Chapter 113: Do You Truly Love Me?

“Squeak.”

Chu Bing pushed open the door and stepped into the room. Li Yuxi was lying on his side on the bed, a book in his hand. Chu Bing’s eyes fixed on it—astonishingly, it was her Formation Two.

He actually still kept it.

“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and come in.”

Li Yuxi glanced up and saw Chu Bing standing dumbly at the door, staring at him. He raised an eyebrow.

Snapping back to herself, Chu Bing quickly stepped inside, a slight ingratiating smile on her face as she stood by the bed looking at Li Yuxi. “Li Yuxi, are you… upset today?”

Li Yuxi studied her, a flicker of something unusual in his eyes. “If you have something to say, just say it. I’m not used to you acting like this.”

Chu Bing reflected that whenever she saw him before, he was always frowning fiercely. This sudden politeness from him was indeed unfamiliar.

She chuckled softly and sat on the edge of the bed. “I saw you arguing with Li Mohan and wanted to be a peacemaker, to mediate between you two.”

“You’re meddling quite a lot,” Li Yuxi sneered. Sitting up straight, he suddenly reached out and pulled Chu Bing into his embrace. “If you want to coax me, you’ll have to show some real action.”

Caught off guard, Chu Bing nearly fell when he pulled her into his arms. She struggled to sit upright in his embrace and said irritably, “What kind of real action do you want?”

“Behave and stay in my arms for a while.” Li Yuxi pressed her back against his chest again.

Chu Bing paused, her struggling hands falling still.

Leaning on Li Yuxi’s chest, all she could hear was the man’s strong and steady heartbeat.

For some reason, her own heartbeat suddenly quickened.

It must be because it’s so hot!

After quite some time, Li Yuxi finally let her go.

Chu Bing dared not meet his eyes, glancing left and right before looking out at the starry sky. Suddenly, a bright idea struck her, and she pointed outside. “The night is beautiful tonight. How about we go out and take a look?”

Li Yuxi looked at her excited expression and nodded indifferently. He wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her to stand on a tree branch outside the window.

The dark night sky stretched like a vast curtain studded with countless stars.

Chu Bing stood on the highest branch, peering down nervously before inching a little closer to Li Yuxi.

She cautiously reached out and grabbed his sleeve. Li Yuxi pretended not to notice her small gesture.

“The night is truly beautiful,” Chu Bing sighed, gazing at the stars. Such pure, natural beauty was impossible to see in the modern world.

Li Yuxi looked up at the sky with her, his usual cynical expression softened into a rare seriousness.

This side of him felt utterly unfamiliar to Chu Bing.

Suddenly inspired, she asked, “When you said you liked me before, was it true?”

Li Yuxi had once said he liked her, but Chu Bing never dared believe him—he was always scheming and full of tricks.

Li Yuxi turned to her, his dark pupils reflecting her image, with the starlit sky behind him.

“Of course it’s true. I’ve told many lies in my life, but that one is the truest.”

He looked at her steadily, speaking each word clearly.

Chu Bing heard her own heartbeat.

She opened her mouth foolishly. “Why?”

Why would he like her?

He hadn’t even seen her true self after the marrow cleansing; it couldn’t be because of her beauty.

Could it be because he saw her inner beauty?

Her mind was a mess of thoughts, one moment this idea, the next that one, unable to settle.

Li Yuxi chuckled softly, a gentle warmth in his eyes. “Do you remember when we fell off the cliff?”

“I do,” Chu Bing nodded stupidly. Back then, she had been like a fool, somehow managing to bring Li Yuxi out of such a dangerous place.

If she had known this guy would keep ruining her plans again and again, she should have just let him be swallowed by that giant fish!

Chu Bing ground her teeth in frustration.

Li Yuxi didn’t notice her expression, his eyes filled with a trace of nostalgia. “Actually, when I fell into the sea, I was already awake. I knew it was you who gave me oxygen, who saved my life.”

“What?” Chu Bing’s eyes widened. She recalled kissing him underwater, and that he knew everything. Embarrassed and furious, she clenched her fists, ready to punch Li Yuxi.

The branch beneath their feet wobbled violently, and just as she was about to fall, Li Yuxi caught her fist.

He looked at her with adoring eyes and shook his head helplessly. “When will you ever learn to be steadier?”

Angry and startled, Chu Bing worried about falling. She could only resign herself to letting Li Yuxi hold her hand.

Once she got down, she would definitely make this bastard pay!

Li Yuxi smiled softly at her flushed, angry eyes and leaned over to kiss her forehead. His voice held a hint of satisfaction. “No one has ever treated me as well as you have, Chu Bing. You’re the only one.”

The kiss was brief, and Chu Bing barely had time to react before it was over.

She froze for a moment, then felt a strange sensation rising within her. When had she ever been kind to him?

If it weren’t for the system telling her she could find Li Haoran’s whereabouts through Li Yuxi, Chu Bing would have thrown him back into the sea long ago to fend for himself!

Had he lost his mind?

She sneaked a glance at Li Yuxi, only for him to catch her looking and smile faintly while lowering his head. “Everyone betrays me—even my own father. When faced with the same choice, he would choose himself. But you are different. Despite all the hardships you’ve endured, you carried me on your back and climbed step by step out of the bottomless chasm.”

“Chu Bing, from that moment on, I decided it had to be you.” His slender fingers brushed her cheek. Chu Bing turned her head away, feeling uneasy.

She truly wanted to punch this bastard in the face.

“Host! Hold on! Enduring hardship leads to greatness!” The system, silent until now, suddenly chimed in to remind her.

After a moment’s hesitation, Chu Bing forced a smile. “I’m a bit surprised, Li Yuxi… if you were awake then, why didn’t you tell me?”

Her heart burned with anger, but thinking of Li Haoran, she bit back her fury.

Fine. Once the mission is done, she’d settle accounts with this bastard!

“If I told you, you definitely wouldn’t have taken me with you.” Li Yuxi stroked Chu Bing’s hair gently and tenderly. “It’s because you didn’t know that you showed me your true self.”

“What I like is that truthfulness in you.”

Li Yuxi gazed at Chu Bing with fiery eyes.