Ch. 29: Stalling For The Inevitable

"Since when you finished cultivating? How long have you stood outside? How much have you heard?"

Tang Hongyu asked with a trembling voice, her face red with shame. She knew that pretending to be stupid wouldn't help her out of this. Hence, she decided to be frank.

"Just a moment ago. I've been standing outside for quite a while. Yes, I did. I heard enough," Chen Fan replied while pretending to be appalled.

He was pretending because he wanted to tease this lovely lady.

When he saw her 'deer in the highlight' expression, the urge to tease her suddenly came. It was hard to resist, so he decided to play a bit.

On the other hand, Tang Hongyu bit her bottom lip to suppress the urge to scream to vent her frustration. She wished for a hole to open on the floor and swallow her because she was too ashamed to face Chen Fan at this moment.

In truth, Chen Fan was shocked when he used his Divine Sense and found out what Tang Hongyu was doing in her room. He didn't expect her to say his name when she was comforting herself.

This unexpected development made him curious, so he read through her memories during his secluded cultivation session. He found what happened and liked what he found out.

At first, Chen Fan had thought that he had to seduce Tang Hongyu after finishing his cultivation. However, she went through such a fierce inner struggle because of her growing feelings for him. In the end, she accepted her feelings and even planned to have a talk about this matter with him.

'Even though this development is outside of my expectation, I will use it to advance our relationship,' Chen Fan thought.

He knew that only a scumbag took advantage of a vulnerable woman. Even so, he didn't mind being a scumbag if he could achieve his goal.

Maybe Chen Fan only felt lust and physical attraction towards Tang Hongyu. However, he never planned to mistreat her. He also justified his unscrupulous plan by thinking that she would be happier as his woman.

All of that aside, back to Tang Hongyu, she threw a pillow in Chen Fan's direction while screaming "Out! Get out!"

Chen Fan dodged the pillow, which eventually slammed the wall behind him. He then spoke in a teasing tone, "Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, I never guessed you would use me to—"

Before he could finish, what happened next rendered him speechless.

"Sob, sob," Tang Hongyu suddenly started crying. She was so overwhelmed that her emotions got out of control. "You must think I'm a terrible woman, right?! I can't help it! Sob, sob! I'm sorry! Please don't hate me! Sob, sob!"

Seeing the crying Tang Hongyu, Chen Fan felt guilty and awkward. He never thought that this would happen.

'Have I gone too far? Who am I kidding?! I have to do something! Consoling her? I have no experience consoling a crying woman! But…' Chen Fan thought with a hint of panic.

After short consideration, he sighed in resignation. 'Having experience or not, I can only do my best consoling her.'

Then, he approached Tang Hongyu. He sat on the bed beside her as she was sobbing miserably. After that, he hugged her and brought her head to his chest.

Tang Hongyu immediately buried her face on his chest, gripped his top, and sobbed even harder. All repressed emotions poured out of her chest.

Previously, these repressed emotions and the accumulated stress were inside her without being able to get out. However, this incident was the last straw that needed to push them out.

As Chen Fan tried to console Tang Hongyu, his mind was thinking about something. He wondered whether he should use this golden opportunity.

'She's in a vulnerable state. There is no better time than the present,' he made up his mind.

After preparing himself for a moment, he began talking, "Auntie Tang, no, Tang Hongyu, I am happy that you have that kind of feeling for me."

His confession rendered Tang Hongyu speechless. Her body stilled; her sobbing ceased. Then, she looked up to face him, disbelief and confusion painted on her tear-stained face.

"W-What do you mean by that? Weren't you angry because of what I did?" Tang Hongyu asked with a weak voice.

"Well, I was just pretending before. When I saw how cute your surprised face was, I couldn't help but want to tease you." Chen Fan paused and looked at the dumbfounded face of Tang Hongyu.

He pretended to be remorseful as he continued talking, "But it seems that my joke has gone too far. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it."

Various emotions appeared on Tang Hongyu's face. This made her look funny because of her rapidly changing expressions.

