Yuan Shu looked up and, sure enough, saw Shu Linyuan's handsome, elegant face glaring at her through slightly gritted teeth.
His cultivation was strong and his strength great. Yuan Shu struggled a couple of times but couldn't break free, so she simply stopped trying.
Instead, she looked up at him with a faint, mocking smile.
The distant and indifferent look in her eyes instantly infuriated Shu Linyuan.
"You've already been to the Cliff of Repentance once before. You stayed there for seven whole days—have you forgotten everything?"
He deliberately brought up those seven days, his tone laced with gritted teeth.
Still feeling that this wasn't enough to vent his anger, he lowered his head, leaned close to Yuan Shu, and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"During those seven days, how many marks did I leave on your body? How many times did we do it? Are you trying to pretend you don't know me now, Yuan Shu?"
No matter what, he could never forget how Yuan Shu had chained his hands that day, and how she had entangled herself around him time and time again.
And ever since that day, he had lost his composure in his dreams again and again!
His unwillingness and anger transformed into a much more honest physical impulse, pounding against his taut nerves.
Finally, after a day and a night of contemplation, he had decided to come see her.
He just hadn't expected that the person who used to look at him with a shy, smiling face...
Would now, upon meeting him, have such a cold gaze and icy expression.
He had made several overtures, only to be met with her indifferent disregard.
The more Shu Linyuan thought about it, the angrier he became.
It was clearly her who had provoked him first that day!
Why did she get to walk away completely unscathed and composed?
While he was haunted by nightmares, his mind filled with nothing but her the moment he closed his eyes?
Yuan Shu raised an eyebrow and leaned her head back against the stone wall.
Looking at the angry man standing so close to her, the corners of her lips slowly curled up.
"What's the matter, Sixth Senior Brother? Cornering me like this... are you trying to settle the score?"
As she spoke, Yuan Shu's gaze traced his features, gliding over his straight nose before slowly landing on his thin, crimson lips.
Her soft, sweet voice carried a careless languor, like the evening breeze brushing past his ear.
It was ticklish and numbing.
"Has Sixth Senior Brother forgotten how you took the initiative to please me and give yourself to me during the latter few days?"
Hearing such bold and audacious words, Shu Linyuan's angry expression froze, and a blush of embarrassment and fury crept up his cheeks.
He covered Yuan Shu's mouth with his hand and snapped in a low, furious voice, "Don't say it!"
"Giggle, giggle..."
A silvery, bell-like laughter drifted against his palm, sending a tingling sensation through it and making Shu Linyuan's face flush completely red.
No matter how much Yuan Shu had trained him, he was still just a disciplined and courteous young man with thin skin.
Under Yuan Shu's teasing gaze, his embarrassment reached its peak.
He gritted his teeth and called out in a low voice, "Yuan Shu!"
"You don't need to be so loud, I can hear you."
Yuan Shu reached up to rub her ear. Her red lips parted slightly as she spoke in a flat tone.
"So, Shu Linyuan, what exactly do you want by stopping me? Don't tell me you're still harboring old feelings for me?"
She tilted her head, giving him a lazy smile.
In the narrow space, with them standing so close...
The faint scent of pear blossoms intertwined with the aroma of pine ink, swirling like smoke and tugging at Shu Linyuan's heart.
Shu Linyuan's cheeks burned. He unnaturally averted his gaze, not daring to meet Yuan Shu's half-smiling eyes.
He felt a sense of shame, as if his chest had been cut open and laid bare before Yuan Shu, completely seen through.
What did he want to do?
He didn't even know what he wanted.
When he didn't see her, he wanted to see her.
When he did see her, his mind involuntarily recalled those seven days.
How Yuan Shu had seduced him, how he had acquired a taste for it, and then...
Shu Linyuan's Adam's apple bobbed. He took two deep breaths to force himself to calm down.
After a long while, he spoke in a low, hoarse voice, "Yuan Shu, I take back what I said that night."
"Hmm? What did you say?" Yuan Shu tilted her head, asking casually.
"Yuan Shu, you! I told you about... the marriage..." Shu Linyuan couldn't believe it. Had Yuan Shu actually forgotten about this?
He had spoken to her so seriously at the time!
"Oh, that!" Yuan Shu realized what he meant and let out a soft chuckle before speaking slowly.
"Didn't we already make it clear? I don't need you to come down the mountain with me. You are still the genius core disciple of Qingyun Peak."
"What's wrong, Sixth Senior Brother? Do you not trust me? Are you afraid I'll keep pestering you?"
Yuan Shu laughed lightly. Her voice was soft and sweet, her tone flat, as if she were calmly discussing the weather.
Shu Linyuan looked a bit dazed, a flash of disbelief crossing his eyes.
Wasn't this exactly what Yuan Shu had been scheming for before?
To have him return to the Yuan residence with her to get married, tying him—a top-tier water-attribute genius of Qingyun Peak—to her family as her husband?
Why could she say these words so calmly now?
Even her beautiful phoenix eyes were filled with indifference, devoid of the shy smile that used to belong exclusively to him.
Standing before her, he felt like an irrelevant passerby, an expendable existence!
"Yuan Shu, don't you have anything you want to say to me? Those seven days, we, we... Have you forgotten everything?"
Shu Linyuan looked at Yuan Shu, his expression shifting, his tone tinged with angry embarrassment.
Yuan Shu raised her eyebrows, a little confused.
What was... going on with Shu Linyuan?
Bringing up those seven days on his own initiative?
What was he trying to do?
"Sixth Senior Brother, didn't you say yourself that you wouldn't go down the mountain with me to get married? Didn't you tell me not to pester you anymore?"
"Now... are you going back on your word?"
She leaned closer to him, carefully scrutinizing the expression on his face.
Shu Linyuan felt uncomfortable under her stare. He looked away and pressed his lips together, remaining silent.
It was like a silent admission.
Yuan Shu's eyes flickered slightly.
Goodness, did this man actually go back, think it over carefully, decide he still liked her, and plan to return to the Yuan residence with her to get married?
"Shu Linyuan, you... Don't tell me I guessed right?" Yuan Shu sounded surprised, reaching up to cover her mouth.
As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw Shu Linyuan turn his head to glare at her through gritted teeth, his face a picture of angry embarrassment at having his thoughts exposed.
"What going back on my word? Yuan Shu, you were the one who provoked me first. How can you expect things to be so easy—provoking me and then pretending nothing ever happened?"
His chest heaved with anger. His usually gentle and dignified handsome face was now filled with the bashful indignation of a reckless youth as he questioned her.
Yuan Shu curled her lips into a smile, finally understanding.
Shu Linyuan really was going back on his word!
She chuckled softly and slowly raised her slender, pale fingers.
Forming a V-shape, she gently pinched Shu Linyuan's jaw, applying a little pressure to force him to look down at her.
She stood slightly on her tiptoes, leaning close to his face. Her soft, sweet voice dropped a fraction lower, carrying a seductive ambiguity.
"Shu Linyuan, are you... missing me?"
Shu Linyuan's eyes widened slightly. As he processed the meaning behind Yuan Shu's words, his Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably.
During those seven days, Yuan Shu's voice had been just this soft and ambiguous, echoing in his ears over and over again.
Like an enchanting siren, she ignited the flames within his body.
And then, things spiraled completely out of control!
