Jian Liangtong’s entire face froze, she looked at Huo Shaojun with a glimmer of hope and cautiously asked, "What did you just say? I didn’t hear clearly."

Huo Shaojun stared at her stiff face and said word by word, "I said, this money, you pay."

"Why? Why should I pay?" Jian Liangtong flared up, her face flushed as she stared at Huo Shaojun, trying hard to stay rational, "Why don’t you pay? It was you and me who got photographed, do you feel comfortable making me pay alone?"

"It also makes sense what you’re saying, definitely shouldn’t make you pay alone." Huo Shaojun nodded in agreement, "How about this, we each pay half."

"I don’t have money!" Jian Liangtong said with her neck stiffened, sounding particularly righteous.

"Then we’ll just have to let them expose it." Huo Shaojun said, standing up and walking towards the door.

Jian Liangtong was dumbfounded, staring at his back with wide eyes, "You, what are you doing?"

Huo Shaojun didn’t look back, "Of course, telling them the deal didn’t go through. The photos that were taken, let them handle it as they please."

"..."

Jian Liangtong’s face turned blue, seeing his hand already reaching towards the door handle, Jian Liangtong hardened her heart and said, "Wait up!"

Huo Shaojun paused his action, turned back to look at her.

Jian Liangtong glared at him with a darkened face, her tone particularly reluctant, "You, you come over here first, let’s negotiate again."

Huo Shaojun’s icy eyes flashed slightly, yet he obediently walked back.

Jian Liangtong gritted her teeth, looking at Huo Shaojun with a face like she was being squeezed dry, "We each pay half."

Huo Shaojun stared at her.

Jian Liangtong was furious, "I’ve agreed to pay half with you, what are you still staring at me for?"

Huo Shaojun’s eye twitched briefly, he spat out two words from his thin lips, "Get the money."

"..." Jian Liangtong’s stiff neck instantly shrank, her bright little face passed over embarrassment, her voice lowering several degrees, "I, I don’t have that much."

"So." Huo Shaojun sneered, "Are you joking with me now?"

"I’m not!" Jian Liangtong irritably grabbed her hair, looking at him with big troubled eyes, "I really don’t have that much now. I just started working; my monthly salary barely supports myself without burdening my family, where would I have extra money? Can you help me with an advance? I’ll write you an IOU and pay you back when I earn more in the future, okay?"

"No!" Huo Shaojun refused straightforwardly.

Jian Liangtong’s face flushed red to purple, both embarrassed and without ground, angrily staring at him, "I’m not borrowing without paying back, is it necessary to refuse so completely without even thinking about it?"

Huo Shaojun looked at Jian Liangtong’s face, embarrassed to the extreme, his eyes slightly contracted, he lightly parted his lips, "Not entirely."

Jian Liangtong was stunned, "...What does that mean?"

Not entirely, meaning he might still lend her the money, is that it?

Huo Shaojun looked at her glowing eyes, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but twitch upwards, his long brows relaxed, and he sat down beside her.

"What did you mean by that?" As soon as he sat down, Jian Liangtong couldn’t wait to ask while staring at him.

Huo Shaojun lightly swept his cold eyes at her, "Remember the deal I mentioned before?"

Deal?

Jian Liangtong’s brows twitched, her little face faintly dropped, her voice also mellowed significantly, "I said I wouldn’t use marriage in a deal."

Huo Shaojun nodded, "So this time I didn’t plan to make you agree to marry me immediately."

Not planning to make her agree immediately, meaning he hadn’t completely given up on the idea.

This realization made Jian Liangtong frown, "If you’re willing to lend me money, I’ll repay you slowly. I would be very grateful, of course. If you don’t want to take the risk and lend me so much money, I won’t blame you for being stingy. After all, you worked hard for your wealth, and it has nothing to do with me."

How come her words sounded so contradictory?

Could he interpret that she meant: You’re so rich, yet so stingy; wouldn’t it be fine if you paid the three million alone?

Huo Shaojun lightly pressed the corner of his eyes, silent for a while, then spoke, "I haven’t said anything yet, and you’re refusing. Doesn’t that seem a bit too hasty?"

Jian Liangtong pursed her lips, glancing at him oddly, "You just want me to agree to marry you, right?"

Seeing Huo Shaojun’s long brows slightly raised, Jian Liangtong squinted her eyes immediately, shifted her tone, "Isn’t it that?"

"You’ve said many times you wouldn’t joke with your marriage or use it as a wager, I understood your meaning. So this time, I’m not asking you to agree to marry me, but instead..."

Huo Shaojun paused abruptly.

Jian Liangtong anxiously stared at him, "Say it, but what?"

"Not marriage, agree to be my woman." Huo Shaojun said.

"..." Damn, isn’t he messing with her?

Jian Liangtong looked at Huo Shaojun incredulously, very curious about what was in his brain.

Getting married, what’s the difference from being his woman?

Is it okay to change tactics without changing the essence?

She’ll fall for that?! Haha!

Jian Liangtong threw a "cold" look at Huo Shaojun.

"You disagree?" Huo Shaojun frowned, looking as if Jian Liangtong’s disagreement was beyond his expectations.

Jian Liangtong almost laughed out loud, "Huo the King, I won’t deny you’re really handsome, so handsome it’s earth-shattering, unprecedented and unrepeatable. But why do you think that if you say you want me to be your woman, I have to agree? I’m not a shallow woman who only cares about looks, okay?"

