chapter 4

The next day, I deliberately pretended to sleep until noon.

Jiang Wenzhou had probably been in the room for half an hour before I finally blinked awake.

He unlocked the chain and told me to wash up.

I went into the bathroom first.

As expected, he headed for the kitchen.

I threw on a coat and crept out of the bedroom.

I crossed the living room and opened the front door.

If I ran too slowly, my performance would look fake.

If I ran too quickly, Jiang Wenzhou might notice too late and fail to catch me.

I hesitated at the threshold. Only when I heard footsteps behind me did I sprint outside with suitable determination.

“Ji Tongjia!”

Still wearing slippers, I thoughtfully took the stairs.

I did not want him losing time waiting for the elevator.

I remembered Jiang Wenzhou being on the track team in high school. He was fast.

I had made it down three floors when he caught my arm from behind.

Panting, I stayed in character. “Let…let go of me.”

There was no trace of a smile on his face. “You want to find him that badly?”

I had not exercised in far too long. The sudden sprint made my vision spin.

I felt a little nauseated too.

I grimaced through it. “You may catch me this time, but I’ll run again. Because I love him!”

Jiang Wenzhou stared at me expressionlessly, then gave a cold scoff. “You don’t know a damn thing about love.”

I froze, wondering if my ears had rung.

The next second, he bent down, hooked an arm behind my knees, and hoisted me over his shoulder.

Upside down, I clutched his waist. “I’m an adult! What gives you the right to say I don’t know what love is?”

He took three stairs at a time, his voice strangely hoarse. “If you knew what love was, how could you not see…”

He never finished.

He did not say another word as he carried me back and dropped me on the bed.

Then he took my ankle and fastened the chain again.

His head remained bowed, leaving me with nothing but the crown of his hair to look at.

I had run out without socks, and my feet were freezing. His hand was very warm.

He held my ankle for a long time. When I kicked at him to break free, his grip only tightened.

This was where I should deliver a line demonstrating my devotion.

Something like, “Why are you so determined to stand in the way of my love?”

Or, “Can’t you bear to see me find love?”

But with that dark, menacing look on his face, all my courage deserted me.

“Wenzhou…are you mad?”

The Jiang Wenzhou I knew never exposed me to his negative emotions.

Even at our parents’ funeral, when our relatives tried to seize the inheritance, he had remained gentle in front of me and told me not to be afraid.

Looking at him now, I was afraid.

He raised his head. “What do you like about him?”

The question stumped me.

My cousin had never told me that part.

What did she like about her blond bad boy?

I hesitated before answering, “Because…he loves me?”

Jiang Wenzhou closed his eyes as if my answer had made him laugh from sheer anger. “Ji Tongjia, are you really so starved for love? Then what has everything I’ve given you all these years meant?”

I pressed my lips together. He had practically been both mother and father to me. Claiming I lacked love did seem rather heartless.

After frantically searching my brain, I found an answer.

“His love is different from yours.”

Jiang Wenzhou listened, then gazed at me in silence. “So you want his love, but not mine?”