Chapter 367 I Am a Joke

Chapter 367 I Am a Joke

Wise was scared out of his wits and forgot to push Teresa away.

His spine went stiff, and his breathing stopped.

Teresa's hands felt like they were charged with electricity, setting fires all over his body.

"Kiss me."

Her seductive voice sounded by Wise's ear. He didn't dare move, his eyes wide open, his neck gradually turning red, his breathing becoming unusually rapid.

Teresa's body was very soft. Her fingers were slender and gentle. Hugging Wise from behind, her nimble fingers unbuttoned his shirt one by one.

He didn't dare move, so she forcefully and dominantly pulled him in front of her.

Two slender arms wrapped around his neck like vines. That sexy yet melancholic delicate face was now right in front of Wise.

She stared at him without speaking, her eyes hiding too many things.

Wise met her gaze, his Adam's apple bobbing several times involuntarily.

She was beautiful.

Especially those eyes—they were captivating.

He stared at those eyes without stopping for a moment, as if being pulled into a bottomless lake.

Wise wanted to say something. His lips moved, but after a long while, he couldn't get a single word out.

A smile tugged at the corner of Teresa's mouth. She lifted her head and commanded Wise dominantly, "Close your eyes."

Wise didn't dare disobey. He obediently closed his eyes, but his eyelashes kept trembling.

His heart was trembling even more violently now, pounding as if it would jump out of his chest.

Seeing the man show such an innocent side, a trace of sadness flashed in Teresa's eyes.

Once upon a time, wasn't she the same way?

She remembered a time when she accompanied Oliver to a business dinner. He drank too much, and she took him home.

In his bedroom, for a moment, they looked at each other just like now. He said, "Close your eyes." She thought he would kiss her, but instead he just reached out to pick up an eyelash that had fallen on her cheek and threw it away.

Expectation, disappointment—no one knew what kind of storm raged in her heart at that moment.

After that incident, Teresa thought about it countless times, blaming herself for her cowardice back then. If she had been bold enough to kiss him then, would the outcome have been different?

Even if they didn't end up together in the end, at least she would have had him once, instead of now watching him marry someone else while she was left with nothing but regret.

So at this moment, she stood on her tiptoes and suddenly kissed Wise's lips.

His lips were soft, with a sweet taste.

The man froze, suddenly opening his eyes wide and staring at Teresa.

But she seemed to have gone crazy, closing her eyes and doing everything she could to pry open his lips and tongue.

"Don't..."

Before Wise could finish his words, Teresa's tongue blocked them again.

In that instant, his mind went blank.

As if there was no time to think about anything, he was already pushed onto the bed by her.

"No..."

Every time he tried to speak, Teresa used her own way to silence him.

Outside the window, rain poured down as if the sky had a hole in it.

Inside the window, dopamine and hormones collided.

That night, Teresa said goodbye to her past self in her own way.

In the morning, after the rain, the sky cleared.

When Teresa woke up, Wise was staring at her with wide eyes.

Seeing her wake up, he quickly closed his eyes in fright.

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She threw off the covers and got out of bed.

The next second, her cold and emotionless voice came out.

"You should go."

As she spoke, she turned around, opened the closet, and started changing clothes.

"Oh."

Wise opened his eyes and stared at Teresa's back for a long time.

Her waist was very slim.

He scratched his head and said what he had been thinking about all night, "I'll take responsibility for you."

He thought, no matter what last night meant, he had to be responsible for this woman in front of him.

This was a man's basic duty.

However, when these words reached Teresa's ears, they sounded like a joke.

She stopped, turned around, looked at Wise, and a mocking smile spread across her face.

"Kid, last night was between two willing people. I don't need you to take responsibility. Also, remember, don't appear in front of me again. We never met before, and we won't meet again after this. As for last night, just treat it as a mistake and forget about it."

Teresa said it very casually.

Wise suddenly got anxious. "I've seen you before. Actually, I saw you many years ago. You came back to C University as an outstanding alumna to give a talk, and I was sitting in the audience."

Teresa smiled again. She crossed her arms and looked at Wise. "Were you a freshman then?"

