"And don’t even think about fooling me by saying that we’re going on a date only for you to drag me to some trial class." He shut down her grand plan.

She was baffled at his words, sputtering, "Of course not..." She awkwardly laughed, giving his chest a stiff tap.

"T-then, instead of anger management classes, how about you trust me more?"

Yang Feng arched a brow. "I always trust you, but not when it comes to you leaving me. You can give me all the reassurance in the world, but I—" He halted mid-speech. He cursed himself. He almost blurted out her forgotten childhood. "But I am an insecure person at heart."

He added on, "You also have to trust me more."

She didn’t know how to respond to his last statement. Did she trust him? She looked deeply into his eyes. Their endless depth resembled a black hole, sucking her in, and capturing all of her attention.

She never thought the color black would one day turn out to be this mesmerizing. There were so many secrets tucked within the depths of his inky night eyes, like the nebulous darkness of the Netherworld bounding countless souls of his victims within them, yet having all of them did not give him a soul of his own.

She stopped trusting most men after Zheng Tianyi. Suddenly, it occurred to her; why was she allowing herself to be tied down by the past? Why is she giving him the satisfaction that he had wounded her, that his actions then left scars on her heart?

Why was she pushing away the very man that can help mend the wounds and heal the scars, just because one has hurt her so mortally? It was unfair.

Something in her changed. The clinks of metal collapsing onto the floor could be heard when the emotional and mental shackles fell away. She refused to be chained down by her past.

"I’ll try, but you have to as well." She murmured, slow and steady, showing the tiniest hints of hesitation to him, only for her eyes to become clear again, like the clouds parting after a storm.

Yang Feng saw something was changing within her, but he could not place a finger on what it was. "Of course." He agreed, bringing one hand to rub the back of her head. It takes two to make a relationship work.

- - - - -

Yang Feng guided her towards the couch, where he pointed towards the purse. She was good at derailing the topic, something he made a mental note about. "You’ve yet to tell me what’s inside the envelope, the purse, and what made you so upset."

Zhao Lifei sighed. She knew the topic was inevitable now. "I recommend you sit down for what I’m about to say."

He slowly nodded and sat down. She was about to do the same when he abruptly grabbed her, a gasp leaving her lips, and she tumbled onto his lap, straddling him.

"You—"

"You never told me how I should be sitting down." He slyly said, a wolf of a grin on his lips. He was glad she was wearing pants today, or else he would’ve been tempted to run his hands over her legs that are smooth as silk.

"You’re unbearably annoying." She shook her head, even though a part of her liked the way he constantly wanted to touch her. It made her realize he wanted her as much as she wanted him... That this relationship was two-sided and not one, unlike the kind she had with Zheng Tianyi.

"You shouldn’t say that if you’re going to shift closer to me." He teased when she unconsciously placed her hands on his wide shoulders, her body automatically scooting closer to the warmth he provided.

The AC was turned too high and she was growing cold. He was her personal heater, constantly radiating warmth. Sometimes she wondered, ’How can he be so hot... Literally, of course... Eheh.’

"If you want to know the truth, stop trying to change the topic." She pinched his face, angrily pulling at it and to her utter annoyance, his skin was malleable enough where it did not hurt him and he made sure she knew.

"What? Was that supposed to hurt?" He added fuel to her annoyance.

She glowered at him and that made him want to laugh even more. So adorable, and she’s all mine.

"I can make something else hurt if you want me to." She huffed. "Now shut up and let me explain."

She tried to climb out of his lap to grab the purse, but his arms slithered around her waist again, hugging her even more. He rested his head on top of hers and then scooted over to grab her purse, surprised by the weight of it.

She angrily moved her head away from him, but he did not care. He shifted their position so that both of her legs rested on one side of the couch, and he could properly rest his head on the valley of her chest. To him, it was the most comfortable pillow in the world.

She heaved an aggravated sigh, too tired and emotionally drained to argue with him. She opened the purse and showed him the clothing and jewelry she took.

"I’ll be frank and honest with you." She began, "Someone had sent me a recording of the conversation you had with your grandfather."

At her words, he stiffened, his eyes turning murderous. Someone was purposely trying to sabotage their relationship. Furthermore, someone had snuck into his grandfather’s office.

Yang Feng was sure his grandfather was not foolish enough to send the recording just to separate the couple. Especially not after he heard of the benefits the Yangs would reap from having Zhao Lifei join the family.

"When I first heard it, I was not thinking straight. I planned on leaving you on the spot...I wanted to be a coward by running away without giving you the benefit of the doubt." She absentmindedly ran her hand through his silky smooth hair.

"But you came back..." He muttered, as his heart began to soar.

"Yes, I did." She laughed. "When I reached the border of Shenbei, I realized it would be unfair to not listen to your side of the story. I didn’t want you to convince me that everything in the recording was fabricated, which was why I did not mention it during our argument in hopes you would eventually reveal the truth."

She smiled a bit, continuing to play with his luscious hair that was so enviously perfect that it was not fair. She knew he only used shampoo, so how could it be that his hair was always this flawless?! She had to use such a lengthy process consisting of conditioner and hair masks just to get her hair to look good on a handful of days!

"And you did not fail me." She hummed, "Had you lied, I would’ve left without a second thought." She could tell he was restraining himself by the way his arms dug deep into her waist, embracing her tightly as if she would disappear on the spot.

"Which phone number sent you the recording?"

"It’s an unknown number, but here," She pulled out her phone and showed it to him, "You’re free to track it down." Yang Feng nodded, saving it onto his phone before slipping it away.

"And the envelope?" He asked, raising his head to properly look at her.

Zhao Lifei explained what happened, from sneaking out during dessert to Su Boyuan’s insults, threats, and then the contents of the envelope. She talked about the contract that would bring Su Meixiu to her original position.

By the end of the discussion, Yang Feng’s eyes were darker than usual, as he began to plan the destruction of the Sus. It was time that the Yangs began to cut ties with the Sus. Enough was enough. They had overestimated their capabilities and standing within the Yang Clan, thinking their martial art lineage was enough.

The contract and non-disclosure agreement would be one of the vital evidence against Su Boyuan and Su Meixiu.

"I’ll deal with it." He firmly said, not leaving any room for objections.

"I’m going to join you."

"No. It’s too risky, you will get hurt—"

"I’ll be more hurt if you leave me out of it, hiding me in your shadow." She argued, refusing to back down. "This problem started because of me. I will be the one to end it."

Yang Feng was reluctant to do so, but he did not want to argue with her anymore. He decided to negotiate with her, "Fine, but in return, you have to abide by my conditions."

"Depends on what they are."

"You cannot go directly to the Sus unless you inform me first. You will be accompanied by more people if you enter their house. There will be more security around you, but not enough to compromise your privacy."

historical

His men had a way of keeping themselves hidden, but within a range where even if there were to be any suspicious activity, all of them could spring into action.

Zhao Lifei did not know this, but there were occasionally people trailing her and hits placed on her, but Yang Feng’s men had all of them eliminated before she could even register the dangers around her.

Zhao Lifei nodded. "Alright, sounds fair to me."