The two exchanged verbal thrusts and parries, each one's riposte as sharp as the other's, with neither gaining an upper hand. In the end, Leng Youchen conceded a step, "Anjing, you haven't eaten anything for a whole day and night; let's go down and have something to eat."
"I haven't eaten because of you," Wei Anning touched her flat stomach, glaring at him with heavy resentment.
Leng Youchen shook his head with a wry smile, "Yes, yes, yes, it's all because of me. So now, Miss Wei, would you be gracious enough to join me for lunch?"
Wei Anning tossed her head and huffed, but ultimately she couldn't hold a grudge against a delicious lunch. She begrudgingly said, "Considering your sincere invitation, I have decided to grace you with my presence."
"..."
Wei Anning walked over and started pushing the wheelchair out the door. Her gaze drifted past him and landed on his legs, asking thoughtfully, "Leng Youchen, have you ever injured your legs?"
At her words, a storm of violence swept through Leng Youchen's eyes and the atmosphere around him instantly turned cold. He seemed like a different person as his voice burst through clenched teeth, "You don't remember?"
"What?" Wei Anning was taken aback. What was she supposed to remember?
"Forget it, it's just that you are a heartless woman anyway," Leng Youchen said coldly. Even if she did remember, how could she possibly admit that she was the one who pushed the wardrobe over, breaking his leg?
At the time, he had naively thought it was an accident. Later on, he came to realize that everything, including the fire, was premeditated.
Wei Anning, who was scolded, stood there completely baffled. She stopped, turned to face him, and glared. "How am I heartless? Explain yourself!"
Leng Youchen looked at her coldly, nearly fooled by her into forgetting everything she had done back then and how he was forced into a corner, to remain on this island, losing the chance to be free.
His gaze was exceptionally piercing. She shivered involuntarily and didn't quite dare to meet his eyes, but still she demanded indignantly, "You tell me, how am I heartless? Don't tell me your leg was injured because of me?"
"Isn't it?" Leng Youchen asked reticently in return.
Wei Anning had only been guessing, but it turned out that Leng Youchen's injury was indeed because of Wei Anjing. This meant that there was a lot of grievance between Leng Youchen and Wei Anjing. At the very least, his marriage to her was definitely not out of love.
Wei Anjing was surely aware of this, knowing that Leng Youchen would not let her off easily, so she had found some way to fetch her and make her the scapegoat.
Putting the pieces together, Wei Anning felt like cursing. This kind of misfortune due to a doppelgänger was really too much for anyone.
"Then why did you marry me? No, why did you marry Wei Anjing?" Wei Anning asked incoherently.
The corners of Leng Youchen's lips curved slightly as he uttered a cascade of idioms, "Love at first sight, heart stolen at second; do you believe that?"
"I don't!" Wei Anning shook her head. She wasn't so naive. If he were really the masked man, how could he possibly have fallen in love with Wei Anjing? He probably despised her more than anything.
So, he was the masked man?
"Anjing, no matter what, I saved your life. You can think of it as repaying a debt. Then you'll be a lot more willing to stay here. As long as you don't leave me, I can spoil you to the best of my ability," Leng Youchen said gently, taking her hand and gazing into her eyes with deep affection.
Wei Anning responded with an unsparing shiver, his toggling faces were faster than any Sichuan opera performer could achieve.
She withdrew her hand and said, "You don't need to brainwash me. I've promised you I won't run away again; you can rest easy."
"..."