"Chen Linyun, please don't cry! Oh no, oh no! I made you cry!" She was frantic. She hugged his head. Once in a while she was wiping his tears with her palms. It was a little rough, just like how an older kid would pacify a younger kid who was crying.

She also coaxed him by saying, "Chen Linyun, I'm not so sure about my own emotions. But I know for sure that you are my favorite person outside my family. That, I am extremely, extremely sure."

"You are my safety blanket, you always keep me warm and safe and secured. Please don't cry now." She was near tears herself.

"Honestly speaking shouldn't I be the one crying? You just trampled on my pride. You rejected my genuine marriage proposal. I collected all my guts just to deliver those words! You even rejected my kiss!" There was an obvious hurt in her tone.

"aren't you just playing with me?" Chen Linyun finally asked. He had previously removed his gla.s.ses due to all the crying. He intentionally did not use the word 'use'. In his mind he was thinking, 'Aren't you only using me?' He could not even make himself say it.

"Who's playing with who? I'm d.a.m.n serious with you. Can't you tell? Idiot. I simply cannot say it with words, but I think I have been clear with my actions. Isn't it true that actions speak louder than words?" Her brows were knitted with concentration. She wanted to relay to him clearly what she really means.

"I know I'm always saying that I am not sure about how I feel about you, with all the uncertainties around you, and h.e.l.l that's the truth. But how I behave around you had always been candid and true. I have never filtered my actions with you."

"I had been considering a lot of things, that's why I cannot answer outright, plus I have not encountered this situation before. I'm really having a hard time too. But, I am so comfortable with you, Chen Linyun. I thought it's so obvious." She explained further.

"If not, would I even consider driving out to a secluded location in the middle of the night with a man?! Think, Chen Linyun." With a softer tone, ever so coyly, she said, "I trust you that much." Her eyelashes flickering with so much femininity.

"Idiot." She branded him. "Idiot, idiot, idiot." She was knocking his head gently. She grabbed his eyegla.s.ses that he had removed, and donned it herself.

She was becoming bashful again. She was fluttering her eyelashes. "Are you really… rejecting my marriage proposal? You don't want to marry me?" Her cheeks were flushed. She looked really lovely, even with eyegla.s.ses on.

This lady was quite a handful. Being with her was like being in an outdoor rollercoaster ride, while not knowing about the weather, whether it will be sunny or rainy or windy while on the rollercoaster ride. She was unpredictable, and wild and always with a twist.

Chen Linyun had calmed down a bit. He now had a better grasp of the situation.

"The answer is still no. To be clear, I'm not rejecting your marriage proposal. I'll marry you anytime – we could register the marriage anytime - as long as I fully own your heart, and I am already worthy of you. Until then, I won't marry you. I also have my pride as a man."

"I think you are underestimating marriage. It's not just a transaction. Even people who are deeply in love had fall-outs, just like my parents. And you... You're not even certain with your feelings towards me." He was pouting again.

"All I wanted for you to do is to love me back. I'll take care of the rest myself."

He caressed her cheek with his hand. Then he opened a can of beer that they brought with them, and downed it.

"By the way, you look good with gla.s.ses." He inched forward while staring at her. She was quickly drawn to him, straight into the abyss of his soul.

He kissed her soft lips ever so gently and tenderly. His hand supported her cheek. She kissed him back. Her hands readily wrapped themselves around his neck. He grabbed the lower portion of her back with his other free hand. They kissed for a while, communicating what could not be said with words.

Ever so slowly they released each other, still staring at each other's eyes. The lady withdrew her gaze towards the ground.

"What was that?" Xue Jinxu asked coyly. She was blus.h.i.+ng and it was lovely.

"I was just returning the favor." Chen Linyun kissed her lips again this time so swiftly – more like a smack, and added, "That's a bonus for being honest." His face was red as well.

'Tomato-face.' Xue Jinxu thought so inside her head.

She covered her blus.h.i.+ng face with both her hands. She had already removed his gla.s.ses on her face.

He was quite happy and contented that all the misunderstanding had been cleared already. What's most important was that he's succeeding in his rally towards her heart.

At most, in his calculation, he had already won eighty to ninty percent of her heart. The rest would depend on the lady's sorting out of her personal issues with her own emotions, and perception of things.

At least now, he had enough motivation to push himself forward, in his chosen journey to be worthy of her, to be able to stand beside her.

He wrapped his arm around the bashful Xue Jinxu beside him, her face still buried on her palms. "I love you." He kissed her head, and tightened his grip on her arm.