Chapter 41
Bu Chen's movements were fierce and rough, knocking Ruan Ning's head so hard she saw stars, the high-end custom bed groaning under their weight.
With a roughness he had never shown before, Bu Chen grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head, barely restraining the fury in his eyes. "You did that on purpose."
Ruan Ning gasped for breath, the delicate curves of her chest rising and falling, her gaze desolate yet laced with a hint of vengeful satisfaction. "So what if I did? Since I'm going to be sold to you anyway, why not get a better price?"
Bu Chen's grip tightened, and a sharp pain shot through her wrists. She savored it, a wild, wanton smile blooming on her face.
"Does Master Bu find this deal unsatisfactory?"
Bu Chen felt nothing but heart-wrenching pain. Never had he invested so much thought into a woman, only to reap betrayal and hatred in return.
Bloodshot veins crept into his eyes, a terrifying scarlet. "Do you hate me that much? Can't bear to stay by my side even for a moment?"
Ruan Ning's gaze turned cold, darkly relishing Bu Chen's rare loss of composure.
"I'm not resisting now, nor am I being uncooperative. Isn't that exactly what Young Master Bu wants?"
Bu Chen's knuckles cracked, veins bulging on the back of his hands. "Don't push your luck just because I like you."
He had gone through great trouble to capture Galiman, hiding him secretly in his private estate. He never expected that Ruan Ning, seemingly fragile as she was, would have the audacity to free the man the entire world avoided, completely shattering his plans.
He had no heart to pursue the consequences of Galiman's disappearance. What shocked him was the realization that after all his efforts, Ruan Ning still refused to give him a second glance.
She was like a wisp of breeze from the horizon, drifting and fleeting, never willing to stay. Even to spite him, she would go so far as to release the Number One Most Wanted fugitive of the Internal Affairs Bureau.
"Do what you want, and get it over with." Ruan Ning's lips curled slightly, her eyes hollow.
His previously restrained gaze erupted like a flame, burning with a blaze that threatened to consume everything.
Bu Chen's venomous gaze slowly traced over Ruan Ning's lips, neck, collarbone... His icy fingers gripped her chin, his reason teetering on the edge of collapse.
He studied her as if seeing a stranger. She was still as proud, beautiful, stubborn, and fragile as when they first met...
Ruan Ning's shoulders trembled slightly, tears silently spilling from her eyes like shattered pearls, falling one by one onto the silk sheets.
She knew how furious Bu Chen was about her freeing Galiman; the heavy weight of his body pressed against hers conveyed it all.
Ruan Ning closed her eyes, lifting her chin fearlessly, braced to face the irreversible dark moment of her life.
Bu Chen watched her look of resigned defiance, then let out a self-deprecating scoff. He released her chin, his voice low and bitter: "Ruan Ning, will you be my girlfriend?"
Ruan Ning, still immersed in pain and fear a second ago, felt her mind go blank for an instant.
"What did you say?"
Bu Chen's fury vanished in an instant. The commanding business elite he usually was disappeared, leaving only a heartbroken man with a shattered gleam in his eyes.
His gaze dimmed, and the bitter smile on his face nearly made Ruan Ning doubt her own eyes. Was this still Bu Chen?
"Will you be my girlfriend?" He repeated, his voice no longer playful and casual as usual, his face pale, his eyes rimmed with red.
Ruan Ning stared at Bu Chen, her heart seeming to stop.
"W-What are you trying to do? Cut the act. I won't fall for it."
"Ruan Ning, will you stay by my side forever and never leave me?" Bu Chen pleaded with her, almost like a prayer.
His movements were no longer rough. Instead, like a confused child, he buried his head into her shoulder, gently inhaling her scent, drawing warmth from her.
Ruan Ning looked at his rare, innocent gaze and suddenly recalled how, when death loomed, he had been willing to sacrifice himself to protect her. She let out a sigh.
A deep, mournful emotion filled the room, replacing the violence and hostility, like a gentle lullaby echoing through the still night sky.
Ruan Ning was speechless, staring at the ceiling. Outside the window, the sea was pitch black, like an eternal night she could never escape, vast and lonely...
When Ruan Ning opened her eyes again, she saw the dim ceiling of her dormitory.
Bu Chen had let her go afterward, and the two had said nothing more.
Ruan Ning felt everything spiraling further out of control. She had to cut off all irrelevant ties, or they would swallow her normal life whole.
After thinking for a long time, she called home. "Hey, Dad, I'm not feeling well. I don't want to go watch the game on Saturday."