Xin Yi felt the force on her neck disappear, and only then did she lift a pair of eyes reddened from crying to look at him.
Her nose tip was still red, but her lips quickly broke into a smile through tears, as if she was certain that he had only been scaring her and would never truly lay a hand on her.
Xie Shuo also gazed at her, his dark eyes slightly cold, with only a flash of intense self-loathing deep in the shadows untouched by the moonlight.
In the end, it all sank back into silence, nothing more.
Suddenly, the crisp sound of silver bells rang out.
The woman pinned against the latticed window hesitated, then pulled a red silk hair ribbon from the sleeve of her ruqun, with two small silver bells delicately attached to the end. There were still some bloodstains splattered on the bells, which must have been accidentally dropped by him in Goose Water Courtyard.
His body suddenly stiffened.
But Xin Yi seemed not to notice anything unusual, simply stuffing the red hair ribbon back into his palm.
Then she let out a slight breath and looked at him very seriously. “I went to Goose Water Courtyard, and I know it was you who did it.”
As her words fell, the youth’s face turned ashen inch by inch.
Xin Yi knew she absolutely could not let the conversation stop at this moment; she had prepared her excuse in advance, so she continued, “Chu Chu had the maids in her courtyard notify me to come over ahead of time, saying there was an ‘unexpected surprise’ waiting for me. Because I had suffered a loss from something like this before, I didn’t really want to go. But the maid who passed the message said that this time it was related to the secrets of your background. So after hesitating, I still went…”
And in the end, she saw the horrific scene in Goose Water Courtyard.
And picked up this red silk hair ribbon adorned with silver bells, which clearly belonged to him.
Xin Yi thought that he had perhaps once intended to kill even Chu Chu, but ultimately gave up.
Maybe he had thought of a more cruel method instead, like what had happened in the original plot—making Chu Chu kill the person she loved most with her own hands.
Under the moonlight, the courtyard was eerily silent. Even the previously restless Gu Insects seemed to sense something and stopped their agitation.
The side room was even quieter, carrying an aura of deathly stillness. They stood facing each other, able to hear only each other’s breathing.
“Ding dong! Detected Xie Shuo’s Favorability dropping another 10 points!”
The system anxiously reminded her in her ear, as if afraid she would accidentally get herself killed. “The villain’s Favorability is now only at 10%. Please be cautious with your words and actions, Host!!”
“…”
Xin Yi furrowed her delicate brows and met his gaze.
She was very curious what exactly he had imagined or what kind of scheming woman he thought she was—why was her Favorability still dropping endlessly?
The youth was also scrutinizing her.
He carefully observed Xin Yi’s facial expressions, trying to find the disgust and fear hidden beneath her calm surface. Unfortunately, after looking for a long time, those enchanting beautiful eyes were crystal clear, containing nothing but the faint red traces of her earlier aggrieved tears.
This made Xie Shuo purse his lips tightly, leaving him utterly bewildered.
But then he thought.
She was skilled at feigned affection.
Chu Chu’s words kept resurfacing in his mind, every word dripping with venom like a curse. “A sinister ugly monster like you—who would ever love you? Just seeing you makes people nauseous!”
“Do you think Bai Xinyi really likes you and wants to get close to you? She’s just using you to stay in the General’s Mansion. Once she learns your secrets, she’ll despise and fear you just like me, wishing she could kill you…”
Such heart-piercing words were painful just to hear.
But it seemed to be true.
Even A Jie, his half-sister by blood, treated him this way—what reason did he have to think Bai Xinyi wouldn’t?
He had never liked Chu Chu; even if she hurt or betrayed him, it meant nothing.
But not Bai Xinyi.
Just the thought of one day her looking at him with eyes full of resentment like today’s Chu Chu, trampling his true heart underfoot—
Made his heart ache as if it were being twisted, even his breathing painful.
Yet the more he resisted accepting it, the more uncontrollable memories of details flooded back.
When Bai Xinyi had first seen his snake tail, she had also paled in fright and wanted to run away. Later, to save herself, she had forced down her fear and disgust to take the initiative and kiss him.
Xin Yi didn’t know what he was thinking; she only saw the youth looking dazed as he pursed his thin lips in a trance, appearing somewhat pitiful.
She furrowed her brows in confusion and was just about to say something when he suddenly grabbed her arm and threw her out. At the same time, the door behind her slammed shut with a heavy bang.
