Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  “Zhuge Yue?” she whispered as time passed slowly. “What’s wrong?”


  “Nothing,” he replied with a calm voice. In the few years that they had not seen each other, the arrogant man had seemed to grow up. An occasional cold look flashed across his eyes, which resembled the vicissitudes of life that he had been through. His voice was peaceful, yet sounded cold. His emotions were indiscernible to other people.

  “Xing’er, you have suffered,” the man suddenly said.

  Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows in suspicion as she replied, “What are you saying?”


  “Whatever I owe you,” Zhuge Yue smiled, patted her face, and continued, “I will make it up to you in future.”


  “Zhuge Yue, what’s wrong with you?”


  Chu Qiao was a little nervous as she tugged at Zhuge Yue’s sleeve. She looked up and remarked, “I didn’t suffer. I was willing to.”


  Zhuge Yue smiled again. He reached out his hand and held her in his embrace, leaning his chin onto her head. He held her without using any strength, as if he was holding a porcelain object. There were some things that he did not say, as he let those thoughts dissipate along with the winds that blew past. He had always thought that he was better than Yan Xun. Only when Chu Qiao was by his side, could she attain real happiness. However, on matters like these, he was no match for Yan Xun. Yan Xun had been a real gentleman over the ten years that they had spent together, yet he only had his selfish desires.

  However, what could he do about it? When faced with her, his confidence often evaporated. As his happiness neared, he started to fear more and more. Hence, he wanted it all to himself.

  However, after that, he worried even more about his personal gains and losses. He was a decisive man. For matters regarding conquests and riches, he was able to decide and gamble swiftly. Only when faced with her was he unable to do so. Sometimes, he mocked himself for landing himself into this state.

  Chu Qiao leaned into his embrace as she continued to repeat, “It’s nothing. I did it willingly.”


  He covered her mouth and carried her up as he started to walk towards the cabin.

  Chu Qiao exclaimed as the umbrella fell to the ground. The thin raindrops fell onto her face, giving off a cold sensation. She protested with a low, soft voice, “Put me down! It’ll be bad if Meixiang and the rest sees this!”


  Zhuge Yue looked down and said in a domineering tone, “Shut up.”


  Chu Qiao frowned and retorted, “I don’t want to!”


  Zhuge Yue laughed as he maintained his expression. He smiled but did not make a sound, as he lowered his head and kissed her forcefully. He stood in front of the cabin door and kissed her under the night sky, in the open, all the way until Chu Qiao was panting and felt weak all over her body. He laughed as he looked at her. With a slight arrogance in his voice, he said, “I have ways to make you shut up.”


  Chu Qiao reached out both of her hands to cover her slightly swollen mouth. She looked at him angrily as she continued to protest in silence.

  Zhuge Yue laughed again and carried her back to her room. Luckily, it was late in the night. Everyone had slept, and they did not encounter anyone on their way back.

  As they reached her room, Chu Qiao jumped off swiftly and adopted a defensive posture as she stared at him. As he unfastened his clothes, she started to blush.

  Zhuge Yue smiled and leaned forward as his breath landed on her ear. He whispered, “Does it still hurt?”


  Chu Qiao’s face turned even redder. She was always like this. Despite being able to command many troops and kill many enemies, she was helpless when faced with such matters. She behaved like an innocent lady whenever topics like these were mentioned.

  Zhuge Yue embraced her from behind as his hand slipped down her stomach. Chu Qiao was shocked as she restrained his hand, putting it back on her warm stomach.

  “Oh?” Zhuge Yue asked. “I’m asking you something. Does it still hurt?”


  Chu Qiao was caught off guard again as she shook her head like a frightened rabbit.

  Zhuge Yue chuckled as a sinister look flashed across his face. He leaned by her ear and whispered, “It really doesn’t hurt anymore?”


  She nodded frantically once again.

  “Let’s carry on then.”


  “Ah?” Chu Qiao exclaimed with her mouth wide open.

  Zhuge Yue burst out in laughter as he carried her and put her onto the bed. Chu Qiao did not know what had come over her. What had happened to her martial arts? Her agility? Why was it that whenever he neared, she felt weak all over? She watched on, dazed, as his face became larger in front of her. His pointed nose, thin lips, sinister eyes, fair skin, his smile…… all of these features were charming.

  She remained motionless as she allowed him to dominate her lips. She started to feel goosebumps that felt like electric shocks. Her teeth were pried open as his tongue entered the gap within. Their kiss turned from gentle to intense in a short period of time. From her initial dreamy state, she tried to welcome his gesture by reciprocating. Her body quivered slightly as her breathing became irregular and faster. She had ultimately succumbed to the other party’s seduction as she leaned in his embrace. Her clothes had unknowingly come off, leaving only her undergarments, exposing her long legs and fair arms.

  He laughed and wrapped her in a blanket, then kissed her face. He reached out his hand and embraced her, saying in a hoarse voice, “Alright, get some sleep.”


  Chu Qiao was stunned. She asked in a dazed manner, “Sleep?”


