If you were cold and aloof in your past life, why are you crying in this one?

Xi Lingxian was just joking; she would never copy!

They were husband and wife for more than three years in their past life, and she never lost an argument. In fact, it could be said that, putting aside their bedroom affair, Wang Jue never gained any advantage over her.

However, she liked him too much at that time and always wanted to make him happy, so she unknowingly wronged herself.

That trick isn't working anymore; she's not afraid of him at all.

Her clothes smelled of the barbecue, so she took a bath as soon as she got back to Qiluan Pavilion.

It was afternoon, and the sunlight slanted through the carved window lattice.

After her bath, Xi Lingxian changed into a pale yellow undergarment. Her long, slightly damp hair cascaded over her shoulders, and she exuded a warm fragrance of floral dew and agarwood. She looked languid and was about to collapse onto the bed—

The door was pushed open from the outside.

She paused, her brows furrowed, and she slowly turned her head.

Wang Jue was standing at the door.

He wore a jade belt around his waist, and his aura was as imposing as a deep pool and a towering mountain.

Standing against the light, the sunlight from outside the corridor cast half of his face in shadow.

Those eyes, usually as indifferent as an ancient well, were now surging with undercurrents, like magma about to erupt at any moment.

He glanced at her from head to toe.

She wore a nightgown after a bath, her long hair was still wet, her feet were bare, and her skin below her collarbone was a pale, white expanse.

His gaze lingered on her for a moment, then shifted away, and he closed the door behind him.

Xi Lingxian was dumbfounded. Was this guy serious?

Wang Jue stopped three steps away from her, held out his hand, and asked, "The things I was punished to copy?"

"no."

"What?"

"I won't write it. I don't have the time. Let whoever wants to write it write it."

"You don't have time to write, but you have time to make those things to give away?"

Xi Lingxian closed her eyes. To be honest, she didn't think she needed to explain her actions to Wang Jue; but giving Xiao Yun the net was really not her intention.

She knew that guy was no good, and she didn't want Wang Jue to think she was stupid.

"I didn't intend to give it to him; he shamelessly asked me for it!"

"You'd give it to him just because he wants it?" His expression was cold, revealing neither joy nor anger.

"...There were so many people there, it would have been so awkward if we hadn't given him some." Xi Lingxian also felt awkward. "Besides, he gave me candy back then, so I couldn't refuse as a return gift."

Wang Jue raised his hand, his long, slender fingers with distinct knuckles tapping the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone on the desk. "I'll be here, watching you write."

Xi Lingxian chuckled twice, then pushed him out impatiently, saying, "If you want to play, go find someone else. I need to rest and sleep, so I'm not going to keep you company."

Wang Jue was not about to give in to her wishes so easily. He grabbed her waist and pulled her into his arms.

Before Xi Lingxian could react, her feet were already off the ground.

The next instant, a pair of iron arms wrapped around her from behind, locking her firmly in place.

Her back was pressed against his chest, and through a layer of nightgown and a robe, she could clearly feel the cool temperature emanating from his body.

"Wang Jue!" she screamed, struggling desperately like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

The sash of her nightgown came undone during the struggle, and the collar slipped down her shoulders, revealing a section of her rounded shoulder. She didn't bother to pull it back; she only wanted to break free from his embrace—

His hands, as if cast in iron, remained firmly around her waist.

She struggled a few times but couldn't break free, so she reached out to pry his fingers open. If she couldn't pry them open, she pinched them with her fingernails. In short, she had plenty of methods.

"Hiss." A low gasp came from behind.

Wang Jue grabbed her wrists and gently twisted them, pinning her hands behind her back.

Her arms were tied behind her back, and she was completely unable to move.

"you--"

She was both shocked and furious. She suddenly looked up, her eyes wide open.

"What are you going to do?" she said, enunciating each word clearly with a hint of threat in her voice. "If you dare to do anything reckless, I'll call for help. There are my maids all outside; if I shout, the whole mansion will hear me."

Wang Jue looked down at her.

She tilted her head back, her nightgown slipping off her shoulders, revealing a large expanse of fair skin, delicate collarbones, and a slender neck. A few strands of wet hair clung to her skin, which was slightly red from struggling.

He suddenly felt much better.

"Shout it out," he said, his voice carrying a hint of laziness.

I almost forgot that this person's skin is as thick as a city wall.

She bit her lower lip, her anger intensifying like two burning flames.

"What exactly do you want?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Looking into her eyes, which were exceptionally bright with anger, and seeing her locked in his arms, unable to move but still stubbornly refusing to yield, Wang Jue felt a strange sense of relief in his chest.

"One minute you're calling yourself the Prince of Chenliu, the next you're calling yourself my sworn brother. You're really something!"

She paused for a moment, then let out a cold laugh: "What? Are you about to die of anger?"

She glared at him sideways, her tone fierce: "It's none of your business, let me go!"

"That's none of my business," he said.

She was momentarily speechless at his self-righteousness, then became even angrier: "On what grounds?"

Wang Jue did not answer.

He lowered his eyes, looking at her eyelashes trembling slightly with anger and her collarbone faintly visible beneath her loose nightgown.

"I just can't stand it," he said, with an unreasonable and domineering air.

Xi Lingxian's eyes widened.

"you--"

She simply didn't know what to say.

The young master of the Langya Wang clan was being willful in saying such things, but he also had the means to be willful.

Xi Lingxian was speechless for a moment.

Wang Jue looked down at her and suddenly felt an urge to hide her away.

He was stunned for a moment when the thought popped into his head.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Xi Lingxian grabbed his hand and pinched the back of his hand hard.

Wang Jue gasped, winced in pain, and instinctively released her grip.

He looked down at the spot where she had pinched him; it was bleeding, she hadn't held back at all.

Xi Lingxian was able to break free of her restraints and tore off her coat from the hanger to wrap herself up tightly.

The dress she was wearing was pale yellow.

Wang Jue had always liked this color on her; it was fresh, soft, and complemented her talkative nature.

It really looks like a golden oriole.

Xi Lingxian felt a chill run down her spine from his gaze, which was full of profound meaning yet whose specific meaning she couldn't discern. What a ghost!

"What brings you here? I need to rest for a while, I'm very tired."

"Equal treatment for everyone has arrived."

Xi Lingxian didn't understand: "What?"

"Xiao Yun is your teacher, and I am your teacher too. What he has, shouldn't I also have?"

"If I didn't, then I have a legitimate reason to question whether you're showing favoritism or if you have a problem with me?"

He spoke in such a relaxed tone that it was as if he were talking about everyday things like what he ate and drank that day.

Xi Lingxian would never do it.

"He begged for it so badly, I had no intention of giving it to him."

Thinking of something, she walked to the dressing table, picked up the small box of candy, and threw it at the table. "You want my things for such a small box? You two must have trained your shamelessness together."

Wang Jue couldn't help but laugh.