“I do. Of course I do.” I hooked my arm around his. “I blame you for keeping all this bottled up, unwilling to clarify things with me.”
“A Yao…” His expression gradually turned joyful. “You—”
I sat on his lap, nestling into his embrace.
“Indeed, at that time, I did like him a bit—” his body immediately stiffened. I continued, “But all of that is long past. I’ve always known who I truly want to spend my life with.”
His chest trembled intensely. “A Yao…”
“I only regret not accepting your proposal when I was fifteen.” I closed my eyes and rubbed against him. “I only wish I had married you earlier, had understood my heart sooner.”
To unravel the knot he’d been carrying for three years, I had to use some cheesiness. I deeply felt the challenges of being a wife.
He suddenly pulled back slightly, staring intently at my face, his eyes burning as if wanting to bore two holes through me. “Little demon, are you really my little demon?”
I rolled my eyes. “I suppose so.”
He curled his lips, smiling very contentedly. “I’m happy, truly—”
Now surely would come the sweet talk, right? I rekindled my hope.
Who knew he wouldn’t continue speaking, but instead tightened his grip on my waist, his lips heavily landing, his scorching fingers forcefully tearing open my clothes.
…
Biting the corner of the blanket, trapped in the arms behind me, I felt increasingly confused about this creature called man. Why was I “handled” when I made him angry, and also “handled” when I made him happy?!
Could this be the only way men express their feelings…
That night I was thoroughly exhausted, and the next day was my big brother’s competition, forcing me to wake up early, bearing obvious dark circles from lack of sleep, accompanying the refreshed An Jin to the machine arts competition site at Baiheyuan.
On White Crane Plain, twelve small square-topped wooden houses were built with pine, arranged in a row, with three sides open and supported by one wall and two pillars as the competition venue, one for each participant. Across from the houses, a three-tiered marble platform was constructed, where nobles and high-ranking officials from the Three Kingdoms sat stably. Below the platform, a circle of iron-clad guards stood with spears.
