Shocking! The actress was dragged to the regent's bedchamber every night.

Then, the man tightened his arms and pulled her forward.

Su Wuli's cool upper body pressed against his chest without any obstruction.

The heat made her shiver, and she instinctively wanted to shrink back.

But the arms wrapped around her waist wouldn't let her pull away even an inch.

Her cheek was forced against his neck, her nose against his collarbone, and her whole body was nestled perfectly into his embrace.

The man's warmth, seeping through her thin school uniform shirt, relentlessly ironed her cold, stiff skin and bones.

At first it was hot, so hot that her fingertips curled up.

But soon, the fear in my heart was gradually dispelled by this almost overbearing body temperature.

Su Wuli's stiff body slowly softened, and she unconsciously let down her guard a little.

Her consciousness remained confused, and the nightmares that haunted her were still intertwined in her mind.

But the body surrendered first, yielding to this redemptive warmth.

Her arms unconsciously wrapped around his waist, and she rubbed her face against the crook of his neck, finding a more comfortable position to bury herself even deeper.

Yu Chen's body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment.

Su Wuli's arms around his waist were weak, just like her.

The classroom was quiet, and her emotions gradually calmed down in the man's arms.

Only then did she come to her senses and realize what she had done.

Hearing Yu Chen's breathing gradually become heavier, the hands that were wrapped around his waist stopped, and the head that was resting against the other's neck also stiffened.

Su Wuli didn't know why she did this, but a sliver of reason she regained told her to get away immediately.

However, before anything could be done, the palm that had been resting on her back, which had only been supporting her, slowly moved down.

Slowly, it clung to her thin shirt.

Su Wuli clearly sensed the possessive intent implied in the action.

My body stiffened instinctively for a moment, but quickly relaxed again.

Su Wuli neither dodged nor struggled away.

She slightly raised her head in his arms, her wet eyes gazing at him in the dim light.

The man's Adam's apple bobbed heavily.

He suddenly stood up, carried her a few steps to the podium, and laid her down on the large wooden podium.

The table was cold, and she was cushioned by his spread-out black outer robe.

Yu Chen then leaned forward and pressed down on Su Wuli, trapping her between himself and the podium.

The dim light streamed in through the side window, outlining his deep features.

Su Wuli met the dark gaze.

Lying on his robes, his black hair spread out, making his face appear even paler and smaller.

His eyes were red and swollen, yet they clearly reflected his image.

"Do you know where this is?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

Su Wuli blinked and answered softly, "...the classroom."

"Do you know what will happen next?" he asked again, his gaze fixed on her.

Upon hearing this, Su Wuli's eyelashes trembled violently a few times, and a very faint blush rose on her cheeks.

After a few seconds of silence, he nodded very slightly.

Then, Yu Chen's lips curled slightly, dispelling the usual coldness between his brows.

"Very good," he said softly, his breath brushing against her cheek.

"Then remember, when you think of this place in the future, don't think about any random things."

He leaned down, his lips almost touching her earlobe, and said, word by word.

"Why would I, the king, be here...?"

Yu Chen leaned close to her ear and spoke softly.

Upon hearing the man's words, Su Wuli's heart suddenly raced, and her eyes darted away.

The tips of my ears also felt warm.

Yu Chen's gaze slowly moved down from her face and landed on her lips.

The kiss landed, lingering on her lips, not as fierce as Su Wuli had imagined.

With a hint of reassurance, she tightly gripped the man's shirt as he pressed it down.

"Um……"

However, the comforting feeling didn't last long, as a soft moan unconsciously escaped her lips.

Thin lips grew impatient, the sweetness in their mouths snatched away.

It started on the podium.

Su Wuli's fingers unconsciously gripped the taut muscles on his arm.

The man kept staring at her face, his naked gaze too direct, and she couldn't stand it, so she looked away.

This time, for some reason, something seems different.

Su Wuli thought about the three people beside her, even though she knew it was a dream and they were all fake.

However, she still felt ashamed, biting her lip and refusing to make a sound.

Only her increasingly rapid breathing betrayed her feelings.

Midway through, Yu Chen suddenly picked her up.

Su Wuli gasped and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

Yu Chen carried her and walked a few steps to the seat by the window.

It was the same location as the classroom where she had been tied up.

He had her rest her hands on the desk in front of her.

The desktop was empty, devoid of the glaring red lettering, only bearing the fine scratches left over the years.

Yu Chen stretched out his arm, over her shoulder, and slapped his palm heavily across the table in front of her.

It was as if there really was a red character there.

The man's damp palms rubbed against the rough wooden tabletop with a soft squeak.

"Now," he said, his breath hot against her earlobe and neck, "this table bears only my mark."

Su Wuli gripped the edge of the table tightly with her fingers, her fingertips turning white.

Finally, he carried her to the window and put the two desks together.

The cold tabletop pressed against her back, but she had no time to care.

The windowpane was a deep, dark black, reflecting two blurry shadows.

A creaking sound.

The sound was amplified infinitely in the absolutely silent classroom, pounding on her eardrums and shattering Su Wuli's last bit of reason and shame.

She finally couldn't hold back her tears and burst into sobs.

Tears blurred her vision, and she reached out and grabbed at something haphazardly, not knowing where she was grabbing.

"Yu Chen..."

Yu Chen was suddenly startled.

Su Wuli was still half asleep when he picked her up again, and her back pressed against the hard blackboard.

It was a little chilly, and she instinctively shrank back into the arms of the man in front of her.

Little did they know they were sending lambs to the slaughter.

Yu Chen lowered his head and kissed her, a deep and intense kiss that engulfed her.

All the sobs.

Their lips and tongues intertwined, carrying a possessive quality and an almost violent tenderness.

After an unknown amount of time, Su Wuli felt her consciousness begin to float away.

She curled up in the man's arms, her eyelids too heavy to lift.

Her lips moved unconsciously as she murmured a tearful, aggrieved sound.

"Don't go..."

The arms around her seemed to tighten a little.

"They..." Su Wuli's voice was even softer, like a dream, "They're going to... bully me again... at the class reunion..."

In the darkness, Yu Chen lowered his eyes, looking at the face in his arms that was still stained with tears and flushed.

The faint light from the window outlined her trembling, uneasy eyelashes.

He remained in that position for a long time.

He pulled his arm from under her neck until the person in his arms began to breathe heavily.

He then carefully laid the girl flat on the platform covered with his outer robe, letting her rest her head on his sleeve.

Then he straightened up and took something off his neck.

A pendant strung on a black leather cord.

The pendant itself is a dark iron-gray metal sheet with edges that are not very smooth and are even somewhat rough.

It's about the size of a thumbnail, thin, and looks unremarkable.

There was a character engraved in the center of the metal sheet.

Yu Chen held the pendant in his hand, then bent down and hung it on his neck, which was covered in hickeys.

As if touched something unusual, Su Wuli unconsciously curled up.

He leaned close to her ear and whispered something, word by word.

Su Wuli subconsciously responded.