“Seriously, is there something wrong with your head?” Liu Xie pinched Liu Anran’s ear. “I didn’t say anything in front of those outsiders just now to save you some face, but just you wait until we get home.”
The banquet had ended, and every guest now knew that the entire affair had been a scheme orchestrated by the Second Young Master of the Liu family. It had been a move to kill two birds with one stone: rooting out those who opposed him while simultaneously shedding his status as an adopted son to pursue Liu Xie.
Perhaps they would be more cautious of this young man’s shrewdness and methods when dealing with Liu Anran in the future. However, right now, Liu Anran and Liu Xie didn’t care about such distant concerns.
“I played my part, and you just had to get sucked in too, didn’t you? And even if I got carried away, I stayed within the script! How did you manage to jump completely outside the norm? What do you want people to think of us?”
As Liu Xie spoke, she saw the traffic light turn green and pulled her hand back from Liu Anran’s ear. Liu Anran was driving a Maybach with Liu Xie in the passenger seat. The car was incredibly comfortable; it was the kind of steady ride that made her want to drift off to sleep.
“They can think whatever they want.” Liu Anran turned the steering wheel, his face still projecting an air of indifference. “The pure remain pure, and the murky remain murky.”
“I feel like it’s yellow mud falling into your pants—even if it’s not crap, everyone will think it is,” Liu Xie commented sharply.
“I never said we were pure.” Liu Anran turned his head to glance at Liu Xie. “The two of us are murky.”
Liu Xie was stunned.
“I’ve been serious this whole time. It wasn’t just getting caught up in the acting. My primary goal for this entire thing was to remove the label of being your younger brother so I could pursue you.” Liu Anran shifted his gaze back to the road, driving at a moderate pace.
“Are you crazy?” Liu Xie repeated.
“I’m not crazy. On the contrary, I’m perfectly sober. You probably don’t know how long I’ve been considering this, but I knew I had to do it.” Liu Anran’s tone was firm, as if he were joining a glorious revolution.
His resolve made the hesitant Liu Xie beside him feel a bit like the villain of the story.
“Do you have a fever? Is your brain malfunctioning right now?” Liu Xie said. “I admit that I’ve got some looks now, and you’re a young man in your prime, so it’s normal to have some thoughts. But love isn’t something you can decide on an impulse. I suggest you really think this through…”
Liu Xie, who had never been in a relationship, was currently trying to teach Liu Anran, who had also never been in a relationship, how to handle romance.
“I’ve already thought it through. From the moment I realized it had to be you, you became my only choice.”
The tires rolled over fallen leaves, producing a satisfying, crisp crunch.
“No, this is just too…” Liu Xie started. “I only think of you as my younger brother.”
“Is that so?”
Liu Anran merely arched an eyebrow.
He continued driving. “I don’t do things I’m not certain about. In this regard, I might even know you better than you know yourself.”
“You…” Liu Xie was about to say something, but then she noticed the unfamiliar scenery outside the window. “Where are we? You’re not going to dump my body in the wilderness just because I didn’t say yes immediately, are you? Are you trying to use threats to get your way in love?”
Liu Xie gripped her seatbelt tightly.
It was worth noting that the diagonal seatbelt across her chest emphasized her curves, pressing against her soft flesh like a mesh restraint.
“I won’t use that to threaten you. I have other means for that.” Liu Anran shifted gears. “If you truly intend to reject me outright, then I, who currently only holds the status of your fiancé, can no longer remain in the Liu household.”
“Are you threatening me?” Liu Xie looked shocked.
Liu Anran smiled slightly. “If I don’t put it that way, how much longer are you going to play these guessing games with me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I really do see you as my younger brother.” Liu Xie turned her head away.
‘There are actually security cameras at home. I installed them in advance just in case we got a pet later.’
Liu Xie realized that her embarrassing behavior at home had likely been seen with total clarity.
“I see you’ve completely stopped respecting your older brother.” If Liu Anran hadn’t been driving, Liu Xie would have definitely given him a piece of her mind. “You’ve got no sense of seniority.”
“I am no longer your younger brother. I am your pursuer and the fiancé your parents approved of,” Liu Anran emphasized again.
“They agreed, but I didn’t! How can a brother just turn into a fiancé? I don’t agree. Besides, I used to be a man. I’m telling you, think this through.”
“As long as it’s Liu Xie, does it matter?”
That single rhetorical question choked back all the words the Golden Lion King was about to spew.
“Are you serious?” At another red light, Liu Xie took the opportunity to ask, turning to stare intently at Liu Anran.
” I am serious. And it has to be you.”
“Damn it, even a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass near its own burrow. You must be starving. If you’re that desperate, I’ll take you out to find a couple of girls.”
Liu Anran glanced at the red light timer, which was counting down its last ten seconds. “If I actually went and found someone else, you’d be the one who wasn’t happy about it.”
“Haven’t the last few days made it clear to both of us? Neither of us can stand being apart from the other. I can’t watch you be with someone else, and neither can you.”
Liu Xie usually hated it when people made definitive statements about her, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with what Liu Anran had said.
She really couldn’t bear to be without him.
“But this is just too…”
“I know you find it hard to accept, which is why I’m only pursuing you for now. You have plenty of time to consider it,” Liu Anran said soothingly.
“No, this is just too weird…” Concern bled into Liu Xie’s voice.
“You don’t have to worry about our relationship turning sour. There won’t be any difference in how we interact. Even if you were to say yes to me right now, our dynamic wouldn’t change much.”
It was like a reassuring pill.
“Is that true?”
“Why don’t you think about it carefully? Have you ever seen another couple as close as we are?”
The question sent Liu Xie into deep thought.
She and Liu Anran even lived in the same “nest” and slept in the same bed. Even Gou Yu and Xiaoniao, who lived together, probably didn’t have that.
She truly couldn’t stand the thought of Liu Anran leaving her, and it truly had to be him.
Could it be that she actually liked Liu Anran?
“Bullshit!”
Liu Xie suddenly spoke up, her voice tinged with panic. “In… anyway, I can’t accept this right away.”
“I’m not asking you to accept it immediately. It doesn’t matter if you see me as a pursuer or as your brother; when the time comes, I will naturally be with you as your partner.”
His words carried a hint of overbearing dominance.
Liu Xie had never imagined that her brother could act like a domineering CEO.
“You’re pretty arrogant, aren’t you? I won’t be taken down that easily.”
“If I can’t win you over, I’ll just cook the raw rice into a meal and let feelings grow over time.”
“You’re actually a bit dark inside.” Liu Xie shrank away from Liu Anran.
Creepy.