In the bedroom.

After Lu Li said this, he nervously stared into Liu Kexin's eyes.

Actually, this request is a bit excessive.

After all, they were not in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.

Yet he was asking to hold her for a while.

How could anyone agree to that?

Liu Kexin's face turned crimson, and she neither refused nor agreed.

She trembled slightly and said, "Lu Li, don't be like this, I'm really a bit scared."

Oh?

Didn't directly refuse me?

Lu Li felt there was a chance and asked, "What are you afraid of?"

Liu Kexin's whole body tensed, not daring to move, "You say to hold for a while now, who knows if you'll want to do something else later."

Lu Li calmed her emotions, saying, "Don't worry, I've always kept my word. If I say I'll hold you for a while, I'll only hold you for a while."

Liu Kexin skeptically said, "You just said you wouldn't do anything to me, and now you're holding me, how can I trust you?"

Lu Li blinked and said, "I haven't done anything to you, didn't you bump into my arms on your own?"

With these words, Liu Kexin was speechless, unable to respond.

Moments ago, her shoulder felt numb and tingly from warmth, and when she got up, her arm was weak, accidentally bumping into Lu Li's embrace—though not intentional.

But no matter how unintentional, on the surface, it seemed like she made the first move.

Liu Kexin simply remained silent.

Seeing she neither verbally refused nor struggled to break free, Lu Li simply continued to hold her without letting go.

The two of them remained in a stalemate for a short while.

Suddenly, Liu Kexin whispered, "I didn't see that you could be quite bad."

Lu Li teased her, "Isn't it true that women don't love good men?"

Liu Kexin remained tense, "Do you trick other women this way too?"

Lu Li honestly said, "I've only been in love twice in my life, who would I trick?"

Liu Kexin didn't believe him, "How is that possible? You're so handsome, a wave of your hand and women would come flocking."

Didn't you see my employment photo?

Back then, I was poor and chubby, where would I find girls to woo?

Lu Li didn't respond to her comment, instead continuing to test her limits, "What about you?"

"What about me?" Liu Kexin either didn't understand or was deliberately playing dumb.

Lu Li looked down into her eyes, "If I waved you over, would you 'come'?"

He emphasized the word "come".

Upon hearing this, Liu Kexin's body visibly trembled, but she tried hard to conceal it.

Her tone remained wooden as she said, "Come what? Don't let your imagination run wild, I don't have that kind of feelings for you."

Last time I already heard your inner thoughts, I know you have some feelings for me, how is it possible not to?

Lu Li knew she was avoiding the question, so he didn't press further and instead reached out a hand to attempt to lift her chin to meet his gaze.

Liu Kexin quickly blocked him, "What are you trying to do? Didn't you just say you wouldn't do anything?"

As she spoke, she raised her head to meet Lu Li's eyes.

Lu Li didn't reach out to touch her chin again but gazed deeply into her bright eyes.

He decided to be bold, attempting to break the deadlock, "Can I kiss you?"

Liu Kexin suddenly struggled again, slightly annoyed, "I knew you had no good intentions, no way! It's impossible! What do you take me for?"

Lu Li continued to look at her, coaxing, "Just one kiss, I promise not to do anything else."

Liu Kexin pushed against his chest, "You said the same thing before, so I let you hold me for a while, and now you're saying it again. I don't believe you."

Although he could forcefully kiss her, she would undoubtedly be very unhappy if he really did so.

In matters of romance, Lu Li always believed in mutual consent, never forcing the other party.

Seeing she was really unwilling, he had no choice but to say, "If you won't let me kiss you, I won't. I'll hold you for a while longer, and then I'll go to sleep, is that okay?"

This time, Liu Kexin didn't struggle, "Alright, just holding, no more excessive demands."

Lu Li agreed, "I won't ask, but why don't you tell me about yourself? Knowing you for so long, I still know almost nothing about you."

At the mention of this, Liu Kexin suddenly became silent.

Lu Li noticed her gaze seemed to dim and thought he might have asked the wrong question.

"Actually..." Liu Kexin's body relaxed slightly as she sighed, "You wouldn't believe it if I said I grew up in a very monotonous environment, would you?"

"I believe it." Lu Li asked, "How monotonous?"

Liu Kexin slowly narrated, "You know my family is very wealthy. It seems glamorous, but actually, my family is very traditional, with strict rules. Because of this, since I was young, everything I do is restricted by them. Even walking improperly would lead to scolding."

So strict?

Lu Li always thought families of super-rich would live comfortably.

Liu Kexin reminisced, "Moreover, there are about a dozen of us cousins altogether, and none of us can live the life we want. We must follow the rules and paths set by our elders..."

Her pace was unhurried, yet her voice carried a tinge of resentment.

A moment later, Lu Li roughly understood what kind of life the other person had led before.

