Payment

"So… the painting."

"Eat first." Mo Li said. He was already wearing a white undershirt and pants, which immediately made her a little comfortable. "Here… fruits. It's healthy."

"I—"

"I was planning to have you paint my room and my office."

"Excuse me?"

"Like… a mural painting on my walls. That's what you do abroad, right? In the houses of some of your older clients?" He calmly ate his cereal and continued. "I checked. I have to. I can't let a burglar or a wanted criminal inside my house."

Liar. Li Yue stopped herself from rolling her eyes. This man… seemed to like using the most unbelievable reasons. "How big is your room?" She asked. "And your office?" She feared that doing all this would take more than two months. After all, she also had an appointment with the mayor's wife.

"Oh… stop worrying about my aunt. She won't mind it." He answered, as if he just read her mind.

"Hey… Mo Li… did you… the one who wanted me to come back here. Was it really your aunt?"

"Who else?" He eyed her. "Do you think… I asked her to contact you?" He immediately shook his head as if his life depended on it. "Why the hell would I do that?"

For some reason, his words did not seem believable at all. Did he really use his connections to make her come back to this city?

"Was this because of the promise four years ago?"

"Oh! You already thought about it? So? What is it?" He smiled. How could Mo Li be this shameless?

"You don't have to marry me." Li Yue decided to be honest. "I promise I won't tell anyone about it."

"Too bad." Mo Li shook his head. "I already told my maternal family about it."

"What???" Eyes wide, she asked. "What did you do?"

He shrugged in response. "I already told everyone I'm engaged to you. You don't have to worry about the society's judgmental eyes. My maternal family already knows everything about you… and they like you. We should go visit them together at the banquet that my aunt will—"

"Whoa… whoa… hold on." She held her hand in front of his face. "What are you talking about? What engagement? I didn't agree to any of this. I also didn't agree to marry you and become your wife. Why would you even tell them about me? Mo Li, you—" So this man was indeed the one who asked his aunt to invite her back in this City. "How could you do that?"

"Do what? Did I do something wrong? You already agreed to marry me years ago. It was only a matter of when. Of course… we will discuss the details and everything together. After all, this is our wedding."

It was as if a huge lump had blocked her throat. She opened her mouth and closed it without saying anything. Indeed, she had agreed to marry him. But… But that was a silly promise! Why would he take a promise made in a situation like that seriously?

"I know… it is indeed very surprising to become my wife. But you will get used to it soon."

"Mo Li… you know that I…"

"That you don't like me, yet?" Mo Li met her eyes. "You will learn." He said and started drinking his coffee. "Everyone learns."

Li Yue gulped in response. She didn't miss the melancholy in Mo Li's voice. Just what happened to this man? And why did this make her feel sad instead of being angry? She sighed as she continued staring at him. "I don't think I can marry you." She said after a few seconds of silence. After her quests, she had already decided to travel and leave only a little proof of her existence in this world. Li Yue was not sure when she would leave after her quests, she could die anytime or maybe after ten years.

Her system was also unreliable. She couldn't just establish a relationship and break someone's heart when she left the world. She was someone without a name, a past and future. She couldn't exist in this world until she grew old and died. That was something that the system told her before she started her mission in the first world. 

"Why?" He frowned. It was as if the temperature of the room suddenly dropped. "Do you like someone else?"

Like? Was that even possible for someone like her? She shook her head. "I don't."

"Then? Why can't you marry me?"

Why can't she marry him? She could give him three reasons. First, she was not really from this world. She did not belong here and was not allowed to have babies as it would affect this world. Second, she couldn't develop any deep feelings at all. She couldn't like someone or hate someone. Li Yue was not planning to pretend and fool Mo Li all throughout this marriage. That was just a very cruel thing to do. And third, her unreliable system didn't tell her anything about her death once she accomplished her mission. She could die that same day or on the next. Everything about her existence was uncertain.

However, all these reasons are something that Mo Li won't be able to comprehend. She lowered her head. She actually couldn't find anything to say to him. She knew that Mo Li must have already taken the time to research her. Meaning, he knew that Li Yue didn't interact with other people aside from her assistant— the one that handled everything for her.

All those years, Li Yue went to school and stopped when she started earning her own money. Then she just seemed to vanish from the social world and just created painting under another name. 

"I—"

"You already said yes to me." Mo Li reminded her. "I saved your life." He held two of his fingers. "Thrice. Once from Lizzy Lu and that acid, two from the bear and finally from Sun Fengmian and my father."

She gulped. Was he asking her to pay him for those times? As expected, Mo Li's next words were enough to render her speechless. "Consider this as payment." Mo Li said, his tone was serious, his eyes cold. "Become my wife."

....

Thank you so much for your support!

We will have 5 chapters mass release tomorrow.