Delicate Beauty in the Palm : Chapter 8 - Disobedient
Chapter 8: Disobedient
Chen Die suddenly remembered the day she mentioned to Xia Ying that she wanted to break up. Xia Ying had tried to persuade her, saying that her boyfriend seemed to treat her well and that there was no need to break up so abruptly.
At the time, Chen Die had said she didn’t want to lose herself because of Wen Liang.
She had indeed changed too much for him.
Wen Liang didn’t like girls who cried often, so she gradually stopped crying. He liked girls with a bit of personality, so without realizing it, she started to become more like him—except in front of him, where she remained soft and coquettish.
But Wen Liang was always the same in front of her.
Arrogant, cold, ruthless, and unpredictable.
When he was in a good mood, he would occasionally say sweet words that made her heart race. But when he was angry, he would completely ignore her, as if there was nothing between them.
She would act spoiled, and Wen Liang would frown and scold her. If she deliberately tried to provoke him, he would simply leave her alone to cool off.
Many outsiders believed that Wen Liang and his hidden ‘delicate’ lover were deeply in love. Otherwise, why would their relationship last so many years? Despite being surrounded by beautiful women, he had never shown interest in anyone else.
In the chaotic world of business, this could even be considered devotion.
But Chen Die knew that wasn’t the case.
Wen Liang was far too free and self-assured in this relationship.
Love was never so casual.
The more uncontrollable and overwhelming it was, the more it resembled love.
Just like that night when Chen Die had lost her senses and climbed into his bed.
But from the moment he asked, “Will you come with me?” and she nodded, she had already become nothing more than an unquestioned attachment to him.
He had possessiveness and a desire to protect her, but it had nothing to do with love.
It was just that someone like him—a madman—couldn’t tolerate anyone else touching what was his.
Chen Die buried her head in her arms when she suddenly heard the policeman from earlier call out, “Chen Die!”
She lifted her head.
Wen Liang, tall and imposing, was bent over the register, signing his name.
Then he straightened up, glanced at her without much expression, and quickly walked out the door.
Chen Die grabbed her bag and followed.
Wen Liang stood at the top of the steps, lighting a cigarette between his lips, his hand cupped around the flame.
The thin smoke drifted upward from his brow, hazy and fleeting. He exhaled a breath of smoke and turned to look at her.
His dark eyelashes cast shadows under the dim yellow streetlight.
“Are you hungry?” he asked casually.
Chen Die suddenly felt a lump in her throat.
All the thoughts she had while lying alone on the desk earlier—the determination to break up with him immediately—vanished in the warmth of that simple, everyday question: ‘Are you hungry?’
She was pathetic.
She instinctively nodded. “Mm.”
“Let’s go eat.”
After speaking, he flicked his cigarette away, pinched between his fingers, and strode down the steps.
The drive was quiet.
As they passed a narrow street, Wen Liang suddenly said, “Stop here.”
Zhu Qicong glanced around, seeing no restaurants nearby, and hesitated. “Here?”
“Mm.”
Zhu Qicong pulled over.
Chen Die got out of the car and looked around, her heart suddenly skipping two heavy beats.
This place...
Wen Liang, dressed in a neatly tucked-in dress shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, wore a luxury watch on his wrist. His refined appearance was completely out of place against the backdrop of the shabby little restaurant ahead.
He walked straight in, lifting the curtain at the entrance.
Chen Die quickly followed.
How much did she like Wen Liang?
Probably enough that just walking into this restaurant—the place he had taken her on her first day in this city, the day she met him—was enough to make her forget all her grievances and bitterness.
“Why did we come here?” she asked as she sat beside him.
“Forgot?” Wen Liang glanced at her before turning back to the menu. “The first place I brought you to eat.”
“I didn’t forget.”
Chen Die pressed her lips together, leaned over to look at the menu, and quickly ordered four dishes.
After placing the order, she held back a smile and said, “These are the same dishes we had that time.”
The smile at the corner of her lips was suppressed, but it still escaped through her eyes.
She had a pair of very beautiful eyes—bright and captivating. Now, her pupils sparkled, and even in this run-down little restaurant, she seemed to glow.
Wen Liang stared at her for a moment.
Just like that, his irritation disappeared.
He leaned back, resting against the chair, turned his head to look at her, then reached out and tugged at her cheek.
“Little girl,” he said lazily.
Chen Die froze.
She couldn’t even remember the last time Wen Liang had called her that.
Probably back when she was still in high school.
After the college entrance exams, when she climbed into his bed and their relationship became ambiguous, he had never called her that again.
Chen Die blinked. “Hmm?”
He pinched her cheek again. “You’ve been acting quite unruly lately.”
“……”
She didn’t react immediately and could only explain, “I already told you, Fang Jiamao was my high school classmate. There was a reunion today, and I had nothing else to do, so I went. Ending up at the police station was completely unexpected—you know that.”
Wen Liang merely let out a soft scoff.
