Duan Wujiu lowered his head, and Liu Zhiheng, seeing him like this, dared not speak.
She thought, surely Duan Wujiu would blame her for deceiving him, right?
She had tricked him into being a child groom, ordered him around for so long, made him eagerly try to please her, afraid that if he did anything wrong, he would be driven away.
Not to mention Duan Wujiu, even Liu Zhiheng herself felt she was utterly wicked.
She didn’t know whether Duan Wujiu, after learning of her deception, would simply leave. After all, his body was now fully recovered, and he had some martial arts skills—leaving would be easy.
Ah, after these seven days of spending every moment together, she really felt reluctant to part with Duan Wujiu.
“What does this have to do with A Heng not letting me go out?” Duan Wujiu asked.
“Huh?”
Liu Zhiheng was a bit confused. Was that the point here?
Shouldn’t the point be that she had deceived him?
“I wasn’t trying to stop you from going out. It’s just that when I rescued you, you were covered in injuries… I guessed you might have enemies, and it was likely someone was after you. I was worried you’d be in danger if you went out.”
Duan Wujiu let out a sigh of relief, the gloomy expression on his face instantly vanishing, returning to his usual simple and obedient demeanor. He said softly, “So that’s it. A Heng was concerned about my safety. Since A Heng is worried, I won’t go out from now on.”
“Isn’t the point whether you go out or not? The point is that I deceived you. Aren’t you angry that I lied to you? Don’t you want to find out who you are? When I kept you here, maybe your family was anxiously looking for you? Don’t you blame me at all?”
Duan Wujiu sat facing Liu Zhiheng, looking at her expression as if he were watching a cute little creature.
“A Heng is so silly.”
“Huh?”
“The first time I saw A Heng, I knew she was lying to me. It’s just that I was willing to be deceived by A Heng.”
“How did you know I was lying?” Liu Zhiheng asked curiously. “Did I give myself away somewhere?”
“No, but I can smell lies.”
Liu Zhiheng was speechless. Was he cheating? Lies have a smell? But according to the book, Duan Wujiu could indeed judge a person’s character, whether they were sincere toward him, and so on through scent. It wasn’t surprising that he could smell lies.
Can’t dogs also judge human emotions through scent?
“Are you a dog?” Liu Zhiheng couldn’t help but ask.
“A Heng is joking. I’ve lost my memory—how would I remember my zodiac sign?”
Liu Zhiheng sighed helplessly. What was the point of her acting for so long and blaming herself for so long?
“When you first saw me, you knew I was lying to you, but you said nothing and didn’t care? You were willingly deceived by me?”
“Yes.”
“And you weren’t angry?”
“Not angry.”
“And you didn’t suspect I had ulterior motives?”
“No suspicion.”
Oh no, this Duan Wujiu might really be love-struck.
“What good would it do to expose A Heng? I was injured and had lost my memory. Having a place to recover was good, wasn’t it?”
Liu Zhiheng breathed a sigh of relief. So that was it—he wasn’t love-struck after all.
“Besides, the moment I saw A Heng, I liked her. A Heng’s scent calms me down. Every moment I spend with A Heng, I feel happy. I wish A Heng wanted something from me. I wish A Heng had ulterior motives toward me.”
Oh no, he’s still love-struck.Seeing Duan Wujiu like this, Liu Zhiheng couldn’t tell whether she felt happy or sad. She quickly comforted him, “Don’t worry, you’ll definitely remember who you are. Once you know who you are, you can leave anytime. I won’t stop you.”
The moment Liu Zhiheng finished speaking, that sinister expression reappeared on Duan Wujiu’s face.
He lowered his head slightly, his eyes downcast, trying to hide the uncontrollable agitation and anger that was about to surface.
“Is A Heng trying to drive me away?”
“Huh?” Liu Zhiheng was a bit confused. “I’m not driving you away. I said you can leave anytime.”
Duan Wujiu smiled, his eyes still lowered, filled with frost. “It seems A Heng doesn’t care about me at all.”
“At first, A Heng lied and said I was her child groom, making me rely on her wholeheartedly. Now A Heng doesn’t want me anymore, is that it?”
