The temperature in the air gradually rose, and as their breaths mingled, the atmosphere turned intimate.
"Shi Lan, tell me, do you feel wronged?" Li stared intently into the almond-shaped eyes so close before him, his tone utterly serious.
A trace of helplessness flashed across Shi Lan's face. She turned her head away, avoiding Li's gaze. "I don't feel wronged. Young Master, what's wrong with you today? Why do you seem so strange?"
"Not wronged?" Li murmured, then suddenly seized Shi Lan's right hand. "You follow behind me every day, handling the affairs of Qin Palace for me. Even though those matters have nothing to do with your blood feud, even though you disguise yourself as a man every day for my sake... and all of this is merely because I promised you a beautiful future?"
The expression on Shi Lan's face shifted continuously. In the end, she looked at Li with complicated eyes. "I don't know what exactly is wrong with you, but I know that the Fusu I know is a man who, no matter what he faces, always seems in control and gives others an endless sense of security. Not someone like you now, constantly denying and doubting himself!"
Shi Lan's words jolted Li awake!
Li released Shi Lan's hand somewhat dazedly. That was right—Xiang Ruo had provoked him too deeply. He had nearly thrown his state of mind into chaos. It seemed that the prolonged pressure had already become more than his heart could bear.
Still, it was good that he could release it through this opportunity. That would be far easier to deal with than having it all erupt at once in the future.
Seeing Li's emotions gradually calm, Shi Lan asked worriedly, "What exactly is wrong with you today, Young Master? You've been so