  “What’s wrong?” Zhuge Yue put a hand to his head and turned around to look at her as she blushed. “Don’t you want to sleep!”


  “Yes!” Chu Qiao proclaimed in an exaggerated tone, even going as far as to yawn to signal her unbearable fatigue.

  Zhuge Yue lay down on the bed, holding her. He had no intention to take it any further. After all, it was Chu Qiao’s first time. She needed more time before she was able to go at it again. However, he was almost unable to restrain himself. He forced himself to close his eyes and say, “Get some sleep then.”


  However, she moved around restlessly in his embrace. One moment, she shifted her arms. The next moment, she changed her posture

  Zhuge Yue frowned as he started to boil with anger. He tried to control it but was unable to do so. He asked, “What are you doing?”


  “Are you not going back to your room?” Chu Qiao looked up at him pitifully, blushing. “What if Meixiang and the rest sees this tomorrow? Pingan and Jingjing are still young. They are still children.”


  Zhuge Yue frowned and retorted, “How old are they? Are they still children? Don’t forget, when you were their age, you nearly raped me at Wupeng City.”


  “Did I?” Chu Qiao tried to defend her reputation as she retaliated, “You’re accusing me wrongly!”


  “No?” Zhuge Yue sneered and continued, “You disguised yourself as a prostitute that was gifted to me by Lord Tian and tried to seduce me. Tell me, isn’t that trying to take advantage of me?”


  “Zhuge Yue, you……”


  “You can speak louder. Everyone else will know about this. No need to wait until tomorrow morning.”


  Chu Qiao lowered her voice and stared at him fiercely. As she gritted her teeth, she snarled, “I…… who knew that you would be there! You knew how the entire story was going to unfold. Don’t pretend.”


  “Hmph!” Zhuge Yue rolled his eyes at her impatiently, seemingly anticipating her reaction.

  Chu Qiao, seeing that he remained silent, panted for a while before she pushed him and chided, “Hey! Go back to your own room. I can’t sleep when the bed is so small.”


  The bed was small? It could fit four people and still have space! Zhuge Yue pretended not to hear what she said as he closed his eyes and continued to sleep.

  “Hey! Go back to your own room! What’s with you staying here?”


  As she saw that Zhuge Yue refused to move, she sat up angrily, grabbed her own clothes, and prepared to leave. As she climbed over his body, he pulled her back, causing her to land on his chest.

  Some sparks burned in his eyes as he looked at her coldly. “I see that you’re still jumping and kicking about. Don’t you want to sleep?”


  “No! There’s no such thing!”


  Even Li Qingrong knew how to react to the situation earlier on. Chu Qiao, being able to think more rationally, knew that she had thrown herself into a dead end.

  As expected, she snuggled back into her original position, with her back facing Zhuge Yue. She remained silent and breathed steadily, as if she had really fallen asleep.

  Darkness was everywhere. The rain seemed to get heavier, as it splattered onto the deck of the boat, making crisp sounds.

  A hand suddenly grabbed her waist from behind. The man’s breath caressed her ear gently, causing goosebumps to form on her neck. He embraced her as he kissed her earlobe gently while saying in a low voice, “Xing’er, I want to hold you like this every night in the future. Don’t keep chasing me away.”


  Her heart instantly melted. It was hard to imagine that a person like this would speak to her in such a manner. She felt a little sad as she reached out her hand to hold his hand. She held it up to her lips and kissed it lightly.

  The night was still long. Just like this, she drifted off to sleep in his embrace. In her dreams, she seemingly saw the clear sky, clear waters, the green grasslands, and a group of kids wearing clear white outfits as they danced and sang in the middle of nowhere. She knew that she was bound to wake up late the next day.

  She was eventually woken up to loud knocks on her door. She opened her eyes in a panicked state and saw Zhuge Yue fully dressed, standing in front of the window, holding a pale bluish-white dress in his hand. He laughed as he said, “Meixiang came calling a few times. If you still don’t get up, she’s going to barge in.”


  Chu Qiao put on her clothes in a fearful state. She crept to the door and opened up a slight gap. She popped her head out and said in a silly manner, “Hurhur, Meixiang. Good morning.”


  “Miss, it’s noon already. We will reach land in a short while,” Meixiang chided as she stood by the door, putting her hands on her hips. Jingjing was carrying Li Ce’s son as she looked towards Chu Qiao’s room, full of interest. Rong’er reached out his chubby hand and pinched Jingjing’s cheeks as he broke out in another fit of gibberish.

  “Ah? Is it?” Chu Qiao continued, “Aiya, I’ve been too tired lately. How did I oversleep? That’s weird. Haha.”


  “Yes, that’s indeed weird,” Jingjing chuckled mischievously as she stood by the side.

  “Miss, what are you standing here for? I fetched a bucket of water. Are you not going to wash up?”


  Chu Qiao picked up the bucket of water on the ground and proclaimed loudly, “I’ll do it myself.”


  Meixiang frowned and asked, “Miss, what’s come into you?”


  “I’m alright. It’s just that I think you’re too tired. Go and rest for a while.”