Hard to Escape - Chapter 15.1

I wasn’t able to intercept Yin Li. When he came home that night, he had a calm expression and the lipstick mark had already been wiped off. Without stopping to talk, he immediately went off to the bathroom to shower. Afterwards, he came over to grab a drink with his hair still dripping wet.

I tried to sweet-talk him. “Thanks for your cooperation tonight!”

But he actually ignored me. He only gave me a brief glance, then got up and poured himself a little wine and took a seat on the sofa across from me to scan the mail.

In a moment his wine glass was almost empty. Seeing that he was about to rise again, I couldn’t restrain myself and grabbed ahold of him. “Hey, I didn’t do it on purpose. This was also the first time I dared to do anything like that, so I’m sorry for my lack of experience. How would I know that it would have this kind of side effect? And what about you? You’ve never experienced something like this? You should have checked your face for lipstick marks!”

At this, Yin Li finally cracked a smile. Even his eyes curved. “Yan Xiao, no one has ever dared to kiss me without my permission before.”

I laughed loudly. Sensing that I’d managed to get him in a good mood, I blurted out, “It’s called ‘freeing you from your sense of dignity.’ Those who do great things don’t bother with the small stuff. To become great, the first thing you have to abandon is your pride. Only those without shame are unequaled under heaven. You’ll understand this eventually.”

Yin Li had no response. Lately, he’d been indulging me more and more. Similarly, the guarded distance I had kept with him was also crumbling. I watched him empty the cup down to its last drop, then heard him say as if talking to himself, “Compared to before, you really are like a whole other person.” Then, he bent down and kissed me again. “Let’s deepen our memories of this night.”

His eyes held some deep emotion and passionate desire, and I suddenly couldn’t look him in the eye anymore. Fortunately, he’d always carried himself with courtesy and restraint. In the end, Yin Li kissed my forehead and then left for the study.

Only when Yin Li returned to the study did I finally take out my phone. Mo Xing Zhi’s text was still there, with the contact info of that Chinese person living in France. These two days, whether intentional or not, the business with Wei Yan had allowed me to turn my attention elsewhere. But I always knew that, regardless of my fears, I would have to face this matter sooner or later. Our faces were too astonishingly similar, this wasn’t something that could be explained away as a simple coincidence.

If it were exchanged with the me from just a few months ago, I fear I wouldn’t have hesitated even for a moment. Back then, I had nothing. Even if my past was a nightmare, I had nothing to lose. But now, things were different. I was very satisfied with my life now, I didn’t want anything to change. I stared at the name on my phone, and still couldn’t make a decision.

Once delayed, this matter dragged on for an entire week. I chose to just ignore it. With the money Wei Yan paid me I bought Yin Li a tie, and then I used the remainder to add a set of dishes to our house and buy an apron for him. I hoped they would encourage him to diligently do the housework. Surprisingly, Yin Li was very cooperative and diligently washed the dishes every day for this whole week.

Today was Sunday. After he’d finished cooking, Yin Li put on the apron and went to wash dishes in the kitchen. I rubbed my belly and sat at the dinner table, playing a game. The rays of the afternoon sun were bright and strong, making one unable to resist becoming a bit lazy. I lifted my head and looked at Yin Li. The sunlight shone through the kitchen window onto the side of his face, basking him in a languid warmth. He looked like he always did when working on something. Even when washing the dishes, he gave you a serious and reliable feeling, as if he was actually doing some important task.

I yawned and half-closed my misty eyes. Looking at his beautiful side profile, I muttered, “Ai, so handsome.”

The sound of the water was too loud, so Yin Li didn’t hear me clearly. He turned off the tap and asked, “Hmm?” His head tilted in my direction, and he looked at me with a soft, hazy expression.

This man’s most gentle side, was all mine. I thought that to myself with great satisfaction and some selfishness. Yin Li seemed to have some sort of magic. He unconsciously and continuously assaulted you with his charm, letting you experience again and again the strength of his attractiveness. When he behaved coldly to me, I found him handsome, dignified, and untouchable. Every inch of him gave off an aura of nobility. And when he behaved gently to me, I found him to be patient, strong, and tender.

In others’ eyes, he could be Yin Li, a man of power who held life and death in his grasp, who could make clouds and rain with a flip of his hand.1 But only I could see the Yin Li that flipped through those celebrity magazines that gossiped about him, his brow slightly furrowed. Only I knew of his sleepy expression in the first half hour after he’d woken up. Only I could, in the middle of a sleepless night, go knock on his door.

1 翻云覆雨 (make clouds with one hand and rain with the other) means being fickle and unpredictable, or could also be taken as toying with politics.

Our past was confusing and impossible to unravel. I used to be guarded against him, treating him as an enemy, but so what? Now, every second was lively and vivid to me. Now, I found myself liking this person more and more, and only hoped that he liked me too in the same way.

“What did you just say?” This moment’s Yin Li had just finished washing the dishes, and his body had the same lime scent of the dish soap.

“Yin Li, have you eaten hot pot before?”

Just as I expected, he shook his head.

“Well, some of us in the French department are going out for hotpot tonight, and we can bring a date. If you don’t mind, want to come with me?”

I knew that rich people usually considered eating hotpot beneath them. For someone like Yin Li, who came from a wealthy, established family, he probably didn’t even know what hot pot looked like. But now I liked him, and wanted to take him to experience things he never had the chance to. He had taught me many things and stood by my side as he introduced me to his world. Now I wanted to introduce him to mine. He was changing me, and I wanted to change him too.

Yin Li mulled it over, then said, “I have a dinner engagement tonight.”

Though he declined very politely, I was still a bit disappointed and only responded with, “Oh.” But I knew that he really was very busy. Once dusk fell, his phone started ringing off the hook. Not much later, he rushed out the door. But before he left, he surprisingly asked me for the address of the hot pot place.