"So, Prince, have you come here to talk to me about calling off our engagement?" Chu Yueli’s face remained calm and composed.
However, the ten fingers hidden inside her sleeves were slowly tightening. Her sharp nails seemed to be digging into the flesh of her palms; there was a prick of pain, but compared to the ache in her heart, that small stinging sensation was insignificant. Her fiancé had come to her with a look of distress to tell her that he had fallen for another girl, and he even wanted her to comfort him just as she always had.
Ha. How strange and varied the world could be. It was truly, deeply ironic.
The words "call off the engagement" struck Lu Fengjin’s heart, sending a deep, jarring wave of pain through him.
"How could that be! How could I ever call off our engagement? I would never leave you for as long as I live!"
He was agitated and grabbed Chu Yueli’s hand. This time, he gripped it tighter and with more force than ever before. Since Chu Yueli’s nails were already pressed against her palms, his sudden squeeze caused them to sink deep into her flesh. It should have been painful, but she felt as if she had no sensation at all.
She looked at Lu Fengjin, her tone calm. "Then what, exactly, did you come here to tell me tonight, Prince?"
"Ali, can you please not treat me with such cold indifference? We have shared so many years together; can we not even survive this small setback?" As he held her hand, he picked up a wine bottle and downed half of it in one go. Finally, he slammed the bottle onto the table, rested his forehead on his fingertips, and closed his eyes, his face twisted in agony.
"I don't even know what has come over me. She is clearly so ugly, thin, and small—she doesn't even compare to one ten-thousandth of you—but every night when I close my eyes, her pair of eyes appears in my mind."
"Those big, watery eyes, full of arrogance. She even dared to be so insolent when she saw me! A truly fearless, stupid girl."
His words were insulting, yet his handsome, thin lips curved into a slight smile before he even realized it. He didn't seem to notice he was smiling, appearing caught in his own misery. "Perhaps she is just different from any girl I have ever met. She doesn't fawn over me or try to please me; she doesn't obey me in everything. She even has a rebellious streak that often makes me so angry I want to kill her!"
"Perhaps that is why I cannot stop thinking about her." Lu Fengjin squeezed his eyes shut tightly, finally returning to reality. He opened them to look at Chu Yueli and said softly, "Ali, give me some time. I will forget her! I promised you that I would love only you in this life. Everything Lu Fengjin has said, he will surely do! Ali, believe me!"
"Very well." Chu Yueli remained composed as she pulled her hand back, looking at the man she had loved for so many years.
When she was still very young—eight years old—he had rescued her from a sea of fire. From that day on, she told herself she would marry no one but him. He was only twelve at the time, yet he was already a young hero, a man of iron and steeds, brimming with spirit!
Chu Yueli had truly loved him. To keep pace with him, she had learned all kinds of skills from a young age; beyond the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, she had also fought with all her might to learn everything that could be used on the battlefield. But he had said he liked gentle women. So, no matter how hard she worked, she never flaunted those skills before him, nor did she ever reveal them. In his eyes, she had always been a gentle and quiet girl, well-versed in propriety, tender-hearted, and delicate.
But today, he said he had fallen for a boisterous, arrogant little girl.
Chu Yueli stood up, looked down at the somewhat intoxicated Lu Fengjin, and said faintly, "Then, Prince, once you return, please rein in your wayward thoughts."
"I know you are still angry, Ali, but I have given you my word, and I will see it through." Lu Fengjin stood up, gazing at her beautiful face under the moonlight. "Give me some time; I will surely be able to forget her and bring you back into my heart! I will certainly fall in love with you all over again!"