“……?”
Wait a minute! Why was she feeling guilty and nervously explaining herself to him?
Realizing this, Chen Die immediately turned the tables and sneered, “And you were with a beauty yourself!”
“That’s what you call a beauty?” Wen Liang raised an eyebrow.
“……”
He said nonchalantly. “Just an event’s female companion. You’re the one who didn’t want to go with me.”
Soon, the restaurant owner brought over four steaming hot dishes—two meats, one vegetable, and a soup. Simple home-cooked meals, prepared in the most basic way, with a thin layer of oil floating on top.
The owner glanced at the two well-dressed customers, recognizing that they were likely wealthy. Having them in her humble restaurant made her a bit nervous, afraid of not serving them properly.
“These are just homemade dishes. The greens were even grown in our backyard,” she said, wiping her hands on her apron. “See if they suit your taste.”
Wen Liang pulled a pair of chopsticks from the stand and handed them to Chen Die, offering the owner a brief “thank you.”
Wen Liang was a quiet eater.
Today, after attending an event in the morning and dealing with the situation involving Qu Huan at the company, he seemed composed, but in reality, he had been preparing for it for a long time.
He hadn’t even had dinner, and now, he was truly exhausted.
Chen Die, on the other hand, had already eaten earlier. Plus, after four years of studying acting, she had developed an instinctive aversion to late-night snacks.
After only a few bites, she put down her chopsticks.
When the restaurant owner returned from taking out the trash and saw that she had barely eaten, she cautiously asked, “Was the food not to your liking?”
“No,” Chen Die waved her hand and smiled politely. “I’m just watching my weight. The food is delicious.”
The woman murmured an understanding response, then picked up a nearby child and carried them into the kitchen.
Wen Liang glanced at her. “Didn’t you say you were hungry? And you ate this little?”
Chen Die felt embarrassed, remembering how she had nearly teared up earlier just because of his casual “Are you hungry?” She decided to ignore him and looked down to open her phone.
The moment she unlocked it, Wen Liang snatched it away. His large hand grabbed her wrist and tugged her onto his lap. “Keep me company while I eat.”
“I’m full.”
“Then just watch me eat.” Wen Liang said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“???”
Chen Die felt like three question marks were floating above her head, along with a mental caption: Are you serious?
That said, watching Wen Liang eat was oddly appetizing. He ate in big bites, unlike some rich young men who maintained an air of elegance.
He quickly finished a bowl of rice, drank a couple of sips of soup, then got up to pay the bill.
As they stepped out of the restaurant, they saw that parking wasn’t allowed on this side of the road. Zhu Qicong had parked the car across the street.
Chen Die and Wen Liang stood at the crosswalk, waiting for the red light.
It was already late, and there were no entertainment venues nearby, so the night was especially quiet. Even the passing cars were few and far between.
Chen Die’s mind began to drift.
She glanced down at Wen Liang’s hand hanging by his side, then noticed out of the corner of her eye that the laces of her white sneakers had come undone.
She crouched down.
Wen Liang lowered his gaze. She was wearing denim shorts today, and when she squatted, the hemline lifted slightly, revealing her slender, fair skin—it was a little eye-catching.
The streetlamp's light poured down like a piece of jade.
Wen Liang furrowed his brows slightly.
Just as Chen Die was about to tie her shoelace, someone grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her up, pulling her back a few steps. Then, Wen Liang crouched down in front of her and lifted her leg.
Caught off balance, Chen Die stumbled backward and landed on the park bench with a soft thud.
Wen Liang lowered his head, his long fingers looping around her shoelace, quickly tying it into a neat knot.
Chen Die's heart pounded wildly. She blinked, feeling the warmth of his fingertips on her ankle—slightly rough, slightly hot.
Instinctively, she tried to pull her leg back, but Wen Liang held it in place.
He lifted his gaze, his dark eyes unreadable. The scar at the corner of his brow made him look even more intimidating.
“Wen Liang?” Chen Die called his name.
“If you go out with those damn friends of yours again and end up at the police station—” he suddenly chuckled, a roguish smirk on his lips. “Let’s see if I bother rescuing you next time.”
“……”
Wen Liang released her ankle and turned back toward the crosswalk.
The traffic light had already cycled from red to green and back to red again.
Chen Die could still feel the lingering heat on her ankle, and her heartbeat was fast and heavy.
She walked back to stand beside him.
The feelings she had buried deep inside—like carbonation in a soda—were bubbling up uncontrollably.
“Wen Liang.”
“Hmm?”
She took a deep breath. “Will you ever like me?”
A sports car roared past, its engine deafening as it sped down the road.
Chen Die’s hair lifted in the wind, and her words were drowned out by the noise.
Wen Liang didn’t hear. “What?”
Courage is a rare thing—it only lasts for a moment.
The second the words left her lips, she sobered up. Pride and self-respect returned. Someone like Wen Liang probably didn’t even know what it meant to like someone.
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
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