Don't mess with that Miao boy, he's sickly and perverted.

The smoke from the battle had not yet dissipated in front of the city wall, and the air still carried the lingering scent of burning beasts.

The setting sun hung over a corner of the city gate tower, dyeing the entire wall a deep ochre red.

The wind blew across the wilderness, carrying sand and dust and a faint smell of blood. The flags fluttered overhead, one beat after another, as if keeping time for this lonely city.

A boy sat sideways on the top of the wall.

His posture was casual, with one leg bent and the other dangling outside the city wall. Behind him was a sky full of rosy clouds, and in front of him was a pile of crossbows that needed to be reinforced.

The light and shadow of dusk filtered through the gaps in the banners, casting flickering light on his face and outlining his cool, aloof profile.

He lowered his eyes, his long, steady fingers focused intently on pulling the bowstring taut.

He would occasionally glance up at the commotion outside the city, then lower his head again.

A pile of repaired crossbows was already stacked at my feet.

Every now and then, a soldier would come and collect it, casually saying, "Thanks a lot, young man!"

Someone casually patted him on the shoulder, but the next second, two cold gazes swept over him, and he immediately withdrew his hand.

As Chai Xiaomi carried a basket of coarse wheat cakes up the city wall, she heard someone whispering:

"That young man from Miao territory is really skilled at repairing bows, but he has a bit of a strange temper and doesn't like people touching him."

"It's strange, but he's a foreigner, and it's already quite an achievement that he's willing to help us defend the city. I've been watching him work for so long, and he doesn't even have a decent wristband. He just has a few strips of cloth wrapped around one wrist, and they're all pink and delicate. It looks pretty shabby..."

"How about I give him my spare wristbands later? It's a token of my appreciation."

Chai Xiaomi didn't say anything and handed out the pancakes along the way.

"Come on, everyone, have some pancakes."

"Oh dear, the person distributing the grain has changed today. Thank you, young lady!"

The soldiers took the cakes, their gazes lingering on her face for a moment longer. They had been guarding the city tower and had no idea that there was such a charming young lady in the city.

Fortunately, it did not fall into the hands of the barbarians.

The hand that was pulling the bowstring suddenly stopped, the veins on the back of the hand bulging slightly, making the skin appear even whiter.

At this time of year, it's already rare to see a new face, let alone a young woman. Someone couldn't help but joke:

"Brothers, cheer up! This young lady brought us food to give us strength, not to see us looking so dejected!"

"Exactly! Only when we're well-fed do we have the strength to defend the city. If we hold the city, good days are just around the corner!"

"Alright, after eating this cake, my archery accuracy will improve by 30%!"

Everyone burst into laughter, and the city wall was unusually lively.

Suddenly, an older lieutenant general stared at Chai Xiaomi for a few more moments, his gaze growing increasingly kind. He couldn't help but tentatively ask, "May I ask how old you are, young lady? My second son is of marriageable age—"

Before he could finish speaking...

A cold wind blew in from the side.

Chai Xiaomi felt a sudden tightening around her waist, and she was pulled into a hard embrace. She looked up blankly and saw only a taut jawline.

The young man glanced at the general with cold, arrogant eyes, and uttered five words, one by one, as he spoke: "She is my wife."

Everyone present understood that this was not a declaration, but a warning.

Wu Li casually tossed the bow, which was only half-reinforced, at the other person's feet.

"Your bow, you repair it yourself."

After saying that, he grabbed the girl, turned around and left, his back view carrying an uncontrollable fierceness.

In a corner beneath the city gate stands a cramped armory.

The moment the door closed, the room went dark.

Only a small vent on the wall cast a dim yellow light, but it couldn't illuminate the short distance between the two.

"Who let you come up to the city wall?" Wu Li pinned her against the door. "Didn't I tell you to stay with those brats?"

The light was too dim for Chai Xiaomi to see his expression clearly, but she could hear the anger suppressed in his low, hoarse voice, as if a fire was burning beneath the surface.

She knew he was just using this as an excuse to make a fuss.

That burning anger, in the end, stemmed from the fact that she was hiding something from him.

She patiently hooked her arms around his neck, her voice soft: "Lili, can you please stop being so stubborn with me? I don't want to argue anymore, I just want to be with you."

She gently brushed the hair at the back of his neck with her fingertips: "You don't even come back to the city to see us. You don't even know, do you? It was Zhu Yu who delivered the grain, along with the girls from Huan Yin Pavilion."

"Ha, what do they have to do with me?" Wu Li sneered. "I'm very busy."

"Are you so busy that you don't even have time to come and see me? Lili, I haven't seen you for two days, and I miss you so much. Don't you miss me? I know you're very busy and working hard, so I came to bring you food. I thought to myself, it's good to see you, I've already gone to such lengths, how long are you going to stay angry?"

Chai Xiaomi looked up, searching for his eyes in the darkness.

Towards the end, there was a hint of barely perceptible grievance in her voice.

Their time together is now counting down in an hourglass.

She didn't want to spend her final days in a fit of pique.

It was pitch black.

Wu Li's Adam's apple bobbed violently.

The fingers pressing against the door suddenly curled up.

a long time.

He sighed helplessly, the sigh escaping from deep in his throat, slightly hoarse, alluring, carrying a heart-stopping sense of compromise.

"You're so good at calming those crying little brats, you do it all quite well, but is this all you can do to calm your own husband?"

"You weren't crying."

"I!" Wu Li exclaimed, exasperated. "I won't cry, but I just need you to comfort me."

"You don't know how to coax someone, do you? I'll teach you."

Immediately afterwards, a heavy force pressed down.

Chai Xiaomi's lips were suddenly sealed.

Her slender back bumped against the door latch, and she had barely felt the slight discomfort when a hand reached in and separated her. His palm was pressed against her spine, warm and strong, as if he wanted to protect her completely.

The kiss, however, came with overwhelming force.

It swept over them forcefully and ruthlessly, leaving not a single gap between their lips.

Wu Li had never kissed her so forcefully before, as if he wanted to crush all the longing, frustration, and inexplicable anxiety of the past two days and pour them into her lips and teeth.

He grabbed both of her wrists with one hand and lifted them against the door. The veins on her wrists bulged, a testament to restraint, control, and an irrepressible possessiveness surging through her veins.

The next second, his fingers intertwined with hers, gripping hers tightly.

In the quiet armory, every tiny sound was amplified infinitely: the intertwining of lips and teeth, the disordered breathing, the rustling of clothes, and the occasional hoarse breaths that escaped from his throat during his kisses—so soothing, so heavy, so clear.

It felt like a feather tickling inside the ear canal.

Hearing this sent a tingling, numbing sensation through her heart, as if something soft had gently bumped into her heart and melted away.

"Now you know, Mimi."

Wu Li's breathing was heavy, his chest heaving violently. His forehead was pressed against hers, his breath still ragged: "...I'm easy to coax when I'm angry, just use this trick."

Chai Xiaomi pursed her still numb lips and tentatively asked, "Now that this trick has been used, can you... please stop asking about my secrets?"

After a long pause, Wu Li finally managed to utter a single word: "Okay."

"If you don't want to ask, then don't ask. You can tell me when you're ready."

Even though it was pitch black, his eyes could see everything clearly, including the glint of tears in the corner of her eyes.

Just one glance.

He then surrendered.

The anger and resentment that had been building up inside vanished in an instant.

That's it.

Whether she was being unfair or hiding something, he didn't want to investigate any of it.

At this moment, all my chaotic thoughts converged into one idea, humble as dust:

if only......

As long as you don't abandon him.

Anything is fine.