Chai Xiaomi wished she could stick her fingers down her throat to induce vomiting, thinking it would be better if she actually threw something up. Unfortunately, whatever she ate had probably been digested overnight, so she could only force out a few physiological tears.
Seeing her hunched over, holding onto the doorframe with a look of exhaustion, Jiang Zhiyu understood. He had heard that pregnant women often suffered from nausea and discomfort; it must truly be exhausting.
"It is truly not easy for a woman to bear a child," he said in a gentle tone, carrying a hint of apology and pity. He patted Wu Li lightly on the shoulder. "Wu Li, stay here and let Xiaomi rest for a bit. I will go and inform Escort Leader Yan about this."
He blamed himself; if he hadn't let Xiaomi see this dead rat, perhaps she wouldn't have had such a strong reaction.
Jiang Zhiyu hurriedly picked up the dead rat and turned to leave, thinking he needed to dispose of it as quickly as possible to avoid causing further discomfort.
Only when the footsteps faded away did Wu Li lean in closer. His voice was as light as a cool breeze. "Didn't you want to get closer to your Brother Yu?"
"Look, he was scared away by your pathetic state. What a pity."
He calmly observed her expression, his tone full of regret.
If Chai Xiaomi hadn't caught the fleeting glimpse of mockery in his eyes, she almost would have believed his nonsense.
"Do you really hate Jiang Zhiyu that much?"
The surrounding air suddenly stagnated.
Wu Li did not answer.
Chai Xiaomi straightened up, pushed back the loose hair on her forehead, and looked straight into the young man's eyes, which were gradually turning dark because of her words. "Hate him so much that you wish he would disappear from this world?"
Judging from his attitude toward Jiang Zhiyu just now, he clearly harbored some deeply suppressed and enduring hatred.
Here she had to marvel at Jiang Zhiyu's obliviousness. He acted as if nothing was wrong, probably completely unaware.
Perhaps in his eyes, Wu Li was just an awkward younger brother with a slightly bad temper, and he only needed to be a little more accommodating and tolerant.
This truly surprised Chai Xiaomi. So Wu Li's murderous intent toward Jiang Zhiyu had started to show this early on. But he had only recently developed feelings for Song Yueyao; wasn't this speed of turning evil from unrequited love a bit too fast?
In the original novel, he had hidden his murderous intent toward the male lead flawlessly in the early stages. At first, he only wanted to plant a love gu in the female lead. After repeated setbacks and seeing the female lead and male lead growing closer by the day, he gradually fell into the abyss.
It wasn't until the middle and later stages that he completely turned dark, showing his crazy side and vowing to drag the entire protagonist group into hell.
So where exactly was the problem?
Why did he stop trying to hide it so early on?
"You're not as stupid as I thought." Wu Li's lips curled up, but his eyes held no smile, as cold as a deep pool.
He leaned against the doorframe, showing no panic at being exposed. Instead, he tilted his head and lightly raised his chin in the direction Jiang Zhiyu had left. "What are you waiting for? Go on, go tell him, so he can be on guard against me sooner."
Chai Xiaomi stood motionless.
"What?" He let out a low chuckle, his gaze sweeping seemingly casually over the poisonous scorpion tattoo on the back of her hand. "Because you like me, you can't bear to turn me in?"
The tattoo looked more and more glaring the longer he looked at it.
Whenever he thought about how her protectiveness toward him was driven by the love gu, while her fondness for Jiang Zhiyu came from her own heart, he felt as if his internal organs were slowly being twisted by an invisible hand, swelling with a sour ache that nearly burst his chest.
He had never felt this way before, and it inexplicably made him irritable.
"Trying to chase me away? No way!" Chai Xiaomi put her hands on her hips and gave a soft snort through her nose. "The score between us hasn't been settled yet."
She rubbed her still somewhat queasy stomach, suddenly took a step forward, lifted her face, and looked into the young man's eyes with a clear, bright gaze.
"Lili."
The young girl's eyelashes fluttered, her beautiful eyes suddenly curving as a sweet and gentle smile bloomed on her lips.
Like a spring breeze, like the warm sun.
Wu Li suddenly froze completely.
Because the hand hanging by his side was suddenly and gently enveloped by a pair of warm, soft little hands.
Chai Xiaomi brought his hand up to her face, cradling it in her palms.
His hand was extremely beautiful, with well-defined knuckles, slightly visible veins, and cold, white skin.
Only the nails on his fingertips had been stained a deep, gloomy ink-black from years of handling poisonous gu. The black was profound, with a sharp curve at the edges. Paired with his overly exquisite appearance, he looked exactly like a soul-stealing demon from a storybook.
Chai Xiaomi thought to herself: So cool! With these natural conditions, he would absolutely slay at an anime convention!
She lowered her eyes and looked at it for a moment, then suddenly turned her face and gently pressed her warm, soft cheek against it.
Wu Li's breathing abruptly stopped.
His entire body solidified into a stiff stone statue, even his fingertips pulled taut.
That delicate skin brushed over the cool back of his hand like a feather, bringing a faint yet surging tremor that spread from the point of contact, stirring up silent ripples.
Her movements were just like a lazy cat rubbing against a paw.
Except what she was rubbing wasn't her own paw.
It was his.
"What..." Wu Li's throat moved slightly. He paused, his voice so hoarse it was almost a whisper, "...are you doing?"
Although she had played with and kneaded his hand for a long time earlier, the sensation was completely different now that her soft cheek took the initiative to press against it.
He didn't even dare to move his fingertips a fraction of an inch, afraid of scaring something away.
Chai Xiaomi gently rubbed against it twice more before lifting her face, resting her chin on the back of his hand. A sly gleam flashed in her eyes. "Disinfection complete! Get ready, it's time for your injection."
With that, she opened her mouth and went "Awoo," leaving two rows of petite, solid bite marks on the back of his hand.
"Who told you to trick me into drinking that bone soup? This is your punishment. The score is settled."
She narrowed her eyes, warning him word by word: "Don't. Let. It. Happen. Again."
The bite wasn't heavy; her intention was simply to let Wu Li know that she didn't accept such pranks. But when Chai Xiaomi looked down and saw those two rows of clear bite marks, she remembered the overlapping scars that once covered his body.
Her heart softening, she pursed her lips, her voice dropping lower. "The injection is done. Now, time for the cotton ball."
Saying this, she lowered her head again and gently pressed her soft, warm cheek against the back of his hand, like a comfort, like touching some fragile wound.
"Alright, I'm going to go find Jiang Zhiyu and turn you in." After pressing her cheek against his hand, she let go and turned to leave, flipping her attitude so quickly it was ruthless.
However, in the instant she turned her head, the sly gloating between her brows was impossible to hide, her inner calculations written all over her face.
Wu Li watched her light, retreating figure. She wasn't going to turn him in at all; she was just deliberately scaring him.
She turned the corner of the corridor and went downstairs, her skirts fluttering. Her hurried footsteps hit the floorboards with a thump, thump, thump, echoing as she ran off down the stairs.
The echoes of the wooden boards had clearly faded away, yet that thumping sound seemed to continue echoing and striking against his heart, beat by beat.
He slowly raised his hand, staring at the two rows of shallow bite marks on the back of his hand.
So, when a little cat is provoked, it really will bite.
But...
"Is this... a punishment?"
He let out a low murmur. Watching the mark gradually fade, he suddenly lowered his head, pressing his lips to the spot, and bit down fiercely along the outline of the teeth marks.
He did not pull away until the taste of blood bloomed between his teeth.
A fresh set of bite marks was deeply branded into the skin, deepening the original trace.