Wise nodded vigorously. "Yes, I had just started my freshman year."

"Have you graduated?"

Wise nodded again. "I just finished my thesis defense a few days ago."

"Since you're about to graduate, start your new life properly. Since we're from the same university, let me share some advice with you: find a good job, and then feel free to fall in love."

As she spoke, Teresa was already fully dressed.

She walked toward the vanity table with her slender waist swaying. Wise was a bit nervous but boldly said, "I've already found a job. My sister told me you left Rosewood City. Where are you working now?"

With just one look, Teresa instantly understood what Wise was thinking.

She put on makeup in front of the mirror and smiled. "I'm unemployed now, going wherever I want. Don't be infatuated with me. I'm just a joke."

"No, you're not a joke. Sincerely loving someone you think is worth loving is brave. It's Mr. Oliver who doesn't know how to cherish you."

Teresa was drawing her eyebrows. The hand holding the eyebrow pencil suddenly paused.

Although she was smiling, the wound in her heart had never healed.

At this moment, Wise's words were like a dagger, tearing open the scab that had just formed.

"Enough. You have no right to comment on my affairs."

Her expression had already changed.

But Wise didn't notice. "You're wonderful, wonderful in every way. There's no need to hurt yourself for someone who doesn't love you. I don't want to see you give up on yourself like this. The way you were last night made people feel sorry for you."

The words he had mustered up the courage to say finally angered Teresa.

She threw the eyebrow pencil in her hand at the mirror. The pencil hit the mirror surface and then rolled to the floor.

She walked to the door, opened it, and coldly commanded Wise, "Now, get out of my room right now!"

Wise was terrified. He stood there in just his underwear, looking dazed.

Teresa quickly returned, grabbed his clothes, and threw them all outside, then dragged him by the arm and pushed him out.

"Get out!"

Just like that, Wise was driven out of the room by Teresa. He picked up the clothes from the floor. The door had already closed tightly. He raised his hand to knock but ultimately didn't.

Teresa was angry. He had risked provoking her anger.

Six years ago, when he had just gotten into C University, Teresa, as an outstanding alumna of the Business School, gave a speech in the auditorium.

It was then that Wise was attracted to the confident and radiant Teresa on stage. At that moment, she became his goddess and his dream girl.

There was very little information about her online, so he used his student work position to ask teachers in the school about her.

She was excellent—she did her undergraduate degree at C University and then went to Harvard for graduate school. So he followed in her footsteps and walked the same path.

Admiring someone and wanting to become as excellent as them—this was Wise's initial motivation to work hard.

Coming back to the country this time, he never expected to see Teresa at Oliver's wedding.

He had hidden in the shadows and heard her entire conversation with Quinley.

Seeing her look so lost and devastated, his heart ached unbearably.

So when she rushed into the rain and mist, he followed her out.

As for what happened last night, he could have avoided it. As for why it ended up that way, Wise himself couldn't explain it clearly. But one thing he was certain of—he had to take responsibility for her.

However, Teresa's reaction was completely unexpected to him. Or rather, he was too inexperienced in front of her and simply couldn't handle her emotions.

Full of frustration, Wise went home.

When he got back, only Elise was there.

"Where did you go last night? You left without saying a word, and you didn't answer when I called. You really had me worried."

Elise came over to him, her eyes unable to hide her concern.

"My phone died."

Wise changed his shoes at the entrance, bending over. A button on his shirt collar had come off, revealing a row of red marks.

"Wise, what happened to your neck?"

Elise immediately spotted Teresa's handiwork from last night. Not knowing what had happened, she quickly went to Wise's side and opened his collar. His neck was covered with red marks.

"I'm fine."

Wise pushed Elise's hand away. He was a bit tired and just wanted to go back to his room to rest.

But Elise, worried about her son, followed him again. "How can you say you're fine? Your neck is covered in red marks. Did you eat something unclean last night and have an allergic reaction? Quickly change into clean clothes, and I'll take you to the hospital."

"Mom, can you please stop bothering me? I told you I'm fine."

Wise's tone wasn't very good. He didn't mean to get angry at Elise, but right now, his mind was full of thoughts about how to change Teresa's opinion of him.

