Chapter 51 – Lin Xiaowen Belongs to Me

“You bastard, I think you haven’t been beaten enough yet…” Not wanting Su Nian to continue, Cheng Yishu raised his fist and swung it at him once more…

Lin Xiaowen, momentarily stunned, heard Cheng Yishu’s teeth gritting as he spat out those words. Snapping back to her senses, she naturally couldn’t let them start fighting again! She grabbed Cheng Yishu, whose eyes were already ablaze with fury, and spoke hurriedly, “Cheng Yishu, stop it…”

“Let go of me, Lin Xiaowen… Let me beat him again and knock some sense into him, so he’ll stop dreaming!”

“Cheng Yishu—” After calling his name, enunciating every syllable, Su Nian suddenly let out a cold laugh. “I know you.”

“Obviously. Plenty of people know me!” Cheng Yishu, held tightly by Lin Xiaowen, unwillingly lowered his fist and broke free from her not-so-effective grasp. Not for any other reason, but simply to hear what else Su Nian would say.

“I’m quite curious. Why are you at Xiaowen’s house so late? And why are you so furious about me confessing my feelings to her? Isn’t this none of your business, superstar?” Su Nian’s mocking sneer pierced Cheng Yishu, leaving him with the uncanny sense of being seen through.

“I… Where I go and what I do is none of your concern! Who are you to meddle…” Cheng Yishu retorted, brows drawn in anger.

“By the same logic, what I do with Xiaowen is none of your business,” Su Nian’s voice suddenly turned icy, and even the scant warmth in his eyes faded away.

That look, that demeanor… Lin Xiaowen had seen them before, and she would never forget. Her heart pounding like thunder, she was about to stop the brewing conflict, but Cheng Yishu suddenly gripped her slender arm and pulled her in front of him.

Startled, Lin Xiaowen looked up at Cheng Yishu, but he wasn’t looking at her. She only heard his solemn, provocative voice ring out:

“Because Lin Xiaowen is my woman!”

Her eyes involuntarily widened in shock. She tilted her head to look at Cheng Yishu, who wore a serious expression and uttered those words without a hint of hesitation. For a moment, Lin Xiaowen felt her mind go blank, starved of air.

She wanted to protest instinctively, but a large hand wrapped naturally and intimately around her waist from behind.

“What did you say?” Su Nian’s deep eyes darkened, as if he hadn’t heard him clearly.

“I said, Lin Xiaowen is my girlfriend. We’re already together.”

After saying this, Cheng Yishu looked down at the little woman, whose mouth hung open in shock, her face flushing and paling by turns as she stared at him. He found her reaction somewhat unsatisfactory, yet her expression amused him.

Resisting the urge to pinch her cheek, he turned back to Su Nian and said gravely, “Though I don’t owe you an explanation, I think it best to make things clear, so you’ll stop bothering my girlfriend! You know who I am, so you should understand I can’t make our relationship public yet. For now, Xiaowen has to put up with a little inconvenience, but it won’t be long before I announce our love to the world… Isn’t that right, darling?”

The last sentence was clearly meant for Lin Xiaowen, but she stood there like a puppet, letting him hold her ever tighter. She watched his lips move, his words drifting into her ears as if from a great distance, her whole being suspended in a cloud of mist.

“I don’t believe you,” Su Nian said, his gaze flicking over the arm wrapped around Lin Xiaowen, then looking coldly at Cheng Yishu. “Just a moment ago, Xiaowen was questioning why you came here so late…”

“Isn’t it normal for couples to argue?” Cheng Yishu cut him off before he could finish and continued, “I’ve been busy filming these days and haven’t spent much time with Xiaowen. It’s perfectly understandable that she’s upset… A lovers’ spat is something you wouldn’t understand!”

Cheng Yishu sounded convincing, and with Lin Xiaowen standing there in a daze, saying nothing and tacitly agreeing, the story seemed flawless.

Soon, Su Nian gave a faint, relieved smile, speaking as if to himself or perhaps to Lin Xiaowen, “In that case… I should give up on this.”

Cheng Yishu hadn’t expected his rival to admit defeat so easily. It left him with no sense of triumph at all.

“But Cheng Yishu, remember this: if you ever mistreat Xiaowen or Ranran, I, Su Nian, will make you pay dearly!”

A cold, steely light flashed in Su Nian’s eyes, making Lin Xiaowen finally come to her senses. She pulled away from Cheng Yishu’s arm around her waist, but Su Nian was already striding away…

Never in her life had Lin Xiaowen experienced such a scene. Faced with Su Nian’s direct confession, she stood there in utter confusion, unable to think of a single thing to say that wouldn’t hurt him.

Perhaps, she simply couldn’t think of anything to say at all.

Not until Su Nian drove away in his car, its windshield fractured like a blossom, did Cheng Yishu realize his rival had retreated too easily, leaving him without even a shred of victory’s thrill.

“What are you looking at?” Cheng Yishu glowered, watching as Lin Xiaowen stood there, eyes following Su Nian’s car until it vanished.

“Still staring…”

Unable to bear it, Cheng Yishu pulled Lin Xiaowen’s hand, turning her toward him, then said, “So reluctant to let him go? Am I dead to you?”

Jealousy hung thick in the air, making Lin Xiaowen’s face flush red.

“I don’t have time for you! I’m going home to sleep!” Her mind in chaos and feeling lightheaded, Lin Xiaowen turned and walked toward her house.

“Hey, you woman…”

Cheng Yishu finally lost it, taking two strides to stand in front of her. “Are you trying to drive me mad? After all I just said and did, can’t you give me some reaction?”

His eyes shone especially bright under the streetlights, but his expression was so petulant and domineering it almost made Lin Xiaowen want to laugh.

“Are you… are you about to laugh?” Cheng Yishu watched her struggle to keep a straight face, a question mark practically hovering over his head. “Come on, can’t you be serious at such a solemn moment?”

“Why should it matter to you if I laugh or not?” Unable to hold back any longer, Lin Xiaowen pressed her lips together and laughed.

She couldn’t help it—Cheng Yishu was simply too adorable like this!

“Is laughter all you have? Don’t you want to say anything else?” Cheng Yishu tried coaxing her, “For example… For example, isn’t a tall, handsome guy like me, doing all this…”

His hopeful expression made Lin Xiaowen want to burst out laughing, but she forced herself to suppress it, looking at Cheng Yishu as she said, “You’re right, I ought to say something.”

Faced with Lin Xiaowen’s sudden seriousness, Cheng Yishu was taken aback, then thought, ‘Well, something this important—she needs time to gather her feelings!’

But in the next instant, Lin Xiaowen looked at him with a gentle smile and said, “Thank you for helping me out tonight.”

“…”

Cheng Yishu waited, but when Lin Xiaowen made no further move, he blinked and asked quietly, “Is that it? Nothing more?”

He’d been all ready to open his arms and pull her into a warm embrace…