Ye Luan looked at his fierce expression and said angrily, "If you hadn't taken advantage of me, I wouldn't have hit you. Yet you act so self-righteous."
"If I let you hit me, would you let me take advantage of you?"
"Scram."
Xiao Chizhan withdrew the ferocity from his eyes and looked down at her wound, "If you want to keep hurting, just keep moving around like this."
"Don't you touch me, old hag. I'll be fine soon."
As she spoke, the air around them grew silent, only their low breaths could be heard.
"Get up!"
She was completely unclothed, pressed against the bed by him, and it was unbearable.
Xiao Chizhan didn't want to anger her further, so he swept her up and placed her back on the couch.
"I also want to be gentle with you, but you always manage to infuriate me so easily."
Ye Luan lay on her back, looking at him standing by the bed, speaking so shamelessly, she was so angry she turned over.
He was, at his core, a ferocious and arrogant wild beast. How could he be gentle? He wouldn't be able to maintain the facade for long before revealing his true nature.
"Luan Luan, what do you like about me?"
"I like the way you disappear."
Xiao Chizhan: "----"
Ye Luan lay on the bed, feeling as if needles were pricking her back. He stood before the couch like a starving wolf, gazing at her greedily, full of aggression.
She took a deep breath, pulled the quilt tighter around herself, and sat up.
"Get me some clothes."
Xiao Chizhan's gaze shifted to the side of the bed.
Following his gaze, Ye Luan saw his familiar, unsightly robe.
"Isn't this one good enough? It's just the two of us in the room, no one will see."
He liked seeing her wear his clothes.
"I don't want to wear your damn dog-skin robe."
Dog-skin?!
Xiao Chizhan raised an eyebrow, his expression turning somewhat gloomy, yet a strange curve appeared at the corner of his lips.
After a few seconds of silence, he chuckled, "You look quite good naked."
Ye Luan could feel his gaze was light, but within the depths of his crimson eyes, a hint of suppressed anger was surging.
She directly threw off the quilt, got off the bed barefoot, and walked towards the door.
"What are you doing?"
"You're not giving me clothes, so can I go back naked?"
A layer of ice instantly spread across Xiao Chizhan's face. He strode over, grasped her waist, and lifted her into his arms.
"Are you doing this on purpose?"
Ye Luan replied, "So what if I am?"
Her bright and dazzling face was filled with arrogance. She possessed alluring fox-like eyes, yet she looked at him with such coldness.
"No matter what I do, you refuse to forgive me, to come back with me, is that it?"
No matter how he acted, she was determined not to acknowledge him, to ignore him.
Seeing his fierce demeanor, Ye Luan knew he was having unpleasant thoughts again. Her previously icy expression softened slightly.
"What is Your Highness saying? I don't understand."
Xiao Chizhan looked at her, remaining silent.
Suddenly, he lowered his head and bit her irritating mouth.
Yes, he bit her.
He wished he could transfer all the pain she had inflicted upon him during these past days onto those thin, unfeeling lips, gnawing at her softness with his teeth.
It was a bite filled with anger and punishment, as well as a deep, consuming longing.
Ye Luan's pain was so intense she almost jumped out of his arms, instinctively swatting him across the face.
You crazy lunatic, trying to bite her to death!
Xiao Chizhan, however, paid no heed. He held her tighter, forcing her head back to endure his forceful kiss.
Ye Luan felt like she could barely breathe. Angrily, she bit him back, but he completely ignored it, kissing her wildly, venting his longing.
He was afraid. He truly didn't know what else to do.
"It hurts, you crazy lunatic, it hurts--"
Her low, panting breaths brought his reason back slightly. He held her tightly, intimately and lengthily kissing her lips, both restrained and gentle.
Ye Luan stiffened her neck to avoid him, and his kisses fell upon her body, moving inch by inch downwards.
Tremors and numbness.
She quickly hit him, "What are you getting worked up about in broad daylight?"
Xiao Chizhan felt he was losing control and wanted to discuss it with her. But glancing at the wound on her abdomen, he forcefully suppressed himself and looked away.
Seeing that he had finally stopped, Ye Luan breathed a sigh of relief and glared at him coldly, "Crazy people just don't make sense."
Xiao Chizhan didn't argue with her. He carried her towards the couch.
He wet a cloth and sat by the bed, wiping her feet.
Ye Luan instinctively struggled slightly, "I'll do it myself."
"Behave."
He gripped her foot, holding it tightly.
Ye Luan sneered, "I never thought Your Highness was so fond of serving people."
"I've only served you." Seeing her fall silent, Xiao Chizhan looked at her, "If you're still unhappy, hit me a few more times. Do whatever it takes to vent your anger."
Ye Luan understood his meaning and turned away, ignoring him.
Seeing this, Xiao Chizhan also stopped speaking. He meticulously and gently wiped her feet dry.
"Miss, your clothes have arrived."
It was the same maid from before.
Ye Luan rejoiced and immediately pulled the quilt to cover herself, calling out, "Come in."
"Wait!"
Xiao Chizhan directly called out to stop her.
Ye Luan frowned and looked at him.
Xiao Chizhan gazed at her. She was slumped on the bed as if boneless, her black hair cascading to her waist, her face delicate and beautiful. The quilt only covered her shoulders, revealing her slender, snow-white collarbones.
Without a word, he picked up the robe by the bed and draped it over her, wrapping her body. He then went to the closet, changed into a new set of clothes for himself, and only then allowed the maid to enter.
Ye Luan rolled her eyes. They were all women; what was there to be discreet about?
The maid entered respectfully, not daring to look at the man sitting on the chair. She placed the tray on the table and said in a low voice, "Miss, I've bought you complete new outfits, inside and out. Please tell me if anything is not to your liking."
"Mm."
Xiao Chizhan looked at the green silk skirt and felt annoyed, "Why did you buy a green one?"
The maid was startled and immediately knelt on the ground, "This servant saw that Miss's previous clothes were green, so I bought a similar one."
Ye Luan saw how terrified the maid became after just one sentence from him and muttered a few curses inwardly before stepping in to defuse the situation, "I asked her to buy it. I like green." She then said, "You can go out now."
As soon as the maid left, Xiao Chizhan stood up and fiddled with the skirt dismissively.
"I'll have someone else buy you new ones. These clothes are too ugly."
The maids in this domain were too presumptuous, daring to buy clothes for her without permission. He actually didn't want her to have clothes; once she wore them, she'd start wanting to leave again.
Ye Luan ignored him, immediately took off that dog-skin robe, snatched the clothes from his hand, and said, "I think they look good."
Seeing her get off the bed barefoot again, Xiao Chizhan bent down and scooped her up.
"Is your constitution not afraid of catching a chill?"
Ye Luan remained silent, allowing him to carry her back to the couch.
"If I need to change, you'll watch too?"
"You've seen me naked. What difference does it make to see me now?"
Ye Luan sneered, "Watch all you want."
Indifferently, she threw off the quilt, grabbed the clothes, and began to put them on.
"Let me help you."
"No need."
Xiao Chizhan grabbed the clothes, "If you move around, your wound will reopen, and you'll be the one in pain."
Ye Luan couldn't be bothered to bicker with him. She let him change her clothes, but this fellow, perhaps intentionally, kept dawdling. Changing her clothes made her break out in a light sweat.
After she was dressed, she put on her shoes and got off the couch.
"Where are you going?"
He reached out and grabbed her.
Ye Luan turned back, "Let me go!"
----
ps: I've seen some people asking for stories about Li Qiong Yu and Liu Rong Ruo. Their stories will be interspersed in the later chapters. Li Qiong Yu's destined partner has already appeared.