Qian Meng had no interest in answering him or hearing anything else he had to say. So, she stood, shaking her head, and placed the phone back on the table.

  "Here, my ex-fiance wants to talk to you. I wonder why that could be?"

  She actually wanted the answers from Mo Qingchen. Anything that came out of Bai Ye Qing's mouth was a lie. She only trusted Mo Qingchen to tell her what was going on.

  "Qian Meng…"

  "Save it. Take the call."

  She turned and marched out of the dining area and into the bedroom. She thought about standing at the door and listening to the conversation but she didn't want to hear what he was saying. If he didn't tell her himself, why should she bother?

  She was too irritated to even take some fresh air, so she got down to work. She tugged at her hair and groaned in frustration. Why the hell could they not have one decent day together without being at each other's throats? Did everything have to just be messed up the moment she thought things were going well?

  She hated Bai Ye Qing to her bones. She hated what he represented and everything that Mo Qingchen was hiding from her. He represented everything that was wrong with her life. And now, he was also everything that Mo Qingchen was keeping from her. It was driving her crazy.

  She was just about to finish logging in when Mo Qingchen entered the bedroom.

  "Why are you so angry?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

  "Did you really just ask me that?"

  "Yes, Qian Meng. I did."

  "Oh, I am Qian Meng again?"

  Mo Qingchen huffed. "Why does a call from Bai Ye Qing bother you so much? I have been keeping tabs on him, that's all. He found out and called me. That's it!" He was clearly frustrated.

  "Don't you get it? It's not Bai Ye Qing. It's all the secrets. You won't tell me anything about your history and why you act the way you do. You don't even tell me what is on your mind and you expect me to spill all my secrets to you. You are so shady when it comes to your life. Can you imagine what I am left to assume when you don't tell me anything?"

  He always pressed her for answers. He was the one who wanted them to be open and honest, but he was always playing on double standards.

  "Yes, it upsets me. I am trying my hardest to give you space and time to tell me while I am spilling my guts to you all the time. Don't you fucking get it?" her voice raised with each sentence.

  "Qian Meng," he said in a low and warning voice.

  But she didn't stop. She continued to rant.

  "You told me last night that I could trust you. That I was safe with you. You hide so much from me. How am I supposed to trust you fully when you do that? How am I supposed to feel safe with you and know that you are not going to stab me in the back, Mo Qingchen? I feel like I barely know you!"

  "Qian Meng."

  She had no idea where all of these frustrations were coming from. She had bottled these up for so long that she couldn't help but explode. Though there were no tears in her eyes, her hands shook.

  "Just give me just a small piece of information and think you are done with revealing everything? The things you say are always so cryptic that I never know what you mean. Do I know you? Do I really?"

  "QIAN MENG."

  "No, fuck you. You can't silence me every time I point out your double standards. I am giving you time, but you can't take advantage of it. You can't hide things related to me when you expect us to be partners." She choked. "Mo Qingchen, tell me. Do you expect me to just be honest with you while you hide everything about my life from me? You've entangled yourself and you refuse to say anything!"

  Then suddenly, he was coming at her. His eyes blazed with anger. From just his stance she thought for a split second that he was going to hit her. She flinched and cowered. She even stepped back.

  Instead, he just lifted her chin and her face jerked as she looked at him. There was anger all over his face. His eyes were dark and his nostrils flared. Even his jaw was tense.

  Qian Meng was paralyzed with shock as she stared up at him. The only movement of her body was the rapid rise and fall on her chest.

  "You will not assume anything about what I am doing. Everything I do is to protect you. You can't talk to me like that, do you understand?"

  She didn't know how to answer.

  "The next time you even accuse me of not being trustworthy or thinking I will stab you in the back, you should have a good reason for it. Just because someone called me and I didn't tell you, you cannot treat me like the villain."

  He let go of her chin and stepped away.

  She just watched him as he composed himself.

  "Are you calm now?" she asked. It was about five minutes after the explosion.

  "Yes," he responded.

  "We need to talk. I will tell you what I really want to say," she told him. "I promised to be upfront with you. If you can't handle my feelings, then you shouldn't have asked me to do that." Her voice was low. She was still reeling from the shock of his aggressive move.

  "Okay. I lost control back then. I also need to apologize to you."

  "I'll go first."

  "Please do," he agreed, gesturing with his hand for her to begin.

  "Let me make one thing very clear to you, Mo Qingchen," she began, standing up with her fists clenched at her side.