She felt irked for being played. She also felt relieved because Chen Fan wasn't angry or hated her.

She felt confused and nervous when she recalled his confession that he was happy to accept her feelings. She also felt hope.

—a hope that he might reciprocate her feelings.

"No, that doesn't matter. What did you mean when you said you were happy with my feelings for you?"

In the end, Tang Hongyu decided that Chen Fan's thoughts about her feelings were more important than her irritation.

"Well, in truth, I'm attracted to you. I like you so much as a woman," Chen Fan pretended to be sincere as he replied.

His love confession was like a bomb that went off inside the head of Tang Hongyu. She was speechless.

She had never thought that Chen Fan had such feelings for her!

She opened and closed her mouth wordlessly as she failed to formulate words for a few moments. Finally, she managed to formulate a question.

"H-Huh? W-What? B-But… h-how? Why?!" Tang Hongyu spluttered in disbelief.

Correction. She managed to voice out several vague questions in her confusion and disbelief.

"You were always good to me. I couldn't help having feelings for you," Chen Fan smoothly answered.

After listening, Tang Hongyu couldn't help falling into a daze. She finally returned to her senses when Chen Fan put his palm on her cheek.

She looked up and saw his deep look that made her shudder in uncertainty and…anticipation. She wasn't sure what she was anticipating.

She wasn't anticipating being eaten by Chen Fan, wasn't she?!

Soon, she realized the source of her anticipation and couldn't help getting shocked. 'Heavens, how far have I fallen if I anticipate being eaten by him?!'

Ignoring Tang Hongyu's unstable mental state, Chen Fan declared with a serious tone and a matching expression. "Hongyu, I like you, and you like me. Since it's like this, I won't hesitate. I will make you mine!"

He didn't give Tang Hongyu time to think and respond. He immediately drew his face closer to hers.

After listening to Chen Fan's declaration, Tang Hongyu returned to her senses and saw his face drawing closer. As the handsome face of Chen Fan drew closer, she couldn't help getting cold feet at the last moment.

'Why are you hesitating? this is what you want deep in your heart, isn't it?'

A part of her mind whispered like the devil's temptation.

Alas, there was no angel to balance it out.

Her heart was beating fiercely, and her mind was in turmoil. However, the devil's temptation was too strong without the angel's advice to balance it out.

In the end, she quickly caved in. She closed her eyes and parted her lips slightly, wordlessly waiting for Chen Fan to kiss her.

A moment later, Chen Fan kissed her.

Her mind immediately became numb and blank. She was unresponsive for a while.

She finally returned to her senses when Chen Fan pulled back his face, ending the kiss.

"Ah..." Tang Hongyu unconsciously leaked a voice of disappointment.

Then, she slowly opened her eyes, which were glimmering with complex feelings.

Seeing her complex feelings, Chen Fan eventually said, "Do you regret it?"

Tang Hongyu was silent for a few moments. "I..." She opened her mouth but hesitated. "I'm old," she weakly said, though her words didn't answer the question of Chen Fan.

Her words were merely an excuse to dissuade Chen Fan. Even she realized that it was a very weak excuse.

"We're Immortal Cultivators. Age doesn't matter to us," Chen Fan responded with a deadpan.

He also didn't understand why Tang Hongyu was being contradictory.

Tang Hongyu wanted to have a deep relationship with him, but she tried to stop them from crossing the last line. Moreover, she was oddly stubborn on this matter.

He decided to read her thoughts and found out the reason behind her contradiction.

Tang Hongyu was a woman of principles.

Even though she had lost the flame that made her think marrying Jiang Haishan is the best idea in her life, which unfortunately is not, and had developed deep feelings for Chen Fan, she still saw herself as the wife of Jiang Haishan.

This made her feel obligated to be faithful to her unworthy husband and stop offering her body and heart to Chen Fan just like that.

'I commend her principles, but she's just stalling the inevitable,' Chen Fan mused in amusement.

"I have a husband." Tang Hongyu still tried to find an excuse.

However, her latest attempt set off Chen Fan into a laughing fit as if he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world.