Rebirth Counterattack with Space
Chapter 448 - 432: Cold

Chapter 448: Chapter 432: Cold

Is this really okay?

Gu Feng was stunned, experiencing for the first time a lack of disgust at a woman’s tears, instead feeling a surge of heartache mixed with helplessness.

"I knew you’ve been impatient with me for a long time, who can I blame but myself? I clearly knew you didn’t like me, yet I shamelessly kept chasing after you, didn’t I?"

As Ye Man’s emotions escalated, the more she thought about it, the more desperate she felt. She had been a failure, chasing him for three years, almost offering everything she had, yet no one appreciated her efforts; it was like a one-sided performance.

With such thoughts, her tears flowed uncontrollably, and eventually, she gave in and began to sob loudly, "If you really don’t want to give up your freedom and marry me, then it’s fine, I can just have the baby myself and pretend it’s only mine."

After saying that, Ye Man felt utterly despondent and utterly disappointed with men.

"Don’t be unreasonable, I... I don’t think I’ve ever said I didn’t want to get married." Gu Feng was also getting anxious.

"You’re saying you’re willing to meet my parents on Saturday, then discuss our marriage?" Ye Man’s tears instantly stopped, and she looked up at him with a face full of surprise, tears and snot still hanging on her face, untouched and unchecked.

So ugly.

She was never that pretty to begin with, at best she was simply delicate, and crying had made her lose all semblance of composure. Hadn’t he started dating her just to pass the time when he was bored? How did it come to the point where he was afraid she’d find out he had deceived her and run away in a huff?

Gu Feng inwardly loathed himself for a moment; she wasn’t some heavenly beauty, so why had he fallen for her? However, as he contemplated this, he made sure not to show any sign on his face, and quickly nodded in response, "Of course I’m willing, but--"

"As long as you’re willing, that’s enough. You’re worried that my parents will ask you for a betrothal gift, a house, right? Don’t worry, they won’t. My parents only had me, and aside from our house, we have another one we rent out. If you don’t want to live with my parents after we’re married, they said we could take the rental house for ourselves. Both my parents have pensions; they don’t rely on that rent money to get by."

Upon hearing this, and seeing Xia Ye say the words "I’m willing" with what didn’t seem like a feigned expression, she felt an explosion of joy and forgot all her grievances, inevitably letting more information slip in her speech.

"Did you tell your parents about us? Didn’t we agree not to tell your family yet?"

Gu Feng staggered, his mind exploding with a "bang."

This was bad; the situation had gotten even more complicated, with even his future in-laws convinced he was a penniless "orphan."

And on his parents’ side, how was he supposed to explain this to them?

If his mother found out--

Gu Feng shivered at the thought, afraid to imagine the chaos that would ensue--

Could he go through with marrying Ye Man under the identity of Xia Ye?

Gu Feng immediately rejected this sudden idea. Not to mention the truth would inevitably come out sooner or later, making things worse, but even now, he couldn’t live with it in his conscience.

When he was clearly capable of providing a better life for his wife and child, was he really going to let them suffer? What kind of man would that make him?

Gu Feng’s mind raced with a multitude of thoughts, and his expression fluctuated wildly, which made Ye Man feel incredibly guilty. She fidgeted with the hem of her dress and sneaked glances at him until she finally mustered up the courage to speak, "Please don’t be angry, my parents didn’t look down on you at all, really."

While Ye Man spoke, she silently cursed herself for letting something slip out in her excitement. She felt a bit cowardly, fearing that her boyfriend might change his mind about marrying her, so she hurriedly explained, "Isn’t it just because I’m not getting any younger, and my parents have been relentless in arranging blind dates for me? In the end, I couldn’t take it anymore and had to tell them the truth, right?"

In fact, her parents did have some reservations about her dating an orphan, but unable to sway her determination, they eventually had to accept it. Even before, her parents had suggested that since Xia Ye was an orphan, why not simply have him marry into the family.

She knew Xia Ye took great pride in himself and would never accept marrying into her family. In the end, she made a fuss at home for a long time, finally getting her parents to stop bringing up the idea of him marrying into the family or talking about a dowry. Instead, they even offered to give them another house for them to live in.

...

"Ye Man, I’m sorry. I, actually, I lied to you before. I, I’m really not an orphan at all." After a moment of silence, Gu Feng, as if steeling himself, spoke to Ye Man.

"Ah?"

Ye Man blinked, and then said with surprise, "Are you saying that you’ve found your biological parents?"

"No."

Gu Feng shook his head with a bitter expression, reached out to hold Ye Man’s hand, fearing she might walk away in a huff as his ex-girlfriends often did.

He hesitated, then glanced at her cautiously, "Actually, I lied to you before, not only do I have both parents, but I also have a younger brother."

"..."

Ye Man stared at him, dumbfounded, as if he were speaking an alien language.

It was as if she was looking at someone she didn’t recognize at all, and her throat felt clenched tight, unable to utter a word.

"Also, my real name isn’t Xia Ye. Xia is my mother’s surname. My true name is Gu Feng." Gu Feng, terrified, gripped Ye Man’s hand even tighter, bit his lip, and decided to lay everything out since he had started talking.

"...Heh, Xia Ye, you know? That joke isn’t funny at all."

Ye Man tried to pull her hand back, but finding it impossible, she let him continue to hold it. She then forced a dry laugh while staring at the ground, her laugh looking no better than crying.

All she felt was a blankness in her mind, completely unsure how to react. She felt she should be angry, after all, she had been lied to by this man— with whom she had shared her most intimate moments— for three full years. Any woman should be angry, yet she just couldn’t muster the rage.

"Ye Man--"

Gu Feng pulled her into his embrace, "I admit that at first, I did it on purpose, but later, I wanted to tell you so many times, yet I feared you couldn’t accept it."

Ye Man couldn’t help but shrink into herself. She felt cold, utterly chilled, and a buzzing in her ears made it increasingly hard to hear the voice right next to her ear— a voice that seemed exceptionally gentle yet whose words she couldn’t make out clearly anymore--