Shen Xiabai seized her wrist and lifted it to his lips. Cui Yunchu’s eyes widened as she struggled with all her might, but she couldn’t break free.
“Don’t lick my hand!”
Shen Xiabai ignored her. He pressed her hand against his lips and kissed it several times before blowing gently on it. “Does it hurt?”
Her anger vanished at once. Cui Yunchu stared at him with clear, limpid eyes, blinking several times before giving a cold snort. “It hurts. My whole body hurts.”
“Then shall I rub it for you?”
“How?” Cui Yunchu asked, raising an eyebrow.
“How would you like me to rub it? With my hands? My mouth? Or my face?”
A blush spread across Cui Yunchu’s face. She hurriedly scrambled off him. “You have no shame.”
Shen Xiabai remained lying there, smiling faintly. “That would be true if I were dead. But as you can see, I’m still alive.”
Cui Yunchu glared at him. “Isn’t the emperor arranging a marriage for you? Why aren’t you waiting around to choose some well-bred young lady? What are you doing here?”
“I came to find the little dog who got jealous and couldn’t hold herself back.”
Cui Yunchu puffed out her cheeks. “I think your face is itching for another beating.”
Shen Xiabai held out a hand toward her. “Help me up.”
How could Cui Yunchu possibly help him? Not only did she refuse, she even kicked him. “My hands are dirty. Go find your fragrant princess.”
Shen Xiabai raised an eyebrow. “That fragrant princess was driven out of the palace because of you.”
Cui Yunchu puffed up her cheeks again and kicked him twice more. “She’s fragrant, so fragrant. Why are you following me around?”
Shen Xiabai lifted a hand and wrapped his large palm around her ankle. “A Chu, be careful. You’ll kick my waist.”
His gaze was deep, as though turbulent waves were surging beneath it. Cui Yunchu immediately withdrew her leg sheepishly.
“If you damage it, will you still be able to use it?”
“…”
Cui Yunchu was utterly exasperated. “Lord Shen, I’m a respectable young lady, you know.”
Shen Xiabai rose and, with an arm around her waist, pulled her down onto a chair. He pressed her slender waist against the table and kissed her. “Why pretend with me?”
He really did learn quickly!
“Yesterday, I waited for you all day. Why didn’t you come see me?”
“And today, when I smiled at you, why did you pretend not to notice?”
Shen Xiabai raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you already finish beating me just now? What, you still haven’t let it go?”
“Hmph.” Cui Yunchu held up her fingers to demonstrate. “My heart is only as big as a needle’s tip. How could I possibly let it go?”
“What other grudges do you still hold against me?”
Shen Xiabai put an arm around her and rested his head against her shoulder. “A Chu, do you remember all the ways I’ve treated you well?”
Cui Yunchu fell silent for a moment, then slowly turned her head away without answering.
He pinched her chin and forced her to face him again. “Tell me. Do you remember how good I’ve been to you?”
“I remember.” Cui Yunchu replied, “But I also remember how badly you treated me before.”
“You mocked me, sneered at me, disliked me, and looked down on me.”
“And what about the good things I did?” Shen Xiabai countered.
“I remember those too.” Cui Yunchu patted her chest. “They’re all right here.”
Shen Xiabai was not particularly pleased. When she brought up everything he had done wrong, it came in basketful after basketful. But when she mentioned the things he had done right, all she said was, “I remember”?
“Where’s my hairpin?” Cui Yunchu held out her hand.
“In my chest.”
“Then take it out.”
Shen Xiabai tightened his hold around her. “My hands are occupied. I don’t have a free one. You take it yourself.”
Cui Yunchu glanced at his chest.
She had once peeled open the clothes covering that very spot. His skin was fair, his body lean and powerful, and there was an extremely faint scar across it, heightening the masculine force of his appearance to perfection.
It was the sort of sight that made one’s eyes light up and one’s heart race.
Not only had she seen it—she had touched it, too.
“I’m not taking it.” Cui Yunchu turned her head away. “You take it out yourself.”
Shen Xiabai held her waist tightly with one hand, then used the other to seize her hand and guide it inside his shirt.
“What are you doing? What are you doing?” Cui Yunchu nearly jumped. “You’re tempting me to commit a crime, you know!”
He held her hand and guided it farther inside, smiling with great satisfaction. “Whatever crime you’d like to commit, I’ll indulge you. I won’t resist at all.”
Cui Yunchu looked at his face and felt the sensation beneath her hand. Suddenly, her body reacted with instinctive discomfort. She wrenched herself free and sprang to her feet.
“I don’t want it.”
Shen Xiabai froze for a moment, then reached out and caught her by the arm, pulling her back in front of him. “Why not? Don’t you want your hairpin?”
“I don’t want it anymore.”
Shen Xiabai was puzzled. He lowered his head slightly to study her expression. “What’s wrong?”
Cui Yunchu sounded as though she were joking, but there was also a trace of seriousness in her eyes. “I’m afraid that if I touch you, you’ll have me killed with a single stroke of a blade.”
Shen Xiabai looked as though he had just heard an absurd joke. “What nonsense are you talking about?” He stood and pressed Cui Yunchu’s head against his chest. “Are you still angry? Didn’t you already beat me just now?”
Cui Yunchu suddenly felt a little aggrieved. “I had a dream.” She lifted her head and gazed at him.
His features were sharply defined, his jawline smooth and clean. That handsome face was exactly the same as in her previous life, only now it carried a little more warmth and humanity, making her feel comforted.
“In the dream, I slept with you, and you had Yu Feng kill me.”
Shen Xiabai stared at Cui Yunchu. For a long while, he said nothing.
Cui Yunchu nudged him with her foot. “Did you hear me?”
Shen Xiabai nodded. “I heard you.” Then he raised his brows and said with complete seriousness, “So, in the dream, did you play me to death?”
“???”
“Otherwise, Yu Feng wouldn’t have killed you.”
“A Chu,” he whispered beside her ear, giving her earlobe a light bite. “Could it be that you have some unusual preferences?”
Cui Yunchu’s eyes reddened slightly. She shoved him away. “I’m not joking with you.”
“Neither am I,” Shen Xiabai said. “There are only two possible reasons he would kill you. First, I died before you did. Second, I died at your hands.”
“Neither of those is true!” Cui Yunchu raised her voice. “I slept with you, and you ordered him to kill me!”
“Impossible,” Shen Xiabai said firmly.
Cui Yunchu felt helpless. “It’s getting late, and the banquet isn’t over yet. Hurry back.”
Shen Xiabai didn’t move. He held on to her hand. “What about my face?”
His skin was very fair, and one side was bright red. It was obvious that Cui Yunchu had struck him with considerable force.
He tapped her hard on the tip of her nose. “You heartless little thing. You really had it in you to hit your husband so hard.”
“Lover,” Cui Yunchu corrected him. “When did I ever make you my husband?”
Shen Xiabai’s eyes lifted at the corners. “Then who are you planning to make your husband? Lord Wang from the Grand Secretariat?”
Cui Yunchu didn’t know any Lord Wang. But she did know Big Bastard.
She ignored him and turned to leave. Shen Xiabai immediately hooked an arm around her waist and dragged her back. “You still haven’t answered me.”
Cui Yunchu asked, “Why exactly did you pretend not to know me in the hall just now?”
“…”
“A Chu, can’t we let that go without bringing it up?”
He had already taken the beating. If he answered now, wouldn’t those slaps have been for nothing?
“Then who is the well-bred young lady the emperor is arranging for you? Which family is she from? Is it Xiao Lan?”
