Border Prisoner: The Mad Boss Seduces Her Every Night

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Watching Chai Ye and Shi Luyu's back-and-forth banter, Jia Ye couldn't help but laugh out loud. At first, it was a low, muffled laugh, like thunder rolling in from afar, then it grew louder and louder, becoming increasingly unrestrained, echoing back and forth in the empty temple.

Shi Luyu felt a chill run down her spine from his laughter. She clenched her fists, her voice laced with suppressed anger: "What are you laughing at? Be serious."

Jia Ye stopped laughing, but the light in his eyes was dazzling.

Jia Ye tilted his head, his gaze behind the mask lingering on Chai Ye for a moment before returning to Shi Luyu's face.

"Not bad," he said, his tone full of undisguised admiration. "You knew to call for reinforcements."

He loosened Shi Luyu's chin, leaned back, and rested one hand on the lotus platform, his posture becoming even more relaxed.

"Shiba, what's your relationship with her? Is it worth making this trip in the middle of the night?"

Chai stood still, his expression unchanged: "She came to me for help, I couldn't refuse."

Jia Ye scoffed, seemingly uninterested in the answer. He looked down at Shi Luyu, reached out, and gently rubbed her cheek with the back of his fingers.

"Looks like I have no choice but to compromise?" He looked down at her. "But in exchange for ensuring Xu Yuanjia's safety, you must agree to one condition."

Shi Luyu instinctively turned to look at Chai Ye.

Chai stood not far away, the moonlight illuminating his scarred face, his expression unchanged.

Chai Ye's gaze swept over Jia Ye imperceptibly. For a fleeting moment, Jia Ye nodded slightly, the movement so subtle it went unnoticed. Chai Ye then turned to Shi Luyu, his voice low and steady: "If you're willing, I can also force my way in and bring Xu Yuanjia out."

Shi Luyu immediately shook her head and refused outright: "No! If they're pushed too far, they might hurt Brother Jiajia."

She took a deep breath, her tone earnest and firm: "Brother Chai, I'm already very grateful that you were able to get him to back down. I'll talk to him alone from now on."

Chai glanced at her for a few seconds, nodded, and turned to stride away. His figure was quickly swallowed by the night, and his footsteps grew fainter and fainter.

Chai Ye returned to the warehouse at the old river port, where Zhou Ji was squatting on the ground counting ammunition boxes. The door was pushed open, and Chai Ye walked in, his expression complicated.

Zhou Ji looked up at him and said, "You didn't get dragged into becoming an actor by me, did you?"

Shiba stood at the doorway, silent for a moment, then said, "...You too?"

The two looked at each other.

Zhou Ji was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to put the crowbar down or raise it. Chai Ye leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, the scar on his face looking particularly helpless under the lamplight.

They both sighed at the same time.

"That girl is finished," Zhou Ji said.

Chai didn't say anything, but he silently added a word in his mind:

It's completely over.

-

Only two people remained in the temple.

Shi Luyu moved back a little, increasing the distance between herself and Jia Ye.

"I need to see Jiajia first," she said, trying to keep her voice steady, "otherwise, what if you lied to me?"

Jia Ye, with a languid posture, looked down and fiddled with his cuffs, saying casually, "You'd better listen to my conditions first. Otherwise, if you can't accept them, your sweetheart will be left without anyone to save him."

Shi Luyu gritted her teeth: "You tell me."

He raised his eyes, his gaze from behind the mask landing on her face, and said, slowly and deliberately, "I want your body. Provide it to me periodically."

He spoke slowly, but enunciated each word clearly. Shi Luyu's pupils suddenly contracted, and all the color drained from her face.

"You shameless scoundrel!!!"

Her voice was shrill, almost cracking, "What right do you have—who do you think you are—I'd rather die than agree to that!"

Her chest heaved violently, her hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms. Anger burned in her eyes, but not a single tear fell.

She would never cry in front of this person!

Jia Ye wasn't surprised by her reaction at all. He took a bracelet from his waist and held it in front of her.

The rope was old, its color had faded considerably, the weave was loose, and there was a scorch mark at the end.

"This is something he always wears on his hand," he said. "Make sure you see it clearly."

Shi Luyu took it, and the moment her fingertips touched the rope, she froze.

She recognized the bracelet.

It was that old hair tie she'd lost some time ago. She'd braided it for fun, the work was rough, she'd used the cheapest cotton thread, and then she didn't know where she'd left it at home…

It turns out Jiajia's brother found out...

It turns out he had been wearing it on his hand the whole time.

She hadn't even noticed.

Her eyes reddened even more, and a dull pain spread from her heart to her throat, making it hard for her to breathe.

She's the one who dragged Jiajia into this. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have ended up at the border, wouldn't have been targeted by Master Jia for saving her, and wouldn't have been in danger.

A tear fell uncontrollably onto the bracelet.

Jia Ye reached out, pinched her chin, and lifted her face. His thumb brushed away the tear stains at the corner of her eye.

"Why are you crying?" His voice lowered. "The first rule of negotiation is not to show weakness to the enemy."

He stared at her red, swollen eyes, watching a single tear fall from her eyelashes.