“If A Heng never intended to take responsibility from the start, why did she provoke me?”
“Since she already provoked me, why not lie to the end?”
…
Duan Wujiu looked up at Liu Zhiheng, his eyes filled with a sick obsession.
He remembered nothing, but even without memories, a person’s deepest desires remain unchanged.
These past few days with Liu Zhiheng had made Duan Wujiu realize his deepest longing.
It turned out he yearned for a profound connection with another person, to be loved unreservedly, to have someone by his side at all times.
Duan Wujiu wasn’t sure if any woman in his past life had ever made him feel this desire for a deep bond, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that the A Heng before him stirred this intense possessiveness within him.
From the first moment he smelled her scent, he had thought: this person is the one he wants.
Duan Wujiu gazed deeply at Liu Zhiheng, waiting for her response.
He flexed his wrist, even considering that if A Heng didn’t want him anymore, they might as well die together.
“How could you think that? I never thought of driving you away! I’d be thrilled to have you stay with me…” Liu Zhiheng said helplessly. “But if you want to leave, I can’t stop you, right? I’m just giving you a choice.”
“I don’t want a choice,” Duan Wujiu said without hesitation. “Whether A Heng treats me as a child groom or a slave, it doesn’t matter to me. I just want her to keep me by her side without hesitation.”
He didn’t want a choice. He wanted A Heng to keep him by any means necessary, even if it meant deceiving him, as long as she cared for him.
Liu Zhiheng studied Duan Wujiu’s face, filled with obsession, and realized that this guy’s entire view of love was probably twisted.
Could he have some kind of… masochistic preference? Did he enjoy being mistreated?
For a moment, Liu Zhiheng felt at a loss, but she quickly accepted it. Fine, Duan Wujiu wouldn’t want to stay with her forever anyway. In a few months, he’d change his mind.
“Alright, I won’t give you a choice. You stay in Peach Blossom Village, day and night, by my side. You’ll do whatever I say, and you’re not allowed to go anywhere. Is that okay?”
Duan Wujiu’s expression relaxed, the agitation in his heart instantly vanishing as he returned to his obedient demeanor.
“Good,” Duan Wujiu smiled again, as gentle as a spring breeze after rain.Liu Zhiheng also breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “But even if you stay, it doesn’t stop you from knowing who you are. Aren’t you at all curious about your identity?”
Unexpectedly, Duan Wujiu slightly furrowed his brows, seemingly displeased, and said coldly, “I don’t want to know who I am.”
Liu Zhiheng was surprised. “Why?”
“I think being your child groom is quite good.”
“You’re being foolish!” Liu Zhiheng said with frustration. “When you arrived, you were wearing very fine clothes, and you even had a jade pendant on your waist. I suspect you might be some kind of royal relative…”
Liu Zhiheng took out all of Duan Wujiu’s belongings that she had kept and placed them before him.
She handed him the jade pendant, trying her best to remind Duan Wujiu of who he was without directly stating it.
“Look, it has a dragon pattern. In our Great Xia, only royal relatives are allowed to use this design.”
Unexpectedly, Duan Wujiu refused it outright. He glanced at the jade pendant and casually tossed it aside.
“I don’t want it.”
Liu Zhiheng hurriedly picked it up, afraid it might shatter.
“What are you doing? What if it breaks?”
It looked very valuable.
“If A Heng likes it, keep it for yourself. I don’t want it.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone reject wealth and status. Instead of being a royal relative, you’d rather be a villager…”
Duan Wujiu noticed Liu Zhiheng’s confusion. Although he wasn’t particularly saddened, he forced a slight smile and deliberately explained in a sorrowful tone, “A Heng, I suspect… my past life wasn’t a good one, so I don’t want to remember it.”
“Why? You don’t remember anything. How do you know it wasn’t good?”
“I truly don’t remember my past, but if I try to recall, I can still sense the scent of those days.”
Is that even possible?
Liu Zhiheng was curious. “What does Xuelang’s past smell like?”
Duan Wujiu lowered his gaze, trying to conceal the fleeting gloom and coldness in his eyes.
“It smells of decay, foulness, and the depths of an abyss.”