A Heart-Racing Dare - Chapter 2

Shen Zhaobei went rigid. He barely moved; he didn’t even seem to blink.

I walked over, pushed past Shen Xu, and said, “Shen Zhaobei… may I kiss you?”

The comments erupted.

[What just happened? The plot changed!]

[Who cares? Kiss him, heroine! Right now! Kiss the life out of him!]

[It’s a sweet romance! We’re saved!]

[Well, well. Brooding boy’s happy again.]

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shen Xu’s face darken.

“Jiang Xia, is this a joke? You and my brother don’t even—”

He never finished. I closed my eyes and went for it.

At first Zhaobei held perfectly still while I kissed him. Had those comments lied to me? But then his hand came to me, and he deepened the kiss. For all his usual restraint, his kiss was hot, lingering, overwhelming. The force of his feelings threatened to swallow me whole.

When he finally let me go, my legs were unsteady. I clutched his sleeve, feeling absurdly as if I’d barely survived. I glanced at my watch. That had been far longer than thirty seconds.

The private room had fallen silent. Every eye was on us. I quietly caught my breath, took Zhaobei’s hand, and headed for the door.

“Jiang Xia. Stop.” Shen Xu’s voice came from behind us, low and menacing. “Did I say you could leave? You’re supposed to marry me, and now you’re making out with my brother. Don’t you owe me an explanation?”

The comments filled with insults.

[Funny how he forgot about his future bride while kissing and cuddling another girl.]

[Now the bastard’s playing the victim? If he’s bored, he can go cremate himself.]

[Run, sweetheart! Don’t look back! Once you leave Shen Xu, you’ll find decent people everywhere!]

I turned and gave him a faint smile. “Shen Xu, I think you’ve misunderstood something. I never said you were the person I’d marry.”

Our families had made only a verbal agreement. No one had named a specific partner. Because Shen Xu and I knew each other, everybody had simply assumed it would be him. Why should I bind myself to him now?

His expression changed as he realized it. I had no interest in explaining further.

“Go on, Jiang Xia. Try walking out that door,” he snapped behind us. A bottle shattered, and voices rose to calm him. Zhaobei and I kept walking. Neither of us looked back.

The autumn wind cooled me as we left the overheated room. Suddenly, our interlaced fingers felt unbearably warm.

Why wasn’t he saying anything? What was I supposed to say? I should apologize first.

I let go of his hand. “Sorry I kissed you out of nowhere…”

“Mm,” he murmured. Nothing more.

Quiet indeed. Wasn’t he supposed to like me enough to cover a whole room with my pictures? He certainly didn’t look it.

I stole a glance at the comments.

[How long has it been? Has brooding boy still not recovered?]

[He likes Jiang Xia that much? One kiss and he’s dazed for ages.]

[Give him a break. He blushes just from looking at her photos too long.]

[Pathetic! Keep this up and she’ll leave!]

Oh. Was that why? I bit my lip, suddenly awkward myself.

“Then… could you take me home?”

“Yes.”

Relieved, I turned just in time to see him walk straight toward a utility pole. Had I kissed him stupid? I yanked him back and threaded my fingers through his again.

“Maybe we’d better hold hands.”

I kept an eye out for any other utility poles that might attack him. I missed the sudden change in the comments.

[Holding hands again, huh? What a sly fox. His tail’s practically spinning like a propeller.]

[I nearly forgot: innocent and restrained as he is, this boy’s still a brooding schemer.]

[Our poor Jiang Xia is too trusting.]

[Look at his determined eyes. She’s done for. Shen Zhaobei is never letting go.]

In the car, I pieced together what the comments had told me while agonizing over what to say to Zhaobei. According to them, I was the heroine of a novel about a man desperately trying to win back the wife he’d lost. In its original plot, I followed Shen Xu devotedly, suffered in body and heart, and died in a staged car crash. Only then did he realize he loved me. His remorse came too late and hurt him beyond bearing.

I sat in silence for a long while, then offered six points of feedback: …… Ha. I’d hire someone to assassinate the author—on credit, if necessary.

The car stopped, and Zhaobei opened my door. Night had deepened; hardly anyone was on the street. My nerves returned. I had been too impulsive. I hadn’t even asked how he felt about the marriage. Before tonight, we had barely spoken!

The comments claimed he was hopelessly in love with me and would sign a marriage certificate and hand over his entire fortune if I so much as beckoned. Still, that was… Perhaps I should take my time.

“About the marriage—”

We spoke at once. I looked at him. He avoided my eyes and gave a small, bitter smile.

“Miss Jiang, I know. What happened was only a game. I wouldn’t presume to ask you to make it official. I’ll explain things to the Shen family, too. Someone like me could never…”

He trailed off, but I understood. The comments had mentioned his childhood.

Unlike Shen Xu, a wanted child loved by both parents, Zhaobei had never been expected. When he was small, neither parent had an established career. They worked themselves ragged, then came home and fought in front of him, hurling the cruelest insults at each other. He could barely read, yet he was blamed for starting their fights, keeping them from divorcing, and burdening them both.

A few years later, his mother abandoned him on a snowy night. She shook off his hand and said, “You’re exactly like your father. You disgust me.”

His parents separated and reunited again and again. When they finally got back together, they poured all the love they had withheld from Zhaobei into Shen Xu. Perhaps that was where his insecurity came from. He had always been quiet, almost invisible among other people.