Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman

Did he forget what Jean had suffered in the past? Jean had been badly hurt by the Wen family. Although the wounds on her body had healed, she was still plagued by the memory of her misery at the Wen house. However, Jean had gradually gotten used to not thinking

about it. Zed's statement undid all her efforts. He really broke Jean's heart this time.

Jean took a deep breath and tried to control her emotions. Her eyes turned red from the effort of holding back unshed tears. Despite feeling extremely grieved, she managed to smile, "You are right. All my life I have been used, be it by my parents or by people like you. That's the lesson I've learned; that people are selfish and I should be as well to survive. We are from different families. You can get whatever you want, I'm not as lucky as you. No matter what I do, I only consider my own interests. As for our marriage, I only regard it as a shortcut to an extravagant life. Is this what you wanted to hear? Are you satisfied?"

Jean's smile mimicked the coldness of Zed's expression. There was a time when she used to look at him tenderly. But now, she buried those feelings and treated Zed in the manner in which he was treating her. Her eyes were still misty from the tears she was holding back, but she kept them focused on Zed's face.

Zed was stunned by Jean's reaction. He frowned.

He was behaving quite unusually in recent days. What had happened to him? Whenever he saw Jean, he couldn't help thinking of torturing her, but at the same time, he found that he couldn't bear to see her being hurt. He was in a self-contradictory state. Jean waited for Zed to say something. However, he had been rendered speechless by the dilemma in which he found himself. Several minutes ticked by and neither spoke.

As their silence continued, the awkwardness became overwhelming.

Jean processed her feelings and smiled, "Here is the bracelet. If Jade asks me about this, I will say that you are keeping it for me."

As soon as Jean was done speaking, the polite smile on her face vanished. Then she turned and began walking away.

"Jean, tell me the truth. Do you really love Ethan?"

Zed finally spoke out. Jean abruptly stopped walking when she heard Zed's question.

'Why can I feel the grief in his words?' Jean couldn't believe her ears.

However, she was reluctant to clarify anymore. She had told Zed so many times before that now, it felt like a futile way to spend her time and energy. Without replying, Jean returned to the bedroom.

After taking a shower, she prepared to sleep.

When Jean thought about their sleeping arrangements, she remembered that Zed's parents were staying with them in the villa. She realized that Zed would sleep in their bedroom to continue the charade and reassure his parents about their seemingly good relationship. But Jean was reluctant to sleep in the same bed with Zed. As her eyes searched the room, she noticed the sofa in front of the french windows. She grabbed the quilt from the bed and lay on the sofa.

As the night continued, the room got quieter.

It was so quiet that it felt as though the flow of time had been suspended.

Jean tucked herself under the quilt. Though in slumber, she still looked anxious. It might be because she had too many negative feelings. And so, there was a frown on her face.

After a while, the door opened. Zed stood at the door and searched the room when he didn't see Jean in the bed. His eyes finally fixed on the petite body lying on the sofa.

Outside the french windows, the bright moon hung high up in the sky. The silvery moonlight shining through the window illuminated Jean's face. Her sleeping form was incorporated into the beautiful scene outside the window, forming an excellent painting that only appeared in dreams.

Zed's long slender figure slowly moved toward Jean. Once he was standing in front of her, he looked down and studied her. Her cheeks glowed in the silken moonlight. Her long and curly eyelashes moved about as her frown tightened from time to time. Zed sighed as he watched Jean. Though surrounded by darkness, her face appeared even more feminine and captivating in the pale moonlight.

As Zed studied Jean, he found that she was far more beautiful than what he could see. Her casual personality and lack of intention to properly manage her appearance hid her real beauty.

He was transported back in time to the day that he first met Jean. As per Zed's memory, when he saw Jean, he had felt as though she was just an ordinary women with plain appearance. How did he get trapped by her? Zed couldn't understand what made him love her. What confused Zed more was that the woman lying before him was in love with another man.

This was something Zed didn't know how to deal with. It was also an irony to his feelings toward Jean.

In her sleep, Jean vaguely felt like she was being lifted. As she felt the warmth and gentleness of the arms holding her, Jean's frown gradually loosened and finally disappeared.

