However, while Jiang Ren was easily pacified that night when he first believed her words, this time he was not so easily calmed.
He had always been an extremely insecure person, and Xu Jia’s arrival to pick her up shattered all his gentle intentions.
He braced his arms on either side of her legs. Meng Ting tried her best to calm him down, still remembering the time Jiang Ren had hit someone at the hospital – even several male doctors couldn’t restrain him. What was he going to do now?
Her fingers on his shoulders turned white as Meng Ting could feel the young man’s solid body and burning temperature beneath her palms.
His breathing was rapid, filled with extreme anger at being deceived.
If she had lied to him about anything else, he wouldn’t have been this angry.
Meng Ting’s voice trembled, not even knowing what she was saying: “I’m not with Xu Jia, I never have been.”
Jiang Ren looked at her expressionlessly, then laughed: “Like hell, I believe you.”
Most beautiful women are liars. They deceive one’s feelings and heart, turning smart men into fools. Especially those as beautiful as her.
He gripped the back of her head and kissed her lips.
Meng Ting whimpered and hit him, her delicate fists pounding ineffectively against his shoulders. It only increased his frustration with being gentle. He finally lost patience, using his other hand to grasp both her wrists, pressing them down slightly, forcing her to tilt her chin up to meet him.
She didn’t know how beautiful she was.
The night she called Xu Jia to break up, he had wanted to do this to her.
She smelled fragrant, her lips were sweet, and even her wet, frightened eyes made his spine tingle.
Jiang Ren had thought about this the whole way, from that starry night to every day waiting for her at the station, and on the plane. Yet he had been learning the most useless but also most particular human trait – respect.
He learned it for her, but if it couldn’t help him get her, what use were these things?
He wanted to kill that man outside, but even more, he wanted to ravage this girl who dared to play him for a fool.
However, the most infuriating thing was that he liked her.
He liked her so much.
So much that before hurting her, he’d rather end himself first.
Meng Ting whimpered audibly.
Jiang Ren was so frightening! Her whole body was trembling slightly. He wasn’t clearheaded, but she was. This was the men’s restroom at the airport! Her brother and Xu Jia must be anxiously searching for her everywhere.
When her monotonous ringtone sounded.
He pressed her against the sink, kissing her fiercely.
Her lips were almost numb, and her phone rang excitedly for a long time before finally stopping.
She felt like this was a nightmare.
Meng Ting now realized that when he used to deliberately kiss her fingers and not retaliate when she hit him, it was because he was indulging her. The truth was, when he was furious, not even the emperor could pull him away.
She didn’t know how long he had been kissing her.
At first, she tried to break free from his hands, then she wanted to bite him. But in the end, she didn’t even have the strength to resist. She was embarrassed and angry, unable to breathe properly, only wanting to cry.
When her ringtone sounded again, Shu Yang walked in from outside with a frown. He and Xu Jia had split up to search for Meng Ting. As he walked, he kept calling her phone, not expecting to hear a faint ringtone near the men’s restroom.
He didn’t quite believe Meng Ting’s phone would be ringing in the men’s restroom, but out of concern for her, he decided to check anyway.
As soon as he entered, he saw a scene that made his blood run cold – his stepsister being embraced and kissed by a young man on the sink counter.
Meng Ting was nearly furious.
Jiang Ren had lost his mind, but she hadn’t.
When Shu Yang came in, she saw him through her tear-filled eyes.
Shu Yang grabbed Jiang Ren’s shoulder from behind, but Jiang Ren paid no attention, kissing her fiercely.
Meng Ting swore she had never wanted to find a crack to crawl into more than at this moment.
Shu Yang used all his strength to finally pull Jiang Ren away from Meng Ting. Meng Ting covered her lips, her wrists bright red. She blinked, feeling so wronged she wanted to cry.
Shu Yang, overcome with anger, threw a punch at Jiang Ren’s face.
Jiang Ren coldly smiled, caught his fist, and retaliated hard.
