Chapter 84: Phone Call

When the sky grew slightly dim, Yang Yi decided to leave.

It wasn't that she had any urgent matter, but staying overnight at a man's house on just the second date was too much for her. Although before coming, she had had unspeakable images in her mind, bold enough to be considered daring in erotic literature, in reality she was a typical case of "bold and explosive in thought, timid and submissive in action."

Chris was cooking a simple dinner in the kitchen while Yang Yi sat by the island, smiling and watching him.

When Yang Yi brought up leaving, he seemed to guess her concerns and couldn't help but want to laugh. "Darling, nothing will happen, okay? You can stay in the other building, just like staying in a hotel."

Yang Yi's face turned red again. She forced herself to appear calm. "I still have work, so..." If not for the blush on her cheeks, the reason she gave would have sounded quite reasonable.

Chris turned off the stove and walked over. "Really? I feel like this is you not trusting me..." He wrapped his arms around her waist, raised an eyebrow slightly with a teasing smile, "Or perhaps, you actually hope something will happen..." As he spoke, he took her hand and guided it to his waist, his abs, and his pectoral muscles...

The sensation under her hand was soft yet firm, warm, and seemed to be pulsing slightly. Indeed, he deserved his title as the world's most handsome man for two consecutive years—his hormones were silently seducing her, and her self-control was retreating step by step under the assault.

When he first guided her hand to his body, Chris still wore that teasing smile, with a hint of a little boy's mischief. But the moment Yang Yi's palm touched his side, his sapphire eyes instantly shifted from the clarity of the morning sun to the depth of night. His breathing suddenly quickened, and his body temperature rose.

That teasing air vanished at some point. The blue eyes gazing at Yang Yi were now stained with a heavy color. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he unconsciously licked his lower lip.

That look made Yang Yi's face instantly flush crimson. She abruptly withdrew her hand and stepped back.

Feeling ashamed of this retreat, she tried to save a little face and pretended to be generous and frank. "You know, your charm is too strong, and for your loyal fans, it gets amplified a thousandfold..."

Seeing Chris raise an eyebrow, she suddenly remembered the words he had said on the terrace and quickly corrected herself:

"Putting aside those fan halos, the real you is even more charming—you are a super nuclear bomb! No one can resist, they can only quickly hide... And we've only been on our second date; it's a bit too fast... Goodbye, I'm talking nonsense, it must be your fault..." By the end, even Yang Yi didn't know what she was saying.

Chris couldn't help but laugh as he pulled her into his arms again, gently kissing her forehead. He gazed at her, his voice low and hoarse. "No, I am your loyal servant, I am your wretched captive, I am your defeated foe, I am a prisoner who has offered up an entire kingdom, begging for a glance from you, my queen... Oh God, how I wish I could cut open this heart so you could see it with your own eyes—only then would you understand that it is filled entirely with your image..."

Damn, what sweet talk... Yang Yi felt completely dizzy. She felt like she had fallen into a hot spring, surrounded by soft, warm water from all sides, and the temperature was gradually rising. She was about to be cooked through—and she was willing to be cooked.

Suddenly, at this moment when her blood was surging, an involuntary thought occurred to her: How many women has he said this sweet talk to? He has a long list of girlfriends, doesn't he? Is his skillfulness the result of practicing countless times on many women?

This thought was like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing her near-burning state.

No, no! You should trust him—at least for all these days, he has never been fake. Although he changes a thousand ways in plays, in life he is a sincere person...

You should try to believe others. Don't always be suspicious. You subconsciously doubt everything; this is the root cause of your distrust of everything and your distance from all things! It makes you cold, lonely, like a rootless duckweed or a drifting dandelion. Why not try to believe others? To immerse yourself, to experience, rather than avoiding and observing from the sidelines!

Yang Yi struggled internally for a while and finally actively threw herself into Chris's embrace, but after being interrupted by these thoughts, she could not return to the state of total immersion she had been in just before.

She almost hated herself.

A sudden ringtone broke the silence of the moment.

Except for work matters, few people called her. Yang Yi quickly let go of Chris, pulled her phone from her pants pocket, and the name "Chen Chen Huanyue" immediately caught her eye. She hurriedly hung up.

After hanging up, she felt her action was too hasty, a bit like "denying silver when there is none." She and Chen Chen Huanyue had nothing between them; why panic?

She unconsciously looked up at Chris, only to see his searching gaze.

"Who was that?" Chris straightened his body, crossed his arms, tilted his head slightly, and asked, his expression a mix of a smile and a frown.

She was really not a master at concealing emotions. If she were an actress—fortunately she didn't choose that profession, otherwise she wouldn't even be able to afford food. Chris thought, incredibly calm and even a bit sarcastic.

A fire of jealousy grew in the depths of his heart like a wildfire. Although he didn't know the name made of those three Chinese characters, those three characters were already branded into his heart.

Her expression, demeanor, and actions all told him that this name belonged to a man, and a man who had some relationship with her beyond ordinary friendship. This realization made his anger rise even higher, as if someone had thrown a cigarette butt into a forest, and that tiny spark quickly ignited the entire forest.

He dared not let this fire rage out freely. What if she got angry? What if she stopped talking to him? Their relationship was still in the early stage of dating—this was the stage where mutual attraction was strongest and also most likely to fail prematurely. A tiny obstacle could cause both sides to waver—no, cause her to waver.

He could only forcibly suppress this emotion.

He was a good actor, so what showed on the surface was just a hint of light and indifferent dissatisfaction.

"A college classmate..." Yang Yi originally wanted to just brush it off. After all, she and Chen Chen Huanyue would never have anything in the future; why create more trouble?

But seeing Chris's raised eyebrows, she swallowed the rest of her sentence. He was too sharp; lying in front of him was the worst possible approach.

"He... was my lover during college, but we broke up three years ago!" Yang Yi immediately changed her explanation. "A few days ago, while dealing with abnormal creatures in Wuming City, we happened to meet, so we added each other..."

So, why did you add him back? Old lovers meet, old flames reignite? Chris would definitely think that, anyone would think that!!! Yang Yi wished she could instantly go back in time and beat the version of herself who added the contact information back.

"We haven't contacted each other since then! Really! If you don't believe me, you can check my text messages!" Yang Yi held her phone out in front of him, then remembered the work messages on her phone, many of which could not be disclosed, so she immediately pulled her phone back.

"Uh... sorry, I can't let you see the messages on my phone..." Yang stammered again.

She didn't know what to do anymore.