Chapter 422: Coming to Terms

Chapter 422: Chapter 422: Coming to Terms

"Is fame and fortune all you care about?" Yang Xiaofei asked Wang Chenning softly. "Don’t you have any other ambitions?"

"Is that what you really think?" Wang Chenning looked at Yang Xiaofei with a ghost of a smile. "I think you’re even more pragmatic than I am."

"What gives you the right to say that about me?" Yang Xiaofei grew angry. "How am I pragmatic?"

"Being pragmatic is just human nature. There’s nothing wrong with it." Wang Chenning was still smiling. "Let’s put it this way: if I weren’t good-looking and had no talent, would you give me the time of day? Of course not! And by the same token, if that were you, I wouldn’t bother with you either. If I were mediocre, even if I were better-looking than Yang Xiaodong, would you guys take me seriously? At best, you’d treat me like a pretty face."

"What man compares himself to a pretty face?" Yang Xiaofei gave Wang Chenning a scornful look. "The way I see it, you’re just too possessive. You want to have it all."

"That’s right." Wang Chenning didn’t deny it. "I’m just open about it. Everyone thinks this way; most people just aren’t willing to admit it. Can you honestly say you don’t have ambitions? Don’t you admire women like Wu Zetian or Empress Dowager Cixi?"

Yang Xiaofei had no desire to continue this conversation. She snatched the hair dryer from his hand and gave him a kick. "Get out of here and go to sleep!"

"Alright, I’m leaving then!" Wang Chenning made a show of turning to go.

"Get lost! The farther, the better!" Seething with an indescribable rage, Yang Xiaofei grabbed a throw pillow and hurled it at him.

She didn’t expect him to catch the pillow and lunge right at her.

Yang Xiaofei cried out in alarm, but she had no time to get away before he tackled her.

Although Yang Xiaofei struggled with all her might, she couldn’t break free from his clutches.

Finally, she resigned herself to her fate. She stopped resisting and launched a frenzied counter-assault of her own.

In a moment, they were lost in a passionate embrace.

With Zhao Xiao’an’s departure, the greatest burden on Wang Chenning’s heart had been lifted. He hadn’t planned on fulfilling his earlier promise to take her on her birthday. But now that Luo Yuqing had brought things to a head, he figured he might as well get it over with and stop Yang Xiaofei from acting up again.

What he didn’t expect, however, was Yang Xiaofei’s immense self-control. She refused to let him cross the final line.

After resisting for a moment, she calmly held up her hands in surrender. "I’m not as strong as you. If you’re going to force the issue, I can’t stop you."

Seeing her like this, Wang Chenning’s resolve instantly crumbled.

He didn’t press her any further. With an awkward laugh, he simply pulled her into his arms and lay down, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Yang Xiaofei resisted for a moment, then yielded.

Wang Chenning didn’t speak, just stroked her gently.

"Are you angry?" Yang Xiaofei placed a hand on his chest and asked softly. "Are you mad I went against your wishes?"

"I’m not angry." Wang Chenning shook his head. "It’s perfectly normal for you to go against my wishes. We’re two separate individuals, after all..."

"Spare me the lecture." Yang Xiaofei silenced him with a kiss. After a tender moment, she melted completely into his embrace, closing her eyes and stroking his chest. "Who do you trust most right now?"

"Myself."

Yang Xiaofei pinched him. "Besides yourself, I mean."

Wang Chenning chuckled. "Who do you want the answer to be?"

That earned him another pinch. ℴ

Wang Chenning immediately retaliated, pinching her back hard in a similar spot several times, not stopping until she was yelping and begging for mercy.

"It’s probably you," Wang Chenning said softly after they settled down. "I was just thinking, if everything went wrong for me, you might be the last person to leave my side. You might even do everything in your power to help me make a comeback."

"Good, as long as you know." His words moved her in an unexpected way, but she immediately followed up with a complaint. "Then why do you still treat me like this?"

"If all I wanted was to take from you, do you think you would have remained a virgin for this long?" Wang Chenning said with a smile. "I know you’re full of dissatisfaction, and I don’t want that to change who you are. Keep doing things the way you’ve always wanted to. If you want to take control of the entire Yang family, I’ll help you. I promise I’ll help you do it. If you want to be a queen, I’ll make that happen for you too."

Yang Xiaofei held him tighter, her voice soft and gentle. "Do you really want to build a kingdom of your own?"

"Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?" Wang Chenning said with a self-deprecating laugh. "I’ve always dreamed of it, and now I feel like I might actually have a chance to make it happen, so I want to give it a shot. I’m not afraid of failure. I believe that as long as I try, I’ll end up with a place of my own. It’s just a question of whether it’ll be big or small."

Yang Xiaofei was silent for a long time before letting out a soft sigh. "If you have many other women, will you really put me above them all?"

"Of course." His hands started to wander again as he spoke. "After all, you’re the only woman who has an official title with me."

Yang Xiaofei was soon overcome with passion from his domineering yet gentle caresses. Finally, she steeled herself, propping herself up on his arm to look at him seriously. "Then remember what you said today. You’re not allowed to deceive me."

With that said, she immediately took the lead...