Chapter 343: Chapter 343

"Because, your daddy likes your mommy!"

Ji Rui stared at Le Tong. When he said those words, the suffocating pressure that had weighed on his heart vanished abruptly. The dark little room that hadn’t seen light for thirty years suddenly had its skylight opened, allowing sunshine and air to pour in, brightening and warming the small space.

Le Tong was taken aback, her body involuntarily shuddered, meeting his deep, slightly green eyes, which emitted a burning and scorching light, making her instinctively look away.

Baobao’s bright eyes blinked a few times, looking left and right, then gave a mischievous smile, secretly giving Ji Rui a thumbs-up under the table.

"Oh, Baobao is so full..."

Speaking in a soft, sticky voice, Baobao slid off the chair like an eel, leaned toward Le Tong’s neck, and bit her ear, whispering, "Baobao wasn’t wrong... Daddy likes mommy so much..."

Le Tong’s face turned red in an instant. Before she could say anything, the little one had already stuck out her belly, tip-toed out of the dining room, and in the blink of an eye, only Le Tong and Ji Rui were left.

Le Tong turned her face away, her gaze fixed on the spot where Baobao’s figure disappeared at the corner of the dining room.

Ji Rui had already put down his rice bowl. Previously, Baobao had been between him and Le Tong, but now that Baobao had slipped away, he moved directly to Baobao’s seat, leaning in, facing Le Tong head-on.

Admittedly, no matter how you look at it, the dining room is not a good place to confess, and during a still uneaten meal, even less so.

But the words had already escaped uncontrollably, so he accepted it.

Many things, think them over again and again, may not achieve the best effect. Sometimes the element of surprise works wonders. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs noᴠelfire.net

However, the miracle he imagined might happen, did not occur to him.

After all, falling in love with someone is not something miracles can control, nor can any person or thing control it.

Le Tong retracted her gaze to look at him, her earlier panic and helplessness quickly reorganized and all but closed away. Although there was still a blush on her face, her eyes were as clear as usual.

After his shocking words, she could already guess what he wanted to say next, but she still had no mental preparation at all.

How is that possible?!

Previously, she knew he had a physical interest in her but that was merely a man’s biological instinct, utterly unrelated to the word "love"!

His subsequent contract and actions post-contract all indicated that his interest in her was more about a desire to control her, which was entirely separate from love. This control made her feel very awkward, to the point where she couldn’t even feel the basic respect!

After Baobao was discharged from the hospital, his intentions of pursuing her were quite evident. Although she always deliberately ignored and tried to escape, his attentiveness and care followed persistently. Even when she deliberately blocked it and he tried to be subtle, his true intentions couldn’t be erased. In her view, he only pursued her to fulfill Baobao’s wish to have a complete family — it was simply loving the house and its crow!

Moreover, Ji Rui was an extremely shrewd and very successful businessman. And the essence of being a businessman is pursuing the highest profit! To achieve maximum benefit, he could even resort to whatever means necessary!

Therefore, the "like" he spoke of was perhaps merely the ultimate method to achieve his ultimate goal of conquering and controlling her, and giving Baobao a seemingly perfect family.

"I like you!" Ji Rui looked deeply into her eyes, saying with great certainty.

Le Tong did not flinch as she met his gaze. She expected to see a trace of hesitation or uncertainty in his eyes, but his deep eyes were filled with determination, and seemingly, a kind of affection she wasn’t familiar with.

But based solely on his words and his gaze, she couldn’t be genuinely persuaded to believe what he said.

"Mr. Ji, I’m sorry, I don’t believe you!" Le Tong calmly gave him a response he could never have anticipated.

Ji Rui thought she might, perhaps, shyly say she needed to think about it.

Or perhaps, given her personality, she would openly say she didn’t like him.

But she gave him no answer at all because she said she didn’t believe it!

If it was disbelief, then a reply didn’t matter because it signified complete denial!

For the first time in his life, Ji Rui confessed to someone without receiving an answer; instead, he received denial! To him, this was an absolute humiliation.

It was like offering her his most precious, invaluable jewels, only for her to dismissively sneer and refuse even to look, contemptuously declaring it "fake!" and then swiping the jewels to the ground, stomping on them hard...

For someone as proud and arrogant as Ji Rui who sincerely presented his true feelings to her, only to have them so cruelly trampled, the blow was unimaginable!

"Why?" Ji Rui’s expression naturally didn’t look good; even his tone couldn’t maintain its usual cold calm, instead carrying a hint of stiffness and resentment.

Le Tong continued to look at him. A self-mocking smile involuntarily appeared at the corners of her mouth.

"Mr. Ji, your self-perception is not just ordinarily good!"

This man, even now, thought that as long as he said he liked her, she would obediently throw herself at him, letting him do as he pleased?

If he had said he liked her back when she first joined the Ji Family, when she still admired him and was infatuated with his looks, she would definitely have been overjoyed and agreed to all his requests without hesitation.

Or, on the night they got drunk and ended up together, if he bravely took responsibility and told her he liked her, she would have undoubtedly followed him to the ends of the earth.

But he lightly patted her head and casually said, "I like you," after she saw through his suspicious and jealous nature and was hurt all over.

Even if she were a dog, after being scolded and whipped by its owner, it wouldn’t wag its tail and fawn affectionately just because of a pat on the head and a casual "I love you most" or "I treat you best."

Let alone being a human — a living, breathing human with flesh and blood.

Someone who can smile happily when loved, yet also feels deep pain and cries when hurt!

[Happy Spring Festival! Everyone, relax and enjoy going out today; Zhu Zi will definitely update more Chapters, though the timing is uncertain. So don’t think about the novel, just think about Zhu Zi. Haha! Love you all!]