With legs weak, the sickly stable boy became a mad regent.

Ah Chao didn't move.

"What kind of dagger is that hard?"

She reached her hand behind her back.

Ah Chao let out a muffled groan and froze.

Shen Nannan's hand paused.

She finally realized what she had just bumped into.

It's not a dagger.

Yes……

Her face flushed red instantly.

She turned her head stiffly and met Ah Chao's dark eyes.

Under the moonlight, those eyes shone frighteningly bright, churning with something familiar—obsession, madness, and a suppressed, almost overflowing desire.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, his Adam's apple bobbed, his lips were pressed into a thin line, and his jaw was taut.

"Miss," his voice was hoarse beyond belief, "this servant...didn't bring a dagger."

Shen Nannan's face was so hot it could fry an egg.

She tried to move to the side, but he held her waist firmly without moving, and she couldn't move.

"You...you let me go..."

"Don't move."

His voice was so low it seemed to be squeezed from his chest, husky and restrained.

"It'll be even more uncomfortable if you move it."

Shen Nannan dared not move.

The two remained frozen on the rooftop, neither speaking. The lewd music below continued, growing louder with each note.

The sound was so...inappropriate in that moment...

Shen Nannan tried to leave, but her foot slipped, and she stepped on a loose tile, falling backward.

"ah--!"

Ah Chao reacted quickly, grabbing her waist and pulling her into his arms.

Two tiles shattered with a "crack," rolling down from the eaves and crashing to the ground. The crisp sound of the shattering was particularly jarring in the night.

Who? Who's there!

The sounds inside the room stopped abruptly, and Qian Mingyuan sat up abruptly, looking towards the window.

Ah Chao grabbed her by the waist, lifted her up in his arms, pushed off the roof tiles with his toes, and leaped up like a ghost. In a few bounds, he had already flown over the courtyard wall.

Qian Mingyuan's voice came from behind: "Guards! There's an assassin! Help!"

The courtyard was in complete chaos, lanterns were lit, and shadowy figures moved about.

But Ah Chao had already disappeared into the night with Shen Nannan.

The night wind whistled against her face. Held in his arms, Shen Nannan instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Don't be afraid," his voice sounded above her, tinged with amusement. "You won't fall, Miss."

Shen Nannan buried her face in his chest, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat.

It's not that I'm afraid of heights.

It's that one from before...

She encountered...

It seems she... also... grabbed a handful...

Although she was very familiar with it in her past life.

But in this life, we haven't even officially met yet...

Ahhhhh, just kill me!

"Miss." Ah Chao's voice came from above, low and hoarse.

"Shut up," she said sullenly.

"Don't speak."

He chuckled, a sound muffled in his chest that sent shivers down her spine.

"What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing," he said. "Your servant obeys."

Ah Chao carried Shen Nannan through the night, scaling two walls and passing through a narrow alley before finally stopping.

"arrive."

His voice came from above.

Shen Nannan lifted her head from his arms and found that they had landed in a small courtyard.

The yard wasn't big, but it was kept very clean.

"Where is this?" She wriggled out of Ah Chao's arms, her feet feeling a little weak when they landed, and she had to hold onto his arm to steady herself.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"Change your clothes." Ah Chao turned around, pushed open the door, went inside, and turned on the light.

The candlelight flickered, making the whole room warm and cozy.

"Miss, do you intend to return to the Shen residence like this? Through the main gate or by climbing over the wall?" Ah Chao leaned against the door frame, tilting his head to look at her, his tone slightly mocking.

Shen Nannan looked down at herself.

The black night clothes were disheveled from the escape, the collar open, revealing a section of snow-white skin underneath. The black fabric made that white skin even more striking.

She quickly pulled her collar tighter and glared at him.

"What are you looking at?"

Using the main gate? What would it look like if the legitimate daughter of a general's mansion returned home in the middle of the night dressed in black? Climbing over the wall? The Shen family's guards weren't pushovers; being arrested as an assassin would be even more humiliating.

"Where...where are the clothes I just changed out of?"

"I didn't bring it."

"What am I supposed to wear then?!"

Ah Chao took out a bundle from the house, opened it, and inside was a set of black casual clothes, but the material was much better than his guard uniform.

"Miss, please make do with these. They are mine."

Shen Nannan looked at the outfit, then at her own tight-fitting night clothes, and sighed.

She reached out to take it, but he wouldn't let go.

"What are you doing?" She looked up at him.

"Miss, please grant me one request first."

"What is it?"

"Don't scold the servants later."

Shen Nannan was stunned for a moment, not understanding.

She didn't have time to ask anymore, because Ah Chao had already let go and stuffed the clothes into her arms.

"You go out first," she pushed him.

Ah Chao didn't move.

"Get out." She pushed him away again.

"Who goes there?!" Ah Chao suddenly tensed up and shouted towards the door.

Startled, Shen Nannan hid in his arms. "Is...is it Qian Mingyuan's men who have caught up with us?"

A soft laugh came from above. "Your servant is mistaken. It's just a stray cat."

Shen Nannan looked up and met his triumphant smile.

This person did it on purpose! Absolutely on purpose!

"You—!" She raised her hand to hit him.

Ah Chao grasped her wrist, not tightly, just holding it, looking down at her.

"Don't be afraid, Miss." He looked completely innocent. "Their people could come after us at any moment. I feel safe only if I stay here and guard them."

He spoke with a straight face, but he couldn't suppress the slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

Shen Nannan took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to hit someone.

He's right. What if Qian Mingyuan's men really do come after us?

She glared at him, biting her lip, "Then...then turn around."

Ah Chao didn't want to move, but seeing that the little girl was really about to get angry, he obediently turned around and faced away from her.

"When you're ready, Miss, call me."

Shen Nannan bit her lip, hugged her clothes, and went behind the screen, quietly preparing to take off her clothes.

tight.

Too tight.

She doesn't know how she even managed to put on this dress before. Who made it? It's so tight that she feels uncomfortable all over.

She first untied the collar, breathed a sigh of relief, and then pulled it down.

It got stuck when it went down to my shoulders.

She struggled twice, but couldn't break free. She struggled twice more, but still couldn't break free.

The fabric of the night-clothes had little elasticity, and it was stuck on her shoulders, neither going up nor down, causing her shoulders to ache from the tightness.

"Ah Chao," she called him softly.

"Um."

"You...you're not allowed to turn around." She bit her lip. "I'm stuck."

There was a moment of silence on the other side of the screen.

Shen Nannan heard his breathing become heavier.

"You...you close your eyes, come here...help me..."