Jiang Ren wasn’t a weakling like Chen Shuo; he had trained in kickboxing.
Moreover, Shu Yang was angry, but he was even angrier. Meng Ting and Xu Jia had faked their breakup! How dare they!
His punches were vicious; he had never backed down from a fight in his life.
Shu Yang clutched his stomach, his face pale.
Meng Ting wiped her eyes, her legs wobbling for a moment as she jumped down from the sink. She didn’t know how to break up a fight, but she knew this was bad. Jiang Ren could take on ten people at once; how could a scholarly weakling like Shu Yang be a match?
Chen Shuo was still lying in the hospital; her brother couldn’t get hurt.
As Shu Yang fell to the ground, Meng Ting hugged Jiang Ren’s waist, using all her strength to pull him back.
His brute strength nearly made her stumble.
But the next moment, he gripped her hand, preventing her from falling. Jiang Ren’s face was cold, but he didn’t move anymore.
She spoke with a slight nasal tone: “Have you gone mad enough?”
It was meant to scold him, but it came out with a hint of wronged softness. Jiang Ren’s body stiffened; he had indeed gone mad enough. Now he was clearheaded.
Afraid she might cry, he turned and cupped her face, wanting to look. Meng Ting swatted his hand away. Jiang Ren lowered his eyes to look at his hand, his heart aching uncontrollably.
Meng Ting choked back tears as she helped Shu Yang up. Shu Yang’s face looked awful, his lips tightly pressed together, his gaze at Jiang Ren filled with the desire to fight again. Meng Ting was truly afraid he’d get hurt, so she held him back.
The only thing she was grateful for now was that it wasn’t Xu Jia who had come, but her brother Shu Yang. If it had been Xu Jia, they might have had to call an ambulance today.
“I’m fine,” Shu Yang said through gritted teeth.
Meng Ting said, “Let’s go home.”
As she and Shu Yang were walking out, Jiang Ren grabbed her wrist.
He held her gently, not daring to grip tightly, but also not daring to let her go.
The young man’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice hoarse: “I’m sorry.”
Meng Ting wanted to pull away, but as soon as she moved, he lightly tightened his grip. Meng Ting took a deep breath and said to Shu Yang, “Can you wait for me outside?”
Shu Yang rubbed his elbow joint, nodding silently. Then he went out. He wanted to call Xu Jia to beat up this psychotic young man together. But remembering the blow he had just taken, Shu Yang figured Xu Jia would just end up getting beaten too. If Jiang Ren didn’t let them leave, no one would be able to leave today. Shu Yang understood this, so he went outside to wait.
Only then did Meng Ting turn to face him with furrowed brows.
Her jet-black lashes were wet with tears, her lips alluringly swollen. This whole thing had started with her being wrong because she had prejudices against Jiang Ren and hadn’t refused Xu Jia’s suggestion.
But she hadn’t expected him to mind so much; she had only wanted to drive him away.
Meng Ting remembered that he always smiled in front of her, not getting angry even when she hit or scolded him. Except when it involved Xu Jia.
In Lihua Village, he got angry when her grandfather touched his hair, but he only frowned. When she showed him a little pear blossom, he simply swallowed his anger.
And now, Jiang Ren’s fingers trembled: “I just… I’m sick.” He struggled to finish, “I’ll go see a doctor.”
Besides embarrassment and anger, she felt a strange emotion in her heart.
Meng Ting suddenly remembered that night when she said she hadn’t kissed Xu Jia, his eyes were brighter than the moon, his smile pure and innocent.
Meng Ting had tasted the bitterness of lying, fearing that Jiang Ren would continue to obsess over this. She raised her eyes to look at him, saying seriously: “I didn’t lie to you, there isn’t anything between Xu Jia and me. On Christmas Eve, it was because you were there that I didn’t dodge when he took the snowflake. But I don’t like him, and I haven’t dated him.”
Meng Ting said angrily: “If you don’t believe me, you can ask him.” She pulled out her phone, “I don’t even have his phone number.”
