relationship with Wei Jinglin?" Zhou Ji'an restrained his curiosity and only asked questions related to himself.
Deng Yi gently put down Zhou Ji'an's laptop bag, squatted down, opened her suitcase, and prepared to unpack for her.
Zhou Ji'an immediately rushed over, grabbed the suitcase, and said urgently, "I'll pack it myself."
"Doesn't your knee hurt? I saw you kneel like this when you rushed up to pull me up yesterday." Deng Yi directly rubbed her left knee. Zhou Ji'an quickly raised her left leg, sat to the side, and pressed her suitcase tightly with both hands.
"It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt. I know my own strength." Zhou Ji'an smiled awkwardly and moved to a place further away from him.
A hint of dejection appeared in Deng Yi's eyes. "You're always so resistant to me. How can others believe we're a real couple?"
"There's no one else around right now," Zhou Ji'an said, his breathing still rapid.
“You’re just as resistant when other people are around.” Deng Yi stood up, looked down at the person who wouldn’t even glance at him, and displeasure suddenly filled his handsome face. “Nobody would believe we used to date.”
Zhou Ji'an thought to himself that even if she didn't resist his intimate gestures, no one would believe that they had ever been in a relationship before.
She knelt down again, unzipped Deng Yi's jacket halfway, zipped it up again, and replied calmly, "I'll be more careful next time."
A familiar gust of cold wind swept across Zhou Ji'an's face. She turned around and saw Deng Yi leaving the bedroom.
She was afraid he would leave again like he did the day after their wedding; this house was no more comfortable than a hotel.
"Where are you going?" Zhou Ji'an asked loudly.
Deng Yi sighed and turned to her, "Now you know you're in a hurry?"
“You haven’t answered my question yet.” Zhou Ji’an was unusually quick to respond.
Disappointed, Deng Yi turned to leave again.
"Deng Yi." Zhou Ji'an had no choice but to replace "Hey" with his name.
If her memory serves her right, Deng Yi used to become incredibly responsive whenever she called his name softly and gently.
Seeing that Deng Yi didn't move but didn't turn around to look at her, Zhou Ji'an called out again, "Deng Yi."
"I'm going to get a drink of water, do you want to come with me?" Deng Yi's heart had already softened.
Zhou Ji'an practically sprang to his feet. She followed him and said with a smile, "I was thirsty too."
Deng Yi lowered his head slightly and met her smile. The soft spot in his heart felt as if it had been gently brushed by silky bird feathers, becoming even softer.
"I also thought you two were close." Deng Yi took out a bottle of water, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to Zhou Ji'an. "Didn't he always call you Junior Sister Zhou?"
Zhou Ji'an glanced at the bottled water packaging, took a small sip, and said after moistening his throat, "He probably has some kind of Yue Lingshan complex from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. He's always looking for junior sisters at school. I'm just one of his many junior sisters."
"Because you're just one of his many junior sisters, are you feeling disappointed? Sad?" Deng Yi asked, pretending not to care. He took the water she had drunk from and gulped it down.
Zhou Ji'an frowned, disgusted by his words. "You're insulting my character."
"That serious?" Deng Yi found it amusing, handed her the water again, and smiled as he carefully observed her expression. "Since you dislike him so much, why would you agree to attend his housewarming party just to see the difference between rich and poor?"
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