Chapter 17: Returning
Ruan Cha turned her head, breaking free from Gu Zhenzhi’s hold, her clear, round eyes glaring at him. “Don’t touch me. I’m going home to find the old man!”
“Don’t test my patience, Ruan Cha,” Gu Zhenzhi replied, enunciating each word. His tone was hardly pleasant, and his cold, dark gaze had lost all trace of forbearance.
He had a thousand ways to deal with the girl standing before him.
Ruan Cha fell silent, saying nothing. She just looked at him with those aggrieved, pitiful eyes.
Gu Zhenzhi’s haughty gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds. Then, perhaps resigned or a little vexed, he was the first to relent. “Let’s go back.”
Ruan Cha’s lowered lashes trembled lightly.
A glimmering light welled up in her eyes.
Her gaze darted craftily as the corners of her lips curled in a triumphant smile.
“Well, since you’re being so sincere, I suppose I can do you the favor of going back with you,” Ruan Cha said, tossing her head with a prideful air, presenting her profile to Gu Zhenzhi.
With that, she extended her hand before his eyes, her pink lips parting slightly. “Hold my hand.”
Her small, fair hand hovered before him. Ruan Cha’s fingers were clean and slender, her nails neatly trimmed and tinged with a pale pink.
Gu Zhenzhi lowered his gaze, looking at the girl’s slightly reddened nose and her innocent, almost heartbreaking expression.
A strange sensation lingered in his chest, spreading uncontrollably.
His eyes darkened.
He quickly suppressed the confusing surge of emotion, his pupils cold as ever.
Of course, Ruan Cha didn’t miss the struggle playing out in Gu Zhenzhi’s eyes.
She withdrew her hand, a faint smile on her lips, and leaned in, tilting her head in a sweetly harmless manner.
Her eyes sparkled. “To tell you the truth, I feel this strange sense of familiarity with you, as if we’ve met before.”
Gu Zhenzhi said nothing.
His lowered gaze paused on her face, as though trying to discern if she was lying.
“Maybe we both lost our memories, and there was once a deep, moving love between us. But later, we couldn’t bear the pressure and were forced apart. Now, after so many years, we meet again. You don’t remember me, I don’t remember you, but our hearts are still connected…”
“Enough,” Gu Zhenzhi interrupted.
He had never met anyone so talkative.
Or so unrealistic.
Seeing that he was unmoved, Ruan Cha gave him an awkward smile, then earnestly lifted her hand and mimed zipping her lips.
“Alright, I get it. You think I’m annoying.”
This time, she took the initiative and slipped her hand into Gu Zhenzhi’s palm.
She clasped his hand naturally.
“Take me home.”
Gu Zhenzhi felt the warmth of her little hand in his own cold palm, the contrast startling.
His pupils contracted slightly. “Can’t you walk on your own?”
Did she have to hold hands?
As soon as he spoke, he saw the girl blink her clear eyes, then they curved into a dazzling smile, her gaze shimmering. “Don’t want to hold hands? Then do you want to carry me?”
Her voice was sweet and soft, her eyes misty.
After finishing, she decisively wrapped her slender arms around his waist from the side. “Come on, bend down. I’m about to jump on!”
As soon as Gu Zhenzhi felt her arms at his waist, his back stiffened and his gaze grew darker.
A shadow seemed to pass through his eyes.
Was she this affectionate with everyone?
Didn’t she know even the simplest propriety between men and women?
Ruan Cha only saw the stormy depths of Gu Zhenzhi’s eyes, completely unaware of the images already flashing through his mind.
Those deep, fathomless eyes, brimming with danger, fell upon Ruan Cha.