"Qingge, do you really want to marry me?"
Su Family Estate
Out of respect for women, Lin Xuan decided to ask the girl's true feelings.
He was well aware that their relationship was anything but normal.
If he were Su Qingge—suddenly becoming a vegetative patient, then inexplicably being set up for an arranged marriage—
Being in a completely passive position, unable to control his own fate, he would undoubtedly feel lost and opposed.
"Qingge, marriage is not a game."
"In the past, you were trapped in your own mind, unable to express your opinions. Everything that happened to you was beyond your control."
"But now that your awareness is gradually recovering, we should respect your thoughts."
"If you strongly express that you don't want to be with me..."
"Then I won't force you… I'll… I'll let you go… (suddenly chokes up…)"
Holding the girl's soft, fair hand, Lin Xuan's gentle tone gradually took on a hint of sorrow, as if he was expressing his deep reluctance.
A classic push-and-pull strategy.
Retreat to advance.
A masterful display of empathy.
After these successive "tactical moves," Lin Xuan knew… he had her.
Under such moral pressure, even if Su Qingge wasn't completely willing, 99.9% of the time, she wouldn't take the initiative to stop their impending marriage.
As for letting her go?
Hell no! What kind of fool would do that?!
Happiness is something a man must fight for himself.
After all, women often take a passive stance in relationships.
As long as a man takes the initiative, even if a woman is hesitant at first, she might eventually just go along with it.
And once they're married and living together, feelings will naturally grow. Wouldn't that be perfect?
????乛?乛????.
Marriage first, love later.
Affection grows over time.
This was Lin Xuan's strategic approach to relationships.
'I do.'
Sure enough, the girl did not disappoint him.
She traced the words in his palm, giving Lin Xuan the answer he wanted.
"Then, do you love me?"
Seizing the momentum, Lin Xuan pressed further with a direct question.
This time, however, the girl on the hospital bed remained silent, neither affirming nor denying.
Because even she didn't know the answer.
'Damn it! (〃＞皿＜) I already agreed to marry him…'
'Why is Lin Xuan asking such "strange" questions?!'
'What kind of answer does he want from me?!'
'We've only known each other for a short time. Can "love" really happen so easily?'
'In fact, I should be asking him if he loves me!'
'But my aunt told me a long time ago…'
"A man's words are full of lies!"
'Lin Xuan could probably just say "I love you" without even thinking about it.'
...
Su Qingge's mind was a chaotic mess.
Her original plan was simple:
To repay Lin Xuan's kindness, she would fulfill their marriage contract no matter what.
As for emotions—she would think about them after she woke up.
But she didn't expect Lin Xuan to be so persistent, pressing her on this issue and putting her in a dilemma, unsure how to answer.
She didn't want to be fake, pretending to "love" Lin Xuan with false affection.
That would be too phony—it made her sick just thinking about it.
But if she bluntly said "I don't love you,"
She was afraid of hurting his fragile male ego—what if Lin Xuan couldn't handle it and ended up on the rooftop, contemplating life?
In the end, after much thought, she gave an ambiguous answer.
'I don't know.'
As soon as these three words appeared, Lin Xuan grinned—he understood Su Qingge's thoughts now.
Regarding this marriage born of coincidence, she wasn't completely willing from the bottom of her heart—there was resistance.
But due to various reasons, she wasn't going to break it off and would likely go with the flow...
'Then do you love me?'
At this moment, Su Qingge reversed the situation and threw the question back at Lin Xuan.
She assumed his response would be the predictable sweet talk that most men spouted.
However, the next second, Lin Xuan's firm voice reached her ears—
"No, I don't."
Su Qingge: "(òωó?)??????"
She was utterly confused.
The girl was utterly confused—stunned by Lin Xuan's unexpected response.
She really hadn't seen that coming.
For a moment, a trace of disappointment rose in her heart.
'So, was I overthinking everything? Does Lin Xuan really not have any feelings for me?'
'Then what were all those actions and words before about?!'
'Is he about to call off the engagement?!'
'No way, no way! I mentally prepared myself so much for this!'
"(ΩДΩ) So… the real fool here… was me?!"
...
Throughout all of Magic City—no, all of China—countless young men dreamed of marrying Su Qingge.
Even if she never thought highly of herself because of her looks, she still had basic confidence in her charm.
So, she never imagined that a man would straight up say he didn't love her.
But if he didn't love her, then why was he willing to marry her?
Before she could voice the confusion in her heart—
Lin Xuan's voice rang out again, answering her doubts.
"Qingge, maybe my definition of love is different! I think 'love' is a higher level of emotion."
"True love is built on a deep emotional foundation. Both people are willing to give everything for each other, selflessly."
"It involves intense emotional dependence—needing the other person, hoping to establish a deep, exclusive bond."
"We haven't known each other for long, and my feelings for you haven't reached that level of love yet."
"......"
This time, Lin Xuan didn't sugarcoat his words.
Everything he said came from the bottom of his heart.
They had known each other for too short a time.
Their interactions were too unconventional.
And human nature is selfish—love takes time to grow.
In such a short period, it was impossible for true love to develop. At most, it was mutual attraction driven by hormones.
If Lin Xuan had suddenly declared, "I will love you for a thousand years!"
With Su Qingge's intelligence, she would find it fake, pretentious, and disgusting.
Even Lin Xuan himself would probably cringe at such words.
So instead, he took a different approach.
He simply shared his perspective on love.
"Qingge, I don't love you. But I like you."
"Because every time I'm with you, I feel happy and satisfied. Just seeing you makes my heart light up."
"My eyes are always drawn to you—I want to be close to you; I want to understand you more."
