Wang Xiao, "Co on, Rui. Just sit. One bite."
"No! I don't want anything from you, Xiao Wang. Just go." Her eyes were fierce, sparking with anger and frustration, but he only seed more amused.
Setting the tray down on the bed, he moved closer, catching her wrist and pulling her forward before she could slip away again. "You're making this so much harder than it needs to be..."
"Let go!" she spat, twisting to escape as he held her firmly, maneuvering her toward the bed. She struggled, her words coming out in rushed rebellion. "I don't want you here! I don't want your food!"
Without loosening his grip, he wrapped his legs around her waist, pinning her securely as she wriggled against him.
"Ugh..."
Every attempt to push him off only pulled her closer as he leaned in, his arms around her, steadying her. "Stop struggling, Rui. Just relax."
Finally, he managed to settle her back against the bed, his grip firm as he placed the plate beside her.
"There." His tone softened, almost as if speaking to a child. "Now can we eat without the theatrics, can we?"
Qian Ruixin glared, her breath coming fast as she looked away, frustration simring beneath her silence.
Wang Xiao picked up a piece of food, bringing it close to her lips. Qian Ruixin twisted her head sharply, refusing him at every turn.
"Co on, just a bite," he murmured, his voice low and insistent, but she glared back at him, her jaw set close.
"I'm not eating anything you give ," she hissed, her eyes fierce.
He gave a small sigh, his patience thin but his smirk widening. "You're going to make this difficult, huh?" With a sudden, swift motion, he pressed the food against her lips. When she attempted to turn away again, his grip tightened around her jaw, forcing her to face him.
"Stop fighting it, Rui," he whispered, his voice a harsh whisper, "and don't waste food."
She responded by trying to spit, but he held her jaw firm, his fingers pressing into her cheeks until her resistance softened. He slid the morsel past her lips, his eyes watching her every move as she swallowed, anger flaring in her gaze.
She clenched her teeth at first, resisting even as the taste hit her tongue, but the exhaustion of the long day left her defenses faltering.
Crunch. She bit down slowly, the crisp sound filling the tense silence. Chew… chew…
To her dismay, the warmth of the food brought a small asure of comfort, a bitter satisfaction settling in. Her body, worn from the struggle, welcod it despite herself, and her jaw moved reluctantly, each bite softening her resistance just a fraction.
But as she swallowed, a wave of bitter realization hit her—this montary comfort, this small relief, was brought to her by the person she despised most.
A tear slipped down her cheek, unexpected and unwelco, betraying the conflict tearing at her heart.
Wang Xiao watched the shift in her expression, smiling.
"See?" he murmured, releasing her jaw, his tone both mocking and strangely gentle. "It's not so hard, is it?"
"..."
But her silence spoke volus, her gaze hardening even as more silent tears escaped.
Wang Xiao picked up another piece of food, bringing it to her lips. Qian Ruixin clenched her jaw but then reluctantly opened her mouth, chewing begrudgingly.
The silence was tense, she navigating the bitterness between each bite.
Crunch, chew, swallow.
She narrowed her eyes, her voice a harsh whisper as she broke the silence. "You… I hate you. You've ruined everything. My life, my marriage—you destroyed it all." She forced herself to take the next bite, her gaze fixed on him with a piercing glare. "Why did you do it, Xiao Wang?"
He paused but remained silent, continuing to feed her as if her words hadn't struck him. His gaze was steady, unreadable.
"Answer !" she demanded, her tone a mix of desperation and fury. "Why? You didn't just break —you made question everything I am. I can never look at my life the sa way."
She was made to cheat on her marriage.
Then she was forced to stay silent about it and swallow it all, pretending nothing happened.
Where were her own principles?
Another bite.
He gently pushed a morsel past her lips, and she took it reluctantly, eyes still filled with anger, waiting for his response. Seconds passed, each one thick with tension, before he finally spoke.
"I didn't have a choice," he said, voice low.
