After Becoming the Hero's Ex-fiancé

Gutting the Heart

Outside the window, the night was heavy with evening mist; the night watchman struck his clapper.

"The weather is dry, be careful with fire and candles; the weather is dry, be careful with fire and candles..."

The moon slipped behind the clouds; candlelight masked Cui Wang's face, and Zheng Wan was unable to clearly discern it at the moment. She could only see that under his straight nose, a pair of thin lips were tightly pursed.

It is said that people with thin lips were the most inconstant in love, but what Zheng Wan could recall was mostly the temperature of those lips-they were ice cold, and had to be rubbed for a long time before attaining a little bit of heat.

"Zheng Wan, you can go now."

Cui Wang suddenly lost interest in listening to her arguments, feeling that everything was meaningless. A wind rose from his sleeves, and the door to the study creaked open.

"Please."

"No, I won't leave."

Suddenly, Zheng Wan had a feeling that if she left now, she would never be able to set foot in the State Preceptor's residence again.

She took a few quick steps, hugged Cui Wang, wrapping her arms tightly around him, shook her head and said:

"Cui Wang, I'm not leaving."

She looked up, her face already full of tears, "Cui Wang, don't chase me out, I won't go. I am true to you, believe me...

"My feelings for you are genuinely sincere."

Zheng Wan murmured.

"Sincere?"

Cui Wang stood rooted in place. He only felt that this mortal night was nothing different; it was still cold when it should be cold, but it was still too filthy after all. "Where do these sincere feelings come from?"

"......You saved me from falling into the water in front of Lisi Springs, and you played the accompaniment for me on the marble boat. At that time, you were not the State Preceptor, but I already admired you. Later, you became the State Preceptor," Zheng Wan paused. "I was happy that you are the State Preceptor, because the person I like is the one I was about to please. But I also hate that you are the State Preceptor, because from then on, my feelings of adoration for you had to be mixed with exploitation and ingratiation.

"But in the transient realm, you insisted on taking me down the cliff in spite of how dangerous it was, and also saved me from the wolves...... You were so good to me, how could I not be moved, and not fall for you?"

Zheng Wan lowered her voice, "At that time, I was sincere."

"So, when I was exhausted from killing the wolves, you were also sincere when you lunged towards me?"

Cui Wang asked indifferently.

"Yes! Of course!"

There was an eagerness in her eyes that she herself wasn't aware of, as if she were a child trying to prove herself to a respected adult. "At that time, I just wanted to catch you. Cui Wang, I even broke my arms, and it hurt so much."

"Zheng Wan, stop lying."

Cui Wang peeled off her fingers one by one, but Zheng Wan grabbed him and quickly latched on. She shook her head, tears flowing uncontrollably, "Cui Wang, believe me, I'm not lying.

"I really only wanted to save you at that time," she said obstinately.

"Then, when that teleportation formation launched towards me, and you suffered the pain of a multitude of arrows through your body on my behalf, was that also to save me?