"When I saw you trapped in your own body, unable to control your fate, I felt deep sadness for you."
"What I look forward to most each day… is waking up and seeing you. That alone makes my entire day better."
"I like you. ?＾▽＾?"
"You are my sunshine—you light up my entire world."
"And this feeling grows deeper every day. One day, this like will evolve into something even greater—love."
"......."
Lin Xuan patiently explained the difference between "liking" and "loving," subtly planting the seed of emotional evolution in Su Qingge's heart.
On the other side, on the hospital bed—
After hearing Lin Xuan's "confession speech," Su Qingge felt completely overwhelmed, her mind buzzing.
She had initially thought that when Lin Xuan said he didn't love her, it meant he disliked her.
But never in her wildest dreams did she expect such a twist…
Lin Xuan didn't love her, but he liked her?!
"Ahhhhhh!!! w(?Д?)w"
"I'm losing my mind! I'm losing my mind! I'm going crazy!!!"
Is 'love' really such a complicated thing?!
Too hard—this love problem is too hard!
I don't know the answer! I really don't know how to do this!!!
ε＝ε＝ε＝(#＞д＜)?
Su Qingge felt completely crushed. As someone who suffered from androphobia and had no prior romantic experience…
The topic of love was an impossible question—one that might take her an entire lifetime to figure out.
However, there was one thing she now knew for sure…
Lin Xuan liked her!
At this realization—
For some unknown reason, Su Qingge's heart began to fill with an indescribable warmth and joy.
"Qingge, I know you have reservations about this upcoming marriage."
"Especially because your androphobia hasn't been cured yet. So, I've decided—for now, we won't register our marriage."
"I will wait. I will wait until you are ready—until you are the one who wants to formalize our marriage."
"......"
Lin Xuan followed the principle that a forcibly picked melon is never sweet.
Thus, he willingly gave up the opportunity to register their marriage.
Although he knew that if he wanted to…
Su Qingge wouldn't reject him. She would still go through with the legal formalities and become his wife in name.
But so, what? Did he need that marriage certificate?
What the hell would that do for him?!
What he wanted… was intimacy!
Even with the marriage certificate, it wouldn't necessarily mean that Su Qingge would immediately jump into his arms, would it?
Rather than rushing things, it was better to use the absence of that certificate as leverage to gain more favor from Su Qingge.
After all, once he won her heart, what couldn't he get?
In the end, she would be his.
Would that little piece of paper even matter at that point?
And just as he expected—
Hearing Lin Xuan say that he wasn't going to rush the marriage certificate, Su Qingge felt a wave of relief.
She was surprised, moved… and even a little guilty.
Truthfully, Su Qingge felt helpless.
Right now, she had too many burdens on her heart.
She wasn't ready to enter marriage or take on the role of a loving wife.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be fair to Lin Xuan,
And she might even bring him danger and trouble.
'Marriage, huh…'
'Unless one day, I avenge my parents' blood feud.'
'Otherwise, how could I ever settle down into a peaceful married life…? How could I?'
'I've worked so hard for so many years… my hands are already stained with blood. How can I just let that go?'
'But with each passing day, I feel like I owe Lin Xuan more and more…'
...
Just as Su Qingge was filled with emotion and uncertainty about the future—
Lin Xuan, on the other hand, was in an excellent mood.
He rolled up his sleeves, carefully climbed onto the bed,
And resumed his joyful massage therapy.
"Alright, enough talk. Qingge, let's continue with your massage~~"
...
Lin Corporation Headquarters.
Inside the meeting room.
The board members still hadn't left. They were still waiting for Lin Jianjun to bring back the good news.
Ka-cha—
Suddenly, the door swung open.
Lin Jianjun walked in—completely drenched, shivering from head to toe.
"Old Lin, how did it go? Did the Su family agree to share the formula?"
"Hurry up and tell us! The entire company's future is riding on your son!"
"You're his father—he must have forgiven you, right? There's no way a son could be that heartless!"
"......."
A group of board members, faces filled with anticipation, surrounded Lin Jianjun the moment he entered the room.
But not a single one of them noticed—
Lin Jianjun's pale complexion.
Or the fact that he was soaked to the bone, shivering violently from the cold rain.
Seeing these directors—people who had once bowed respectfully to him—
Now, not a single one cared about his well-being. All they asked about was the "formula."
Lin Jianjun's heart was filled with cold fury.
With a shove, he pushed away the people blocking his way.
"Get lost! Stop asking me questions! I'm freezing to death here!"
Saying that, Lin Jianjun staggered to his seat, grabbed the coat he had left there earlier, and draped it over himself.
"I went all the way there, but I didn't even get to see that little brat's face!"
"Hmph! The Su family sure thinks they're big shots now! They didn't even let me in! A bunch of bastards!"
After warming up a little, Lin Jianjun turned his darkened gaze to the board members and recounted the humiliations he had suffered at the Su family estate.
He thought that, since they were all in this together, the directors would side with him.
That they would share his anger and join him in cursing the Su family for being so arrogant.
But—
Not only did these board members not take his side, they immediately turned against him, blaming everything on him alone!
"Old Lin! We told you to lower your attitude!"
"Why the hell were you still acting so high and mighty?!"
"If they wouldn't let you in, then you should have found a way in! How could you just give up and come back empty-handed?!"
"Exactly! And even if you had no plan, you could've at least done some pitiful act, right?"
"With that storm outside, you could've knelt in the rain and begged for forgiveness!"
"I refuse to believe that wouldn't have touched his heart!"
"Right! If you didn't want to kneel, at least pretend to faint in the rain or something!"
"The Su family wouldn't have ignored you!"
"But instead, you tucked your tail between your legs and ran back here—what the hell was that?!"