144 I Love You

He gently pushed open the door of one of the rooms.

He took a peek inside to see a figure, which obviously belonged to Mei Yangyang, lying on the bed with her back facing him.

He then entered and locked the door from inside. Thinking that it was her sister who had entered, Mei Yangyang did not bother turning over to have a look.

Long Tianze began to scan his surroundings and realized that her room was small but rather tidy and organized.

It was decorated like a typical teenage girl's room, with posters of male celebrities and all sorts of decorative accessories draped across the wall next to her bed.

Long Tianze approached her slowly to find that she had closed her eyes. Looking down from above, he noticed a teardrop on her face.

She had been crying…

He felt a strange sense of joy, since the fact that she had cried just went to show that she cared about him.

Seemingly having sensed that he was staring fervently at her, Mei Yangyang opened her eyes and exchanged glances with him.

Taken aback by his unexpected arrival, she sat up immediately and asked in shock, "When… when did you arrive?"

"I just did."

Mei Yangyang cocked her head towards the side, away from him, and answered sarcastically, "You've already gone on a matchmaking session with a rich man's daughter, why did you still come here to look for me?"

"It was my parents who forced me to attend it, I was just going through the motions. I'm not in the least bit attracted to that Lin Mingxi at all, she's nowhere as pretty as you are."

Mei Yangyang felt a sudden burst of happiness as her initial sadness vanished instantly upon hearing his words. "But she's a rich man's daughter. I'm nothing compared to her."

"Well, that happened because you refuse to be my girlfriend. I'm already 24, yet I'm still single. My parents were worried that I would bring a man home instead, that's why…"

Mei Yangyang burst into laughter and asked, "By the way, I locked the gate of my house from inside, how did you manage to come in?"

"I climbed in and accidentally ripped my trousers in the process," he explained.

Mei Yangyang hurriedly grabbed a sewing kit and said to him, "Take off your trousers and go sit on the bed. I'll help you mend the hole."

He did as she instructed and sat on her spot of the bed which was still warm, watching as she helped him sew his trousers.

Mei Yangyang heard a knock on the door as soon as she had just finished meticulously sewing the hole in his trousers. It was Mei Shuangshuang, who just returned home.

She could not enter since the door was locked. Upon realizing that her sister was home, Mei Yangyang flew into a state of panic and hurriedly urged Long Tianze to put on his trousers. She then instructed him to hide beneath the sheets on her bed. Fortunately, he had managed to avoid arousing suspicion due to his slim frame.

Mei Yangyang then opened the door, after which Mei Shuangshuang let out a snide remark, "Why do you have to lock the door in broad daylight? Are you up to something shameless?"

"What could I possibly be up to?" Mei Yangyang retorted.

Mei Shuangshuang then laid onto the bed and turned to face her sister. "Why are you home now? Didn't you go look for your boyfriend?"

"It's none of your business," Mei Yangyang answered coldly.

"I've run out of cash, give me some," said Mei Shuangshuang, reaching a hand out.

"Why do I have to give you money? Go earn your own if you don't have enough to spend. You're able-bodied and you don't attend school anyway, all you do is mess around here and there. You should have plenty of time to get yourself a job."

"Are you done nagging?" Mei Shuangshuang retorted as she laid onto the bed.

"Mei Shuangshuang, go take a look in the mirror and see what you've become. Do you even still recognize yourself?"

"I'm still prettier than you from every angle, no matter what I've become. I wonder who the luxury car parked at our gate belongs to. It's really getting in the way."

Mei Yangyang ignored her and did not even bother looking at her. She continued to lay on her side, against the warm body behind her belonging to Long Tianze.

She felt an arm around her waist.

Although he had kept his arm still, Mei Yangyang's heart began to pound loudly against her chest.

Feeling nervous about the fact that Long Tianze was still on the bed with them, Mei Yangyang still could not let her guard down, although Mei Shuangshuang had yet to discover anything amiss.

There was no way Long Tianze could leave at all with Mei Shuangshuang around, be it through the room or the living room.

Just as Mei Yangyang was about to turn to the side, she felt a stiff bump against her behind.

Knowing exactly what it was, she began to blush red with shyness.

Feeling his breath down her back as he hugged her tightly around the waist, Mei Yangyang felt as if she had lost all control of herself and her emotions.

She turned her head slightly behind, only to realize that their faces were only less than an inch apart, catching her off guard.

The two then exchanged glances and stared deeply into each other's eyes.

Mei Yangyang felt completely lost in his mesmerizing eyes.

He opened his mouth and began mouthing a few words with his lips.

She understood what he had meant right away — "Be mine."

Mei Yangyang finally agreed with a nod, after recalling An Xiaoning's advice.

Beaming with happiness, Long Tianze pulled her closer into his arms.

He then continued to lay there for a long time.

Evening arrived, and Mei Shuangshuang finally decided to leave while Mr. Mei returned to his room after dinner. After ensuring that the coast was clear, Mei Yangyang left together with Long Tianze in his car. "You're my girlfriend now," said Long Tianze.

"Yes, but you can't get intimate with me without my consent."

"Sure," he agreed right away. "Let's go have dinner, I'm famished."

"Fortunately, I gave you some snacks, otherwise, you'd really have starved to death. I didn't think you would come and look for me," said Mei Yangyang, pursing her lips.

"I called you so many times but you refused to answer. Thus, I decided to drop by to have a look and it turned out you had been crying," Long Tianze answered with a smirk on his face.

"There's actually no reason for me to cry. I don't know why but, I just felt like it…" said Mei Yangyang as she turned to look at him.

"If you fancied me, you should've just said so. Why did you keep your feelings bottled up?" Long Tianze said smilingly.

"I had some qualms about it."

"What's the point of worrying so much? There's no joy or meaning in life if you're constantly worrying about the future before you've even lived in the moment."

"You said the same thing as Sis Xiaoning. Indeed, I've been overthinking. After hearing what you guys said, I'm starting to think that it's better to just let nature take its course."

"Don't worry too much, I'll handle the rest of the matters," he said, reaching out to hold her hand.

It was nighttime, the peak period for most nightclubs in the city.

As a frequent patron of nightclubs, Ye Xiaotian could be seen at such places almost every other day.

He often walked around fearlessly, for he would always have a bunch of bodyguards with him, escorting him everywhere he went.

As soon as he entered, he caught sight of a familiar figure. It was his ex-fiance.

He hurriedly went forward and snatched the glass of liquor away from Bai Ranran's hand.

"You're here, Xiaotian," Bai Ranran said with a smile.

"You shouldn't be drinking alcohol. It's detrimental to your health."

"I know, I'm just having a casual drink, I'll be fine," said a sober Bai Ranran as she stared at him, overwhelmed with sadness deep down.

Noticing how sickly-looking she had gotten, Ye Xiaotian reached out to grab her hand, only to realize that it was freezing cold even though she was already dressed in a thick layer of clothes.

"Are you here alone? Why didn't you bring a bodyguard with you?"

"I didn't want them to follow me. You know, I've gotten rather used to traveling everywhere alone lately. Xiaotian, take good care of yourself in the future, I'll get going now," said Bai Ranran, looking down.

"I'll get someone to send you home."

She shook her head in refusal and insisted on leaving alone. "I'm still sober, I can make my way back by myself."

However, Ye Xiaotian was more insistent than she was, and he ordered a bodyguard to see her home.

He began to wonder if it was the lighting that had caused her to look worse than before.

Moments after she left, Bai Ranran turned around to look at him, "Xiaotian."

Ye Xiaotian looked up and glanced towards her.

"I love you."

"I know."

With teary eyes, Bai Ranran turned around to leave and never looked back since.