At last, she could catch her breath. Jiayi hurriedly said, "A little."

"Then serve the dishes," the man commanded.

Ambassador Qiu quickly made a gesture.

The embassy staff brought in the fine food and drinks one after another.

The atmosphere, tense as drawn bows and ready crossbows, eased up a bit in an instant.

As the banquet was nearing its end, Jiayi’s makeup had smudged a little. Out of politeness, she went to the restroom to tidy up her appearance.

Huo Zhenyang narrowed his eyes slightly, "Don’t you want me to accompany you?"

"No need." The focus of everyone’s gaze fell on her in an instant, and she still felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Earlier outside, you were scared and begged to stay with me, changed your mind? A woman’s heart is truly like a needle at the bottom of the sea."

Her charming little face flushed with a hint of red—this man, there was no need to say such things in front of others. She had only mentioned it earlier because she was feeling a bit nervous.

She bit her lip and gently pushed the man’s hand away, took her evening bag, and left first.

The restroom in the banquet hall was at the other end of the corridor.

After freshening up, Jiayi stepped out of the restroom.

Looking up, she saw a figure waiting around the corner from the ladies’ room, as if he had been there a long time.

The wet paper towel in her hand dropped to the floor with a plop.

It was Nie Yixiao.

In the corridor, besides the two of them, there was not a soul around. It was frighteningly quiet.

The silence between them as they made eye contact lasted only a few seconds, yet it felt like a century.

Finally, Nie Yixiao stepped forward, gazing at her intently.

Jiayi finally reacted, sidestepped, and began to walk away. The instant she brushed past him, her slender arm was seized from behind by the man!

"Jiayi, are you avoiding me? Do you remember what happened between us?" he asked in a deep voice from behind.

Jiayi felt as if something had struck her heart hard, jolting her awake. She tried desperately to shake off his hand, "Let go of me!"

Nie Yixiao noticed her reaction was completely different from their previous two encounters—she must have remembered something.

His current profession in S Country was a doctor.

He understood that an amnesiac patient doesn’t forget everything, nor are they absolutely unable to recall their memories for a lifetime.

99% of amnesia patients actually experience intermittent memory loss, meaning that memories can pop up at any time and place, depending on a variety of environments and conditions!

Perhaps after seeing him, she intermittently remembered something over the past few days, stirring up memories.

With this thought, Nie Yixiao pulled her close, pressing her against himself!

Using his advantage in stature, he forced her against the wall. His arms supported the wall, blocking her on both sides, not allowing her to leave, "Come back with me, will you? You’re a daughter of the Chu family. After all, you should return to your roots. How can you just be with a man without any explanation?"

Go back with him?

On what grounds does he so boldly demand her return?

Jiayi suppressed the turmoil in her heart and stared at his face, familiar yet unfamiliar, "Mr. Nie, are you using the tone of my brother-in-law to persuade me now?"

Did she really ever love this man?

How can this man be so selfish!?

Nie Yixiao’s eyes darkened, "I know, you may have remembered some unhappy things between us..."

The girl trapped in his arms let out a cold laugh, finally confronting him,

"Unhappy? It’s more than just being unhappy, isn’t it? You once betrayed me, broke our promises, flirted with my sister right in front of me, Mr. Nie. I don’t care about all that anymore... No matter how infatuated I was with you, at least now, at this moment, I have completely forgotten my feelings for you."

These words were like needles piercing Nie Yixiao’s heart, even more painful than if she had slapped him hard!

He had never thought that this girl, who once seemed so tender and even somewhat timid, would one day throw such words at him.

His mind nearly collapsed in an instant, holding back the urge to smash his fist against the wall, seeing her disgustedly avoid him, he straightened her face, "Jiayi, I had my reasons..."

"Reasons? Of course! Every man who betrays his girlfriend has reasons, because he can’t control his lower half, because he covets the wealth and status of the other woman, these are all reasons! Chu Xinyu is the precious daughter of the Chu Family, she has everything one could want, certainly enough to be a reason for you to betray me!" Jiayi stared at him, breathing heavily with too much emotion, she enunciated,

"Anyway, I won’t go back with you, and even if I do, I will have Huo Zhenyang accompany me. He is not the inexplicable man in your words, he is my man!"

This statement, somewhat spiteful, caused Nie Yixiao to lose his composure. His handsome features twisted slightly as he sneered and threw cold water on her,

"Are you sure you really like him, or are you just using him as a ’sugar daddy’? That’s just the affection you’ve developed from being helpless this past year, it’s not real at all! Under these circumstances, any man you can depend on, you could treat as your true love! And, you consider him your man, are you sure he considers you his woman? The young masters in China change women faster than clothes, don’t get carried away with your fiancée title and forget who you are! Don’t think that just because he’s been with you for a year, he takes you seriously. It’s just because he hasn’t gotten tired of you yet! Right now, you don’t recognize your real family, but when you are abandoned, you won’t even have a place to cry!"

Jiayi fixed her gaze on him, "I’d rather be played by him than listen to a man who’s betrayed his girlfriend."

No other sentence could injure a man’s heart more than this one.

Nie Yixiao’s face turned livid.

He could accept her loving him, marrying a man she didn’t like, a cripple.

But he couldn’t bear to see her give her heart to another man!

Nie Yixiao’s Adam’s apple moved, he couldn’t stand it anymore, his whole body pressed against her, pinning her firmly against the wall, his handsome face leaning in to kiss her lips, "You are mine, you have been mine ever since you were a child, no one can take you away—"

"Let go of me... uh... uh..." Jiayi tried to dodge his irrational kiss, desperately struggling.

But the empty corridor only echoed her intermittent cries!

The ballroom at the other end was too far away, its doors tightly shut; even if she screamed, the people inside might not hear her.

The girl’s struggle seemed to provoke an even greater excitement in the man.

Nie Yixiao leaned his tall, slim figure forward a few steps, closing the gap even more tightly!

She realized in terror that the man had an inappropriate reaction, and pushed against him even harder!

Nie Yixiao swore that he had never felt so out of control as he did today, ever since he had seen her with Huo Zhenyang looking like a couple, a fire began to smolder in his heart!

Until today, it finally burst into flames.

Jiayi seized the opportunity when his head slipped down, and with a strong lift of her knees, she delivered a powerful blow!

Nie Yixiao let out a low moan of pain, clutching at his crotch, crouching down in agony, "Uh... "

Taking advantage of Nie Yixiao covering himself, Jiayi pushed him away only to see a dark shadow standing in front of her; she swallowed a gulp of saliva and froze.