The young girl before Prince Yan was gaunt, her small face pale.
She slowly lifted her head to look at him, her plain little face evoking a pang of pity.
She had become very thin, but her eyes shone with astonishing brilliance.
When she looked at him, there wasn't even a hint of guilt.
Instead, there was a subtle, almost imperceptible accusation, as if questioning him.
Why had he taken so long to see her?
Prince Yan was momentarily stunned!
It was she who had lied, she who was the most excessive, the most hurtful little liar.
But when she looked at him with such pathetic eyes, he found himself softening instantly because of her.
He reached out, intending to grip her slender neck tightly, but the moment his palm touched her neck, Prince Yan retracted his hand.
In that instant, he had still softened.
"Why did you run away?"
The bowl of medicine was overturned. He looked at her, trying to appear fierce.
But no matter how he disguised himself, the wagging tail that emerged from behind him after he transformed into his half-beast form betrayed his state.
His tail swayed—
He looked both pathetic and amusing.
Though he was a fierce man, his wagging tail revealed the thoughts he couldn't hide.
No matter how furious, how angry, how much he swore on the way that he would never soften for this girl again.
But upon seeing her, his heart couldn't help but waver.
Being able to see her again felt like a dream.
Such a beautiful thing could happen to him, leaving him dazed and disbelieving.
He slowly looked up at the girl opposite him. In the depths of her eyes, a flicker of panic surged. She looked at him, seemingly a little angry, and chided him.
"As soon as you see me, you're so fierce..."
Her small face was already as delicate as a palm-sized piece of jade. She looked at Prince Yan pitifully, her eyes misty, as if she were about to cry at any second. Tears streamed down her fair cheeks.
Prince Yan, about to say something, went blank at the sight of her tears. He felt annoyed that he had hurt her, yet he was still angry. After a moment of indecision, he grumbled in a muffled voice.
"You... you..."
"Why did you leave?"
"Did I not treat you well?"
"Why did you trick me into believing you were dead?"
He couldn't understand it no matter how hard he tried.
The memory that echoed in his mind was of the moment he received the news: it was like a bolt from the blue, as if the sky and earth had collapsed. He spat out a mouthful of blood, which trickled down his lips, yet he still had to force himself to stand.
Only he truly knew the bitterness of that taste.
He had even wanted to follow her in death!
If she were truly dead, what meaning would his life hold?
The young girl opposite him also looked at him with reddened eyes.
She even had the audacity to reason with him.
"Why do you care why I left!"
"You brute!"
Prince Yan's ears drooped slightly. He found it unbelievable.
He had risked his life, rushed to see her, and his heart was brimming with thoughts of the girl before him. He just wanted to confirm that she was still alive.
Initially, sensing she was alive due to the half-beast contract, he had indeed been overjoyed.
But immense anger soon followed!
His mind was filled with the question: why did this girl have to deceive him?
Did she dislike him? Had she been lying to him all along? Was it all a grand lie from the very beginning?
Were her words about staying with him forever also all lies, all falsehoods? Had she decided from the start that she absolutely had to leave?
The more Prince Yan thought about it, the angrier and more wronged he felt.
On his journey, his heart had been burning, drowning in a sense of immense betrayal!
If she had wanted to escape from the very beginning, if she hadn't liked him at all from the start—why had she come to marry him? Why had she bothered to provoke him?
Why indeed.
She had even said she would be his master and never leave him, forever.
All lies, falsehoods!
She was a complete deceiver!
He looked at the girl before him with his eyes turning red with fury.
Lin Muci, seeing the man with bloodshot eyes before her, knew he must be feeling utterly wronged and displeased!
But she then did something Prince Yan could never have imagined.
She reached out—and embraced Prince Yan.
Prince Yan stiffened slightly, held tightly by her embrace. He could feel the girl's pure, fragrant scent washing over him. He clenched his jaw, his voice changing pitch.
"Let... let go! Let go of me!"
But the girl held him tightly.
Although he could easily shake her off, he didn't.
The little fox gritted her teeth, her voice a mix of grievance and nervousness.
"Let me go, don't think you can coax me into being okay just by hugging me!"
"I'm not that kind of person!"
Hearing Prince Yan's words, the little system found time to sneer in Lin Muci's mind.
"Not that kind of person? I think he totally is!"
"If a hug doesn't work, maybe a kiss will?"
"Look at his tail, it's perked up so high. He must be expecting something, right?"
"Tsk tsk tsk, I thought he'd go crazy.
"Maybe he would have tied you up and tormented you, but I never expected him to waver so easily. Host, he truly loves you madly!"
Lin Muci's fingertips gently brushed his back, as if she could see through his bloodshot pupils, discerning the flicker of anticipation in his eyes.
Then, Lin Muci's lips curved into a clear smile again.
She leaned closer to the flustered, stubborn little fox.
She then tiptoed. The man's expression changed abruptly. He thought she was going to kiss him, and the tension and excitement in his eyes intensified.
But in the next second, the girl before him lowered her head and then retched!
She crouched on the ground, her face ashen.
She looked like she was in very bad shape.
Prince Yan reached out, wanting to help her up, but his gaze fell on the overturned bowl of medicine. He sniffed it, his expression one of confusion.
This scent...
It felt so familiar.
But the wound medicine he encountered most often was different from this. This was clearly not wound medicine.
But—what kind of medicine was it? He gripped the girl's wrist tightly, wanting to ask her clearly. However, her body swayed precariously. She looked up, clearly unwilling to speak.
"Are you sick?"
"What sickness do you have?"
"Speak—don't make me worry."
"Is it because you were sick that you faked your death and left me?"
The girl opposite him turned her head away, clearly not wanting to say a word to him. In a flash, an incredible thought surged into his mind.
"You..."
"Are you pregnant?"
Was this an embryo-nurturing medicine?
Or an abortion pill?
His mind in chaos, Prince Yan's breathing quickened. He couldn't even think!
Was this... real? Had she truly conceived his child?