In Qu Linglong's shock and gradual retreat, Feng Shihao "swished" and tore off her mask.
She cried out in alarm, instinctively reaching to cover herself, but stopped midway.
He had seen it.
This hideous face.
Closing her eyes, her hand fell powerlessly, not daring to meet his disgusted gaze. The uneven, pockmarked skin, even she couldn't bear to look at it!
Why wouldn't he just leave! Not even leaving her with a shred of hope.
Now, even death felt bleak, without a single wish left.
Terrifying scars covered her entire left face, uneven and discolored, hinting at the bloody mess it must have been.
It must have hurt terribly.
Feng Shihao's fingers gently traced the scar, and the ferocity in his eyes gradually faded.
Qu Linglong trembled. The sensation was like a feather, like cotton, like stroking a cherished treasure.
What was he doing?
But the comforting hand did not linger long. As she held her breath, the warm fingertips abruptly withdrew.
It felt as if a void had opened in her heart, a cold wind whistling through it.
No one liked this ugly her, no one...
"Ah!" she cried out in pain.
Opening her eyes, she saw the anger in Feng Shihao's phoenix eyes. His fingers were vigorously wiping her lips, as if something dirty had stained them.
"Who told you to kiss others? You're not allowed to kiss anyone else!"
He wiped and wiped, then finally leaned down, licking and biting, scrubbing with his tongue.
Qu Linglong was greatly alarmed and struggled to push him away.
Her lips had just bled, they had a taste... He was so clean, he couldn't, he couldn't...
"Qu Linglong, you're pushing me?"
She used to love his kisses, they made her legs weak, her eyes hazy, needing him to hold her so she wouldn't slide to the ground.
Now, she pushed him away?
Was she so clear-headed now that he was no longer attractive?
"Your Highness, please leave. Stop disturbing my life, can you? It was my fault before, I shouldn't have provoked you. Now I've realized, you're not the man I want."
"Then who is? Du Ling? He ran faster than a rabbit just now, leaving you so carelessly with another man. Does he deserve you?"
"And..." Feng Shihao directly reached into her clothes and pulled something out. "This. How do you explain this? If you want me to believe you, fine! Then give me a real reason!"
"A real reason? A real reason is I don't want you anymore, I don't like you anymore! Leave!"
Qu Linglong felt a bit broken. She wanted to say harsher words, but she still couldn't bear to hurt him.
But he wouldn't leave, forcing her here, why force her!
Her chest ached as if countless needles were piercing it, forcing her to exhale, and exhale again.
Looking up, she met Feng Shihao's indifferent gaze. "I slept with Du Ling! I am someone else's woman now. Is this reason enough?"
Feng Shihao's chest heaved with anger. Was she really degrading herself like this?
Saying anything to make him leave!
"I don't care about your face, Linglong. Don't think of me as so shallow. Come with me, I won't be a prince anymore. We, a family of three, can go wherever we want. The entire Jing Kingdom..."
"Feng Shihao! I beg you! Let me go! Even without Du Ling, I would find someone else. I am a normal woman, I want to live a normal life. You understand, right?"
"So, you still dislike me?"
Feng Shihao's eyes were as dark as ink, like the oppressive sky before a storm, making it hard to breathe.
She had still hurt him.
She didn't want to, she really didn't.
She longed to spend her life with him!
Heaven truly enjoyed playing jokes. This was the love she had prayed for so many times. Now, it was right before her, but she couldn't grasp it.
"It's not you, you're wonderful. It's me, I'm promiscuous, I'm naturally lustful..."
"Enough!"
Feng Shihao's hoarse voice, his eyes red, interrupted her. He was completely enraged. In fact, he had wanted to pull her into his arms since they met.
He craved her soft body, craved that familiar medicinal scent. He hadn't slept a good night's sleep in a long time.
What did a scarred face matter!
There were plenty of women more beautiful than her, had he ever liked anyone!
"Qu Linglong, I truly wish I could strangle you!"
He actually grabbed her neck, his blood-red phoenix eyes filled with madness, pushing her back step by step.
Qu Linglong closed her eyes, her expression serene. She wasn't afraid of death, she was just heartbroken.
What would happen to him later?
Would someone love him in her place?
He was so good, so good...
"You want a man? I can be one too... I am also a man..."
Leaning back, Qu Linglong was pushed onto the only small bed in the thatched hut.
Immediately, his slender body lunged forward.
"No..."
"You have no right to say no!"
Her clothes were easily torn off. Qu Linglong, like a lamb to the slaughter, her weak struggles appeared to Feng Shihao as a coy resistance.
His eyes held a cruel mockery.
"Indeed, promiscuous!"
He uttered the words through gritted teeth, burying his head and biting her snow-white, fragile neck.
It was the medicinal scent he had yearned for countless nights, his antidote, his salvation, the harbor he wished to anchor in.
The thatched hut remained open. As the last piece of cloth was torn away, Qu Linglong truly became afraid.
Not afraid of what would happen to her, but afraid that someone might enter at this moment.
Her pale face flushed with a blush, and the scar on her left cheek also seemed to gain a touch of color.
Since they had confided in each other in the southwest, he had always been reserved and polite towards her. Besides sleeping embraced in nightclothes, the most intimate gesture was a kiss.
Never had there been such a frenzied moment, such bare skin-to-skin contact.
He was like a famished beast, gnawing everywhere. Qu Linglong's mind roared, yet she was terrified. Her eyes remained fixed on the doorway.
"Close the door, close the door..."
"I refuse! Didn't you say Du Ling slept with you? I want to see if there's anything of his on you!"
Feng Shihao's clothes remained perfectly in place, while Qu Linglong was already completely undressed. He rose maliciously, exposing her entirely to his gaze.
Qu Linglong frantically hugged herself, trying to cover up, only to have her arms unceremoniously pushed aside and held firmly at her sides by Feng Shihao.
There was no escape.
Feng Shihao's breathing grew heavier.
It seemed villagers were approaching outside.
More than one, speaking as they walked, drawing closer.
Qu Linglong trembled, her eyes tightly shut, tears streaming down her face.
"Close the door, please, Zhong Liang, please..."
She coughed twice, the flush on her face receding, her small face pale, fragile, and pitiful.