Yun Liuli was just about to speak when Gu Qingcheng did so before she could. "When you talked about this with me, every word you said made me feel like you were degrading yourself!"

Gu Qingcheng's words were like a sharp knife.

The word "degrading" pierced Yun Liuli's heart, catching her off guard!

A young woman fantasizing about romance was also at an age where her heart tended to be most fragile. Even if Yun Liuli knew this was going to be a tough battle, even if she had put on armor over her heart, she wasn't able to withstand this knife Gu Qingcheng personally plunged into her heart.

Yun Liuli held back the mist in the depths of her eyes, but she couldn't hold back the sniffling noises from her nose. She dared to look into the deep eyes of Gu Qingcheng that others didn't dare look at. Her heart was pure and fully at ease. She didn't fear that Gu Qingcheng's sharp gaze would see through her heart. She had merely fallen for a person, and there was never filth concealed in her heart.

In her eyes… when she loved someone, she did so in an overboard manner. She couldn't wait to pry out her heart for Gu Qingcheng to see clearly, for him to realize how resolute her heart was in loving him, as well as her seriousness about her love for him!

Despite knowing that she was bringing destruction upon herself, she still persisted, using all of her guts and charging forward in solitude. Gu Qingcheng called such a love "degrading herself"?

Yun Liuli's fingers on her knees slightly moved. She boldened up and spoke, though she was unable to conceal the way her voice was choking. "In your eyes, by loving you, I'm degrading myself? Then what are you? You love me… I know it! You don't have to lie to me! You're not as brave as me, so you don't dare admit you love me… You're even looking for a woman you don't love to get married to. Is that not degrading yourself? In the future… when one woman lies next to you, while another woman is hidden in your heart, is that not degrading yourself?"

Yun Liuli then pursed her lips tightly, her dense eyelashes turning moist…

Age had never been a problem. Yun Liuli didn't care about it, so why was Gu Qingcheng so stubborn, not having the guts to accept her?

"You aren't me… Liuli, the hardest thing to see through in this world is a person's heart. You don't know who I love or don't love. Don't assume things with your imagination."

Sensing the accumulated rage in Gu Qingcheng's low voice, the moistness in the depths of Yun Liuli's eyes intensified. Her legs were still numb, and her throat was hurting now. "I can sense that you love me! I'm not a fool…"

"I do love you!"

When Yun Liuli heard those four words, her heart thumped heavily twice.

But what followed banished Yun Liuli into hell. "The kind of love a father has towards his daughter…"

Yun Liuli had heard him say something like that twice. Once was when she had drugged him and wanted to have sexual relations with him, and the other time was today!

Both times, Yun Liuli felt like her heart was being torn into two, fresh blood dripping down.

She said, "I already have a father! Although he's dead, I have a father! I don't need a second father! What I need is a lover! A lover who treats me as a woman!"

"Then go and find the person who treats you as a woman and loves you!" It was like there was a fire burning in Gu Qingcheng's chest, so he inevitably spoke louder. "That person can be anyone on earth, but it absolutely can't be me!"

Seeing the young lady turn pale, Gu Qingcheng's throat vibrated gently. He then looked to the well-packaged cake and asked as he tapped away the ashes from his cigarette, "For me?"

Yun Liuli gazed at Gu Qingcheng's cold and stern features and nodded.

Gu Qingcheng nodded. "Leave the cake here. I'll get someone to send you back…"

Gu Qingcheng then whipped out his phone from his pocket to get his men to escort Yun Liuli back to the Fu residence. He had just unlocked his phone when Yun Liuli took it from his hands, hiding it behind her back like a scared child.

"Yun Liuli…" Gu Qingcheng's voice dimmed.

Gu Qingcheng wasn't speaking very loudly, but his deep voice carried a hint of raspiness and an imposing aura, making Yun Liuli's tears slip down her cheeks. "Gu Qingcheng, I know that you love me! I know it! If you don't love me, why are you treating me so well?"

Gu Qingcheng felt vexed upon seeing the young lady's tears. He put out his half-finished cigarette in the ashtray, then rested his elbows on his knees and leaned his body forward, gazing at Yun Liuli with his deep eyes. It looked like he was about to engage Yun Liuli in a deep conversation.

However, he didn't manage to restrain his emotions. "How old are you to be talking about love in front of me? You're only willing to trap yourself in this small world, fabricating this world with only you and me in it. You haven't met and interacted with other people, so how do you know that this is love and not a misinterpretation of kinship?"

"You've never loved someone as I do. What right and position do you have to judge whether my feelings towards you are love?" Yun Liuli's voice was as stubborn as her expression.

What the young lady said made Gu Qingcheng's chest ache.

"Regardless of whether I've loved, I won't love you. Liuli… don't waste the best years of your youth on me. You're a wonderful girl, and you shouldn't miss out on the best years of your life! How often does one turn eighteen? If you continue to waste your precious youth on me instead of using it to enjoy life, you're going to regret it in the future!"

"You aren't me! How would you know if I'll regret this? You're not even allowing me to waste my time on you. What right do you have to surmise me?" Yun Liuli returned Gu Qingcheng's words to him.

The atmosphere intensified because of Yun Liuli's voice, which had been raised by several pitches.

Blood surged to the top of Gu Qingcheng's head, the temples popping on his forehead rather apparent. "Your father gave you the name Liuli[1]. He hoped that you would have a clear heart in this complicated world, and he hoped that you could keep your calm and rational senses to live this life glamorously! He didn't give you this name to waste your life on an older man! Yun Liuli… you must live up to this name and your father's spirit, not bitterly disappointing him!"

"I like wasting my life on you! If my father is watching over me, he'll hope to see me live in bliss. Only when I'm with you will I be able to live in bliss! If my father is watching over me, then please get him to bless me, even if my life is reduced by 20 years! Fifty years! If I can become your woman, even if I only get to live to 30… even 25, I'd be willing!"

In the large suite, a loud slap could be heard, followed by a short shriek from Yun Liuli. Then it was silence.

Gu Qingcheng's face was as overcast as the dark skies of Haicheng outside the windows right now.

It was the first time that Gu Qingcheng had slapped Yun Liuli. His rage was unstoppable, fire burning in his eyes.

"Take back what you said!" The dark aura given off by Gu Qingcheng had an imposing effect.

Yun Liuli's neck stiffened, and tears were falling down her cheeks.

[1] Liuli means colored glaze, a Chinese crystal