Domineering CEO His Obsessive Love

Chapter 2: Your Mouth Is Filthy

The evening breeze still blew cool against Miao Rui's skin. But what chilled her more was the coldness that rose from deep within -- the cold of fear.

When she opened her eyes, her first thought was not panic, but a stubborn need to understand what had just happened. Looking again, the figure standing before her was no longer that disgusting man.

A chill ran through the depth of her gaze. Instinct told her: this boy was no good person either.

She scrambled backward by pure reflex, her youthful face hardening with fierce distance and defiance.

"Now you're scared? Where was all that courage a moment ago?" The boy kicked the unconscious man at his feet -- the creep he'd taken down with a single blow from his club. Blood still stained his hand. His voice was hoarse and low, hard to believe it was coming from a boy his age.

"None of your business." Miao Rui curled herself into a tight ball -- not just from the cold, but because her clothes had been torn and she didn't want to expose herself.

The boy noticed her awkward posture and frowned. Without a word, he pulled off his black T-shirt and tossed it onto her.

"Put that on, quick. Don't want people saying I took advantage." He turned his back. In the fading sunlight, the faintest trace of pink could still be glimpsed spreading across his cheeks.

Miao Rui sat silently beneath the great mulberry tree in that oversized shirt, waiting for the good officers of the law who had yet to arrive.

"Miao Xiaorui, have you completely lost your mind?"

She did not understand why he sounded so angry -- as if he were the one who had nearly been violated.

"Sorry, but my name isn't Miao Xiaorui." She also did not know why she had to be so harsh with him. He had saved her, after all. Yet she could not bring herself to be gentle.

Perhaps, deep down, she did not want anyone to discover her other side -- the darker side. She had worked so hard to hide it all these years, only to have someone else uncover it.

That was why she rejected him. From this very moment on.

"Mercy Town's goddess turns out to be a dark-hearted, low-IQ i***t. I truly pity all those poor bastards who lie in bed at night jerking off with your face in their heads."

He was truly angry. Angry that she valued herself so little. If he had arrived one step later -- he couldn't even bear to think of the consequences.

Besides Li Yuzhen, no stranger had ever spoken to her this way. She countered, "In that case, I'd really like to know if you're one of those men, too."

For once in his life, he was struck speechless.

The long-overdue police finally arrived at the scene. They examined the site, collected evidence from the marks left on Miao Rui's body, and brought them back to the station for questioning.

"Name?" the officer asked.

"Xie Heng," the boy answered.

"Age."

"Twenty."

"Where are you from?"

"What is this, a census?"

"Please answer my question truthfully."

"Hah. Now you know how to act tough? What were you thinking when you took so long to get here? Do you have any idea that a young girl's innocence was nearly ruined because of you? And now you've got the nerve to interrogate me?"

"You--"

"You what? Let me tell you, I don't have time to waste on this crap right now. All you need to know is that this man committed the crime. He's the criminal. Every question you have should be directed at him."

Without waiting for the officer to ask another question, Xie Heng grabbed Miao Rui by the hand and strode out the police station door.

Night had fallen. Leaves rustled in the wind, their sound grating on the ears.

"Let go." Miao Rui wrenched her hand free.

In the darkness, Xie Heng could only guess her expression from her tone. He didn't need to guess -- it was obvious she wore that same look of disgust.

This woman was elegant, beautiful, kind. In the eyes of outsiders, aside from her unfortunate family, she was practically perfect.

But only he knew: inside, she was lonely, isolated, dark to the point where she might, in the next moment, destroy everything around her.

"Miao Xiaorui, I hope the next time you do something, you'll actually use your brain." Xie Heng's face was cold, his burning gaze fixed on her through the night -- though she could not see it.

Miao Rui's expression was icy. For a moment, she did not know how to face him.

The tattered hem of her dress swayed. She lifted her chin, trying to make out his eyes. "Has anyone ever told you that your mouth is filthy?"

"You're the first."

"Oh. Then I'm honored."

Xie Heng offered to walk Miao Rui home. To put it bluntly, it was less an offer and more a notification.

And Miao Rui was not the type to put on airs. She didn't refuse.

The two walked side by side through the pitch-black night. Just as they were about to reach the building where Miao Rui lived, she suddenly asked, "You like me."

Xie Heng froze. They had barely exchanged a word the whole way. This abrupt question caught him completely off guard. For the first time ever, Xie Heng found himself this flustered.

Before he could even react, she continued softly, "Xie Heng, you can't like me."

Because she would never like someone who knew her other face.

The awkward Xie Heng suddenly relaxed. This was the real her, wasn't it? He had almost forgotten -- this proud swan would never take a liking to anyone in Mercy Town.

Because one day, she would fly far away from here, out into the glittering world beyond.

"Miao Xiaorui, do you honestly think everyone in this town likes you? Tell me, my proud swan princess -- who exactly gave you that confidence?"

"Oh, right. I almost forgot. You introduced yourself. You're Xie Heng. And who is Xie Heng? The man who got a woman pregnant when he was sixteen. Naturally, not everyone is worthy of the Xie family's eldest son's attention. So this suits both our purposes perfectly. Let's just hope everything goes back to the way it was -- as if you and I had never crossed paths."

With that, Miao Rui walked into the narrow, dim stairwell. Leaving behind her slender silhouette -- and the one who watched it fade.

But what Miao Rui didn't know was: when it comes to fate, who can truly escape?