"..." Huo Shaojun’s mouth twitched, "You’re not?"

"Of course, I’m not!" Jian Liangtong declared righteously.

"Then who just came over to kiss me voluntarily?" Huo Shaojun squinted his eyes and coldly stared at Jian Liangtong.

Jian Liangtong choked hard, her confidence plummeting, arching her back as she sensibly covered her mouth without speaking.

Huo Shaojun stretched his handsome face into a cold snort, "Give me a straight answer, will you agree or not?"

Jian Liangtong’s eyes widened, who talks like that?

"...What does being your woman require?" Jian Liangtong swallowed hard and asked in a low voice.

Huo Shaojun looked her over from head to toe, "Being my woman doesn’t require much, just stay quiet and be my decorative vase."

"A vase, huh?" Jian Liangtong didn’t feel that the word "vase" was derogatory; after all, being a vase in this world isn’t easy.

Moreover, she had confidence in her looks, so she straightened her back again, confidently looking at Huo Shaojun, saying, "I can."

Huo Shaojun watched her with a face full of "I’m proud to be a vase," and laughed despite himself, heavily ruffling her hair, "Idiot!"

"Why are you messing up my hair again? You’re knotting it up! So annoying!" Jian Liangtong blushed, pushing his big hand away in annoyance, grumbling.

Huo Shaojun lightly frowned, lowered his hand, and watched her attentively as she smoothed her hair; then, seeing her embarrassed face, he couldn’t help but gently smile.

Jian Liangtong only felt her cheeks getting hotter, the air around them seemingly charged with a subtle ambiguity.

"So, you’re agreeing to my proposal?" Huo Shaojun looked at her and asked.

"...Do we need to sign an agreement?" Jian Liangtong hadn’t spoken for a while, and when she did, her voice inexplicably carried a trace of cautious exploration and shyness.

"Do you want an agreement with me?" Huo Shaojun asked softly, gazing at her.

Jian Liangtong touched her cheek, which seemed ready to catch fire any second, bravely looked him in the eye, and shook her head.

Huo Shaojun’s eyes seemed to flash with a hint of relief, and he gazed softly at Jian Liangtong, a gentle smile playing on his lips as he said, "Then it won’t be an agreement."

Jian Liangtong’s heart suddenly raced erratically, her big eyes filled with both anticipation and timidity as she stared at him.

Huo Shaojun reached out his long arm, brushing past Jian Liangtong’s flushed ear lobe, hooking around her neck from behind, pulling her toward him, his clean thin lips gently covering hers, "So, from now on, you are my woman, and this is... the seal!"

When Jian Liangtong was discharged from the hospital, Guan Yu and Bai Qiao were responsible for clearing the path ahead and diverting the reporters.

Huo Shaojun and Jian Liangtong walked grandly out from the hospital’s main entrance and sat into the car Guan Yu had arranged in advance.

"Don’t go to the set for the next few days; I’ll take you where I live, okay?" Huo Shaojun spoke while driving, glancing at Jian Liangtong through the rearview mirror, his voice inexplicably gentler than before.

Jian Liangtong seemed a bit dazed, appearing particularly out of it.

After Huo Shaojun finished speaking, she still didn’t react.

After a while without hearing her speak, Huo Shaojun’s brows furrowed slightly, and he kept watching her through the rearview mirror for a long time without saying anything further, and directly drove to the apartment.

When the car reached in front of the apartment building, Huo Shaojun looked at the little woman leaning against the car seat, her eyes fixed on the car’s hood, and pressed his lips together without speaking immediately.

About seven or eight minutes passed, and Jian Liangtong, as if in a trance, still maintained her initial posture, staring unblinkingly ahead, as if there was something particularly captivating before her.

But there was nothing in front of the car!

Huo Shaojun’s eyes narrowed more tightly, quietly speaking as he watched her, "We’re here."

Jian Liangtong didn’t react.

Huo Shaojun deeply furrowed his brows, again looking at her for a long time, extending his hand to cover hers on her lap.

Jian Liangtong, as if startled awake from a dream, gasped and turned to look at Huo Shaojun with wide eyes, "What’s wrong?"

Huo Shaojun tightened his grip on her hand, looking deeply at her, "I said we’re here."

"Oh." Jian Liangtong nodded, moving her hand to unbuckle the seat belt, only to realize her hand was tightly held in his palm.

Her face heating up, Jian Liangtong gently bit her lip, slowly turning to look at Huo Shaojun.

Huo Shaojun’s thumb lightly pressed and rubbed a few times on the back of her hand, suddenly leaning forward to unbuckle her seatbelt, scooping up her slender waist to lift her directly onto his lap.

Jian Liangtong’s big eyes showed clear signs of confusion and panic, but she didn’t struggle, holding her breath, carefully watching Huo Shaojun.

Huo Shaojun relaxed back into the seat, patiently watching Jian Liangtong’s tense and unrelaxed face for a while before speaking unhurriedly, "Before you were discharged, you already looked preoccupied and absent-minded. Upon leaving the hospital, getting into the car, and all the way here, it’s even more so; you not only didn’t speak, you didn’t hear what I said either. So, why? What are you thinking about?"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com