The flirtatious girl is done flirting; Mr. He is now obsessed with her.

Bai Yishu glanced at the diamond ring on the table, lowered her eyes, and said, "I cannot marry you."

He Yun's breath hitched, and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, and his voice was stiff.

"reason."

He clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hands, trying to maintain his last bit of composure, but his eyes were uncontrollably fixed on the ring, his heart aching as if being stabbed with needles.

I need a reason.

Bai Yishu got up from the sofa and stared straight into He Yunshen's eyes.

"Did you tell my father in the hospital room that you would only help the Bai family if I married you?"

"Yes, I did say that."

He Yun Shen seemed surprised that she knew about this. He tried to calm himself down and met her gaze with a composed expression.

"But helping the Bai family and marrying you are not mutually exclusive. All I've ever wanted is you."

Bai Yishu sneered inwardly and continued, "And what about the 51% stake you took in Bai's Group?"

He Yun Shen was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "I need to make sure my investment yields a return."

His eyes flickered for a moment, then became firm again.

"You know the situation the Bai family was in back then; without my investment, it wouldn't have survived."

He Yun Shen took a step forward, his voice slightly suppressed, trying to dispel her concerns.

"Yi Shu, I know this sounds like taking advantage of someone's misfortune, but I'm doing this to better protect you and the Bai family."

"You're talking nonsense!"

At this moment, Bai Yishu's mind was filled with how He Yunshen threatened her sick father in the hospital room and how he secretly obtained control of the Bai Group.

Everything he says now, she sees as an attempt to justify his actions.

He Yun Shen froze as she scolded him, his face turning deathly pale, a hint of hurt appearing in his eyes, but this emotion was quickly replaced by calmness.

"I know you're very angry right now, and you think I'm plotting against you and the Bai family."

He Yun took a deep breath and slowly loosened his clenched fist.

"But I swear to God, I never intended to hurt you. Everything I did was for our future."

Bai Yishu didn't believe what he said and wouldn't listen to him.

He clearly had a hundred ways to help the Bai family, but he chose the most hurtful one.

He used her marriage as leverage, turning her affection into a seemingly logical "equivalent exchange."

"Yi Shu, what will it take for you to believe me?"

He Yun Shen took a step forward, trying to close the distance with her, but fearing that he would annoy her, he could only stop in place, his eyes full of pain and helplessness.

"I admit I used some tactics, but my feelings for you are real."

He Yun Shen reached out to touch her, but she took a step back and dodged him.

"I don't want to hear you anymore."

His outstretched hand froze in mid-air before he finally clenched his fist and slowly lowered it.

"Okay, then tell me, what do you want me to do for you to take back what you just said?"

His voice was hoarse, his gaze fixed on the ring on the table, and a faint, tingling pain shot through his chest.

Bai Yishu stood there in silence for a moment, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"I will not take back what I just said."

Upon hearing this, He Yun Shen's hands, hanging at his sides, trembled involuntarily, but his face remained expressionless, though his eyes grew even darker.

"So, you're determined to call off the engagement?"

He slowly raised his eyes to look at Bai Yishu, his voice carrying a hint of despair.

"Just because I took shares in the Bai family, do you think I'm taking advantage of their misfortune?"

"Aren't you the same?"

He Yun Shen stared at a corner of the office and suddenly chuckled softly.

"Yes, that's me."

He took another step forward, his tall frame pressing down on Bai Yishu.

"But let me ask you, if I hadn't done this, would the Bai family have survived until now? And what solutions do you have?"

Bai Yishu was speechless for a moment when he asked her a question, and her voice was stuck in her throat.

"I……"

Seeing that she was speechless for a moment, He Yun Shen's eyes darkened, but his voice became even more aggressive.

"You're going to find Fu Xiu? Are you planning to continue sacrificing yourself for his so-called help?"

He Yun Shen sneered and took another step closer, almost casting her into his shadow.

"Yi Shu, tell me, besides me, who else can truly help you?"

"Your so-called help requires not only shares in the Bai family business, but also my entire marriage in exchange. Don't you think you're being too greedy?"

He Yun Shen's face turned ugly instantly when she touched a nerve, but it was quickly covered by a mask of indifference.

"Yes, I am greedy. I want both the Bai family and you."

He gave a self-deprecating laugh, his eyes fixed on Bai Yishu.

"But let me ask you, in what way am I, He Yun Shen, unworthy of you? In what way am I not worthy of your lifelong commitment?"

Bai Yishu stepped back to create distance between herself and him, unable to believe that this was the man she had liked and pursued for so long.

"How could you do this...?"

He Yun Shen watched her retreat, a sharp pain shooting through his heart, but his voice turned cold.

"I've always been this way; it's just that you refuse to see it clearly."

He put his hands in his pockets, maintaining a semblance of dignity, but his eyes held a struggling, pained look, like those of a trapped beast.

The light in Bai Yishu's eyes dimmed completely, like a flame extinguished by rain.

All she wanted to do was escape, and she kept moving backward.

"Don't return it."

He Yun Shen stopped in his tracks, standing still with his hands clenched into fists.

"If you back down any further, you'll run into a wall."

He Yun Shen stared at her, his eyes filled with complex emotions—pain, anger, resentment, and a hint of pleading mixed together.

"Yi Shu, I'll ask you one more time, are you really going to call off this marriage?"

His gaze swept over the ring on the table, his voice trembling, his heart aching as if it were being torn apart.

"I cannot marry you."

Although Bai Yishu spoke these words without hesitation, she was actually in great pain inside.

But that initial emotion was quickly replaced by a sharp pain in her heart.

He Yun Shen's eyes instantly turned deathly still. He looked up at the ceiling and spoke after a long while.

"Okay, Bai Yishu, I hope you won't regret it."

He walked to the table, picked up the ring, and clenched it in his palm, oblivious to the stinging pain from the diamond's edge on his skin.

After hearing what he said, Bai Yishu turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

Seeing that she was about to leave, He Yun Shen subconsciously stepped forward and grabbed her wrist.

"Bai Yishu, explain yourself clearly before you leave!"

His voice was filled with suppressed anger and despair. He gripped her hand tightly, yet he was afraid of hurting her, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

"Let me go!"

He Yun's breathing quickened, and he gripped her wrist tightly, refusing to let go, his voice hoarse like never before.

"I won't let go!"

"Unless you tell me that you no longer have feelings for me, that you have absolutely no feelings left for me!"