As her voice fell, Chai Xiaomi turned her back, not daring to look at his expression.
She knew that once she met those shattered eyes, she would no longer be able to harden her heart.
But Old Ji's warning still lingered in her mind.
Youtiao sighed and comforted her, "Host, don't blame yourself. I know your heart aches for him, but this is the cruelty of the plot setting."
"Who told Ji Bai to be part of the protagonist group? If the two sides turn against each other, there will only be two endings: the first, the villain dies; the second, the protagonist group is wiped out, the world collapses, your mission fails, and you die."
"The only way is for him to apologize, shake hands and make peace, and everyone holds hands happily to get the Happy Ending script."
Youtiao suddenly paused.
A few seconds later, its voice sounded again: "System Alert!!! The villain's darkening value is rising sharply. Host, please take countermeasures as soon as possible!"
Chai Xiaomi's scalp tightened, but before she had time to turn around.
A hard chest pressed tightly against her from behind, fiercely trapping her. Five fingers gripped her chin like iron pincers, turning her face to the side and forcing it up.
Wu Li leaned down from behind and kissed her fiercely.
"Mmph!"
He forcefully and silently pried open her lips and teeth to delve deep inside, the strength of his tongue carrying the savagery of a violent storm.
His arms tightened abruptly, firmly shackling her resistance, imprisoning her within like a wire mesh.
Chai Xiaomi could barely breathe. She felt his urgency, anxiety, and even fear, as if he was afraid she would disappear from his side the very next second.
Finally, just as she was about to suffocate, his lips pulled back slightly, leaving her a sliver of air.
"Even if you're tired of playing, you have to keep playing. What kind do you like, hmm?"
His voice was low and hoarse, carrying a trace of suppressed anger.
"Whatever you like, I can become. But if you want to discard me, I'm telling you, don't even think about it!"
Without waiting for her to catch her breath, his eyes darkened, and his kiss pressed down again.
Urgent and fanatic.
Every intertwining of their lips and tongues carried an irresistible possessiveness, as if everything about her already belonged to him, and everything about him was entirely given to her, leaving no way of retreat.
The stomach is an emotional organ.
After experiencing a series of anger, tension, and worry, now under intense pressure, the dizziness from her hangover had yet to fade. Chai Xiaomi felt a sudden churn in her stomach, and a sharp pain flared up.
Her back arched slightly, and she curled up a bit.
Such a tiny, almost imperceptible movement made the out-of-control youth freeze abruptly.
He immediately released her lips, still maintaining the posture of embracing her from behind.
"Does it hurt?" His voice held a suppressed ruthlessness, as if he wished he could bear the pain for her, yet hated her disobedience. "I told you to drink the hangover soup but you refused. You don't know how to restrain yourself when drinking, and now you're tasting the bitter consequences? Your pain is your own fault!"
Despite his harsh words, his palm landed on her upper left abdomen, gently rubbing and massaging it.
"Mind your own business!" The flush from the kiss had not yet faded from Chai Xiaomi's face. She angrily swatted away his massaging hand.
"I just thought about the future and couldn't bear the thought of you being all alone in this world, which is why I said those things. And what was the result? You twisted my words to make a fuss. It really is treating good intentions like dirt!" The more she spoke, the angrier she got, and her eyes reddened.
"Do you think I really want you to find someone else to be your wife? The moment I think about it, I... I..."
She couldn't go on. Tears welled up in her eyes as she bit her lip to hold them back. Her cheeks puffed out like a little rabbit that had suffered a massive grievance but still bared its teeth.
"...I just want to strangle you!"
The last few words were almost yelled out, laced with a sob.
Her fierceness lacked intimidation, and her crying was hesitant.
Wu Li suddenly fell silent.
He didn't speak for a long time.
He just stared at her blankly, looking at her completely red eyes, watching as that teardrop finally couldn't hold on and fell with a patter.
His heart seemed to crumple into a ball along with that tear, aching with a sour soreness.
He suddenly lowered his head, burying his face in the crook of her neck as if at a loss.
Only the youth himself knew clearly in his heart.
The moment his head lowered, all his pride was broken.
His entire arrogant spirit shattered into dust right then and there.
His scalding breath, mixed with an extremely light sigh, brushed past the skin on the side of her neck.
"Alright, don't be angry anymore."
"...I will go apologize."
His voice was muffled, low, and hoarse.
He lost.
He admitted defeat.
Lost thoroughly.
Lost willingly.
"But I have a condition."
Chai Xiaomi sniffled and looked up: "What is it?"
Wu Li looked as if he had already been coaxed. His whole demeanor softened, and his movements became gentle. He lightly picked up both her hands and placed them on his own neck.
That slender neck was like jade. The veins that had popped out when he kissed her fiercely just now had not fully subsided, meandering under the thin skin like suppressed desire.
He suddenly curled his lips. When the smile reached his eyes, it was tempered with a certain dark light. Leaning down, his low and hoarse voice sounded like an enticement:
"Come, strangle me."
He held her ten fingers, pressing them against his throat. Beneath her fingertips, his vocal cords vibrated, and his Adam's apple rolled. Every movement seemed like a deliberate, slowed-down tease.
Chai Xiaomi froze for a moment, her brows knitting together: "Are you sick in the head?"
