However, Yan Ningshuang wasn’t listening at all, only staring fixedly at the porcelain bottle in her hands, her fingers and lips trembling.

“Ningshuang?” Zhao Yingqiu called softly.

Yan Ningshuang seemed to suddenly wake from a dream, trembling violently before looking up at Zhao Yingqiu, then gritting her teeth and hiding the porcelain bottle in her sleeve.

“Thank you, Yingqiu. If you ever need anything in the future, just tell me, and I’ll help you too,” Yan Ningshuang said softly.

Zhao Yingqiu forced a smile, wanting to persuade her further, but Yan Ningshuang shook her head and interrupted: “Don’t say anymore. I know what I’m doing. Don’t worry, no matter what happens, I won’t implicate you. You go about your business. I still have things to do, so I’ll head back first.”

Zhao Yingqiu sighed and didn’t try to keep her, only saying: “Alright, if you need my help with anything, just come find me. We’re both without family or friends here in Yanbei, so we should look out for each other.”

Yan Ningshuang nodded absentmindedly, then bid farewell and left the retreat house.

Yan Ningshuang rarely ate at the same table as Xiao Jingyue on ordinary days. Xiao Jingyue often returned very late, so Yan Ningshuang would eat early by herself and go to sleep first.

On this day, however, Yan Ningshuang unusually delayed her meal by an hour. Just as the food and wine were set on the table, Xiao Jingyue returned home.

Seeing the table full of dishes and wine, Xiao Jingyue couldn’t help but glance at Yan Ningshuang and joke: “Don’t tell me you were waiting for me to eat together? Did the sun rise from the west today?”

Yan Ningshuang maintained her usual cold, icy expression: “I went to Yingqiu’s place and came back late.”

Xiao Jingyue looked disappointed and said, “You got my hopes up for nothing. I thought my wife had changed her mind and decided to live properly with me! Ah, since that’s the case, I won’t stay here to annoy you. You eat slowly by yourself. I’ll go eat at my mother’s place instead.”

With that, Xiao Jingyue turned to leave.

Yan Ningshuang’s heart jumped in panic. Though very reluctant, she still called out to stop him: “Wait! It’s already so late, why trouble Mother? Let’s eat together.”

Xiao Jingyue turned around, looking at Yan Ningshuang with some surprise. His gaze swept over the dishes on the table, his expression somewhat inscrutable.

Though Yan Ningshuang appeared calm on the surface, her tightly clenched fists were covered in cold sweat. Seeing Xiao Jingyue examine the dishes on the table, she couldn’t help feeling uneasy, afraid he might notice something amiss.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Jingyue suddenly smiled and stepped closer to Yan Ningshuang, grinning as he said: “You still say you weren’t waiting for me to come back for dinner. The dishes on the table are all my favorites. Wife, you are saying one thing while meaning another.”

Looking at his face drawing near, Yan Ningshuang felt nothing but disgust, yet she didn’t voice any objection.

Xiao Jingyue chuckled softly, then stepped forward and embraced Yan Ningshuang, about to kiss her lips. Yan Ningshuang quickly turned her head to avoid him, so Xiao Jingyue kissed her cheek instead.

Yan Ningshuang pushed away Xiao Jingyue’s head, forcing herself to endure: “Let’s eat first.”

Xiao Jingyue snorted with laughter, stroking her face: “We’re already husband and wife, yet my wife is still so shy. Putting on this show today—don’t tell me you missed me? Fine, let’s eat first, then. After dinner, your husband will properly cherish you.”

Xiao Jingyue stood up, pulling Yan Ningshuang up as well.

“Eh? Wife, why are your hands so sweaty? Are you this nervous about me eating?” Xiao Jingyue teased.

Yan Ningshuang pulled her hands free, ignoring Xiao Jingyue’s words, and sat down at the dining table first.

Xiao Jingyue smiled and sat beside her.

“There’s even wine? My wife is truly passionate today.”

Xiao Jingyue dismissed all the maids, picked up the wine pot himself, and poured two cups. He took one for himself and placed the other in front of Yan Ningshuang, looking at her with a smile: “How about drinking a cup with me?”

Yan Ningshuang pushed the wine cup away, saying indifferently: “I don’t drink.”

Xiao Jingyue clicked his tongue, somewhat disappointed, and put down his wine cup: “Since my wife won’t drink, I won’t either. Drinking alone is just drowning sorrows—what’s the point?”

Yan Ningshuang’s chopsticks paused as she was picking up food. She glanced at the wine cup in front of her, hesitated for a long while, then finally put down her chopsticks and picked up the wine cup Xiao Jingyue had placed before her.

Seeing this, Xiao Jingyue beamed with joy and immediately leaned over to kiss Yan Ningshuang’s cheek: “My wife is so obedient today.”

A flash of disgust crossed Yan Ningshuang’s eyes. She raised her hand to wipe the spot where Xiao Jingyue had kissed her, suppressing her anger: “Are you going to drink or not?”

Xiao Jingyue looked at her with a smile: “Drink, of course I’ll drink! Never mind wine—even if my beauty made me drink poison, I’d down it without a second word.”

