I looked at him silently and whispered, "Lila is angry. Aren't you going to comfort her?"
He threw down the microphone, almost exploding with anger, and gritted his teeth, "Kiki, do you have any conscience? The one I love is you, it's you. Don't you understand?"
"Stop mentioning me and Lila together. We are just pure friends."
"I watched the sunrise with her that day because her parents were arguing and getting divorced. She was in a bad mood and was suicidal. I accompanied her to cheer her up."
"I didn't dare tell you because I was afraid you'd misunderstand. How long are you going to keep this up?"
"Can't you feel a bit of pity for me?"
"I've been going crazy these days. Can't you look back at me once?"
I coldly pulled his hand away, "No, I will only move forward."
After that, he still sent various gifts to my company, but I returned them all untouched.
When the collaborative project was about to start, the client insisted that I personally go to the construction site to follow up.
I knew this was Lila's doing behind the scenes, but they were the client, and my boss couldn't go against their wishes. He promised me a raise if I went on a business trip to oversee the project.
I agreed. The construction site was in a small fifth-tier city. After arriving there, I rented a small apartment near the site.
During the day, I wore a hard hat and worked on the site. In the evening, I dragged my tired body back to the apartment.
The path from the site to my rented place was a small road that passed through a dark alley. Every time I walked through it, I always encountered drunkards, which made me anxious.
Whenever I saw a drunkard, I would keep my distance and walk around them.
One day, however, a drunkard deliberately blocked my way: "Young lady, you should be careful out here alone. Let me walk you home."
He tried to grab me. Startled, I couldn't avoid him in time and was about to be caught when suddenly someone rushed out from a side path and knocked the drunkard down with one punch.
I stared at the familiar figure in shock.
Laurence? What was he doing in such a small place?
He walked up to me, his eyes full of concern: "Coming here alone without considering your safety?"
Still shaken from the scare, I looked at him blankly and asked, "Why are you here?"
He sighed and said, "How could I leave you alone here? I arrived on the first day you did."
No wonder he could rush out immediately; he had been quietly following me every day.
Because of my exhaustion from working on the site during the day, I hadn't noticed him.
I wanted to tell him not to bother, but I was genuinely terrified just now.
Seeing my fear, he said, "Don't push me away. Let me protect you during this time. You are the one I love; I really don't want anything to happen to you."
I acquiesced and let him walk beside me.
The path was very quiet. As we walked together for the first time openly, he told me why he treated Lila so specially.
He said his family's company had faced a major crisis once. Lila's father took a huge risk and bet his own company to help them through it.
Because of this favor, he had been taught since childhood to take good care of Lila and love her like a sister.
Whenever Lila needed something, he had to respond immediately; otherwise, he would be scolded by his parents.
Over time, it became a habit.
But he was very clear that he had no romantic feelings for Lila. He said that from beginning to end, the one he loved was me.
He looked at me seriously and asked, "Kiki, now that I know my actions have hurt you, can you give me another chance and forgive me?"