"Yes." He smiled, a joyful smile. The pads of his fingers rubbed against the back of her hand, guiding her to tighten her grip slightly. "You can't accept me being with anyone else. Just thinking about it makes you want to strangle me, right?"
He tilted his head, his lips almost touching her fingertips. The flush at the corner of his eyes looked somewhat sickly.
"Very good, Mimi." His voice lowered, sinking deep. "That's how you should think. This proves that I am the most important to you."
Chai Xiaomi was silent for a moment before she finally couldn't hold back: "But I can't strangle you to death. You won't die anyway."
She was a bit amazed by this person's thought process.
If you love me, kill me—what kind of cult logic was this?
"True." Wu Li let go of her hand, not annoyed at all. He just pulled her back into his embrace, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Then let's change the condition."
Chai Xiaomi buried herself quietly in his arms, her cheek pressing against the cold silver collar, feeling the clear and bright aura around him: "Tell me."
"Marry me immediately. As soon as the ceremony is complete, I will go apologize to that cat. If you don't agree—" His arms quietly tightened a bit, as if afraid she would run away, or perhaps afraid she would see his expression right now.
"I'll go kill it right now."
This time, it was a blatant threat.
Chai Xiaomi gritted her teeth.
She had never been in a relationship, and she couldn't even argue properly. She only felt like she was being led in circles by him. Just a second ago she was shouting about not marrying him, but the next second her mouth moved faster than her brain: "Fine, I'll marry you immediately. There's no time like the present, let's do it tonight."
Upon hearing this, Wu Li immediately frowned, looking entirely disapproving: "No, we need to leave at least three days to prepare properly."
Chai Xiaomi blinked.
He was the one making a fuss about getting married.
Now that it was about to happen, he wasn't in a rush anymore.
Wu Li said in dissatisfaction: "How can a girl's marriage be dealt with so hastily? Your wedding dress needs to be carefully selected. As for the other items, they will be delivered shortly."
The rest of the items will be delivered shortly?
Chai Xiaomi was stunned.
What had he prepared? Did they even have express delivery in ancient times?
While she was in a daze, Wu Li hurried to the kitchen to scoop up a bowl of hangover soup and brought it to her lips. This time, she did not refuse, obediently drinking it mouthful by mouthful from the spoon he fed her.
As the warm soup entered her stomach, that twisting, aching sensation gradually dissipated.
Not only that, but even her bones, which felt as if they had fallen apart last night, felt a bit more comfortable.
Perhaps the effects of the alcohol had not fully worn off, but she actually started hallucinating. She kept feeling that at the bottom of the brown soup, there was a layer of milky white sediment, like something had been crushed and added in. Although a lot of rock sugar had been mixed into the soup, she could faintly taste a slight metallic tang.
Just as she wanted to look closely at the bottom of the bowl, Wu Li quickly stirred it with the spoon, and the sediment vanished from sight.
At this moment, she suddenly remembered Youtiao's earlier warning.
She hurriedly asked in her heart, Youtiao, Youtiao! Quickly help me check the current darkening progress. Is it still rising?
Ahem. Youtiao gave two awkward light coughs before speaking, Host, I think I have found the perfect way to stop the villain's darkening.
Chai Xiaomi: What is it?
Youtiao's tone was suggestive: A kiss.
You did not see it, but just now when you two were making out, the villain's darkening value took a nosedive. With a ding, it dropped straight back to its initial value.
Then I specifically went back to check the historical darkening value curve and found two sets of data that absolutely shocked me. Based on the timeline, one peak occurred at Falling Star Plateau, and the other was very recent, just last night.
These two sets of data show that at those times, his darkening value actually went into the negatives!
Negative numbers! Host! That means, in that moment, he could not even be called a villain anymore. He went from wanting to destroy the whole world to wanting to save it. In my long life as a system, I have never seen such bizarre data.
So, Host, what exactly did you do last night?
Youtiao was scratching its head in frustration. It had discovered a very painful fact: it was bad enough that this broken chip crashed from time to time, but whenever the host's body temperature rose, it completely shut down, missing the most crucial timelines every single time.
Youtiao's brain spun as it quickly checked the text archives: Oh, I know what happened!!
Chai Xiaomi instantly turned beet red: Shut. Up.
Youtiao smiled obsequiously: Aiyo, do not worry, Host. I am a good system with professional ethics. I would never tell anyone that in chapters 147 and 174, you and the villain did the deed.
Chai Xiaomi's pupils dilated in shock, wanting to dig a hole and bury herself on the spot: There are records of that!?
Youtiao chuckled: Of course! Who told you to transmigrate into a book? If you do not want anyone to know, do not do it. But do not worry, the specific details are known only to heaven, earth, you, and him. There are no detailed records in the book, otherwise it would have been locked up in the little black room for censorship.
Chai Xiaomi had a sudden thought: Then can you check the specific plot in the Ouyang Manor during the soul-summoning last night? Especially between Old Ji and Li Li. I keep feeling like there is a misunderstanding there.
Youtiao fell silent for three seconds, its tone suddenly turning humble:
Sorry, Host. I am attached to you, so I can only access records related to you. For the side plots of other characters in the book, I have to spend points to buy items to unlock them. As you know, I am very poor.
Chai Xiaomi: ......
