"It's just a name. It doesn't mean anything."
"So you're saying, since I didn't catch you in the act, it doesn't count."
"Cheng Yuan, that's disgusting." Jiang Xiao was angry, her eyes red. "Not everyone is like you."
"What about me? Huh?" Cheng Yuan leaned in, his nose almost touching hers. "Are you saying I'm disgusting?"
"..."
Jiang Xiao didn't want to argue. She tried to pry his hands off. "I'm tired. I want to rest. Let me go."
"Guilty conscience?" He took her retreat as guilt. "Looks like there really is something between you two."
"There isn't!"
"You two... so you're already on 'you two' terms."
She couldn't reason with him. Defeated, Jiang Xiao said, "Believe whatever you want. I have a clear conscience."
"Fine, a clear conscience." Cheng Yuan tightened his grip on her waist. "Let me see if it's clear or not."
He opened the car door, carried her out, and took the elevator to the third floor.
A servant came up, but Cheng Yuan yelled at him to leave. Now only the two of them were on the third floor.
Jiang Xiao backed away. "I'm still not feeling well. Don't do anything."
"You seem energetic enough when you're arguing. Doesn't look like you're unwell." Cheng Yuan threw her onto the bed, knelt on one knee, and clamped down on her ankle, not giving her any chance to retreat. "Let me see where it hurts."
His gaze was icy cold. Jiang Xiao was terrified. "No!"
"No?" He pulled hard. "You don't get a choice."
This was the first time he was so impatient. "If you don't want it to be too rough, be obedient."
Even being obedient didn't help—it was still rough.
Jiang Xiao cried for a long time until her voice was hoarse.
Cheng Yuan, on the other hand, looked quite satisfied. Afterward, he kissed her forehead and took out ointment to apply to her wrists and ankles.
It was rare for him to soothe her. "I didn't control my strength. I hurt you. I won't do it again."
Jiang Xiao was exhausted by his unpredictable moods. She lifted her eyes. "Cheng Yuan, let's talk."
Fresh from intimacy, she was covered in his scent. Her voice was soft and small, carrying a hint of pleading.
"About what?"
"About our marriage."
Cheng Yuan paused. "What's there to talk about?"
"You don't love me," Jiang Xiao said. "So I'll set you free."
Cheng Yuan looked up, turmoil surging in his eyes. "Say that again."
"I've thought it through. You can't force a melon to be sweet. No matter how hard you try, if something isn't meant to be yours, it won't work." Jiang Xiao bit her lip. "I'm willing to leave with nothing and set you free."
If love was an adventure, then the scars all over her body were enough to tell her how ridiculous her love was.
"Say it one more time." Cheng Yuan stared at her, his voice cold.
Jiang Xiao pulled the blanket over herself, slowly sat up, and said firmly, "Let's separate."
As those words fell, the ointment dropped to the floor, and a water cup fell too.
Cheng Yuan pulled her back onto the bed and loomed over her. "Looks like I've been too good to you, letting you keep testing my limits."
"Jiang Xiao, I'll say it one last time: even if this ends, it has to be on my terms. If I don't agree, you'll be Mrs. Cheng for the rest of your life."
"Why?" Jiang Xiao really didn't understand. Enduring the pain, she asked, "You clearly don't love me—why won't you let me go?"
"You were the one who forced your way into my world. Now you want to walk away? No way." Cheng Yuan grabbed her chin and squeezed. "Only I can decide to discard you."
With a sweep of his hand, the only blanket fell to the floor.
Jiang Xiao was left barely covered, watching helplessly as Cheng Yuan closed in...
*
Jiang Xiao stayed in Shengshi Haoting for five days. On the sixth day, she finally got in touch with the outside world.
The moment the call connected, Shen Yue started crying. "A Xiao, where have you been? Why didn't you pick up any calls? You scared me to death!"
Some things were hard to explain to outsiders. Jiang Xiao said, "I went abroad for a few days."
"Abroad? What for?"
"A classmate's wedding abroad. I was a bridesmaid."
"Then why didn't you answer my calls?"
"I didn't hear them."
"Are you really abroad?"
"Mm."