He pushed her hair away from her face and slipped a finger under her chin, coaxing her face up from the pillow. She complied and turned her head to look at him.
"Don't ever think of it like that again," he said seriously. "Please. I hate that you would feel that way, Qian Meng. I've never once considered our involvement with each other to be anything like that. You did not sign your body away to me. We each signed our agreement to outline our expectations from one another. You are not making yourself vulnerable to me."
"I just…"
Mo Qingchen's eyebrows furrowed together slightly in a thoughtful way. "If you… if you want to say no to something, you can do that. I told you in the beginning that you're free to do what you want. You can leave me if you want. I wouldn't force myself into your life. You're free," his voice was strained. He sounded confused and rather afraid, but Qian Meng didn't hear it.