Qian Ruixin blinked, stunned by his simple response, her jaw tightening as she swallowed. "No choice?" she repeated, her voice laced with disbelief. "You had every choice! You didn't have to take this path!"
His gaze softened, just slightly, as he picked up another bite. "Would you have accepted any other way?" He knew the answer but pressed forward, his thoughts weighing heavily in the quiet. 'Of course, there were other choices—plenty of ways I could have approached her. But I wanted to see what it would take, to explore this as a mortal, to experience the limitations of desire and consequence, even if it ant bending her will.'
Qian Ruixin's breath caught as she absorbed his words, everything Jiarong had told her echoing in her mind, though hearing it directly from him struck a different chord.
Wang Xiao's gaze remained steady as he spoke, his words chillingly sincere. "I've cared for you… longer than you know. And this was the only way I saw to make you see . If it's wrong, so be it."
Qian Ruixin turned away, staring blankly at the wall, her lips parting in disbelief. A bitter, helpless laugh escaped her, a hollow sound that carried her anger and despair.
She finally found her voice, quiet but sharp. "You think… you think this is love? Destroying everything I had? Everything I was?"
He didn't flinch. "I had a choice to make, Rui.. And I made it."
She shook her head slowly, the enormity of his actions weighing down on her. "A choice? You think any of this was your right to choose?" She gritted her teeth, unable to hold back the fury. "I was happy, Xiao Wang. I had a life—a life you decided wasn't worth keeping intact."
He let out a sigh, his tone almost wistful. "Happy? You were going through the motions. Married to a man who didn't know you, chained to a family that couldn't see past tradition."
She scoffed, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, so you ruined to save from my own life? How noble of you."
"Not to save you, Rui.. To save 'us.'" He leaned closer, his gaze unwavering. "By the ti I ca back, you'd slipped from my grasp. Talking normally would've gotten us nowhere. You're my cousin—there's no way you'd have considered it."
Her fingers clenched tightly, knuckles white as she held back tears of frustration. "And that's how you justify this? That because we're cousins, you had to tear apart my entire world?"
"Yes," he said, unyielding. "I knew you'd never see it otherwise. And maybe…" he paused, choosing his words carefully, "maybe you never will. But I'm willing to live with that. I couldn't bear to watch you drift away. Not again."
Her eyes finally t his, filled with a hollow bitterness. "So you forced my hand. Made feel trapped. Made feel worthless. Just so you could get what you wanted."
"If that's what it took." His expression was calm, disturbingly so. "You were never going to understand any other way."
A bitter tear slipped down her cheek, her voice barely a whisper. "You didn't give a choice. You never gave a choice."
He watched her, his gaze still, almost tender. "No. I didn't."
"..."
Qian Ruixin drew a shaky breath, unable to bear the sight of him any longer. She turned her head, eyes fixed on the cracked, broken remains of the television on the wall.
Wang Jiarong's words echoed in her mind—how she'd warned her about his twisted obsession, his descent into desperation, and that he was regretting it.
Yet hearing it now, seeing his face so close, was different. Her anger simred, but the trembling had stopped, replaced by a bitter resolve.
Wang Xiao's smile widened as he leaned in, resting his chin over her shoulder, his face brushing against hers. She flinched, instinctively pulling away, but his grip remained steady, his voice a whisper against her ear. "You know… for the last seven years, every single day, I've been working hard. Every step, every struggle, was so I could co back ho… and see you."
"!!"
Her heart skipped as his words sank in, her mind racing. Seven years? Did he… rember everything?
She turned to him, shock mingling with anger. "Seven years…? You rember all of it?"
He nodded slowly, a shadow of sothing deeper in his eyes. "Every mont. Every day, I thought of you, and of everything I'd do to co back."
Her voice caught in her throat, unable to hide the tremor. "Where were you? And what… what did you do to get here?"
His smile softened, yet his expression remained unreadable. "I was… sowhere cold... Not sothing you would like to hear..."
As he spoke, he pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek, his words flowing so smoothly that she barely noticed the way his touch exploited her again...
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