Chapter 59: A Woman’s Resentment, A Man’s Devotion

If there is no turning back, why bother trying to forget? If there is no fate between us, what use are vows? The events of today vanish like water, leaving no trace.

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Yet no matter how she pleaded, the man beside her remained unmoved from beginning to end. His cold eyes stared ahead, indifferent, as he focused on the road before them.

The car's roof was slowly lowered, easing the suffocating tension that threatened to ignite within the cramped space. The winter night wind accelerated, scraping across her cheeks like a blade stripping fish scales, carrying a faint salty tang—was it the scent of the sea?

"Lu Huaining, where are you taking me?" Xue Zuining bristled like a frightened cat, all claws unsheathed, but the man's indifferent gaze cut through her defenses.

"To a place where you can wash your filthy body clean." Lu Huaining pressed the accelerator and shifted gears, sending the car speeding forward once more. The deep night by the sea was eerily quiet, a silence that only unsettled him further.

While she cowered in panic, desperately searching for someone to save her, a vast stretch of beach appeared before her eyes. The car came to a halt by the shore. Unlike summer, winter offered no beauty at the sea—white waves tumbled relentlessly, the wind howled outside, whipping up fine sand against the windows. The beach was utterly deserted, a landscape of boundless desolation.

She watched as the man got out and opened her door, shrinking away in alarm. "What are you going to do?"

"What am I going to do? You'll know soon enough." Lu Huaining untied the necktie binding her wrists and, half dragging, half carrying, forced her struggling body toward the water.

On that endless beach, her struggles and cries for help meant nothing. Her hands, once freed, were useless; her teeth, frantically seeking to wound his enraged grip, were met only with his hand fisting her hair and forcing her down.

When the salty, briny seawater poured into her mouth and nose, she felt as though she had caught the scent of death itself drawing near. Just as she thought the last breath of air would be ripped from her lungs, the man hauled her effortlessly from the water. Survival instinct took over—she gasped desperately for air.

"Now do you know what death tastes like?" He tossed her sodden body onto the sand, leaving her coughing and choking.

"Cough… what do you want from me?" Zuining looked up at the man as he loosened her restraints, shrinking back in terror, only to be pinned beneath him by a single, decisive motion. "Madman—"

"You know I'm a madman, so why do you still provoke me?" His voice was so soft it was hard to catch, yet it etched itself into her heart.

"Don't you know? I don't like you getting close to anyone else…" His cold fingers gently brushed the fine sand from her face. "It doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman. Did you think I was really going to kill you just now?"

She stared at him in astonishment, only to hear his low, quiet laugh. "Because, truthfully, I prefer the way you look when you're afraid of me."

She froze, and her voice was unsteady. "Lu Huaining…"

"Hmm?" His eyes, bright as the stars, gazed at her in the moonlight.

After a long moment, she blinked as if smiling. "Thank you."

His expression faltered as her soft hand found his, fingers gently entwining. "Thank you for keeping your promise. And thank you for choosing to protect me when I was on the verge of ruin."

The message from Chu Ci earlier that day had revealed all that Lu Huaining had done at the hospital that afternoon. She looked at the man who had become a stranger to her and suddenly smiled. "Lu Huaining, truly, thank—"

But every word that followed was stolen by his possessive, fervent kiss. Lu Huaining wished he could steal every breath from her lips. Yet those three simple words from her were like a shot of adrenaline to his heart, igniting a sky full of fireworks in the darkness of night and making him want nothing more than to fuse her into his very flesh and blood.

A wave crashed over them, falling from above and enveloping them both. His kisses tasted of salt, and perhaps even the soft grain of sand.

"Do you like it?" His words were tinged with the wickedness of the night.

She shook her head, then nodded, and heard him scoop her up into his arms. "Let's go home."

Moonlight poured down, silver and soft, illuminating the solitary figures moving slowly along the shore, silently blessing the tangled fates of longing men and grieving women.

After that quiet, enchanting night, it seemed everything returned to its prior course. They each pursued their own busy lives under the same roof, holding fast to their own convictions.

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In the bustling airport terminal, Lu Huaining watched the gradually fading figure in the distance. Just as he thought she would quietly disappear from his sight, she suddenly turned around, as if to leave him with a peaceful smile.

When Xue Zuining glanced back, she realized the man was still standing there, quietly watching her. She let out a soft, helpless laugh. Was this a kind of farewell?

When the final boarding call sounded, she turned away and calmly embarked on her journey.

Not far away, Secretary Yang watched the scene unfold, a faint smile on her lips.

"President Lu, the earliest flight to Shanghai is in an hour. Here’s your boarding pass." She handed him the documents with both hands, noting the faint shadows under his eyes with concern. "You’ve been working too hard, sir. Please remember to rest."

"Thank you." Lu Huaining nodded with a smile. The Shanghai branch had been plunged into unprecedented crisis by two business disputes, and when remote management failed, he had decided to fly there personally. Coincidentally, today was also the day before Xue Zuining’s new film would start shooting in Hangzhou.

Just as he turned to leave, a figure ten meters away caught his eye and changed his expression.

"Lu Huaining, President Lu, is that right?" The woman approached, her gentle voice carrying a note of certainty.

Lu Huaining watched her come closer, a tumult of emotions rising in his mind—jealousy, hatred, and perhaps even… guilt?

"I believe you’ve long since guessed my identity." Zhong Yilan looked calmly up at the reserved, aloof man before her, as if seeing someone she’d once known deep in her heart. She smiled softly. "Would you mind talking for a moment?"