To put it simply, Liu Kexin and her cousins almost had no "freedom." Everything they did had to follow the rules set by their elders.

For example, if an ordinary person wanted to date, they would just find someone to date.

But not Liu Kexin and her cousins.

If they wanted to date someone, they had to inform their family elders first.

The elders would decide if this dating partner would help the family business; perhaps only then would they agree.

If not beneficial to the family business, then forget it.

Of course, some people have rebelled before.

According to Liu Kexin, she had a cousin who once rebelled against those rules, resulting in their grandfather's fury, which led to that cousin losing all inheritance rights and being kicked out of the family.

That was equivalent to losing everything!

Because of such incidents, everyone knew how severe the consequences of disobedience could be, and thus no one ever rebelled again.

This was just about dating. In all other aspects, like Liu Kexin said, whether it was eating, walking, making friends, or living life, everything was constantly watched over by the elders, and she had absolutely no freedom.

Saying this, Liu Kexin sighed again, "Actually, my willingness to stay away from the Liu Group headquarters and return to Huaxia to take over Vox is not just to demonstrate my abilities in front of Grandpa, but more because... I want to escape that oppressive family, and just take a breather here."

Lu Li mused, "So, you wealthy kids aren't as glamorous as people think."

"There's no absolute glamour. No matter who you are, you still have to live within rules." Liu Kexin shook her head and then changed the subject: "Let's not just talk about me, what about you?"

This was the first time she took the initiative to ask about his life.

Lu Li naturally said, "It's just that—since childhood, there wasn't much difference from others—just studying, graduating, finding a job after school, then meeting you."

Liu Kexin seemed interested, "Can you elaborate?"

Lu Li inquired, "Which part do you want to hear about?"

He thought she might ask about his fighting skills.

Surprisingly, Liu Kexin didn't ask about any of that.

She seemed to know what to ask and what not to, "Your childhood."

"My childhood, huh." Lu Li tilted his head and thought for a moment, "In the beginning, my family was relatively poor. My parents had me, and after two months, they separated from my grandparents, and got only nine bowls. To build the family, my parents were in debt up to their ears, so life was tough. Like, others would have ice pops in summer, but I could only watch."

Liu Kexin exclaimed, with some pity, "Couldn't even have ice pops?"

"Well, not entirely like that." Lu Li shook his head and said, "Just those first few years were like that. Later, my parents paid off the debt, and life gradually improved."

Actually, this situation was very common. In the past, when rural families split, not only did they get nothing, but they might even get some debt.

That was because it was driven by the larger environment back then.

But as the country got stronger and the economy more developed, such scenarios have become rare.

Lu Li understood why.

Nevertheless, Liu Kexin still felt some compassion, "I didn't expect you had such a tough childhood."

Lu Li looked down at her, "Seeing how rough my childhood was, should you give me some comfort?"

Just when her body softened, Liu Kexin tensed up again, "Aren't I comforting you? Don't overthink, okay?"

Lu Li blinked and said, "Just let me give you a kiss, as a comfort."

Liu Kexin's face, which had just returned to normal, flushed red again.

She said firmly, "No! No! Lu Li, seriously, don't have wild ideas, okay?"

After several attempts, he couldn't break through the "kiss" boundary.

Lu Li pondered that tonight's ultimate boundary was probably just this.

Based on her words, she really did seem like a pure lady who hadn't dated anyone before.

Although Lu Li hadn't dated much, he had at least some experience.

He knew not to push too hard on such matters; otherwise, it might backfire.

He nodded and said, "Alright, I won't overthink."

Only then did Liu Kexin breathe a sigh of relief and cautiously asked, "So, when will you let go of me?"

Lu Li said, "Now, it's getting late. I won't disturb your rest. Otherwise, you won't be able to rest well, and you won't have the energy to work tomorrow."

Liu Kexin gave him a complex look and said, "Work is quite busy, but I could find time during breaks..."

As she spoke, she seemed to realize something and quickly changed her tune, returning to a serious tone, "Hmm, you should rest early too; it's time for me to sleep."

Lu Li gently tucked her back into bed and pulled up the quilt, "Alright, you rest well, I'll head back to my room."

Liu Kexin seemed surprised by his gentleness, as if she wanted to say something but held back, just giving a slight nod and saying, "Hmm."

Lu Li turned and left.

Outside, he gently closed the door.

He couldn't help but glance back with a bright smile on his face.

As he suspected, Liu Kexin had a good impression of him.

After holding her for so long today, she didn't seem to mind much.

Moreover, he had an honest conversation while embracing her for a short time.

Lu Li believed that, after tonight, their relationship had taken a significant step forward.

With a little more effort, getting closer would be just a matter of time.

For now, he couldn't think about the things he couldn't have yet.

Lu Li thought to himself, "Let's see if I can use this downtime to discover some business opportunities."

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