Resisting Arranged Marriages: Starting with Myself - Chapter 16

As night fell, the dim yellow light on the porch flickered on, illuminating the way for those returning home.

With a click, the door lock turned. Le Xiao looked toward the sound.

He was holding half a glass of red wine, leaning loosely against the back of the sofa with one foot dangling off the edge, swinging gently. The dark red liquid in the glass swayed with his movements, pulling at one’s senses.

He was clearly tipsy. His eyes had begun to grow misty, adding a touch of lethargy to his demeanor.

“You are back already? Have you eaten?” Ye Jiming asked with a smile. As he spoke, he removed his suit jacket and draped it casually over the sofa armrest.

“Yes, the auntie made dinner,” Le Xiao replied, though he seemed to be in low spirits.

“Why did you dig out the wine?” Ye Jiming did not mind. He walked behind Le Xiao and reached out to gently squeeze his shoulder.

However, before Ye Jiming’s fingertips could even touch the fabric of his clothes, Le Xiao pulled his shoulder back, avoiding the contact with a clumsy dodge.

The smile on Ye Jiming’s lips gradually faded. “Xiao Xiao, did something happen?”

“No,” Le Xiao said, his back still turned to him, not granting him even a single glance.

“Go eat quickly. It is going to get cold.”

Ye Jiming no longer had an appetite. He walked over and sat down beside Le Xiao, his tone grave. “Xiao Xiao, what exactly happened?”

His gaze was too intense, shining on Le Xiao like a spotlight, making him feel timid and left with nowhere to hide.

Facing such a gaze, Le Xiao actually felt a bit flustered.

“It is really nothing,” he said in a low voice. “Go eat.”

Behind that burning gaze, Ye Jiming, what are you actually thinking?

Is this earnestness and gravity also just part of your hypocritical makeup?

Looking at the way the person before him instinctively avoided his eyes, Ye Jiming knew that he certainly would not get any answers tonight.

Whether Le Xiao had encountered trouble or had something on his mind, he would not open up or confide in him this evening.

He let out a sigh that was barely audible and walked to the dining table to hastily bolt down a few mouthfuls of food.

Then, he spoke again, trying to start a new topic.

“Xiao Xiao, I remember there is a filming schedule this weekend, right?”

“Yes. A staff member delivered the task cards this afternoon. I left them in the foyer.”

Why are you asking about the filming again? Do you truly find it tiresome to pretend to be in love and put on a hypocritical show before the camera? Have you become so bored with it that even two days of filming feels like a burden?

Ye Jiming stood up to get the task cards from the foyer. It was the same pink envelope, containing thin cards and two monitors.

He took out the task card and read:

“Dear guests and lovers, the sparks of love do not only exist in fresh and brief travels; they also hide in every corner of daily life.”

His voice was low and warm, like dry winter firewood burning in a hearth, letting out a crackling sound of sparks. It was like a piece of high quality agarwood with a lingering aftertaste.

Like a mesmerizing siren, every word tempted the passing sailors until they sank into the depths.

“Spend a perfect weekend together.”

“The production team wants us to plan a perfect weekend ourselves. The only two requirements are to wear the monitors the entire time and to watch the first episode together when it premieres on Saturday night, treating it as a reaction video,” he summarized, looking at Le Xiao with a smile. “A perfect weekend. What does Xiao Xiao want to do?”

What did he want to do? Le Xiao did not have the energy to think about that question.

Trying to read into his every gaze, trying to see through the truth or lies behind every word, and forcing himself to stay sober and not fall for him had already exhausted his strength.

He even wanted to tear open Ye Jiming’s chest to see if the heart beating inside was filled with genuine emotion or deceit.

“What to do?” He seemed to be drifting away, murmuring the question back to himself.

“Whatever. Anything is fine.”

Ye Jiming’s heart sank further. “Xiao Xiao.”

Do not avoid my gaze. Do not dodge my questions.

At least let me know what is wrong with you, so I know how to help.

“Let us watch a movie,” Le Xiao said casually. “I remember there is a romance film being released recently. I was invited to sing the theme song for it.”

“Okay,” Ye Jiming nodded. “Anything else?”