When Jean woke in the morning, she found herself lying in the bed. By recalling her uncertain dream-like memory of the previous night, she vaguely remembered that somebody had put her in the bed. Still unsure about this, she reached out and touched the area of the bed beside her. She felt no warmth.

'Was that an illusion? Zed didn't sleep here last night, did he? Then how could I be in the bed? Did I get into the bed by myself? Wait, I'm not a sleepwalker, am I?'

Jean's mind was still confused. She couldn't find out how she ended up in the bed. After struggling for a while, she checked the time and found that it was 7:30 am. She panicked when she realized that she only had one and a half hours to get to work. She needed to hurry up. After getting cleaned, she rushed downstairs. In the living room, she saw three people sitting at the table.

Zed and his parents. On the table, were several dishes full of breakfast items.

Jean was a little embarrassed to be the last person to wake up. Her face flushed as she wondered what Zed's parents would think about her. Though she thought she had gotten up early this morning, unexpectedly, they had gotten up even earlier. Zed straightened up when he saw Jean.

'How could you be so leisurely? Don't you have to go to the company? Why didn't you wake me up for breakfast?' Jean blamed Zed in her mind and gritted her teeth before walking toward to the table. She greeted Zed's parents with a stiff smile, "Morning, mom and dad." "Morning. You came just in time. I was about to ask Zelda to call you for breakfast. I thought you were still sleeping." Zed's mother replied as she served Jean a bowl of congee.

"Thanks, mom." As Jean took the bowl and sat down, she started feeling anxious. She was so uneasy in this circumstance that she couldn't help feeling like she needed to finish the meal as soon as possible. In addition to the limited time, she had to get to work. This overwhelmed her more.

Silence lingered around the table as Jean pulled her chair closer. Sean was reading the newspaper while he ate. Jade, on the other hand, ate slowly yet elegantly. Zed spared Jean a glance before continuing with his meal. In this extremely tense atmosphere, Jean managed to keep herself steady.

She lowered her head and devoured the congee one scoop after another without thinking about table manners. It wasn't until Zed made several humphs did she raise her head and realize that everyone was looking at her.

Jean looked down at her bowl and found that the congee had finished.

At this moment, a tremendous feeling of embarrassment flooded through Jean. She wanted to run away and hide, but knew that there was no escaping her predicament. After all, the scene of her devouring the congee was too shocking, and anyone who was seeing it for the first time would believe that she was a starving beast.

"Jean, you seem to be very fond of congee. Should I fill another bowl for you?" Zelda asked as she moved toward Jean and lifted her bowl. Jean hastened to reply with an embarrassing smile, "No, thank you, I have had enough."

"Are you sure?" Zelda looked at Jean with surprise and asked before placing her bowl back on the table.

"Mom, dad, sorry but I have to get to work now, or I will be late. I'm already full, enjoy your breakfast." Jean did not reply to Zelda, instead, she explained her actions to Zed's parents apologetically.

"Jean, you have a job?" Jade was shocked.

"Yes, I... I'm working for a photography company."

Upon hearing this, Sean's face turned grim, "As a married woman, your responsibility is your home. You can't be running around the city, nor working for a photography company. That is improper for your status as a wife! The only thing you should focus on is taking good care of your family!"

Jean was flabbergasted. She hadn't expected that Zed's father would have such orthodox views about the role of women in society.

She was just working not running around the city! There were no grounds to judge her this harshly.

"Dad, photography is my profession and my passion. Additionally, my job brings me income, which makes me independent. You see, if I have my own income, I will not need Zed's money. So in a way, I'm helping Zed save money." Jean made a lame defense.

"Do you really think you can save money for Zed? Your salary can't even cover our daily expenditures. How dare you say that you can save money for us? We have enough money for you to spend!" Sean was so pissed that he thumped the table fiercely. The harmonious atmosphere suddenly changed into a cold and tense one.

Jean was frightened. She didn't expect that Sean would get mad so easily.

She kept silent and looked to Zed for help. However, Zed didn't react. He waited for Jean to handle the situation herself.

"Well, Jean is still young. And so, it's understandable that she would want to follow her passion We can let her resign from work after she is pregnant." Jade finally broke the tension and helped Jean out.