Just then, Quinley heard the commotion and came downstairs.

"You're back."

Quinley said.

"Quinley." Wise greeted her. He raised his hand to cover his neck a bit more.

"Cindy, please talk to your brother. His neck is covered in red marks. I think he's having an allergic reaction and needs to go to the hospital right away."

Elise said anxiously.

Quinley's gaze was sharp, and she immediately scanned over. She quickly spotted what was really going on.

"Mom, Wise is an adult now. You don't need to worry about him so much. By the way, Riley said she wants pizza. Can you help me knead the dough and teach me how to make it?"

Quinley took Elise's arm and dragged her into the kitchen.

Wise quickly went back to his room. He looked carefully in the mirror at Teresa's handiwork.

Last night, they had been passionate and in sync.

Both were unusually clear-headed.

But when dawn came, they were back at square one.

If six years ago Wise only admired Teresa, now he had developed different feelings for her.

He wanted to protect her with the rest of his life, wanted to see her smile, wanted to see her return to her confident self from six years ago.

He leaned against the bed, arms pillowed behind his head, staring at the ceiling and thinking about many things.

Before his thesis defense, he had already received nearly ten job offers from all over the world. If he didn't know how to choose before, now he had a goal.

Wherever Teresa went, he would go too.

He had a goal, but achieving it wasn't that easy.

"Quinley, come in for a minute."

Wise set his sights on Quinley.

He called Quinley into his room and quickly locked the door.

"What is it? So mysterious?" Quinley smiled.

"I want to ask you about something." Wise was hesitating about whether to tell Quinley everything.

"Go ahead."

Quinley sat down in the chair by the desk.

Before she came in, Wise had changed into different clothes, covering the kiss marks on his neck.

"Are you close with Teresa? This time she came back, besides attending Mr. Oliver's wedding, will she stay in Rosewood City? Or is she starting over in some other country now?"

Wise had always stayed on campus and was rather naive. With this question, Quinley completely understood what was on his mind, but she didn't immediately call him out.

"Not very close. She used to work at Oliver's company, and we were colleagues. Do you know her? Why are you asking about her?"

Wise scratched the back of his head, showing a shy expression. He hadn't figured out yet how to be honest with Quinley.

"You know, she's my alumna, a celebrity in our school. I was lucky enough to meet her yesterday, so I couldn't help being curious, wanting to know what such an excellent person is doing now."

Quinley saw right through Wise's cover-up.

She pondered for a moment and said, "As far as I know, she should be enjoying her vacation right now."

"What are her plans next? Is she coming back to Rosewood City or staying in another country? Sis, can you ask her for me?"

Wise grabbed Quinley's arm, asking urgently.

"Tell me, were you with her last night?"

Quinley got straight to the point, exposing the truth Wise had been trying to hide.

His eyes dodged, wanting to admit it but afraid to.

"No... no."

He stood up, turning his back to Quinley, his hands starting to tremble nervously.

"Ms. Winters is a very excellent girl. She's worth your affection."

Quinley's words fell into Wise's heart like a stone.

He was thrilled. "You don't object?"

"Object to what?" Quinley asked back.

"Object to her being older than me, and she had something with Mr. Oliver..." Wise couldn't continue.

Because Quinley was staring at him intently.

"Since you know all this, do you mind?"

Wise hurriedly waved his hands. "I don't mind at all. None of that matters. When you love someone, you should accept everything about them."

"If that's the case, what are you afraid of?" Quinley asked back.

"I..."

Wise was suddenly at a loss for words.

What was he afraid of? He kept asking himself over and over.

It seemed like there was an answer, yet also like there wasn't.

Seeing him like a lost lamb, Quinley reached out and patted Wise's shoulder.

"Think it through carefully! I'm going out now."

After saying this, she got up and left Wise's room.

After Quinley left, the fog of confusion in Wise's heart seemed even thicker.

He had never been in a relationship. For the past six years, Teresa had been like a bright moon in his heart, always shining brilliantly. But now, wanting to claim that bright moon for himself, he was starting to feel anxious and uneasy.