Out of Control: Into Your Everything-Chapter 143: Love Rises with the Wind

Julian Ford’s calm gaze remained fixed ahead, his side profile falling into Scarlett Shaw’s line of sight—perfectly defined features, a high, straight nose, and beautifully shaped lips.

That cold, austere face, surprisingly, seemed tinged with softness.

Scarlett looked away; sunlight broke through the leaves outside the window, shining into her amber eyes, glimmering with light.

Clearly, she should have the upper hand right now, and she’d only made a casual joke—but this man in front of her, how was it that he always had the power to make her heart race uncontrollably?

The hand tightly held in his, in the end, still hadn’t managed to pull free.

And as for the little gestures between Scarlett and Julian, the others didn’t notice, but Ryan Ford, just an aisle away, saw everything clear as day.

In his heart, a stampede of a thousand curses blazed by.

Ryan really was suffocating with frustration, feeling these two were utterly over the top.

He had thought that Scarlett and Julian used to hide things from him at least out of respect for his feelings, but now with everything out in the open, that brazen attitude—where was the slightest trace of consideration for how he felt?

Ryan was bitter, but had nowhere to let it out.

It wasn’t until the coach pulled up at the foot of the mountain campsite that he finally found a chance to talk with Scarlett alone, asking, "Scarlett, don’t you have anything you want to say to me?"

Scarlett was hiking up the mountain with her backpack, earnest, and paused at his words. "What do I need to say to you?"

Ryan’s expression was sorrowful. "You and my brother..."

"Wasn’t that after you and I broke up?" Scarlett looked genuinely puzzled. "We’ve all gone our separate ways—what’s there to talk about?"

Ryan: "But you two won’t last."

"True."

Scarlett agreed quite sincerely.

"Didn’t you hear that night? My relationship with Julian Ford has been shaky for a while."

"Who said that?" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

A cool, chilling aura rose from behind as Julian came up beside Scarlett, looking at Ryan with a detached, commanding tone. "Go do your own thing."

Ryan: "..."

Seeing Ryan hang his head like a dejected puppy that had just been abandoned, Scarlett was actually a little surprised. In her imagination, Ryan should be way angrier than this.

Julian glanced down, noticing Scarlett’s gaze still lingering on Ryan’s back, and said, voice slightly frosty, "Still looking at him?"

Scarlett asked curiously, "Why does Ryan listen to you so much? Didn’t you two just have a dance battle?"

Julian: "Dance battle?"

Scarlett: "A fight."

Julian thought for a second, then said, "Add me back on WhatsApp and give me your number, then I’ll tell you."

"Forget it."

She wasn’t that eager to know anyway.

On the hike up, Scarlett’s steps were a bit smaller, and Julian deliberately slowed down to keep pace with her. Though they didn’t do anything conspicuously intimate, their elbows brushed occasionally. Not wanting to be seen, Scarlett quickly pulled away.

Julian noticed and remained as cool as ever. "So, it seems you’re not too keen on letting others know about us."

Scarlett: "That’s right. I’ve thought it through. We’re gonna break up anyway, so the fewer people know, the less trouble for me down the road."

Hearing the word "break up," Julian frowned.

Scarlett kept climbing, not looking at him, continuing, "You helped pay off my debt, and that apartment—what was that about? You want to be my creditor and hold it over me for life?"

"No IOU, no loan contract. What kind of creditor does that make me?"

The mountain path narrowed up ahead. Julian unobtrusively fell in behind Scarlett, keeping an eye on the ground under her feet for obstacles.

At her last remark, he gave her an extra glance, then added, "Although, being your lifelong creditor actually sounds pretty good. I wouldn’t mind drawing up a debt contract after all."

Scarlett paused for a step, then quickly recovered, acting indifferent as she kept walking, "Don’t think you can buy me off with RMB—I have principles."

Even if she’d already secretly surrendered, she couldn’t admit it that easily.

"Both of those things—I’d already sorted them out before we even argued,"

Julian spoke in his unhurried voice behind her.

"For me, these were just minor things, no big deal. I wouldn’t use something that easy for me as some lazy way to brush aside the things I’ve done that hurt you."

His voice was low and clear, calm but serious.

Scarlett walked on ahead, heart pounding fiercely—not sure if it was from the climb, or Julian’s words.

"So how do you plan to make it right?"

she asked softly.

Julian was silent for a moment. "I don’t know."

Scarlett was taken aback.

She didn’t know if she was overthinking things, or just liked him too much—always too soft-hearted—but though Julian’s answer offered no certainty, for the first time, she heard a trace of helplessness in his usually cool and steady voice.

It was just like that day, outside his office, when she heard Aaron Carson say "no contact."

When you care, you become careful.

Emotions Scarlett thought Julian Ford could never display seemed, in this moment, to become completely, undeniably real.

Lost in these thoughts, Scarlett missed a patch of moss beneath her feet.

She stumbled, but a steady arm from behind caught her at the waist.

Looking up, she fell right into another whirlpool altogether.

Julian steadied her, raising an eyebrow as he said lightly, "So, you’re really not satisfied with my answer."

"No, I’m not."

Scarlett gave him a look, regained her footing, and put some distance between them again.

Julian’s gaze dropped to her pure, fair face, the curve of his pretty lips barely moving, but before he could speak, Scarlett cut in, "But honestly? I’d rather hear the truth than anything sweet."

His eyes darkened slightly. "Why’s that?"

"Because this way, I get to know the real you. And I don’t have to just rely on hormones or fleeting attraction to keep us together."

A light spring breeze stirred in the mountains, making the air especially pleasant. Scarlett wore her hair in a simple bun, her clean, clear face shining soft and bright under the dappled sunlight among the trees.

Love rose quietly in the wind.

All his life, Julian Ford had never lost at anything, but in this moment, the first thing that came to his mind was:

It seemed he had, finally and entirely, lost to her.

Silence wandered gently between them, but the air was anything but cold.

There were plenty of people passing on the mountain road, and their colleagues weren’t far behind.

Scarlett tried to pull herself back from her emotions, but once again, Julian grabbed her hand.

She glared at him reflexively, "Don’t you dare make a scene!"

He looked at her intently—with no hint of impropriety or flirtation—just asking seriously, "Can I hold you now?"

Scarlett was dazed for a moment.

Even dressed down and out of his suit, Julian, with those flawlessly striking features, remained cold and intimidating to everyone else.

But right now, in front of Scarlett, that hard shell he wore so tightly had been gently stripped away by just a few words from her; all the sharp edges, the cool distance, nowhere to be found.

All that was left in his eyes was softness.

Around him, Scarlett’s feelings always outweighed her logic.

So even knowing their colleagues were just a short distance behind,

Scarlett still couldn’t help herself—she wrapped her arms around Julian Ford, without a care.