Jiang Ren was stunned.
So… during the winter break when he was so angry he could almost vomit blood, it was all fake? Meng Ting might not like him, but she had never liked Xu Jia either.
Meng Ting said: “Lying was my fault, but…” She remembered the scene just now, which even Shu Yang had witnessed, and felt like dying of embarrassment along with this bastard, “Forcing someone is your fault. I’m very angry now, move aside.”
He smiled.
This time, the smile reached from his lips to the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.
It was so good that she didn’t like anyone else.
It was too good! His heart instantly went from hell to heaven. Jiang Ren didn’t move aside; she was angry, but he could coax her. As long as she didn’t leave him, it was fine. He didn’t even mind that she had lied to him, because it was fake, which was far more pleasant than if it had been true.
Jiang Ren took her hand and placed it on his chest.
In the warm spring, his clothes were thin. Beneath her palm, that heart beat powerfully.
Just like him as a person, domineering and intense like a raging fire.
“Ting Ting, if you’re angry, hit me. It’s all my fault, will you forgive me?”
Meng Ting was dumbfounded with anger: “You tell me, how many times has this been?” How could anyone be like this? She didn’t like mutually tormenting each other with him.
Jiang Ren had already lost all shame: “This is the last time.”
His eyes were filled with laughter: “What you said was a lie, but what I’m saying is the truth. I don’t smoke or fight anymore, there’s no smell of smoke on me now. I’m also studying hard, and my illness will get better one day. I won’t lie to you. Whatever kind of person you like, I’ll become that person. Can you not be so resistant to me?”
The heartbeat under her palm was fast.
He gently stroked her slightly broken lip corner, feeling extremely distressed: “Did I bite you?”
Meng Ting felt a slight pain and knew her lip corner was broken. It wasn’t him biting her, could it have been her biting herself? Why would he ask such a question?
The next moment she understood.
Jiang Ren raised his arm.
The young man’s arm was strong, a healthy wheat color. He brought it to her lips: “Will you bite me back?”
His eyes were filled with a smile: “Leave a mark, I’ll give you an IOU, and I won’t bully you in the future.” Bullying you once is enough, then I’ll owe you for a lifetime.
In the approaching early summer, she remembered the humiliation of being pinned down by the wrists and forced to respond to him. The air made people feel hot.
She had just tried to break up the fight, not letting Jiang Ren and Shu Yang fight, and now the suppressed grievance finally poured out.
He was an unrepentant bad guy in both lifetimes.
Meng Ting bit down on his arm. The shame and anger she felt when being pressed against the sink counter earlier was now expressed in the force of her bite.
When she tasted blood, she quickly let go.
She had always been well-behaved and obedient since childhood. This was the first time she had bitten someone because she had been bullied so badly. After biting, she felt entirely out of sorts, both awkward and with a small sense of satisfaction from revenge.
The person who was bitten smiled and gently wiped her lip corner with his fingertip, then crouched down in front of her.
Her two cloth shoes, during her struggle on the sink counter earlier, one of the buttons had come loose.
When Xu Jia pushed past Shu Yang’s obstruction and entered the men’s restroom, he saw exactly this scene.
That reportedly lawless and rebellious vocational school bully was fastening the button on Meng Ting’s shoe.
On his arm was a small, delicate bite mark, still seeping blood.
Shu Yang grabbed Xu Jia’s arm, and both were momentarily speechless. Shu Yang remembered how viciously this person had just beaten him, and for a moment, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
Xu Jia glanced at Meng Ting, who was also clearly dazed and stunned, his lips pressed into a straight line.
The crouching young man stood up after fastening the button, raising his pitch-black eyes, sweeping indifferently over Xu Jia. Then his gaze fell on Shu Yang, and Jiang Ren smiled lazily: “Sorry about that, brother. Are you okay? Want me to take you to the hospital for a check-up?”
Shu Yang: “…” Who the hell is your brother? Why didn’t you call me brother when you were fighting earlier?