The rain grew heavier, yet the stilt house was stiflingly hot.
An arm clamped around Jiang Shu’s waist like an iron band. His other hand gripped the back of her neck, leaving her no room to escape. His kiss was a fierce, possessive assault, as if he meant to devour her whole. Even her breath seemed to belong to him.
Jiang Shu’s attempts to push him away were weak and ineffectual, eventually dwindling into a helpless clutch at the front of his clothes. As they clung to each other, she caught the faint scent of herbs—a distinctive smell that clung to him, tinged with a mystery that made her heart pound.
He drew back a fraction, resting his forehead against hers, his breathing ragged.
His astonishingly dark eyes held her fast. In them surged fierce emotions she couldn’t understand, thick as a night that would never lift.
“Ah Xu…” Her voice trembled, her lips parting and closing.
That soft, unconscious murmur shattered the last of his restraint.
He was rougher and more urgent than before, like a raging tide that swept over her in an instant.
As the world spun, he laid her back on a bamboo couch covered in thick batik cloth, then lowered his heavy body over hers.
His kisses fell on her lips, chin, and neck, leaving damp traces and faint stings. A light rain began to fall outside. The heat gave way to coolness, and the chill air brushed her skin, raising goosebumps.
“Mm… don’t…” She couldn’t take any more. Turning her head to evade him, she couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks.
But her crying seemed to spur him on, darkening the ink-black depths of his eyes. He gently brushed away her tears, his touch almost reverent, though his words were terrifyingly domineering.
“Crying won’t help,” he murmured, his lips against the curve of her ear, his voice frighteningly hoarse. “From the day you provoked me, there was no escaping me.”
Jiang Shu’s fingertips turned white with pain, her sobs broken and ragged.
Outside, the rain drowned out the faint sounds as the bamboo house swayed in the raging wind and rain.
Who knew how long passed before the tempest began to subside.
Shen Qingxu propped himself up and looked at her tear-streaked face. His thumb gently stroked a tiny red mark that had just appeared on her wrist, shaped like twisting vines.
He bent down and kissed the mark with utmost tenderness. His eyes shone with satisfaction and possessiveness bordering on madness.
“The Heart-Joining Gu is complete.” He pressed his forehead to hers. His breathing was still uneven, but his voice carried a heavy, unsettling certainty.
“Jiang Shu, you’ll never be able to leave me.”
“In life, we’ll share a bed; in death, a grave. From the heavens above to the Yellow Springs below, you’ll be by my side.”
Jiang Shu had transmigrated into a novel!
Light poured from the crystal chandeliers, dazzling enough to expose every hidden thought.
The rich scent of roses mingled with the ladies’ expensive perfume and the intoxicating bubbles spilling from the champagne tower, weaving a luxurious yet suffocating web.
Amid all that glittering commotion, Jiang Shu suddenly opened her eyes.
Her gaze went unfocused for an instant. Then an immense flood of memories surged into her mind without warning. The violent rush of information made her slender fingertips tremble, sending ripples across the clear liquid in her glass.
This was another “Jiang Shu’s” life: a brief life of obsession, resentment, and bitterness, one that had ultimately become a joke. It played out in her consciousness like a film on fast-forward.
A proud rich girl had plunged headlong into the abyss named Gu Yushen, using every clumsy trick she could think of just to win a glance from him. In the end, she became the quintessential stepping-stone in the epic romance between the hero and heroine, helping them overcome every obstacle until they reached the altar.
And today was the final chapter of that novel.
The hero and heroine’s wedding—and afterward, her “role” would be over for good.
A faint pain throbbed at her temple. Jiang Shu instinctively pressed it lightly. The small movement immediately caught the attention of the woman beside her.
“Shushu…” Jiang Shu’s mother clasped her free hand, her grip tight, as if she could pass her own strength on to her.
Her well-cared-for face was full of concern. She glanced at the newlyweds nearby, surrounded by guests as they exchanged toasts, then lowered her voice, tentative and soothing. “Don’t look anymore. Let it go. Mom knows how much this hurts…”
Her mother spoke gently, but her words were like a key turning in the lock of the original Jiang Shu’s lingering, frantic, and desperate emotions. A sharp, unfamiliar ache surged into her nose, and her eyes watered involuntarily.
Jiang Shu closed her eyes—not to give in, but to crush the remnants of the original Jiang Shu’s feelings beneath an almost ruthless force of will.
When she opened them again, her beautiful eyes were a calm, clear sea. Every surging wave had been forced down into the deepest trench.
She turned to look at her worried mother. The light traced the contours of her profile, lending it a composed, almost distant air.
She nodded. The gesture was slight, yet utterly resolute.
“Mom, you don’t need to worry. I’ll let it go.”
Her voice was calm, without a trace of a sob or tremor, as if she were stating a fact that had nothing to do with her.
Jiang Shu’s mother froze, clearly not expecting her daughter to react this way. The tears, resentment, or even loss of control she had anticipated never came. Instead, there was only something almost unfamiliar… indifference?
Jiang Shu had already turned her gaze back, letting it skim lightly over the happy couple. The groom, Gu Yushen, wore perfectly tailored black formalwear. Handsome and striking, he tilted his head slightly to listen to the bride beside him, a rare gentleness at the corner of his lips. The bride wore a priceless wedding dress, her face glowing with happiness.
But Jiang Shu felt only… bored.
She raised her hand slightly and tipped back her champagne. The bottom of the glass touched the table with a sound so faint and yet so clear—
“Clink.”
Like a full stop.
The original Jiang Shu’s life was over. Now it was time to begin a new one.