Chapter 296: A moth to a flame
If there was a bystander here, that person would actually be able to see things very clearly.
Li Wan'er might be unable to see this so clearly herself. Still, she had actually already been mentally prepared, even having hoped…she had hoped that Xu Tingsheng would ask nothing, would simply force her like he had back then, pressing her against the wall. She would give up on resisting and accept it, thereby being able to console herself in thinking that she had had 'no choice' but to accept it.
Yet, Xu Tingsheng had not done anything at all this time.
Li Wan'er took a bath and changed her clothes.
She actually felt rather perturbed even taking a bath in the bathroom where he had just changed the lights. It felt just like he was standing there looking at her, the light being his gaze. This being so, how was she to manage when he was gone? Smash this light into ruination?
Li Wan'er intended to do an even more difficult thing.
Her cousin had taught and persuaded her on this before, tried to convince her many times…she had said that this was her only chance of success.
Despite having thought about it before, she had thought that she would definitely never actually do it.
Throughout Li Wan'er's entire life, apart from the matter of her factory that Xu Tingsheng had instructed her on, she had virtually never faced and dealt with any matters by scheming and calculating the benefits and detriments before…
She had also never tried to fight for anything for herself before…
Otherwise, she would not have been so helpless against the wedding that her father had arranged for her back then, giving in in the end despite her unwillingness.
People always say that women in love are silly. Actually, the 'intelligence' that a woman possesses is displayed in full when she wants to conquer a man, even if she still looks very silly.
Li Wan'er's 'schemes' looked very silly indeed.
"If we had a child…cousin's right. He may have more than just a single woman right now, but he definitely still doesn't have a child…if I had a child, his first child, I might win then. I don't want to be a lover…I want to fight for it, I want to win."
When they had been shopping earlier, there had been several times during which Li Wan'er had been talking to the store owners when she had seen Xu Tingsheng teasing those beautiful little kids of a foreign land. He had been smiling throughout with the most childish expressions and actions, so warmly and so into it as well…
She did not know why Xu Tingsheng liked kids so much, because she didn't know that he was actually a 32-year-old man at heart. Men at this age often yearned more for such warmth. This wasn't important, though. Just knowing that he liked kids…was already enough.
"I will give him a most beautiful child…he's so good-looking, I'm good-looking too…that way, he won't be able to leave."
In another time, another place, such a thought might leave Li Wan'er feeling totally mortified. 31 years old and a divorcee, a woman who was used to living a mild, simple life, she still wanted to fight for a man with a method that was destined to be viewed scornfully by others.
Yet, Li Wan'er could not care for so much at this moment.
She put on some light, intricate makeup, bundled up her hair and let it down again, let it down and bundled it up again, before finally she chose to…cousin said it. I can't compete with others in terms of youthfulness. I have to compete in terms of charm and flair.
……
All her preparations, mental or otherwise, were instantly dispelled right as Xu Tingsheng opened the door.
Only an unwavering resolution remained.
In the two hours after having returned to his hotel room, Xu Tingsheng had actually been in a relatively complex yet unexplainable mood. Then, the doorbell rang, and opening the door, Li Wan'er stood outside.
She was beautiful in the first place. After specially dressing up, she looked even more stunning.
"You…" Xu Tingsheng said.
"Me," Li Wan'er said, "I'm here from the workshop. I originally wanted to make you another suit, but there wasn't time. I also thought of making a vest for you, but you seem to have mentioned not liking those before…I made you a scarf."
Li Wan'er held out a scarf to Xu Tingsheng as if proving what she said to be true.
"The weather's getting cold. Suits with scarfs aren't good to choose, and also aren't good to match. Really, scarfs don't match easily with suits. So I made you one. You, you wanna try?"
Xu Tingsheng had already changed into his pyjamas.
He said, "Alright, I'll go change into my suit then."
He turned away.
Li Wan'er grabbed a corner of his pyjamas from behind him.
"What's the matter?" Xu Tingsheng asked.
She entered and latched the door before telling him softly, "Actually, it's not that. Actually, I didn't come here to give you the scarf. I already finished the scarf some time before this, and it does fit you, but…I actually didn't come here to give you the scarf."
Xu Tingsheng looked at her.
Li Wan'er raised her head and looked into his eyes, biting her lips as she reached out and took off her hairpin, lightly tossing her long hair which descended and flowed down like cascades…
Xu Tingsheng had to admit that this simple action possessed so much flair as it was performed by Li Wan'er, affecting one's mind so…
Li Wan'er flung her hairpin aside. She had once worn it in order to guard against him. Now, this action of throwing it away represented her having given up all form of resistance.
Shyness, embarrassment, inner conflict, maybe even humiliation…
Li Wan'er was currently doing something that was incomparably difficult for her. She shed tears even as she began undoing her clothes, her hands trembling somewhat such that she was just unable to undo her buttons.
"Why does it seem like I'm forcing her to do something?"
Feeling rather at a loss as to what was going on, Xu Tingsheng went forward and grabbed Li Wan'er's hands before asking concernedly, "What's the matter with you?"
Li Wan'er stubbornly wrenched her hands away from his, continuing to undo the buttons of her jacket as she sobbed, saying in a voice that was close to breathing, "I love you, Xu Tingsheng…you can bully me, however you want…"
This felt just like a perfect, untainted angel was saying, "Your wish is my command."
Li Wan'er reached out rather stiffly and grabbed Xu Tingsheng's clothes by his chest, pulling him over to the side of the bed…
All this had been taught to her by her cousin, how to bewitch him in that unique, charming flair. It was just that she was so clumsy as she did it now…
There was actually another sort of flair here.
The windbreaker which had still been tightly wrapped around her a moment ago slid down to the ground. Then…her silk shirt was removed, thrown to the side.
There was still another set of clothes inside. Her cousin had bought it for her. These clothes…they were flimsy as a cicada's wings as everything could be seen within. However, it was also like they couldn't exactly be seen…this sort of feeling was enough to leave any man feeling crazed.
Xu Tingsheng already resembled a block of wood at this point.
Li Wan'er's courage was also in the midst of slowly fading away.
"Do I look nice?" She mustered up the last of her courage and asked him.
Xu Tingsheng nodded numbly. She…how did she just look nice.
"Bully me, Xu Tingsheng, just like you want to…however you want."
Then, she cried out and buried herself entirely in Xu Tingsheng's embrace.
She took his hands and placed one of them in between them, the other behind her…
She was shivering in her entirety.
Xu Tingsheng could feel her hot breaths on his chest. Her long neck wound around his chest like a snake. She raised her head, bringing her dark red lips to the tip of his ear, "Where we stopped back then…let's go on from there. I won't say anything silly again. I love you, I'm willing…I want you."
The moth was currently lunging into the flame without reservation.