"Who cares if you went out or not?" Ye Haoxuan glared at her with irritation. Was a bird more important than him?

He stuffed the bowl back in her hand and turned to leave.

"Hey!"

Li Luru scratched her head, wondering why he was so temperamental.

Hadn’t she already explained?

She thought for a moment, set the bowl aside, and hurried after him. It was late at night, and she couldn’t see his expression clearly. She tugged at his sleeve, "Hey, don’t be mad. I know you’re worried about me. I heard it all from Xiaoyuan. I really didn’t mean to. Xiaobai was acting strange all day yesterday, and I was afraid something would happen..."

"Besides, it was late at night, and you were surely asleep. Even if there was time, it wouldn’t be right to knock on your door and wake you up, right?"

"Talk is talk, but don’t be all touchy-feely." Ye Haoxuan pulled at his sleeve forcefully.

"Oh my..."

He pulled harder than intended, causing Li Luru to step on a stone and lose her balance, falling to the side.

Seeing this, Ye Haoxuan quickly grabbed her, pulling her into his arms, "How can you be so clumsy? You can’t even walk properly, yet you go out alone at night? If you run into kidnappers and get sold, you’ll have nowhere to cry."

Hearing this, Li Luru secretly smiled. It seemed he wasn’t angry anymore.

"How could that happen? Xiaobai’s with me. If we run into kidnappers, Xiaobai would definitely gouge out their eyes." She thought for a moment before adding, "But the next time something like this happens, I’ll definitely tell you, and preferably take you along. Oh my, outside the city I felt like the ground was spinning, and when I got into the city, I almost couldn’t tell which way was which. I thought you were buried inside. Though you say some nasty things, but..."

"Ugh..." Mid-rant, Li Luru suddenly widened her eyes, standing frozen as she felt the coolness on her lips.

In the night, Ye Haoxuan saw her dazed eyes and a hint of mirth appeared in his gaze. Mischievously, he nibbled her, the pain jolting Li Luru back to reality.

"Ah..." She suddenly pushed away the person holding her. "You, how dare you take advantage of me?"

"Why wouldn’t I dare?" Ye Haoxuan looked at her leisurely, "It’s not like I haven’t before."

"How can that be the same?" Li Luru’s eyes widened; such intimate acts shouldn’t be done casually.

"What’s the difference?" Ye Haoxuan pulled her closer, "Don’t worry, stick with me, I won’t treat you badly."

Is this a promise? Or a confession? Li Luru felt her heart flutter.

Seeing her silent, Ye Haoxuan thought she didn’t understand his meaning, so he said again, "Though you’re a bit clumsy, a bit silly, but I’m magnanimous and don’t mind your flaws. After this, I’ll take you in."

"No way!" Li Luru shook her head without thinking.

"Why?"

"You’ve been to a brothel." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

She doesn’t want any entanglement with a man who’s visited a brothel, and besides, they’re not well-matched.

Okay, Li Luru had to admit one fact: these days of interaction, though they bickered and teased each other, she undeniably started liking this handsome and noble man.

But regardless, she never thought of anything serious with him.

She’s still very realistic, knowing that families like theirs typically merge through marriage, but the Li Family and Ye Family are too different in social status. Marrying out of one’s class wouldn’t lead to happiness.