Beauty Tao, the mayor, was bracing herself, her inner strength masked by helplessness, and even as her tears kept falling, she stubbornly bit her lip, which made Lin Hai's heart ache terribly.

Seven years, Lin Hai never thought that there would be a woman he no longer wanted to think about who was willing to wait for him alone for such a long time.

"That, Mayor Tao... is what you said true? You haven't gotten married?" Lin Hai widened his eyes in astonishment and asked.

Tao Xia scoffed, her tone as despondent as if she had lost all hope, and spoke with a sense of foreignness, "Mr. Lin, whether I'm married or not is none of your business."

His tone was as unfamiliar as the one Lin Hai had just used.

Lin Hai couldn't help feeling extremely awkward. Was this some sort of instant karma?

He had thought she was married, but now he realized that things were not as he had thought. The embers of emotion that Lin Hai had forcibly suppressed in his heart were flaring up once again.

"Mayor Tao, I was just joking earlier," Lin Hai awkwardly explained.

"Joking? Haha, Mr. Lin, it seems you've misunderstood my point. Please leave," Tao Xia said with a cold tone.

Facing what seemed to be a woman's cold rejection and tone, if you take it seriously, then you've lost.

Women are strange creatures; no matter how cold their exterior, they all have a heart that can be warmed, depending on the approach.

With Lin Hai's years of shameless experience wooing women, he wouldn't just sit back and do nothing.

There are people who, by nature or through acquired effort, possess a talent for transforming ice queens into experienced, fiery women, guiding wayward girls back to the path of becoming virtuous wives and good mothers, or changing fiery women into gentle sheep. That is a man's true skill in courting.

And Beast Lin was clearly adept at this.

Lin Hai immediately set out with the dogged spirit to shamelessly not give up until he cajoled Beauty Tao into his arms, turning her tears into laughter, rushing to ingratiate with a smile, "Taotao, I know you've always liked me. The reason I did that just now was not really what I wanted. You misunderstood my good intentions."

"Don't call me Taotao." Beauty Tao, the mayor, huffed angrily, turning her head away from Lin Hai's affectionate gaze, but deep down, upon hearing the term "Taotao," she felt an inexplicable sense of pleasure.

"Erm... Taotao, I was actually worried that you were already married. After I just confessed, I was scared that you wouldn't be able to control yourself and it would ruin your happiness. I've been dreaming about making you happy and carefree like a cute little bird. You think I would act recklessly? So I had to pretend to be distant and indifferent."

Lin Hai spoke with a heavy heart, giving off the impression of a warmhearted and dependable man in that moment.

Beauty Tao, the mayor, with her back turned to Lin Hai, bit her lip, seemingly unmoved on the outside but inside, she was looking forward to Lin Hai continuing.

"Back in the day, I really liked you, but I'm a man with principles. I can't, for my own selfish desires, destroy the hard-won happiness you have. My intention was to make you happy and content."

"What if I had just shown up and rashly acknowledged you? If you had a family, how would you face these feelings? Or if we couldn't contain ourselves, how would you face your family in the future?"

"I, Lin Hai, am not a selfish person, and I would never stand to see my woman unhappy!"

"So, I would rather sacrifice myself, suppressing the turmoil in my heart, even if it makes me suffer, I cannot let you be distressed."

"Forgive me for thinking long-term and deciding on your future without your consent. I apologize."

"That's why I put on the act of keeping people at a thousand miles distance, hoping you can understand me positively."

Having spoken his heart out, Lin Hai lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

The smoke swirled in front of him, and as the sunlight slanted in, his sharply featured face blended with a sense of rugged maturity and a unique charm.

Listening to Lin Hai's words, Tao Xia's heart was fiercely stirred once again.

As a Super First-class Expert, Beauty Tao, the Mayor's heartbeat changed, and Lin Hai immediately noticed it.

"Ah, actually, I also know that your grandfather dismissed me from the military, indirectly protecting me. In this process, you must have fought hard for me. It turns out, it's me who let you down, making you suffer all these years, I'm sorry."

Lin Hai sighed deeply, quietly turned around, while distracting Beauty Tao's attention, he already stood behind her without her realizing, gently stretched out his arms, wrapped them around her shoulders, and embraced her, pressing her closely against his chest.

Beauty Tao, the Mayor, felt that abnormally strong and at once strange yet familiar, and even the warmth she had longed for on countless lonely, empty, cold nights. Her body only symbolically resisted a bit, then she stopped moving and let Lin Hai hold her tightly.

"Taotao, I'm sorry, it's my fault."

Lin Hai leaned close to Beauty Tao's ear, breathing warm breaths as he spoke.

Feeling Tao Xia's response, Lin Hai was relieved.

"Mayor Tao, forgive me, will you?" Lin Hai apologized sincerely.

Beauty Tao finally turned around, looked at Lin Hai, tears still hanging at the corner of her eyes, pouting with a look of grievance, her eyes full of reproach as she stared at Lin Hai.

"In the past, you called someone little Taotao; now that new love surpasses the old, with the Ice Queen CEO, you call someone Mayor Tao, huh, you men, not one of you is good."

Beauty Tao, the Mayor, finished with a resentful expression, and her delicate hand fiercely grabbed and twisted Lin Hai's chest.

"Ouch."

Lin Hai winced with pain, but deep down he wasn't the least bit angry. He was very clear about a principle: if a woman cries and complains, acts coyly and resentfully towards you, it means she still likes you—that's a good sign.

"Well, little Taotao, haven't seen you in seven years, your hand has gotten heavier," Lin Hai coughed, drawing out his words.

"Hmph, not having castrated you directly, I've already been considerate of the old times," Beauty Tao snorted with feigned indignation.

"Really? After a few years, the brat has gotten wilder, daring to pinch me."

"Ow, you're pinching me again!"

"Stop pinching, or I'll get angry, and even I would be afraid of myself."

Tao Xia was like a mad little she-cat, seemingly venting her dissatisfaction from moments before and the resentment accumulated over seven years of waiting.

"Taotao, I'm really getting angry, do you feel my murderous intent?" Lin Hai was having trouble coping.

"Murderous intent? This Iron-Handed Female Mayor isn't afraid of threats," Beauty Tao proudly snorted, with a tiny bit of gleeful satisfaction in her eyes.

Lin Hai, hearing that coquettish tone from the young girl, knew that the conflict from just now had already been resolved.

"Cough cough, really? You didn't feel my murderous intent?" Lin Hai followed along.

"Murderous intent? Where? You, with murderous intent?" Tao Xia rolled her eyes, teasingly said.

"You're so naughty." Although Tao Xia called him naughty with her mouth, she smiled enchantingly.

Almost all love starts with "hello" and transcends to "you're so naughty"…

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