Xu Jingran didn’t know who he was. All she could see was a red demon mask. His pupils were black, his eyelashes long.
His gaze carried an extreme desire for control. Those beautiful, well-defined fingers reached out, his index finger lightly touching her lips.
It seemed like pure curiosity. He pressed gently against her lips. His fingers were cold — like the damp chill of a ghost.
He withdrew his hand, then slowly rubbed her lips again, as if savoring the sensation.
His fingers slid from her cheek to her chin. With one finger lifting her face, he forced Xu Jingran to look up at him.
She recognized him from the brooch on his chest.
An ouroboros — a serpent biting its own tail. The body was intertwined in dark gold and black enamel, each scale detailed, the snake’s eyes set with dark red rubies.
Exquisite. Terrifying.
The Xiao family’s emblem.
So the man in front of her was—
Student Council President, Xiao Si Ming.
Xu Jingran calculated her chances of escape and shifted her feet slightly.
The bell at her ankle chimed again.
“A disobedient little mouse… trying to run from my hands?”
Xiao Si Ming seemed amused. He bent slightly, and the pattern on his mask frightened Xu Jingran enough to lower her eyes.
He was too close.
She moved stiffly to the side and forced a small smile.
“The game just started… give me another chance.”
“Game…” Xiao Si Ming’s lips curved faintly. His voice, cold and soft like a venomous snake hissing by her ear, continued,
“Then tell me—what punishment should a mouse receive when it’s caught?”
Xu Jingran thought of the people bullied in the garden earlier. Her body trembled, and she pressed her lips together.
“Don’t hit me…”
Then she noticed a thin cut on the back of his hand.
She took the hand that was holding her chin and brought it to her lips, gently sucking at the wound.
Warm, soft breath spread from the cut across his body.
Her lips pressed against his hand. The tip of her tongue touched the injury. It was painful, itchy, numb all at once.
Xiao Si Ming abruptly pulled his hand back.
His relaxed expression turned into scrutiny.
What was she doing?
“Your hand is hurt,” Xu Jingran said softly, uncertain, like a child who had done something wrong and was nervously clutching her skirt. “My mother told me that this makes it hurt less.”
Her lips were redder now — perhaps stained with his blood.
Pure and seductive at the same time.
Moonlight poured down.
Her long hair seemed to glow. The white dress made her look utterly innocent. Yet her face was delicate and flushed, her lips full and red, her lashes dark and long.
Beneath her left eye, a small red tear-shaped mole trembled slightly, revealing her anxiety.
Xu Jingran’s heart pounded.
Everything depended on this moment.
These wealthy men all lacked love.
Nobles liked innocence.
She had seemed innocent enough just now… hadn’t she?
Xu Jingran lowered her head uneasily.
To Xiao Si Ming, it looked as if she had been hurt by his actions.
“I…” she had just begun to speak when Xiao Si Ming suddenly released her.
“Run.”
He straightened and stepped back. “I’ll give you thirty seconds.”
Xu Jingran froze for a moment, then suddenly stood up and ran barefoot toward the door.
The silver bell rang crisply with every step, sharp in the silent attic.
She didn’t look back.
So she didn’t see Xiao Si Ming slowly remove the red mask behind her.
He slowly raised his hand and pressed a kiss against the wound she had just sucked.
There was no particular taste.
But his heart skipped a beat.
Xu Jingran ran barefoot out of the room and straight down the corridor.
She turned into a side hallway lined with portraits and didn’t dare stop for even a second.
Breathing hard, she pushed open a large door at the end.
Whatever—she needed to hide first. Thirty seconds should be almost up.
As soon as she entered, she smelled alcohol.
More precisely, the sharp scent of spilled liquor.
In front of her stood four or five masked nobles, both men and women.
They were forcing a girl in a white dress onto a table and pouring alcohol down her throat. Broken bottles lay nearby, and red wine had splashed everywhere.
The sound of Xu Jingran pushing the door open caught everyone’s attention.
All of them turned to stare at her.
Xu Jingran clicked her tongue and immediately turned to run.
But she crashed straight into two other masked figures.
A girl in a pale yellow court-style gown blocked her path. She wore a tabby cat mask and shoved Xu Jingran hard.
Xu Jingran fell to the ground. The two people behind her shut the door with a sharp click.
The others surrounded her, their lips curved in amused smiles.
“Another one walked right in. What a fool.”
“Isn’t this the famous scholarship student, Xu Jingran? Didn’t Young Master Lu Ran protect you?”
“Haha, you look pathetic. Throw her together with that other scholarship student and make them drink all the alcohol here.”
“Right. If you finish all the liquor in this room, we’ll let you go. We won’t even take your bells.”
The girl in the tabby cat mask stepped forward, and the others subtly treated her as their leader.
Someone nervously tugged at her skirt.
“Bai Zhenxi, what if Young Master Lu Ran finds out about this?”
“Shut up. Don’t say my name. She doesn’t know who we are anyway!”
Bai Zhenxi harshly warned the girl beside her, then let out a soft laugh. She stared down at the two scholarship students in the center with disdain.
“They’re just scholarship students. Young Master Lu Ran is only playing around. He’ll get bored soon enough.”
“And we’re only making them drink. We’re not doing anything else. Besides, this is a game. You have to follow the rules.”
A painful groan sounded nearby.
Xu Jingran turned and saw Liu Ruan already drunk on the floor. She looked miserable, her dress soaked with alcohol, her hair disheveled.
The nobles laughed and handed her more bottles.
One girl sneered faintly.
“This scholarship student really overestimated herself. She actually dared to dream about Young Master Jiang Lijin. What a joke.”
However, when they looked at Xu Jingran, there was a hint of caution and fear in their eyes.
After all, everyone knew Xu Jingran was Lu Ran’s girlfriend.
It was an open secret at school.
Photos of the two of them were frequently posted on the campus forum, attracting endless attention.
Even though Bai Zhenxi dared to target Xu Jingran, the others were still afraid.
“Go. Bring the strong liquor and make her drink it.”
Bai Zhenxi ordered someone to fetch the high-proof alcohol from the wine cabinet.
Only then did Xu Jingran realize this room was probably a wine cellar. Bottles were displayed in glass cabinets, and several shelves were already empty—the bottles had been taken out and placed on the table.
Clearly, they intended to force them to drink.
The others cautiously went to retrieve the liquor.
But none of them dared to force Xu Jingran directly.
Bai Zhenxi frowned impatiently.
“Hurry up. Once they’re drunk, throw them into the main hall so everyone can see how pathetic they look.”
There were still many students waiting in the hall.
And the young masters as well.
When Xu Jingran and the other scholarship student were thrown into the center, completely drunk—
The scene would surely be spectacular.