Si Jiangchen seemed to sense the fear in me. He covered my wound again, then reached out and lifted me from the chair.
"What are you doing?"
I shrieked and tried to break free.
"Don't move."
Si Jiangchen's voice remained calm, but suddenly he pressed his forehead against mine. "You look so pitiful. I'll give you a chance to make a contribution and a little treat."
I had no idea what this guy meant. I only knew he was unpredictable. I had tried my best to keep a low profile in the villa, but he still found me!
I should have checked the almanac today. It was not a good day to sit in the yard and watch the birds.
"Achen, where are you going? Take me with you!"
Lin Shuya coquettishly shouted behind us. "I haven't gone out with you for a long time."
Si Jiangchen looked back at her. "You can't go out. The adjutant will bring someone from the orphanage soon. Just wait at home."
"Why? I don't want to stay at home! I want to go out with you. What the hell orphanage? I'm not adopting any kids. What do they want from me?"
Lin Shuya reached out and grabbed Si Jiangchen's sleeve. "Achen, I don't see you every day. I feel so anxious."
"Have you been drinking the talisman water I gave you?"
Hearing Lin Shuya say she felt anxious, Si Jiangchen turned to look at her and asked, "Cinnabar can calm the nerves. It's just right for your anxiety."
"I don't want to take medicine. I always feel uncomfortable for a long time after drinking that stuff. It's not as good as eating... uh..."
Lin Shuya suddenly realized she might have said something wrong. Si Jiangchen's cold eyes stared at her. "Sister Shuya, I hope last night was the last time."
"I... Achen! I wasn't like this before..."
Seeing Si Jiangchen's coldening gaze, Lin Shuya's eyes instantly turned red. She sobbed and cried, "Ever since you... you bit me, I've become like this. I don't want to turn into a monster either... Wuwuwu... Achen, I don't blame you. I just want to stay by your side forever..."
...
Lin Shuya's sobbing and whining was like a little opera singer's performance. She clung to Si Jiangchen and refused to let go.
Looking at her lovelorn and infatuated expression while clinging to Si Jiangchen, I felt a chill run down my spine. A layer of goosebumps appeared on my arms.
However, seeing Si Jiangchen's increasingly dark face, I felt like I was watching a good show. I quickly buried my face in his chest and finally released the laughter I had been holding back.
"Sister Shuya, it's my fault."
I could clearly feel Si Jiangchen's helplessness. He seemed to be desperately suppressing his depression. "But your illness won't get better if you don't take medicine! I'll send someone to watch you. You can't leave your room until you're completely recovered!"
Si Jiangchen's expression allowed no room for refusal. At this time, two military men who looked like adjutants, wearing thick leather gloves, came to stop Lin Shuya.
"No... Achen... Achen..."
There were many people in the yard. Lin Shuya's shouts became even more coquettish, making people misunderstand that Si Jiangchen had done something to her and didn't want to take responsibility.
Si Jiangchen ignored Lin Shuya's shouts behind him and carried me out of the door.
Maybe because I was injured, he didn't ride a horse. Instead, he got into a car.
Black cars were rare in our Duyang Town. I usually took a carriage or a sedan chair when I went out. Of course, most of the time, I sneaked out to stroll.
"Are you done laughing?"
The car started. Finally, we were far away from the "mournful" cries. Si Jiangchen suddenly reached out from his embrace and lifted my face. He looked down at me.
I didn't have time to put away the upturned corners of my lips. Suddenly, he kissed me.
"Ugh!!"
I was startled. I tried to struggle, but my two hands were grabbed and held in front of my chest. My head was trapped in his arm and I couldn't move at all.
It was the first time I had been treated so intimately. I didn't know how to react at all. His thin lips gently nibbled on my lips, making me feel a strange ticklish sensation. But I felt really uncomfortable in my heart. Two big tears instantly rolled down from the corners of my eyes...
"You're the one who started all this, yet you still dare to laugh at others?!"
Maybe seeing that I was scared to cry, Si Jiangchen bit my lower lip as a punishment before letting me go.
My face was burning hot from his kiss. My lips were swollen as if they had been stung by chili peppers. I didn't want him to see my vulnerable expression, so I buried my head in his chest again. I said in a muffled voice, "Your business with her has nothing to do with me..."
"It's not about involving you."
Si Jiangchen seemed to be in a good mood at this time. He stroked the hair on my temple. There was a rare hint of emotion in his voice. "I do these things to you because it's my right! And it's your obligation! Don't forget, Du Xinghe. You're my fiancée..."
I knew that a fiancée was a future wife, just like my father and mother, living in the same room and eating at the same table.
But I didn't know that I had such an obligation to Si Jiangchen. His bite on my lips didn't hurt, but my heart was really uncomfortable. It was like I had a lot of grievances that I couldn't vent, so I cried like a coward.
"... I, I don't want to be your fiancée!"
I buried my head in his arms and said in a muffled voice, "Go do this kind of thing with Lin Shuya. She'll like it!"
"Do you dare to say that again?"
Si Jiangchen's voice suddenly turned cold. I didn't need to look to know how ugly his face was.
I had to desperately grab his neat military uniform and bury my head deeper like an ostrich.
"Du Xinghe, do you think I'm just a piece of goods that you can give to whoever you want?"
This time, he didn't hold my chin again. Instead, he leaned over and whispered in my ear, "From the moment you bit me, you'll never be able to get rid of me for the rest of your life..."
His breath brushed past my ear, warm.
But I was so frustrated that I wanted to cry again. I didn't want to be with him. I'd rather wander around with Awen...
For the rest of my life? Wouldn't that mean I'd have to face his unpredictable face forever?
The scenery outside the car window flashed by quickly. The streets of Luocheng were much more prosperous than those of other towns. It took a long time before the surrounding scenery became desolate and dilapidated.
The car gradually slowed down and stopped beside a three - or four - meter - high bluestone wall. Above a thick wooden lintel that was only about one meter wide, there were four characters hanging: "Luocheng Prison".
"What are you bringing me here for?"
I felt suffocated in his arms. As soon as I poked my head out, I saw the word "prison". I felt a sudden tension in my heart.
"Lock you up."
Si Jiangchen was still angry. He coldly spat out five words, then carried me out of the car and strode towards the prison gate.
The soldiers standing guard on both sides immediately clicked their boots and saluted. "General."
"Um."
Si Jiangchen nodded and asked, "Are all those being interrogated still here?"
"Yes!"
While answering Si Jiangchen's question, the soldier opened the door. His eyes curiously glanced at my face. They probably didn't understand why their superior would bring a woman to the prison.