Chapter 749: Chapter 749: Rejection
Xu Ke fell into silence.
Sometimes, he felt nothing for Alice, but that was untrue. A bright and charming girl like Alice could win anyone over with her allure. Even Xu Ke wasn’t immune to it; after all, he was just an ordinary man.
But what set Xu Ke apart from others was his rationality. He knew what to do in different circumstances and how to make the best choice for himself.
Seeing that Xu Ke didn’t outright reject her, Alice’s eyes, flushed red from the influence of alcohol, slowly began to shine. She held Xu Ke’s fingers more tightly, her knuckles turning white.
"You like me, right? You didn’t reject me, so that means you like me too, doesn’t it? If you like me, why don’t you tell me? Don’t you want to be with me?" Alice asked, staring blankly at Xu Ke.
"I do like you, but we can’t be together." Xu Ke looked into Alice’s eyes and answered gently.
The smile that had just begun to bloom on Alice’s face wilted before it could fully form.
She was confused and thus asked, "Why? Don’t you like me? Since you like me and I like you, why can’t we be together?"
Alice suddenly sat up from the sofa, her expression a mix of panic and more so confusion.
"I can’t give you an answer to that right now. If you really need one, I can only say that we are not destined, not meeting at the right time, so we’re destined not to be together," Xu Ke sighed.
"I don’t want to hear it. What kind of reason is that? You’re just brushing me off. What do you mean we’re not destined, not meeting at the right time? I feel we are destined. I feel the time we met was perfect. I can’t accept this answer. I want an answer that convinces me," Alice said, becoming agitated, tears streaming down like broken pearls, crying until her nose turned red, like a wronged child.
Xu Ke furrowed his brow, displaying a troubled expression, "I don’t want to deceive you, but I really can’t give you that answer right now, so I’m sorry." Xu Ke showed an apologetic expression.
Alice wanted to ask further but seeing the look on Xu Ke’s face, she couldn’t bring herself to press him any further.
Still unwilling to leave empty-handed, Alice saw Xu Ke standing in front of her, and with a resolute heart, she let go of Xu Ke’s arm and instead placed her hands on Xu Ke’s shoulders, pulling his neck downward.
Their crimson lips met in mid-air, one side passionate as fire, the other cold as ice. The fusion of ice and fire made both of them open their eyes wide.
In her first kiss, Alice had no experience. At first, she tightly closed her lips in a daze. Seeing Xu Ke didn’t push her away, she summoned her courage and, mimicking the male and female leads in films, began to bite clumsily at Xu Ke’s lips.
There was no rhyme or reason to Alice’s biting, and her pressure was uneven; it didn’t feel like a kiss, more like gnawing on a bone. At the first bite, she nicked Xu Ke’s lip.
With a calm expression, Xu Ke pushed Alice away. Her eyes closed, she opened them due to Xu Ke’s movement, looking puzzled, and then her gaze fell on Xu Ke’s injured lip. Alice blinked rapidly, feeling she had found the answer, and a guilty look spread across her face.
"I didn’t mean it. It was my first kiss, and I have no experience. I’ll practice more and get better, you’ll see," Alice said and leaned in to kiss Xu Ke again.
Xu Ke blocked her again, "I know, but I am not the right person for you to practice on, at least not right now. I see you’re sobered up enough; you should return to your room now," Xu Ke said looking at Alice.
A hurt expression appeared on Alice’s face, "Are you that unwilling to be with me? That unwilling to be alone in the same room with me?"
"This isn’t good for your reputation. I can’t take responsibility for you right now, so I don’t want to do anything inappropriate. Go back, it’s best for both of us," Xu Ke reached out, intending to pat Alice’s head, but she dodged, rejecting him for the first time.
Xu Ke’s hand froze mid-air, slowly forming into a fist before casually relaxing and returning to his side, as if nothing had happened.
Seeing Xu Ke like this made Alice feel powerless, and also angry. She didn’t understand how someone like Xue Ke could exist in the world, so she pushed Xu Ke aside, looked at him one last time through tear-filled eyes, and then ran out of the room quickly.
The sound of the door closing jolted Xu Ke out of his daze, bringing a wry smile to his face.
Xu Ke sat on the sofa where Alice had been, touched the cut on his lip made by Alice, and with a wry smile, his expression gradually calmed, as if nothing had just occurred, except for the look in his eyes.
Alice ran back to her room, collapsing onto her bed; the pent-up tears and grievances finally burst forth.
She hit her bed hard, making a mess, much like her current mood.
The landlady, who had been waiting for good news from her daughter, heard the noise, left her husband aside, and came to Alice’s room.
Gently closing the door, she walked toward Alice’s bedroom, and the sight that greeted her was her beloved daughter weeping miserably on the bed.
The landlady was startled, quickly rushing forward to Alice’s bedside, embracing her daughter, cautiously asking, "My dear, what happened? Did Xu Ke bully you? Why are you crying like this, it’s breaking mother’s heart."
Upon hearing her mother’s voice, Alice lifted her head from the sheets, her tearful eyes gazing at her mother, speaking with a sobbing tone, "I was rejected by him. He said he likes me, but we can’t be together. Yet he won’t let us be together. I kissed him, but he pushed me away. He just doesn’t like me."
"Mom, I’ve been heartbroken." Alice concluded.
Gently stroking Alice’s hair, the landlady said tenderly, "My dear, it’s his loss if he doesn’t like you. Let’s not cry, there are so many men in this world. If he doesn’t like you, then we’ll move on to the next one. Don’t think about him anymore; he’s not worth it."
"If your heart feels too upset, mom will send you somewhere else to relax and come back refreshed. What do you think?" the landlady asked gently.
Alice thought for a while with her head down, then finally nodded, agreeing with the landlady’s suggestion.