The humiliation task required by the System was finally complete.
Li Wu’s vicious little mouth could finally stop.
She stared blankly at Jiang Xun, thinking that nightfall was finally approaching and that the damn System had finally quieted down.
Tonight, she absolutely had to successfully sleep with Jiang Xun and strive to change the plot as soon as possible.
She had truly had enough of living this split personality life.
Jiang Xun also rarely got to enjoy such quietness between the two of them, so he didn’t say anything else.
After a while, Li Wu asked, “Are you tired? Do you want to come up and ride?”
Her tone wasn’t as harsh this time. There was even a hint of caution in it, and after crying so hard, her voice was slightly hoarse, revealing a rare trace of consideration.
Jiang Xun hesitated for a moment before asking uncertainly, “Is that an order from the eldest daughter of the Li family, or an invitation?”
Li Wu answered almost without thinking, “An invitation.”
The moment Jiang Xun heard those two words, the corners of his lips nearly curled all the way up.
He stopped walking and looked up. Sunlight fell across his hair and face, making his entire figure look as though he were glowing.
“Okay.”
Jiang Xun pressed one hand against the saddle, pushed off with his long leg, and effortlessly swung himself over the horse’s back, settling steadily behind her.
Without any unnecessary movement, he controlled the reins with one hand while his other arm rested across her waist, keeping her delicate body steady.
As the horse moved forward at a leisurely pace, its rhythmic motion caused his two powerful, muscular legs to tense against his riding trousers, clearly outlining the firm muscles beneath.
The two of them rode together, with Li Wu in front and Jiang Xun behind.
As she swayed naturally with the horse’s movements, her body would unconsciously lean backward and bump against his chest.
Li Wu’s face gradually reddened.
She lowered her head, biting her lip without saying anything.
From the angle she couldn’t see, the tips of Jiang Xun’s ears had also turned faintly red.
There was a forest behind the racecourse.
Without either of them realizing it, the horse gradually carried them into the woods.
This rare moment of tenderness was something neither of them wanted to interrupt with words, unwilling to ruin the peaceful harmony between them.
A gentle breeze lifted her hair and swept it across his face, leaving behind a faint, sweet fragrance.
Jiang Xun swallowed, a frightening dark flame flickering in his black eyes.
The tranquil forest was an excellent natural setting.
Perhaps it would be even more exciting in a place like this.
But the eldest daughter of the Li family was delicate, with exceptionally tender skin. The stones would be too uncomfortable, the wind too cold, and an outsider could accidentally intrude at any moment.
That might ruin the mood.
Jiang Xun merely thought about it.
In the end, he decided that it would be better to have her in every corner of her soft, fragrant room.
No one could intrude upon that private space.
The space that belonged to the two of them.
He also had no desire for anyone else to see the alluring way the eldest daughter of the Li family looked in his arms.
Jiang Xun lowered his eyes slightly and gently dipped his head. His lips accidentally brushed against the crown of her hair before he pressed a soft kiss there.
He missed those soft, kissable lips of hers.
The horse stopped.
Li Wu heard Jiang Xun’s voice. It was slightly hoarse and sounded incredibly sensual.
“Should we keep going?”
Looking at the dark, looming forest, Li Wu thought of that as well.
She had almost forgotten about the side quest.
She was supposed to seduce the male lead.
So Li Wu pretended to be frightened and leaned back into Jiang Xun’s arms.
She deliberately acted coquettishly.
“Don’t go in. I’m scared. Could there be some really terrifying wild beasts inside?”
Faced with the eldest daughter of the Li family willingly throwing herself into his arms, Jiang Xun’s eyes darkened.
His large palm gently clasped her soft waist, seemingly unintentionally stroking the tender flesh.
“What do you think, eldest daughter of the Li family?”
“I think there might be.”
She turned her face to the side and looked up at him, her eyes glistening with watery allure, an unmistakable invitation.
It was almost as though the words “sleep with me” were written plainly across her face.
This kind of seductive expression, which usually only appeared at night, was more than Jiang Xun could withstand in this deserted wilderness.
Besides, Jiang Xun was never some upright gentleman to begin with.
He turned his face and kissed her without hesitation.
But just before his thin lips could touch hers, a deep rumble of thunder rolled across the sky.
A stark white bolt of lightning tore through the heavens and struck a dead tree not far from them.
The sudden lightning made Li Wu shudder in fright.
She instinctively dodged, avoiding Jiang Xun’s kiss, then nervously looked to the side.
The branches of the dead tree had been split apart by the lightning, burned completely black.
The horse was startled as well. It raised its front hooves and neighed restlessly.
Li Wu’s entire body stiffened.
