Lin Xingwan's shock was beyond words.
She stared at Zhou Jinbai with wide, unblinking eyes, feeling utterly beastly for having taken something so precious from him.
"You... what do you want me to do to be responsible for you?" Lin Xingwan managed to stammer out after a long pause.
"Chastity is a man's most treasured dowry. You've taken my most precious possession, how am I supposed to face my wife in the future? Indeed, once a man is possessed by a woman, he no longer cherishes her," Zhou Jinbai said in a low, mournful tone, his eyes full of accusation.
Lin Xingwan panicked even more. "No, no, no, don't get agitated. It's not that I don't want to be responsible, it's just that my mind is a bit jumbled."
Little did he know, all his lines had been stolen by Zhou Jinbai.
Seeing Lin Xingwan's flustered and anxious state, Zhou Jinbai could no longer maintain his pretense.
He pinched her cheek, his handsome face becoming even more striking with pleasure. "Just teasing you. Last night, we didn't actually go all the way."
Lin Xingwan's heart, which had been hanging high in the air, suddenly settled.
But before she could heave a sigh of relief, Zhou Jinbai added, "However, we did do all the other things."
This time, her settled heart plummeted straight into the Milky Way.
Seeing the startled expressions on Lin Xingwan's face, Zhou Jinbai found it incredibly amusing.
He leaned in and kissed her lips. "Actually, you don't dislike me. Even though you were drunk last night, I could feel that you like me."
Lin Xingwan's heart pounded like a drum. From the moment she woke up until now, she had been led around by the nose by this man.
His ability to guide the conversation was too strong.
She couldn't be bewitched by him; she had to stay clear-headed and calm.
"I was drunk."
Lin Xingwan clung to the fact that she was drunk, refusing to address the issue head-on.
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Jinbai bit her lip. "Don't make excuses. After last night, I feel like I like you even more than I imagined. Lin Xingwan, I want to get married first, then fall in love."
This bombshell dropped, and Lin Xingwan's mouth fell open in astonishment. "No..."
"Why not? Don't you have even a shred of affection for me?"
"I... I don't know how to say it. Zhou Jinbai, we've known each other for too short a time. Developing so quickly, I can't accept it."
Lin Xingwan felt suffocated by this man.
In her work, she was a formidable female CEO; but in matters of the heart, she was a slow and hesitant little turtle.
"Didn't you develop slowly with Gu Shaoting? And what was the outcome in the end?" Zhou Jinbai retorted.
In fact, he had seen through why Lin Xingwan was so resistant to fast-developing relationships at a glance. It was because this woman lacked security and had strong self-preservation instincts. She needed repeated confirmation that the people around her truly loved, liked, and cared for her before she would try to respond, bit by bit.
If someone suddenly became very good to her, loved her deeply, it would put immense pressure on her, and she would even resist it.
"I..." Lin Xingwan wanted to say more, but found herself speechless.
"I don't want to hear any excuses, Lin Xingwan. I want you to answer me, do you... want to be with me?"
Zhou Jinbai pressed forward, giving Lin Xingwan no room to retreat.
Lin Xingwan unconsciously clutched the blanket, her face etched with conflict.
"Zhou Jinbai, I..." Lin Xingwan didn't know what to say. She didn't dislike the man in front of her. In fact, with him, Lin Xingwan felt she didn't need to be so strong; she could even throw a little tantrum.
"If my affection makes you so troubled, I will..." like you even more, and trouble you even more!
There was no way he would give up what he had set his sights on, let alone... this woman he had set his sights on!
Before Zhou Jinbai could finish speaking, Lin Xingwan proactively kissed him.
Stop talking!
She didn't want to hear anymore.
For over twenty years, she had lived too hard for the Lin family and for Gu Shaoting.
She wanted to be willful for once!
Just this once!
As for the consequences of her willfulness, she no longer wanted to consider them.
She only knew that she didn't want this man, Zhou Jinbai, to withdraw.
Zhou Jinbai allowed Lin Xingwan to tease him with her inexperienced kiss. Although a billion cells in his body were screaming for him to take the lead, he enjoyed this woman's initiative more than his physical desire.
It was a feeling that soothed his very soul.
He liked it very much.
He liked it so much that he wanted to merge with her.
Zhou Jinbai pushed Lin Xingwan away. "If we keep kissing, I won't mind continuing what we didn't finish last night."
Lin Xingwan looked at the man's increasingly prominent muscles due to his restraint, with veins bulging in some places, looking somewhat daunting.
Who would have thought that beneath Zhou Jinbai's cold and distant exterior lay such a body brimming with infinite explosive power.
Lin Xingwan gazed at him, somewhat entranced. Subconsciously, she didn't want this man to stop, yet she was too embarrassed to say it.
She felt as if she were very lustful. She had been with Gu Shaoting for so many years, and at most, they had only held hands, kissed, and hugged.
Yet here she was, wanting Zhou Jinbai. Had she been starving for too long and developed an illness?
"Or do you really want to, hmm?" Facing Lin Xingwan, whose every emotion was written on her face, Zhou Jinbai felt a mix of amusement and helplessness.
Lin Xingwan's cheeks were flushed, but she nodded very seriously. "After we're done, we'll go get our marriage certificate."
Marriage first, then love. She wasn't afraid!
Zhou Jinbai tapped Lin Xingwan's head. "We can get the marriage certificate, but I refuse your advances."
"Why?"
"I don't want our first time to happen in a hotel that anyone can check into."
The three betrothals and six rites, a proper marriage.
One day in the future, this woman would wear a phoenix coronet and robes for him...
He could wait.
He was willing to wait.
...
An hour later.
Outside the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Lin Xingwan looked down at the two small red booklets in her hands, feeling a sense of unreality.
Marrying a man she had known for less than half a month was the boldest thing she had ever done in her meticulously cautious life.
Before getting the certificate, she had wondered if Zhou Jinbai's confession and words were just a deception; if she got together with Zhou Jinbai, would he become another Gu Shaoting?
But after getting the certificate, Lin Xingwan found that all these anxious thoughts had vanished.
Many people are frightened by their own imaginations.
"I didn't expect getting the certificate to be so easy," Lin Xingwan couldn't help but sigh.
"I'm handing over my bank card to my wife. From today onwards, our family's treasury will be managed by you."
Zhou Jinbai took out a black card with gold embossing and handed it to Lin Xingwan. Since they were now married, Lin Xingwan didn't refuse and put the bank card away.
This bank card was indeed special; the golden dragon on it was three-dimensional. She thought she'd like to open a card at this bank someday too.
Just then, Lin Xingwan's phone rang.
She answered the call, and a male voice, tinged with anger, came through. "Are you Lin Xingwan?"