Chapter 21: Chapter Nineteen

Jiang Jie knew, but why did "divorcing" her make him feel such pain and such reluctance?

"Cousin, I know you are furious that Yu Si chose Cen Shi back then, because you cannot understand how an orphan painter could snatch the Princess from your hands in everyone's eyes. So you hate women, and you do not want to understand women. But Bai Bai Ziling is different. Over two months, she has troubled you and entered your heart. That is why you have lost your composure; you simply do not know what to do with her." Di Di Zhiwei's analysis was one hundred percent correct.

"Two days ago... I went to see Yu Si." Jiang Jie spoke out, then poured himself another full glass of wine.

"How did she look?"

"Very happy."

"Truly happy?"

"I am certain it was from the bottom of her heart."

"Cousin, does this not give you any insight?" Di Di Zhiwei hoped to wake him up. "Yu Si believes Cen Shi is more suitable for her than you, so she made her choice."

"Do you think Bai Bai Ziling is the same as Yu Si?"

"I do not know. I only know that Bai Bai Ziling believes she will not find happiness with you." Di Di Zhiwei said honestly.

"She told you that?!" Jiang Jie's eyes tightened.

"She gave me that feeling."

"So she has already considered you a 'successor'." Jiang Jie drank another cup; not a drop of wine remained in the glass. "She wastes no time at all!"

"She does not mean that."

"So what she wants from me now is just freedom?" Jiang Jie was slightly drunk, and his mood grew worse and worse.

"Cousin, you seem determined to think the worst of her."

"If she wants freedom... then she must pay a price."

"It is you who still owe her one million five hundred thousand!" Di Di Zhiwei protested.

"Who owes whom..." Jiang Jie let out a drunken burp. "It is already hard to calculate clearly."

Drowsy and just about to enter sleep, a sudden, urgent knocking sound woke Bai Bai Ziling. She first glanced at the clock by her bed, then looked at the sky outside the window. It was clearly the middle of the night. What exactly did Jiang Jie mean? Disturbing her peaceful sleep!

Getting out of bed somewhat angrily, she then forcefully pulled open the door. He better have something important...

"Is there a fire?" Bai Bai Ziling said displeased.

Jiang Jie merely squinted at her, reeking of alcohol, with an aura mixing danger and wildness.

Bai Bai Ziling felt a bit panicked, a bit afraid, and a bit unclear about the situation, but she still faced him calmly. After all, Jiang Jie was a gentleman; from start to finish, he had never been impolite to her. Although he smelled strongly of alcohol, she trusted him.

"What do you want?" she asked calmly again.

"Something for you." His voice was hoarse.

"What is it? In the middle of the night, couldn't it wait until tomorrow morning..."

Jiang Jie handed her the check, then watched her reaction.

Bai Bai Ziling looked at the check: one million five hundred thousand yuan. He had paid her the final installment. So what now? "Jiang Jie, this..."

"The final installment."

"I know. Do you want me to leave right now?" she asked somewhat sentimentally. After all, she had stayed here for over two months. This man... she wanted him but could not have him. To say she could leave carefree would truly be a lie.

Jiang Jie pushed the door open a little wider and walked into her room. "You can leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow..." She bit her lip. Bai Bai Ziling remained strong and said no more.

"I have a request." Jiang Jie looked at her face.

"A request?"

"You can refuse."

"What do you want?" Bai Bai Ziling asked, both shocked and angry.

"I want you!"

"You..." She had guessed correctly after all.

"I will not force you. I will not use force on you." Although he had drunk a lot, obviously alcohol had not numbed his reason or his humanity. "I want you willingly."

"You are dreaming!" She threw the check at him. "I can forgo this final installment. I will leave right now."

But Jiang Jie merely grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look straight into his eyes. "Just one night."

"Go to hell—"

"The night you had a nightmare... I held you to sleep. You slept so deeply, so sweetly. I never thought I could hold a woman's body so purely without making love to her. You seemed to trust me so much, so easily giving yourself to me." He spoke softly.

"I was just..." She found it hard to justify herself.

"You... have feelings for me." He smiled.

"I am not so stupid as to..." She denied it; she did not want to give him a chance to hurt her. "Jiang Jie, you are a man without a heart. I only want to earn this three million!"

"Bai Bai Ziling, I can give you more, as long as you..." His eyes were full of burning desire. The hands that had been holding her shoulders now moved to her neck. His fingers massaged her neck, as if wanting to make her relax.

"I told you I do not 'sell'!" Her voice held no anger anymore; instead, it sounded fragile.

"You do not need to 'sell'. You just need to 'give' yourself to me."

"I do not want to..." She said to him as if coaxing: "You have no feelings for me. You just want to be my first man."

"I am your husband."

"A fake husband!"

"Then let me become your real husband." He coaxed her. "Bai Bai Ziling, at least I am honest with you. I let you understand the situation."

Bai Bai Ziling wavered a little. "And tomorrow?"

"If you give yourself to me, tomorrow you can leave with the check. Otherwise, we drag this out."

There was no breakdown, no crying. Only tears filled Bai Bai Ziling's eyes. This man was honest with her; he only wanted her first night. When dawn broke... she could leave with the check, nearly a month early. In just over two months, she had earned three million.

"Did you not want to go home to accompany your mother?"

"Jiang Jie, you even found the excuse for me." Bai Bai Ziling gave a bitter smile. Her eyes were only cold. "I do not know how many men I will meet in the future, but I dare say you are absolutely the coldest, the most ruthless, the most heartless one of them all!"

Jiang Jie offered no counterattack or reply. He only stared at her with an expression of certain victory. He wanted this girl.

"One night!" she suddenly asked viciously.

"Just one night."

"Fine! I'll give it to you!" she said coldly.

"Bai Bai Ziling..." He was truly impressed by the girl's straightforwardness and directness. "Have you thought this through?"

"If not you, then another man; I cannot remain a virgin for my entire life." She removed his hand from her neck. "Where should we start? What should I do first?"

Jiang Jie said nothing; he simply took off his suit jacket first.

"Take off clothes first, is that it?" Bai Bai Ziling, without a moment's consideration or hesitation, stripped off her nightgown. Since she had no habit of wearing underwear to sleep, she was now naked except for a pair of tight-fitting panties.

Jiang Jie's eyes went wide, but he made no further move.

"What next?" she asked, deeply humiliated.

"Lie on the bed." he commanded.

Bai Bai Ziling complied, but she left a parting remark. "I will hate you until I die!"

【Chapter Eight】

At a charity fundraising dinner, Jiang Jie encountered Lei Lei Hanyu and his wife. When he noticed that Xia Zhen's gaze toward him was not particularly friendly, he was not at all surprised.

Finally, when Xia Zhen was alone, Jiang Jie immediately approached to strike up a conversation. Even if Xia Zhen gave him a cold shoulder or made him lose face, he did not care, because compared to the pang of pain in his heart that even he could not control, what were a few small insults!

Seeing Jiang Jie walking toward her, Xia Zhen neither turned to leave nor smiled in response; she simply looked at him with a gaze full of accusation.

"Where is your precious son?" Jiang Jie asked as if making small talk.

"At home with the nanny."

"He should... be able to crawl by now?"

"He can crawl." Xia Zhen almost started talking about all the various things concerning her precious son, but then thought he was just trying to find a topic; what he truly wanted to ask was certainly not about her darling baby. "You're just making conversation, aren't you?"