Chapter 45 — Title below

"Are you rejecting me?" She really couldn't follow Qin Jiran's train of thought, but she decided to give him an opportunity to explain himself.

If it were someone else who dared to talk to her in the manner he had, she definitely wouldn't have reacted with so much patience.

Her question left a bitter taste in both the man's mouth and in his heart.

Reject Yanyi? Heaven knew how much he wanted her, and how much he wanted to make her his real wife and lover!

But he couldn't. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't. Not under these circumstances. Right now, Yanyi was clearly just trying to fulfill a wife's obligations, and if he agreed, then he would be no different from a beast. He didn't want that.

To him, love was more important than marriage; marriage was a formality, a responsibility and an obligation, and even a kind of constraint in many cases. Of course, it was also a testimony of love, but that was obviously not the case for him and Su Yanyi.

He was already very satisfied with her willingness to try and be with him. As for the so-called obligations between a husband and a wife, he would never pressure her to fulfill them.

"Unless you really love me, you don't have to force yourself to do anything of that!" Qin Jiran couldn't say he didn't want to do it because he did want to do it, but that didn't mean he was going to do it.

Su Yanyi was completely caught off-guard by his explanation, because in her mind, men were not this principled. Not to mention, she had practically offered herself to him.

Stupid man!

Realizing that he had been holding himself back this entire time caused all of her anger to dissipate, and internally, she sighed. If she still insisted on being mad at him after knowing this, then she would be an idiot.

Even with her low EQ, Su Yanyi could tell that he was looking out for her. As he said, she still wasn't sure if she loved him or not.

What was love? She had never given it any serious thought. Since her rebirth, her focus had always been on protecting him and giving him a good life, so loving him was not on her mind as much. However, it appeared that to Qin Jiran, love took precedence. Since he cared about it so much, should she also try to care about it a bit more?

Su Yanyi carefully studied him.

The man was very attractive, with dashing brows and dazzling eyes. He was pursued and admired by countless fans, which he owed to both his talent and looks.

The man boasted a great figure —which she had managed to glimpse not too long ago— that was packed with muscles and was perfectly aesthetic. His figure was capable of making several people drool, including herself.

The man had a personality that matched hers. Like her, he was relatively calm and quiet but also independent. It was easy to talk to him. Most of the time, their topics revolved around work, but she found their conversations relaxing rather than boring.

The man cooked delicious food that always made her feel at home. Because of him, she was no longer inclined to eat out.

The man possessed a benevolent heart. He was fond of small animals and could take care of even that annoying little tortoise well.

The way the tips of his ears would turn red when he was embarrassed was a little endearing. He was also surprisingly principled.

The more she thought about it, the better he seemed, but even so, she couldn't confirm her feelings for him.

"You're a pretty good man," she said truthfully.

That filled Qin Jiran with determination and anticipation, as well as a sliver of disappointment. He wasn't sure if she was just saying that to be nice, but at least it wasn't a direct rejection. Maybe he should be satisfied with this much?

No.

Qin Jiran clenched his fists as he made up his mind. It was impromptu, but he decided that he was going to be bold and take advantage of this opportunity to let Yanyi know about his feelings for her!

"Yanyi, I like you. Since you don't hate me, can you give me a chance to pursue you?"

He didn't know a lot of sugary words. This confession, he gave in a trembling voice, and because he was afraid she would scorn him, he didn't even dare use the word "love."

His confession was a bit sudden and threw Su Yanyi off for a moment, but soon, her mind went on overdrive.

Wasn't this his first official confession and also his first time saying he wanted to pursue her?

Right. All the other times he told her he liked her, she was in a vegetative state. When she was in perfect health, he would act like a block of wood. Because looking at him made her unhappy, he would silently stay away from her.

In this life, even though they shared a closer relationship, the most he had done was make her food. He didn't try to pursue her at all.

But then again, if she were the previous Su Yanyi, then she would most likely be utterly disgusted by his attempts.

"How will you pursue me?"

It must be mentioned that Su Yanyi wasn't new to having suitors, but this was the first time she felt curious and expectant towards being pursued. She wanted to see this new side of Qin Jiran.

The question stunned him; he hadn't expected her to agree so easily. It made him feel like a pie had fallen from the sky and hit him in the head.

"I, I don't have a plan yet, but I'll definitely treat you well. Very well," he replied clumsily yet resolutely.

He really didn't have a plan yet, and he didn't have any experience with pursuing someone either. However, he knew what the basis was, and he made sure to mention it.

"I'll be waiting for it then!"

VIN: Yep, the countdown was for the confession. And the chapter is titled Confession. It seems that we still have a looong way to go though, SYY is still confused about her feelings. With this, we are 1/4 into the novel.

RELEASE SCHEDULE: 1x a week, 3x every other week.