A heavy, pounding heartbeat echoed in the quiet confines of the car—whether it belonged to Huai Yin or himself, Xu Shiyan couldn’t tell.
The rustling of fabric magnified infinitely in the silence. Xu Shiyan felt the blood rushing straight to his head, rendering him almost unable to think.
Unconsciously swallowing, his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. Beads of sweat trickled down his jawline, leaving his sharply sculpted profile glistening and radiating an intense, electric tension in the dim interior of the car.
He felt as though he were on the verge of losing control. The hand clamping down on Huai Yin’s thigh tightened slowly, burning with the urge to leave his mark on every inch of her skin—to rub away every trace of Shen Xiaozhou and layer his own scent over her, like an apex predator marking its territory to claim sole ownership.
That way, she would belong to him alone, and no one else would dare draw near.
Huai Yin winced in pain, her delicate brows knitting tight as her pretty face crumpled into a scowl.
It hurts—it hurts so much!
His grip felt strong enough to crush her bones. How could he have so much strength?
In front of Xu Shiyan, she stood absolutely zero chance of resisting. She was like a helpless prey trapped in a snare, with no way out except to await her fate of being devoured whole.
Xu Shiyan kept his eyes locked on her slender neck. As the buttons gave way one by one, her porcelain skin was gradually laid bare before him.
His fingertips paused. He forgot to move altogether, his gaze anchored to her neck with a dark, ravenous hunger.
Licking his lips, his crimson tongue flicked out like a dangerous, striking viper hiding in the shadows. A ravenous craving he had never experienced before gnawed wildly at his sanity.
He wanted to bite her. He desperately wanted to sink his teeth into her neck.
His large, calloused hand unknowingly slid onto her injury. The rough palm pressed down like a heavy boulder against her tender skin—heavy, forcefully firm, and thoroughly uncomfortable.
Huai Yin squirmed her body in protest.
“Don’t move,” Xu Shiyan’s voice rasped, dangerously husky.
His gaze drifted to her delicate collarbone. It was exquisitely shaped, looking almost finely carved. His thumb pressed into it, stroking slowly back and forth, sending shivers through her frame.
So smooth, so soft, he thought.
With just a little force, a pale red mark would blossom on her skin.
A malicious thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Curling his fingers, he pinched her skin with just enough force to make her gasp for air, her dark, clear almond eyes instantly welling up with a layer of mist.
The pinched spot turned bright red. Against her milky white skin, the mark looked glaringly stark.
The corners of Xu Shiyan’s lips curled up almost imperceptibly, a wave of unprecedented satisfaction washing over him.
Consider this a small dose of revenge and a lesson for his disobedient fiancée—a reminder to see if she would dare get too close to another man next time.
“Do you realize your mistake now?” Xu Shiyan asked intentionally.
Huai Yin bit her lip aggrievedly, shaking her head blankly. Strands of fine hair stuck to her cheeks, making her look disheveled and deeply pitiful. Her fair, luminous face was flushed bright red, and her whole body radiated heat, turning her as red as a ripe tomato.
Xu Shiyan felt the urge to lean in and sink his teeth into his fiancée’s cheek just to taste what she tasted like.
“I didn’t cuckold you.” Huai Yin murmured, cautiously reading his expression.
Sure enough, upon hearing those words, Xu Shiyan’s face darkened, his tone turning stiff and unyielding.
“How am I supposed to believe you?” He clicked his tongue in impatience. “You’re still wearing that wild man’s clothes, and you refused to take them off when I asked.”
His words were crossing the line. It was reasonable to suspect he was deliberately trying to embarrass her.
She hadn’t done anything of the sort, so why was he framing her like this? Did he hate her so much that he’d resort to throwing mud at her?
Huai Yin was genuinely angry now.
Sniffling, her eyes drooped, and she glared at him furiously.
“Y-You have no right to accuse me!” Whenever she got nervous, she started to stammer.
Xu Shiyan raised an eyebrow, asking out of curiosity, “What do you mean? I haven’t—”
Huai Yin stammered as she cut him off. “You do! You’re way worse than me!” Bolstering her courage, she pointed an accusing finger at him. “You clearly have me as your fiancée, yet, yet you’re still dating Su Yi!”
“You’re two-timing! You’re a treacherous, cheating scumbag.”
Huai Yin instantly swallowed the rest of her words, because she noticed Xu Shiyan’s face growing hideously dark.
His handsome features twitched twice, his pitch-black eyes entirely devoid of emotion. Cold-faced, his expression turned as frighteningly grim as a ghost.
“Huai Yin.” His voice, usually pleasant, sounded slightly twisted.
“So Shen Xiaozhou is better than me?” A sharp, needle-like pain stabbed at Xu Shiyan’s heart. “How am I any different from Shen Xiaozhou?”
He wanted to refute her, only to realize he truly was in the wrong when it came to both Huai Yin and Su Yi.
Xu Shiyan didn’t know what was happening to him. He liked Su Yi, yet why was he now burning with jealousy over this whole thing?
