He's courting disaster! A coward forced himself on a tyrannical warlord.

night.

The room was dark, with only a faint moonlight filtering in from the window.

Li Chenzhou found a comfortable position, wrapped his arms around Ruan Mianmian, and held her in his arms, facing her.

He nuzzled her head with his chin, his voice a little hoarse.

"Is this okay? Should we hug you tighter?"

He tentatively pulled his arm back slightly.

Ruan Mianmian's body stiffened a little, and she said in a sullen voice.

"No need, this is fine."

Neither of them spoke, and they simply held each other quietly.

The posture was familiar, the embrace was familiar, the temperature was familiar, and the scent on each other's bodies was familiar.

Everything was as usual, yet completely different from usual.

An invisible barrier exists between bodies that are pressed closely together.

Ruan Mianmian's mind was in turmoil. The past and the future, love and hate, truth and falsehood... were like wet cotton pressing down on her tender heart.

It was so heavy and wet that she could hardly breathe.

After all.

Such weight was beyond her capacity to bear at that moment.

Li Chenzhou was also suffering.

The person in my arms is so close, yet I always feel that if I let go, they'll be gone.

Unable to bear the deathly silence, he lowered his head and gazed intently at her.

"Mianmian, speak."

He pressed his lips to hers, stubbornly demanding a response.

Ruan Mianmian bit her lip.

Her heart was torn apart by his expectant gaze, yet she stubbornly refused to speak.

He finally succumbed, almost to the point of humiliation.

"Please, say something."

That plea was like a needle, making Ruan Mianmian's heart ache even more.

She choked up as soon as she opened her mouth, "I..."

The rest of the words were cut off.

Li Chenzhou seemed to be ignited by her sobs, and suddenly tightened his arms around her, making her feel a sharp pain, while kissing her fiercely.

It wasn't a kiss, it was a nibble, a bite, with a persistent force, prying open her jaws, swallowing all her sobs and any possible rejections.

The taste of blood instantly filled their mouths; it was unclear whose lip was cut.

Ruan Mianmian's mind went blank.

Her mind resented him and rejected him, but her body seemed to have its own memory and betrayed her will.

As he said.

She blushed as soon as he got close.

Her heart raced the moment he kissed her.

The moment he touches her, she is completely captivated.

She hated this feeling of being powerless, her nails digging fiercely into the flesh of his neck as she responded with a mixture of anger and grievance, only to be instantly disintegrated by his touch.

The two became entangled in this chaos of truth and falsehood, love and resentment.

Their movements were more intense than usual, venting their pent-up emotions on each other while desperately seeking confirmation of each other's presence.

Tears and sweat mingled together, breathing was heavy, and it was impossible to tell whether it was pain or something else.

It took a long time to figure it out.

The situation has finally calmed down.

Only the two of them remained in the room, breathing rapidly.

Li Chenzhou still held her tightly, his sweat-drenched chest pressed against her back.

His voice was terribly hoarse.

"Mianmian, you just said you love me."

Ruan Mianmian subconsciously and stubbornly denied it: "When?"

"Just now, when I was feeling emotional."

"...You misheard me."

"I didn't mishear you, you said you loved me, you whispered it in my ear."

"Well, maybe it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing."

"Just a whim?" Li Chenzhou repeated, a hint of disappointment in his voice, "...Alright."

He didn't argue anymore, but tightened his grip on her, as if trying to squeeze her into his bones.

Ruan Mianmian felt a little pain from his tight grip.

She felt a tightness in her chest and pursed her lips.

So what if I love you, you big liar.

[At most, when they're about to flee, they'll leave you some extra gold... consider it compensation...]

Li Chenzhou closed his eyes, suppressing his emotions, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and said in a muffled voice.

"It's too late, go to sleep."

.....

The next afternoon.

The sunlight slanted into the lumberyard.

Ruan Mianmian sneaked to the factory gate, and she couldn't help but turn around and quickly glance at Li Chenzhou.

He was standing in the sunlight, talking to Lieutenant Li.

The sunlight outlined his broad figure and stung her eyes.

She longed to be with him, but reality was just so unbearable.

Although she grew rapidly in a short period of time, she did not have enough mental capacity to handle and process all of this.

The only option is to escape.

"Bye now……"

She whispered to the air.

I was afraid that if I looked at him again, or hesitated for even a second longer, the courage I had finally mustered would crumble.

She rushed out of the lumberyard gate without looking back, her figure quickly disappearing into the glaring afternoon sunlight.

Inside the factory building.

Lieutenant Li watched Ruan Mianmian's obviously furtive, even somewhat panicked, back view.

He glanced cautiously at his warlord's calm and expressionless face, and began to have some doubts.

The atmosphere between this couple is so strange.

The lady ran as if she were being chased by a ghost, but the warlord acted as if nothing had happened.

Besides, this is the middle of nowhere. What if the lady runs out alone and encounters danger?

He couldn't hold back any longer and tentatively spoke.

"Commander, the lady has secretly run away. Are we really not going to give chase?"

Li Chenzhou's gaze followed the small, somewhat clumsy yet unusually resolute figure that disappeared through the doorway, his deep eyes swirling with complex emotions.

He parted his thin lips slightly, his voice low and calm, "No rush, let her run for a while first."

Lieutenant Li: "..."

He was even more confused.

Should the lady run for a while first?

What is this?

Is the warlord playing cat and mouse with the enemy?

Or... is it just... the romance between husband and wife?

Words like "chasing each other" and "playing hard to get" flashed through his mind in an instant, which were not very appropriate.

Ultimately, it can only be attributed to...

Don't try to guess what the warlord is thinking.

……

Ruan Mianmian ran wildly until she reached the foot of Cangshan Mountain.

Only after confirming that no one was chasing him did he dare to stop, leaning on his knees and panting heavily.

The cool mountain breeze brushed against her sweaty forehead, calming her down a little.

She looked around and found a secluded corner hidden by dense bushes to hide in.

Then, he retrieved the treasure map of the Linwang Tomb from the spatial storage.

With a slight thought, the direct tunnel was activated.

The space before them rippled outwards like water, and a faintly glowing passage, just wide enough for one person to pass through, appeared out of thin air.

Ruan Mianmian was startled.

But the next second, without the slightest hesitation, he went inside.

The tunnel was not pitch black inside, but rather bathed in a soft glow, as if walking on a path of starlight.

Footsteps echoed in the silence, each step feeling like a tap on one's own heartbeat.

During that half-hour journey, countless thoughts churned in her mind.

From the moment they met on the stage, to the various missions that followed, his deep eyes, his passionate kisses, his firm embrace...

Finally, the passage opened up into a bright and spacious area.

A unique aura, sealed for a thousand years, wafted over.

Immediately afterwards, one by one, the ancient lamps embedded in the walls of the tomb chamber ignited with a ghostly blue flame, instantly illuminating the entire massive main tomb chamber.