234 Promise

Jin Liwei tumbled onto his back on the floor with Iris on top of him. She pounded on his chest with her fists, scratched his neck and shoulders, and tore at his shirt.

His eyes widened in shock at her sudden violence, but he stayed still and endured all of her attacks. Her fists may look delicate but they sure could pack a punch. He didn't try protecting himself, gritting his teeth instead to stop himself from groaning in pain.

It was a little odd because she appeared to be aiming at his face but for some reason, her hands would veer off course and hit his body instead. Her screeches and curses of bloody murder echoed throughout the large, empty rotunda, sounding like a demented evil spirit terrorizing the land of the living.

He thought that he was prepared to face her wrath and the possibility of her attacking him which were already happening right now, but he never expected to see such a ferocious expression on her face.

Something was telling him that the woman on top of him wasn't his baby girl. He didn't feel any sense of familiarity with this raging woman at all. The feeling was unexplainable and freaky.

It was only when her attacks started slowing down, or more accurately, when she was trying hard to restrain herself that the sense of familiarity returned to him. Her expression also changed from vicious to torn. Tears started flowing down her face.

"No no no… Not Liwei not Liwei… I don't want to hurt Liwei…no…" she would cry one moment before once again screaming, "How dare you, you bastard?! I'll scratch your f*cking face off! Cut off your d*ck and shove it down your throat! F*ck you, a**hole!"

Her sudden crass language made him cringe, but he just attributed it to her fury.

He looked at her and in his sincerest voice, he told her, "I love you. I'm so sorry."

She stopped when she heard his words. Her expression kept on shifting between looking like she wanted to skin him alive and wanting to embrace and kiss him.

In the end, she roughly grabbed his chin and smashed her mouth against his mouth in a hot, brutal kiss. She bit and sucked hard on his lips and tongue, making them bleed. Both of them tasted his blood.

He couldn't stop himself from responding to her even when her ruthless kiss hurt so much. It felt like she wanted to bite his lips and tongue off and eat them. But he didn't care. If she wanted to eat him alive, he would readily offer himself to her.

The kiss eventually became less violent and more sensual. Jin Liwei's hands started roaming on her body, but she grabbed both of them and held them down above his head. Then she resumed kissing him hungrily.

When both of them were gasping for breath, she released his mouth and glared down at him. "F*ck you, Jin Liwei. You're an a**hole."

"Yes. I'm an a**hole."

Then her angry glare transformed into a sad expression. She blinked and tears fell from her eyes, splashing down on his face. Some of her tears mixed with the blood around his mouth. Her tears gave him more pain than her attacks.

"Baby, I'm sorry. Please don't cry."

"Liwei...I…I need to leave you."

Both his breathing and heart stopped for a few seconds. Then he panicked. The hands held down above his head escaped from her grasp. Sitting up with her still on top of him, he desperately clung to her.

"No! Baby, please no. I'll do anything you want. Anything! Just say it, I'll do it! Please don't leave me."

She closed her eyes, avoiding his pleading face. She looked like she was in great pain. When she opened her eyes, there was a firm determination within them. Then she started disentangling herself from him.

"Liwei, let me go," she said in a strained voice. "I…I want to stay with you but…I can't be with you right now."

He hugged her more tightly. His eyes also started welling up. "Baby, please. I'm begging you. Don't leave me."

When he refused to release her, she snapped and pushed him away with all her might. "Let go, a**hole!"

It felt like she just stabbed a pole into his heart and twisted it. His arms loosened around her, and then fell down to his sides.

Seeing his hurt expression, she wavered for a moment before she hardened once again. She avoided looking at his face, while she continued disentangling herself from him.

He no longer tried to stop her. He just watched her with heartbroken eyes, as she got off him.

As for Iris, she was fighting a fierce internal battle. Hatred boiled within her, threatening to explode any second, but she forcefully tamped it down. The need to raise hell and go berserk was so intense that she could barely control herself.

But she couldn't bear to hit Jin Liwei again. When she lost control earlier, it also hurt her when her fists struck him. It was a pain that battered at her heart. It felt like his pain was also her pain.

All she wanted was to console him and to stay with him. However, she just couldn't disregard the overwhelming bloodthirst of her body.

Jin Liwei wanted forgiveness, but it wasn't her who needed to forgive him. The soul of the original Iris might be gone, but her remnant was still very much alive inside her body. The remnant consisted of pure and unadulterated emotions. This time, it was of pure hatred.

She needed to appease the remnant's desire for revenge first before she could live in peace with Jin Liwei.

If she stayed with him at this time, she feared that the remnant would only engulf her and make her hate Jin Liwei. She didn't want that to happen. So she could only leave him…for now.

She crouched and then hugged his neck tightly. Speaking directly to his ear, she told him, "I can't stay with you for now because I don't want to hate you. I need to leave and resolve something on my own first. After I'm done, I…I'll come back." She released his neck.

They looked at one another.

"You'll come back? Promise?"

"I promise."

He looked unwilling to let her go, but he still nodded. "I'll wait for you. Please…please don't forget to come back to me. I love you so much."

She looked at him one last time, memorizing every detail of him.

"I need to go," she said, standing up. Taking a few deep breaths, she turned around and walked away.

Jin Liwei remained on the floor, watching his baby girl's back get farther and farther away from him, until she completely disappeared from his view. He wanted to chase after her but stopped himself. He trusted her. She said she was going to come back, so he would wait for her.

He dropped on his back, lying on the cold hard floor. He looked up at the night sky through the glass dome. It was as if the twinkling stars lost their lustre. His baby girl took all the beauty and colour of his world with her. He would need to live in a dark, colourless and joyless world from now on until she returned to him.

"What am I going to do? You just left but I'm already missing you."

Covering his eyes with his arm, he began to cry.