C17 Chapter 17

“Yes, miss.” Zhiling looked surprised, but she still did as Duu Luo asked—she brought over two chairs, then served two bowls of rice and set them in front of Duu Luo and Boyan.

Seeing Duu Luo and Boyan like that, Duu Gu and the others all filed out of the kitchen.

“Well, look at that. A girl grows up and you can’t keep her,” Mrs. Duu said, shaking her head with a regretful look.

“What do you mean you can’t keep her? She’s already fifteen,” Mr. Duu snapped. “Girls her age have suitors lining up at the door—some are already married. If she can’t get married now, in a couple years she really won’t be able to.”

“Those guys are all busted-looking,” Duu Gu said, hearing the reluctance in his sister’s heart and stepping in for her. “Do you really think she’d go for any of them? Now she finally likes someone. Mom, Dad—forget who he is. As long as he treats her right, that’s what matters.”

“She’s grown up, got a mind of her own. Can’t say a thing to her anymore,” Mr. Duu said, hands clasped behind his back, clearly irritated.

Kitchen.

Duu Luo didn’t know whether this meal had changed Boyan’s opinion of her. If it had, great. If not, she’d just have to try harder.

“You really didn’t have to do all this for me.” Boyan finished the last bite of rice, set down his bowl and chopsticks, and sat up straight as he looked at Duu Luo beside him. “You helped me, so I owe you. Tell me what you want—if it’s something I can do, I’ll do it. But I’m not staying by your side.”

“I know you won’t stay by my side. You won’t stay by anyone’s side,” Duu Luo said. She understood Boyan’s temperament perfectly. Her plan was to go with him, not push against him. “You don’t belong to anyone. You belong to yourself. I like you, so I want to be good to you. Whether you accept it or not, that’s my choice. You can take it or leave it—but you don’t get to stop me from doing it.”

“Before today, you and I had never even met. So how can you say you like me?” Boyan wanted to know why Duu Luo claimed she liked him. They’d never crossed paths before—he’d heard of her, sure, but he only met her today. Was she mistaking him for someone else? “You’re young, so I won’t hold it against you. But don’t go saying things like that so casually.”

“We’ve never met, but didn’t we just meet today?” Duu Luo said with a smile. This Boyan—no wonder he was the male lead. Trying to win him over was as hard as beating a brutal video game. “I’m not the type to stick my nose into other people’s business. To you, today is the first time we’ve met. But I’ve seen you plenty of times. I know about you, too. And because I know, that’s why I like you.”

“What you know is only the version of me on the surface. If you ever really understand me, you’ll want to run. You might even want to kill me.” Boyan knew that even though people called her Miss Duu, she was kind at heart. She shouldn’t be getting involved with someone like him. She wasn’t like him—she had family, people who cared about her. He was alone. That meant he could do whatever he wanted without worrying about the consequences. He didn’t like her—not that way. At most, he was grateful. How could he drag her down? “Before you truly know me, leave. Otherwise, I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle what you’ll see.”