Chapter Fifty-Seven: Say You Want Me

Mai Xijun stubbornly turned her head away, refusing to look at him, and even more so refusing to see what was already trailing from his fingers. Yet Shen Yanlie was just as resolute and unyielding as she was; he gripped her chin tightly, forcing her to meet his gaze, to see the proof she needed from him.

"I only want you to see yourself clearly. It's not for you to please me, it's because you need me!" Shen Yanlie tugged hard at Mai Xijun’s hair, making her wince in pain until she had no choice but to look at him.

At that moment, a piercing coldness burst forth from Mai Xijun’s eyes. Never before had she regarded anyone or anything with such a gaze, such a look.

But Shen Yanlie did not relent. The more certain he became of that twisted notion within him, the more determined he was to keep her by his side... He wanted her to stay, no matter the method!

"Be my woman. Stay with me!"

She still kept her eyelids half-lowered, staring at him defiantly, unafraid. After he spoke, he kissed her again, fiercely, in a way that brooked no resistance—like an invasion, yet lingering and profound.

Mai Xijun clenched her teeth, refusing to let Shen Yanlie claim her. She simply couldn’t, never could be the person trailing behind him without regret or complaint. If there was ever a possibility, she wanted to be the only one. But he would never offer her that place.

He stood above all, like a king commanding the wind and rain. So many women longed for him, and he was naturally wild and untamed—like a wolf roaming the Mexican jungle, poised and elegant, yet never to be caged, and never willing to give up his entire forest for a single prey.

His nature made him who he was, and she could never change him, nor even hope to.

"Mm..." Mai Xijun was kissed until nearly breathless, shaking her head in resistance. Yet Shen Yanlie’s kisses grew ever more fervent, almost violent.

No matter how much her heart ached now, or how dead it felt, nothing could change the fact that his invasion was a torment to her—a torment both of mind and body.

She had just been abandoned by a man, forced to taste the bitterness of being cast aside, and he already had a fiancée. So even more, she could not, would not become a wicked woman! Not even for loveless entanglement.

Shen Yanlie’s relentless kisses seared Mai Xijun’s skin, as if his tactics had shifted; for the moment, he no longer sought to breach her lips, but had found another way to make her yield.

His hand slid from her abdomen downward, the warmth and slight roughness of his palm brushing against her, sending tremors through her body. She wanted to escape, yet found herself yielding all the more. Suddenly, she was lifted off the bed, his body withdrawing, leaving her legs weak and defenseless as she fell from him.

Mai Xijun tried to kick him, but when such a rebellious man decided to act, she had no room to resist. His nature would never allow anything near him to slip out of his control.

Shen Yanlie abruptly turned and switched on the bedside lamp. In that instant, their exposed bodies heated the air, igniting a blaze of desire in the room.

"I’ll show you the evidence that you need me!"

He spoke, and with one hand, he pinned her wrists behind her back, making her uncomfortable and sore, while he began his assault.

His face, playful and wicked, faded from her view. On that night in Venice, he had possessed her not just once, yet never kissed her lips. Perhaps now she understood—everything was crystal clear.

Because he already had a woman, and that woman was his fiancée.

Yet why, after returning home, did he have to disrupt her life? Couldn’t he just climb over the wall? Wasn’t he resourceful enough? He even had a specially made key to her house—what was the need? He could have simply taken his necklace. If he felt guilty, if he felt grateful, he could have left a stack of bills when retrieving his things. She would have said she didn’t mind. But instead, he appeared at every moment when she was at her worst, whenever she needed someone to lift her chin and straighten her spine, he was there before her...

This invisible dependence, time and again, elevated her pride to its peak, yet now, in just a few words, he had torn her down, casting her from the clouds into the abyss.

His thick, dark hair brushed against the inside of her thigh, sending a shiver she could not suppress. A warm current passed over her abdomen, her toes curled unconsciously, clutching the milky white sheets. The room was awash in sensuality.

He traced her most delicate places with his tongue, gently, thoroughly, inch by inch.

Yet Mai Xijun’s expression ran counter to the sensations of her body—the pleasure and the indescribable ethereality were met with extreme pain on her face, her brows tightly knitted, and inside her it felt as if thousands of tiny ants were biting and gnawing at her.

She tried to resist, squeezing her thighs together, which only made her seem more desperate for release. But she could not truly abandon all restraint—that would only seem like she was catering to him, or as he might say, playing hard to get.

No matter what she did now, it all felt awkward. The torment of both body and mind left her lost, unable to choose between rejection and acceptance.

"Mm..." Mai Xijun couldn’t help but let out a soft moan, brief though it was, as she bit her lower lip fiercely, her body flushed and burning, skin as smooth as jade now tinged with cherry blossom pink.

Yet every movement, every physical reaction shamed her, made her want to hide herself away. When he suddenly withdrew, her body felt a sudden emptiness.

"Say you want me!" Shen Yanlie lifted his head, a glimmer of something shining at the corner of his mouth, but now Mai Xijun was sobbing, as if caught between laughter and tears. The more one tries to hide, the harder it becomes to suppress.

"Shen Yanlie, if you’ve got the guts, just kill me!"

Her broken laughter and sobs were quiet, as Shen Yanlie towered over her, watching every expression. Now she was like a child who had received a sweet but must pay the price, utterly at a loss. The words she uttered were full of hate, yet so pitiful they stirred tenderness.

All she wished was for him not to humiliate her any further! The tangled interplay of her body’s reactions and her mind’s confusion drew her in and pushed her away, tormenting her—a violation not only of body but also of spirit and dignity.