That mouthful of blood nearly rushed out of Jack's throat again. But what could he do?

He'd never hit a woman—not in this lifetime.

And as for other options? Taking her right here? Making her cry? Making her sob and beg and admit she was wrong?

Ha... that wasn't happening either. One night with her might mean another six months of drama. He'd rather be dead.

Jack clenched his fists and took a deep breath. He gave Lily a curt nod. "You win."

"..." How was this her winning? He was the one who had humiliated her!

Lily's delicate eyebrows knotted even tighter, but she still refused to look at him. She had pride too!

Jack had no more cards to play. He turned back, roughly jammed the key into the ignition, and started the motorcycle. He revved the engine thunderously, trying to warn Lily that he was about to speed off—if she didn't want to die, she should hold on tight.

But Lily remained exactly as before, back hunched, one hand barely gripping the black leather seat, completely unconcerned, as if she were sitting on a bicycle rather than a motorcycle.

No matter how menacingly Jack revved the engine, Lily didn't budge. In the end, despite all the noise, the motorcycle crawled forward at just 30 mph. Jack was terrified she might actually fall off, which would only complicate things further.

On the road, an electric scooter overtook them—a man in work clothes with a woman riding behind him. Both turned to stare at Jack and Lily as they passed.

Jack could only thank God he was wearing a helmet.

The journey that had taken just over twenty minutes on the way there took nearly an hour going back. Jack finally stopped at the entrance to the alley.

He waited three seconds, and when he felt no movement behind him, he was about to turn around to tell her to get off when Lily finally stirred. She dismounted with her head down, hopping off what was, for her, a rather tall motorcycle.

Jack took a deep breath and twisted the throttle, but Lily suddenly turned to face him. "Are we still dating?"

Jack was speechless. "Come on, you're a virgin. Stop playing games and just go home and sleep."

Lily's brows furrowed again. She gave Jack a slight nod before lowering her eyes. "So when I'm not a virgin anymore, can I come find you?"

Pfft—Jack nearly spat blood. "Are you out of your mind?"

"I'm serious," Lily replied softly.

To Jack's ears, it sounded exactly like a threat.

But unfortunately for her, Jack wouldn't be intimidated like that. Besides, not being a virgin would be even better!

"Sure, whenever you're not a virgin anymore, come find me. You know where I live."

Lily lifted her gaze to Jack's nonchalant face, pressed her lips together and nodded. Without another word, she turned and walked into the alley with her backpack.

Her slender figure looked especially fragile and forlorn in the dim alleyway. Even Jack, who prided himself on being completely callous, felt a tiny twinge of guilt rising in his chest.

But as soon as he recognized that feeling, Jack shook his head vigorously, started the motorcycle, and drove away.

In the alley, Lily stopped walking and slowly turned around. She looked at the now-empty entrance, her eyes narrowing slightly.

During the ride back, she had realized that this man didn't actually like her—he just wanted to sleep with her without taking any responsibility.

She could have overlooked what he'd done to her. Even if he had gone all the way tonight, if he'd simply said he didn't want to date her, she wouldn't have clung to him.

But what she couldn't tolerate was how Jack had his fingers inside her one minute, then treated her like a disease the next!

With her self-esteem taking a devastating hit, Lily silently vowed that she would prove to him that she wouldn't chase after him—not even if her life depended on it!