She Has Me in Her Heart (Please Read On)

"Who was that woman?"

As Bai Yuji said this, she kept glaring at Qin Muye.

Qin Muye's gaze darted away. "Eat first. We'll talk it over after."

"Tell me now!"

"I was afraid you'd get hungry and cranky. When you get worked up, you might slap me to death."

"Oh..."

Only then did Bai Yuji sit down. She was indeed hungry. She glanced over the dishes, and every one of them was something she liked.

She had never told Qin Muye what she liked to eat. He'd figured it out by observing her at the table.

That was why every meal at Qin Mansion put her in a good mood.

But this meal tasted like sawdust.

After a few hurried bites, before she'd even set down her bowl and chopsticks, she asked, "Who was that woman? Wang Xuan?"

Qin Muye looked utterly speechless. "How could it be her? I'm not a masochist."

"Besides her, have you ever liked any other women?"

"Not before."

"Then..."

Bai Yuji's breathing stopped for a moment. If it hadn't been before, then it had to be after. But after Wang Xuan, he'd been tied up by her!

She looked at Qin Muye and met his tender, loving gaze.

The answer was obvious.

For a moment, she breathed a sigh of relief, yet her heart skipped a beat.

But then came an anger she could hardly put into words. She gave a cold laugh. "That joke wasn't funny at all."

"It's not a joke. Aunt has already sent a letter to the Southwest."

"That'll only draw more people's attention to me. I won't be safe, and that means you won't be safe either. You're not going to stop her?"

"I didn't have time to stop her, and I don't want to. I want to marry you."

"When you say that, it just makes me sick."

"Why would it make you sick?"

"In your eyes, Wang Xuan is a shameless woman. What makes you think I'm any different?"

"You're not."

"If I'm not, why did you treat me like that this afternoon?"

Bai Yuji realized she was getting worked up. She steadied her breathing. "Using my own body as a tool for revenge is already shameless. I've got nothing to argue against that."

"I just told you, I don't see you that way."

"Then how do you see me?"

"I think you're pitiful, too."

"..."

Bai Yuji suddenly laughed aloud. "My fate—and the fate of the entire Qin Family—is in my hands, and you're calling me pitiful?"

"But you're the one who's been sacrificed, too."

"I'm willing to do it for revenge. I'm not like you."

"Then why did you cry?"

"Because you hurt me, that's all."

Bai Yuji instinctively clutched at her collar and turned her gaze aside. "I think you're the one who ought to cry, not me.

"I treat you like livestock, raising you just to milk you and butcher you for meat.

"But you've fallen for me. Tell me, aren't you pathetic?"

Her voice brimmed with mockery, and paired with her contemptuous gaze, her words struck hard.

At least, she thought they did.

After she'd finished, she kept watching Qin Muye's face, hoping to see despair in his eyes.

But Qin Muye asked, "If that's all this is, you should act even more devoted, so I'll let my guard down. Yet you went and told me the truth. What does that prove?"

"What could it prove?"

"You have me in your heart!"

"I..."

Bai Yuji was at a loss for words. For a moment, she didn't know how to argue back, because she couldn't explain her own actions either.

After a long silence, she murmured, "You're really good at fooling yourself."

Qin Muye gave a self-mocking smile. "But what else can I do besides fool myself? Helplessness has run through my whole life, right up until the day it comes to an abrupt end."

Bai Yuji: "!!!"

Qin Muye suddenly took her hand, his voice calm and earnest. "Bai Yuji, I know you've been acting. I used to think I could keep my guard up against you, but when I saw you cry, I realized I didn't want to guard myself at all.

"So can you keep acting? Don't remind me and break the spell.

"You act.

"I'll believe."

Bai Yuji: "..."

For a while, the air fell silent.

After a long time,

Bai Yuji suddenly asked, as if possessed, "You really don't think I'm shameless?"

Qin Muye rolled his eyes. "So I just said all that for nothing?"

Bai Yuji quickly changed the subject. "I can keep acting, but you can't hurt me again. Also, a marriage between our families would attract far too much attention. The risk is too great, so marriage is out of the question."

"Ah..."

Qin Muye looked disappointed, but still nodded. "As you wish!"

Bai Yuji stood and made a gesture toward the door. "It's late. You can go back now."

"Um..."

Qin Muye looked a little embarrassed. "The treatment worked really well today. I want another session."

Bai Yuji: "..."

The bruises on my chest haven't even faded, and you already want another treatment?

She shot Qin Muye a look. "I'm the doctor. I decide when you get treated. Now, go back and get some sleep."

As she spoke,

she shoved Qin Muye outside and shut the door in his face.

"Phew..."

Leaning against the door, she let out a soft sigh. She felt inexplicably relieved; the gloom that had weighed on her heart had vanished.

But she was a little puzzled.

Am I really that good an actress? He's fallen for me this hard.

I haven't even been trying to act!

Could I be a natural-born actress?

Outside the door,

Qin Muye let out a breath, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

He'd finally put her worries about being "shameless" to rest.

If he couldn't untie that knot, she'd resist every time he tried to get close to her. Forget winning her over.

This young lady might talk tough, but she was softhearted. Guilt trips worked like a charm on her.

As long as he showed her his vulnerable side, she couldn't bring herself to hurt him.

Qin Muye was starting to feel a little guilty. It was almost as if he were manipulating her.

But damn it, what else could he do?

Qin Muye hadn't even figured out how to break the deadlock. Everything he was doing now was just to raise her affection for him, so they wouldn't end up taking each other down.

At least for now, Bai Yuji's annotation still read: "Caught between advancing and retreating, angering the court."

That gave him some idea of how hard it was to overcome the hatred of a conquered nation.

Even if Bai Yuji wanted to let go, countless people would push her forward.

Especially that Gu Puppet master.

Damn it!

Coveting my wife?

I'll go to the Gongshu Clan to steal their secrets and make a few attack puppets to kill you!

Gongshu Mansion.

"Three bends and folds, no matter how you fold it, it still has a face?"

Li Zhixuan asked in confusion, "What does that mean?"

Gongshu Xia was speechless. "How would I know? Anyway, Your Highnesses, please head back for now. When the master has some free time, I'll immediately—"

"Clatter!"

The puppet crawled out of the box and stretched in a very self-satisfied manner.

Gongshu Xia was overjoyed. "Brother! You managed to make up with your wife so quickly?"

"We made up!"

"Impressive! I've heard it's really hard to placate women."

"Bullshit! Placating women's even easier than making puppets."

"It's that easy? My dad never said that!"

"Then your dad's just useless! Hey, where is your dad?"

"My dad?"

Gongshu Xia jolted. "My dad's burning up with a high fever. He's delirious! Wait here a moment—I'll go get a doctor."

Puppet: "..."

Li Zhixuan: "..."

Li Xingluo: "..."

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