"So, Miss Nian is coming here then?" Hui Yin asked nonchalantly, blinking her eyes at him.

Lu Shen, who was still in a bad mood, said coldly, "Weren't you the one who asked her to come?"

"Mmm." Hui Yin nodded, ignoring his tone. "Lu Shen, maybe I should tell you something. I don't think you know."

Lu Shen propped his hip against the edge of the kitchen table and looked at her.

"You see, it's a girl's intuition. Miss Nian is your closest friend, and she really wants you to be happy."

Hui Yin gave him her most serious look.

"I think she knows that we're fighting and that we really don't like each other. Well...I don't like it much either, but we should probably act like a loving couple in front of Miss Nian. I don't want her to be sad."

Hui Yin felt quite proud of herself. Under the pretense of making Nian Zhen 'happy', she could make Lu Shen miserable by seeing his loved one watching him being lovey-dovey with another woman, while at the same time feeding Nian Zhen with dog food and a lovely drink of vinegar. It was ingenious.

It was one of the reasons why Hui Yin wasn't really on a hurry to break the engagement. Why should she allow these two people that hurt her the most to easily get their happily ever after? She should at least let them have a taste of their own medicine.

Lu Shen's face was like a carve of ice. A slow smile spread across his lips, but it was devoid of warmth. Hui Yin was too busy congratulating herself that she didn't notice the malevolent aura that was starting to condense around the man in front of her.

Lu Shen watched her, his eyes nearly inky black.

"...we really don't like each other..."

"I don't like it much either..."

Her words echoed again and again inside his mind, until he felt like he was about to suffocate. Anger flared up inside his chest, his control teetering as he wanted to lash out.

She didn't care about him at all. Her every word stabbed him like a knife. It hurt and it made him furious.

Just what had he done to deserve this? Time and time again, every time he came close to her, she pushed him away. He fulfilled his promise to her and made her his fiancée. He introduced her to his family and his friends. He never entertained any other girl aside from her. In fact, even his own constant pursuit of this girl scared him.

But always, each and every time he tried, she ran away from him.

Hui Yin finally noticed that something was wrong. She knitted her eyebrows. "Are you alright?"

She remembered that he told Nian Zhen earlier that he wasn't sick. Why would he say that? Did he get sick before? Was he having a relapse?

Lu Shen stared at her, his eyes barely concealing his emotions. Hui Yin stared back at him, wondering if she should brew some rice congee.

It wouldn't be good if he died under her watch.

After a moment of silence, Lu Shen spoke.

"Do you hate me?"