Xie Jiang expressed her bewilderment, "Isn't this whole situation utterly absurd!"
Yi Yan Geng scoffed, finding her attempt to shift blame rather convenient.
"If Young Master Xie harbored no such intentions, how could your subordinates act so presumptuously?"
He could see through Su Yang's clumsy affectation, but the surge of anger at the time had reduced his scant reason to ashes. Jealousy and rage, like a poison that sealed one's fate upon drawing blood, had torn him apart and left him with no peace even in death. However, stepping out of the room and into the cold wind had somewhat restored his senses, making him realize that Su Yang was deliberately provoking him. Such a crude and low-class tactic, and he had actually…
Thinking back to the scene a few days prior when Su Yang was cornered outside the courtyard gate by Da Chui, she hadn't even bothered to spare Su Yang a glance. Her gaze towards Da Chui held more warmth than it did for Su Yang. Even if she desired a life of pleasure, it was unlikely she would set her sights on Su Yang.
But if Aunt He had arranged this, hadn't she been the one to instigate it! Hadn't she once hinted at such a possibility! Even if it wasn't Su Yang, it would have been Zhang Yang, Wang Yang, Zhao Yang, or Li Yang! To warm her bed! How cold was her bed that it required a living person to warm it! Yi Yan Geng's heart seethed with hatred, his molars grinding until his gums bled.
Xie Jiang eyed him, her gaze sweeping over him. "It's because I've been lovesick, constantly murmuring someone's name day in and day out, yet that person never showed up. Auntie He was simply concerned for me…" It wasn't her fault, was it? What was wrong with her missing him?
"Who is this 'someone'?"
Whom could such a heartless creature possibly miss? Even if she experienced a fleeting moment of conscience, who knew whose name she was murmuring! Yet, now, attributing it to him, she felt no guilt or apprehension!
Leaning against a soft pillow, Xie Jiang stared at him, gently swinging her legs. "I spent two hours carving a walnut. Who do you think I was thinking of during those two hours?" Her eyes seemed capable of hooking him, and Yi Yan Geng found that the anger filling him began to dissipate under her gaze.
Yi Yan Geng tried hard to regain his composure. How could he let such a matter be smoothed over with a few soft words from her! But no matter how calmly he took deep breaths, the dissipated anger could not be gathered again. Yi Yan Geng was almost infuriated to death by himself.
In Xie Jiang's eyes, he was still visibly angry, his face as dark and sullen as spilled ink frozen on a canvas. Xie Jiang decided to increase her efforts to appease him. "It's strange, isn't it? Every mark I carved onto the walnut seemed to imprint itself onto my heart. Was I carving a walnut, or was I carving you?"
"Where did you get so many sweet words!" Yi Yan Geng didn't want to listen to her sweet talk; any more and he'd be completely bewitched. The walnut was in his sleeve pocket. Yi Yan Geng kept his hands behind his back, unconsciously caressing it through his sleeve. He had initially kept his hands behind his back for fear of losing control and strangling her in a fit of impulse.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but clench his hand around the walnut. But he quickly loosened his grip. …The walnut was innocent.
"I wish I had sweet words! When you heartlessly threw me to the ground, I would have just wiped away any marks! And then I would have razed your Prince's manor!" Xie Jiang jumped up in anger at this point. "You got angry with me without understanding the situation! You turned and left without even letting me explain. If the person lying on the bed wasn't someone warming the bed, but a venomous beast waiting to devour me, would you still have thrown me into its jaws!"
Xie Jiang strode forward aggressively, pointing a finger at Yi Yan Geng's chest. "Yi Yan Geng, you've grown bold! Have you become too accustomed to me indulging you, making you mistakenly believe I'm made of clay!" httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Don't twist things around. Anyone would have been unable to tolerate such a situation!" Yi Yan Geng, having calmed down, reflected. His actions just now were indeed somewhat inappropriate, but upon suddenly seeing a naked man on her bed, provocatively posturing towards her, how could he, a living person, tolerate it?
Yi Yan Geng retreated step by step under the poke of her finger. The person before him was like a startled little tiger, her tiny teeth gleaming menacingly, as if ready to pounce and snap his neck at any moment. Yi Yan Geng suddenly felt he didn't need to worry about her getting hurt.
"What venomous beast would be so foolish as to climb onto Young Master Xie's bed? Or have you seen any fish so stupid as to swim into a hot oil pan themselves?" After saying this, Yi Yan Geng suddenly realized that he himself was that stupid fish! Knowing that he might face eternal damnation, he repeatedly jumped into this great oil pan of hers!
Xie Jiang, her spirit soaring, looked up at him indignantly and said, "Ultimately, it's because you lack even the most basic trust in me. If it were me, I would never misunderstand you as being involved with someone else!"
Yi Yan Geng became even angrier, his finger trembling as he pointed at her. This heartless creature, how could she even say such a thing! She wouldn't misunderstand him because of trust? "I am pure and never associate with others, so naturally, I wouldn't give you cause for such a misunderstanding." If she weren't greedy for beauty and promiscuous, how would he have such a misunderstanding? Moreover, someone was already sleeping in her bed!
Yi Yan Geng leaned against the wall, with nowhere left to retreat. Xie Jiang moved closer, glaring at him. "Even if you don't trust my character, you should trust my taste! Why must you compare yourself to someone like Su Yang!"
Yi Yan Geng truly found this amusing now. He sighed helplessly and said, "Young Master Xie has a point." She knew her own character was untrustworthy! Yi Yan Geng didn't want to argue with her anymore; it would only result in him being angered to death. He raised his hand and ruffled her fluffy hair.
"This incident arose because you failed to manage your subordinates properly. Why are you the one feeling wronged?"
"Why shouldn't I feel wronged? You threw me onto the ground!" Xie Jiang grew more indignant the more she thought about it.
"I saw the carpet laid out in the room. If there were knives on the ground, I wouldn't have thrown her…" He couldn't be entirely sure. If one day he saw someone else lying on her bed, he might still throw her to the ground even if there were knives. However, Yi Yan Geng did not voice this thought.
Xie Jiang said angrily, "Just because there's a carpet, you can throw me onto the ground!" If she could hold him, why would she keep her hands? It was a pity she had been staying at the manor these past few days and wasn't carrying a knife; otherwise, she would have chopped off his hands!
"If you find a woman lying on my bed, you can also throw me onto the ground. If you're not satisfied with throwing me on the ground, you can throw me into the river, into the sea." He would not give her such an opportunity.
Yi Yan Geng voluntarily held out his hand to her mouth, signaling her to bite him a few times to vent her anger. Xie Jiang was not one to be polite; she pushed him against the wall and bit his hand with all her might. Yi Yan Geng leaned against the wall, making no move to resist, appearing to let her do as she pleased.
As soon as she tasted blood, Xie Jiang regretted it, her mouth filled with a bitter, metallic tang. She suddenly remembered he had been taking medicine recently, and his blood would taste bitter.
"What's wrong?" Yi Yan Geng asked, seeing her suddenly fall silent. She had been ferocious at first, with the intent to bite off one of his hands, so why had she suddenly stopped biting his hand?
She didn't want to take medicine anymore, that's what. But she couldn't say that. Xie Jiang let go, embraced his waist, and leaned into his arms, saying in a muffled voice, "Even though you were very cruel to me, I… who asked me to like you so much."
"…" Yi Yan Geng opened his mouth, unable to utter a single word. Perhaps he should just give up his life.