The next day, Yao Chen woke up on the first floor sofa.

Now sober, though still a little light-headed, he had no memory of how he had gotten onto the sofa. He did, however, remember how he had treated Han Yanyan last night. Suddenly feeling flustered, he hurried upstairs.

There was no one in the bedroom, but the sounds of running water were coming from the bathroom. Yao Chen pushed open the door and went in. In the shower, Han Yanyan was washing her hair, her eyes closed. Yao Chen watched her for awhile. When she was done washing, she opened the shower door for a towel and came face to face with his red, hungover eyes.

Her motions halted. Then she picked up a towel, dried herself off, put on a bathrobe, and went to the mirror to apply skin care.

The whole time, Yao Chen kept staring at her body. When she was done applying cream to her skin, she looked up to see him standing behind her. She met his eyes in the mirror.

Yao Chen reached over and peeled off the bathrobe until it hung around her elbows. Her body was clearly reflected in the mirror. Blue and purple patches decorated her chest. He could imagine how much strength he had used on her last night, and how he had treated her.

Staring at the bruises, Yao Chen asked, "Han Yanyan, why are you with me?"

"Do you want the truth?" she asked.

Yao Chen gritted his teeth. "The truth!"

Han Yanyan smiled helplessly. "Because there's no way I can escape you."

It was as if Yao Chen's face had been slapped.

Han Yanyan was going to school in K City, merely a female student with no background. She didn't even have money, and had to work just to be able to study. Yao Chen had set his eyes on her and made his intentions clear. How could Han Yanyan have possibly escaped his control?

She was with him not because she was moved by him or impressed by him, but because she was aware of the situation she was in and sought to avoid any further humiliation and harm.

It was that simple, Yao Chen thought, so why couldn't he understand?

That was why her mood was always "indifferent". Since she didn't love him, she didn't feel grief or sorrow. How had he missed her protective shell even though he was so good at observing others?

So even if she chose to submit, to be his woman, in her heart of hearts had she thought all along that he would hurt her sooner or later?

Yao Chen felt indignant and resentful, but had nothing to say in his defense.

Because last night he had indeed hurt her with malice in his heart. Thinking that he wanted to see her cry, struggle, and resist; wanting to force out the true emotions in her heart. It had never occurred to him that he might not be able to bear her true feelings.

He was too embarrassed to look her in the eye through the mirror.

"Yao Chen, will you beat me?" Han Yanyan asked gently.

Yao Chen looked up.

The Han Yanyan in the mirror was thin and slender. Without her protective shell, she was so weak. She made him unable to stop wanting her. Without knowing, without being conscious of it, she had ensnared him. Her who was just like this, every moment living in fear, always worried he might hurt her.

Filled with hatred and remorse, Yao Chen bowed his head and bit her shoulder.

Pain showed on Han Yanyan's face. He had bit her so hard that she bled. Bright red blood slid down her shoulder to her chest, looking hideous and savage where it met the blue-purple bruises.

Han Yanyan watched in the mirror and surrendered her shoulder, as if to the embrace of a vampire. She knew that this moment was very significant to Yao Chen, and very important to her, and clenched her teeth to hold back the pain.

The key to a psychological attack hinged upon the heart. If one could move a man's heart, one had won.

Yao Chen looked up, lips still stained with her blood, a masculine man who could have been described as 'gorgeous'.

His eyes became calm. His mind was clear.

He pulled up the bathrobe to staunch her wound, and the white robe turned red, like red plum flowers in full bloom.

"This is the last time," Yao Chen promised. "In the future I will never again touch a hair on your head."

"Put you mind at rest. I will never hit a woman." He hugged her in his arms and whispered in her ear, "My father beat my mother to death. Guess where he is now?"

With a very bad feeling, Han Yanyan asked, "Where?"

"Qingshui Bay." Yao Chen spat that familiar name in her ear. His breath brushed against her ear and her cheek, sending a chill down her back.

"No wait, he's in the police station morgue now," Yao Chen suddenly remembered. "He died early enough that he never entered the gene library. He was never identified, and no one ever claimed his body."

……

Leo, what sort of man did you give me?

Just as her heart was feeling cold, she heard Yao Chen say, "Yanyan, let's get married."

Yao Chen had never been the "I love you, so don't fear me" type.

Even Han Yanyan was clearly aware that she couldn't escape him. Since Yao Chen was determined to seize her, he would have every part of her. She was the first woman who had made his heart go soft in his 30-plus years of life, the one woman he couldn't let go.

Since that was the case, he resolved to marry her.

He had done too many illegal things in his life, so this time he would marry legally.

Han Yanyan had once planned a wedding. Qiao Chengyu had discussed every little detail with her, hoping to give her the perfect wedding of her dreams. When it came to wedding Yao Chen, there was no need for her to fuss about it at all. Yao Chen entrusted it to a very highly-rated wedding planning company, spent a lot of money, and told her to ask for anything.

Naturally, she had no requests. But after thinking about it, she deliberately made things difficult for the company, then ran to Yao Chen to complain. Yao Chen was very happy and spent a good deal more money to have that company meet her requirements no matter what.

In Yao Chen's view of the world, even if a woman started out reluctant, if one held her in the palm of one's hand, loved her, spoiled her, and gave her everything she wanted, she would always eventually submit, yield and obey.

He believed that this was true of Han Yanyan as well.

She had taken a huge step forward in progress. Han Yanyan was very happy.