Teach You a Proper Lesson!

Only after Ning Rongrong raised her tear-blurred eyes did Lin Jiang continue,

"I know. You're different from before. At least, in my eyes, you've already begun to change. It's just... change takes time, and others need time to see it too."

He paused, looking at her sincerely.

"Like tonight. You came to find me on your own instead of hiding under the covers and crying alone, or venting in some more extreme way. Isn't that change? That's progress."

Those words, "I know," seemed to possess some kind of magic, instantly striking the softest place in Ning Rongrong's heart.

She stared blankly at Lin Jiang's face so close to hers. Under the dim yellow lamplight, his handsome features seemed especially gentle, his gaze deep and resolute, as though he could see through all her pretenses and unease.

An unprecedented warmth surged through her—a warmth born from having her immense grievance understood and accepted—and it abruptly washed away all her defenses.

Like a drowning person clutching at the only piece of driftwood, she unconsciously leaned slightly toward Lin Jiang. Her voice trembled with sobs and an indescribable dependence.

"Really... you're the only one who understands me... Brother Jiang..."

Her gaze became slightly unfocused, and the blush on her cheeks deepened, as if she had made some momentous decision.

She drew a deep breath, gathering immense courage. Her voice was as faint as a thread, yet it reached Lin Jiang's ears clearly.

"I... I want... could you maybe... again..."

Lin Jiang was slightly taken aback. "Hm? Again what?"

He did not quite understand what Ning Rongrong was trying to say.

Ning Rongrong's cheeks instantly turned so red they seemed ready to bleed. She swiftly lowered her head, her long lashes trembling violently.

In a voice so soft that almost only she herself could hear it, carrying a tone of mingled shame and longing, she murmured,

"...Again... just like that day in the fields... give me a proper 'lesson'..."

Boom—!

Lin Jiang felt as though a bolt of thunder had struck his mind. His thoughts went blank in an instant.

He abruptly widened his eyes, staring incredulously at the girl before him, who was so shy she seemed ready to curl into a ball, yet had said something so astonishing.

W-what?!

A raging storm erupted in Lin Jiang's heart, as though ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through his mind.

The oil lamp's dim light flickered across Ning Rongrong's flushed profile.

The air was filled with the faint fragrance of the girl, along with the intensely ambiguous yet utterly bizarre atmosphere brought about by her earth-shattering request.

Lin Jiang froze in place, feeling for the first time that his CPU was struggling to process this...

Ning Rongrong's earth-shattering request echoed through the cramped room, carrying heart-stirring shame and blunt desire.

Lin Jiang was completely frozen, his mind like an ice cube tossed into boiling water, instantly ceasing to function.

He stared in disbelief at the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, whose face was flushed beneath the dim light even as she boldly made such a request.

Another lesson? Like in the fields?

The thought circled through his mind like a curse, battering his once fairly solid values.

Perhaps Lin Jiang's long silence and overly shocked gaze made Ning Rongrong uneasy, or perhaps the dim light gave her one last shred of courage to hide behind.

She slightly raised her head. A misty haze veiled her large, wet eyes, and the blush on her cheeks resembled a burning sunset.

Her voice trembled, yet rang out with remarkable clarity, carrying a stubbornness almost like a spoiled plea.

"Brother Jiang... you... that day, when you taught me... you taught me so well..."

She seemed to struggle to find the right words, ultimately choosing "teach"—a word laden with double meaning.

She spoke eagerly, as though trying to find some justification for her own behavior.

She tipped up her little face, her eyes filled with anticipation and a devotion that was almost sacrificial.

Lin Jiang only felt a wicked fire shoot from his tailbone straight to the top of his head!

Looking at the delicate, alluring little face so close before him, bearing that strange posture of submission, and hearing her soft, sweet plea that carried such fatal temptation,

all the shock in his heart was instantly replaced by an even more powerful urge for conquest!

What a little witch! No... what witch? She's clearly a little seductress out to kill me!

Lin Jiang roared inwardly. His gaze instantly turned deep and sharp, like a beast eyeing its prey.

Looks like last time's lesson wasn't deep enough. It hasn't been burned into her bones! Has she developed a taste for it? Or does she really think I, Lin Jiang, am that easy to push around?

Fine! Then don't blame me for being rude!

A fierce desire, mingling the heat of being provoked with the urge to control everything, churned in his chest.

Today, I'll make sure this little seductress remembers exactly who can "teach" her!

"Fine!"

Lin Jiang's voice lowered, carrying an unquestionable hoarseness and a dangerous edge.

He abruptly rose to his feet, his movements filled with resolute aggression!

Pfft—

A soft sound cut through the silence. Without the slightest hesitation, he flicked his fingers and extinguished the lone lamp beside the bed.

The dim yellow glow suddenly vanished. In its final instant before going out, it illuminated the sharp outline of his profile.

The next second, thick darkness surged in like a tide, instantly swallowing the entire room.

The corners that had barely been visible were completely submerged. Even the dust floating in the air vanished from sight, leaving only endless blackness enveloping everything.

Only the cool moonlight outside tirelessly filtered through the gaps in the wooden window, casting several slender silver lines across the floor.

By that faint, nearly negligible light, the vague outlines of the furniture and bed could barely be made out, like shadows lurking in the darkness, silently watching the movements within the room.

The darkness seemed magical, infinitely magnifying every sensation.

Ning Rongrong could clearly hear her own heartbeat, like war drums struck by a heavy hammer, pounding against her chest with a "thump, thump."

Across from her, the man's breathing was steady and powerful. With each inhalation and exhalation, it seemed to form some strange resonance with her heartbeat, weaving together and echoing through the sealed space.

She could not see Lin Jiang's expression. Was he calm, probing, or hiding some other emotion?

The darkness deprived her of the ability to judge with her eyes, yet made her other senses exceptionally sharp.

His aggressive masculine scent rushed toward her, mixed with a faint sun-warmed fragrance, domineeringly filling her breath.

Instinctive alertness made her back tighten slightly, and a trace of fear quietly crept into her heart.

Yet at the same time, an even stronger emotion—one she herself could not explain—surged from the depths of her heart—

It was a feeling mixed with fluttering excitement, longing, and even a trace of inexplicable submission. Like vines, it wound around her heart, making her want to flee this suffocating darkness while unable to resist drawing closer.

Amid that suffocating darkness and silence, Lin Jiang's cold, low voice exploded like thunder, ringing clearly in Ning Rongrong's ears.

"First Soul Skill—Azure Vine Entanglement!" Buzz—!

In the darkness, several tough vines glowing with a faint jade-green light instantly shot through the air!

Precise, swift, and carrying irresistible force, they instantly wrapped around Ning Rongrong's slender ankles, wrists, and waist!