Chapter 470 - 303: I’m Not Dirty

Chapter 470: Chapter 303: I’m Not Dirty

She lay there on Lin Chen’s back, her hands tightly clutching his damp clothes.

Her voice had lost its earlier pride and confidence, becoming small and weak. It was as if she had fallen from her throne as a queen to become a girl wandering the streets. In a trembling, hushed tone, she spoke.

"Actually, a few days ago, I went online and did some research... about the kind of women you Great Xia men marry."

"I read so, so, so many comments and watched a lot of videos explaining the traditional cultural views of Great Xia. I learned that in your country, the more outstanding and successful a man is, the higher his standards are for a partner, because your country is already showing signs of a skewed gender ratio."

"The most common thing those comments said was that you Great Xia men are more traditional in your views. That you like pretty, inexperienced girls who know how to dress up, do housework, cook, and take care of their husbands, the elderly, and children. A career is secondary. And they should also come from a harmonious family."

"I really struggled for a long time over whether to tell you about my past. But then I decided that hiding things isn’t my style. It would drive me crazy."

"I can’t stay silent anymore. The more I’m around you, the more fascinated I become. It’s like you have this strange magic about you that makes people unable to resist wanting to know you more deeply."

"I know my history of toying with several men’s feelings will disgust you. Even if you think I’m dirty, shameless, repulsive, malicious, or whatever... I just hope you won’t leave me, okay? Even if we can only be just friends..."

"Shut up."

Lin Chen snapped coldly.

His unprecedentedly icy attitude sent a flash of shock across Erica’s face, and her complexion instantly turned deathly pale.

Before she could react, Lin Chen had already broken her grip and turned to face her, his brows tightly furrowed as he stared at her.

’Is... is he going to yell at me?’

’Or is he going to kick me out?’

Erica swallowed hard, her eyes welling with tears. Her beautiful, wide eyes were filled with anxiety and fear.

As she watched in a daze, Lin Chen raised his hand as if he were about to hit her.

She didn’t dodge. Instead, she closed her eyes as if accepting her fate.

’That’s right, I was the one who came on to him first. I knew he was an introverted and reserved man, yet I kept teasing him again and again.’ She was well aware of the torment it was for a young man to face the temptation of a young, sexy woman—especially one like him, who possessed such rare and commendable moral character.

And now, after enjoying all that flirtatious ambiguity, she had laid her ugliest side bare before him. It was tantamount to driving a knife right into him.

Betrayal from someone close hurts more than anything.

She knew this all too well.

’If he wants to hit me, then let him.’

’As long as it calms him down, I don’t care how many times he hits me.’

The few short seconds she waited with her eyes closed felt like an eternity.

Suddenly, some premonition, some feeling that Lin Chen had moved, made her instinctively shrink back and duck her head. Her tightly shut eyelids began to tremble.

BONK!

A sharp rap landed on the top of her head, and the pain instantly brought tears to her eyes. She couldn’t help but cry out.

"OW!!!"

The moment the cry left her lips, she froze. Clutching her forehead, she opened her eyes in disbelief.

"You... You can’t even bring yourself to hit someone properly?"

"Who said I was going to hit you?"

Lin Chen rolled his eyes and, exasperated, poked her smooth forehead with his finger. "Come on, you’re twenty-five years old. Can you not have so much internal drama? It’s not like you’ve been watching palace intrigue dramas. Cut the sob story!"

"And what the hell was that research you did? I swear... If you were going to research us, you should have at least used a VPN to get on our actual Great Xia social media apps! What’s the damn point of looking it up on foreign social media? It’s all negative press!"

"Huh?" Erica blinked in confusion.

Lin Chen retorted irritably, "Don’t ’huh’ me. You’re usually such a smart woman. How did your IQ just drop offline? Did love turn your brain to mush? I never noticed that about you before."

"First of all, I’m not saying you’re wrong. Those are, in fact, real views that exist. But they’re standards for choosing a partner from ten or twenty years ago. A good chunk of that is probably from forty or fifty years ago."

"What era do you think this is? It’s the 21st century! Young people in Great Xia might not be as wild as you Europeans and Americans, and we might not be as open, but we’re not living in the stone age. Our generation’s standards for a partner changed a long time ago. In fact, life is so stressful now that very few people even want to get married."

"Let me put it this way: what you described is basically a summary of all the most traditional views held by Great Xia men, all rolled into one. But you have to understand, everyone’s views are different. You can’t apply a summary about hundreds of millions of people to a single individual, right?"

"Times are changing so fast now, a new generation gap forms every three to five years. Who even cares about all that anymore? Besides, it’s not like you did anything that crossed a line. All you did was mess with a few scumbags. The past is the past. What’s most important is the person you are right now, standing in front of me."

Erica never expected this would be the outcome. Not only did Lin Chen show no signs of anger or annoyance, he even looked completely unbothered.