“Nothing.”

To make his words sound more convincing, he lifted his head and looked into Ye Jiming’s eyes. “I am fine with anything, really.”

“Okay.” Looking at Le Xiao’s misty eyes from the slight intoxication, Ye Jiming’s heart twitched slightly, as if someone had suddenly gripped it tight.

“Then I will make the arrangements.”

The living room fell into an eerie silence once again. The vacuum like stillness was almost suffocating.

The two of them each occupied a corner of the massive sofa, like tigers claiming their own peaks on a mountain, looking at each other from across the divide while maintaining a strange balance.

Ye Jiming was looking down at his phone, unsure if he was arranging the weekend or handling business. Taking advantage of the time he spent focused on the screen, Le Xiao’s gaze gradually became bold.

He stared at Ye Jiming wantonly, looking at his handsome profile, his upright posture, and wanting even more to see through what he was thinking.

Do you, in the end, love me or not?

The words he had heard and said during the day and those wandering thoughts came back again, whistling through his mind like a tornado.

A sharp pain swept through him without warning, as if a giant electric drill was working on the top of his head, nearly piercing through his skull. The alcohol he had consumed acted as a catalyst for the pain, making him dizzy as if his skull were about to be lifted off.

He closed his eyes and unconsciously furrowed his brow, silently enduring it.

However, the pain intensified, like a frantic demon trying to seize every corner of his body.

His gland began to heat up with a throbbing pain, and his stomach churned. The red wine he had drunk and the dinner he had just eaten were stirred together, making him feel like vomiting. Even the suspicion and doubt in his heart were infinitely magnified, as if the smallest details were being scrutinized inch by inch under a magnifying glass.

Pain, alcohol, and doubt brewed into a bitter wine of sadness.

He could no longer sit still. He placed the red wine glass on the coffee table, the liquid sloshing and splashing a few drops out.

“I am going to sleep,” he muttered, not waiting for Ye Jiming’s reaction before turning and going upstairs.

Ye Jiming looked up from the movie ticket page, only to catch a glimpse of a lonely retreating figure.

He hesitated but ultimately did not follow him.

He did not know what Le Xiao had experienced today or why he was acting so abnormally, appearing even colder than when they first met.

But he knew that at this moment, Le Xiao was like a stray cat that had developed sharp claws and a fierce personality. If he tried to get close, it would only cause the cat to become more reactive, resulting in a situation where both would get hurt.

He let out a heavy sigh, leaned his head against the back of the sofa, and closed his eyes.

An hour later, Ye Jiming quietly went upstairs.

The master bedroom was pitch black. Le Xiao had indeed gone to bed, but the bedside lamp that had previously been carefully left on for him was out.

By the light from the hallway, Ye Jiming could only see a figure huddled under the covers in the darkness, like a small hill or a soft cat that had finally dropped its fierce disguise in sleep.

He walked forward and, as usual, gently kissed Le Xiao’s forehead.

He hoped that, as usual, when Le Xiao woke up, all those troubles he was unwilling to speak of would completely vanish.

Le Xiao was actually not completely asleep.

The severe headache had him tossing and turning in bed, taking much longer than usual to fall asleep. It felt as if there were a lead ball in his head, rolling continuously with every slight movement and pressing against his every nerve.

The headache even made him feel like vomiting, a nauseating sensation rising from his stomach and lingering for a long time.

Finally, as he was about to drift off, he heard the door to the bedroom open slightly.

The person responsible for his troubles stood at the door without making a sound, yet Le Xiao felt mysteriously more awake.

A faint scent of cedar drifted into his nose, making the tip of his nose itch.

After a while, the person walked to the bedside and gently kissed his forehead.

The bedroom door was closed again, and the room returned to darkness, but he could no longer sleep.

Why did you kiss me?

Was it love? Or a deception?

Now, with no parents, no cameras, and no audience around, if it is a deception, who does he want to deceive?

Does he want to trick me into falling for him, or is he tricking himself into falling for me?

Why does he want to trick me into falling for him?

Is there even a tiny possibility that it really was just a kiss?

Am I being paranoid, or am I deceiving myself?

The lead ball in his head dropped heavily once more.

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