The baby slapped me, and I said, "Sit on my lap and slap me."

"Baby, this is your first summer vacation since college. We should make good plans to see the aurora borealis, or go anywhere you want to go."

Wen Yu's gaze was gentle. "Your time shouldn't be filled with part-time jobs. Enjoy it, there's no rush."

Su Qingyao pursed her lips and picked up her phone to operate it a few times.

Wen Yu's phone vibrated shortly afterward, and the money was refunded to the original payment method.

"Too many, Wenyu."

She raised her eyes, her gaze clear and firm. "I can't accept it; it makes me uneasy."

A deep, overwhelming heartache tore through the facade of calm in Wen Yu's eyes.

He immediately stood up, walked around the dining table, and squatted down in front of her, bringing his tall figure to her eye level.

He held her hand; his palm was warm and strong.

"I just don't want you to be tired."

His voice was filled with anxious tenderness, as well as the frustration of being rejected, "I don't want to do it for even a second longer."

Su Qingyao gripped his hand back, "I know you're good to me, but..."

She paused, her voice soft yet incredibly firm, "We are lovers, we are equals."

"I cannot accept more than I need just because you have it; that would be unfair to you."

"What's mine is yours," Wen Yu blurted out eagerly.

"I can't just stand by and watch you work so hard without doing anything; that would be the biggest injustice to me."

"But I have to walk my own path," Su Qingyao tried to reason with.

"Your path?"

Wen Yu seemed to have heard something hurtful, and a layer of grievance instantly welled up in his eyes, mixed with a gloomy feeling that was on the verge of getting out of control.

"Baby...you're so clear about the difference, are you planning to abandon me at any time?"

His logic was unreasonable and he pressed her relentlessly, misinterpreting her independence as a harbinger of separation.

Su Qingyao was taken aback by his question, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I'm not lying!" Wen Yu gripped her hand tightly, his logic self-contained, forceful and unreasonable.

"If you want me, you have to accept everything about me."

"My body, my life, my money... are all your possessions."

"It's only natural for a wife to manage her husband. If you don't, you're drawing a line... you're preparing to leave me."

Su Qingyao was so angry at his robber's logic that she almost laughed. "Where did you get this twisted reasoning from?"

Wen Yu fell silent.

He looked up at her, his eyes red-rimmed, his thick eyelashes drooping wetly, the grievances and panic inside almost overflowing.

Silence is more lethal than any words.

Su Qingyao's heart softened inch by inch. She sighed, "The 1.3 million last time was already a lot, really..."

"Not enough," he interrupted stubbornly, his voice heavy. "Never enough."

Su Qingyao stopped arguing, got up, took out a neatly folded piece of paper from her bag, and gently placed it in his hand.

Wen Yu took it and unfolded it.

His pupils contracted when his eyes fell on the word "IOU" on the paper, and the previous unreasonable grievances were instantly replaced by a deeper fear.

"Baby?"

He looked up, his eyes filled with terrifying panic, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"What do you mean by this? You don't owe me anything! You never will! Tear it up! Tear it up!"

"Wenyu, let me finish."

Su Qingyao pressed down on his slightly trembling hand, "I know that a million or so might not really mean much to you."

"But for me now, it's a lot, enough to support my life, and... my mother's subsequent medical expenses."

She paused, avoiding his burning gaze, and said softly, "I haven't told you the specifics of my family situation..."

She recounted the events briefly, downplaying the pain of her father's death and bankruptcy, and her mother's car accident that left her in a vegetative state.

Such calmness pierced Wen Yu's body like a knife, and suffocating pain and regret gripped his heart tightly.

He knew better than anyone what she had endured.

Regret clung to his lungs like a poisonous vine, and a suffocating feeling overwhelmed him.

If only he had been a little more reckless, a little more thorough, and had taken control of everything around her...

After Su Qingyao finished speaking, she smiled slightly, "I know the value of money, which is why I can't accept gifts so easily. Before, it was a transaction, and I could convince myself to do things for money, but now..."

She raised her hand, her fingertips gently brushing against his cheek, her gaze tender yet firm.

"You are my boyfriend."

"I don't want money to interfere with our relationship anymore. This IOU is my stance and my respect for our relationship."

"Wenyu, please... understand this little bit of my stubbornness, okay?"

Wen Yu's tears rolled down her cheeks without warning the moment she finished speaking.

He understands, how could he not understand?

She wanted to stand proudly beside him, not be kept under his wing.

But it was like a dull knife, repeatedly cutting him.

How could Su Qingyao, who was once pampered and cared for, need such equality? How could she be so careful in maintaining a sense of propriety?

Reality and unforeseen events cruelly broke the branch that held his princess.

Thinking of all this, Wen Yu felt a violent mix of anger and tenderness.

Simply bankrupting and imprisoning those who started this is far too lenient; they need to be severely tortured and humiliated.

"Wenyu...don't cry."

Su Qingyao panicked and hurriedly wiped away his tears, saying, "It's all in the past. Look at me, I'm doing fine now, aren't I?"

"not good……"

Wen Yu pulled her into his arms, from squatting to kneeling, burying his face tightly in her chest, his hot tears soaking her clothes.

"It's not good at all... It's my fault, it's all my fault... I came too late, I couldn't protect you..."

He muttered repeatedly, stubbornly taking all the blame upon himself, both extreme and fragile.

Su Qingyao felt a tightness in her chest, and stroked his hair repeatedly, coaxing him softly.

After much coaxing, Wen Yu's trembling gradually subsided.

With red eyes, he let go of her and quickly operated his phone.

Su Qingyao's phone beeped with a notification: "Wen Yu" has transferred 9,990000.00 to you.

Then he grabbed the IOU on the table, crossed out the original number with a pen, and wrote down ten million next to it with force, the pen tip almost piercing the back of the paper.

Then, he quickly added a line below: "Repayment period: a lifetime."

He carefully folded the IOU, which had been altered beyond recognition, and solemnly stuffed it into his pocket, right next to his heartbeat.

"I understand the baby's stubbornness, and the baby also needs to understand mine."

"It's all debt anyway, whether it's a million or ten million. You can pay me back slowly after you start working. I'm not in a hurry."

He paused, his gaze fixed on her, and spoke each word clearly and distinctly.

"I can pay it back over a lifetime."

Su Qingyao opened her mouth, "...That's too much, Wen Yu, you're cheating..."

Before she could finish speaking, she met Wen Yu's wet eyes.