Huo Jingchuan’s hand froze midair.
The motion he’d been about to make—shoving Jiang Mian away—came to an abrupt halt.
Deathly silence filled the room, broken only by Jiang Mian’s suppressed sobbing.
Auditory hallucination?
Huo Jingchuan narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp as a hawk’s as he swept the surroundings.
In this room, aside from himself and the sniffling woman in front of him, there wasn’t even a ghost’s shadow.
So where had that brazen, greedy, slightly hooligan-like female voice come from?
“Malted milk…”
He repeated the words unconsciously.
Jiang Mian, kneeling on the floor, stiffened violently. Even her crying cut off for a split second.
She lifted her head. Her tear-filled almond eyes blinked innocently, and she asked timidly, “Brother Jingchuan, are you hungry? Do you want some malted milk? I—I can make it for you…”
Yet in Huo Jingchuan’s mind, that cheerful voice exploded again, almost perfectly synchronized with her spoken words:
【Holy crap! Can he read minds? How does he know I’ve been thinking about malted milk?!】
【No, no, no—must be a coincidence. A brute like him wouldn’t know anything about soulmates or mental connection.】
【Stop wasting time, bro! Hurry up and kick me out! My stomach is already protesting. If you don’t let me go to the guest room soon, I’m going to start chewing on your wheelchair right here!】
Huo Jingchuan: “……”
This time, he heard it clearly.
The source of the voice was none other than the woman in front of him—this seemingly delicate, helpless little wife whose face screamed I love you so much, I’m so worried about you.
Absurd.
Had he not only lost the use of his legs, but also damaged his brain?
He could actually hear this woman’s thoughts?
To test this outrageous suspicion, a dark glint flashed through Huo Jingchuan’s eyes.
He suddenly reached out. His rough fingers clamped around Jiang Mian’s small, refined chin, forcing her to raise her head and meet his gaze.
The sensation beneath his fingertips was smooth and warm, like fine jade warmed by the hand.
Jiang Mian was forced to tilt her head back, forced to endure the man’s intensely oppressive scrutiny.
She trembled in fear. Her lashes quivered, tears threatening to fall again. “It hurts… Brother Jingchuan, you’re hurting me…”
【Squeeze, squeeze—squeeze my ass! Why are you using so much strength? You’re about to crush my jaw!】
【Pervert! I knew it—psychologically twisted! You actually enjoy abusing weak women!】
【Just you wait. When you finally croak one day, I’ll squeeze your urn too! I’ll scatter your ashes and fertilize the weeds outside!】
The veins at Huo Jingchuan’s temple throbbed violently.
Very good.
Confirmed.
Not a hallucination.
On the outside, this woman was a delicate white flower that would collapse at the slightest breeze. On the inside, she was a black lotus praying day and night for his early death.
Scatter his ashes? Fertilizer?
What the Jiang family sent him wasn’t a wife—it was a debt collector.
Huo Jingchuan was so angry he actually laughed.
He had planned to drive her away—out of sight, out of mind.
He was a cripple. He didn’t want to drag anyone down, nor did he want to endure the pity in other people’s eyes.
But now…
Let her go sleep comfortably in the guest room?
Let her drink his malted milk and count down the days to his death in her head?
Dream on.
As Huo Jingchuan stared at Jiang Mian’s flawlessly disguised face, a malicious urge for revenge surged up from deep within.
Not only did he not let go, he even rubbed her slick chin lightly. The corner of his mouth curved into a chilling smile, his voice low and hoarse, laced with danger.
“Since you love me so much… and want so badly to stay and take care of me…”
Jiang Mian’s heart skipped. A terrible premonition rose within her.
【Wait—this line sounds familiar. Something about this direction feels very wrong!】
Huo Jingchuan stared straight into her eyes and said slowly, word by word, “Then I’ll grant your wish.”
“Tonight, you’re sleeping here.”
“You’re not allowed to leave.”
Boom—!
It felt as if a thunderbolt had struck Jiang Mian right on the crown of her head.
Her expression cracked for a brief instant. Even the tear clinging to her lashes seemed unsure whether it should fall or not.
“Ah?” She stared blankly, mouth hanging open as a single syllable escaped.
Huo Jingchuan released her chin and even very “considerately” pointed to the hard single wooden bed beside his wheelchair (because of his leg injury, he slept there instead of the big bed). His tone was icy.
“What? You’re unwilling? Didn’t you just say that in life you’re a member of the Huo family, and in death a ghost of the Huo family?”
“Or is it that… you were lying to me?”
His hawk-like eyes narrowed slightly, as if the moment Jiang Mian dared say the word no, he would throw her out to be fed to the dogs.
Jiang Mian snapped back to her senses instantly. Her survival instinct kicked in, and she immediately revived her award-winning acting skills.
She sniffed, her face lighting up with an expression that was both overjoyed and deeply honored. Her voice turned so soft it could melt water.
“W‑willing! Of course I’m willing! As long as I can stay with you, Brother Jingchuan, I’ll be happy even sleeping on the floor!”
That was what she said aloud.
But the screaming in her head was practically about to blow Huo Jingchuan’s skull apart:
【???】
【This isn’t how the script goes! Big brother, can you please follow the trope?!】
【Weren’t you supposed to be a violent maniac? A keep-your-distance psycho? You should’ve roared ‘Get out!’ and kicked me through the door!】
【My big bed! My malted milk! My happy single night! Aaaah—Huo Jingchuan, give me back my innocence!】
Listening to that mental breakdown, the gloom that had hung over Huo Jingchuan all night… strangely enough…
Lifted just a little.