Perplexed and Smitten (132)

He squinted and asked, "Could you give me a reason? Do you not fancy me?"

"No, that's not the reason."

"Since you fancy me too, why are you turning me down?"

"I can't tell you the reason." How could I possibly tell him that it is because of Xiao Chenyang? If I did, not only will Yan Ge think that I'm a promiscuous woman who's in a complicated relationship with Xiao Chenyang, he'll also find out that I lied about Xiao Chenyang being my cousin. What will he think of me then?

"Fang Erlan, what could be more important than your happiness?" Yan Ge asked with a sullen expression, staring at her coldly.

Not daring to establish eye contact with him, she said, "It's not that it's more important than my happiness, but rather… I can't defy it."

"Why not?"

"Stop asking," Fang Erlan said softly.