"Zhu Li Qiang, I thank you for saving me, but you know, you shouldn't have. I'm sorry to say this… but I cannot stay here with you anymore. I am not worthy of you. Find another girl who matches your caliber. I am not that girl…" She declaimed monotonously as if reciting a prayer, her face as blank as paper could be.

Zhu Li Qiang grabbed her by the arm. His features transformed into something crumpled and contorted. "If you don't want to be with me, I'll leave. Just stay here. You're safer here. Please, Man Rui, don't make it difficult for both of us. You scared the h.e.l.l out of me. I know I cannot and should not block your way or hinder you from doing what you want, but Man Rui, just please listen to me… For your own safety."

"Stay here. I'll leave."

"Zhu Li Qiang…"Teng Man Rui's voice softened a notch. "It's you that's making it difficult for us…"

"You've known, haven't you? What happened to me?" She gingerly asked but then again, she realized that this confrontation would have to happen somehow. It's better to let it out of her chest and get it over with.

Unintentionally, his grip around her elbow tightened. "I could deduce, connect the dots…" He trailed off, his eyes darted everywhere except her. He was as uncomfortable to talk about it as she had been.

"It's difficult for me to live with you like this, or even be around you. I cannot even bear to see you care for me so much, the way you have been doing it. It's a slap on my face! I cannot look at you in the eyes because I'm scared of what those beautiful deep eyes will reflect and tell me. I cannot endure being in your presence, living in your house, breathing the same air as you, wearing the clothes you bought for me, and eating the food you had prepared for me."

"Every good deed you performed for me only acted like a hammer that kept on hitting the protruding nail that was my shame. It's burying in me deeper into quicksand I would never be able to escape if I stay here longer."

"And… I think..." After a moment of pause, she continued, "I think we have to end everything between us now, Zhu Li Qiang."