Chapter 8 - Marry me

"Tsk Tsk What a bad habit you got there, sweetheart! Eavesdropping on people like this!!"

Tang Li Mei got the scare of her life as she whipped her head and saw a familiar blue eye staring at her.

She heaved a sigh of relief.

"It's you!" she whispered, and at the same time, her eyes narrowed.

How come she didn't feel his presence?? Or is it because she didn't brush up on her moves for a long time??

While she was in deep thought, the sliding door to the balcony she was standing on opened.

Tang Li Mei quickly leaped to the next balcony, where he stood.

Han Zhixin was quick and caught her hand; with a swift turn, he pulled her into his embrace.

His back faced the other balcony, while his broad shoulders completely shielded her thin frame.

Tang Li Mei squirmed in his embrace, trying to get away from him.

"Play along," he breathed into her ears.

A shiver ran down her spine, and her cheeks heated up listening to his breathy voice.

'Like there was any other choice for her apart from this.' She cursed but quickly nodded.

Holding her waist and pressing her small head into his chest, he felt satisfied.

This is where she belongs: in his arms.

Her long hair fluttered along the wind while he slowly ran his hands through her soft and silky hair.

A warm smile appeared on his face.

He could feel every single curve on her body; his heartbeat sped up, and his breathing quickened.

He took a deep breath, trying to control himself, but what caught him off guard was the scent of citrus and rose.

'F**k' he cursed.

He wanted to hold on to her a little longer.

Gritting his teeth, he stood still.

That's right, he will have many chances in the future, but for now, he needs to calm himself; he doesn't want to scare her just because he can't control his urges around her.

The person in his arms had no clue about the dilemma he was going through.

Tang Li Mei could hear his strong heartbeat while the hands holding onto his shirt tightened.

She could feel his body heat and the taut muscles underneath her hands.

Every breath that fell on her neck caused tingles to spread throughout her body.

His unique masculine scent invaded her senses while she felt her heartbeat fasten.

'What kind of situation is this?? How did I get into this messy situation in the first place??' The rational person in her screamed to get away from him, but it was like her entire body was frozen.

She couldn't even move an inch.

When the cold wind blew, her body shivered from the impact.

Han Zhixin looked at the thin clothes covering her, and his gaze darkened.

He pushed her further into his embrace, providing all the warmth from his body and holding her tightly.

"Oh my!!!" she heard a familiar screeching.

"What's wrong??" A man came towards the balcony to see, but the woman pushed him inside.

"Nothing!! Just a shameless couple; nowadays, young people have no shame at all." Her voice was filled with disgust.

Tang Li Mei's body froze, and her gaze grew cold.

These words—how long has it been since she heard them? but it still pricked her heart.

When he heard the screeching voice, the young man was not bothered by it.

But when the woman in his arms stiffened, his eyes narrowed. 

He lightly patted her back to reassure her that he was here for her. 

'Who are they calling shameless??? This is his woman'. A murderous aura surrounded him. 

The more he thought about it, the more he felt frustrated, and the cold aura surrounding him intensified.

Tang Li Mei quickly sensed the changes around her; a hardly noticeable smile adorned her face.

Somewhere in the corner of her heart, she felt glad that he felt the same as her.

Han Zhixin turned his head sideways and glared at the middle-aged woman who was cursing them.

The woman froze when she felt his gaze, which was filled with murderous intent, and gulped down the rest of the words.

She hurriedly entered the room and shut the balcony door.

As soon as she heard the door click, Tang Li Mei removed her hands, which were clenching his shirt tightly, and tried to get out of his embrace.

She felt a little guilty at the thought of ruining his shirt.

However, before she could apologize, his hold on her tightened.

The woman in a black robe glared at him.

"What are you doing??" she snarled.

"Why are you wearing such thin clothes in this cold weather?? And even if you want to roam outside, can you not wear something warm??" He scolded as his eyes narrowed.

Tang Li Mei felt all her words stuck in her throat.

"I.. It... It's none of your business!" she stuttered.

Her cheeks reddened, and she felt embarrassed due to her stuttering.

'What on earth is going on with her today?? The more she thought, the more she felt angry, and the space between her brows darkened.

Han Zhixin stared into her eyes, searching for something.

Why is it that he couldn't find a single emotion in her eyes???

'Is she that good at masking her emotions, or she... no, that wouldn't be right!! Is it?? ... Is she heartbroken?? Is it the child's father??? Is she waiting for him??' At this thought, he felt needles pricking his heart.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath to control his emotions, and sighed.

When he opened his eyes again, they were full of determination.

He leaned his face towards her as his blue orbs fixed on her grey ones.

Tang Li Mei was immediately stiffened by their close proximity.

Her gaze was fixed on those pale blue eyes, which were full of warmth, sadness, and love.

Her heartbeat quickened when his face closed in.

She quickly shut her eyes, unable to look into those beautiful eyes that held so many emotions.

Suddenly, she felt a knock on her forehead.

'Uhhh??'

The moment she opened her eyes and looked up, her entire world froze.

His face was so close that it was almost touching hers. She felt goosebumps on her skin, and her eyes widened.

Too close... He had already broken through her comfort zone, and now their lips were just an inch away from touching.

She felt his warm gaze on her, and her entire body heated up.

Staring into those beautiful pools of grey he took a deep breath and, in an almost hushed and tortured tone, he proposed.

"Xiao Mei, marry me!!" Her heart pounded crazily when she heard him call her so intimately.

However, when she registered the other words, she felt her scalp go numb.

Finally, her rationality knocked, and her glazed eyes cleared.

She leaned away from his hold and pushed him away quickly.

But his body didn't even move an inch.

'What was she doing?? How did she let this go on for so long??' Her gaze sharpened.

She stared at him as if looking at a lunatic.

"What are you talking about??" She roared.

"Marry me!!" He repeated it firmly as he looked into those pair of angelic pale grey eyes, which only held emptiness in them.

'Seems like this person has something wrong with his mental constitution,' she thought to herself.

She tried to break free from his embrace, but to no avail.

She took a deep breath to calm herself and sighed.

"Did you lose a few balls or something??" She seriously questioned him.

'Balls??'

The blue-eyed man was stunned by her choice of words.

"How can you propose to someone who you have only met once, and it was not even a proper meeting? Did you hit your head somewhere?? Do you want me to call someone to come and fetch you?-" she calmly asked, looking at those pale blue orbs, before she was interrupted rudely.

"My head is fine. But you are right; let's get to know each other. En? My name is Han Zhixin." He introduced himself politely.

No matter how badly she berates him, he wouldn't mind if it meant he could stay with her. 

His blue orbs were fixed to the black cloth that covered her face.

"Let go, you lunatic!! I don't care if your name is Han Zhixin or Li Zhixin!!! I will never marry you, you idiotic bastard." She sneered, trying to break free once again. 

'Lunatic? Bastard?' the man gasped.

He was appalled by the image she had of him. 

'How come she didn't know Zihao's brother is such a creep?' Tang Li Mei, who was in her own line of thought, had no idea about the amount of damage she did to the man's ego. 

When she finally broke free, she did a backflip to get out of his range. Without looking back, she vanished into the cloudless night.

Han Zhixin came out of his reverie and stared at the direction she leaped off.

His eyes were full of doting smiles for her.

'Who cares if she calls him a lunatic? For her, he was ready to become one.'

He knew what he did today was not a good way to start their relationship. 

But he didn't want her to ever think that he was just fooling around. 

"It seems like it's decided, my love. it's definitely going to be you and only you!!! My darling wife!!" he whispered.