Her pulse began to quicken, and her palms became sweaty. Earlier, she had felt a great deal of worry, and now it was even worse. How could she calm down when he was giving her a reason to doubt his loyalty towards her?

Yong Liwei’s eyes darkened for a split second before it soon disappeared. He cast his cold gaze towards his assistant.

Niu Jiachen quickly shrunk away in fear and instead, he left the two alone. 

“You’re here earlier than I expected,” Yong LIwei said as he returned his gaze to her.

“Earlier than you expected?” She echoed, raising a brow at the words he just said to her. “Were you planning to hide that woman, Cecilia Bai, from me if I hadn’t come early?”

“She’s just a business partner, I have nothing to hide from you,” he stated, rather calmly. 

Lu Mengjie didn’t believe those words and instead, she was throwing daggers at him. He opened his mouth and questioned her, “Why are you glaring at me like that?”

“Business partner? Do you think I’ll believe that?” She scoffed. “Then can you explain why she walked out of this room looking like she was fucked by someone?”

She tried to remain calm as much as possible even if she wanted to burst out and turn this room upside down. She even had the urge to run after Cecilia just to get her answers but that woman probably had left the building before she could even catch up to her.

“How the hell would I even know?”

His reply only irritated her further. “Bullshit! Stop telling me that you don’t know!”

Yong Liwei took a shower so the only proof she could get was the clothes he wore before he changed. She hurried past him, entering the bathroom. She probed his laundry basket before she pulled his shirt out of it.

As she searched his shirt, there she saw the same red lipstick, smudged on the collar. It was the same tint as the lipstick that Cecilia wore. 

Her eyes grew dimmer, and she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She clenched his shirt tightly, her hands began to tremble

“Tell me honestly, Liwei. Did you… did you just cheat on me?” A snarl and a shiver were in her voice.

“I will never cheat on you, Mengjie,” he replied, a matter of fact.

“Then what is this?!” She snapped. “I’m not blind, Liwei! I’m not stupid! This… this…” Her eyes became glassy, her body began to tremble in anger. 

Yong Liwei approached her but the moment he touched her shoulder, He had his hand smacked by her. He was not bothered by the stinging pain in his hand but instead, he felt a sharp pang in his chest as she did so.

“Don’t touch me!” She shouted, her eyes were full of tears. As she took a step back, away from him, she felt her wounded wrath burning through her. “Stop lying and explain this to me!”

“I can’t.” He clenched his jaw as his hands balled into fists. He inhaled sharply before asking, “Do you really think I fucked her?”

“You can’t fool me, Liwei. This proof-“

“I don’t care if the ‘proof’ will even involve you discovering me naked in her bed,” he interrupted as he took a step closer towards her with his unyielding gaze. “The question I’m asking is if you believe I had sex with her. That is if you believe I will do it. Do you think I can?”

“You’re giving me a reason to doubt you, Liwei. It’s hard… it’s hard to trust you when this evidence is…” Tears rolled down her cheeks as she bit her lower lip.

“After gaining your trust back, do you think I’ll want to break it again?” He reached his hand to brush the tears off her cheeks. “I need you to trust me, Mengjie.”

She sucked in a deep breath. “It’s not that easy… not when this-“

He grabbed the shirt and threw it away somewhere in the corner of the bathroom. “Look at me.” 

She remained still as she lowered her head. She refused to look at him. The more she stayed in the same room as him, the more suffocated she became.

Yong Liwei gently cupped her face just so he could make her look at him. He winced when he saw the pain and tears in her eyes. “I want you to trust me, Mengjie.”

Lu Mengjie was torn at that moment. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. “There is no way I can convince myself that you will cheat on me despite how suspicious it all appears… I want to believe you… but-“

“Then believe me.”

She opened her eyes to stare back into his dark ones. She couldn’t help feeling like he was holding something back from her. He was the man she loved and cared for but knowing his past, it was giving her a reason to doubt him. “Believe you? That’s… easier said than done.” 

She held his wrists and pulled down his hands away from her cheeks. “You’ve got a flight to catch. I’ll wait in the car.”

As she walked past him, she was stopped when he grabbed her wrist. “Mengjie,” his voice pleading.

Her eyes landed on the shirt he wore earlier that was now laying on the floor. The red tint of lipstick was stinging her eyes. She couldn’t bear to look at it anymore. She pulled her hand away from his hold but he only tightened his grip around her wrist.

“Liwei, please.”

The man was quiet for a few seconds as he stared at her back with a pained look in his eyes. He wanted to say something but he held back, his lips grimly stretched into a thin line.

“I’m not leaving tonight,” he declared before he had released her wrist.

“Then I’ll be staying at my parent’s place for a while.”

Yong Liwei exhaled harshly. “Are you cutting me off?”

Lu Mengjie pursed her trembling lips.. She finally turned and faced him as she returned the question to him. “Should I cut you off?”