This thunder was like a warning from the System, like the Heavenly Dao refusing to allow it, like punishment for her violating her character setting.
It was warning her.
If she dared to defy the will of fate, her end would be just like that dead tree.
She would meet a terrible end.
Her face turned deathly pale, her eyes filled with terror, and her fingers clenched until they turned white.
She no longer dared to move closer to Jiang Xun.
“I want to get off.”
She was terrified and wanted to escape this place, but the only way to escape was to jump down from the horse.
“Don’t move. It’s dangerous.”
Jiang Xun was afraid she would actually jump, so he wrapped an arm around her waist and restrained her struggling body.
The horse was so high that even if she didn’t die from a fall, she would at least suffer broken bones or become seriously injured.
He didn’t want the eldest daughter of the Li family to get hurt.
Jiang Xun tried to calm her down. “It’s only thunder. I’ll take you away from here.”
But Li Wu had clearly been badly frightened. The closer Jiang Xun came to her, the more violently the thunder roared across the sky.
“Don’t touch me!”
Li Wu pushed Jiang Xun away like a madwoman and shouted, “Jiang Xun! Don’t touch me!”
Jiang Xun didn’t understand.
It was only thunder.
Why was it frightening her this badly?
His expression darkened as he held her firmly around the waist to restrict her movements, while pulling on the reins with his other hand and urging the horse toward a safer area.
But then another bolt of lightning struck.
This time, it landed less than a meter from the horse, exploding against the ground in a burst of sparks and electricity.
The horse was violently frightened and bolted uncontrollably in the opposite direction.
Jiang Xun immediately tightened his long arm around her and pulled the reins with all his strength, desperately forcing the horse to stop its frantic movements.
Li Wu had already broken down completely.
She covered her ears, unwilling to hear or see anything.
Yet she knew perfectly well in her heart that the lightning was targeting her.
It was chasing her.
She gave in.
She was afraid.
She didn’t dare anymore.
The smooth progress of the plot had made her complacent and caused her to forget the warning from the evil little butter.
During the day, according to the Heavenly Dao’s rules, she could not have any intimate contact with the male lead.
She had truly been wrong.
“Put me down.”
“I won’t let go.”
Jiang Xun cupped her face and forced her to look at him. “Li Wu, look at me. I’m Jiang Xun. Are you afraid of me?”
Only fear filled Li Wu’s eyes.
Jiang Xun continued asking in a soft voice, “Tell me what you’re thinking. What are you afraid of? What can I do for you?”
Li Wu’s lips parted slightly, but she couldn’t utter a single word. Tears rolled down her cheeks, yet she couldn’t give him an answer.
At that moment, dark clouds pressed low overhead, and torrential rain came pouring down.
Sudden drops of rain, large as beans, struck fiercely against her face and body. The icy chill snapped her back to her senses.
She pried Jiang Xun’s hand away from her face and slapped him hard across the cheek.
“Don’t touch me. Who asked you to meddle in my affairs?”
“Who do you think you are? What right do you have to kiss me?”
“A toad trying to eat swan meat. I feel sick just looking at you.”
“Jiang Xun, I don’t like you touching me.”
At this moment, only the world’s most vicious words could protect her and keep her from disaster.
Another fierce bolt of lightning descended from the sky, instantly illuminating the man’s stern face.
There was no way to distinguish the tears from the rain on Li Wu’s face.
Her eyes were red and wet, her vision blurred and weak as she looked into Jiang Xun’s eyes.
His face was right in front of hers.
Those eyes that had once been cold and indifferent were now filled with sorrow and pain.
“Don’t hate me.”
The rustling rain and thunderous lightning drowned out his voice, but they could not drown out the sorrow in it.
Amid the pouring rain, he suddenly gripped the back of her neck with one hand and lowered his head, kissing her forcefully without allowing her any chance to dodge.
[Don’t hate me. Please.]
There was no hesitation and no tenderness, only forceful possession.
He invaded her lips and kissed her fiercely.
The rain poured down endlessly, thunder roaring through the heavens.
It was as though the world would end in the next moment.
As though the next moment, they would both be dragged into hell.
As though the entire world, even the Heavenly Dao itself, opposed them.
But even so, he was going to kiss her.
Jiang Xun’s eyes gradually reddened.
He couldn’t tell whether the bitterness on his lips came from the rain or from tears.
He only knew that before disaster arrived, her next instinctive movement had been to push him away.
That was what she truly wanted. It was her completely instinctive reaction.
That attempt to push him away pierced his heart.
Jiang Xun thought, even so, he was going to kiss her.
He would not give her any chance to leave him.
Then let the lightning strike them both to death.
Even if he died, he would drag her down into hell with him.