There is a group of people in humanity whose intellect is far ahead of the rest.
Their talent defies common sense, and they learn everything astonishingly fast.
Even without any reference or guidance.
Commonly known as being self-taught.
Chai Xiaomi's eyelashes were soaked.
They trembled slightly, like butterfly wings wet from a sudden rain.
Before the tears at the corners of her eyes could fall, they were gently licked away by Wu Li's slightly cool lips.
"Does it hurt?"
The young man's husky voice buried by her ear coaxed softly, trembling with tension, yet still trying hard to be gentle:
"Be good... don't cry, okay..."
Kisses fell densely over her eyelashes, the tip of her nose, her forehead, her earlobes... nowhere was left untainted by his scent.
Like a small animal using the most primitive licking to express attachment and comfort.
She had finally experienced it.
What it truly meant.
He knew how to coax, but he would absolutely not stop.
Breathy sounds shattered in her throat, and she couldn't even piece together a complete sentence.
Wu Li also found it strange.
He obviously couldn't bear to see her cry, but her tears at this moment were breathtakingly beautiful.
He wished she would shed a few more, letting the tear tracks adorn her flushed cheeks, like pear blossoms in the rain covering her body.
Then.
He would, inch by inch, kiss them dry.
Chai Xiaomi pressed the back of her hand against her lips, but couldn't stop her tears.
They scattered in pieces, like beads from a broken string, spilling all over the floor, impossible to pick up.
The young man simultaneously controlled her body and soul.
Tearing the two apart and then melting them back together.
Sending her to the clouds and dragging her into a deep valley.
He knew too well how to make her fall, and exactly when to—
Gently catch her.
As Chai Xiaomi's mind was reeling, she barely gathered her consciousness.
There was still the absolute most important business left undone.
Taking advantage of his slowing down, she grabbed his sweat-drenched shoulder and said intermittently with a crying tone, "Wait, wait..."
The young man finally paused, lowering his slightly moist eyelashes to look at her.
"What's wrong?"
Wu Li first kissed her sweaty forehead, tenderly stroking her hot cheek, and asked softly, his hoarse voice carrying a bit of nervousness: "Are you uncomfortable?"
He thought he had really hurt her.
She shook her head, her breath still erratic, but her eyes became clear: "You bit my lip last time, and it hurt for two days before it healed."
He was slightly taken aback, gave a low "Mhm," and rubbed the corner of her lips with his thumb.
He didn't quite understand why she suddenly brought up old scores at a time like this.
Actually, it would have taken longer to heal; she probably didn't know that someone secretly applied medicine to her lips while she was sleeping.
"So," she pouted, "you have to let me bite you back to make it fair."
His suspended heart suddenly landed.
He thought she had suddenly gotten angry and wouldn't let him touch her anymore.
He didn't expect it to be such a tiny request.
At this moment, even if she wanted to bite his throat, he would obediently offer it up.
"Here." He didn't even think about it, offering his thin lips to her teeth without hesitation. "Bite however you want."
He only begged her to bite quickly, to calm her anger quickly.
This brief pause was driving him crazy.
Chai Xiaomi didn't hold back, opening her mouth to bite his lower lip.
A clear stinging sensation arrived.
In that instant, Wu Li's blurry thoughts were like being drenched in ice water, suddenly waking up, his reason returning instantly.
He remembered what the Plantain Demon had said, a way to break the love gu.
But it was too late—
The metallic scent of blood had already spread between their lips and teeth.
And she was still kissing him, passionately, lingeringly, pressing that rusty taste deeply into her mouth.
Chai Xiaomi thought to herself, who said the twin love gu is unsolvable?
The Plantain Demon probably would never have guessed that the other party who was given the gu was the gu caster themselves.
But in fact, she never felt this love gu had any effect on her.
Her feelings for Wu Li were never a sudden gust of wind.
From the false lies when they first met to the sincere confession later.
Every inch of affection had a trace to follow, like a stream flowing over stone steps, gradually soaking through the entire time.
But she had to prove it to him.
In the most straightforward, most painful, and gentlest way.
"Lili, do you believe it now?"
She chuckled softly against his bloodstained lips, the corners of her eyes curving into thin crescents: "I truly like you."
Wu Li was stunned, suddenly tightening his arms, pulling her deeper into his embrace.
He was already unable to stop, and unwilling to stop.
They already belonged to each other.
From body to soul, from breath to heartbeat.
In that instant just now, he thought, even if the lie was exposed, he would absolutely never let her go.
Using chains or vows, even turning into vines to wrap around her ankles, he would keep her by his side forever.
This life, the next life, life after life reincarnating.
He would never let go.
But who would have thought...
His prayer hidden in the darkest depths of his heart was actually heard by his god.
She stepped down from that unreachable altar, bending down to embrace his dust and obsession.
Allowing his infatuation, tolerating his greed.
Gently scooping him up from the endless long night.
Telling him—"I truly like you."
...
"Mimi..."
The young man buried his face deeply into her neck, his voice muffled and tight, as he once again made a wish to the god.
"I can't live without you anymore."
This bell is the pact, binding life and death.
It was the curse he cast.
And the wish he made.
The young girl's slender white fingers unconsciously ran through his long dark hair, her fingertips curling up and then releasing.
As if trying to grab a piece of driftwood in the surging tide.
The silver bells on her ankles collided gently with the rise and fall, ding-ling, ding-ling...
The fine, clear chimes tangled with the ambiguous panting.
Rippling out circle after circle in the silent night, not stopping for a long time.
As if it would ring until the dawn broke, ring to the end of time.
Chai Xiaomi didn't know how long she slept before she slowly woke up.
Still a bit dazed, she sat up and stared blankly for three minutes.
She raised her hand to rub her temples, but felt as if all the bones in her body had been dismantled and hastily put back together, every joint aching and weak.
The previous R-rated scenes suddenly flooded her mind.
Her ears burned, and she quickly looked down to inspect herself.
Only to see that the clothes on her body had been properly put on, the collar neat and tidy, every tie meticulously tied into a small bow.
So neat that it seemed a bit stubborn.
It could be seen that the person who helped her dress had a bit of OCD.
She lowered her head and gently sniffed.
A very faint floral scent floated on the fabric, mixed with a barely perceptible, warm roasted fragrance, without the slightest stench of dampness drying in the shade.
But this was an endless night, without a sun, the only way was fire.
She looked up and saw a pile of extinguished ashes in a corner not far away, with a few unburned dead branches resting beside it, and her guess was confirmed.
She stared blankly at the pile of ashes, as if she could see the young man crouching before the firelight.
How carefully he must have spread the clothes over the tips of the flames, avoiding the darting tongues of fire while constantly turning them, so that every inch of fabric could be heated evenly without leaving a single scorch mark.
Roasting so slowly, how long did it take?
She unconsciously raised her hand to gather her hair, her fingertips pausing as she realized even her hair had been styled into a bun.
She could hardly imagine just how much Wu Li had gotten done while she was asleep.
Even though he had expended the most physical energy, he somehow did not even need to take a break.
Right now, there was no telling where he had gone off to.
Ah, it was great to be young, full of such boundless stamina.
Although she was only a year older than him, she always felt half-dead inside. To put it bluntly, she was probably just lazy.
As Chai Xiaomi muttered to herself, her stomach suddenly gave a soft rumble.
She pursed her lips. At this very moment, she suddenly felt an intense longing for that meat pancake she had taken a bite of and spat back out earlier.