Something inside me suddenly twitched.

He didn't like her crying over that fake identity. That thing called "Brother Jiajia" was nothing but a phantom in Xu Jia's skin, a counterfeit he had spent some time imitating.

But she cried over the fake.

Sincere, heartfelt, and unadulterated.

She never felt heartbroken for [Jia Ye].

She won't, and she won't.

Even if he choked her and forced her into the bathtub, made her kneel in a cage facing a wild beast, or pinned her down in a dark, secret room, even if he made her cry her eyes out, it was all just fear! Not heartache.

Hey.

When the word popped into Xu Yuanjia's head, he found it laughable. Who was he jealous of? Himself?

Was he jealous of himself, the one trusted by Shi Luyu and called "Brother Jiajia"? Or was he jealous of Xu Jia—the real Xu Jia who had met Shi Luyu many years before him?

What gives Xu Jia the right?

What a worthless piece of trash! How come he got to live in Shi Luyu's heart so many years before him?

Die! Xu Jia, die!

Shi Luyu's voice was still trembling, "It's impossible for me to agree to that."

But she wiped away her tears, looked up at him, and said, "If anything happens to Xu Yuanjia, I'll just die with him."

"Naive," Jia Ye laughed. "I've made myself clear enough."

His smile sent chills down your spine: "I want your body—living or dead."

Shi Luyu's face turned completely pale.

Jia leaned forward slightly, his mask almost touching her forehead. His voice was so low it seemed he was speaking only to her.

"Besides, are you still being naive? You and I have already done everything."

"Especially a few days ago at the mountain temple, I did it twice in a row..."

Shi Luyu suddenly pushed him away.

She fell from the lotus platform onto the stone platform, stumbling backward several steps with her hands and feet, her back hitting the wooden window with a dull thud.

Something in her mind was collapsing violently... a mountain temple, a side hall, a tightly closed door, incense burning in the darkness, the soreness in her lower back and legs after waking up, and the burning, tearing pain in that area...

Not a dream.

That wasn't a dream?!

"No...it's impossible..." Her voice was almost broken.

Jia hooked the bracelet on his fingertip. Shi Luyu lunged forward to snatch it back, but he easily lifted it above her head. She couldn't reach it, even on tiptoe.

"If you're sure you don't agree," his voice fell from above her head, unusually gentle yet exceptionally cruel, "I promise you, you will never see your Xu Yuanjia brother again."

Without Brother Jiajia, all that's left is Grandpa Jia.

Then let's all stop playing.

From then on, we were both doomed.

Fall for me, sweetie... baby...

There's no escaping it.

Shi Luyu's hand froze in mid-air: "I..."

She watched the bracelet dangle between his fingers; his eyes behind the mask were dark and unfathomable, devoid of any warmth.

She knew he meant what he said.

Two forces surged in her mind. On one side was anger, humiliation, and a stubborn refusal to bow down to this person no matter what. On the other side was Xu Yuanjia's face... the way he smiled and said "good girl," the way he looked at her when he was injured and leaning on the sofa, how he helped her teach Chen Yutang a lesson, how he rescued her from the dark room, and how he caught her every time she was under Xu Chenglin's gun.

She can't.

She couldn't bring herself to give up.

Tears finally broke free. She curled up, buried her face in her knees, her shoulders heaving, and her sobs muffled in her arms, like a small animal driven to the brink of despair.

Jia noticed her wavering, reached out, pulled her back, and hugged her tightly.

She pushed against his chest several times, but couldn't push him away. Finally, her fingers weakly gripped the fabric of his black robe.

He is truly a top-notch negotiator, skilled at using both kindness and force, and employing both soft and hard tactics.

"Don't worry, I won't ask you to do it too many times." His voice was deep, as if coaxing a child having a nightmare. "As long as you promise me, I won't treat you unfairly."

His fingers ran through her hair, slowly combing through the tangled strands.

"You'll have all the opportunities you need at school, and whatever you want will be arranged for you. Your family's jade business will also be much better than it is now."

He paused, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Don't mistake me for a completely bad person, okay?"

Shi Luyu leaned against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, and heard a strange, familiar rhythm.

She was momentarily dazed.

Where have I heard it before? A vague impression flashes by in the gaps of my memory.

But she was too tired.

Her mind felt like it was filled with mush, every thought too heavy to process. Her eyelids were drooping, her body was weak, and all her reason had been swept away by her tears.

His lips brushed against her earlobe, his voice as soft as a sigh, "I gave you my virginity, so consider it as wanting me a few more times."

Before she could react, his lips landed on hers.

The black robe hung down, obscuring the moonlight.

The collapsed Buddha statue lay on its side in the corner, its half-closed eyes facing them.

The compassionate Buddha, the filthy man.

Shi Luyu closed her eyes, her eyelashes still trembling.

Shi Luyu's struggles were like a gentle breeze in the face of his strength. Her fingers gripped the fabric on his shoulder tightly, then loosened, then clenched again.

He paused slightly at her flustered little gesture, then kissed her even more fiercely.

He cupped the back of her head with his palm, wrapped his other arm around her waist, pressed her delicate body against him, and pulled her down onto the cool lotus platform.