“…”
She had no choice but to stay in the courtyard.
It was raining outside the corridor, and her stomach growled with hunger; she even began to miss that unfinished plate of cloud slice cakes from the afternoon.
She waited a long time, but he showed no intention of opening the door to let her in.
So she had no choice but to get drenched in the rain as she returned to her own courtyard, stuffing the few remaining pieces of cloud slice cake from the table into her sleeve. Then she found an oiled paper umbrella by the door, opened it, and came back.
Xin Yi’s clothes were still unchanged, clinging wet and cold to her skin.
She stood back in front of that vermilion latticed window, looking up at the increasingly heavy night rain, rubbing her arms like a drenched little bird.
Thinking of Xie Shuo, a complex indescribable feeling welled up in her heart.
The villain’s childhood experiences were indeed exceptionally miserable; at least tonight, she felt pity for Xie Shuo for the first time.
Living in such an environment, it was a wonder he hadn’t gone mad.
The first time, he was force-fed the Mute Drug and lost his mother; the second time, he nearly lost his own life.
The rain curtain was hazy; at that moment, she was the only one under the corridor.
By the time Xin Yi had slowly finished the cloud slice cakes in her sleeve, she was extremely sleepy, on the verge of curling up against the wall outside the door and falling asleep.
The door suddenly creaked open, though very lightly.
Xin Yi came back to her senses and looked up, only to see that it really was Xie Shuo.
The youth lowered his dark eyes to look down at her, his black hair scattered messily around his handsome face. His arm bore several deep gashes from self-inflicted wounds with a dagger, blood still dripping down.
The moment their gazes met, his thin lips trembled slightly. Then, as if he had done something wrong, he walked over, bent down, and tightly pulled her into his embrace.
In that brief moment of shared breath, a warm and wet sensation came from the crook of his neck—he was silently shedding tears.
Xie Shuo held her tighter and tighter.
It was as if he truly could not bear her disgust.
Nor could he bear her treating him like the monster Chu Chu described, one that required hypocritical pretense.
Xin Yi was hugged into a daze.
It took her a good while to remember to push him away. Frowning, she pulled over his still-bleeding arm, then couldn’t help taking a deep breath.
Before she could speak, her wrist was gripped.
The youth pursed his lips, tears glistening in his dark eyes, and with trembling hand gestures asked her, “I believe you. Will you love me? Will you never abandon me, never betray me?”
Because he had never possessed any true affection.
So at this moment, he seemed especially desperate for her sincerity.
Xin Yi inexplicably recalled the first time she met him—the youth in ethnic attire, coldly sizing her up with his dark eyes.
But now, he was baring his vulnerability to her.
Xin Yi very much wanted to nod and tell him she would love him, never abandon him. After all, such lies came easily to her.
But whether because his gaze was too earnest or because the memory fragments had stirred pity for Xie Shuo, those words were surprisingly hard to say.
So she fell silent for a moment. “If I said I didn’t like you, would you give up on me?”
“If I were just using you as a tool for revenge against Xiao Cheng Ce, even finding you monstrous and disgusting… would you go our separate ways with me, cutting ties completely?”
With every sentence she said, his face paled a fraction more.
Until she took two steps forward, sighed, and hugged the youth, resting her cheek on his shoulder. “Xie Shuo, I’ve never thought that way. Don’t be so insecure, okay?”
He lacked a sense of security far more severely than she had imagined.
“I tolerate your closeness because I like you. Yesterday you tied me up so tightly, and I still didn’t get mad at you—what is that if not liking you?”
That night was far from peaceful. Lights blazed in Goose Water Courtyard, and the entire General’s Mansion was shrouded in a terrifying gloom.
Especially Xiao Cheng Ce, who was nearly driven mad.
Xin Yi feared Xiao Cheng Ce would send people to question or check, so she did not stay overnight in Xie Shuo’s courtyard.
It was only the next night that she went to accompany him.
That evening, Xie Shuo shifted back into his snake-tailed form. Normally, he would coil around Xin Yi, but tonight he went to sleep in a corner of the room by himself.
Xin Yi waited a long time with no movement from him, vaguely understanding in her heart, so she got out of bed barefoot to find him.
Under the lamplight, the youth’s brows and eyes were exceptionally handsome.
It made her heart pound. After a long moment, biting her lip, she finally bravely took that step. “A Shuo, I’m afraid of pain.”
“If we really can’t do it in the end, you must stop when I say stop.”