Hadn’t he wished for nothing more than for Huai Yin to fall for someone else in the past? Yet the moment he found out she was actually entangled with another man, he felt thoroughly unhinged.
He couldn’t even figure out his own mind. He only knew his chest felt suffocatingly tight, completely infuriated.
All he knew was that Huai Yin ought to revolve around him. Her eyes should only have room for him—no one else was allowed.
“I am not dating Su Yi,” Xu Shiyan said. He knew his defense sounded pale and feeble, but he didn’t want Huai Yin misunderstanding his relationship with Su Yi. “I was pursuing Su Yi, but ever since she found out about your existence, she never agreed to be with me.”
He closed his eyes briefly.
“So I didn’t,” His tone sounded dry and raspy. “two-time anyone.”
Huai Yin blinked slowly.
The system had explained the general plot of this world to her before: the male and female leads would go through endless breakups and reconciliations, only officially getting together around the age of twenty-five or twenty-six.
At this point in time, they hadn’t established a formal relationship yet. Knowing that Xu Shiyan had a fiancée, Su Yi had been deliberately keeping her distance from him.
Huai Yin felt a sudden wave of guilt. After all, it was because of her that the main leads’ romance was so rocky.
A heavy silence stretched between them for a long time.
After an unknown duration, Xu Shiyan spoke up abruptly, “Are you using these tricks to get me to cut ties with Su Yi?”
Caught completely off guard by his deduction, Huai Yin wrung her fingers nervously. How was she supposed to answer? She really hadn’t meant it that way at all.
However, Xu Shiyan looked genuinely furious right now. He probably cared deeply about his pride and the idea of being cheated on.
Considering his ego—and in order to maintain her character persona—Huai Yin nodded.
Receiving this satisfying answer, Xu Shiyan’s eyes lit up. An uncontrollable grin tugged at the corners of his lips, making him look helplessly pleased.
See? It really was like that. Little girls were just little girls—she’d do anything just to make him jealous.
“Fine, I promise you,” Xu Shiyan blurted out, assuring her without a second thought. “Su Yi and I won’t do anything to wrong you. I will reconsider my relationship with her, but you have to promise me you won’t do something like this ever again.”
She was his fiancée, after all; he still needed to coax her a little. Xu Shiyan was convinced Huai Yin loved only him. It was Shen Xiaozhou who had taken advantage of his absence from the classroom to shamelessly seduce his fiancée.
Where did a mere scholarship student get such nerve?
Xu Shiyan failed to realize that his mind was now entirely consumed by Huai Yin. His former self would never have uttered such words.
While Xu Shiyan gave his word effortlessly, Huai Yin was completely stunned.
What did he mean?
Wait, this doesn’t seem right.
“No, don’t!” Huai Yin blurted out instinctively to stop him.
Xu Shiyan frowned. “Don’t what?”
He had already backed down, yet her reaction was entirely outside his expectations. The girl didn’t look pleasantly surprised at all; instead, she looked utterly shocked and panicked.
Stuttering, Huai Yin stammered, “You and Su Yi, the two of you?”
Doesn’t Xu Shiyan like Su Yi? What does he mean by ‘reconsidering their relationship’?
This was drifting way off from the original storyline plot!
System! System! Huai Yin called out silently in her mind. What on earth is going on?
“It’s fine,” the system responded calmly. “The male and female leads are supposed to go through countless hurdles before ending up together. Host, there’s no need to worry—just do what you need to do.”
The system added a calm reminder: “Also, you broke character just now. Your reaction to hearing those words should be joy.”
Right.
Huai Yin took a deep breath, repeating the system’s instructions in her head like a mantra. Character persona, character persona!
Tilting her chin up slightly, she adopted an overbearing demeanor. “I don’t believe you. Unless you call Su Yi right now.”
“I want to see you completely cut ties with Su Yi right in front of my face!”
Xu Shiyan raised an eyebrow.
Sure enough, her pitiful act from earlier was all played out just for him. It really must have taken a lot of effort for the young lady to scheme like this.
“What, you’re not willing?” Huai Yin hummed coldly. “You’re just lying to me, aren’t you?”
Inwardly, she let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness! The male lead isn’t actually going to break things off with the female lead.
“Fine,” Xu Shiyan said casually, utterly indifferent. “I agree.”
Huai Yin’s eyes widened slowly.
He can’t be serious?
She watched helplessly as Xu Shiyan picked up his phone from the side console and dialed a number. He turned the screen around to show her—the contact name displayed was indeed Su Yi.
Is Xu Shiyan out of his mind?
Huai Yin pleaded in her heart for Su Yi not to pick up the call.
Xu Shiyan flashed a subtle smile, leaning his stunningly handsome face right in front of hers until their noses were practically touching.
Huai Yin could faintly catch a light whiff of alcohol on him, mixed with a floral and sandalwood fragrance that made her dizzy.
“I’ll listen to whatever you say, as long as it makes you happy,” Xu Shiyan said playfully. “So, how do you plan to reward me fiancée?”