Kisses fell one by one on her chest. Mei Jianxue didn't need to look to know that there must be a ring of hickeys on her neck.
The air was a bit chilly. The slightly cold night wind lifted the torn hem of her skirt.
Her fair skin looked even more glistening in the moonlight.
Mei Jianxue seemed dead, neither crying nor laughing, silent and tearless.
No matter what he did to her, she showed no reaction and no longer resisted.
Ji Shihuan didn't like this version of her who was ruining herself. He disliked it very much.
When his lips gradually warmed up while her skin grew colder.
For the first time, Ji Shihuan didn't continue.
He got up from her body, picked her up horizontally, and put her back on the bed.
Her eyes were like those of a frightened rabbit, filled with confusion and panic.
Ji Shihuan didn't know what was wrong with himself today. Clearly, he had repeatedly reminded himself that it wasn't his fault. He was just simply in love with someone.
However, the guilt he felt towards Mei Jianxue was particularly strong tonight.
Actually, although the two of them were still quarreling today, Ji Shihuan knew that their relationship had improved a lot compared to before.
At least they had openly brought up the knot between them: Xu Chang.
Logically speaking, after bringing up Xu Chang, Ji Shihuan should have been even more angry than before.
But at this moment, guilt occupied his mind.
Watching Mei Jianxue shrink further and further into the quilt, avoiding him like a snake or a scorpion.
This made Ji Shihuan start to reflect on when their relationship had turned into this state.
Their relationship used to be so intimate.
She had once been completely devoted to him. Otherwise, when she wanted to leave, the first person she thought of was him, and she asked him to take her out.
The sense of frustration of taking advantage of a person's vulnerability, which Ji Shihuan had always hidden in his heart and never dared to touch, also welled up at this moment.
Ji Shihuan reached out his hand to Mei Jianxue. He originally wanted to wipe the cold sweat oozing from her forehead.
But when he met her frightened eyes, he retracted his hand as if he had been electrocuted.
Ji Shihuan stood up.
The cold moonlight shone on him, and his shadow on the bed was long and lonely.
Mei Jianxue actually felt heartache.
At this moment, Mei Jianxue suddenly realized that he was no longer the little boy who used to play with her.
And she was no longer the little girl who was simply unwelcome in the Ji Mansion.
He was a man, a man who was no longer simply content to be her uncle.
And she had transformed into a woman. There couldn't only be simple family affection and friendship in her life. There was also a complex emotion that she had never encountered or understood, and it seemed to be slowly approaching.
This emotion was neither like family affection nor like friendship.
There was like, dislike, happiness, and sweetness.
There were no fixed rules or directions.
However, no one had ever taught her how to handle emotional matters.
Since childhood, she had grown up in the Buddhist hall, accepting the concept of being pure - hearted and having few desires, not being troubled by the mundane world.
Mei Jianxue was completely blank in this aspect.
She was well - aware that she didn't understand love.
But today, Mei Jianxue suddenly realized that although Ji Shihuan was nominally her uncle, he wasn't much more mature than her in this regard.
"I'll leave first. If you want anything, just tell the maid."
Ji Shihuan paused for a moment when he opened the door, as if expecting something.
Mei Jianxue also knew that he was waiting for her.
As long as she opened her mouth, he would stay.
The two would be intimate like before.
But she didn't say a word.
Even with the moonlight shining, the room was darker than ever.
The night was unusually quiet. There wasn't even a single chirping of insects or birds.
In the end, Ji Shihuan didn't wait any longer. He opened the door and walked out, fleeing as if he was escaping.
It wasn't that he was impatient.
He was vulnerable.
He couldn't bear the torture of waiting or the disappointment lingering in his heart.
Mei Jianxue's eyes hidden in the darkness were as bright as stars. Whether it was the tears of lingering fear or something else.
Anyway, it was a sight Ji Shihuan had never seen before.
For the first time, Ji Shihuan left the Dream Garden without spending the night.
The maids were also very surprised. The previous plan was disrupted, and for a moment, the entire Dream Garden was in a panic as they had to boil water for the mistress to take a bath and prepare a midnight snack.
But with the "Hades" gone, they were a bit more relaxed.
Ji Shihuan tidied up his clothes a bit and opened the main gate of the Dream Garden.
A carriage was already waiting outside.
Seeing Ji Shihuan come out so early, the coachman, who was yawning and about to lie down on the carriage for a good sleep, was greatly shocked.
The coachman had to muster up his energy, tighten the reins, and be ready to drive at any time.
Ji Shihuan was dressed in black, completely blending into the night.
Soon, he got on the carriage and left.
From the corner of the wall, someone poked their head out.
The person stared at the direction where Ji Shihuan left, and gradually tightened their fists.
The rising anger even startled the birds on the tree.
Countless crows took off and flew towards the moonlight.
In the Dream Garden
After Ji Shihuan left, Mei Jianxue didn't sleep. She tossed and turned in bed.
She suffered from insomnia.
It was really strange.
When the big devil Ji Shihuan was around, she could always fall asleep.
But tonight, when he left without doing anything, she couldn't fall asleep instead.
Mei Jianxue didn't want to keep tossing and turning in bed. She simply sat up, wrapped in a cloak, and took a walk in the yard.
The moonlight poured down, leaving clusters of dark tree shadows.
Such a night was just right for a walk.
But being alone made it seem a bit cold and lonely.
On such a moonlit night, it was most suitable for people with stories. Mei Jianxue couldn't help but recall the past events between her and Ji Shihuan.
He was so abnormal tonight, which also made her feelings towards him more complicated.
From simply hating him, there were now some complex emotions.
Her master had told her more than once to abstain from anger and desires.
But Ji Shihuan's appearance had disrupted her life trajectory and led her into a completely different world.
He was like a raging fire, sweeping through everyone around him.
Mei Jianxue was the first to be affected.
Mei Jianxue didn't know why Ji Shihuan must have her.
There were many women in the world who were more beautiful and talented than her.
Moreover, he was her uncle.
This was incest.
Mei Jianxue wasn't even sure that Ji Shihuan truly liked her.
If Ji Shihuan's way of loving someone was to drag the beloved into a doomed situation.
Then Mei Jianxue didn't know if she had the courage to accept such a cruel and tyrannical Ji Shihuan.