’So it’s true, you can’t believe a single word from the Western media!!!’

’Wait, does that mean that whole performance just now made me look like some lovesick clown in his eyes?’

’AHHHH, I could just die of embarrassment!!!!’

’To think that I came on to him so confidently again and again, only to act like... like this! The image I worked so hard to build is completely ruined!!!!!’

The more she thought about it, the more mortified she became. Her fair, jade-like cheeks flushed crimson, and this time, even her earlobes and neck turned a deep, purplish red.

She kept her head down, not daring to look at Lin Chen’s expression. All she could hear was the violent, drum-like pounding of her own heart.

Watching her act like a turtle hiding in its shell, Lin Chen couldn’t help but shake his head with an amused smile.

Even though it was all a misunderstanding, he could hear from her words that she was in a completely different state from the confident Erica he was used to.

Or perhaps, this was her true self—a self wrapped in layer after layer of disguise.

He reached out, gently cupped her scorching-hot cheeks, and tilted her head up with a bit of force.

The moment their eyes met, Erica’s pupils trembled, and she instinctively tried to look away.

"Don’t look away."

Lin Chen said softly, "Aren’t you the one who’s so good at holding a gaze? Why don’t you dare to look at me?"

"I... I..."

"You know, in my twenty-five years of life, no girl has ever confessed her feelings to me. I’ve never even had a female friend. That day, when you walked toward me in the sunlight, smiled, and said you were my fan and had joined the show just for me... I felt a sense of validation I’d never experienced before."

"Even though you teased me a lot after that, honestly, as a man, who wouldn’t want a hot, beautiful woman to make the first move?"

"I’m very grateful that you like me. You’ve given me a confidence I never could have had on my own. You’re wonderful. You don’t need to wallow in self-pity because of an unhappy family or a difficult childhood. The you right now is perfect—a rich, beautiful, capable woman with a great body, who also has parents who love you."

"And I’m just an ordinary guy with average looks and not much money. I’ve even often thought that I’m not good enough for you. Being rich is the goal we Da Xia People strive for our whole lives—though, of course, happiness is more important."

"Wh-What do you mean?"

Erica was a little dazed, her blank mind unable to process what was happening.

Lin Chen’s thumbs, still cupping her cheeks, gently caressed her smooth skin. As she stared in shock, he slowly lowered his head and captured her soft, pink lips with his.

Erica’s eyes widened in disbelief.

’He... he, he, he... he kissed me first?’

Before she could react, Lin Chen pulled back after a brief, gentle touch.

"Right now, I really want to confess to you, but my rational side is telling me this impulse is probably just because you seemed so pitiful, fragile, and sympathetic just now."

"So I’m not going to make you any promises right now. This is the only way I can express how I truly feel. Now that we’ve both been honest about our feelings, getting along should be easier from here on out, right?"

"If it feels right, I’ll be the one to confess to you. At the right time. It’s a more common view among us Great Xia men that the guy should be the one to confess."

The fine drizzle had completely soaked both of their hair, making them look rather comical. Erica’s long hair, in particular, was plastered to her face in strips, like seaweed.

Realizing how ridiculous she must look, Erica was both embarrassed and annoyed. She stomped her foot and turned to run, only to be pulled back by Lin Chen.

"Wh-What are you doing? Weren’t you about to leave earlier? Then go!"

"We’re not done yet," Lin Chen said, smiling as he gazed into her eyes and pointed at the empty woods ahead. "A moment ago, did you really think I was going to hit you?"

Erica nodded guiltily and replied in a voice barely above a whisper, "...Yeah."

"We’ve known each other for so long, and you still don’t know what kind of person I am? Do I seem like the type of guy who would hit a woman? That’s slander against my character!"

"S-Sorry! It’s my fault!"

"Just apologizing isn’t enough. I need you to do something for me."

"What is it? Just say it. As long as it’s something I can do, I promise I’ll do it!"

Erica clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture. She couldn’t understand why she had thought that just now, when it was so obvious he wasn’t that kind of person.

"I need you to repeat what I’m about to say ten times. You have to shout it at these woods."

’Shouting?’

Erica let out a sigh of relief. They were in the middle of nowhere with no one around, so it wouldn’t be difficult at all.

"Okay, I promise I’ll apologize to you with the utmost sincerity!"

Lin Chen nodded. "Listen carefully. What I need you to shout is very simple. It’s only three words."

"I’m not dirty."

"?!"

The moment she heard those three words, Erica froze on the spot.

’Why would it be that??’

She had imagined several possibilities, but she never would have guessed that Lin Chen would ask her to shout this.

"Can’t do it? Then I’m leaving."

"No, no, don’t go! I’ll shout it..."

Right then, she took a deep breath, turned toward the empty woods ahead, and cupped her hands around her mouth to shout.

"I’m not dirty!!!"