Yan Ningshuang’s heart skipped a beat. She glanced at Xiao Jingyue, who was looking at her as he raised the wine cup to his lips. Yan Ningshuang’s heartbeat grew faster and faster, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the wine cup in Xiao Jingyue’s hand.

But Xiao Jingyue suddenly pulled the cup away again, looking at Yan Ningshuang with a smile: “Wife, aren’t you drinking?”

Yan Ningshuang bit her lip, brought her wine cup to her lips, and barely touched them with the wine.

Xiao Jingyue watched Yan Ningshuang while cheerfully draining his cup of wine.

Yan Ningshuang finally breathed a sigh of relief, almost immediately setting down her wine cup: “It’s too strong. I’m not used to it.”

Xiao Jingyue chuckled softly and didn’t press her further.

Neither spoke after that. Yan Ningshuang ate tasteless food while watching Xiao Jingyue drink cup after cup until he finished the entire small pot of wine. Her originally anxious heart gradually and miraculously calmed down.

Xiao Jingyue drained the last cup of wine, then suddenly snorted with laughter, looking at Yan Ningshuang and asking: “Wife, what do you like about him?”

Yan Ningshuang was startled, then her expression turned cold: “You’re drunk.”

But Xiao Jingyue continued talking to himself with a smile: “Do you like his good looks? His talent and literary brilliance? His high position and power? Or do you like how he ignores you completely?”

Yan Ningshuang suddenly stood up, looking down at Xiao Jingyue from above: “You’re drunk. I’ll have someone come in to help you to the guest room to rest.”

Xiao Jingyue curled his lips: “This is my room. Why should I go to sleep in the guest room? Why don’t you dare answer me? What exactly makes him better than me, that you can’t forget him?”

Yan Ningshuang was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked at Xiao Jingyue with a cold laugh: “Yes, what do I have to be ashamed of admitting? I do like him! You ask what makes him better than you? You should ask yourself what you can compare him to! No, I should say that putting you two together for comparison would be an insult to him!”

The smile on Xiao Jingyue’s face faded. The look in his eyes as he gazed at Yan Ningshuang was full of unfathomable emotions. This was the first time Yan Ningshuang had seen Xiao Jingyue not grinning playfully, and she couldn’t help but take a frightened step back.

Xiao Jingyue stood up and approached Yan Ningshuang step by step, his pitch-black eyes containing an inscrutable storm. Yan Ningshuang retreated warily until Xiao Jingyue grabbed her arm and locked her in his embrace so she couldn’t move.

Yan Ningshuang struggled continuously, punching and kicking Xiao Jingyue’s arms, trying to break free from his restraint. Xiao Jingyue didn’t mind her struggles at all, lowering his head to her ear and speaking word by word in a soft voice: “You’re right. I can’t compare to him in any way, so I’m the loser. But how are you any better than I? Didn’t he refuse to take you even when you threw yourself at him? So we’re both losers, perfectly matched as a pair.”

Unable to break free after a long struggle, Yan Ningshuang shouted: “Who’s a pair with you? As if you’re worthy?”

Hearing this, Xiao Jingyue didn’t get angry but laughed instead: “How are we not a pair? The one who presses you down and screws you senseless every night is me, Xiao Jingyue, not the Xiao Jingxi you pine for!”

Yan Ningshuang suddenly went mad as if stimulated by something, screaming: “Shut up! Shut up! Shut your mouth! You bastard! Why don’t you just die? Why aren’t you dead yet!”

Where Yan Ningshuang couldn’t see, Xiao Jingyue curved his lips in a very cold smile.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. As the saying goes, good people don’t live long, but disasters last a thousand years. I probably won’t die so easily, so you’re destined to be screwed senseless by me, in ecstasy and agony!”

After saying this, Xiao Jingyue grabbed Yan Ningshuang like a chicken and dragged her to the inner room, throwing her onto the bed, then unhurriedly began undressing.

Yan Ningshuang’s face changed drastically. She scrambled up, trying to escape, but Xiao Jingyue viciously slapped her across the face, sending her back onto the bed, then pressed down on her without another word.

Yan Ningshuang was stunned by Xiao Jingyue’s slap and momentarily forgot to resist.

Though Xiao Jingyue usually liked to tease Yan Ningshuang playfully without being serious, he had never slapped her before. Even in intimate matters, when Yan Ningshuang always refused to cooperate, Xiao Jingyue would use various means to make Yan Ningshuang give up resistance herself, but he rarely used violence.

Today’s Xiao Jingyue was very wrong. Yan Ningshuang even somewhat suspected whether Xiao Jingyue had discovered something. But just now, Xiao Jingyue had drunk that entire pot of wine.

That night, Yan Ningshuang was tormented by Xiao Jingyue for the entire night. When she woke up the next day, Yan Ningshuang could barely get up. Her entire body, from neck to calves, was covered in blue and purple bruises, looking utterly miserable.

Yan Ningshuang almost began to suspect whether there was something wrong with the medicine Zhao Yingqiu had given her, until she saw that Xiao Jingyue, who had tormented her all night, still hadn’t gotten up and was running a high fever.